DESALINATION PLANTS

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (14:24): I have a supplementary question. How will the proposed new export harbour co-exist with the desalination plant?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Police, Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning) (14:25): It will co-exist.

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway: That's a smart answer.

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: Well, obviously, they are both together. How would it not co-exist?

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: How would it not co-exist? I have visited the port at Coloso in Chile, where BHP Billiton has a significant desal plant just out of the city of Antofagasta. On the edge of that desal plant is the harbour where exports are made from the large mines that BHP runs in Chile. There is really no reason why the two cannot be very close to one another; they are sort of industrial uses. The important thing is that the environment be protected.