WATER INDUSTRY ALLIANCE

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (14:53): My question is to the Minister for Water and the River Murray. Will the minister update the chamber on the recent Water Industry Alliance Awards?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (14:54): I advise the honourable member that I would be delighted to and I thank her for her very important question. A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending the Water Industry Alliance (WIA) 10^th annual awards event at the Adelaide Convention Centre. I have spoken in this place about the Water Industry Alliance previously but, for reference, the WIA was formed in 1998 as an industry cluster of water-related organisations with a focus on growing member businesses and the water sector generally.

For the last 10 years the WIA has been running an annual awards event to showcase the outstanding efforts of those within the water sector in our state who innovate in business, industry and communities through smart water planning and smart water usage. All of us, I expect, know the issues of water provision and water security. It is something this state has grappled with for many years.

Reliance on the River Murray, teamed with an overallocation of water by upstream states, years of drought and the oft-repeated adage that we are in the driest state on the driest inhabited continent all make water a complex matter in South Australia. It should therefore come as no surprise that the private sector and the water industry within South Australia, all of whom have had to operate within this complex paradigm, have become both dynamic and internationally competitive.

The Water Industry Alliance's annual awards recognise those who keep South Australia positioned as a world leader in terms of how we manage water, and they are also a great way to get the many success stories out to the broader community. This year, as with most years, there were some outstanding success stories to be shared.

Philmac, a South Australian company established in 1929, I am told, won the Smart Water Irrigation and Use Award for their unique polyethylene pipes. The product is currently being rolled out over golf courses in the US states of Tennessee, Florida, South Carolina and Indiana. The product is the only one of its kind available in the US market, I am told, and has helped Philmac grow its export revenue year on year.

The Smart Water Resource Management Award was won by the City of Charles Sturt for their Waterproofing the West—Stage 1 project. This project is creating a region-wide system that harvests, treats and stores stormwater, and then distributes that recycled water through western Adelaide. The Smart Water Leadership Award was awarded to Sinclair Knight Merz and the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training for their development of the Australian Groundwater Modelling Guidelines 2012. These guidelines promote a consistent and sound approach to the development of groundwater flow transport models in Australia. They help provide a national perspective and will help provide an insight into complex groundwater system behaviour.

I had the pleasure of presenting the Minister's Award for Water and Climate Change Leadership, which was awarded to Toro Australia for their Turf Guard Wireless Soil Monitoring System, which helps sportsfield caretakers manage their turf, soil and water efficiently. This product uses an integrated network of up to 500 wireless underground sensors that can be used to detect soil moisture, heat stress conditions and fungal infections, amongst many other things. It is really an innovative project, and the guest speaker on the night, Mr Les Burdett, former curator at Adelaide Oval, had much to say about how such technology will revolutionise his former craft.

The Chairman's Award went to Mr Richard Hopkins, chief executive officer of the International Centre of Excellence in Water Resource Management. This award recognises a person deemed to have made a major contribution to the water industry, and Mr Hopkins was awarded this honour for his efforts at promoting South Australia's capabilities and efforts in water policy, legislation, regulation, groundwater, precision irrigation and urban water technologies to global decision-makers. I have met with a number of delegations in my short time in this portfolio who have come to South Australia to learn from our situation and our progressive water initiatives. I hope that Mr Hopkins will continue his excellent work in these regards.

Finally, the last award—the Smart Water Planning and Delivery Award—went to SA Water for the Adelaide desalination plant. The Adelaide desalination plant was recognised for a number of reasons. Primarily, it is a fact that it is the biggest water infrastructure project ever delivered in South Australia—one that is capable of delivering 50 per cent of Adelaide's drinking water from a climate-independent source and one that reduces our reliance on the historically overtaxed, overextracted River Murray.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Mr President, this is something that those opposite should certainly not be sneering at, but they do, continuously, until we find ourselves in drought conditions once again, which we will. The Adelaide desalination plant delivers groundbreaking energy efficiency and uses renewable energy for 100 per cent of the power consumed by the plant. The plant showcases outstanding build quality and is the most capital-efficient plant in Australia.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The honourable minister has the call.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Mr President—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Minister.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Mr President, I am endlessly amazed—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: I am endlessly amazed at the effrontery—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Enough. Minister.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Mr President, I was going to make comment about the effrontery of those opposite to offer the city of Adelaide a Cortina model desal plant, half a desal plant, to match half of a road that they gave us to the south—a one way road to the south. This is what they do. They come up with half-baked ideas and trot them out to the public as policy initiatives that take us nowhere. It takes a Labor government to come into office and fix up the problems the Liberal government leaves us.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: I wasn't going to say that, Mr President. I wasn't going to say that at all. The plant showcases outstanding build quality and is the most capital efficient plant in our country. It has the lowest operating cost per megalitre of desal water, and it was delivered ahead of time and within budget. I have been provided with the judges' comments and I can quote some of them to you. I can quote quite extensively if I am encouraged to.

'The Adelaide desal plant is an extremely commendable project that demonstrated the highest level of project management and delivery skills,' one said. This is great recognition for a project that those opposite have sought to denigrate at every opportunity they can get. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate all of the award winners for continuing to help place South Australia as a world leader in management of our most precious resource, water. I want also to put on the record this government's thanks for their efforts, particularly everyone involved in the Adelaide desal plant. This award is vindication for their efforts and is something no-one can take away from them—certainly not those opposite. I commend all the winners to the chamber.