Regional Housing

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (14:33): I seek leave to provide a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Regional Development on the topic of housing in the regions.

Leave granted.

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI: On Wednesday 1 November, in response to one of the numerous, some may say excessive, questions in the chamber about country cabinet, the minister in this place said in relation to the government's Bordertown housing project that she was glad to be, and I quote, 'able to participate in the announcement of a huge housing boost in the local area'. The minister also said:

…to construct five key worker homes and contribute to civil works which will play a significant role in developing up to 60 new homes on the 5.8-hectare site, and hopefully will play some role in addressing the regional housing crisis in Bordertown.

The minister also said, and I quote:

…Bordertown has a near zero rental vacancy which, if not addressed, will hurt the region's economic growth and its ability to attract and retain the workforce required for essential services in the region.

Meanwhile, in the other place, the Minister for Environment and Water was asked the same question and responded as follows:

SA Water has put into the RD24—

which is short for regulatory determination 2024-2028—

the regulatory proposal for the next regulatory period, a serious groundwater monitoring process which is going to be built into planning what the trajectory of that water supply is, and therefore what options are required. Several options have been canvassed: a desalination plant so that the brackish water can be used is one; an additional pipeline is also possible from the Murray; and there is also an alternative treatment for the water that has been proposed. All of that will be considered alongside this additional groundwater monitoring. During that regulatory period, we will be in a much better position to determine the future. We have conveyed that to Bordertown. They remain, obviously, concerned about wanting to be able to grow, and I believe this will be an ongoing discussion.

In essence, the minister in the other place was saying that there were no definitive and definite plans relating to the provision of extra water in Bordertown prior to 2028. So my questions to the minister are:

1. In line with the comments made by the Minister for Environment and Water in the other place, can the minister confirm that indeed no extra water will be available to Bordertown prior to 2028?

2. How can the Malinauskas government make a promise to build an extra 60 houses in Bordertown before 2028 given that it has no substantive plans to provide the necessary infrastructure?

3. Is this another one of the government's empty promises?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:36): I thank the honourable member for her question. First of all, I would certainly want to be checking the accuracy of what the Leader of the Opposition is alleging. As we know, they are often quite happy to take things out of context or to misrepresent information, so I would be happy to check the information that is provided as the premise of the question. However, what I can say is that some of what she is representing there simply shows that planning and discussions are underway, as they should be.