Mid Murray Council Water

The Hon. S.L. GAME (14:52): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before directing a question to the Hon. Clare Scriven, Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, regarding access to non-potable water in the Mid Murray Council district.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.L. GAME: Mid Murray Council currently provides access to 14 standpipes that provide a number of locals with access to non-potable water for residential and livestock use. To reduce vandalism and tampering, the council has spent $120,000 in recent years upgrading eight of these standpipes. However, the water reporting relies on customers providing accurate readings of their water use, and abuses of this honour system have cost the council an additional $40,000.

The council has applied for a $415,000 grant through the Department of Primary Industries and Regions to automate seven of these standpipes and install a swipe card system. The closure of two standpipes in particular, at Summerfield and Stonefield, would impact dozens of farming families who rely on these pipes to water their sheep. My questions to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development are:

1. Can the government provide an update on the status of Mid Murray Council's funding application to PIRSA and outline when the council can expect an answer?

2. Will the government concede that, due to the Mid Murray Council's population of less than 10,000 and its financial position recently being described by ESCOSA as 'potentially unsustainable', the council cannot afford to upgrade all its standpipes and therefore needs state government assistance to continue providing water to these farming families?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:54): I thank the honourable member for her question. When I was in Mannum last year, I met with the local mayor, Simone Bailey, and we had very fruitful discussions about a large number of matters. That included a discussion of the standpipes. The standpipes, as the honourable member has outlined, are owned by council, but they are both a significant difficulty in terms of maintaining them and being able to get accurate readings, given that it is based on an honesty system. I understand that the $120,000 of upgrades in recent years was due to a federal government grant. The application is under consideration, and we will be able to provide an answer as soon as possible.