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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-09-22 Daily Xml
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Question Time

WATER SECURITY

Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:55): My question is to the Minister for Water Security. Given that approximately eight gigalitres of stormwater ran out to sea yesterday, why is the government buying permanent water licences for critical human needs and increasing Adelaide's reliance on the River Murray?

The Hon. K.A. MAYWALD (Chaffey—Minister for the River Murray, Minister for Water Security) (14:56): I think that everyone I know would agree that purchasing permanent water entitlements out of consumption for South Australia is a good thing to do. To support the fact that these irrigators had made the decision that they wanted to sell their water, had gone into the tender federally and had been rejected in that tender because the tender had been oversubscribed, I think it is a very good thing that the South Australian government has stepped in to acquire that water.

In the initial instance, that water will be used to back up critical human needs supplies. Those permanent entitlements are currently allocated with 16 per cent of water allocation on those entitlements, and that 16 per cent will be used to back up our critical human needs reserve, if we need it to, for next year, which is a very good and sensible thing for this government to be doing, given those people out in the marketplace wanting to sell their water.

I think that is a very important difference between this government and what the opposition is proposing, because the opposition is saying on the one hand that we should buy water, on the other hand that we should not buy water; that on one hand we should have desalination and then on this hand that we should have stormwater. Approximately eight gigalitres of water ran out into the sea yesterday as a consequence of some fantastic storm events. I think most South Australians are very happy about the fact that we are having rain.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.A. MAYWALD: In fact, the only people I know who are unhappy about the rain—

Mr Williams interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for MacKillop!

The Hon. K.A. MAYWALD: —that we are having is the opposition. The opposition continues to want to make water a divisive issue, rather than getting behind the state government and the community in dealing with some very difficult issues. I think the issue of stormwater needs to be put into context. Once again, I will quote from the CSIRO report relating to management of aquifer recharge, because there seems to be somewhat of a misunderstanding.

Mr Williams: Go to page 28.

The Hon. K.A. MAYWALD: The member for MacKillop continually refers to page 28. I will go to page 28 for the member for MacKillop because page 28 has a little graph on it that talks about potential diversified sources of water for Australian cities, and it talks about the opportunity for 30 to 80 gigalitres of stormwater aquifer storage and recovery. Guess what? The Water for Good strategy says about 60 gigalitres; I think that is just about in the middle there.

The South Australian government is actively pursuing stormwater projects. We currently have submissions for a number of different projects before the federal government, and I would remind the house of what those projects are.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. K.A. MAYWALD: Six years on, they say. Do you know what they did eight years ago? They halved the funding for stormwater. The last legacy of the Liberal Party in government was to halve stormwater. That is what it did. Let your actions talk louder than your babble.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.A. MAYWALD: Because, quite frankly, you halved—

Mr Goldsworthy interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Kavel!

The Hon. K.A. MAYWALD: —the money that was being invested in stormwater. I think that is the reality that we are facing here. But, if you look at what we are actually doing, let's not listen to the talk; let's look at the action. We currently have a number of projects that we have put to the federal government for approval. The first one is Waterproofing the West, $58.6 million—

Mr Williams interjecting:

The Hon. K.A. MAYWALD: Ah! The member for MacKillop says 'relying on the federal government'. Do you know what their stormwater strategy says? All the money will come from the federal government—that is in their own stormwater strategy.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. K.A. MAYWALD: It is exactly what it says. It says that the money will come from the federal government, and I challenge everyone to read the Liberal Party's strategy. Let's look at the really good projects that this state government, together with local government, is working on—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.A. MAYWALD: Waterproofing the West, $58.6 million—

Mr Venning interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Schubert!

The Hon. K.A. MAYWALD: —to harvest 2,500 million litres, through wetlands aquifer storage at Cheltenham, Riverside Golf Club and Old Port Road; Adelaide Airport stormwater scheme, $9.7 million, harvesting up to 1,000 megalitres of stormwater to reduce the draw on mains and groundwater supplies, in partnership with the Adelaide Airport; Unity Park biofiltration, $14 million, expanding an existing scheme at Pooraka to harvest an extra 1,300 megalitres to supply local industries, schools and sporting facilities; Water for the Future, $19.2 million, building on the success of Waterproofing the North, to harvest an additional 640 megalitres of irrigation for sports reserves and gardens; Waterproofing the South Stage 2, $30 million; Adelaide Botanic Garden ASR scheme, $5.8 million; and Barker Inlet Stormwater Re-use Scheme, $7.8 million.

These projects are currently before the federal government, seeking approval for the federal government to support the funding of these projects. These are really good projects, and they build on the fantastic work that the Salisbury council has been doing in the north, in partnership with a number of different government agencies: SA Water and also the state government and the LMC.

I think that the issue of stormwater is one that is very clear. In terms of the state government—this Rann Labor government—as minister in that government I support stormwater projects that will enhance our supply into the South Australian water security strategy. These projects are very valuable. They will reduce the draw on the River Murray, just as the Salisbury scheme has for parks and gardens and industry use. The Salisbury scheme currently delivers about seven gigalitres of water—seven gigalitres of water—and it has taken over 10 years to deliver that.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. K.A. MAYWALD: Twenty gigalitres, and the state government is supporting and investing in that project also. I think the important thing is to understand that they are not doing that all by themselves. The Salisbury council is doing it in partnership with the federal government—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.A. MAYWALD: —with the state government, with SA Water, with LMC. There is a range of partners in these projects, and that is a great thing. It is also the Playford council and the Tea Tree Gully council. So, Waterproofing the North—a fantastic project. We are on board; you should be too.

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