House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-07-22 Daily Xml

Contents

WATER PRICING

Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:17): I have a supplementary question. Will the minister confirm that we are actually going to get the $228 million? My understanding is that the federal government has said it will only supply $228 million if we reduce our take from the River Murray; and there is no intention on the part of this government to use the desal plant to reduce the take on the River Murray for some 20 years or more.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA (Colton—Minister for Environment and Conservation, Minister for the River Murray, Minister for Water) (14:18): In order to assist the deputy leader, that is not quite based in fact. Sorry: the former deputy leader for a few hours; there are so many of them over there. There is no threat to the $228 million. It was not about reducing our draw, as was intimated by the Leader of the Opposition. It was about reducing our reliance on the River Murray. We have had very productive discussions with the commonwealth. There is no doubt that this matter will be resolved, and it is included within the prices, about which we have been transparent.