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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-02-09 Daily Xml
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GOYDER INSTITUTE FOR WATER RESEARCH

Ms THOMPSON (Reynell) (14:52): My question is to the Minister for Water. What groundbreaking research will be undertaken by the Goyder Institute for Water Research during 2011?

The Hon. P. CAICA (Colton—Minister for Environment and Conservation, Minister for the River Murray, Minister for Water) (14:53): I thank the member for Reynell for her very, very important question. The $50 million Adelaide-based Goyder Institute for Water Research was established last year to provide independent scientific advice on our state's water system. It is a partnership between the state government and the CSIRO, as well as the state's three universities, the South Australian Research and Development Institute and SA Water's Australian Water Quality Centre.

The Goyder Institute will soon be carrying out three new major projects. The first project, Development of an Agreed Set of Climate Projections for South Australia, will be the largest project yet to be undertaken by the Goyder Institute. This project will produce a single set of climate projections for our state, to support water resource planning and management, ensuring that our policy decisions are based on the most reliable scientific evidence about both climate change and localised climate variability.

This project will also result in a new understanding of the key drivers of climate change and will provide advice to all agencies on what is the best available science and what that science says about the future of South Australia's climate. This $6.6 million project will be jointly funded by the institute and its partners and will be led by Professor Simon Beecham from the University of South Australia. It will involve researchers from all the institute's partners and is expected to be completed by June 2014.

The second project, Murray Flood Ecology, will help to facilitate efficient use of environmental flows as the River Murray receives significant inflows after the worst drought in recorded history. The institute will monitor ecosystems along the river to provide the first detailed understanding of how ecosystem and river health changes as the river refills.

This project represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us to measure the recovery of the river, wetlands, tree and plant growth, and fish spawning, as large amounts of water return to the system. What it will provide is vital information for understanding how we can maximise the environmental benefits with the water we have available for the River Murray in the future.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: They are pathetic! This $1.3 million project will take approximately 15 months to complete and will be led by Dr Qifeng Ye from SARDI. The Murray Flood Ecology project will be undertaken by a research team from CSIRO, the University of Adelaide, Flinders University, SARDI and the Department for Water.

There is a relationship between, if you like, environmental water and being able to do that efficiently when water is low, which of course in turn will allow water to be used for other purposes; about improving the efficiency by which we—and I think I know that the member for Chaffey supports such an approach and would be supportive of this particular research. If he is not, I am sure he will tell me and I will try to fathom why he is not. The third project is called—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P. CAICA: The third project is called Facilitating Long-Term Outback Water Solutions (FLOWS). It will identify and assess potential groundwater sources in the Far North to help underpin mining development. Again, they do not want to help underpin mining development. These are very important projects for South Australia. This project involves identifying—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: Ask me a question. This project involves identifying Far North groundwater resources and assessing their capacity and quality. The project team will assess risks to ecosystems and develop modelling tools.

The findings of this project could enable further mining and energy resource development in priority areas of the Far North. It will also give us the clearest picture yet of the location and characteristics of water resources in that area and it will help to guide how they might be developed and used sustainably. The word 'sustainably' is important, because I am absolutely convinced that the opposition are not interested in the sustainable use of our natural resources.

Stage 1 of FLOWS has a budget of $3 million and is due to be completed by mid-2012. The project is being led by Dr Tim Munday from CSIRO and is a major collaborative effort between CSIRO, Flinders University, the University of Adelaide, SARDI, the Department for Water and the department of primary industries.

Other projects recently approved by the board will consider sustainable management of water in the South-East and will consider ways of using wetting events to detect salinity thresholds for aquatic plants in the South-East. The support for these projects encapsulates the government's commitment to better understand our water resources and the environment more broadly, particularly its resilience and sustainability into the future.

I am very proud, as is this government, of the establishment of the Goyder Institute, an institute that is going to be one of the most highly-renowned institutes of its type not only in Australia but throughout this globe. It would be far better for the opposition to get behind these projects instead of bad-mouthing everything that occurs.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: No, you are pathetic!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

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