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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-02-24 Daily Xml
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EDWARDSTOWN GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION

Mr WILLIAMS (MacKillop—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (14:47): My question, again, is to the Minister for Environment and Conservation. Why wasn't the community progressively notified of contaminated groundwater at Edwardstown, as the extent of the pollution bloom was progressively identified, as told by the minister to the house yesterday?

The Hon. P. CAICA (Colton—Minister for Environment and Conservation, Minister for the River Murray, Minister for Water) (14:47): I think it is appropriate that you are equipped—

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: You're the genius. Just pass around some information to your mates and see which ones you can do over next time. Quite clearly, I think it is appropriate that the full information is available before it is promulgated.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: That's right. So we agree on that, do we? All right. That the full information is known about the extent of the contamination. A report was provided to the EPA on the 14th, I found out last Thursday and, as I mentioned earlier, advisers were—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: Listen, let me finish. What I will say is that there are some interesting things about—and I think they pay attention to detail—but there is a document that is issued by the Department of Health on the website. It is a water quality fact sheet about using bore water safety. I am sure that Mitch would be aware of this.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P. CAICA: It produces a lot of information about bores and how bore water should be used appropriately. Of course, and we know this, it distinguishes between deep bores and shallow bores. It says that bore water should never be used for drinking, cooking, watering edible plants or filling up swimming pools, unless it has been tested. If it hasn't been, then specific advice should be sought from the SA Health scientific authorities. It is quite a detailed fact sheet and it goes on to ask: 'How can I use bore water?' I will just read a little bit from it, if I can. It states:

Particularly in urban settings and where mains water is available, the use of shallow bore water is not recommended because of the high likelihood of chemical or microbial contamination.

It goes on to say that bore water quality might change over a period of time and, therefore, after the initial analysis, the bore water should be checked every two to three years and monitored by the owner for any undesirable changes in the water quality.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: No, not at all. It's about the appropriate use of water. I think it is a bit rich that the opposition is making a political football out of this when the government is making sure that it notifies people effectively and properly about the situation. I also remind the house, and I wasn't at the—

Mr WILLIAMS: Point of order: this information is all very interesting, but the question was, why wasn't the community—

An honourable member: Which standing order?

Mr WILLIAMS: Ninety eight.

An honourable member: And that is?

Mr WILLIAMS: Relevance.

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr WILLIAMS: The question was: why weren't the community progressively told of this pollution, this contamination, because, as the minister told the house yesterday, it was progressively identified that the pollution was beyond the old Hills site. You want to read your statement—read the Hansard.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister can choose to answer the question in any way he wishes, but I am sure he is about to wind up.

The Hon. P. CAICA: Well, I may be, Madam Speaker, if you are instructing me to, then I will wind up, but I do have a point to make and that is: we notify people through, amongst things, the water quality fact sheet, about their responsibilities in relation to the appropriate use of—

An honourable member: So it's their fault?

The Hon. P. CAICA: No, it's not their fault.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P. CAICA: They have a responsibility to use it properly.

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Norwood, be quiet.

The Hon. P. CAICA: They have a responsibility to use that water appropriately. We have a situation here where the level of anxiety is deliberately and wilfully being heightened by what is, an irresponsible opposition.

An honourable member interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

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