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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-11-27 Daily Xml
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DESALINATION PLANT

Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:35): My question is again to the Premier. In light of the Premier's answer to my earlier question—that everyone knew about the desalination plant mothballing for months—can the Premier then explain why, when announcing the mothballing on 5 October, he said, 'I became aware of it yesterday'?

Mr Marshall: Maybe he hasn't read The Advertiser.

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Norwood, order!

Mr Marshall: How humiliating!

The SPEAKER: The member for Norwood, order! Premier.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Minister for State Development) (14:36): Thank you, Madam Speaker. Of course, the information that was released by SA Water went up on the website and it dealt with the precise issue that I mentioned earlier. That was the submission that they made to ESCOSA about the price pathing, the price path that would occur—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I cannot hear the Premier.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —the price path that would occur in relation to the next four years, the last year of which involved an estimate by then in relation to the mothballing of this plant. It is as simple as that.

Another matter needs to be made very clear here: if there is not the relevant water in the system—either in our catchments or the River Murray—that would allow us to meet the water security needs of our state, what would occur is that the desalination plant would be used. There has been no final decision in relation to the way in which this plant will operate and there is an air of unreality about this whole debate because for the next two years—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —this desalination plant will be producing tens and tens of gigalitres of water as it operates at almost full tilt to test out its capacity. This debate that those opposite have been seeking to perpetrate, that somehow this piece of infrastructure which is state-building infrastructure necessary for the future water security needs of our state is somehow unnecessary, is completely erroneous.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Ashford.

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