House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-10-31 Daily Xml

Contents

Flows for the Future Program

25 The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Leader of the Opposition) (29 August 2023). With regard to Flows for the Future, why was there an underspend of over $4 million for 2022-23 from what was budgeted (from $5.419 million to $1.05 million)?

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Minister for Defence and Space Industries, Minister for Climate, Environment and Water): I have been advised:

That the 2022-23 budget of $5.419 million reflects the original budget for the project and 2022-23 estimated result of $1.051 million reflects the revised budget for the project.

The Flows for the Future program had an underspend in 2022-23 as very wet conditions late into the year followed by a mild summer and an early start to the flow season maintained high soil moisture in many catchments. These conditions limited the ability for construction activities to be undertaken during the usual November to March construction window.

Work instead focused on landholder engagement activities, review and validation of existing devices, calibration of watercourse diversions sites, and research and development of novel, inexpensive on-ground solutions to expand the options available for passing low flows.

The Flows for the Future program was recently extended until 30 June 2024.