Eyre Peninsula Water Supply

The Hon. M.C. PARNELL (15:16): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation questions about Eyre Peninsula water supply.

Leave granted.

The Hon. M.C. PARNELL: On 22 January, the government responded to the 85^th report of the Natural Resources Committee on Eyre Peninsula's water supply. Six of the committee's 12 recommendations were not supported including recommendation 9, which states:

The Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation require SA Water, as a user of the water, to implement and report on automated time-series pumping of Eyre Peninsula borefield water meters with this information provided to DEWNR and the EP NRM Board on a quarterly basis to ensure allocations are not exceeded. This information should also be made available on SA Water's public internet site.

In responding to that recommendation, the government response included the following:

[An] increase in monitoring and the publishing of data would be difficult and costly.

My questions to the minister are:

1. What cost is associated with quarterly meter reading and reporting?

2. Does the minister accept that the monitoring of the most precious natural resource in one of the most productive regions of South Australia should be a top priority?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (15:17): I thank the honourable member for this most important question on the topic of water supply on Eyre Peninsula. I said in this place before the Natural Resources Committee handed down its final report of the inquiry into Eyre Peninsula's water supply that this government is acutely aware of the importance of secure water supplies to the future of our state. This is of particular concern in regional and remote areas of South Australia and, as we know, there is significant community concern about the security of water supplies on Eyre Peninsula.

The recommendations from the final report are being reviewed by the government in the context of ongoing and recent initiatives, such as the development of the new water allocation plan for the region's groundwater resources, new metering requirements for SA Water in the region and the introduction of independent economic regulation of SA Water and ongoing annual reviews of the region's water security through the Eyre Peninsula Demand and Supply Statement. In addition, we have invested significantly in the science and monitoring of Eyre Peninsula since 2008, I am advised, providing invaluable information for the future management of water on Eyre Peninsula.

The Natural Resources Committee made a total of 12 recommendations in its report into the Eyre Peninsula water supply. A number of the committee's recommendations are already being progressed by the state government and, as a result, three recommendations have been supported and another three are partially supported by the government. The committee's report assigned equal weight to anecdotal evidence received from the community to that of peer-reviewed scientific research, and I do not believe that is a very good basis for decision-making.

The state government has invested significantly in the science and monitoring of water resources on Eyre Peninsula in recent years, and I am advised that the level of effort in this region exceeds that in most other areas of the state. It is important that the government continues to exercise a cost-effective approach to regulation across South Australia to minimise red tape impacts on regional businesses and communities. The NRM board will continue to work with relevant government agencies to support efficient regulatory practice for natural resources management in the region.