Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-12-03 Daily Xml

Contents

Water Pricing

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (14:32): By way of supplementary question, is the minister aware that the most recent ESCOSA report, in its appendix on consumer water pricing, stated that if we went to full supply charge, as they recommended, we would have nearly 90 per cent of SA Water residential customers paying more than $50 a year more? Is the minister aware?

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Minister, sit down please. This is just totally unacceptable.

The Hon. R.I. Lucas: You've lost control.

The PRESIDENT: No lost control.

The Hon. R.I. Lucas: You've lost control.

The PRESIDENT: No, it's rudeness from people like you, who have no regard for the standards of this chamber, that is the problem. The Hon. Mr Maher, that was a supplementary, is that right?

The Hon. K.J. Maher: Arising out of the original answer.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: On a point of order, how can it be a supplementary arising out of the original answer when he is giving us new material from the appendix of a report? It is not a supplementary.

The Hon. K.J. Maher interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Maher, just cool it down. Minister, if you want to answer it, you can answer it.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The minister has the floor.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (14:33): The Hon. Mr Maher is on top of things, as usual, unlike the Liberal Party. The other key point to make in this respect is that, if we followed some of the recommendations of ESCOSA, country rural regional customers of SA Water could be facing increases of up to 200 per cent in some regions. That is what this mob want—200 per cent on their water bills. That is what this mob opposite want to support with their hard ideological, economic-only approach to SA Water.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Wade, if I called every supplementary question that did not have new material or something outside the normal bounds, most of them would be put out of order. So there is a little bit of tolerance and a little bit of flexibility.