Nick Xenophon (SA, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, Senator Canavan. I refer to the front-page report in the Adelaide Sunday Mail by Lauren Novak on 9 October that SA Water has commissioned a feasibility study into the development by a Spanish consortium to control 20 gigalitres of recycled water annually to develop greenhouses in the Virginia region north of Adelaide. This is double the 17 gigalitres currently used in the region by up to 3,000 local growers. Peak industry body AUSVEG SA and the Horticulture Coalition of SA have raised serious concerns that giving the water rights to a single consortium could lead to massive market distortions and job losses in that region. Given that the federal government is funding the SA government's feasibility study, can the minister advise whether the study will consider alternative models for the development of the use of the water, including giving local growers a chance to bid for the water by an open and transparent market mechanism?