Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and Urban Water) Share this | Hansard source

You do not have a South Australia connection, unfortunately. I know you would like one, Senator Bilyk. We have got a disproportionate South Australian connection in this chamber right now. The company I want to particularly mention is called Osmoflo, which is a gold industry sponsor of the centre of excellence. Osmoflo has committed $100,000 over five years to provide support for ongoing operation of the Desal Discovery Centre. Along with four other gold industry sponsors, Osmoflo will provide significant industrial and operational presence in the centre. These sponsors will also have opportunities to assist with and participate in research projects, help guide research direction through periodic review of the Australian Desalination Research Roadmap and most importantly advise the centre's board on issues relating to the development of industry capability. I understand the centre is particularly looking forward to working with Osmoflo to develop research projects that will benefit rural and regional Australia. One of the centre's goals is to encourage young professionals and researchers to enter and remain in the desalination industry as desalters. With support from the centre, Osmoflo principal process engineer Mr Hiep Le was selected as the world's emerging young desalination leader at the International Desalination Association World Congress in Perth last week.

I recently had the pleasure of visiting Osmoflo's plant at Burton in Adelaide's north-eastern suburbs, which you would get to if you were heading out to the Clare Valley. Osmoflo's chairman, Graham Dooley, and managing director, Marc Fabig, were kind enough to show me around the site. Marc co-founded the company with his wife, Annie, in 1991 and it now employs more than 220 people around Australia. Osmoflo is the largest Australian owned desalination and water-recycling company and the Australian market leader in reverse osmosis desalination technology. The company has delivered 320 plants here and overseas. It also has 128 long-term operation and maintenance agreements, which are delivering 70 megalitres of water per day. This expertise has led to involvement in nine overseas projects and the opening of offices in Dubai, India and Chile. At home, in our vast country, many of Osmoflo's projects are in remote locations, which is a particular focus of our National Centre of Excellence in Desalination. Osmoflo is a great example from my home state of the global opportunities that exist in the desalination industry.

I have spoken already about the opening of the Southern Seawater Desalination Plant south of Perth and the opening of the National Centre of Excellence in Desalination facilities at Rockingham. The third event I mentioned is the opening of the International Desalination Association World Congress in Perth. This conference drew together the desalination industry's greatest thinkers and achievers, from leading scientists and researchers to end users, suppliers and manufacturers. Water policy makers and businesses from around the world recognise the importance of this particular conference.