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

I recently spent several days in Perth where I attended three extremely important desalination events and met a few of Australia's top 'desalters'.

Senator Polley interjecting—

You should not laugh at that, Senator Polley, if you do not mind. The first of these events was the official opening of the Southern Seawater Desalination Plant at Binningup south of Perth. I opened the plant on Friday, 2 September, along with the Western Australian Minister for Water, Bill Marmion. It is the second desalination plant and there has been some criticism from certain elements around the country about recent investment in desalination plants. That has particularly been the case since the flooding rains experienced last summer by much of the eastern part of Australia. But for those in the east it is easy to forget the issues faced by those in the west. Western Australia and particularly the Perth region has suffered one of its most severe, prolonged droughts in written history. Despite recent rains, water storage levels and inflows into dams in the area remain significantly lower than historical averages. The argument that desalination plants are not needed falls on deaf ears in the west, as I am sure Senator Birmingham would be familiar with.

The experience in Western Australia should serve as a lesson to those in the rest of the country. As we plan for water security in a future with less predictable rainfall and as we work to address the challenges of climate change, desalination provides a source of water that is completely independent of rainfall. In our land of droughts and flooding rains, which Senator Williams is very familiar with, desalination plants provide an insurance policy against the next extended period of lower than average rainfall. They also ease the pressure on our catchments, river systems, waterways, ground water resources and their environments.

The Southern Seawater Desalination Plant will soon produce 50 gigalitres of water per year. I am sure Senator Edwards would love to see that in the Clare region. That will mean that more than 30 per cent of Western Australia's water supply will come from rainfall independent sources. The plant's production is already being expanded to 100 gigalitres a year, matching the water coming out of the South Australian desalination plant.

The Australian government's $18.4 million investment in the plant funded work including a second seawater intake tunnel, which I saw before it was opened. Our funding is assisting the expansion process to progress as efficiently and as cost effectively as possible. When the expansion is complete the proportion of the state's water supply that is independent of rainfall will increase to about 50 per cent.

The opening of this extremely important piece of water infrastructure was very timely because it came on the eve of two other important events. On Sunday, 4 September, I again joined the Western Australian minister to open the National Centre of Excellence in Desalination, a state-of-the-art research facility—matching and complementing the centre of excellence in your home state of Queensland, Mr Acting Deputy President Furner—and the Desal Discovery Centre at Murdoch University's Rockingham campus, which is in the heart of Gary Gray's electorate.

At that event I was pleased to announce $3.8 million in Australian government funding for 11 innovative, new desalination research projects across Australia. The outcomes of these world-leading Australian projects will stretch across the globe, creating a more sustainable desalination industry. The centre of excellence's new facility will enable projects to be scaled up towards full-scale commercial solutions. The Australian government's investment in desalination research is fostering the development of new ideas and solutions to problems. These inventions and innovations will be brought to life through the desalination industry. In Australia desalination is a growing industry and one in which there are many leading lights. One of those leading lights I am very proud to say—as I am sure Senators Birmingham and Edwards would agree—is a South Australian company called Osmoflo.

Alex Gallacher (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And Gallacher.

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

And Senator Gallacher, and of course Senator Williams, who also hails from South Australia.

Catryna Bilyk (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And Bilyk.

Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and Urban Water) Share this | Link to 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.