16 October 2017
Business SA welcomes the South Australian Government’s decision to allow irrigators to access additional water allocations in dry years, with the support of SA Water.
The South Australian Government has announced the state’s irrigators will be able to access an additional 50 gigalitres of water in dry years to unnecessarily avoid the need to reduce allocations from the Murray River.
With the potential for increased use of water from the Adelaide Desalination Plant to meet demands, the State Government has confirmed that no additional costs will be passed on to SA Water customers, including businesses.
Business SA Senior Policy Adviser Andrew McKenna said last financial year, South Australian growers exported $825 million worth of fruit and vegetables, a substantial 46 per cent increase on 2016.
“As the demand for South Australia’s key horticulture crops, including citrus and almonds, has grown steadily in recent years, the need to ensure the viability of these crops during dry times has become more apparent,” Mr McKenna said.
“This additional water allocation will help all South Australian growers reliant on the Murray River and underlies the importance of water security for the state’s horticultural industries.
“As the state’s peak business lobby group, we are also mindful of how SA Water’s prices impact on all businesses, including the considerable increases which have occurred since the desalination plant was built.”
Mr McKenna said Business SA had been lobbying for a cost-benefit analysis based on the use of the desalination plant to support irrigators, which was delivered in July, 2016.
“While that report found the high operational costs of using desalinated water would limit the ability to deliver water at an affordable price for irrigation, the South Australian Government has adjusted the entire Murray River allocation structure to ensure SA Water can still meet irrigators’ needs while not passing additional costs on to customers,” he said.
“It will be important from the next water allocation year for the South Australian Government to be transparent as to any additional cost of this policy decision to all taxpayers, including businesses.”