❓ Mr Logan questions the high cost of the Karratha desalination plant compared to other similar projects, while Dr Jacobs defends the project, citing the need for potable water in the Pilbara and the unique challenges of the region.
AnsweredQoN 691Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
KARRATHA DESALINATION PLANT — COST
I refer to the recent announcement of the decision to expend $370 million to build a six billion–litre desalination plant in Karratha. (1) The Kwinana desalination plant cost $340 million for 45 gigalitres of water, the Binningup desalination plant is $1 billion for 45 gigalitres of water and CITIC Pacific is paying less than $500 million for nearly 50 gigalitres of water from a desalination plant at Cape Preston, so why are taxpayers paying so much for the Karratha plant? (2) Will the cost of this plant be borne by water customers in the north west or will the $370 million be absorbed into the Water Corporation balance sheet, leading to higher water prices for all Western Australians? (3) Given the Minister for Energy refused to answer a question without notice yesterday, and instead referred to the Minister for Water as the relevant minister, is the minister able to obtain the anticipated energy requirement for this desalination plant? Dr G.G. JACOBS
I refer to the recent announcement of the decision to expend $370 million to build a six billion–litre desalination plant in Karratha. (1) The Kwinana desalination plant cost $340 million for 45 gigalitres of water, the Binningup desalination plant is $1 billion for 45 gigalitres of water and CITIC Pacific is paying less than $500 million for nearly 50 gigalitres of water from a desalination plant at Cape Preston, so why are taxpayers paying so much for the Karratha plant? (2) Will the cost of this plant be borne by water customers in the north west or will the $370 million be absorbed into the Water Corporation balance sheet, leading to higher water prices for all Western Australians? (3) Given the Minister for Energy refused to answer a question without notice yesterday, and instead referred to the Minister for Water as the relevant minister, is the minister able to obtain the anticipated energy requirement for this desalination plant? Dr G.G. JACOBS
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Cockburn for his question. No doubt he supports the concept of providing water for the community in the Pilbara to support all the good things that the Minister for Regional Development talks about in promoting development in the Pilbara. (1)–(3) I have to say that the cabinet made a responsible decision. Aside from all the potential options in the Pilbara, one of the important core businesses for state government is to provide potable water for communities, semi-commercial and commercial developments in the region. Therefore, I hope that the member for Cockburn supports the concept of supplying water to promote development into the Pilbara. The implication is, in fact, that this is not value for money. I would suggest to the member that he actually talks to CITIC Pacific. We have canvassed all the options—the CITIC Pacific option, the Rio Tinto Bungaroo development of the bore field, Fortescue Metals Group’s development of Solomon, the potential for expanding Millstream and Harding Dam—and what we came to is that — Mr E.S. Ripper : Will you release the analysis so that we can see that analysis? Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan — Mr E.S. Ripper : He won’t release it! The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan for water for the Pilbara was basically between cyclones. That was its plan for the Pilbara. If the member for Cockburn does his homework and looks at all those options that we looked at and if he talks to CITIC Pacific about its 50-gigalitre plant and drill down and not glaze over it like most of the stuff that he does, he will find out that the water from CITIC Pacific’s desalination plant is not potable water. When we ask it what we have to do to make this water potable, it says that it has reverse osmosis plants on the mining site, which is 25 kilometres inland. Mr F.M. Logan : If it’s not potable, why did you go to them and ask them for water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I warn the member for Cockburn to compare apples with apples. If he does not compare apples with apples, he will get the wrong answer, as he always does. He always gets the wrong answer because he does not do his homework. Added to that are all the issues relating to the transport of water. The transport of water is very expensive, being a tonne a kilolitre, as the engineers on this side of Parliament would know. If we want to talk about CITIC Pacific, we should look at the water that comes out of its desalination plant. It is not potable. If we talk about the fact that it is 80 kilometres from the city of Karratha, we have issues with the pipeline and the cost of transport. If the member for Cockburn had done his homework, he would have found out that the cost of transporting that water—the infrastructure costs for a pipeline—is upwards of $1 million a kilometre. Mr F.M. Logan : Why does the plant cost $370 million for six billion litres of water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will get to that. The cost of infrastructure in that region is also increased because of the distances and the costs of building structures in the Pilbara. Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
(1) The Kwinana desalination plant cost $340 million for 45 gigalitres of water, the Binningup desalination plant is $1 billion for 45 gigalitres of water and CITIC Pacific is paying less than $500 million for nearly 50 gigalitres of water from a desalination plant at Cape Preston, so why are taxpayers paying so much for the Karratha plant? (2) Will the cost of this plant be borne by water customers in the north west or will the $370 million be absorbed into the Water Corporation balance sheet, leading to higher water prices for all Western Australians? (3) Given the Minister for Energy refused to answer a question without notice yesterday, and instead referred to the Minister for Water as the relevant minister, is the minister able to obtain the anticipated energy requirement for this desalination plant? Dr G.G. JACOBS replied: I thank the member for Cockburn for his question. No doubt he supports the concept of providing water for the community in the Pilbara to support all the good things that the Minister for Regional Development talks about in promoting development in the Pilbara. (1)–(3) I have to say that the cabinet made a responsible decision. Aside from all the potential options in the Pilbara, one of the important core businesses for state government is to provide potable water for communities, semi-commercial and commercial developments in the region. Therefore, I hope that the member for Cockburn supports the concept of supplying water to promote development into the Pilbara. The implication is, in fact, that this is not value for money. I would suggest to the member that he actually talks to CITIC Pacific. We have canvassed all the options—the CITIC Pacific option, the Rio Tinto Bungaroo development of the bore field, Fortescue Metals Group’s development of Solomon, the potential for expanding Millstream and Harding Dam—and what we came to is that — Mr E.S. Ripper : Will you release the analysis so that we can see that analysis? Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan — Mr E.S. Ripper : He won’t release it! The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan for water for the Pilbara was basically between cyclones. That was its plan for the Pilbara. If the member for Cockburn does his homework and looks at all those options that we looked at and if he talks to CITIC Pacific about its 50-gigalitre plant and drill down and not glaze over it like most of the stuff that he does, he will find out that the water from CITIC Pacific’s desalination plant is not potable water. When we ask it what we have to do to make this water potable, it says that it has reverse osmosis plants on the mining site, which is 25 kilometres inland. Mr F.M. Logan : If it’s not potable, why did you go to them and ask them for water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I warn the member for Cockburn to compare apples with apples. If he does not compare apples with apples, he will get the wrong answer, as he always does. He always gets the wrong answer because he does not do his homework. Added to that are all the issues relating to the transport of water. The transport of water is very expensive, being a tonne a kilolitre, as the engineers on this side of Parliament would know. If we want to talk about CITIC Pacific, we should look at the water that comes out of its desalination plant. It is not potable. If we talk about the fact that it is 80 kilometres from the city of Karratha, we have issues with the pipeline and the cost of transport. If the member for Cockburn had done his homework, he would have found out that the cost of transporting that water—the infrastructure costs for a pipeline—is upwards of $1 million a kilometre. Mr F.M. Logan : Why does the plant cost $370 million for six billion litres of water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will get to that. The cost of infrastructure in that region is also increased because of the distances and the costs of building structures in the Pilbara. Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
(2) Will the cost of this plant be borne by water customers in the north west or will the $370 million be absorbed into the Water Corporation balance sheet, leading to higher water prices for all Western Australians? (3) Given the Minister for Energy refused to answer a question without notice yesterday, and instead referred to the Minister for Water as the relevant minister, is the minister able to obtain the anticipated energy requirement for this desalination plant? Dr G.G. JACOBS replied: I thank the member for Cockburn for his question. No doubt he supports the concept of providing water for the community in the Pilbara to support all the good things that the Minister for Regional Development talks about in promoting development in the Pilbara. (1)–(3) I have to say that the cabinet made a responsible decision. Aside from all the potential options in the Pilbara, one of the important core businesses for state government is to provide potable water for communities, semi-commercial and commercial developments in the region. Therefore, I hope that the member for Cockburn supports the concept of supplying water to promote development into the Pilbara. The implication is, in fact, that this is not value for money. I would suggest to the member that he actually talks to CITIC Pacific. We have canvassed all the options—the CITIC Pacific option, the Rio Tinto Bungaroo development of the bore field, Fortescue Metals Group’s development of Solomon, the potential for expanding Millstream and Harding Dam—and what we came to is that — Mr E.S. Ripper : Will you release the analysis so that we can see that analysis? Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan — Mr E.S. Ripper : He won’t release it! The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan for water for the Pilbara was basically between cyclones. That was its plan for the Pilbara. If the member for Cockburn does his homework and looks at all those options that we looked at and if he talks to CITIC Pacific about its 50-gigalitre plant and drill down and not glaze over it like most of the stuff that he does, he will find out that the water from CITIC Pacific’s desalination plant is not potable water. When we ask it what we have to do to make this water potable, it says that it has reverse osmosis plants on the mining site, which is 25 kilometres inland. Mr F.M. Logan : If it’s not potable, why did you go to them and ask them for water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I warn the member for Cockburn to compare apples with apples. If he does not compare apples with apples, he will get the wrong answer, as he always does. He always gets the wrong answer because he does not do his homework. Added to that are all the issues relating to the transport of water. The transport of water is very expensive, being a tonne a kilolitre, as the engineers on this side of Parliament would know. If we want to talk about CITIC Pacific, we should look at the water that comes out of its desalination plant. It is not potable. If we talk about the fact that it is 80 kilometres from the city of Karratha, we have issues with the pipeline and the cost of transport. If the member for Cockburn had done his homework, he would have found out that the cost of transporting that water—the infrastructure costs for a pipeline—is upwards of $1 million a kilometre. Mr F.M. Logan : Why does the plant cost $370 million for six billion litres of water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will get to that. The cost of infrastructure in that region is also increased because of the distances and the costs of building structures in the Pilbara. Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
(3) Given the Minister for Energy refused to answer a question without notice yesterday, and instead referred to the Minister for Water as the relevant minister, is the minister able to obtain the anticipated energy requirement for this desalination plant? Dr G.G. JACOBS replied: I thank the member for Cockburn for his question. No doubt he supports the concept of providing water for the community in the Pilbara to support all the good things that the Minister for Regional Development talks about in promoting development in the Pilbara. (1)–(3) I have to say that the cabinet made a responsible decision. Aside from all the potential options in the Pilbara, one of the important core businesses for state government is to provide potable water for communities, semi-commercial and commercial developments in the region. Therefore, I hope that the member for Cockburn supports the concept of supplying water to promote development into the Pilbara. The implication is, in fact, that this is not value for money. I would suggest to the member that he actually talks to CITIC Pacific. We have canvassed all the options—the CITIC Pacific option, the Rio Tinto Bungaroo development of the bore field, Fortescue Metals Group’s development of Solomon, the potential for expanding Millstream and Harding Dam—and what we came to is that — Mr E.S. Ripper : Will you release the analysis so that we can see that analysis? Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan — Mr E.S. Ripper : He won’t release it! The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan for water for the Pilbara was basically between cyclones. That was its plan for the Pilbara. If the member for Cockburn does his homework and looks at all those options that we looked at and if he talks to CITIC Pacific about its 50-gigalitre plant and drill down and not glaze over it like most of the stuff that he does, he will find out that the water from CITIC Pacific’s desalination plant is not potable water. When we ask it what we have to do to make this water potable, it says that it has reverse osmosis plants on the mining site, which is 25 kilometres inland. Mr F.M. Logan : If it’s not potable, why did you go to them and ask them for water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I warn the member for Cockburn to compare apples with apples. If he does not compare apples with apples, he will get the wrong answer, as he always does. He always gets the wrong answer because he does not do his homework. Added to that are all the issues relating to the transport of water. The transport of water is very expensive, being a tonne a kilolitre, as the engineers on this side of Parliament would know. If we want to talk about CITIC Pacific, we should look at the water that comes out of its desalination plant. It is not potable. If we talk about the fact that it is 80 kilometres from the city of Karratha, we have issues with the pipeline and the cost of transport. If the member for Cockburn had done his homework, he would have found out that the cost of transporting that water—the infrastructure costs for a pipeline—is upwards of $1 million a kilometre. Mr F.M. Logan : Why does the plant cost $370 million for six billion litres of water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will get to that. The cost of infrastructure in that region is also increased because of the distances and the costs of building structures in the Pilbara. Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Dr G.G. JACOBS replied: I thank the member for Cockburn for his question. No doubt he supports the concept of providing water for the community in the Pilbara to support all the good things that the Minister for Regional Development talks about in promoting development in the Pilbara. (1)–(3) I have to say that the cabinet made a responsible decision. Aside from all the potential options in the Pilbara, one of the important core businesses for state government is to provide potable water for communities, semi-commercial and commercial developments in the region. Therefore, I hope that the member for Cockburn supports the concept of supplying water to promote development into the Pilbara. The implication is, in fact, that this is not value for money. I would suggest to the member that he actually talks to CITIC Pacific. We have canvassed all the options—the CITIC Pacific option, the Rio Tinto Bungaroo development of the bore field, Fortescue Metals Group’s development of Solomon, the potential for expanding Millstream and Harding Dam—and what we came to is that — Mr E.S. Ripper : Will you release the analysis so that we can see that analysis? Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan — Mr E.S. Ripper : He won’t release it! The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan for water for the Pilbara was basically between cyclones. That was its plan for the Pilbara. If the member for Cockburn does his homework and looks at all those options that we looked at and if he talks to CITIC Pacific about its 50-gigalitre plant and drill down and not glaze over it like most of the stuff that he does, he will find out that the water from CITIC Pacific’s desalination plant is not potable water. When we ask it what we have to do to make this water potable, it says that it has reverse osmosis plants on the mining site, which is 25 kilometres inland. Mr F.M. Logan : If it’s not potable, why did you go to them and ask them for water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I warn the member for Cockburn to compare apples with apples. If he does not compare apples with apples, he will get the wrong answer, as he always does. He always gets the wrong answer because he does not do his homework. Added to that are all the issues relating to the transport of water. The transport of water is very expensive, being a tonne a kilolitre, as the engineers on this side of Parliament would know. If we want to talk about CITIC Pacific, we should look at the water that comes out of its desalination plant. It is not potable. If we talk about the fact that it is 80 kilometres from the city of Karratha, we have issues with the pipeline and the cost of transport. If the member for Cockburn had done his homework, he would have found out that the cost of transporting that water—the infrastructure costs for a pipeline—is upwards of $1 million a kilometre. Mr F.M. Logan : Why does the plant cost $370 million for six billion litres of water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will get to that. The cost of infrastructure in that region is also increased because of the distances and the costs of building structures in the Pilbara. Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
I thank the member for Cockburn for his question. No doubt he supports the concept of providing water for the community in the Pilbara to support all the good things that the Minister for Regional Development talks about in promoting development in the Pilbara. (1)–(3) I have to say that the cabinet made a responsible decision. Aside from all the potential options in the Pilbara, one of the important core businesses for state government is to provide potable water for communities, semi-commercial and commercial developments in the region. Therefore, I hope that the member for Cockburn supports the concept of supplying water to promote development into the Pilbara. The implication is, in fact, that this is not value for money. I would suggest to the member that he actually talks to CITIC Pacific. We have canvassed all the options—the CITIC Pacific option, the Rio Tinto Bungaroo development of the bore field, Fortescue Metals Group’s development of Solomon, the potential for expanding Millstream and Harding Dam—and what we came to is that — Mr E.S. Ripper : Will you release the analysis so that we can see that analysis? Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan — Mr E.S. Ripper : He won’t release it! The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan for water for the Pilbara was basically between cyclones. That was its plan for the Pilbara. If the member for Cockburn does his homework and looks at all those options that we looked at and if he talks to CITIC Pacific about its 50-gigalitre plant and drill down and not glaze over it like most of the stuff that he does, he will find out that the water from CITIC Pacific’s desalination plant is not potable water. When we ask it what we have to do to make this water potable, it says that it has reverse osmosis plants on the mining site, which is 25 kilometres inland. Mr F.M. Logan : If it’s not potable, why did you go to them and ask them for water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I warn the member for Cockburn to compare apples with apples. If he does not compare apples with apples, he will get the wrong answer, as he always does. He always gets the wrong answer because he does not do his homework. Added to that are all the issues relating to the transport of water. The transport of water is very expensive, being a tonne a kilolitre, as the engineers on this side of Parliament would know. If we want to talk about CITIC Pacific, we should look at the water that comes out of its desalination plant. It is not potable. If we talk about the fact that it is 80 kilometres from the city of Karratha, we have issues with the pipeline and the cost of transport. If the member for Cockburn had done his homework, he would have found out that the cost of transporting that water—the infrastructure costs for a pipeline—is upwards of $1 million a kilometre. Mr F.M. Logan : Why does the plant cost $370 million for six billion litres of water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will get to that. The cost of infrastructure in that region is also increased because of the distances and the costs of building structures in the Pilbara. Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
(1)–(3) I have to say that the cabinet made a responsible decision. Aside from all the potential options in the Pilbara, one of the important core businesses for state government is to provide potable water for communities, semi-commercial and commercial developments in the region. Therefore, I hope that the member for Cockburn supports the concept of supplying water to promote development into the Pilbara. The implication is, in fact, that this is not value for money. I would suggest to the member that he actually talks to CITIC Pacific. We have canvassed all the options—the CITIC Pacific option, the Rio Tinto Bungaroo development of the bore field, Fortescue Metals Group’s development of Solomon, the potential for expanding Millstream and Harding Dam—and what we came to is that — Mr E.S. Ripper : Will you release the analysis so that we can see that analysis? Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan — Mr E.S. Ripper : He won’t release it! The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan for water for the Pilbara was basically between cyclones. That was its plan for the Pilbara. If the member for Cockburn does his homework and looks at all those options that we looked at and if he talks to CITIC Pacific about its 50-gigalitre plant and drill down and not glaze over it like most of the stuff that he does, he will find out that the water from CITIC Pacific’s desalination plant is not potable water. When we ask it what we have to do to make this water potable, it says that it has reverse osmosis plants on the mining site, which is 25 kilometres inland. Mr F.M. Logan : If it’s not potable, why did you go to them and ask them for water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I warn the member for Cockburn to compare apples with apples. If he does not compare apples with apples, he will get the wrong answer, as he always does. He always gets the wrong answer because he does not do his homework. Added to that are all the issues relating to the transport of water. The transport of water is very expensive, being a tonne a kilolitre, as the engineers on this side of Parliament would know. If we want to talk about CITIC Pacific, we should look at the water that comes out of its desalination plant. It is not potable. If we talk about the fact that it is 80 kilometres from the city of Karratha, we have issues with the pipeline and the cost of transport. If the member for Cockburn had done his homework, he would have found out that the cost of transporting that water—the infrastructure costs for a pipeline—is upwards of $1 million a kilometre. Mr F.M. Logan : Why does the plant cost $370 million for six billion litres of water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will get to that. The cost of infrastructure in that region is also increased because of the distances and the costs of building structures in the Pilbara. Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan — Mr E.S. Ripper : He won’t release it! The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan for water for the Pilbara was basically between cyclones. That was its plan for the Pilbara. If the member for Cockburn does his homework and looks at all those options that we looked at and if he talks to CITIC Pacific about its 50-gigalitre plant and drill down and not glaze over it like most of the stuff that he does, he will find out that the water from CITIC Pacific’s desalination plant is not potable water. When we ask it what we have to do to make this water potable, it says that it has reverse osmosis plants on the mining site, which is 25 kilometres inland. Mr F.M. Logan : If it’s not potable, why did you go to them and ask them for water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I warn the member for Cockburn to compare apples with apples. If he does not compare apples with apples, he will get the wrong answer, as he always does. He always gets the wrong answer because he does not do his homework. Added to that are all the issues relating to the transport of water. The transport of water is very expensive, being a tonne a kilolitre, as the engineers on this side of Parliament would know. If we want to talk about CITIC Pacific, we should look at the water that comes out of its desalination plant. It is not potable. If we talk about the fact that it is 80 kilometres from the city of Karratha, we have issues with the pipeline and the cost of transport. If the member for Cockburn had done his homework, he would have found out that the cost of transporting that water—the infrastructure costs for a pipeline—is upwards of $1 million a kilometre. Mr F.M. Logan : Why does the plant cost $370 million for six billion litres of water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will get to that. The cost of infrastructure in that region is also increased because of the distances and the costs of building structures in the Pilbara. Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Mr E.S. Ripper : He won’t release it! The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan for water for the Pilbara was basically between cyclones. That was its plan for the Pilbara. If the member for Cockburn does his homework and looks at all those options that we looked at and if he talks to CITIC Pacific about its 50-gigalitre plant and drill down and not glaze over it like most of the stuff that he does, he will find out that the water from CITIC Pacific’s desalination plant is not potable water. When we ask it what we have to do to make this water potable, it says that it has reverse osmosis plants on the mining site, which is 25 kilometres inland. Mr F.M. Logan : If it’s not potable, why did you go to them and ask them for water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I warn the member for Cockburn to compare apples with apples. If he does not compare apples with apples, he will get the wrong answer, as he always does. He always gets the wrong answer because he does not do his homework. Added to that are all the issues relating to the transport of water. The transport of water is very expensive, being a tonne a kilolitre, as the engineers on this side of Parliament would know. If we want to talk about CITIC Pacific, we should look at the water that comes out of its desalination plant. It is not potable. If we talk about the fact that it is 80 kilometres from the city of Karratha, we have issues with the pipeline and the cost of transport. If the member for Cockburn had done his homework, he would have found out that the cost of transporting that water—the infrastructure costs for a pipeline—is upwards of $1 million a kilometre. Mr F.M. Logan : Why does the plant cost $370 million for six billion litres of water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will get to that. The cost of infrastructure in that region is also increased because of the distances and the costs of building structures in the Pilbara. Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan for water for the Pilbara was basically between cyclones. That was its plan for the Pilbara. If the member for Cockburn does his homework and looks at all those options that we looked at and if he talks to CITIC Pacific about its 50-gigalitre plant and drill down and not glaze over it like most of the stuff that he does, he will find out that the water from CITIC Pacific’s desalination plant is not potable water. When we ask it what we have to do to make this water potable, it says that it has reverse osmosis plants on the mining site, which is 25 kilometres inland. Mr F.M. Logan : If it’s not potable, why did you go to them and ask them for water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I warn the member for Cockburn to compare apples with apples. If he does not compare apples with apples, he will get the wrong answer, as he always does. He always gets the wrong answer because he does not do his homework. Added to that are all the issues relating to the transport of water. The transport of water is very expensive, being a tonne a kilolitre, as the engineers on this side of Parliament would know. If we want to talk about CITIC Pacific, we should look at the water that comes out of its desalination plant. It is not potable. If we talk about the fact that it is 80 kilometres from the city of Karratha, we have issues with the pipeline and the cost of transport. If the member for Cockburn had done his homework, he would have found out that the cost of transporting that water—the infrastructure costs for a pipeline—is upwards of $1 million a kilometre. Mr F.M. Logan : Why does the plant cost $370 million for six billion litres of water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will get to that. The cost of infrastructure in that region is also increased because of the distances and the costs of building structures in the Pilbara. Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan for water for the Pilbara was basically between cyclones. That was its plan for the Pilbara. If the member for Cockburn does his homework and looks at all those options that we looked at and if he talks to CITIC Pacific about its 50-gigalitre plant and drill down and not glaze over it like most of the stuff that he does, he will find out that the water from CITIC Pacific’s desalination plant is not potable water. When we ask it what we have to do to make this water potable, it says that it has reverse osmosis plants on the mining site, which is 25 kilometres inland. Mr F.M. Logan : If it’s not potable, why did you go to them and ask them for water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I warn the member for Cockburn to compare apples with apples. If he does not compare apples with apples, he will get the wrong answer, as he always does. He always gets the wrong answer because he does not do his homework. Added to that are all the issues relating to the transport of water. The transport of water is very expensive, being a tonne a kilolitre, as the engineers on this side of Parliament would know. If we want to talk about CITIC Pacific, we should look at the water that comes out of its desalination plant. It is not potable. If we talk about the fact that it is 80 kilometres from the city of Karratha, we have issues with the pipeline and the cost of transport. If the member for Cockburn had done his homework, he would have found out that the cost of transporting that water—the infrastructure costs for a pipeline—is upwards of $1 million a kilometre. Mr F.M. Logan : Why does the plant cost $370 million for six billion litres of water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will get to that. The cost of infrastructure in that region is also increased because of the distances and the costs of building structures in the Pilbara. Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Mr F.M. Logan : If it’s not potable, why did you go to them and ask them for water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I warn the member for Cockburn to compare apples with apples. If he does not compare apples with apples, he will get the wrong answer, as he always does. He always gets the wrong answer because he does not do his homework. Added to that are all the issues relating to the transport of water. The transport of water is very expensive, being a tonne a kilolitre, as the engineers on this side of Parliament would know. If we want to talk about CITIC Pacific, we should look at the water that comes out of its desalination plant. It is not potable. If we talk about the fact that it is 80 kilometres from the city of Karratha, we have issues with the pipeline and the cost of transport. If the member for Cockburn had done his homework, he would have found out that the cost of transporting that water—the infrastructure costs for a pipeline—is upwards of $1 million a kilometre. Mr F.M. Logan : Why does the plant cost $370 million for six billion litres of water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will get to that. The cost of infrastructure in that region is also increased because of the distances and the costs of building structures in the Pilbara. Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Dr G.G. JACOBS : I warn the member for Cockburn to compare apples with apples. If he does not compare apples with apples, he will get the wrong answer, as he always does. He always gets the wrong answer because he does not do his homework. Added to that are all the issues relating to the transport of water. The transport of water is very expensive, being a tonne a kilolitre, as the engineers on this side of Parliament would know. If we want to talk about CITIC Pacific, we should look at the water that comes out of its desalination plant. It is not potable. If we talk about the fact that it is 80 kilometres from the city of Karratha, we have issues with the pipeline and the cost of transport. If the member for Cockburn had done his homework, he would have found out that the cost of transporting that water—the infrastructure costs for a pipeline—is upwards of $1 million a kilometre. Mr F.M. Logan : Why does the plant cost $370 million for six billion litres of water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will get to that. The cost of infrastructure in that region is also increased because of the distances and the costs of building structures in the Pilbara. Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
If we want to talk about CITIC Pacific, we should look at the water that comes out of its desalination plant. It is not potable. If we talk about the fact that it is 80 kilometres from the city of Karratha, we have issues with the pipeline and the cost of transport. If the member for Cockburn had done his homework, he would have found out that the cost of transporting that water—the infrastructure costs for a pipeline—is upwards of $1 million a kilometre. Mr F.M. Logan : Why does the plant cost $370 million for six billion litres of water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will get to that. The cost of infrastructure in that region is also increased because of the distances and the costs of building structures in the Pilbara. Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Mr F.M. Logan : Why does the plant cost $370 million for six billion litres of water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will get to that. The cost of infrastructure in that region is also increased because of the distances and the costs of building structures in the Pilbara. Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will get to that. The cost of infrastructure in that region is also increased because of the distances and the costs of building structures in the Pilbara. Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
(1) The Kwinana desalination plant cost $340 million for 45 gigalitres of water, the Binningup desalination plant is $1 billion for 45 gigalitres of water and CITIC Pacific is paying less than $500 million for nearly 50 gigalitres of water from a desalination plant at Cape Preston, so why are taxpayers paying so much for the Karratha plant? (2) Will the cost of this plant be borne by water customers in the north west or will the $370 million be absorbed into the Water Corporation balance sheet, leading to higher water prices for all Western Australians? (3) Given the Minister for Energy refused to answer a question without notice yesterday, and instead referred to the Minister for Water as the relevant minister, is the minister able to obtain the anticipated energy requirement for this desalination plant? Dr G.G. JACOBS replied: I thank the member for Cockburn for his question. No doubt he supports the concept of providing water for the community in the Pilbara to support all the good things that the Minister for Regional Development talks about in promoting development in the Pilbara. (1)–(3) I have to say that the cabinet made a responsible decision. Aside from all the potential options in the Pilbara, one of the important core businesses for state government is to provide potable water for communities, semi-commercial and commercial developments in the region. Therefore, I hope that the member for Cockburn supports the concept of supplying water to promote development into the Pilbara. The implication is, in fact, that this is not value for money. I would suggest to the member that he actually talks to CITIC Pacific. We have canvassed all the options—the CITIC Pacific option, the Rio Tinto Bungaroo development of the bore field, Fortescue Metals Group’s development of Solomon, the potential for expanding Millstream and Harding Dam—and what we came to is that — Mr E.S. Ripper : Will you release the analysis so that we can see that analysis? Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan — Mr E.S. Ripper : He won’t release it! The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan for water for the Pilbara was basically between cyclones. That was its plan for the Pilbara. If the member for Cockburn does his homework and looks at all those options that we looked at and if he talks to CITIC Pacific about its 50-gigalitre plant and drill down and not glaze over it like most of the stuff that he does, he will find out that the water from CITIC Pacific’s desalination plant is not potable water. When we ask it what we have to do to make this water potable, it says that it has reverse osmosis plants on the mining site, which is 25 kilometres inland. Mr F.M. Logan : If it’s not potable, why did you go to them and ask them for water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I warn the member for Cockburn to compare apples with apples. If he does not compare apples with apples, he will get the wrong answer, as he always does. He always gets the wrong answer because he does not do his homework. Added to that are all the issues relating to the transport of water. The transport of water is very expensive, being a tonne a kilolitre, as the engineers on this side of Parliament would know. If we want to talk about CITIC Pacific, we should look at the water that comes out of its desalination plant. It is not potable. If we talk about the fact that it is 80 kilometres from the city of Karratha, we have issues with the pipeline and the cost of transport. If the member for Cockburn had done his homework, he would have found out that the cost of transporting that water—the infrastructure costs for a pipeline—is upwards of $1 million a kilometre. Mr F.M. Logan : Why does the plant cost $370 million for six billion litres of water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will get to that. The cost of infrastructure in that region is also increased because of the distances and the costs of building structures in the Pilbara. Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
(2) Will the cost of this plant be borne by water customers in the north west or will the $370 million be absorbed into the Water Corporation balance sheet, leading to higher water prices for all Western Australians? (3) Given the Minister for Energy refused to answer a question without notice yesterday, and instead referred to the Minister for Water as the relevant minister, is the minister able to obtain the anticipated energy requirement for this desalination plant? Dr G.G. JACOBS replied: I thank the member for Cockburn for his question. No doubt he supports the concept of providing water for the community in the Pilbara to support all the good things that the Minister for Regional Development talks about in promoting development in the Pilbara. (1)–(3) I have to say that the cabinet made a responsible decision. Aside from all the potential options in the Pilbara, one of the important core businesses for state government is to provide potable water for communities, semi-commercial and commercial developments in the region. Therefore, I hope that the member for Cockburn supports the concept of supplying water to promote development into the Pilbara. The implication is, in fact, that this is not value for money. I would suggest to the member that he actually talks to CITIC Pacific. We have canvassed all the options—the CITIC Pacific option, the Rio Tinto Bungaroo development of the bore field, Fortescue Metals Group’s development of Solomon, the potential for expanding Millstream and Harding Dam—and what we came to is that — Mr E.S. Ripper : Will you release the analysis so that we can see that analysis? Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan — Mr E.S. Ripper : He won’t release it! The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan for water for the Pilbara was basically between cyclones. That was its plan for the Pilbara. If the member for Cockburn does his homework and looks at all those options that we looked at and if he talks to CITIC Pacific about its 50-gigalitre plant and drill down and not glaze over it like most of the stuff that he does, he will find out that the water from CITIC Pacific’s desalination plant is not potable water. When we ask it what we have to do to make this water potable, it says that it has reverse osmosis plants on the mining site, which is 25 kilometres inland. Mr F.M. Logan : If it’s not potable, why did you go to them and ask them for water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I warn the member for Cockburn to compare apples with apples. If he does not compare apples with apples, he will get the wrong answer, as he always does. He always gets the wrong answer because he does not do his homework. Added to that are all the issues relating to the transport of water. The transport of water is very expensive, being a tonne a kilolitre, as the engineers on this side of Parliament would know. If we want to talk about CITIC Pacific, we should look at the water that comes out of its desalination plant. It is not potable. If we talk about the fact that it is 80 kilometres from the city of Karratha, we have issues with the pipeline and the cost of transport. If the member for Cockburn had done his homework, he would have found out that the cost of transporting that water—the infrastructure costs for a pipeline—is upwards of $1 million a kilometre. Mr F.M. Logan : Why does the plant cost $370 million for six billion litres of water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will get to that. The cost of infrastructure in that region is also increased because of the distances and the costs of building structures in the Pilbara. Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
(3) Given the Minister for Energy refused to answer a question without notice yesterday, and instead referred to the Minister for Water as the relevant minister, is the minister able to obtain the anticipated energy requirement for this desalination plant? Dr G.G. JACOBS replied: I thank the member for Cockburn for his question. No doubt he supports the concept of providing water for the community in the Pilbara to support all the good things that the Minister for Regional Development talks about in promoting development in the Pilbara. (1)–(3) I have to say that the cabinet made a responsible decision. Aside from all the potential options in the Pilbara, one of the important core businesses for state government is to provide potable water for communities, semi-commercial and commercial developments in the region. Therefore, I hope that the member for Cockburn supports the concept of supplying water to promote development into the Pilbara. The implication is, in fact, that this is not value for money. I would suggest to the member that he actually talks to CITIC Pacific. We have canvassed all the options—the CITIC Pacific option, the Rio Tinto Bungaroo development of the bore field, Fortescue Metals Group’s development of Solomon, the potential for expanding Millstream and Harding Dam—and what we came to is that — Mr E.S. Ripper : Will you release the analysis so that we can see that analysis? Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan — Mr E.S. Ripper : He won’t release it! The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan for water for the Pilbara was basically between cyclones. That was its plan for the Pilbara. If the member for Cockburn does his homework and looks at all those options that we looked at and if he talks to CITIC Pacific about its 50-gigalitre plant and drill down and not glaze over it like most of the stuff that he does, he will find out that the water from CITIC Pacific’s desalination plant is not potable water. When we ask it what we have to do to make this water potable, it says that it has reverse osmosis plants on the mining site, which is 25 kilometres inland. Mr F.M. Logan : If it’s not potable, why did you go to them and ask them for water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I warn the member for Cockburn to compare apples with apples. If he does not compare apples with apples, he will get the wrong answer, as he always does. He always gets the wrong answer because he does not do his homework. Added to that are all the issues relating to the transport of water. The transport of water is very expensive, being a tonne a kilolitre, as the engineers on this side of Parliament would know. If we want to talk about CITIC Pacific, we should look at the water that comes out of its desalination plant. It is not potable. If we talk about the fact that it is 80 kilometres from the city of Karratha, we have issues with the pipeline and the cost of transport. If the member for Cockburn had done his homework, he would have found out that the cost of transporting that water—the infrastructure costs for a pipeline—is upwards of $1 million a kilometre. Mr F.M. Logan : Why does the plant cost $370 million for six billion litres of water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will get to that. The cost of infrastructure in that region is also increased because of the distances and the costs of building structures in the Pilbara. Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Dr G.G. JACOBS replied: I thank the member for Cockburn for his question. No doubt he supports the concept of providing water for the community in the Pilbara to support all the good things that the Minister for Regional Development talks about in promoting development in the Pilbara. (1)–(3) I have to say that the cabinet made a responsible decision. Aside from all the potential options in the Pilbara, one of the important core businesses for state government is to provide potable water for communities, semi-commercial and commercial developments in the region. Therefore, I hope that the member for Cockburn supports the concept of supplying water to promote development into the Pilbara. The implication is, in fact, that this is not value for money. I would suggest to the member that he actually talks to CITIC Pacific. We have canvassed all the options—the CITIC Pacific option, the Rio Tinto Bungaroo development of the bore field, Fortescue Metals Group’s development of Solomon, the potential for expanding Millstream and Harding Dam—and what we came to is that — Mr E.S. Ripper : Will you release the analysis so that we can see that analysis? Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan — Mr E.S. Ripper : He won’t release it! The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan for water for the Pilbara was basically between cyclones. That was its plan for the Pilbara. If the member for Cockburn does his homework and looks at all those options that we looked at and if he talks to CITIC Pacific about its 50-gigalitre plant and drill down and not glaze over it like most of the stuff that he does, he will find out that the water from CITIC Pacific’s desalination plant is not potable water. When we ask it what we have to do to make this water potable, it says that it has reverse osmosis plants on the mining site, which is 25 kilometres inland. Mr F.M. Logan : If it’s not potable, why did you go to them and ask them for water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I warn the member for Cockburn to compare apples with apples. If he does not compare apples with apples, he will get the wrong answer, as he always does. He always gets the wrong answer because he does not do his homework. Added to that are all the issues relating to the transport of water. The transport of water is very expensive, being a tonne a kilolitre, as the engineers on this side of Parliament would know. If we want to talk about CITIC Pacific, we should look at the water that comes out of its desalination plant. It is not potable. If we talk about the fact that it is 80 kilometres from the city of Karratha, we have issues with the pipeline and the cost of transport. If the member for Cockburn had done his homework, he would have found out that the cost of transporting that water—the infrastructure costs for a pipeline—is upwards of $1 million a kilometre. Mr F.M. Logan : Why does the plant cost $370 million for six billion litres of water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will get to that. The cost of infrastructure in that region is also increased because of the distances and the costs of building structures in the Pilbara. Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
I thank the member for Cockburn for his question. No doubt he supports the concept of providing water for the community in the Pilbara to support all the good things that the Minister for Regional Development talks about in promoting development in the Pilbara. (1)–(3) I have to say that the cabinet made a responsible decision. Aside from all the potential options in the Pilbara, one of the important core businesses for state government is to provide potable water for communities, semi-commercial and commercial developments in the region. Therefore, I hope that the member for Cockburn supports the concept of supplying water to promote development into the Pilbara. The implication is, in fact, that this is not value for money. I would suggest to the member that he actually talks to CITIC Pacific. We have canvassed all the options—the CITIC Pacific option, the Rio Tinto Bungaroo development of the bore field, Fortescue Metals Group’s development of Solomon, the potential for expanding Millstream and Harding Dam—and what we came to is that — Mr E.S. Ripper : Will you release the analysis so that we can see that analysis? Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan — Mr E.S. Ripper : He won’t release it! The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan for water for the Pilbara was basically between cyclones. That was its plan for the Pilbara. If the member for Cockburn does his homework and looks at all those options that we looked at and if he talks to CITIC Pacific about its 50-gigalitre plant and drill down and not glaze over it like most of the stuff that he does, he will find out that the water from CITIC Pacific’s desalination plant is not potable water. When we ask it what we have to do to make this water potable, it says that it has reverse osmosis plants on the mining site, which is 25 kilometres inland. Mr F.M. Logan : If it’s not potable, why did you go to them and ask them for water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I warn the member for Cockburn to compare apples with apples. If he does not compare apples with apples, he will get the wrong answer, as he always does. He always gets the wrong answer because he does not do his homework. Added to that are all the issues relating to the transport of water. The transport of water is very expensive, being a tonne a kilolitre, as the engineers on this side of Parliament would know. If we want to talk about CITIC Pacific, we should look at the water that comes out of its desalination plant. It is not potable. If we talk about the fact that it is 80 kilometres from the city of Karratha, we have issues with the pipeline and the cost of transport. If the member for Cockburn had done his homework, he would have found out that the cost of transporting that water—the infrastructure costs for a pipeline—is upwards of $1 million a kilometre. Mr F.M. Logan : Why does the plant cost $370 million for six billion litres of water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will get to that. The cost of infrastructure in that region is also increased because of the distances and the costs of building structures in the Pilbara. Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
(1)–(3) I have to say that the cabinet made a responsible decision. Aside from all the potential options in the Pilbara, one of the important core businesses for state government is to provide potable water for communities, semi-commercial and commercial developments in the region. Therefore, I hope that the member for Cockburn supports the concept of supplying water to promote development into the Pilbara. The implication is, in fact, that this is not value for money. I would suggest to the member that he actually talks to CITIC Pacific. We have canvassed all the options—the CITIC Pacific option, the Rio Tinto Bungaroo development of the bore field, Fortescue Metals Group’s development of Solomon, the potential for expanding Millstream and Harding Dam—and what we came to is that — Mr E.S. Ripper : Will you release the analysis so that we can see that analysis? Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan — Mr E.S. Ripper : He won’t release it! The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan for water for the Pilbara was basically between cyclones. That was its plan for the Pilbara. If the member for Cockburn does his homework and looks at all those options that we looked at and if he talks to CITIC Pacific about its 50-gigalitre plant and drill down and not glaze over it like most of the stuff that he does, he will find out that the water from CITIC Pacific’s desalination plant is not potable water. When we ask it what we have to do to make this water potable, it says that it has reverse osmosis plants on the mining site, which is 25 kilometres inland. Mr F.M. Logan : If it’s not potable, why did you go to them and ask them for water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I warn the member for Cockburn to compare apples with apples. If he does not compare apples with apples, he will get the wrong answer, as he always does. He always gets the wrong answer because he does not do his homework. Added to that are all the issues relating to the transport of water. The transport of water is very expensive, being a tonne a kilolitre, as the engineers on this side of Parliament would know. If we want to talk about CITIC Pacific, we should look at the water that comes out of its desalination plant. It is not potable. If we talk about the fact that it is 80 kilometres from the city of Karratha, we have issues with the pipeline and the cost of transport. If the member for Cockburn had done his homework, he would have found out that the cost of transporting that water—the infrastructure costs for a pipeline—is upwards of $1 million a kilometre. Mr F.M. Logan : Why does the plant cost $370 million for six billion litres of water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will get to that. The cost of infrastructure in that region is also increased because of the distances and the costs of building structures in the Pilbara. Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan — Mr E.S. Ripper : He won’t release it! The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan for water for the Pilbara was basically between cyclones. That was its plan for the Pilbara. If the member for Cockburn does his homework and looks at all those options that we looked at and if he talks to CITIC Pacific about its 50-gigalitre plant and drill down and not glaze over it like most of the stuff that he does, he will find out that the water from CITIC Pacific’s desalination plant is not potable water. When we ask it what we have to do to make this water potable, it says that it has reverse osmosis plants on the mining site, which is 25 kilometres inland. Mr F.M. Logan : If it’s not potable, why did you go to them and ask them for water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I warn the member for Cockburn to compare apples with apples. If he does not compare apples with apples, he will get the wrong answer, as he always does. He always gets the wrong answer because he does not do his homework. Added to that are all the issues relating to the transport of water. The transport of water is very expensive, being a tonne a kilolitre, as the engineers on this side of Parliament would know. If we want to talk about CITIC Pacific, we should look at the water that comes out of its desalination plant. It is not potable. If we talk about the fact that it is 80 kilometres from the city of Karratha, we have issues with the pipeline and the cost of transport. If the member for Cockburn had done his homework, he would have found out that the cost of transporting that water—the infrastructure costs for a pipeline—is upwards of $1 million a kilometre. Mr F.M. Logan : Why does the plant cost $370 million for six billion litres of water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will get to that. The cost of infrastructure in that region is also increased because of the distances and the costs of building structures in the Pilbara. Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Mr E.S. Ripper : He won’t release it! The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan for water for the Pilbara was basically between cyclones. That was its plan for the Pilbara. If the member for Cockburn does his homework and looks at all those options that we looked at and if he talks to CITIC Pacific about its 50-gigalitre plant and drill down and not glaze over it like most of the stuff that he does, he will find out that the water from CITIC Pacific’s desalination plant is not potable water. When we ask it what we have to do to make this water potable, it says that it has reverse osmosis plants on the mining site, which is 25 kilometres inland. Mr F.M. Logan : If it’s not potable, why did you go to them and ask them for water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I warn the member for Cockburn to compare apples with apples. If he does not compare apples with apples, he will get the wrong answer, as he always does. He always gets the wrong answer because he does not do his homework. Added to that are all the issues relating to the transport of water. The transport of water is very expensive, being a tonne a kilolitre, as the engineers on this side of Parliament would know. If we want to talk about CITIC Pacific, we should look at the water that comes out of its desalination plant. It is not potable. If we talk about the fact that it is 80 kilometres from the city of Karratha, we have issues with the pipeline and the cost of transport. If the member for Cockburn had done his homework, he would have found out that the cost of transporting that water—the infrastructure costs for a pipeline—is upwards of $1 million a kilometre. Mr F.M. Logan : Why does the plant cost $370 million for six billion litres of water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will get to that. The cost of infrastructure in that region is also increased because of the distances and the costs of building structures in the Pilbara. Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan for water for the Pilbara was basically between cyclones. That was its plan for the Pilbara. If the member for Cockburn does his homework and looks at all those options that we looked at and if he talks to CITIC Pacific about its 50-gigalitre plant and drill down and not glaze over it like most of the stuff that he does, he will find out that the water from CITIC Pacific’s desalination plant is not potable water. When we ask it what we have to do to make this water potable, it says that it has reverse osmosis plants on the mining site, which is 25 kilometres inland. Mr F.M. Logan : If it’s not potable, why did you go to them and ask them for water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I warn the member for Cockburn to compare apples with apples. If he does not compare apples with apples, he will get the wrong answer, as he always does. He always gets the wrong answer because he does not do his homework. Added to that are all the issues relating to the transport of water. The transport of water is very expensive, being a tonne a kilolitre, as the engineers on this side of Parliament would know. If we want to talk about CITIC Pacific, we should look at the water that comes out of its desalination plant. It is not potable. If we talk about the fact that it is 80 kilometres from the city of Karratha, we have issues with the pipeline and the cost of transport. If the member for Cockburn had done his homework, he would have found out that the cost of transporting that water—the infrastructure costs for a pipeline—is upwards of $1 million a kilometre. Mr F.M. Logan : Why does the plant cost $370 million for six billion litres of water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will get to that. The cost of infrastructure in that region is also increased because of the distances and the costs of building structures in the Pilbara. Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Dr G.G. JACOBS : The opposition’s plan for water for the Pilbara was basically between cyclones. That was its plan for the Pilbara. If the member for Cockburn does his homework and looks at all those options that we looked at and if he talks to CITIC Pacific about its 50-gigalitre plant and drill down and not glaze over it like most of the stuff that he does, he will find out that the water from CITIC Pacific’s desalination plant is not potable water. When we ask it what we have to do to make this water potable, it says that it has reverse osmosis plants on the mining site, which is 25 kilometres inland. Mr F.M. Logan : If it’s not potable, why did you go to them and ask them for water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I warn the member for Cockburn to compare apples with apples. If he does not compare apples with apples, he will get the wrong answer, as he always does. He always gets the wrong answer because he does not do his homework. Added to that are all the issues relating to the transport of water. The transport of water is very expensive, being a tonne a kilolitre, as the engineers on this side of Parliament would know. If we want to talk about CITIC Pacific, we should look at the water that comes out of its desalination plant. It is not potable. If we talk about the fact that it is 80 kilometres from the city of Karratha, we have issues with the pipeline and the cost of transport. If the member for Cockburn had done his homework, he would have found out that the cost of transporting that water—the infrastructure costs for a pipeline—is upwards of $1 million a kilometre. Mr F.M. Logan : Why does the plant cost $370 million for six billion litres of water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will get to that. The cost of infrastructure in that region is also increased because of the distances and the costs of building structures in the Pilbara. Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Mr F.M. Logan : If it’s not potable, why did you go to them and ask them for water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I warn the member for Cockburn to compare apples with apples. If he does not compare apples with apples, he will get the wrong answer, as he always does. He always gets the wrong answer because he does not do his homework. Added to that are all the issues relating to the transport of water. The transport of water is very expensive, being a tonne a kilolitre, as the engineers on this side of Parliament would know. If we want to talk about CITIC Pacific, we should look at the water that comes out of its desalination plant. It is not potable. If we talk about the fact that it is 80 kilometres from the city of Karratha, we have issues with the pipeline and the cost of transport. If the member for Cockburn had done his homework, he would have found out that the cost of transporting that water—the infrastructure costs for a pipeline—is upwards of $1 million a kilometre. Mr F.M. Logan : Why does the plant cost $370 million for six billion litres of water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will get to that. The cost of infrastructure in that region is also increased because of the distances and the costs of building structures in the Pilbara. Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Dr G.G. JACOBS : I warn the member for Cockburn to compare apples with apples. If he does not compare apples with apples, he will get the wrong answer, as he always does. He always gets the wrong answer because he does not do his homework. Added to that are all the issues relating to the transport of water. The transport of water is very expensive, being a tonne a kilolitre, as the engineers on this side of Parliament would know. If we want to talk about CITIC Pacific, we should look at the water that comes out of its desalination plant. It is not potable. If we talk about the fact that it is 80 kilometres from the city of Karratha, we have issues with the pipeline and the cost of transport. If the member for Cockburn had done his homework, he would have found out that the cost of transporting that water—the infrastructure costs for a pipeline—is upwards of $1 million a kilometre. Mr F.M. Logan : Why does the plant cost $370 million for six billion litres of water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will get to that. The cost of infrastructure in that region is also increased because of the distances and the costs of building structures in the Pilbara. Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
If we want to talk about CITIC Pacific, we should look at the water that comes out of its desalination plant. It is not potable. If we talk about the fact that it is 80 kilometres from the city of Karratha, we have issues with the pipeline and the cost of transport. If the member for Cockburn had done his homework, he would have found out that the cost of transporting that water—the infrastructure costs for a pipeline—is upwards of $1 million a kilometre. Mr F.M. Logan : Why does the plant cost $370 million for six billion litres of water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will get to that. The cost of infrastructure in that region is also increased because of the distances and the costs of building structures in the Pilbara. Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Mr F.M. Logan : Why does the plant cost $370 million for six billion litres of water? Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will get to that. The cost of infrastructure in that region is also increased because of the distances and the costs of building structures in the Pilbara. Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will get to that. The cost of infrastructure in that region is also increased because of the distances and the costs of building structures in the Pilbara. Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Mr F.M. Logan : What a load of rubbish! The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Dr G.G. JACOBS : If the member does not compare apples with apples, he will always get the wrong answer. Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Mr F.M. Logan : Is one billion litres of water — The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, if you want to ask a supplementary question, I will give you that opportunity. At the moment I request that you stop interjecting and enable the minister to answer the question. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Dr G.G. JACOBS : I have heard the shadow minister call for costings on the desalination proposal and how that will drive up the price of water. Essentially, under the government’s uniform pricing policy, households using an average amount of water in the state’s north—it is 500 kilolitres per year—pay uniform statewide rates. Water charges for these customers will not be impacted by the cost of the desalination plant. Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Several members interjected. Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Dr G.G. JACOBS : Members opposite should be quiet and listen to some of the detail. They do not do any work; they just carp on. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Mr A.P. O’Gorman : Sit down. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will when I finish this little bit. The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
The member for Cockburn has been carping on for months about how we will supply water for Karratha — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
The SPEAKER : Members to my left, if you want the member for Cockburn to ask a supplementary question, I am happy to give him the opportunity but some of you seem to be preventing that from happening. Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
Dr G.G. JACOBS : I will finish with this comment. The cost will predominantly be met through a community service obligation. Payment to the Water Corporation of an amount will cover both the operating and annualised capital cost.
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