Member for Flinders Sam Telfer MP has called on the State Labor Government to address the concerns of Eyre Peninsula residents about the Government’s preferred desalination plant location of Billy Lights Point by holding a public meeting with officials from the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI).
Mr Telfer said he has written to the Minister for Water, Susan Close, and the Minister for Primary Industries, Clare Scriven, requesting that SARDI officials present their report and recommendations to explain to those people who have the most interest in the subject, the people of Port Lincoln and the Eyre Peninsula.
“There is still much scepticism and significant concern within our community about the reasons behind the decision, and I believe a transparent, robust, and thorough public forum on the science, reports, and modelling must be held to address these concerns,” Mr Telfer said.
“Minister Close, in her public comments, has said that the South Australian Research and Development Institute report into the environmental impacts of Billy Lights Point found it can be built without negatively impacting the local marine environment.
“If this is the case, then that information should be shared through SARDI officials attending an open community forum and explaining to residents how the science proves a desalination plant at Billy Light’s Point is safe for the local aquaculture industry and marine environment.”
Mr Telfer said that, as the local state member of parliament, he was happy to facilitate such a public meeting to ensure the voices of the local community were heard.
“It is my role to represent the views and concerns of the people of my electorate, and few matters have raised as many questions as the desalination plant,” Mr Telfer said.
“The Site Selection Committee made a recommendation of a location at Sleaford West, yet that perspective has been rejected by SA Water and the Minister, and it is only fair that SARDI present to our community the scientific reasoning behind that.
“Port Lincoln is widely known as ‘The Seafood Capital’, due to the outstanding quality and sustainability of our local produce, and the Minister and SARDI need to address our community concerns about the risks to these industries which contribute so much to our State’s economy.”