Senator CANAVAN (Queensland—Minister for Resources and Northern Australia) (14:26): I thank Senator Xenophon for his question and for his notification of this question. As I am sure the senator would know, and as the federal government believes, the northern Adelaide region is a premium horticultural area with great prospects. That is why the federal government is supporting a feasibility study into further water use in that region to help investigate what those options might be. The allocation of water in the Northern Adelaide Irrigation Area will of course be a matter for the South Australian government. However, we would expect this to be a comprehensive feasibility study that will investigate viable alternative options so that it can compare the cost of one option against another. I understand from the South Australian government that the proposal that has been put forward to us could generate hundreds of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in potential income per year. That is why it is right and proper to investigate this particular proposal. The federal government, under this fund, is looking for projects that will help improve water security, reliability and efficiency to ensure that we can take advantage of growing more food and employing more people in our agricultural area. The PRESIDENT: A point of order, Senator Xenophon? Senator Xenophon: It is a question of relevance. The question is: are alternative models for the development of the use of the water being considered by the feasibility study? We know that there is a feasibility study; we just want to know whether alternative models are being considered rather than this single overseas consortium. The PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator Xenophon. I remind the minister of the question. Senator CANAVAN: As I indicated, we would expect that to occur. The feasibility study is being conducted by the South Australian government. The details of what they are doing are a matter for the South Australian government. But the Australian government expects viable alternative options to be considered and that information will be provided on an informed choice about what options may be funded down the track—which is of course a separate decision from a feasibility study itself. The details of the feasibility study are a matter for the South Australian government. There does seem to be great promise in this work—and that is why we are funding it—but there is of course more work to do. The PRESIDENT: Senator Xenophon, a supplementary question.