Dr JOHN KAYE: I direct my question to the Minister for Planning. I refer the Minister to the announcement that he and the Premier made on Sunday establishing an independent review panel to overview the development by the New South Wales Office of Water of a new plan to secure water supplies for the Lower Hunter. Will the Minister assure the House that the panel will genuinely reflect the views of the Hunter community, which overwhelmingly rejected the development of a desalination plant before all other lower-cost, less environmentally damaging projects have been fully exploited?

The Hon. TONY KELLY: This issue is not in my portfolio area; it is the responsibility of the Minister for Water, the Hon. Phil Costa. It will be his panel. However, members of the community who attended the media conference requested that they be represented on the panel and the Minister confirmed that, as is the case with the Sydney panel, the Hunter panel will include a community representative.