De sal. is VERY expensive Israel can only afford it on the US dole.That's what the Australian government keeps saying whenever there's an immigration pressure to allow more people in to further develop their economy. Except they continue to promote immigration from the UK.
The fact is, Australia can invest in desalinization plants (it has one recently entered in service) and implement strict water conservation measures at the same time. Australia's agricultural sector includes rice, alfalfa and wheat, all high water consumption crops.