ELECTRICITY (WIND POWER) AMENDMENT BILL

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 24 June 2010.)

Mr GRIFFITHS (Goyder) (10:59): I wish to support the member for Finniss in the introduction of this bill, and I know that it has been an issue, particularly in his electorate. There is a very innovative fellow there, I think, who has designed some amazing bit of technology that is not large in size but seems to manage to capture wind very efficiently and generate electricity.

There is no doubt that, in these challenging times, there are a lot more people in the community who want to make sure that they become more self-sufficient. They are prepared to invest in that, but they have an expectation of a bit of a return on the excess electricity they are able to generate and the compensation they receive from the electricity suppliers. The member for Finniss has obviously identified an issue that is quite important in his electorate, and it is certainly very important to a lot of other people who live in regional areas, too, who might be challenged when it comes to electricity supply.

The member for Finniss has put his case very strongly to the party room on this, and I know his hope is that the Rann Labor government actually decides to support this bill. As we understand it, there are no negatives attached to this; it is a positive move and one that the community at large want to see. It is going to allow for additional investment to occur on innovative solutions to electricity supply and ensure that those people who invest—quite often quite large sums—on this level of infrastructure have an ability to get a reasonable rate of return on the surplus electricity that has been generated.

I know that the bill is relatively short, but it targets a specific area that needs to be addressed. The parliament has a responsibility to ensure that it considers this matter very carefully. I know that the opposition supports the bill very strongly and I would hope that, in any consideration the government has on this bill, they come out quite strongly, support it and recognise the bipartisan nature in which the member for Finniss has proposed it. He has targeted an issue that we think that the community—as it goes forward and more people want to invest in this level of infrastructure—are turned off a little bit when it comes to the consideration of what level of return they are going to get.

We know that grants exist to assist in some of the photovoltaic cells that are being introduced onto people's homes. I am not sure if this technology is different from wind capture, but it allows innovation to occur—and that is what our economy should be based around. I think all would acknowledge that some of the traditional areas of our economy are struggling. We need to ensure that we provide an impetus and an opportunity for the innovative examples in our economy and the technology that exist in our state to move forward. This bill will only support that, so I hope that it has the support of the government, that the minister responsible and the Premier come out very strongly in support of it and that it has a swift passage through the house.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mr Sibbons.