Port Augusta Power Stations

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:38): Given that the Treasurer has just outlined that the feasibility of coal-fired power stations has been on the cards for some extended period of time, I am wondering whether he can explain to the house what the government has been doing over the last three years to secure employment for the people of Port Augusta who work in that sector, and more particularly whether or not they will have opportunities in that region or whether they will have to move elsewhere?

The SPEAKER: Yes, this is a bit of a run-on question. Premier?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier) (14:39): Yes, a very similar question but it is worth reminding people of the economic plan that we have set out for South Australia which is all about growing jobs, not just in Port Augusta but across the whole of the South Australian economy. In particular, for Port Augusta we have strongly promoted the use of renewable energy and the use of new, innovative technologies to grow jobs. An important success story is Sundrop Farms, which uses solar technology to desalinate water and actually—

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: In fact it is 200 jobs, and we are in discussions with them to expand their—

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Yes, they have—

The SPEAKER: The leader will be quiet.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Mr Speaker, he asks what we have done to try to create jobs. We have a company that announces 300 jobs in the construction phase and 170 to 200, I think, in its operational phase, and he wants to know where these jobs are. The company has made the investment; they are building, as we speak, the expansion on the fringe of Port Augusta. These are precisely the sorts of jobs of the future that we are dedicated to providing, looking at technologies that actually accept that we are in a carbon-constrained world where we are not going to be able to use carbon-emission technologies that are polluting our atmosphere.

We need to use new forms of energy, and this is a company that has accepted the leadership role that the South Australian government has played. We have worked closely with Sundrop Farms, and it has been directly as a result of their efforts and of our partnership that Sundrop Farms have created this fantastic new enterprise—and they have ambitions to grow it. We will be a partner with them to see whether we can allow those ambitions to become a reality, because we now have a very significant imperative with the loss of jobs at the power station.

I have also taken a leadership role in relation to solar thermal. The Minister for Energy has been sent to witness these farms in the United States, and he has played a role in ensuring that we offer all the appropriate support we can to make sure that that technology is a success. We know there is a proponent who is actively proposing a solar thermal plant in the Port Augusta precinct. I don't want to raise expectations about the success of that project—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: It is a serious project with serious proponents, with whom we are working closely. Everyone else might be laughing, but the member for Port Augusta understands that it is a serious proposal and he is not joining in the laughter. What I do want to say is that there are—

Mr GARDNER: Point of order: I take offence at the idea that I have been laughing at this, and no other member in the chamber has, indeed, been laughing at it.

The SPEAKER: Premier, would you be seated for a moment? If the member for Heysen asks one more question out of order I will liberate her from question time. The member for Adelaide is in the same boat.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: We are working closely with the proponents to make that a reality, but while there may be many jobs in the construction phase—many hundreds of jobs in the construction phase of a solar thermal plant—the truth is that on a long-term basis its operation probably creates in the order of only about 35 jobs. While that is important, if we can gather together 35 jobs here and another 35 jobs there obviously we can start to bridge the gap between that and the jobs we have lost at the Port Augusta power station.

The truth is that all these efforts are directed at the very things we have set out in our economic plan, directed at the jobs of the future. While we can bemoan the jobs of the past which are in decline, we need to get on with the task and the challenge of creating and growing those jobs and sectors which have opportunities for the future. The food industry represents a massive opportunity for our state and, indeed, this region, with its massive amounts of sunshine, clean soil, clean air and clean water. This is an important economic opportunity for Port Augusta.