Fracking

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart) (15:05): My question is to the Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy. Does the minister agree with the unanimous finding of the parliament's Natural Resources Committee that a social licence to extract gas by fracking in the South-East of our state does not exist and that, without it, unconventional gas exploration development should not occur?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy) (15:05): There are two parts to that. The first part is, yes, I do agree that there is not a social licence. You can't have a social licence without bipartisan support. The truth is that at the last state election the opposition ran a very good campaign to use the oil and gas industry to attempt to stop Independents from winning seats. They are the ones who instigated this inquiry. In fact, this inquiry—

Mr van Holst Pellekaan interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Stuart is warned.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —was only supported in the upper house with the support of the Greens. The only way the Liberal Party could get this inquiry up was via the support of the Greens. So, yes, I agree that there is no social licence while the Liberal Party have an opposition to oil and gas exploration. Until they enter the 21^st century and actually speak truth to the communities they represent about the benefits of oil and gas mining, and the benefits of mining, and until we stop the infiltration of Lock the Gate into the Liberal Party, there will never be a social licence in the South-East. If we only had some leadership from the opposition, we might get bipartisan support.

Mr PENGILLY: Point of order, sir: I believe the Treasurer is debating the issue.

The SPEAKER: Yes, I uphold the point of order.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Thank you for your impartial ruling, sir.

The SPEAKER: Don't mention it.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: But, sir, I don't believe you can have a social licence, much like with the nuclear debate, without there being bipartisan consent. In fact, I have to say that for a long time in this state there was bipartisan support for this industry. In the development of the Cooper Basin and the development of unconventional gas and fracturing, which we have been doing in this state since 1968 I think, there has been long-term bipartisan support. I know that there are members in this house who are unhappy with some policies espoused by the shadow minister about unconventional gas, but that is by the bye.

Until we can recover that position and actually have an opposition that is forward thinking about these issues, it will be very difficult to gain the support of those local communities. Let's face it: those communities are, by and large, very conservative. Those communities are obviously having a very large problem about engaging with the impact of oil and gas exploration and mining alongside productive agricultural land. There are those members in this parliament who would like to see there be an either-or situation; that is, you either farm it or you mine it, but you can't do both. We don't accept that policy. We think there can be multiple land-use frameworks, on this side of the house.

I thank the Chair and the members who did the work on this committee. I know that they are people of goodwill, and I do accept that there is no social licence. Does that mean we should just stop? No, because there are industries that are reliant on oil and gas in this state that require us to continue exploring for oil and gas. I also point out to members opposite that if we are to truly unlock the puzzle of lowering electricity prices in the wake of their appalling privatisation of our assets, the only way we are going to do that is by having a liquid oil and gas market in this state where gas prices are competitive. The only way we are going to do that is with more exploration and mining.

We can take the point of view of the Lock the Gate brigade, and there are many in this chamber who support that Lock the Gate brigade, which would see vast tracts of very productive oil and gas reserves locked up forever. I know that it is a very difficult issue for some members opposite. I accept that. I don't have to live in a community where there are very entrenched farming interests, long-term families who have had generational connections with their land, seeing people come onto their land to try and explore. I can only imagine the impact that would have on families, but what we need to do is come up with a framework that makes every individual in this scenario a winner.