Electricity Prices

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:24): Supplementary: given that the Premier has indicated that he has a new plan on the table, can he tell us how much more this new plan will cost the taxpayers of South Australia over and above the support package that Alinta called for to keep the Northern power station operational?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy) (14:25): The thing about the Alinta power station, which the Leader of the Opposition romanticises, is that it wasn't a long-term solution for South Australia. The reason it wasn't a long-term solution for South Australia is that the private operators of that operation weren't making money. South Australians weren't buying Alinta contracts. I would like to see members table their electricity bills, so they can show us how many of them were with Alinta. I can tell you who was with Alinta: the South Australian government.

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Point of order: just a point of clarification. I am a customer of Alinta.

The SPEAKER: That's a very powerful point the member for Stuart makes. It is a bogus point of order, and he will leave the chamber for the rest of question time.

The honourable member for Stuart having withdrawn from the chamber:

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Unley is warned for the second and the final time.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Sir, I would also ask the member for Unley to withdraw his remark. He said I make things up in the parliament. I have never misled the parliament.

The SPEAKER: I am afraid I can't insist on a withdrawal because it is not of itself unparliamentary.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: In a media release by Alinta in June 2015 stating that the Leigh Creek mine would close, the then chief executive, Jeff Dimery, stated that the Flinders operation had become increasingly uneconomic. On 11 June, the chief executive stated:

Throughout the four and a half years that we have been running the business we have investigated all possibilities to find a viable economic solution for its continued operation.

There being a disturbance in the strangers' gallery:

The SPEAKER: Treasurer, would you be seated. Under no circumstances is there to be flash photography in the house. Could the attendant please remove the item that was used for flash photography. Treasurer.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: On 11 June, the chief executive stated:

Throughout the four and a half years that we have been running the business we have investigated all possibilities to find a viable economic solution for its continued operation. During this period the company has incurred operating losses in the vicinity of $100 million whilst at the same time investing an additional $200 million to extend the operating life of the Flinders business.

Flinders closed because it wasn't making money. It was an economic decision. If the opposition wanted to do a cost-benefit analysis of an intervention into a loss-making operation at Flinders, it makes no sense. The reason the coal-fired power generator wasn't making money is that it can't react to market signals the same way gas can. When it comes on, it has to stay on.

Mr Pederick: It's that thing called base load.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Well, if it's base load energy, why wasn't it on 12 months of the year? Could the opposition, instead of interjecting, give us a reason, if this was so important to the state's sovereignty, why they sold it? Why did they sell the mine? Why did they sell the generator? It's so important to the state's future, and they sold it. You have to ask yourself, Mr Speaker: if two companies could not run this thing successfully—

Ms CHAPMAN: Point of order, Mr Speaker: you do not have to answer any questions about what has been asked. We are asking the minister to answer a question about the difference in the cost, not rant about what questions you have to answer.

Mr Marshall: You shouldn't have to answer those questions, sir.

The SPEAKER: I will listen carefully to what the Treasurer has to say.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: The facts have a way of getting in the way of ramblings by members opposite. The truth is that any cost-benefit analysis done by the private sector in maintaining its operation found that it was wanting—let alone that eight other coal-fired power stations around the country have closed. This romantic view about Port Augusta—

Mr Marshall: Answer the question!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Shouting at me doesn't change the facts. If this is so vital to our economic sovereignty, why did the Liberal Party sell it? Why did they sell it? If it's so important to South Australians, why did they sell it to the private sector? I voted against it; I said no. The Speaker voted against it. The member for Playford voted against it. The shadow treasurer—the architect of the privatisation of ETSA—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —still sits in their caucus, yet they have the audacity to blame us.

The SPEAKER: I am not going to warn anyone for interjecting during that flourish, but the members for Heysen, Adelaide and Mount Gambier did interject before that flourish, and accordingly I call them to order.