Renewable Energy

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:18): My question is to the Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy. Can the minister explain how the government proposes South Australia go it alone when the wind isn't blowing and we can't rely on thermal generation from other states?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy) (14:18): If you read the AEMO report, we had record demand last Wednesday and had enough thermal generation within the state to service our needs.

Mr van Holst Pellekaan: It wasn't running.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: It wasn't running—failure of the National—

The SPEAKER: The member for Stuart is warned.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —Electricity Market. A very good point by the recently—

Mr van Holst Pellekaan interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Stuart is warned for the second and final time. If he makes another utterance outside standing orders, he will depart again.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: A very good point made in interjection, but the National Electricity Market was unable, despite setting an extremely high price in the market, to incentivise all of our generation based here in South Australia to come on. That is fundamentally a failure of the National Electricity Market. Why is it that a generator, why is it that a privately owned generator in a private market, run by a private company decides that when prices are set at a maximum of $14,000, where any generator in this country can make a profit regardless of the import costs, decides not to turn on? Why is that?

What is going on in the system that allows that type of behaviour? We need to know. What is it about our privatised market? What is in those contracts that allows that type of behaviour? We want answers to that, and we will find out what those answers are. When we find out what those answers are, we are going to make sure that we take control of our own future to ensure that it doesn't happen again.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for MacKillop is called to order, the member for Mount Gambier is warned, and the members for Schubert and Mount Gambier are warned for the second and final time.