Alinta Energy

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:26): A supplementary to the minister: will the diesel generators that taxpayers are going to have to pay for to operate during summer this year be higher or lower than the $8 million that Alinta was seeking to continue the Port Augusta power station?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy) (14:27): If you are making a comparison, compare oranges to oranges, not oranges to apples.

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: There is no guarantee that Alinta would have been there this summer. No guarantee. I can't guarantee—and Alinta say they couldn't guarantee being here next summer, even with this offer. Of course, what we can say is that if we had done a deal with Alinta to pay them to operate, we can assure you that today the announcement of Pelican Point having both units in the system wouldn't have occurred and that gas-fired generator would still be mothballed.