Alinta Energy

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:28): My question is to the Premier. Did the government undertake any modelling to ascertain the net effect of Alinta's proposal on the South Australian economy?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier) (14:28): All we know is that it wasn't an offer that was capable of being accepted.

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: When somebody is not offering you something which is capable of acceptance—

The SPEAKER: The leader is on two warnings, and if he makes another utterance outside standing orders he will be departing.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Let's just understand what is being suggested here. The leader of the free market party over there wants us to subsidise a coal-fired—

The Hon. T.R. Kenyon interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Newland is warned.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —generator that has already told us that they are about to close and can't give us any guarantee that they will stay open for any period of time. That seems to be the proposition that we are meant to entertain—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I keep hearing a komitadji interjecting when he is on two warnings.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —chucking tens of million dollars at a large corporate in this country to give them the possibility of staying open. That seems to be the proposition. Is he serious? Is that the depth of the policy analysis that is being undertaken by those opposite. What we know standing here is this: our modelling demonstrated that if we were investing in coal-fired generators, and even if they were managing to stay open despite all the caveats they put in their offer, today Pelican Point would not be open. We would have destroyed the best opportunity of us securing South Australia's energy future here today on this occasion.