Energy Prices

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:28): My question is to the Minister for Energy. Given household and business power bills have gone up by an average of 20 per cent since the statewide power blackout, will the minister admit that the government's energy policy is a marketing scam that is hurting all South Australians?

The SPEAKER: A question with that kind of comment and rhetoric and scope gives the Treasurer great scope to reply.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy) (14:29): I have to say what length, depth and breadth of the front of the Leader of the Opposition; 12 months from the statewide blackout and all we have heard from the opposition is complaints, whingeing and a plan to scrap the renewable energy target and hand over all responsibility for energy to people who pass around lumps of coal during question time. That's it. Twelve months. Our Energy Plan and our energy policy have been methodically rolled out across South Australia—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: It has given us more investment by the private sector, and I will go through them all one by one. AGL is investing in brand-new generation at Torrens Island. Pelican Point has now unmothballed its generation facilities at Torrens Island, and we are seeing now nearly 470 megawatts into the system that wasn't previously available. At Osborne, we have seen now that Origin have made applications to build new generation and extend other forms of generation. We have also seen that we are building, the government is building, its brand-new power plant to give new backup support to the South Australian market.

You have seen solar thermal win a tender against other forms of traditional generation to build a brand-new solar thermal plant here in South Australia. You have seen one of the leading companies in the world build a brand-new lithium ion battery, which will be the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, which will firm up our renewable energy resources here in South Australia, which will, of course, offer scheduled renewable energy into the system. What you are seeing is that in South Australia we are leading the nation, leading the nation in the way we are transforming the energy market. Meanwhile—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —what are you seeing in New South Wales? A jurisdiction that has the highest generation of coal-fired generation in the world grappling with a lack of supply, grappling with no new investment, grappling with high power prices—

Mr Wingard interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —and what you are seeing is, nationally, a Prime Minister fumbling around—

The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Mitchell.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —not able to even accept the recommendations of his own report of his own Chief Scientist. How humiliating must it be for a Prime Minister that he cannot adopt the recommendation of his own appointed Chief Scientist? Not only is it his Chief Scientist; it is the CSIRO, his own agency that advises him on science and other interventions about how to decarbonise our grid and, of course, how to make it more reliable and cheaper.

What we have now is the Business Council of Australia, the Australian Industry Group—every major employer in the country—calling for a common energy target, yet the Liberal Party cannot adopt the recommendations of its own report because of internal divisions. In this state, we have a Liberal Party that is so bereft of ideas and vision that they can't even come up with their own plan, other than abolishing the renewable energy target and handing over all power to Canberra.

Yet they have the gall, 12 months from the statewide blackout, offering nothing new to the people of South Australia other than whingeing and complaints—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —and then claim that interjections and noise and shouting are a substitute for an energy policy. The question is: why are they keeping it hidden? Why are they keeping it secret? What are they hiding?

The SPEAKER: The member for Hammond I call to order. The member for Chaffey I warn a first and second time—

Mr Whetstone: What about a warning first?

The SPEAKER: You just got two owing to your sterling efforts during the last four minutes. The member for Unley I warn for the second and the final time—and I mean it. The leader.