Energy Security Target

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:23): My question is to the Premier. Will the South Australian government still pursue its energy security target given that EnergyAustralia has recently given information to the public that suggests that this would result in an increase in the average household bill of another $150 per household per year?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Minister for the Arts) (14:24): We have a Leader of the Opposition who went out and told the South Australian people, erroneously—

Mr PISONI: Point of order, sir.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —that they were going to get a $300—

The SPEAKER: I can anticipate the point of order. Let's allow the Premier to get into stride, and when he has uttered a couple of complete sentences then we can look at the point of order.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: What we have is a Leader of the Opposition who comes in here lecturing us about electricity prices, and within 24 hours of announcing his policy it disappeared from $300 to $60 to $70, and now we know that he didn't even price in the cost of the new interconnector that he says is going to save us in the future, and that will decrease this saving even further.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Premier.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: It has been consistently the case on this side of the house that we have been promoting the single and only policy which is going to improve, essentially, the long-term security of our system, the affordability of supply and the cleanliness of our electricity system, and that is a policy that encourages renewable energy.

Can I remind the house and those opposite of the Port Augusta solar thermal power station, which will be up and running in 2020 as a consequence of the government procurement. This government put out to the market and has secured what is likely to be a game-changer in terms of the electricity market in this nation. We now have a renewable energy proponent that is providing dispatchable secure energy to fuel our needs in the future.

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Point of order: the leader's question was about the energy security target. The Premier has not mentioned that once. He is not anywhere near it.

The SPEAKER: I may not be understanding the Premier very well, but I took it that the purport of his answer is that he intends to continue to pursue the target. Premier.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Exactly. If those opposite had paid some attention when we made the announcement to defer the implementation of the target, they would realise that the deferral was made until 2020, the very date on which new competition will emerge in the system through the mechanism of the Port Augusta solar thermal plant. So the Port Augusta solar thermal plant is germane to the very question that the Leader of the Opposition asked, and I think that the South Australian community are excited about the investments that this government is making to drive renewable energy in this state and in this nation. They are increasingly aware of the national and international leadership role that we are playing in renewable energy.

Even today we are seeing the announcement by the billionaire Sanjeev Gupta to make a further investment of almost a further billion dollars in a battery to provide a further investment into Port Augusta. When the people of South Australia understand that it's the Leader of the Opposition who wants to scrap our renewable energy target, they will realise the next election is, indeed, a referendum on renewable energy. A government that is prepared to pursue—

Mr Marshall: Bring it on.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Bring it on—excellent. Okay, let's have a referendum on renewable energy at the next state election and, when it goes as I expect it to go, I expect that after the next election you will be supporting our renewable energy policy because the people of South Australia understand that this is the future. They understand that it is the future for jobs. They understand that it is the future for new technology. They understand that taking advantage of these renewable sources will provide us with a secure, affordable and reliable energy system in the future.

For those opposite to be promoting something of a renewable energy future, it really does tell you that they are confining the population of this state and this nation to something which ultimately has no future, because the very definition of 'renewable' tells you that we have a continuing, sustainable future. They want to lock us into the technologies of the past.