Renewable Energy Target

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:31): My question is to the Minister for Energy. Does the minister reject the Productivity Commission's warning that state-based renewable energy targets fail to consider the consequences of insufficient base load power?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy) (14:31): This is the same organisation that recommended the closure of the car industry, the same organisation that thought it would be better we buy our submarines from Japan. This is the same organisation the opposition now champion. Of course, the Productivity Commission modelling talked about mechanisms of renewable energy targets. Of course, our renewable energy target had no mechanism behind it; that is, we didn't subsidise renewable energy.

What the Productivity Commission was talking about was RETs to have modelling, and it is completely disingenuous for the Leader of the Opposition to get up and pretend that the state's renewable energy target is similar to the ones being criticised by the Productivity Commission, and he knows it. If he doesn't, he is not fit to be Premier. So he can choose: either he is naive or he doesn't understand what he is talking about.

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Point of order, Mr Speaker.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: This is the Productivity Commission. This is exactly on the question.

The SPEAKER: I think I will make the ruling on that rather than the Treasurer be a judge in his own cause. I think the Treasurer is making a fair fist of answering the question in his own idiom. Treasurer.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Yes, I do reject the Productivity Commission's findings in reference to South Australia because our renewable energy target had no mechanism. Their criticism of renewable energy targets isn't of South Australia; it's of the one that the commonwealth government operate which creates certificates. Perhaps the members opposite could read the report properly.