Electricity Prices

Mr MURRAY (Davenport) (14:48): My question is to the Minister for Energy and Mining. Will the minister update the house on how the government's plans for interconnection will help reduce energy costs for households?

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart—Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:49): Thank you again, member for Davenport. On this side of the house we are focused on the cost of living, getting electricity prices more affordable and making electricity more reliable, and an interconnector between New South Wales and South Australia is a key part of our plan.

As members opposite would know, if they had paid attention in the lead-up to the election, it is one of the core planks of our policy. We have interconnection between South Australia and Victoria already, which is very valuable and very important to us, but it is not enough. Also, South Australia and Victoria have much more similar weather patterns. Weather is very important in energy, particularly when so much of energy generation is based on renewable energy, and it also goes directly to demand, as we all know—different days of the week, hotter, colder, that sort of thing.

So then we need interconnection with New South Wales to access a different market to get us part of the interconnection loop, rather than just being at the end of the line. We also want to connect to a state that has much more different weather patterns to us. Very importantly, when it is dark in Sydney and Melbourne, we can still be generating here in South Australia and contribute export electricity into those markets, just as at other times we would like to import electricity.

Let me say, this is not a new idea. This is not a new idea. It is an idea that we are committed to. We've got money on the table and we will deliver. But there are people who have supported this view. There are people like Professor Alan Finkel who support this view. The AMC, the AEMO and others are all looking into this very seriously. Let me give you a quote:

It would be a wise investment to build a greater interconnection between South Australia and New South Wales.

All Australian consumers would benefit from greater interconnection because it would create more competition between wholesale suppliers.

A third quote:

South Australia is paying a different price than they are in New South Wales…the reason they're doing that is because there's no interconnection between New South Wales and South Australia. So it's not really a national market at all. So you're right, there's a massive disadvantage here and that's why we need to…upgrade interconnection into New South Wales.

All those quotes come from the last two years, and they come from the member for West Torrens. The member for West Torrens, the current shadow minister for energy, the former failed minister for energy, the minister who delivered the highest electricity prices in the nation and the least reliable electricity in the nation used to think it was a good idea.

The SPEAKER: Point of order.

Mr KOUTSANTONIS: The member is not responsible for my remarks.

The SPEAKER: He is definitely not responsible for the former minister's remarks.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER Order! Minister, please return to the substance of the question.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Mr Speaker, I take your advice, and I expect that everybody sitting behind the member for West Torrens is glad they are not responsible for his remarks either. This is a key part of our policy. It is supported by the overwhelming majority of experts in this area. We have put money on the table. The former Labor government supported it for a while, but as soon as we announced it they didn't support it. This plays to the politics of energy in the opposition. It was a good policy, but not when they were so keen on delivering. But then we announced—we said we would deliver it—and then they said they didn't like it.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I think the minister is wrapping up. Has the minister finished?

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Nearly, Mr Speaker. So we will deliver interconnection to New South Wales from South Australia. It will benefit both states. It will deliver cheaper electricity prices because it will help supply and demand be matched up better and it will increase competition.