Electricity Prices

Mr BASHAM (Finniss) (14:22): My question is to the Minister for Energy and Mining. Will the minister update the house on pricing trends in the electricity market?

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart—Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:22): Thank you to the member for Finniss, another newly elected Liberal member of parliament advocating on behalf of his electorate for some of the key issues—

The Hon. S.S. Marshall interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Leader!

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: —facing them, including cost of living. We just heard from the Premier a while ago—

The Hon. S.S. Marshall interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Leader, stop interjecting.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: We just heard from the Premier a while ago, explaining how the new Marshall Liberal government is reducing payroll taxes, reducing land taxes, reducing NRM levies, reducing emergency services levies. Today, with Origin's announcement of a 1 per cent decrease in their electricity charges, with effect on 1 July, we are now seeing South Australians having decreases in their electricity bills as well under the Marshall Liberal government. This has been coming for a very long time. All South Australians have been punished with unacceptably high electricity prices over the last several years by the Labor government.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER Order!

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: They have been punished with blackouts. They have been punished with unacceptably high electricity prices, from the smallest household through to the largest employer. But the tide has turned; the tide has turned. We welcome Origin Energy's announcement that they will reduce electricity prices for businesses and households, and we welcome the fact that we will get away from the chaotic energy policy of our predecessors, the Labor Party, when they were in government.

We announced in October—10 October, I think, last year—our energy solution, and it was welcomed by the people of South Australia. We took it to the election. The people of South Australia voted to have it implemented. The people of South Australia overwhelmingly said that they preferred our energy solution to our predecessor's. They wanted to get away from outrageously high increases in electricity prices.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my left!

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: They wanted to get away from unacceptable blackouts, and that transition is starting. That transition is starting, and we will harness the renewable energy that exists in South Australia so that it can be dispatched on demand. We will get away from overabundant renewable energy at times and none available at other times. Through small-scale storage and large-scale storage, we will allow South Australians to harness that renewable energy so that they can access it when they want to because electricity consumers are at the heart of our energy policy.

All those players in the supply chain are incredibly important, and they must be supported so that they can be sustainable and there for the long run for the benefit of consumers. The former Labor government did not think about consumers once when they were implementing their energy policy.

Mr KOUTSANTONIS: Point of order: debate. The minister is not responsible for opposition policy.

The SPEAKER: He is not, but I think he is delivering background information that is relevant. I will listen carefully, but I believe the minister will keep to the substance of the question.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: The former Labor government ignored consumers when they implemented their energy policy. We are doing the exact opposite. We are doing the exact opposite with small-scale batteries, large-scale batteries, interconnections so that our often overabundant renewable energy can be exported so that when we need to we can import from interstate—demand aggregation trials, demand management trials and integrating the supply of electricity much better.

Just as we on this side of the chamber heard so many times from the former government that the market was factoring in their policy and would reduce prices, but unfortunately prices only ever increased, on our side we say the market is factoring in our policy and prices are decreasing.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr Bignell interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Mawson is called to order.