Question Time

Home Battery Scheme

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart—Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:58): I rise to finish my answer to that very important question that was asked. Not only do we want to get the benefits that I have mentioned before but we also want to get employment. We want to raise employment in our state: one of the most important jobs that any government can do. We wanted participants in the program to have some surety and some knowledge that there is going to be a four-year program that was rolled out upon which they could make investments, they could hire people, they could grow their businesses and ideally take on trainees and apprenticeships as well.

The icing on the cake was when Sonnen agreed to come and set up a manufacturing business here in South Australia at the Elizabeth site, the old Holden site: 430 to 450 new jobs here in South Australia, in the north of the city, which I think is equally as important. The previous government, before the last election, made an announcement that they were going to try to do the same thing. Unfortunately, they were not able to do that. They said they would try, but they didn't; we said we would try and we did. We have delivered this.

While the terms of the agreement must remain confidential, let me share with the house the fact that the agreement that we have done on behalf of the people of South Australia with Sonnen is actually better for the people of South Australia than the agreement that the previous government said that they were gong to try to do. So nice try; good on them. Good idea—fantastic—but we have delivered this. We have made it happen. We have worked very closely with Sonnen—a fantastic company that will bring a fantastic product to add to all of the other products that are already available on the market.

It might interest the house, and it might particularly interest those opposite, that in the press conference in which we released this part of our program to the public the worldwide CEO of Sonnen, who came from Germany to participate in this very, very important announcement, Mr Christoph Ostermann, said that this agreement would not have been possible if it were not for the Marshall government. That is exactly what he said publicly at the time. It is exactly what is true.

Let me say again: good on the previous government for saying that they were going to try to do it. Shame they didn't. Good on the Marshall Liberal government for actually doing it, for delivering for the people of South Australia.