Electricity Generation

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens) (14:20): My question is to the Minister for Energy. With which energy retailers has the minister discussed the sale or the lease of the state-owned generators before the sale was announced?

The SPEAKER: Minister.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart—Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:20): Could you ask the shadow to repeat the question, please?

The SPEAKER: Could you please repeat, sir?

An honourable member interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: My question is to the Minister for Energy, sir.

The SPEAKER: Yes.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: With which energy retailers has the minister discussed the sale or lease of the state-owned generators before the sale was announced?

The SPEAKER: Minister.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Thank you, sir. I wanted to hear the question again just to be absolutely sure that it was a question from the shadow minister for energy about energy, Mr Speaker, because we are now in October. We are nearly at the end of the year, and this is the very, very, very first question that the shadow minister, the former minister, has asked about energy. Now, Mr Speaker—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my right! Minister, please do not provoke the opposition. The member for West Torrens on a point of order for debate?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: No, sir. I would ask the minister to withdraw, and I call his attention to estimates.

The SPEAKER: Is there a request that you have taken offence?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I am trying to get the point of order here.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: How about this, sir? How about the minister grow up and answer the question?

The SPEAKER: One moment, minister; I am trying to get the point of order.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Answer the question.

The SPEAKER: Member for West Torrens, what is the point of order?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Debate, sir, relevance.

The SPEAKER: Debate, right. I am pretty sure he was, but would the minister please bring it back to the substance of the question, thank you.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Yes, sir. I really needed to be sure because I have been waiting for this question for seven months.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Reynell is warned.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Badcoe is warned.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: As fearful as the shadow minister has been to raise this topic for seven months, he now feels now that it is exposed that he was going to spend $610 million—

The SPEAKER: Minister, there is a point of order. Member for West Torrens, with all respect, I know that you are some days very zealous in your points of order and sometimes they are very fair but, with respect to the minister, he is facing a constant barrage of interjections from my left.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Because he is debating, sir.

The SPEAKER: Yes, and I am trying to listen to his answer, so I will ensure that he does that if members could please remain quiet. Minister, please stick to the substance of the question.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Yes, thank you, sir. This very, very reasonable, fair and important question is here with us today because it is linked to the generators. It is about the generators, the generators that we know the previous government wanted to spend $610 million of taxpayers' money for.

Now, in that context, we announced yesterday our intention to seek from the market expressions of interest to lease these generators, for them to stay in the ownership of all South Australians and be leased for 25 years. The shadow minister asks me with which retailers I have had discussions about the prospect of this lease. I am not going to name any retailers.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my left! The minister is answering the question.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: I am not going to name any retailers because, otherwise, foolish people opposite might assume that I had or I hadn't had discussions with retailers, but what I—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for West Torrens is warned.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: —will say is that we have had several approaches from organisations, some of which I have met with myself, expressing their interest in these generators. I have listened to them. I have not given them any indication of our intentions because we were still developing them. We were waiting to get the Livesey report. So I listened respectfully to what people had to say. I engaged with them, the department engaged with them and others engaged with them. There is no shortage of interest from the market in these generators.

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The leader is warned. Order!

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: There is no shortage of interest. What I have said consistently to every single person I have ever discussed this topic with was that we would deal with these generators in the best interests of South Australians. South Australians, taxpayers and electricity consumers are broadly all the same people in our state. We will deal with these generators in the very best interests of South Australians.

Every single person I have ever discussed this topic with has had that message given to them because it is exactly what we will do. It is exactly what the Premier said just a few minutes ago. We seek expressions of interest to lease these generators for 25 years so that they stay owned by South Australians and work for the benefit of South Australians.