Electricity Generation

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens) (14:32): My question is to the Minister for Energy. Can the minister guarantee that South Australia will not lose any thermal generation capacity as a result of his plan to privatise the state-owned emergency generators and subsidise and sponsor a $1.5 billion interconnector to New South Wales?

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Point of order: the question contained argument.

The SPEAKER: Can someone guarantee something that is—

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: He described it as a privatisation, if nothing else. There were plenty of others.

The SPEAKER: It might be hypothetical because it postulates a state of affairs that may not exist. Would the member for West Torrens like to rephrase?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: My question is to the Minister for Energy. Can the minister guarantee that South Australia will not lose any thermal generation capacity as a result of his plans to lease, to the private sector, the state-owned emergency generators and his plan to subsidise and sponsor a $1.5 billion interconnector to New South Wales?

The SPEAKER: That is a very broad question and I would anticipate a very broad answer.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The minister has the call.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart—Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:33): The context of the question was about two things. One was our intention to lease the generators, very clearly. The other caveat was with regard to our intention, in his words, to sponsor and subsidise the interconnector. We have made it very clear that—

Ms Hildyard interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Reynell!

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: —our intention, if the Australian Energy Regulator agrees, is for the interconnector to be a regulated asset that will not have subsidy from us or—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for West Torrens is warned for second and final time. The Deputy Premier is called to order.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: So, Mr Speaker—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Yes, the member for West Torrens is on two warnings and still interjecting. The minister has the call.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: The shadow minister's proposition is that we will subsidise the interconnector. I have made it very clear. We intend for the interconnector to be a regulated asset. So, of course, it will not have any subsidy. We could not have been clearer. Let me also say that of course it's not our decision if it's a regulated asset. It's our expectation, it's our hope. It's also ElectraNet's, it's also TransGrid's, it's also AEMO's, it's also most other people's. If it goes that way, it will not be including any subsidisation.

The word 'sponsor' has a pretty broad range of terms all the way through from supporter to somebody who puts money in it so that they can have a badge on it, so I will leave that alone. It is our intention that the interconnector will be a regulated asset. It is our intention to lease the generators and keep South Australians owning them. In that context, the remainder of the question was: will I guarantee that no thermal generation will leave the market as a result of us doing those two things that I have just canvassed?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.C. Mullighan interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Lee!

Ms Hildyard interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Reynell!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The clock is ticking. The minister has the call. Members on my left! Member for Reynell, the minister is attempting to answer the question.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: The shadow minister is being deliberately argumentative because he knows, I know, we all know that there is thermal generation that is going to leave the market anyway. We know that under the previous government AGL had intended to mothball some of its Torrens Island generation capacity in mid-2017. So these things are happening and planned all the way through. They announced the mothballing of generation in mid-2017, but do you know what, Mr Speaker? Then they fully realised what the previous government was doing to the energy system and they said, 'We just cannot possibly leave that mob in charge,' so they put that off.

The reality is that there will be thermal generation leaving the market over decades and decades and decades. That will happen regardless of what either brand of government does. That is going to happen. To try to pretend that that departure from the market of thermal generation over time, some of it 30 years old or more, is going to be as a result of what this government would do to put electricity consumers at the forefront of our energy policy is completely argumentative.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Badcoe and the member for Reynell are warned for a second and final time.