Address in Reply

Address in Reply

Adjourned debate on motion for adoption (resumed on motion).

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen) (15:43): In continuing my remarks, I was drawing attention to what had been a most unfortunate parlous state of affairs in the dying days of the previous government and a situation where the member for West Torrens had flipped and flopped all over the place around the question of what sort of course South Australia should take with regard to its energy supply and energy security. As we also regrettably recall, in the lead-up to the election we had the previous government looking to go it alone—island South Australia standing apart from the rest of the national energy grid.

It brings to my mind the example of the fortress town of Palmanova, founded in 1593 by some well-meaning utopian Venetians who formed a view that they were going to be better off by putting a perimeter around this well-made town. It would be a fortress, and inside there would be a standalone community that would be able to separate itself from the broader world outside and that a utopian existence would continue.

It is so reminiscent that it makes me think that the former premier and the member for West Torrens might have, on a fitful night, found themselves reading the works of Thomas More and thinking, 'We could have this utopian society separated from the rest of the world.' Of course, as we know, Palmanova was all very well, except it turned out that nobody wanted to live there. The economy faltered and as an experiment it turned out to be a good example of the failure that comes when one endeavours to exclude oneself from the rest of society.

Thank goodness we were saved from that fate by the good electors of South Australia in March 2018, because they voted for a restoration of a modern, connected energy system based on policies driven by merit rather than by politics and opportunism. As I said in my remarks in this place on 2 April last year, we were on track then to see increasing reliability and steadily reducing prices for electricity.

That is indeed what has transpired. As recently as in the past week, in matters to which others have referred in this debate, two separate reports by the electricity regulator have shown that South Australian electricity prices are again going to fall for households and businesses this year. They are not mere token numbers; they are substantial reductions in electricity bills. Households will be pleased to note that those on the default market will save $85 per annum on their electricity bills, households with controlled loads will save $138 per year, and small businesses will save approximately $691 per year.

That is in contrast to what happened during state Labor's last two years in office, when the average bill rose, as we are so sadly familiar, by 26 per cent, or $477 per household. I want to stress, as I have done over the course of two years, that in applying this modern energy policy, we are moving steadily away from an environment in which people, particularly in my area of the Adelaide Hills, had become very much acquainted with the idea that in summer you get blackouts for extended periods of time. It was a good idea to have a generator because you had to be ready for the unreliability of the supply. You also had the unfortunate expectation that prices were going to keep going up.

We have changed that around and, as we have seen in the second summer of the new Marshall government, power has remained reliable and prices have steadily reduced. It is a significant achievement; the trend must continue in that direction. We must restore the confidence that generations of South Australians in the 20^th century became accustomed to: a place in which they know they can access abundant and cheap power in order to get on with their lives and their businesses.

It is a significant turnaround but, more than that, by applying good policy in this area, we can, as the Governor has so appositely referred lead the way in this state in showing how we can address the challenges that the changing climate brings. Indeed, we have abundant natural renewable sources of energy. Our challenge is to deploy those sources of energy in a way that enhances our access to power, rather than causes a disruption.

Key among the measures to address that question of continuity and reliability of supply is the establishment of an interconnector between South Australia and New South Wales. It is a key measure. People really should think on this as the means by which South Australia delivers on its enormous capacity to supply clean and renewable energy to the rest of the country and, at the same time, engage in the national market in a way that ensures we have smooth reducing pricing and continuity of supply. That is to go together with the already very strong take-up of the home battery storage scheme, the grid-scale storage scheme that is in place and the demand management policies that have been referred to as recently as in the course of question time this afternoon by the minister.

These are all measures to ensure that what we do in this space, when we address energy challenges and address the challenges that are presented to us by a changing climate, is more than simply virtue signal and more than simply recklessly chart a course down a path to wave some sort of banner. We need to make sure that, in the day-to-day lives of South Australians, they are having access to the sort of power they can be confident about and that we can as a state all feel that we are making a significant contribution in a way that is indeed sustainable.

It leads me to consider the very significant measures that are being taken in the environment space, in addition to the rollout of our energy policies, because the climate change strategy for South Australia, which is to be released this year, will be an overarching opportunity for this state to address questions of energy and resource utilisation in an overall climate strategy. It is one that we very much look forward to seeing in the course of this year. I note the Governor's remarks in relation to anticipating that strategy. It will, of course, build on the recently delivered Directions for a Climate Smart South Australia and will signal this government's leadership in this space.

Measures that are being taken to improve our natural environment are at the existential level. They are also at the very basic day-to-day practical level, in terms of ensuring that we have systems in place to ensure the world's leading waste recovery, waste disposal and re-use possibilities for consumers.

Shortly, we are going to see legislation in regard to the phasing out of single-use plastics, and myriad practical initiatives are in place supporting the improving of our natural environment. I applaud the Minister for Environment and Water for his practical and outcomes-oriented approach to this area. Locally, I am very pleased to note that the initiative taken in my electorate at the Heathfield Resource Recovery Centre to provide a hazardous waste depot has been an early success. There has been a strong take-up of that facility in my area, again a practical measure that is being embraced by my local community.

Good government, as the Governor has observed, is about whole-of-government measures. It is, of course, an extraordinarily exciting time as we see the largest infrastructure rollout the state has seen—$12.9 billion to be applied to much needed infrastructure projects over the coming four years. It would be remiss of me not to note the importance, in the delivery of that extraordinary infrastructure spend, of the strong relationship between a Liberal state government in South Australia and a Liberal and National Coalition government in Canberra.

The cooperation between the commonwealth and the State of South Australia has delivered already very strong outcomes for this state and promises the delivery of major productive infrastructure for our cities, towns and regions throughout the state. I am heartened daily by the focus that is now being applied to the regions, including mine and the Adelaide Hills.

As the Governor has observed, health and education comprise the vast bulk of the government's operating expenses, close to $10 billion annually. Time does not permit me to expand on all the initiatives that are taking place in that space, but I do want to highlight the many millions of dollars that are being invested in the two high schools in Heysen. Eastern Fleurieu School and Heathfield High School are both undertaking significant capital works in readiness for year 7 to high school, work is well advanced for delivery, for building and completion in the course of this coming year.

In this regard, I also note the renewed focus on vocational education in schools and alternative career pathways. I note in particular the observations of the chair of the Eastern Fleurieu school governing council, Sue Miller, in a recent contribution to the editor of our local newspaper in drawing attention to those investments being welcomed at Eastern Fleurieu school. I take the opportunity to applaud her, the governing council and all the staff, and indeed the governing council at Heathfield High School also, as we navigate this exciting time.

As we get on with the day-to-day work of fixing the extraordinary mess we were left by the previous government, we know that the Marshall Liberal government has applied $1.8 billion of additional resources in Health. Let's not be diverted in our attention to the extraordinary investment that is being made in Health coupled with the extraordinary job that goes on in fixing the mess that was left under Transforming Health. We are seeing the reactivation of the Repat. We are seeing the building of capacity at Flinders.

In particular, last week I was at Noarlunga Hospital with the Minister for Health and Wellbeing to see the application of additional resources to that hospital so that it can have the capacity to deal with emergency presentations, therefore taking the pressure off Flinders Medical Centre. They are necessary, sensible merits and evidence-driven measures addressing longstanding deficiencies. The South Australian health system was once renowned for the design and early adoption of innovation practices. I commend the minister and look forward to continuing to see improvements in this area among so many others.