Project EnergyConnect

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Leader of the Opposition) (14:14): My question is again to the Premier. Has the government undertaken updated modelling on the economic impacts of the hydrogen power station since forming government? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: The March 2021 Frontier Economics report did not factor in the inclusion of the South Australian New South Wales interconnector, Project EnergyConnect, and I quote:

…that the Frontier Economics report said, as its viability appears to be in serious question.

As at August 2023, the Interconnect project was 80 per cent complete on the South Australian side.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:14): That's right, a connection to nowhere, so far. Isn't it great? We're talking about what has been done on the South Australian side, but it's actually got to connect to somewhere else. Weren't we going to connect to somewhere else?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Morialta!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: This project has continued to blow out each and every time. The cost of this project now—

The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Morialta is warned.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: This project was meant to have been completed—

The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Morialta, you're on two warnings.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: This project was meant to have been completed by the end of the first term of the Marshall government—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —and what a spectacular end it was, sir. It was meant to cost under $1 billion. Do you know what the cost is now?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: $2.28 billion—that's quite the blowout, and it's still not ready. In fact, Project EnergyConnect—

The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Morialta!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —won't be completed—

The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Morialta, you are warned for a final time.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Project EnergyConnect is still not ready and it won't be ready for a long time to come. I think the idea that Project EnergyConnect—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: North-south corridor time lines haven't changed.

The Hon. S.C. Mullighan: Except for your four-year delay.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: My young friend has not obviously informed his other colleagues that the time lines for the north-south corridor haven't changed. What has changed is that the fact that the $9.9 billion they pretended it was going to cost was never actually ever going to be the cost; in fact, they probably knew it wasn't going be the cost.

The Hon. S.C. Mullighan: That's right; they forgot a third lane.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: That's right. Project EnergyConnect in all of our modelling is there, but ultimately we are connecting to an electricity grid that is under its own pressure. The New South Wales government are seeing a dramatic exit of thermal capacity. They are having serious social issues about building new capacity. They are having issues with the then Matt Kean plan about implementing that, rolling that out, to overbuild renewable energy and new transmission lines. Those lines are meeting a mass amount of opposition from conservative members of parliament in regional New South Wales who don't want to see that being built.

So what we are seeing happening in New South Wales is we are seeing thermal capacity exit on the time lines that they have indicated and the new replacement renewable energy that they promised would be built not being built, so we are connecting to a jurisdiction that is going to have not a net surplus of supply but potentially a net deficit of supply. Rather than—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Colton! Member for Morphett!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: What was that?

The SPEAKER: Minister! Order!

Members interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: What was that?

The SPEAKER: Minister—

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Speak up! No-one can hear you and no one's listening.

The SPEAKER: —you are not to respond to interjections, however tempting.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Speak up, find your voice!

The SPEAKER: Minister! Order!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member from West Torrens!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! There are considerable interjections to my left and right. Minister—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner: He's undermining you sir; you should name him.

The SPEAKER: Not today. The minister has the call.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: We are connecting now to a grid in New South Wales, where members opposite promised us the unlocking of nearly $20 billion worth of renewable developments to flow into New South Wales. Those developments have been on the books now for over four years.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister, there appears to be a point of order. Member for Morphett, 134 or rather, in fact—

Mr PATTERSON: Point of order: he is running out of time, sir.

The SPEAKER: In fact, member for Morphett, you are right. The minister's time has expired.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Morphett has the call.