Bats

Mr BATTY (Bragg) (14:55): My question is to the Minister for Energy. Is the minister taking any action to prevent power outages caused by bats and, if so, what action? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr BATTY: My constituent, Lloyd from Dulwich, received a text message from SA Power Networks last month stating:

Power outages in the past few weeks around Dulwich have been caused by an expanding colony of grey-headed flying foxes or bats. Outages related to bats will generally occur between dusk and dawn in summer.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:56): It's fascinating how the wheel turns, because when I raised the fact that bats were causing outages in 2017, members opposite mocked me. They said, 'Bats can't cause outages. It's just that it's a weak grid.' Here we are later, demanding to know what I am going to do—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —to stop bats causing outages.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Newland!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Cue the outrage—cue outrage!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Hammond!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Yes, I do see the irony.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I see the irony in the question.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Morialta!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: After they privatised the distribution network to private operators, they demand to know what we are going to do to ensure that the privatised network operates all the time. Isn't it amazing? Isn't it absolutely amazing?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Flinders!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: What we have done is—bats are causing problems for the network and they are causing outages—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: As soon as you try to explain what we are doing about it—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Chaffey is on a final warning.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —they interject, 'What are you doing about it?' Is it any wonder you had to resign so quickly? Is it any wonder? Is it any wonder?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I mean, it wasn't even two years in!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Newland! Member for Morialta, under 134.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Point of order: standing order 98, serious question. The minister should address it.

An honourable member interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Taylor, order!

The SPEAKER: I have the point of order. There is considerable merit in the point of order. I will listen carefully. I bring the minister to the question.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: It is a serious question, especially when we are heading into a weekend when it is going to be considerably warmer and people are going to need their air conditioners; especially, vulnerable people will need their air conditioners on.

What SA Power Networks is doing is developing technology that can withstand what the bats are doing to short their systems. They are rolling that out. Obviously, that would require a regulatory reset by the regulator, so SA Power Networks is considering this technology in light of the growing population of bats that are causing these outages.

Despite the giggles around it, this is actually a very serious issue, because they are causing some serious damage to the network and it's damage that we will all have to pay for through our bills, because of the way the opposition structured the privatisation of our distribution networks.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Members opposite yell 'Rubbish'. No, it's actually a fact. It is actually an established fact.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Yell, yell.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey!

Members interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: The what?

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: It comes from what?

An honourable member interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Look, if I held the functions and powers of a minister, perhaps potentially then. I would not be the one sticking my head up above the parapet to try to have a go. Your government thought you weren't even worthy enough to hold a portfolio position.

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

The SPEAKER: Member for Morialta!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Wave your hands as much as you like. There is a reason you got one vote—one reason.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: 'I don't know who I'm talking to?' I know exactly who I'm talking to. Do you know how I know? They tell me. They tell me who I'm talking to. This is a serious issue that needs serious contemplation—

Mr Telfer interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Flinders!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —and SA Power Networks are looking into the matter to try to deal with it via a technological solution because of the migration of these bats towards South Australia. The advice I have also had is that the heatwave will play some part in alleviating the numbers of the bats. The numbers do grow through their breeding season and there needs to be a technological solution to this. SA Power Networks are looking at it and there is work being done to understand exactly what the forecasts are for the bat population in South Australia, especially in Adelaide, and the damage it would do to our network. It is a growing problem.

The question will be the cost and what the regulator believes the appropriate allocation of that cost will be to SA Power Networks to try to deal with this problem over a five-year reset. I am happy to offer the member a briefing on the technological solution and tell his constituents that we are working on it.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!