Question Time

Electricity Prices

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Leader of the Opposition) (14:02): Thank you, Mr Speaker, and I apologise to Tia for the deep embarrassment that has been inflicted on her by the house. My question is to the Deputy Premier: how will the state government's letter of cooperation with California bring down electricity prices for working South Australian families and small businesses? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: On his trip to the United States, the Premier signed a non-binding letter of cooperation with the Californian Air Resources Board Chair to advance the state's 'shared leadership in renewable energy and clean hydrogen technology'. According to the US Energy Information Administration, California has the second-highest cost of electricity in the United States of America.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee—Treasurer, Minister for Defence and Space Industries) (14:02): This is a great initiative that the Premier has been able to secure for South Australia because we have known globally now of California's reputation for very significant investments in accelerating their successful transition to renewable energy, and to pursuing not just renewable energy but pursuing innovations when it comes to industrial capacity and how to power that industrial capacity. Given South Australia's global reputation, let alone national reputation for being a leader in making the transition to renewables—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: I mean, to think, Mr Speaker, that all of those school students think that our main contributor to proceedings is the member for Morphett. Not only has California got that reputation for making very significant investments to secure a successful transition to renewable energy and the technologies that underpin that, but of course South Australia has a global reputation for that as well. I think we are more than two years—the Deputy Premier might know this figure better than me—potentially more, into a proud achievement for our state of more than 70 per cent of electricity consumed across our entire state generated from renewable sources. I can remember in my somewhat publicised travels to the United States early last year that—

An honourable member: Not well publicised enough for my liking.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: The spotlight's off me now.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: That's right. When I regaled that fact to representatives of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, they were absolutely gobsmacked. I think when international jurisdictions, particularly subnational jurisdictions like California and the state of South Australia, seek to align their efforts to share knowledge and wisdom about how to go about this successful transition, that's a really good thing. I think that we should try to find those opportunities as a government and as a state to learn from the undertakings if not the successes of those around the world who have got similar aims for their economies.

I think it is a good initiative for the state. We hope and expect that there will be something that our state can take away from the work that's underway in California. It's not a dissimilar endeavour to what the former Premier, the former member for Dunstan, would undertake in his frequent travels to San Francisco, for example, when he was trying to avail himself of knowledge advancements amongst—was it Blockchain? Beyond Minecraft, Blockchain has not quite succeeded here in Australia, but maybe one day it will.