Energy Generation

Mr ODENWALDER (Elizabeth) (16:10): My question is to the Premier. Can the Premier update the house on energy generation in South Australia, and is he aware of any alternative views?

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (16:10): I want to thank the member for Elizabeth for his question, because the member for Elizabeth represents a community that is important to our state in a number of ways. There are constituents within the member for Elizabeth's electorate who I think are pretty concerned about the cost-of-living crisis at the moment. They are often the types of householders who work hard, exceptionally hard, often on lower incomes, who have to deliberate on a daily basis about how to weigh up various costs—and energy is one of the ones that is top of mind. That is why I think—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: Just listen. That is why constituents within the member for Elizabeth's electorate will be very interested to hear today about the alternative prime minister of the nation announcing a federal public policy to build seven nuclear power stations.

I want to make a fundamental point here. Today, we have had a major policy announcement and the alternative prime minister of the nation—do you know how much he told us those seven nuclear power stations are going to cost? He told us nothing. What does that mean? It means that Peter Dutton either announced the policy position without knowing what it costs, which is a bit of a no-go spot for an alternative prime minister, or he does know what it costs and he is not willing to tell the people of Australia. Think about how scary a proposition that is. Imagine if the alternative prime minister of the nation—

The SPEAKER: The member for Morialta on a point of order.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Standing order 98: the Premier is debating.

The SPEAKER: I think the Premier can continue with his remarks. It is quite fitting to the question that he was asked. I think maybe if everyone on both sides is a little quieter, it might be a bit easier for us all to hear.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: I suspect that the federal Leader of the Opposition and the federal Liberal Party do know how much nuclear power is going to cost because it is all out there on the public record, including from the CSIRO which independently evaluated what the costs of different power sources are—cheaper, a lot cheaper than nuclear.

We know that within the GenCost report from the CSIRO, very recently released, they announced very clearly the most expensive form of a power that we could have here in Australia was nuclear, and it is all here to be listed. Thankfully, what the CSIRO did in their GenCost report was they didn't just break down nuclear, they didn't just refer to nuclear versus hydrogen or gas or CCS or solar with firming, they also specifically broke down thankfully the cost of large-scale nuclear reactors versus small modular nuclear reactors. Now what we know is that Peter Dutton's special surprise for the people of South Australia isn't just giving us the most expensive form of power but actually giving us an SMR which is the most expensive form of power on steroids.

Now, I've got to say that all the noise that is coming from those opposite is in stark contrast to what we have seen from other conservative leaders around the country. I know that the LNP Leader of the Opposition, David Crisafulli, has announced today that he is opposed to nuclear power in the state of Queensland. He is opposed to the exorbitant cost that would be coming Queenslanders' way with nuclear power coming in Queensland. It will be interesting to see what the state Leader of the Opposition has to say on this subject in the not too distant future.