Question Time

Power Prices

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA (Hartley—Leader of the Opposition) (14:11): My question is to the Premier. What action, if any, is the Premier taking to bring down power prices for South Australians in Sheidow Park? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: The annual report from the South Australian Energy and Water Ombudsman has shown a 50 per cent increase in payment difficulty complaints from residents in our southern suburbs.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:11): The opposition leader rises to complain about the increase in power prices—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: To complain; 'simple' is the right word.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Members on my left will listen to the answer in silence. We have been going less than a minute and the noise is already intolerable.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: One job.

The Hon. V.A. Tarzia: I have missed you.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I know you have missed me, and I am concerned about how much you do miss me.

The Hon. S.C. Mullighan: He completes you.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Yes, I feel that I do complete him and I feel that often I am his only supporter. It is true to say that power prices are coming down in South Australia, but they are not coming down by enough. The truth of the reason that they are not coming down by enough, even though residential customers are getting a nearly $50 per year decrease in their power bills, is that the cost of firming electricity from very cheap power bills that are provided by renewables is, of course, through the cost of fossil fuels. Gas and coal, which are used to firm renewables through either the interconnector or our generators, are relatively expensive.

Of course, the government's plan is ultimately to roll out more renewables and have more storage, to try to do everything we can to try to lower power prices. But the Premier has said this and I have said this: beware politicians who turn up and say, 'Vote for me, I can lower your power prices.' Members opposite promised to lower power prices and they weren't able to even get close to what they promised.

Despite having spent nearly half a billion dollars on an interconnector that they promised would be operational in their first term of government, it is still not operational and no level of interjection will change any of that. The truth is that power prices are not something that members of parliament have control over, and the reason—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Sir, the interjections have been continuous since the moment they asked a question which is really about their panic about the by-election that they have caused in the seat of Black. It wasn't anyone on this side—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Members on my left!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —that was arrested for using illegal drugs.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Members on my left, you are all warned.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: It was the former leader of the Liberal Party.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Especially the member for Finniss, who is very rowdy.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Don't blame us for causing this by-election. The panic from members opposite, through their constant interjections, is to try to find some level—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: You are saying it is a fake video?

The SPEAKER: The deputy leader, do you want to be kicked out again today?

The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner: Not really, no.

The SPEAKER: I am sick of the interjections. A question has been asked of the minister. The minister is answering the questions. You shouldn't be firing more questions. If you want a question to the minister, when he has finished the answer step up and ask one.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Thank you very much, sir. The truth is small businesses are getting a cut. The Treasury and the federal Treasury have put money in, dramatic amounts of money, to try to deal with this. Ultimately, we are at the mercy of markets, markets that were imposed on us by members opposite. When market forces push power prices up, despite them imposing those markets on us, members opposite complain.