Power Prices

Mr PATTERSON (Morphett) (15:04): My question is to the Premier. What actions, if any, is the Premier taking to support South Australians who cannot afford to pay their gas and electricity bills? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr PATTERSON: The Australian Energy Regulator's 'State of the energy market 2024' report shows that the proportion of gas and electricity customers on hardship programs in South Australia has risen to 1.9 per cent and 2.4 per cent, respectively—the highest in the country.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Energy and Mining) (15:05): We have safeguards in place to make sure that people can get access to the rebates that the Treasurer has offered in the most recent budgets for people who are most impacted by this. But I do find it a little bit galling to have members of the opposition who have actively campaigned against the gas industry and have actively locked up vast areas of this state from fracture stimulation then complain about the price of gas. Think of the hypocrisy of that.

The Hon. V.A. Tarzia: You haven't reversed it.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: That's our fault? It was our fault?

Members interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Fake news. Whenever you hear a politician say 'fake news', you know they have lost the argument. The argument, what he is actually saying—other than interjecting because he has nothing else to say—is, 'Yeah, my political party opposed gas extraction, but hey, don't blame us for higher gas prices.'

The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner: What are you doing about it?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Here we go: what are we doing about their actions? I have to say, no government in South Australia, no government in Australia, has done more to try to gain energy independence for our state than the Australian Labor Party in this state. We are doing all we can, despite the opposition of members opposite. I would have thought the shadow energy minister, who wants to be the mining minister one day, might actually school his colleagues on the importance of gas extraction and what it does to people's bills in their homes.

The SPEAKER: I would have thrown someone out until the end of question time, but given that judging by the clock question time had already ended it was fairly pointless.