Question Time

Power Prices

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA (Hartley—Leader of the Opposition) (14:06): My question is to the Premier. When will the government deliver on its promise for lower electricity prices? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: At the last election South Australians were promised a Hydrogen Jobs Plan that would reduce wholesale electricity prices by 8 per cent. That plan has now been shelved and hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars have been wasted.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:07): Today AEMO released its most recent update to wholesale power prices, which saw a dramatic drop from the last 12 months. You have seen prices drop across the country. I say this again to members opposite who made this bold promise in 2018 to lower power prices by $301 and didn't get anywhere near it: when politicians claim that they can set power prices while simultaneously privatising assets and giving control to foreign companies, it is just a lie. It is just a lie and the public are sick of it. They are sick and tired of the Liberal Party getting up and saying—

Mr TEAGUE: Point of order.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Members on my left will come to order. The Deputy Leader.

Mr TEAGUE: I didn't want to leave it too late just now. It is a straightforward question about the price promise that this government made, not a history lesson or a debate contrary to standing orders.

Members interjecting:

Mr TEAGUE: 98(a).

The SPEAKER: I will keep listening to the Minister for Energy's response. He is entitled to give some context and background, but I am listening.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: The promise that we made that the deputy leader just got up and made an issue of was about wholesale power prices for industrial users, but the Leader of the Opposition was asking me about South Australian household prices. You can't have it both ways, right?

Mr Teague interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Well, which question do you want me to answer? The one about your point of order, which is about an election commitment that was about industrial customers, or the Leader of the Opposition's question about household prices? Now you are confused. I understand.

The truth is, politicians pretend that they can come into this place and say that through the power of their personalities they will overcome market forces and lower power prices and do X, Y and Z. What we have said is that members made horrific mistakes about the electricity system in this state, but we are dealing with them and we are dealing with them systematically.

First and foremost, we have got targets on renewable energy. That renewable energy is putting downward pressure on power prices. We have got an additional policy we announced today, which is $17½ million to get more gas out of the ground. Why do we need more gas? Because gas sets the price of electricity in South Australia. Who is opposed to gas? Members opposite. The guilty party opposite who voted just a few years ago to ban gas extraction methods in South Australia are now saying, 'No, don't worry about that, we're now actually pro gas. Don't worry about how we voted, don't worry about what we do, don't worry about what we say, it's the vibe.' I have to say, this is why members of parliament—

Mr Whetstone: You are misleading the parliament.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I would ask the member to stand up, withdraw and apologise.

The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey, I will give you the opportunity to withdraw and apologise.

Mr WHETSTONE: Just for clarification, Mr Speaker—

The SPEAKER: No, I will give you the opportunity to withdraw and apologise.

Mr WHETSTONE: I withdraw.

The SPEAKER: And apologise.

Mr WHETSTONE: I will not apologise.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: It speaks volumes. Wholesale power prices are coming down and we are seeing renewable energy have an impact on power prices; they are dropping. There are particular events that occur in South Australia, like last year alone one weather event on one day, which constrained the interconnector for a period of time, actually had an impact of $18.50 per megawatt hour on the annual wholesale power price. That is how becoming reliant on interconnectors can impact power prices. Members opposite, who have put all their hope into connecting to other jurisdictions rather than our own sovereign capability here in this state, have a lot to answer for. We buy generation and they sell it. We want to extract gas and they block it.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Yelling and laughing, incoherent rants and noise are not a substitute for policy. Yelling nervously in your seat is not a substitute for policy. If you have a policy proposition, let's debate it. Yelling is for children.

The SPEAKER: Before I call the leader, there are students up there in the gallery looking down at that thinking they wouldn't be allowed to do that in their classroom environment, and I am not going to stand for it. All those people who were yelling out—the member for Morialta, the deputy leader, the member for Morphett—you are on your final warnings.