Question Time

DESALINATION PLANT

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (14:18): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Water a question regarding the secret deal between the government and AGL.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: South Australia has a desalination plant double the size we need, which is closed at the moment because we do not need it at all. Water bills have tripled under Labor. Paying for this essential liquid now is a family struggle. The desalination plant, if it was running, would use an enormous amount of electricity, but the government has locked us into a long-term deal to pay for electricity we will not be using to run the desalination plant that we do not need. We will pay for electricity under the 20-year contract whether we use it or not. Every South Australian who turns on a tap will cop the electricity bill, paying through the nose and the hose. According to published documents, SA Water is paying $50 a megawatt hour, when the market price is around $30 per megawatt hour. My questions to the minister are:

1. What is the minimum payment taxpayers will have to make to AGL annually?

2. Was the bill last financial year $4.4 million?

3. What will be the total cost over the 20 years of the contract?

4. Why did you sign a 20-year contract when a shorter term would have been much more sensible?

The PRESIDENT: Minister, I ask the minister to ignore the opinion and the debate in the brief explanation.

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: And your interjections, the Hon. Mr Dawkins, are the most audible ones.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (14:20): I thank the honourable member for his very important Thursday question. When Labor came to government in 2002—

The Hon. G.E. Gago interjecting:

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Well, it is the end of their questions—they run out of questions by Thursday and they come up with these anodyne little questions, which I am very pleased for them to trot out to us.

The Hon. G.E. Gago: They run out on Tuesday.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Sometimes in a bad week they do bring them out on Tuesday, that's true. It is a very important topic, so I will give it all the important consideration that I can muster.

The Hon. G.E. Gago interjecting:

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Well, I could try. When this government came to office in 2002, Adelaide and other parts of the state were almost entirely dependent on the River Murray and our local reservoirs for meeting our water needs. Unfortunately, due to the shortsightedness of those opposite, the Liberals had left South Australians, businesses and industry at the mercy of our climate, a climate that is changing in a way that is likely to challenge us with more frequent and intense dry periods. They had no foresight for the future. It took a Labor government to actually grapple with what Adelaide's water needs will be into the future.

This government announced that the desalination project would be powered by renewable energy when we decided to pursue it. Following a competitive tender process, AGL was awarded the 20-year renewable energy contract. AGL is Australia's largest private owner/operator and developer of renewable generation, with more than $2.3 billion worth of accredited renewable projects, either built or under construction, and another $2 billion in its portfolio, I am advised, of development opportunities.

Under the contract, AGL will supply accredited renewable energy and renewable energy certificates to match all the energy consumed by the Adelaide desalination plant, as metered at the plant boundary. The renewable energy will come from AGL's existing South Australian generators accredited under the GreenPower Program, I am advised, and from AGL projects in South Australia, either under construction or in its development pipeline, which also meet GreenPower accreditation standards.

This is achieved through the purchase of accredited renewable energy certificates to match 100 per cent of the energy consumed by the ADP, including the energy consumed by the desal plant marine works and the transfer pipeline system and as metered at the plant boundary. The people of South Australia know that we were in a very difficult position with regard to our water security during the last drought. The people of South Australia know that we will face similar circumstances again into the future, and they will be grateful to know that they have the security of water supply that we never had under the Liberal government.