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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2017-02-15 Daily Xml
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Renewable Energy Target

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:30): My question is to the Premier. Will the Premier confirm that, while the state's renewable energy target was still 33 per cent, the South Australian government was warned about an increasing risk to the power network's reliability from managing the intermittent nature of wind generation?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier) (14:31): Those opposite can continue their campaign of railing against renewable energy all day and all night, but the South Australian government's position is that we believe that renewable energy is an essential part of our future. Indeed, don't take my word for it. Take the Prime Minister of Australia's word for it, the Hon. Malcolm Turnbull, the man who said that we are going to have to have zero net emissions in relation to our energy system by 2050.

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The leader is warned for the second and final time.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: The Prime Minister of Australia, who is a good friend, I understand, of the Leader of the Opposition, said that this is the future for South Australia. If you think that those remarks that were made back in 2009 represent the old Malcolm Turnbull, and that somehow he is now a different man because he has had to—

Mr Gardner interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Morialta is warned.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —sacrifice some of the things that he has believed in in the lead-up to becoming Prime Minister, let's have a more recent update of his views, a more recent update of the Prime Minister of Australia's views in the lead-up to the last federal election campaign. Indeed, in a campaign speech in South Australia, he praised South Australia for its leadership role in relation to renewable energy. This is the simple truth. Everyone understands that if we are to meet our international commitments that we signed up to in Paris—that the Prime Minister of Australia, Hon. Malcolm Turnbull, signed up to in Paris—we have to have a renewable energy future.

The commonwealth government's own federal renewable energy target is 23.5 per cent; we are only at about 18 per cent of that. We would be nowhere near that renewable energy target without the contribution of South Australia.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: There have been a lot of revisions of history by various commentators who hate renewable energy and who love coal. That is what has been happening. The coal club has captured a substantial proportion of the federal caucus, who in turn have captured the Prime Minister.

It's sad, but it's true. That is why you have a man who had devoted so much of his career to promoting a change of this topic sacrifice everything he believes in to save his own skin. It's sad, and that is why, in South Australia, we can no longer rely upon a Prime Minister who no longer stands for those things in which he believes. That is why South Australia needs to go it alone and take control of its own energy future. When we do present our plan to the South Australian people, I look forward to bipartisan support from those opposite because it's absolutely clear they have no plan of their own.

The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Schubert, I warn the members for Adelaide and Wright, and I warn for the second and final time the member for Morialta. I hope he makes a careful note of that in his ledger.

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