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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-05-09 Daily Xml
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National Energy Market Reform

Mr PATTERSON (Morphett) (14:52): My question is for the Minister for Energy and Mining. Will the minister update the house on the importance of national energy market reform for South Australia and what progress has been made?

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart—Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:53): I thank the member for Morphett, the newly elected member for Morphett, who has a very deep and genuine interest in this issue, as do all members in this house, I hope. This is a very important question because it is one of the most significant things that has been missing from the previous Labor government's effort—poor effort, I have to say—on energy.

This was clearly a platform that we brought to the election that we as a new South Australian state Liberal government would participate in fixing and contributing to national energy reform so that we can get electricity prices down and deliver an orderly transition to clean energy. Our commitment is clear: to make the transition in a way that doesn't punish South Australians with higher prices and blackouts and particularly doesn't punish the most vulnerable South Australians with higher prices and blackouts.

We put forward a positive solution: interconnection, a huge investment in home and grid-scale storage, and modernising our system. Work is underway, and we will deliver on our commitments. One key commitment was to restore our leadership role at the COAG Energy Council in fixing the National Electricity Market. Investors have been held back over the last 10 years because there has been too much politics about energy and climate change, particularly coming from the former South Australian Labor government.

At COAG in April, we moved closer than we have been for a long time to providing the certainty that investors need. Unlike the previous government, we decided to support further work on the National Energy Guarantee, not because we are ready to sign off on it but because it is better to know the information that's available. There is no harm in finding out more information and then assessing it.

Before the election, the previous government tried to stop the National Energy Guarantee from being progressed. They stood in the way before they actually had the information to make an assessment about it. They stood in the way for purely political reasons. It's clear now that that was premature and outright politics. Our actions at COAG were supported by the broader energy sector. Our action at COAG was supported by the other states, both Liberal and Labor.

The previous government raised concerns about the renewable sector, but the Clean Energy Council supported our position. They supported further work on the NEG at COAG Energy Council in April. The previous government was concerned about competition. Even the smallest retailers supported our position to get more work done on the NEG. More work is definitely needed and we will make a final decision based on what is best for South Australia once we have that information.

We cannot let the perfect be the enemy of the good. This work must be done. We need a sensible national plan to reduce emissions and reduce prices, and I was glad to work with my colleagues of all political persuasions towards this end. Together, we tasked the Energy Security Board to strengthen the work underway on transmission planning. This is important because it supports our election commitment to deliver an interconnector.

We are advancing South Australia's interest by working together with other states and the federal government—exactly the opposite way that the former Labor government worked. The member for West Torrens would know very well that reform can be frustrating, but you must be willing to work in the reform process to have any chance of it being successful.

As the legislating parliament, South Australia has a special role to play at COAG. We will show leadership. We will participate in delivering reform.

The SPEAKER: The member's time has expired.

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