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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-07-31 Daily Xml
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Project Zero

Ms LUETHEN (King) (15:11): Thank you, Mr Speaker—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my left!

Ms LUETHEN: My question is to the Minister for Environment and Water. Can the minister detail to the house how SA Water's project to reduce electricity costs to net zero forms part of the government's focus on easing cost-of-living pressures for South Australians?

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Minister for Environment and Water) (15:11): I thank the member for King for her question. It was great to be able to travel up to the north-eastern suburbs with the member for King to actually be in the member for Newland's electorate at the Hope Valley Reservoir a couple of weeks ago, when the government announced the latest stage in what has become known as Project Zero, the working title for the project being led by SA Water to create a very significant movement towards the purchase of renewable energy and the creation and storage of renewable energy to essentially wipe out SA Water's energy bill over the coming years.

The project will see SA Water's energy bill of some $55 million, as it currently stands, wiped out through the investment in some half a million solar panels, significant storage facilities and other experimental renewable energy items, which will result in the creation and storage of renewables to offset SA Water's power bill. One of the things that SA Water has going for it is the opportunity to access very large areas of open space, which often either surround reservoirs or are held in other areas of Crown land controlled by SA Water or, when it comes to reservoirs themselves, there is the capacity to potentially float solar panels on reservoirs.

Accessing this land and activating it for the use and creation of renewable power and the subsequent storage of that power has that potential. It has been great to be able to work alongside SA Water since becoming the minister responsible for the corporation to see that project, which was initiated under the previous government, extend to the next stage. A number of organisations have now been short-listed as part of a tender, and SA Water looks forward to working alongside those in the coming months as this project is finalised and we start to get that renewable energy production happening.

Of course, Project Zero, and the investment in renewable energy, is only one part of the state government's very significant focus on reducing water bills. Members would be aware that just a few weeks ago the government announced that Lew Owens, a former chair of the SA Water Corporation, will head the government's independent inquiry into water pricing.

We have recognised that water bills are one of the most significant financial imposts on South Australian households and South Australian businesses. We want to do whatever we can as a government to put downward pressure on water bills, and that is exactly what our independent inquiry into water pricing is going to do. It's going to be exploring exactly how our water pricing occurs in South Australia and look for ways in which downward pressure can be placed on our water bills.

We are unashamed of our incredibly strong focus on reducing the cost of living across the board in this state, whether it be reductions to the emergency services levy, whether it be land tax reductions, whether it be the abolition of payroll tax on small and medium-sized businesses, or looking at ways to put downward pressure on power prices. We will do everything as a government to take the pressure off South Australian households and businesses so they have the opportunity to reinvest in our economy and ultimately grow our state's economy.

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