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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-03-19 Daily Xml
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Renewable Energy Projects

Mr McBRIDE (MacKillop) (14:44): Supplementary question to the Minister for Energy: will the government consider acquiring the South Australian Power Networks to ensure consistent investment rollout of renewable energy projects across the whole state?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Florey is warned for a final time.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:45): As I see the students from my old alma mater, Adelaide High, leave I remember sitting in the audience at Adelaide High School and there was a famous Liberal politician who came to speak at Adelaide High School. I think it was Dale Baker. He came along to speak at Adelaide High and we sat and listened intently to his remarks about the work of Thomas Playford. Thomas Playford had built up the state's infrastructure. As the Premier famously talks about, the Morgan to Whyalla pipeline, a great piece of nation-building infrastructure. When New South Wales coal was being forced upon South Australian electricity generators, he held a royal commission to ask why we can't use our own coal from Leigh Creek. Then he nationalised, that's right nationalised, those infrastructure assets and created the Electricity Trust of South Australia, for the benefit of all South Australians.

The inheritors of his legacy then sold it all—sold it all. Not only did they sell it all in claiming to pay down debt, they then went on to increase debt—they went on to increase debt.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Geniuses! So are we planning to undo their privatisation? No, we are not. I will give you a very good reason why we won't. Despite the success of Labor governments in this state, every time we build up public infrastructure, like the last time we were in office we bought two generators to provide reserve power that is a sovereign capability for the state, the moment we lost that election, what did they do?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: They sold it.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Chaffey, member for Florey, order!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: They sold it. They can't help themselves. They are addicted to it.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey, you leave me no choice, and the member for Florey, both to depart under 137A for the remainder of question time.

The honourable members for Chaffey and Florey having withdrawn from the chamber:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: So every time we attempt to build up public infrastructure, build up public assets, essential utilities, they are at risk—they are at risk—and they are at risk because when Sir Thomas Playford was Premier and the great Sir Don Dunstan and the like graced these chambers, there was a bipartisan accord. That bipartisan accord was: we are a small state, a small population and a large land mass and we need to have these public infrastructures in public hands to make sure that South Australia can grow. But unfortunately, the inheritors of that legacy forgot that and immediately then sold them and then complained about the people who bought these assets and then closed them.

So, I say to the member for MacKillop that I would dearly love to have these assets in public hands. In fact, I was in here in 1999 when John Olsen proposed the sale of ETSA after having promised to never, ever sell it. I voted against the sale of ETSA. I voted against the breaking up of the assets. I voted against the sale of Torrens Island. I voted against the sale of the Playford Power Station. I voted against the sale of the poles and wires. I voted against the sale of the transmission. Yet members opposite were all in favour of selling those assets. So if we buy them back, you can bet London to a brick they will sell them again.

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