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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-09-11 Daily Xml
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WATER HEATERS

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (15:23): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for State/Local Government Relations, representing the Minister for Energy, a question regarding water heater standards in South Australia.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: Since 1 July 2008 electric hot water heaters have been banned in the construction of most new homes—that is, excluding remote areas and in flats and apartments and the like—in the name of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in South Australia. Unfortunately for many home builders, the new regulation even applies in cases where there is no gas available to the house that is being constructed. One home builder who recently contacted my office is currently building a home at Elizabeth Downs. He was recently advised by his gas company that there is no gas in his street and no plans to install it. On contacting his builder, Fairmont Homes, to request a switch to an electric hot water system for his new home, he was told this was no longer an option due to the new regulations.

The constituent cannot afford a solar powered or pump hot water system, so he is facing a very difficult situation indeed. The only affordable option for this constituent and any others in the development (and there are several) is to install a gas heater and have bottled gas trucked in on a very regular basis. My questions are:

1. Did the minister take account of South Australia's very poor gas infrastructure availability when it banned electric hot water systems for new developments?

2. Does the minister agree that not only is bottled gas inconvenient for people who are building new homes but also the need to truck it around the state to all the new housing developments without pipeline gas will actually result in an increase in greenhouse gas emissions?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister Assisting the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Energy) (15:24): I thank the honourable member for his questions and will refer them to the minister in another place and bring back a response.

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