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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2016-09-20 Daily Xml
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Environmental Liabilities

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (15:02): I seek leave to make a brief explanation prior to directing a question to the Minister for Environment on the subject of environmental liabilities.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway: Aside from the minister?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: Yes. The government today, through the Treasurer, issued a ministerial statement which says, and I quote:

The meetings progressed discussions on South Australian Government support for the sale in terms of our $50 million in financial assistance and ways of providing some certainty for potential buyers towards the past environmental liabilities of the Arrium Whyalla steelworks site.

The State Government is providing a letter to the Administrators outlining our support which will be communicated to bidders in the Indicative Bid stage of the sale process by inclusion in an 'Information Memorandum'.

My questions to the Minister for Environment are:

1. What discussions has the Minister for Environment, or any officer for which the minister is responsible, had in relation to, and I quote, 'ways of providing some certainty for potential buyers towards the past environmental liabilities of the Arrium Whyalla steelworks site'?

2. What assurances, if any, were provided by the government to bidders in their letter as part of the information memorandum on this issue?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change) (15:03): I thank the honourable member for his question on the subject of environmental liability. The honourable member has been around long enough to know that the lead minister in this matter is the Treasurer and he should be directing his questions to him. In relation to discussions I have in cabinet about these matters, of course, the honourable member also knows that we do not discuss cabinet discussions. In terms of environmental liabilities, let me point to one. It was on the front page of the paper, I think, on Monday, 'Majority say privatisation sparked our power crisis. We blame ETSA sale.'

The only environmental liability around the place at the moment is the Hon. Mr Lucas. Who was it that shepherded through this parliament the sale, the privatisation of ETSA in South Australia in the 1990s? It was the Hon. Mr Lucas. Who was it who closed down the proposal to build an interconnector with New South Wales? It was the Hon. Mr Lucas. He was the one who said, 'No, no, let's not build the interconnector with New South Wales. It will drive down the price that we can get for privatising ETSA. Let's scupper that. We'll send that one to the back room. We won't build that, even though it will drive down electricity costs to our consumers. We want to sell ETSA. We'll scupper that. We won't build that interconnector, because it means that we will get a bigger price for ETSA.'

The only environmental liability that is anywhere near my horizon is the Hon. Mr Lucas, who sold this state down the river for a few dollars and then peddled it away. What do we have to show for it? What do we have to show for the privatisation? We have higher prices for SA customers, higher prices for SA citizens, all due to the Liberal Party and their privatisation. That's the environmental liability we see facing us. The whole state blames Robert Lucas for this.

The PRESIDENT: Supplementary, Mr Lucas.

The Hon. T.J. Stephens: Shame! Resign!

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Mr Lucas has the floor.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. K.J. Maher interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Will the Leader of the Government desist.

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