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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2017-10-17 Daily Xml
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SA Water

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (15:16): I seek leave to make an explanation before asking the Minister for Water a question about E&WS.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: Members would be aware that in 2012 the Weatherill government secretly paid the consultants KPMG $100,000 to provide advice on their secret plan for the sale or privatisation of SA Water.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: The Weatherill government ministers are squealing like stuck pigs because—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: —they got trapped and they got caught.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Lucas, take a seat, please.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: It is just totally unacceptable that the Leader of the Government and ministers on the front bench—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins: You might have to stand up, Mr President.

The PRESIDENT: Well, I’m hoping not to. Allow the Hon. Mr Lucas to get up and ask whatever question he wants, without any interjection. The Hon. Mr Lucas.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: The ministers are squealing like stuck pigs, as I indicated, because the evidence given to the Budget and Finance Committee by no less a person than the Under Treasurer of the Department of Treasury and Finance confirmed in Hansard that $100,000 had been spent by you—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: —on the secret deal to try to privatise SA Water.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Mr Lucas, take a seat. It’s totally unacceptable for the minister or any minister—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The next minister to talk while the Hon. Mr Lucas is on his feet will be named. The Hon. Mr Lucas.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: Thank you for your protection, Mr President. As I said, the evidence given by the Under Treasurer to the Budget and Finance Committee confirmed a payment of $100,000 to KPMG on a secret plan for the sale and privatisation of SA Water. Further evidence given to the Budget and Finance Committee from no less a person than the then chief executive officer of the Essential Services Commission of South Australia, Dr Paul Kerin, confirmed that the Under Treasurer had had a discussion with him and told him that the Weatherill government was considering the privatisation of parts of SA Water. Further on, in 2014 and 2015—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. G.E. Gago interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Ms Gago, order!

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: —freedom of information documents released after a lot of battles by the opposition—

The Hon. G.E. Gago interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Ms Gago, please desist.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: I will repeat it, Mr President, because there were too many interjections. In 2014-15, after a long battle for the release of secret documents under freedom of information, SA Water revealed that their board had considered privatisation—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: This is separate, separate to the earlier one. The earlier study was done by Treasury. In 2014-15, the SA Water board documents released indicated they were still considering the privatisation of some SA Water assets. In 2015, again in evidence to the Budget and Finance Committee, the Under Treasurer confirmed that the Weatherill government had considered an unsolicited bid to sell part of the SA Water assets, which was the Aldinga treatment works.

In 2011, the Weatherill government decided to continue with the outsourcing to the private sector of the management of the metropolitan water supply for another 10 to 16-year period, and that contract was given to a new operator, Allwater joint ventures. My questions to the minister are:

1. Given the government's decision to establish an E&WS department, as they announced on the weekend, will the Weatherill government now discontinue the Allwater contract at the first available opportunity?

2. When the Weatherill government took this decision in 2011 to continue the contract, did SA Water at that time advise the Weatherill government that it was significantly cheaper to continue to outsource the operation to the private sector of the metropolitan water supply; and what was the estimated level of annual savings under that contract that convinced the Weatherill government that it should continue with the outsourcing arrangement?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change) (15:21): I have not heard in my life such a litany of inaccuracies in this place in my whole experience, but that is the nature of the man. This is a fellow who comes into this place and makes the most bald-faced statements knowing them not to be true and looking for a rise. Let's just go through chapter and verse of what that fellow across there did when he was last in government, when he told the South Australian public hand on heart, 'We will never sell ETSA,' and then months afterwards when they were in government that is exactly what they did.

You cannot trust a single word that comes out of that man's mouth, and why would the people of South Australia? I am incredibly proud that Labor's first election promise in the leadup to the 2018 state election is to bring back the corporatised asset that is SA Water, back under state control as an agency in the government. We all know what the Hon. Rob Lucas's intentions were in corporatising SA Water in the first place: to fatten up the calf for private sector sale. That is what his intentions were all along and it was only the good outcome of the people of South Australia voting for a Labor government that stopped them from getting their way with SA Water, which is exactly what they did with ETSA. These people have got privatisation in their DNA.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: As announced on 14 October, a re-elected Labor government will establish the energy and water services department to bring together publicly-owned water and electricity essential services and protect them from privatisation. This policy recognises that South Australians have become increasingly concerned by the effect of privatisation on the provision of essential services.

The Hon. R.L. Brokenshire: You're the ones doing it all. You're the ones that have done most of it—

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: The Hon. Mr Brokenshire—

The Hon. R.L. Brokenshire: —without approval from the parliament. You broke your pledge and your promise.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: —in an embarrassing dimension—

The Hon. R.L. Brokenshire: It's disgraceful. You should be thrown out of government.

The PRESIDENT: Order! Minister, take a seat. The Hon. Mr Brokenshire, just try to contain yourself, and if you have any comments put them through the Chair. Allow the minister to answer the question. Minister.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Mr President, the Hon. Mr Brokenshire intervenes—of course, out of order—but, of course, he is incredibly embarrassed because he was actually a minister at the time when he was responsible, supporting the Hon. Rob Lucas in privatising ETSA.

The Hon. R.L. Brokenshire: It went through the parliament, mate.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Oh, now he says, 'It went through the parliament.' He promised the people of South Australia that he would never privatise ETSA, and then he turned around and did it. No wonder you can't trust these Liberals or ex-Liberals. No-one can believe a word they say.

This policy, as I said, recognises that South Australians have become increasingly concerned by the effective privatisation of the provision of essential services. A re-elected Labor government will introduce legislative changes that will protect SA Water from those opposite—or, indeed, those who used to be opposite but are now out on their own—who, given half a chance, would privatise SA Water, as they did with our state's electricity assets.

Currently, SA Water can be privatised without any parliamentary approval. This means it is at risk, and that is exactly what the Hon. Robert Lucas intended when he corporatised SA Water in the first place. We know they would. They couldn't help themselves; they would not be able to help themselves. They have foolishly privatised South Australian essential services in the past to the detriment of the whole state.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! There are far too many voices in the chamber. The only voice I want to hear is the minister's.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Thank you, Mr President, you are a very wise judge. The ACCC chairman, Mr Rodney Sims, has identified the Liberal Olsen government's privatisation of the Moomba to Adelaide gas pipeline, along with the suite of electricity assets, as a prime example of poor government decision-making. He said:

…you get a one-off gain but imposing a continuing cost on society, as that owner, unfettered by competition or unfettered by any sense of regulation of their monopoly, will charge what they like and that will damage the economy.

And that's exactly what we saw—that is exactly what we saw. In 1997, the Liberals' election platform included a promise not to pursue the privatisation of the state's energy assets. Let's just reflect on that. Their actual election platform, the promise they take to the community, was a promise not to pursue the privatisation of the state's energy assets. Well, we know what happened.

On 17 February 1998, less than five months after their fragile victory, premier Olsen introduced legislation into the South Australian parliament that recommended the immediate sale of the Electricity Trust of South Australia. That's how much their word is worth: five months; it lasted five months. When the Hon. Rob Lucas and the Liberals signed the contracts to sell our public assets—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: —they constrained competition, which in turn drove up the sale price. Of course, that's what they intended to do. That decision has led to a lack of competition among electricity generators and market behaviour that charges South Australians as much as possible. Indeed, this side of the chamber wants to protect these important essential services and ensure they remain in government hands and operate for the public good, as they should be.

Our new department will oversee water and sewerage assets currently held by SA Water and energy assets, such as the new publicly owned power plant. Let's not forget, these guys have privatisation stuck in their DNA. We haven't even bought and paid for the government-owned power station yet, and they have already announced out there that they are going to sell it. Before we have even signed the cheque they have already flagged out there, 'We're not in this. We privatised ETSA; we'll privatise all electricity assets.' Even before we have signed the cheque to purchase the government's own energy generator, the Liberals have announced they are going to sell it.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: This is not a three-way discussion. The only one who should be on his feet, talking, is the minister. Minister.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Our new department will oversee water and sewerage assets currently held by SA Water and our energy assets, as I have said, such as the new publicly owned power plant. The only way to keep that publicly owned power plant in public hands will be to return a Labor government at the next election. By bringing SA Water into this new government department and passing legislation that prevents our central services being privatised, we are ensuring that South Australians will continue to have access to high-quality, reliable and affordable essential services and protect South Australian jobs.

The Liberal Party has announced plans to privatise the publicly owned power plant. Again, I have to say that, under the existing arrangements, they could do that to SA Water without reference to parliament. This is going to be a clear point of difference between Labor and the Liberal Party that will give South Australians a choice, a real choice, at the next election. Water services provided by SA Water, held in government hands for the people of South Australia, are highly valued by South Australians and we are committed to keeping these services owned by the public.

Over the last four years, SA Water customers have seen a 6.5 per cent decrease in combined water and sewerage average bills, which is the largest reduction for urban residential customers out of the 13 similar size water utilities across the country—the largest reduction across the country. Since the introduction of independent regulation in 2013, the government has driven down the price of the average household water and sewerage bill by $171. Do you really believe that if the Liberals get their way and privatise SA Water, those bills are going to come down? Never, ever. We have delivered on our commitment to contain cost-of-living pressures for South Australians by limiting water price and sewerage increases for next year—

The Hon. J.M.A. Lensink: The highest water prices in Australia and the highest electricity prices in the world.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Well, it's not. The Hon. Michelle Lensink is peddling lies again. She is absolutely misinformed and she is telling the world untruths.

The Hon. J.M.A. Lensink: It's true.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: It is not true at all. Sewerage increases for the next year will be kept to CPI. Keeping SA Water in public hands will ensure this essential service continues to be provided in the long-term best interests of South Australians, rather than being driven by the financial considerations of the private sector and the profits the Hon. Rob Lucas could get his hands on.

These changes will bring together publicly owned essential services and protect them from that privatisation. The new department will oversee water and sewerage assets currently owned and held in public hands for perpetuity as well as, as I mentioned, the publicly owned power plant. Above all, this election commitment will keep these assets for the public to control, to protect our existing jobs in these industries, to continue to provide essential services for all South Australians.

There is no way to run away from this. The Liberal Party made solemn promises over two decades ago to never privatise ETSA, and then they did. Is it little wonder that when they come out again—five, six months before a state election—and say, hand on heart, 'Trust us this time; we'll never privatise SA Water like we did ETSA,' is it little wonder that no-one believes a word they say?

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