❓ Mr. Lilburne questions the Minister about WA's low energy prices and their impact on cost of living and economic growth. The Minister responds by highlighting WA's strong economic performance and low energy prices compared to other regions.
AnsweredQoN 567Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
M c GOWAN
GOVERNMENT — ENERGY POLICY
567. Mr P. LILBURNE to the Minister for State Development,
Jobs and Trade:
I refer to the record of successive
Labor governments in delivering low gas and energy prices, including its
historic and nation-leading gas reservation policy.
(1) Can the minister advise the house on what global
industry experts have had to say about Western Australia's low
energy prices and outline what this means for cost-of-living pressures here in
WA?
(2) Can the
minister advise the house how this government is maximising WA's
position as a low-cost energy provider to grow our economy and drive
development across the state?
GOVERNMENT — ENERGY POLICY
567. Mr P. LILBURNE to the Minister for State Development,
Jobs and Trade:
I refer to the record of successive
Labor governments in delivering low gas and energy prices, including its
historic and nation-leading gas reservation policy.
(1) Can the minister advise the house on what global
industry experts have had to say about Western Australia's low
energy prices and outline what this means for cost-of-living pressures here in
WA?
(2) Can the
minister advise the house how this government is maximising WA's
position as a low-cost energy provider to grow our economy and drive
development across the state?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the
member for the question because it is a very important one.
(1)–(2) The strong economic management by the McGowan
government, particularly over the last two and a half years, has allowed
us to repeatedly deliver stronger economic results across the country. Figures
from the Australian Bureau of Statistics earlier in the year showed that Western
Australia's state final demand, which is a measure of domestic economic
activity, grew by 7.2 per cent over the last two years. I want members to
reflect on that for just a moment. When the rest of the world's
economies were being decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Western Australian
economy grew by 7.2 per cent. Across 2021, WA also enjoyed a net interstate
migration increase of 11 423 people while other states endured extended lockdowns and significant net losses of
their populations. In July this year, a comparative analysis by Deloitte highlighted the significantly lower cost
of living and higher average household income relative to other parts of
the country. This is a truly remarkable achievement in the context of the
pandemic.
On
top of all that, analysis delivered this month by consultancy EnergyQuest shows
that Western Australia has some of
the lowest natural gas prices in the OECD. In the second quarter of this year,
the Santos average WA gas price was $5.73 per gigajoule, while over the
same period in the US, the average price was $A9.48 per gigajoule, and in the
UK it was $A28.93 per gigajoule. There is a significantly lower price for gas
in Western Australia. Our electricity prices are also lower compared with the
national electricity market on the east
coast. For example, Western Australia has an electricity price of around $64 per
megawatt hour versus the east coast, which is $284 per megawatt hour. It
is worth noting that our power generation is also less emissions intensive,
with coal powering only 38 per cent of generation in WA compared with 59 per
cent on the east coast. This looks to me like we must have an extremely good
Minister for Energy!
I point out an article in The
Australian Financial Review that recently highlighted the significance of
the results from EnergyQuest. It says that
previous criticisms of the state government's domestic gas policies —
� including that it could deter
investment in new gas supply and push up electricity prices by prioritising
supply security over efficiency—do not appear to have been borne out by
experience in Western Australia, a market that is transitioning to low-carbon
power.
Madam Speaker, you could not ask for
more positive signs that we are on the right track as we continue our efforts
to reconnect Western Australia with the rest of the world.
With the lowest unemployment rates of
all states, we now have the foundation to reap the benefits of our strong
economic management. The McGowan government's $100 million investment
attraction fund and the $195 million Reconnect WA strategy are all about doing
just that—taking the state forward from a position of strength through
COVID-19 to launching into overdrive in a post-COVID-19 period. We are
attracting the right range of diversified skills to capitalise on our
comparative advantages and help industry deliver the jobs of the future for all
Western Australians. As the Minister for State Development, Jobs and Trade, I could
not be more proud of the efforts of the state economic community in continuing
to take us forward. It has been resilient during the COVID-19 pandemic and now,
through a diversified Western Australian economy, we are moving forward with
deliberate and positive signs that we are making progress.
member for the question because it is a very important one.
(1)–(2) The strong economic management by the McGowan
government, particularly over the last two and a half years, has allowed
us to repeatedly deliver stronger economic results across the country. Figures
from the Australian Bureau of Statistics earlier in the year showed that Western
Australia's state final demand, which is a measure of domestic economic
activity, grew by 7.2 per cent over the last two years. I want members to
reflect on that for just a moment. When the rest of the world's
economies were being decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Western Australian
economy grew by 7.2 per cent. Across 2021, WA also enjoyed a net interstate
migration increase of 11 423 people while other states endured extended lockdowns and significant net losses of
their populations. In July this year, a comparative analysis by Deloitte highlighted the significantly lower cost
of living and higher average household income relative to other parts of
the country. This is a truly remarkable achievement in the context of the
pandemic.
On
top of all that, analysis delivered this month by consultancy EnergyQuest shows
that Western Australia has some of
the lowest natural gas prices in the OECD. In the second quarter of this year,
the Santos average WA gas price was $5.73 per gigajoule, while over the
same period in the US, the average price was $A9.48 per gigajoule, and in the
UK it was $A28.93 per gigajoule. There is a significantly lower price for gas
in Western Australia. Our electricity prices are also lower compared with the
national electricity market on the east
coast. For example, Western Australia has an electricity price of around $64 per
megawatt hour versus the east coast, which is $284 per megawatt hour. It
is worth noting that our power generation is also less emissions intensive,
with coal powering only 38 per cent of generation in WA compared with 59 per
cent on the east coast. This looks to me like we must have an extremely good
Minister for Energy!
I point out an article in The
Australian Financial Review that recently highlighted the significance of
the results from EnergyQuest. It says that
previous criticisms of the state government's domestic gas policies —
� including that it could deter
investment in new gas supply and push up electricity prices by prioritising
supply security over efficiency—do not appear to have been borne out by
experience in Western Australia, a market that is transitioning to low-carbon
power.
Madam Speaker, you could not ask for
more positive signs that we are on the right track as we continue our efforts
to reconnect Western Australia with the rest of the world.
With the lowest unemployment rates of
all states, we now have the foundation to reap the benefits of our strong
economic management. The McGowan government's $100 million investment
attraction fund and the $195 million Reconnect WA strategy are all about doing
just that—taking the state forward from a position of strength through
COVID-19 to launching into overdrive in a post-COVID-19 period. We are
attracting the right range of diversified skills to capitalise on our
comparative advantages and help industry deliver the jobs of the future for all
Western Australians. As the Minister for State Development, Jobs and Trade, I could
not be more proud of the efforts of the state economic community in continuing
to take us forward. It has been resilient during the COVID-19 pandemic and now,
through a diversified Western Australian economy, we are moving forward with
deliberate and positive signs that we are making progress.
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