❓ Question addresses compensation for power outages in regional WA and support for affected businesses. The Minister's response defends the government's actions, highlighting the severity of the event and criticising the opposition's opportunism.
AnsweredQoN 30Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ELECTRICITY — OUTAGES — COMPENSATION
30. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Minister for Energy:
I refer to the $240 in compensation
paid to residents in regional Western Australia following the recent power
outages, which was a once-up from the usual $120; and the substantial losses
reported by local businesses of up to $100 000, leaving businesses to feel
abandoned, pleading for the delivery of a promised support package.
(1) How does the
minister justify the compensation offered in light of the significant
disruption to these customers across regional Western Australia?
(2) How much
longer will these small businesses have to wait for the minister's
promised support package to be made available?
30. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Minister for Energy:
I refer to the $240 in compensation
paid to residents in regional Western Australia following the recent power
outages, which was a once-up from the usual $120; and the substantial losses
reported by local businesses of up to $100 000, leaving businesses to feel
abandoned, pleading for the delivery of a promised support package.
(1) How does the
minister justify the compensation offered in light of the significant
disruption to these customers across regional Western Australia?
(2) How much
longer will these small businesses have to wait for the minister's
promised support package to be made available?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) It
is a delight to get a question from the opposition. When I held—I
continue to hold—the portfolios of environment and climate action, the
opposition never knew I was here! Not a question. It is good to get a question
after a while. It speaks to the opposition's priorities, which
certainly are not in the environment or climate action spaces.
Members,
we know that what happened last month was an extraordinary natural event that
was unprecedented in many ways. It was the most significant hit to
Western Power infrastructure in Western Power's history. Right now in
Victoria, similar types of extreme weather events have cut power to more than
half a million Victorians. They are talking about restrictions or outages
lasting weeks rather than days, so one of the things I was looking forward to
hearing from this opposition when we returned to the chamber was their
admiration and gratitude to those Western Power engineers and crews who did an
extraordinary job in restoring power as quickly as they did. They faced an
extreme and extraordinary situation. The creativity and ingenuity of Western
Power engineers in coming up with a solution to energise the goldfields, way
ahead of the more than a week it took to restore the 220-kilovolt line, was
extraordinary. We should be grateful that we have Western Power in public hands
delivering extraordinary outcomes for the people of this state. That is the
first point.
It is true that power cuts are
incredibly frustrating and incredibly disruptive; we know that. Some of the
outages in the hills and in the wheatbelt—I concede this—lasted
far longer than they did in Kalgoorlie. It was about 30-odd hours in
Kalgoorlie. Because of the extraordinary response from crews and engineers, we
managed to get the power back on in Kalgoorlie after that 30-hour period, but
the outages lasted longer in other parts of the state. There was a series of
events, from fires to supercell thunderstorms, that flattened transmission
towers. Again, that had an impact in Kalgoorlie.
We know that small businesses were
impacted, absolutely. I shared their frustration and their anxiety during this period. I was up there very early on the
Saturday, and I know that the Leader of the Liberal Party was up there
as well. The Leader of the Liberal Party was ringing businesses around the town
to find out what was going on, in order to make political capital out of the
extreme misfortune of those people in Kalgoorlie
at the time. The member for Kalgoorlie knows that the Leader of the Liberal
Party was very keen to make political capital out of their discomfort
and these issues.
Ms L. Mettam : They wanted to
be heard!
Mr
R.R. WHITBY : I heard those people
too, and I was on the ground; I was not there to put on a media show and revel in the misfortune of others. I will
let the Leader of the Liberal Party deal with that. I might add that not
everyone she contacted actually wanted to play her game, and she knows
exactly what I am talking about in that regard.
I
say to the Leader of the Opposition that the best thing we can do for the
people of the goldfields is ensure that they have secure energy
supplies. That is the best thing we can do for those businesses. As the Leader
of the Opposition knows, at the end of last month, the Premier announced that a
tender would be going to market to find a new source of resilient power for the
goldfields that will increase resiliency in the goldfields and, indeed, the
entire network. That is the absolute best thing that businesses or any
individual in Kalgoorlie could want.
What is the government doing to
ensure we have the best possible secure supply of energy? There are challenges
with climate change. No doubt, we will get more and more extreme weather
events, and how we deal with that is by making a resilient, futureproof
network. That involves more renewables—not fewer—transmission
and storage, and the responsible management and transition of coal power. I could
go into what the Leader of the Opposition's policies were at the last
election, which would have seen us walk away from Collie and turn the lights
off —
Mr R.S. Love interjected.
Mr
R.R. WHITBY : It is not a policy
of the Nationals WA but a policy of the Liberal Party. I see ''Don't
blame us . It's the Liberals.'' Okay, I get that. Under a government
that the Nationals would have been a part of, in nine and a half months from
now, we would be shutting down Kalgoorlie and coal-fired energy. That was the
plan for 2025: in nine and a half months'
time, no more Collie coal in the system. What do members think that would do to
the grid ? It would cripple Western Australia and
its economy, and put the lights off permanently.
Mr R.S. Love interjected.
Mr R.R. WHITBY : The point I am
making is very clear. The best thing we can do for businesses in Kalgoorlie, throughout the wheatbelt and in the hills is to
ensure that we have the most resilient energy system possible. In terms of the West Kalgoorlie power station and those two
generators, there is an inquiry on at the moment to find out why that failure occurred. We have heard comments from
the member for Cottesloe, who seems to know what happened . Let the
experts decide. We know what happened, but we do not know why it happened and
how it happened. Let us get to the bottom of
that. In the meantime, the Premier has indicated that we will go to market for
a more resilient power supply for the goldfields in the future.
is a delight to get a question from the opposition. When I held—I
continue to hold—the portfolios of environment and climate action, the
opposition never knew I was here! Not a question. It is good to get a question
after a while. It speaks to the opposition's priorities, which
certainly are not in the environment or climate action spaces.
Members,
we know that what happened last month was an extraordinary natural event that
was unprecedented in many ways. It was the most significant hit to
Western Power infrastructure in Western Power's history. Right now in
Victoria, similar types of extreme weather events have cut power to more than
half a million Victorians. They are talking about restrictions or outages
lasting weeks rather than days, so one of the things I was looking forward to
hearing from this opposition when we returned to the chamber was their
admiration and gratitude to those Western Power engineers and crews who did an
extraordinary job in restoring power as quickly as they did. They faced an
extreme and extraordinary situation. The creativity and ingenuity of Western
Power engineers in coming up with a solution to energise the goldfields, way
ahead of the more than a week it took to restore the 220-kilovolt line, was
extraordinary. We should be grateful that we have Western Power in public hands
delivering extraordinary outcomes for the people of this state. That is the
first point.
It is true that power cuts are
incredibly frustrating and incredibly disruptive; we know that. Some of the
outages in the hills and in the wheatbelt—I concede this—lasted
far longer than they did in Kalgoorlie. It was about 30-odd hours in
Kalgoorlie. Because of the extraordinary response from crews and engineers, we
managed to get the power back on in Kalgoorlie after that 30-hour period, but
the outages lasted longer in other parts of the state. There was a series of
events, from fires to supercell thunderstorms, that flattened transmission
towers. Again, that had an impact in Kalgoorlie.
We know that small businesses were
impacted, absolutely. I shared their frustration and their anxiety during this period. I was up there very early on the
Saturday, and I know that the Leader of the Liberal Party was up there
as well. The Leader of the Liberal Party was ringing businesses around the town
to find out what was going on, in order to make political capital out of the
extreme misfortune of those people in Kalgoorlie
at the time. The member for Kalgoorlie knows that the Leader of the Liberal
Party was very keen to make political capital out of their discomfort
and these issues.
Ms L. Mettam : They wanted to
be heard!
Mr
R.R. WHITBY : I heard those people
too, and I was on the ground; I was not there to put on a media show and revel in the misfortune of others. I will
let the Leader of the Liberal Party deal with that. I might add that not
everyone she contacted actually wanted to play her game, and she knows
exactly what I am talking about in that regard.
I
say to the Leader of the Opposition that the best thing we can do for the
people of the goldfields is ensure that they have secure energy
supplies. That is the best thing we can do for those businesses. As the Leader
of the Opposition knows, at the end of last month, the Premier announced that a
tender would be going to market to find a new source of resilient power for the
goldfields that will increase resiliency in the goldfields and, indeed, the
entire network. That is the absolute best thing that businesses or any
individual in Kalgoorlie could want.
What is the government doing to
ensure we have the best possible secure supply of energy? There are challenges
with climate change. No doubt, we will get more and more extreme weather
events, and how we deal with that is by making a resilient, futureproof
network. That involves more renewables—not fewer—transmission
and storage, and the responsible management and transition of coal power. I could
go into what the Leader of the Opposition's policies were at the last
election, which would have seen us walk away from Collie and turn the lights
off —
Mr R.S. Love interjected.
Mr
R.R. WHITBY : It is not a policy
of the Nationals WA but a policy of the Liberal Party. I see ''Don't
blame us . It's the Liberals.'' Okay, I get that. Under a government
that the Nationals would have been a part of, in nine and a half months from
now, we would be shutting down Kalgoorlie and coal-fired energy. That was the
plan for 2025: in nine and a half months'
time, no more Collie coal in the system. What do members think that would do to
the grid ? It would cripple Western Australia and
its economy, and put the lights off permanently.
Mr R.S. Love interjected.
Mr R.R. WHITBY : The point I am
making is very clear. The best thing we can do for businesses in Kalgoorlie, throughout the wheatbelt and in the hills is to
ensure that we have the most resilient energy system possible. In terms of the West Kalgoorlie power station and those two
generators, there is an inquiry on at the moment to find out why that failure occurred. We have heard comments from
the member for Cottesloe, who seems to know what happened . Let the
experts decide. We know what happened, but we do not know why it happened and
how it happened. Let us get to the bottom of
that. In the meantime, the Premier has indicated that we will go to market for
a more resilient power supply for the goldfields in the future.
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