❓ Shadow Minister Honey questions the Minister for Energy about the short timeframe for expressions of interest for the South Fremantle Power Station site, considering its complexity and contamination. The Minister defends the timeframe, citing interest from sophisticated investors.
AnsweredQoN 295Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
SOUTH FREMANTLE POWER STATION — EXPRESSIONS OF
INTEREST
295. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Minister for Energy:
I refer to the proposed sale of the
South Fremantle power station site that the minister announced yesterday.
(1) Can the
minister confirm that proponents have only eight business days to develop their
expressions of interest for a complex development site, which includes significant
contamination remediation?
(2) How can the minister expect a competitive
process with such a short time frame?
INTEREST
295. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Minister for Energy:
I refer to the proposed sale of the
South Fremantle power station site that the minister announced yesterday.
(1) Can the
minister confirm that proponents have only eight business days to develop their
expressions of interest for a complex development site, which includes significant
contamination remediation?
(2) How can the minister expect a competitive
process with such a short time frame?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question,
and I want to let everybody know that I am no longer a virgin; this is the
first question from the shadow Minister for Energy!
Dr D.J. Honey : No, it's
not; it's the second one.
Mr W.J. JOHNSTON : It is the
first one the member has asked me!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Minister, I will ask you not to overshare.
Mr W.J. JOHNSTON : The answer
is as follows.
(1)–(2) When I became Minister for Energy, I had a discussion
with the CEO of Synergy about the South Fremantle power station. I encouraged
him to find an alternative use because it costs a lot of money to maintain that
power station. It has been empty for 36 years. It is a magnificent building. It
was completed in 1951, and even though it is
postwar, it has an elegant, art deco–industrial look to it. It is a magnificent
building. There has been a range of proposals over a long period of time
from all governments about its future use. In fact, on DevelopmentWA's
website, there is a detailed presentation of what DevelopmentWA would like to
do with the site.
There has been an unsolicited bid for
that property. The bidder asked me, as minister, whether I thought they should
buy it. I actually pointed out to them the problems with the site, because it
is a heritage-listed building and the site has some contamination issues. They
asked to meet with me, which I did. When that meeting was held, I asked for
Synergy executives to attend. The meeting was held during a period of lockdown
here in Perth; therefore, the meeting was done over Zoom. At that meeting, I told
the proponent that they should deal directly with Synergy, and I told the
executives of Synergy, and I repeated this to the chief executive officer, that
I should have nothing to do with any part of the proposal. The proposal was
considered by the management of Synergy, which put it to the board. When the proposal
went to the board, the board decided that it
should go out for expressions of interest, which was advertised in The West Australian yesterday.
As
members can imagine, the only people who will be bidding for this proposal are
sophisticated investors, many of whom have had their sights on that building
for a long period of time and have advanced ideas on how they would utilise
that facility if they were to take possession of it. That is why it is not a surprise
that I was informed today by Synergy that so far there have been 12 expressions
of interest for that site.
Ms R. Saffioti : In 24 hours?
Mr W.J. JOHNSTON : Within 24 hours of the proposal
going to market. Synergy already has the unsolicited bid, which is not a market-level
proposal—it is an unsolicited bid to a government trading enterprise—and
it has now had an additional 12 people express their interest.
As
I say, the only people who will be able to purchase this building are
sophisticated investors who are familiar with the demands of developing
constrained sites like this one. That is why I am not at all surprised that
there has been such a quick and thorough response to this independent process
that is being run entirely by Synergy.
and I want to let everybody know that I am no longer a virgin; this is the
first question from the shadow Minister for Energy!
Dr D.J. Honey : No, it's
not; it's the second one.
Mr W.J. JOHNSTON : It is the
first one the member has asked me!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Minister, I will ask you not to overshare.
Mr W.J. JOHNSTON : The answer
is as follows.
(1)–(2) When I became Minister for Energy, I had a discussion
with the CEO of Synergy about the South Fremantle power station. I encouraged
him to find an alternative use because it costs a lot of money to maintain that
power station. It has been empty for 36 years. It is a magnificent building. It
was completed in 1951, and even though it is
postwar, it has an elegant, art deco–industrial look to it. It is a magnificent
building. There has been a range of proposals over a long period of time
from all governments about its future use. In fact, on DevelopmentWA's
website, there is a detailed presentation of what DevelopmentWA would like to
do with the site.
There has been an unsolicited bid for
that property. The bidder asked me, as minister, whether I thought they should
buy it. I actually pointed out to them the problems with the site, because it
is a heritage-listed building and the site has some contamination issues. They
asked to meet with me, which I did. When that meeting was held, I asked for
Synergy executives to attend. The meeting was held during a period of lockdown
here in Perth; therefore, the meeting was done over Zoom. At that meeting, I told
the proponent that they should deal directly with Synergy, and I told the
executives of Synergy, and I repeated this to the chief executive officer, that
I should have nothing to do with any part of the proposal. The proposal was
considered by the management of Synergy, which put it to the board. When the proposal
went to the board, the board decided that it
should go out for expressions of interest, which was advertised in The West Australian yesterday.
As
members can imagine, the only people who will be bidding for this proposal are
sophisticated investors, many of whom have had their sights on that building
for a long period of time and have advanced ideas on how they would utilise
that facility if they were to take possession of it. That is why it is not a surprise
that I was informed today by Synergy that so far there have been 12 expressions
of interest for that site.
Ms R. Saffioti : In 24 hours?
Mr W.J. JOHNSTON : Within 24 hours of the proposal
going to market. Synergy already has the unsolicited bid, which is not a market-level
proposal—it is an unsolicited bid to a government trading enterprise—and
it has now had an additional 12 people express their interest.
As
I say, the only people who will be able to purchase this building are
sophisticated investors who are familiar with the demands of developing
constrained sites like this one. That is why I am not at all surprised that
there has been such a quick and thorough response to this independent process
that is being run entirely by Synergy.
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