❓ Mr. Blayney asks the Minister for Energy about the timeline for the review of Western Power's Extended Outage Payment Scheme, considering the impact of COVID-19 on Midwest residents and businesses. The Minister deflects, blaming climate change and criticising the federal government's climate policy and a suggestion from another member to ignore bushfire risks.
AnsweredQoN 685Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WESTERN POWER —
EXTENDED OUTAGE PAYMENT SCHEME
685. Mr
I.C. BLAYNEY to the Minister for Energy:
I have a supplementary question. On
behalf of midwest residents and businesses who are already struggling due to
COVID, when does the minister commit to having the review completed and the
outcomes communicated to the house?
EXTENDED OUTAGE PAYMENT SCHEME
685. Mr
I.C. BLAYNEY to the Minister for Energy:
I have a supplementary question. On
behalf of midwest residents and businesses who are already struggling due to
COVID, when does the minister commit to having the review completed and the
outcomes communicated to the house?
AnswerView source ↗
I look forward to coming back and
talking to the member shortly, but as I say, it has to be understood that this
is a payment made by other electricity users. Let us not misunderstand where
Western Power gets its revenue from. It is not a tax collecting agency. It
collects 100 per cent of its revenue from users of the electricity system, so
if it increases its costs, those costs are borne by electricity users.
I want to make a final point about
the reliability in the midwest, and it goes to the question of the capacity for
Western Power to respond to outages when there is a bushfire risk. Unfortunately,
not only is there more often a bushfire
risk, but also the length of time for bushfire risks is extending, to the
extent that it is now three times more likely
that there will be extended outages than there was a decade ago. That is the
result of climate change. This is an example of why we need to respond to
climate change, and I look forward to the federal Liberal–National
government laying out its plan to meet its commitments to the Paris accord. Of
course, the federal government has set out that we will meet the Paris accord,
but it has not yet told the states how that will be achieved. We would like it
to do that. We would also like the federal government to tell us what will
happen beyond 2030. It is past time for the commonwealth government to respond
to climate change. The member's constituents and the member for Moore's
constituents are having a less reliable electricity supply because of the
impacts of climate change extending the bushfire season.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mr W.J. JOHNSTON : No. The member for Geraldton wrote
to me and said that Western Power should ignore bushfire risk and re-energise
lines, knowing that there is a higher risk of starting bushfires. That is not
going to happen. That is not an appropriate response to bushfire risk. We are
not going to close our eyes, turn the electricity system back on and burn down
people's farms. That is not a sensible approach. For the member to say
that the way to challenge this climate risk is to have a higher risk of burning
down the houses in his electorate is a disgrace.
talking to the member shortly, but as I say, it has to be understood that this
is a payment made by other electricity users. Let us not misunderstand where
Western Power gets its revenue from. It is not a tax collecting agency. It
collects 100 per cent of its revenue from users of the electricity system, so
if it increases its costs, those costs are borne by electricity users.
I want to make a final point about
the reliability in the midwest, and it goes to the question of the capacity for
Western Power to respond to outages when there is a bushfire risk. Unfortunately,
not only is there more often a bushfire
risk, but also the length of time for bushfire risks is extending, to the
extent that it is now three times more likely
that there will be extended outages than there was a decade ago. That is the
result of climate change. This is an example of why we need to respond to
climate change, and I look forward to the federal Liberal–National
government laying out its plan to meet its commitments to the Paris accord. Of
course, the federal government has set out that we will meet the Paris accord,
but it has not yet told the states how that will be achieved. We would like it
to do that. We would also like the federal government to tell us what will
happen beyond 2030. It is past time for the commonwealth government to respond
to climate change. The member's constituents and the member for Moore's
constituents are having a less reliable electricity supply because of the
impacts of climate change extending the bushfire season.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mr W.J. JOHNSTON : No. The member for Geraldton wrote
to me and said that Western Power should ignore bushfire risk and re-energise
lines, knowing that there is a higher risk of starting bushfires. That is not
going to happen. That is not an appropriate response to bushfire risk. We are
not going to close our eyes, turn the electricity system back on and burn down
people's farms. That is not a sensible approach. For the member to say
that the way to challenge this climate risk is to have a higher risk of burning
down the houses in his electorate is a disgrace.
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