❓ Dr. Honey questions the Premier about the $220 million financial assistance provided to Griffin Coal, seeking transparency and details on the rationale and application of funds, as well as consideration of the parent company's debt. The Premier cites commercial confidentiality as a barrier to full disclosure, highlighting efforts to maintain energy security and affordable electricity during the transition from coal.
AnsweredQoN 152Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
GRIFFIN COAL —
GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
Dr D.J. HONEY : Madam Speaker.
The SPEAKER : The Leader of
the Liberal Party.
Dr D.J. HONEY : Almost, Madam
Speaker!
The SPEAKER : Sorry—I
went back in time!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : I am not sure—it
could be back; it could be forward!
152. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Premier:
I refer to the Premier's
announcement dated 1 December 2023 regarding the decision to provide $220 million
to Griffin Coal.
(1) In the interest of public accountability, will the
Premier agree to table documents showing the rationale for the
government's financial assistance and a breakdown of how it has been
applied; and, if not, why not?
(2) Did the
government include Griffin Coal's parent company's debt in its
consideration of assistance; and, if so, why?
GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
Dr D.J. HONEY : Madam Speaker.
The SPEAKER : The Leader of
the Liberal Party.
Dr D.J. HONEY : Almost, Madam
Speaker!
The SPEAKER : Sorry—I
went back in time!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : I am not sure—it
could be back; it could be forward!
152. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Premier:
I refer to the Premier's
announcement dated 1 December 2023 regarding the decision to provide $220 million
to Griffin Coal.
(1) In the interest of public accountability, will the
Premier agree to table documents showing the rationale for the
government's financial assistance and a breakdown of how it has been
applied; and, if not, why not?
(2) Did the
government include Griffin Coal's parent company's debt in its
consideration of assistance; and, if so, why?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) As
the member will be aware, I provide regular updates by way of brief ministerial
statements in relation to the work that we are doing to ensure that Western Australia,
including industry continues to have a supply of electricity for the
foreseeable future. We provide as much information in those updates as possible. A lot of these conversations with the
companies involve commercial-in-confidence matters, so it creates an awkward dynamic: we want to be accountable
and transparent to the people of Western Australia while also respecting
the rights of private partners to have a level of commercial confidentiality.
From that perspective, I am not in a position to provide the member with all
the details that he is looking for. Suffice to say that we are doing two
things. First, we are making sure that the owners of the Griffin mine are
receiving an appropriate price for their coal so that they can continue to
operate; otherwise, they will simply walk
away and that, of itself, would be a bad thing. The other thing we are doing is
working with the owners of the Bluewaters power station on their
relationship with Griffin to ensure that they can continue to provide power to
not only Synergy, but also their private customers.
This is all part and parcel of the
journey that we are on; that is, we need to make sure that we keep the lights
on as we transition away from coal as part of our renewable energy future. It
will not always be smooth. It will not always be linear, but it will be managed
appropriately so that we do two things. The first is to maintain energy
security in Western Australia, and the second is to make sure that electricity
bills are affordable for Western Australian households.
the member will be aware, I provide regular updates by way of brief ministerial
statements in relation to the work that we are doing to ensure that Western Australia,
including industry continues to have a supply of electricity for the
foreseeable future. We provide as much information in those updates as possible. A lot of these conversations with the
companies involve commercial-in-confidence matters, so it creates an awkward dynamic: we want to be accountable
and transparent to the people of Western Australia while also respecting
the rights of private partners to have a level of commercial confidentiality.
From that perspective, I am not in a position to provide the member with all
the details that he is looking for. Suffice to say that we are doing two
things. First, we are making sure that the owners of the Griffin mine are
receiving an appropriate price for their coal so that they can continue to
operate; otherwise, they will simply walk
away and that, of itself, would be a bad thing. The other thing we are doing is
working with the owners of the Bluewaters power station on their
relationship with Griffin to ensure that they can continue to provide power to
not only Synergy, but also their private customers.
This is all part and parcel of the
journey that we are on; that is, we need to make sure that we keep the lights
on as we transition away from coal as part of our renewable energy future. It
will not always be smooth. It will not always be linear, but it will be managed
appropriately so that we do two things. The first is to maintain energy
security in Western Australia, and the second is to make sure that electricity
bills are affordable for Western Australian households.
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