❓ Mr. Johnston questions the Minister for Energy about the decision to abolish the solar feed-in tariff, alleging a lack of proper consultation and delayed advice. The Minister defends the process, blaming the Public Utilities Office for delays and conflicting advice.
AnsweredQoN 410Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
SOLAR FEED-IN TARIFF SCHEME
410. Mr W.J. JOHNSTON to the Minister for Energy:
Given that the minister knew on 24 June 2013 of the proposal
to abolish the feed-in tariff and that the decision to abolish the FIT was made
on 8 July —
(1) Why did he
agree to this decision to abolish the feed-in tariff without seeking advice
from the Public Utilities Office?
(2) Why did the minister only seek verbal advice from the
State Solicitor's Office on 8 August 2013?
(3) What risks were identified by the State Solicitor's
Office?
(4) Given that
the minister's credibility is so much in question, why will he not
table his subsequent advice?
410. Mr W.J. JOHNSTON to the Minister for Energy:
Given that the minister knew on 24 June 2013 of the proposal
to abolish the feed-in tariff and that the decision to abolish the FIT was made
on 8 July —
(1) Why did he
agree to this decision to abolish the feed-in tariff without seeking advice
from the Public Utilities Office?
(2) Why did the minister only seek verbal advice from the
State Solicitor's Office on 8 August 2013?
(3) What risks were identified by the State Solicitor's
Office?
(4) Given that
the minister's credibility is so much in question, why will he not
table his subsequent advice?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(4) I am not sure where the member is getting the
dates 24 July and 8 July for decisions made —
Mr W.J. Johnston :
24 June.
Several members interjected.
Dr M.D. NAHAN : The
Economic and Expenditure Reform Committee meets; we make decisions —
Ms R. Saffioti :
Did you seek advice?
Dr M.D. NAHAN : Is
it your question?
Mr W.J. Johnston :
Just answer the question, minister. Why are you scared of it?
Dr M.D. NAHAN : You
asked me a question and I am trying to answer it; so sit down, be quiet and
allow me to answer!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Cannington, I call you to order for the second time. Member for
Girrawheen, I call you to order for the first time. Will you please allow the
minister to answer the question.
Dr M.D. NAHAN : The
issue about the feed-in tariff change was discussed in the EERC numerous times.
I am not going to discuss here at which stage we discussed it or when we made a
decision. The member for Cannington made some assumptions on when we discussed
it and when we made decisions—he can make those. As to receipt of
advice on 8 August, we had requested it before then; it is just when the Public
Utilities Office delivered it to my office. That it was late is actually a
problem with the PUO. When I heard about the feed-in tariff proposal I went
immediately—the next week—to the PUO and said, ''Give me
a briefing on it.'' That it arrived on 23 July is a problem with the
PUO.
Mr
B.S. Wyatt : There is a sense of urgency going on here!
Dr M.D. NAHAN :
Yes, that is a real issue here.
When we received it, in the sense of urgency, we contacted
the State Solicitor's Office by phone and sought advice. It went through
the PUO and back to me on 8 August, which indicates there is a significant
tardiness in getting official advice.
Mr B.S. Wyatt :
What date was budget cut-off date—the ninth?
Dr
M.D. NAHAN : Ninth—I thought the budget was released on the eighth,
but anyway.
That is the scenario. I sought legal
advice; I sought advice from PUO as soon as the issue was proposed. When PUO
got —
Several members interjected.
Dr
M.D. NAHAN : When the PUO provided me advice on the twenty-third, that
conflicted with the advice that the State Solicitor had provided the
government. I went back to them and we found out that PUO was wrong. That is
the process we went through.
dates 24 July and 8 July for decisions made —
Mr W.J. Johnston :
24 June.
Several members interjected.
Dr M.D. NAHAN : The
Economic and Expenditure Reform Committee meets; we make decisions —
Ms R. Saffioti :
Did you seek advice?
Dr M.D. NAHAN : Is
it your question?
Mr W.J. Johnston :
Just answer the question, minister. Why are you scared of it?
Dr M.D. NAHAN : You
asked me a question and I am trying to answer it; so sit down, be quiet and
allow me to answer!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Cannington, I call you to order for the second time. Member for
Girrawheen, I call you to order for the first time. Will you please allow the
minister to answer the question.
Dr M.D. NAHAN : The
issue about the feed-in tariff change was discussed in the EERC numerous times.
I am not going to discuss here at which stage we discussed it or when we made a
decision. The member for Cannington made some assumptions on when we discussed
it and when we made decisions—he can make those. As to receipt of
advice on 8 August, we had requested it before then; it is just when the Public
Utilities Office delivered it to my office. That it was late is actually a
problem with the PUO. When I heard about the feed-in tariff proposal I went
immediately—the next week—to the PUO and said, ''Give me
a briefing on it.'' That it arrived on 23 July is a problem with the
PUO.
Mr
B.S. Wyatt : There is a sense of urgency going on here!
Dr M.D. NAHAN :
Yes, that is a real issue here.
When we received it, in the sense of urgency, we contacted
the State Solicitor's Office by phone and sought advice. It went through
the PUO and back to me on 8 August, which indicates there is a significant
tardiness in getting official advice.
Mr B.S. Wyatt :
What date was budget cut-off date—the ninth?
Dr
M.D. NAHAN : Ninth—I thought the budget was released on the eighth,
but anyway.
That is the scenario. I sought legal
advice; I sought advice from PUO as soon as the issue was proposed. When PUO
got —
Several members interjected.
Dr
M.D. NAHAN : When the PUO provided me advice on the twenty-third, that
conflicted with the advice that the State Solicitor had provided the
government. I went back to them and we found out that PUO was wrong. That is
the process we went through.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.