❓ Treasurer Ripper defends the government's pipeline expansion efforts, criticizing the Opposition Leader's handling of the pipeline's privatisation and accusing him of hypocrisy regarding tariff regulation. He asserts the government's grant is transparent and necessary for energy security.
AnsweredQoN 626Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the Leader of the Opposition’s claim that the Government’s efforts to ensure the expansion of the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline is akin to a WA Inc type deal. Will the Treasurer comment on this claim? Mr E.S. RIPPER
AnswerView source ↗
With great pleasure. This is another instance when the Leader of the Opposition simply cannot admit to his mistakes. He botched the privatisation of this pipeline and he left Western Australian businesses and householders hostage to a multi-national company that went broke and would not expand the pipeline to meet the interests of the people of Western Australia. We can all recall the celebrations when the previous Government sold and privatised the pipeline - the clinking of the champagne glasses and the glee as they pocketed $2.4 billion. They ignored the long-term strategic interests of this State. They did not do anything to protect those interests. The deal soon started to go pear-shaped, even before the Court Government left office, because Epic Energy started to claim that it had a compact with the former Government to have tariffs set at a particular level. Dr G.I. Gallop: It would have been nice to have an inquiry into that. Mr E.S. RIPPER: It would have been interesting to have an inquiry into that. The then Minister for Energy, the now Leader of the Opposition, said in this House on 13 June 2000 that - Every bidder armed with armies of lawyers and accountants in a document room which was open for six weeks knew that the process of national gas pipeline access regulation was in place and that there would be an independent gas regulator who from 1 January 2000 would set the tariff. He had to deal with the issue of the deal going pear-shaped before the change of government. What is interesting about that comment is that he was entirely comfortable with the independent regulation of the tariff. Indeed, we would expect him to be, because he was the minister who introduced the laws that prevented ministerial intervention in tariff setting. After the election of the Gallop Government, he started demanding that the Labor Government act corruptly by breaking the law and intervening to set a higher tariff. By doing that, he was suggesting that in effect we should allow the multinational to whom he sold the pipeline to charge higher tariffs to our businesses and householders. In other words, he supported a solution that would have allowed Epic Energy to put a secret tax on the people who rely on the electricity produced by the gas that comes down that pipeline. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr E.S. RIPPER: We are now fixing that problem so that we can guarantee gas supplies for the south west of Western Australia well into the future. There is now a powerful incentive for that pipeline to be expanded; that is, the grant that the Government is prepared to make to fund part of the expansion of the pipeline. We offered that grant on an open and transparent basis before bids closed so that everyone who was participating in the process would know exactly how this matter would work. It is not an unconditional grant; it is a grant to fund the expansion of the pipeline. It will not go just into anyone’s pocket; it is there for the expansion of the pipeline to meet the energy security needs of the south west of the State. Mr M.W. Trenorden: What has happened to the tariff - $110 million plus a higher tax? The SPEAKER: Order, Leader of the National Party! Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the National Party does not know what he is talking about. Maybe if his questions were not drafted in the corporate headquarters of Epic Energy, he would have a bit more knowledge of, and a more balanced approach to, the whole energy question. Whenever he comes into this Parliament with questions drafted by particular corporate interests we cannot trust his approach to the energy issue. Mr M.W. Trenorden: You are incompetent; Peter’s right! Mr E.S. RIPPER: I am competent enough to write my own questions. I do not need Epic Energy to write them for me! The Opposition is making hysterical claims about the lack of precedent for this issue. Those claims are just hysterical. Does the Leader of the Opposition not recall the Court Government’s financial assistance of $140 million for the construction of a privately owned convention centre? Does he not recall the financial assistance he offered to get the Windimurra project off the ground? Does he not recall all the expenditure on Oakajee in support of the Kingstream project, in which the then Premier’s brother was a key figure? I do not think he will openly admit to recalling that, but he should. There is another thing that he should recall. With regard to Windimurra and Oakajee, we got nothing to show for that assistance. The critical difference is that this time we will get the expansion of the pipeline to ensure the energy security, the economic development, the jobs and the growth that we deserve and want in the south west of Western Australia.
Mr E.S. RIPPER replied: With great pleasure. This is another instance when the Leader of the Opposition simply cannot admit to his mistakes. He botched the privatisation of this pipeline and he left Western Australian businesses and householders hostage to a multi-national company that went broke and would not expand the pipeline to meet the interests of the people of Western Australia. We can all recall the celebrations when the previous Government sold and privatised the pipeline - the clinking of the champagne glasses and the glee as they pocketed $2.4 billion. They ignored the long-term strategic interests of this State. They did not do anything to protect those interests. The deal soon started to go pear-shaped, even before the Court Government left office, because Epic Energy started to claim that it had a compact with the former Government to have tariffs set at a particular level. Dr G.I. Gallop: It would have been nice to have an inquiry into that. Mr E.S. RIPPER: It would have been interesting to have an inquiry into that. The then Minister for Energy, the now Leader of the Opposition, said in this House on 13 June 2000 that - Every bidder armed with armies of lawyers and accountants in a document room which was open for six weeks knew that the process of national gas pipeline access regulation was in place and that there would be an independent gas regulator who from 1 January 2000 would set the tariff. He had to deal with the issue of the deal going pear-shaped before the change of government. What is interesting about that comment is that he was entirely comfortable with the independent regulation of the tariff. Indeed, we would expect him to be, because he was the minister who introduced the laws that prevented ministerial intervention in tariff setting. After the election of the Gallop Government, he started demanding that the Labor Government act corruptly by breaking the law and intervening to set a higher tariff. By doing that, he was suggesting that in effect we should allow the multinational to whom he sold the pipeline to charge higher tariffs to our businesses and householders. In other words, he supported a solution that would have allowed Epic Energy to put a secret tax on the people who rely on the electricity produced by the gas that comes down that pipeline. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr E.S. RIPPER: We are now fixing that problem so that we can guarantee gas supplies for the south west of Western Australia well into the future. There is now a powerful incentive for that pipeline to be expanded; that is, the grant that the Government is prepared to make to fund part of the expansion of the pipeline. We offered that grant on an open and transparent basis before bids closed so that everyone who was participating in the process would know exactly how this matter would work. It is not an unconditional grant; it is a grant to fund the expansion of the pipeline. It will not go just into anyone’s pocket; it is there for the expansion of the pipeline to meet the energy security needs of the south west of the State. Mr M.W. Trenorden: What has happened to the tariff - $110 million plus a higher tax? The SPEAKER: Order, Leader of the National Party! Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the National Party does not know what he is talking about. Maybe if his questions were not drafted in the corporate headquarters of Epic Energy, he would have a bit more knowledge of, and a more balanced approach to, the whole energy question. Whenever he comes into this Parliament with questions drafted by particular corporate interests we cannot trust his approach to the energy issue. Mr M.W. Trenorden: You are incompetent; Peter’s right! Mr E.S. RIPPER: I am competent enough to write my own questions. I do not need Epic Energy to write them for me! The Opposition is making hysterical claims about the lack of precedent for this issue. Those claims are just hysterical. Does the Leader of the Opposition not recall the Court Government’s financial assistance of $140 million for the construction of a privately owned convention centre? Does he not recall the financial assistance he offered to get the Windimurra project off the ground? Does he not recall all the expenditure on Oakajee in support of the Kingstream project, in which the then Premier’s brother was a key figure? I do not think he will openly admit to recalling that, but he should. There is another thing that he should recall. With regard to Windimurra and Oakajee, we got nothing to show for that assistance. The critical difference is that this time we will get the expansion of the pipeline to ensure the energy security, the economic development, the jobs and the growth that we deserve and want in the south west of Western Australia.
With great pleasure. This is another instance when the Leader of the Opposition simply cannot admit to his mistakes. He botched the privatisation of this pipeline and he left Western Australian businesses and householders hostage to a multi-national company that went broke and would not expand the pipeline to meet the interests of the people of Western Australia. We can all recall the celebrations when the previous Government sold and privatised the pipeline - the clinking of the champagne glasses and the glee as they pocketed $2.4 billion. They ignored the long-term strategic interests of this State. They did not do anything to protect those interests. The deal soon started to go pear-shaped, even before the Court Government left office, because Epic Energy started to claim that it had a compact with the former Government to have tariffs set at a particular level. Dr G.I. Gallop: It would have been nice to have an inquiry into that. Mr E.S. RIPPER: It would have been interesting to have an inquiry into that. The then Minister for Energy, the now Leader of the Opposition, said in this House on 13 June 2000 that - Every bidder armed with armies of lawyers and accountants in a document room which was open for six weeks knew that the process of national gas pipeline access regulation was in place and that there would be an independent gas regulator who from 1 January 2000 would set the tariff. He had to deal with the issue of the deal going pear-shaped before the change of government. What is interesting about that comment is that he was entirely comfortable with the independent regulation of the tariff. Indeed, we would expect him to be, because he was the minister who introduced the laws that prevented ministerial intervention in tariff setting. After the election of the Gallop Government, he started demanding that the Labor Government act corruptly by breaking the law and intervening to set a higher tariff. By doing that, he was suggesting that in effect we should allow the multinational to whom he sold the pipeline to charge higher tariffs to our businesses and householders. In other words, he supported a solution that would have allowed Epic Energy to put a secret tax on the people who rely on the electricity produced by the gas that comes down that pipeline. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr E.S. RIPPER: We are now fixing that problem so that we can guarantee gas supplies for the south west of Western Australia well into the future. There is now a powerful incentive for that pipeline to be expanded; that is, the grant that the Government is prepared to make to fund part of the expansion of the pipeline. We offered that grant on an open and transparent basis before bids closed so that everyone who was participating in the process would know exactly how this matter would work. It is not an unconditional grant; it is a grant to fund the expansion of the pipeline. It will not go just into anyone’s pocket; it is there for the expansion of the pipeline to meet the energy security needs of the south west of the State. Mr M.W. Trenorden: What has happened to the tariff - $110 million plus a higher tax? The SPEAKER: Order, Leader of the National Party! Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the National Party does not know what he is talking about. Maybe if his questions were not drafted in the corporate headquarters of Epic Energy, he would have a bit more knowledge of, and a more balanced approach to, the whole energy question. Whenever he comes into this Parliament with questions drafted by particular corporate interests we cannot trust his approach to the energy issue. Mr M.W. Trenorden: You are incompetent; Peter’s right! Mr E.S. RIPPER: I am competent enough to write my own questions. I do not need Epic Energy to write them for me! The Opposition is making hysterical claims about the lack of precedent for this issue. Those claims are just hysterical. Does the Leader of the Opposition not recall the Court Government’s financial assistance of $140 million for the construction of a privately owned convention centre? Does he not recall the financial assistance he offered to get the Windimurra project off the ground? Does he not recall all the expenditure on Oakajee in support of the Kingstream project, in which the then Premier’s brother was a key figure? I do not think he will openly admit to recalling that, but he should. There is another thing that he should recall. With regard to Windimurra and Oakajee, we got nothing to show for that assistance. The critical difference is that this time we will get the expansion of the pipeline to ensure the energy security, the economic development, the jobs and the growth that we deserve and want in the south west of Western Australia.
Dr G.I. Gallop: It would have been nice to have an inquiry into that. Mr E.S. RIPPER: It would have been interesting to have an inquiry into that. The then Minister for Energy, the now Leader of the Opposition, said in this House on 13 June 2000 that - Every bidder armed with armies of lawyers and accountants in a document room which was open for six weeks knew that the process of national gas pipeline access regulation was in place and that there would be an independent gas regulator who from 1 January 2000 would set the tariff. He had to deal with the issue of the deal going pear-shaped before the change of government. What is interesting about that comment is that he was entirely comfortable with the independent regulation of the tariff. Indeed, we would expect him to be, because he was the minister who introduced the laws that prevented ministerial intervention in tariff setting. After the election of the Gallop Government, he started demanding that the Labor Government act corruptly by breaking the law and intervening to set a higher tariff. By doing that, he was suggesting that in effect we should allow the multinational to whom he sold the pipeline to charge higher tariffs to our businesses and householders. In other words, he supported a solution that would have allowed Epic Energy to put a secret tax on the people who rely on the electricity produced by the gas that comes down that pipeline. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr E.S. RIPPER: We are now fixing that problem so that we can guarantee gas supplies for the south west of Western Australia well into the future. There is now a powerful incentive for that pipeline to be expanded; that is, the grant that the Government is prepared to make to fund part of the expansion of the pipeline. We offered that grant on an open and transparent basis before bids closed so that everyone who was participating in the process would know exactly how this matter would work. It is not an unconditional grant; it is a grant to fund the expansion of the pipeline. It will not go just into anyone’s pocket; it is there for the expansion of the pipeline to meet the energy security needs of the south west of the State. Mr M.W. Trenorden: What has happened to the tariff - $110 million plus a higher tax? The SPEAKER: Order, Leader of the National Party! Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the National Party does not know what he is talking about. Maybe if his questions were not drafted in the corporate headquarters of Epic Energy, he would have a bit more knowledge of, and a more balanced approach to, the whole energy question. Whenever he comes into this Parliament with questions drafted by particular corporate interests we cannot trust his approach to the energy issue. Mr M.W. Trenorden: You are incompetent; Peter’s right! Mr E.S. RIPPER: I am competent enough to write my own questions. I do not need Epic Energy to write them for me! The Opposition is making hysterical claims about the lack of precedent for this issue. Those claims are just hysterical. Does the Leader of the Opposition not recall the Court Government’s financial assistance of $140 million for the construction of a privately owned convention centre? Does he not recall the financial assistance he offered to get the Windimurra project off the ground? Does he not recall all the expenditure on Oakajee in support of the Kingstream project, in which the then Premier’s brother was a key figure? I do not think he will openly admit to recalling that, but he should. There is another thing that he should recall. With regard to Windimurra and Oakajee, we got nothing to show for that assistance. The critical difference is that this time we will get the expansion of the pipeline to ensure the energy security, the economic development, the jobs and the growth that we deserve and want in the south west of Western Australia.
Mr E.S. RIPPER: It would have been interesting to have an inquiry into that. The then Minister for Energy, the now Leader of the Opposition, said in this House on 13 June 2000 that - Every bidder armed with armies of lawyers and accountants in a document room which was open for six weeks knew that the process of national gas pipeline access regulation was in place and that there would be an independent gas regulator who from 1 January 2000 would set the tariff. He had to deal with the issue of the deal going pear-shaped before the change of government. What is interesting about that comment is that he was entirely comfortable with the independent regulation of the tariff. Indeed, we would expect him to be, because he was the minister who introduced the laws that prevented ministerial intervention in tariff setting. After the election of the Gallop Government, he started demanding that the Labor Government act corruptly by breaking the law and intervening to set a higher tariff. By doing that, he was suggesting that in effect we should allow the multinational to whom he sold the pipeline to charge higher tariffs to our businesses and householders. In other words, he supported a solution that would have allowed Epic Energy to put a secret tax on the people who rely on the electricity produced by the gas that comes down that pipeline. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr E.S. RIPPER: We are now fixing that problem so that we can guarantee gas supplies for the south west of Western Australia well into the future. There is now a powerful incentive for that pipeline to be expanded; that is, the grant that the Government is prepared to make to fund part of the expansion of the pipeline. We offered that grant on an open and transparent basis before bids closed so that everyone who was participating in the process would know exactly how this matter would work. It is not an unconditional grant; it is a grant to fund the expansion of the pipeline. It will not go just into anyone’s pocket; it is there for the expansion of the pipeline to meet the energy security needs of the south west of the State. Mr M.W. Trenorden: What has happened to the tariff - $110 million plus a higher tax? The SPEAKER: Order, Leader of the National Party! Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the National Party does not know what he is talking about. Maybe if his questions were not drafted in the corporate headquarters of Epic Energy, he would have a bit more knowledge of, and a more balanced approach to, the whole energy question. Whenever he comes into this Parliament with questions drafted by particular corporate interests we cannot trust his approach to the energy issue. Mr M.W. Trenorden: You are incompetent; Peter’s right! Mr E.S. RIPPER: I am competent enough to write my own questions. I do not need Epic Energy to write them for me! The Opposition is making hysterical claims about the lack of precedent for this issue. Those claims are just hysterical. Does the Leader of the Opposition not recall the Court Government’s financial assistance of $140 million for the construction of a privately owned convention centre? Does he not recall the financial assistance he offered to get the Windimurra project off the ground? Does he not recall all the expenditure on Oakajee in support of the Kingstream project, in which the then Premier’s brother was a key figure? I do not think he will openly admit to recalling that, but he should. There is another thing that he should recall. With regard to Windimurra and Oakajee, we got nothing to show for that assistance. The critical difference is that this time we will get the expansion of the pipeline to ensure the energy security, the economic development, the jobs and the growth that we deserve and want in the south west of Western Australia.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr E.S. RIPPER: We are now fixing that problem so that we can guarantee gas supplies for the south west of Western Australia well into the future. There is now a powerful incentive for that pipeline to be expanded; that is, the grant that the Government is prepared to make to fund part of the expansion of the pipeline. We offered that grant on an open and transparent basis before bids closed so that everyone who was participating in the process would know exactly how this matter would work. It is not an unconditional grant; it is a grant to fund the expansion of the pipeline. It will not go just into anyone’s pocket; it is there for the expansion of the pipeline to meet the energy security needs of the south west of the State. Mr M.W. Trenorden: What has happened to the tariff - $110 million plus a higher tax? The SPEAKER: Order, Leader of the National Party! Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the National Party does not know what he is talking about. Maybe if his questions were not drafted in the corporate headquarters of Epic Energy, he would have a bit more knowledge of, and a more balanced approach to, the whole energy question. Whenever he comes into this Parliament with questions drafted by particular corporate interests we cannot trust his approach to the energy issue. Mr M.W. Trenorden: You are incompetent; Peter’s right! Mr E.S. RIPPER: I am competent enough to write my own questions. I do not need Epic Energy to write them for me! The Opposition is making hysterical claims about the lack of precedent for this issue. Those claims are just hysterical. Does the Leader of the Opposition not recall the Court Government’s financial assistance of $140 million for the construction of a privately owned convention centre? Does he not recall the financial assistance he offered to get the Windimurra project off the ground? Does he not recall all the expenditure on Oakajee in support of the Kingstream project, in which the then Premier’s brother was a key figure? I do not think he will openly admit to recalling that, but he should. There is another thing that he should recall. With regard to Windimurra and Oakajee, we got nothing to show for that assistance. The critical difference is that this time we will get the expansion of the pipeline to ensure the energy security, the economic development, the jobs and the growth that we deserve and want in the south west of Western Australia.
The SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr E.S. RIPPER: We are now fixing that problem so that we can guarantee gas supplies for the south west of Western Australia well into the future. There is now a powerful incentive for that pipeline to be expanded; that is, the grant that the Government is prepared to make to fund part of the expansion of the pipeline. We offered that grant on an open and transparent basis before bids closed so that everyone who was participating in the process would know exactly how this matter would work. It is not an unconditional grant; it is a grant to fund the expansion of the pipeline. It will not go just into anyone’s pocket; it is there for the expansion of the pipeline to meet the energy security needs of the south west of the State. Mr M.W. Trenorden: What has happened to the tariff - $110 million plus a higher tax? The SPEAKER: Order, Leader of the National Party! Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the National Party does not know what he is talking about. Maybe if his questions were not drafted in the corporate headquarters of Epic Energy, he would have a bit more knowledge of, and a more balanced approach to, the whole energy question. Whenever he comes into this Parliament with questions drafted by particular corporate interests we cannot trust his approach to the energy issue. Mr M.W. Trenorden: You are incompetent; Peter’s right! Mr E.S. RIPPER: I am competent enough to write my own questions. I do not need Epic Energy to write them for me! The Opposition is making hysterical claims about the lack of precedent for this issue. Those claims are just hysterical. Does the Leader of the Opposition not recall the Court Government’s financial assistance of $140 million for the construction of a privately owned convention centre? Does he not recall the financial assistance he offered to get the Windimurra project off the ground? Does he not recall all the expenditure on Oakajee in support of the Kingstream project, in which the then Premier’s brother was a key figure? I do not think he will openly admit to recalling that, but he should. There is another thing that he should recall. With regard to Windimurra and Oakajee, we got nothing to show for that assistance. The critical difference is that this time we will get the expansion of the pipeline to ensure the energy security, the economic development, the jobs and the growth that we deserve and want in the south west of Western Australia.
Mr E.S. RIPPER: We are now fixing that problem so that we can guarantee gas supplies for the south west of Western Australia well into the future. There is now a powerful incentive for that pipeline to be expanded; that is, the grant that the Government is prepared to make to fund part of the expansion of the pipeline. We offered that grant on an open and transparent basis before bids closed so that everyone who was participating in the process would know exactly how this matter would work. It is not an unconditional grant; it is a grant to fund the expansion of the pipeline. It will not go just into anyone’s pocket; it is there for the expansion of the pipeline to meet the energy security needs of the south west of the State. Mr M.W. Trenorden: What has happened to the tariff - $110 million plus a higher tax? The SPEAKER: Order, Leader of the National Party! Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the National Party does not know what he is talking about. Maybe if his questions were not drafted in the corporate headquarters of Epic Energy, he would have a bit more knowledge of, and a more balanced approach to, the whole energy question. Whenever he comes into this Parliament with questions drafted by particular corporate interests we cannot trust his approach to the energy issue. Mr M.W. Trenorden: You are incompetent; Peter’s right! Mr E.S. RIPPER: I am competent enough to write my own questions. I do not need Epic Energy to write them for me! The Opposition is making hysterical claims about the lack of precedent for this issue. Those claims are just hysterical. Does the Leader of the Opposition not recall the Court Government’s financial assistance of $140 million for the construction of a privately owned convention centre? Does he not recall the financial assistance he offered to get the Windimurra project off the ground? Does he not recall all the expenditure on Oakajee in support of the Kingstream project, in which the then Premier’s brother was a key figure? I do not think he will openly admit to recalling that, but he should. There is another thing that he should recall. With regard to Windimurra and Oakajee, we got nothing to show for that assistance. The critical difference is that this time we will get the expansion of the pipeline to ensure the energy security, the economic development, the jobs and the growth that we deserve and want in the south west of Western Australia.
Mr M.W. Trenorden: What has happened to the tariff - $110 million plus a higher tax? The SPEAKER: Order, Leader of the National Party! Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the National Party does not know what he is talking about. Maybe if his questions were not drafted in the corporate headquarters of Epic Energy, he would have a bit more knowledge of, and a more balanced approach to, the whole energy question. Whenever he comes into this Parliament with questions drafted by particular corporate interests we cannot trust his approach to the energy issue. Mr M.W. Trenorden: You are incompetent; Peter’s right! Mr E.S. RIPPER: I am competent enough to write my own questions. I do not need Epic Energy to write them for me! The Opposition is making hysterical claims about the lack of precedent for this issue. Those claims are just hysterical. Does the Leader of the Opposition not recall the Court Government’s financial assistance of $140 million for the construction of a privately owned convention centre? Does he not recall the financial assistance he offered to get the Windimurra project off the ground? Does he not recall all the expenditure on Oakajee in support of the Kingstream project, in which the then Premier’s brother was a key figure? I do not think he will openly admit to recalling that, but he should. There is another thing that he should recall. With regard to Windimurra and Oakajee, we got nothing to show for that assistance. The critical difference is that this time we will get the expansion of the pipeline to ensure the energy security, the economic development, the jobs and the growth that we deserve and want in the south west of Western Australia.
The SPEAKER: Order, Leader of the National Party! Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the National Party does not know what he is talking about. Maybe if his questions were not drafted in the corporate headquarters of Epic Energy, he would have a bit more knowledge of, and a more balanced approach to, the whole energy question. Whenever he comes into this Parliament with questions drafted by particular corporate interests we cannot trust his approach to the energy issue. Mr M.W. Trenorden: You are incompetent; Peter’s right! Mr E.S. RIPPER: I am competent enough to write my own questions. I do not need Epic Energy to write them for me! The Opposition is making hysterical claims about the lack of precedent for this issue. Those claims are just hysterical. Does the Leader of the Opposition not recall the Court Government’s financial assistance of $140 million for the construction of a privately owned convention centre? Does he not recall the financial assistance he offered to get the Windimurra project off the ground? Does he not recall all the expenditure on Oakajee in support of the Kingstream project, in which the then Premier’s brother was a key figure? I do not think he will openly admit to recalling that, but he should. There is another thing that he should recall. With regard to Windimurra and Oakajee, we got nothing to show for that assistance. The critical difference is that this time we will get the expansion of the pipeline to ensure the energy security, the economic development, the jobs and the growth that we deserve and want in the south west of Western Australia.
Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the National Party does not know what he is talking about. Maybe if his questions were not drafted in the corporate headquarters of Epic Energy, he would have a bit more knowledge of, and a more balanced approach to, the whole energy question. Whenever he comes into this Parliament with questions drafted by particular corporate interests we cannot trust his approach to the energy issue. Mr M.W. Trenorden: You are incompetent; Peter’s right! Mr E.S. RIPPER: I am competent enough to write my own questions. I do not need Epic Energy to write them for me! The Opposition is making hysterical claims about the lack of precedent for this issue. Those claims are just hysterical. Does the Leader of the Opposition not recall the Court Government’s financial assistance of $140 million for the construction of a privately owned convention centre? Does he not recall the financial assistance he offered to get the Windimurra project off the ground? Does he not recall all the expenditure on Oakajee in support of the Kingstream project, in which the then Premier’s brother was a key figure? I do not think he will openly admit to recalling that, but he should. There is another thing that he should recall. With regard to Windimurra and Oakajee, we got nothing to show for that assistance. The critical difference is that this time we will get the expansion of the pipeline to ensure the energy security, the economic development, the jobs and the growth that we deserve and want in the south west of Western Australia.
Mr M.W. Trenorden: You are incompetent; Peter’s right! Mr E.S. RIPPER: I am competent enough to write my own questions. I do not need Epic Energy to write them for me! The Opposition is making hysterical claims about the lack of precedent for this issue. Those claims are just hysterical. Does the Leader of the Opposition not recall the Court Government’s financial assistance of $140 million for the construction of a privately owned convention centre? Does he not recall the financial assistance he offered to get the Windimurra project off the ground? Does he not recall all the expenditure on Oakajee in support of the Kingstream project, in which the then Premier’s brother was a key figure? I do not think he will openly admit to recalling that, but he should. There is another thing that he should recall. With regard to Windimurra and Oakajee, we got nothing to show for that assistance. The critical difference is that this time we will get the expansion of the pipeline to ensure the energy security, the economic development, the jobs and the growth that we deserve and want in the south west of Western Australia.
Mr E.S. RIPPER: I am competent enough to write my own questions. I do not need Epic Energy to write them for me! The Opposition is making hysterical claims about the lack of precedent for this issue. Those claims are just hysterical. Does the Leader of the Opposition not recall the Court Government’s financial assistance of $140 million for the construction of a privately owned convention centre? Does he not recall the financial assistance he offered to get the Windimurra project off the ground? Does he not recall all the expenditure on Oakajee in support of the Kingstream project, in which the then Premier’s brother was a key figure? I do not think he will openly admit to recalling that, but he should. There is another thing that he should recall. With regard to Windimurra and Oakajee, we got nothing to show for that assistance. The critical difference is that this time we will get the expansion of the pipeline to ensure the energy security, the economic development, the jobs and the growth that we deserve and want in the south west of Western Australia.
The Opposition is making hysterical claims about the lack of precedent for this issue. Those claims are just hysterical. Does the Leader of the Opposition not recall the Court Government’s financial assistance of $140 million for the construction of a privately owned convention centre? Does he not recall the financial assistance he offered to get the Windimurra project off the ground? Does he not recall all the expenditure on Oakajee in support of the Kingstream project, in which the then Premier’s brother was a key figure? I do not think he will openly admit to recalling that, but he should. There is another thing that he should recall. With regard to Windimurra and Oakajee, we got nothing to show for that assistance. The critical difference is that this time we will get the expansion of the pipeline to ensure the energy security, the economic development, the jobs and the growth that we deserve and want in the south west of Western Australia.
Mr E.S. RIPPER replied: With great pleasure. This is another instance when the Leader of the Opposition simply cannot admit to his mistakes. He botched the privatisation of this pipeline and he left Western Australian businesses and householders hostage to a multi-national company that went broke and would not expand the pipeline to meet the interests of the people of Western Australia. We can all recall the celebrations when the previous Government sold and privatised the pipeline - the clinking of the champagne glasses and the glee as they pocketed $2.4 billion. They ignored the long-term strategic interests of this State. They did not do anything to protect those interests. The deal soon started to go pear-shaped, even before the Court Government left office, because Epic Energy started to claim that it had a compact with the former Government to have tariffs set at a particular level. Dr G.I. Gallop: It would have been nice to have an inquiry into that. Mr E.S. RIPPER: It would have been interesting to have an inquiry into that. The then Minister for Energy, the now Leader of the Opposition, said in this House on 13 June 2000 that - Every bidder armed with armies of lawyers and accountants in a document room which was open for six weeks knew that the process of national gas pipeline access regulation was in place and that there would be an independent gas regulator who from 1 January 2000 would set the tariff. He had to deal with the issue of the deal going pear-shaped before the change of government. What is interesting about that comment is that he was entirely comfortable with the independent regulation of the tariff. Indeed, we would expect him to be, because he was the minister who introduced the laws that prevented ministerial intervention in tariff setting. After the election of the Gallop Government, he started demanding that the Labor Government act corruptly by breaking the law and intervening to set a higher tariff. By doing that, he was suggesting that in effect we should allow the multinational to whom he sold the pipeline to charge higher tariffs to our businesses and householders. In other words, he supported a solution that would have allowed Epic Energy to put a secret tax on the people who rely on the electricity produced by the gas that comes down that pipeline. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr E.S. RIPPER: We are now fixing that problem so that we can guarantee gas supplies for the south west of Western Australia well into the future. There is now a powerful incentive for that pipeline to be expanded; that is, the grant that the Government is prepared to make to fund part of the expansion of the pipeline. We offered that grant on an open and transparent basis before bids closed so that everyone who was participating in the process would know exactly how this matter would work. It is not an unconditional grant; it is a grant to fund the expansion of the pipeline. It will not go just into anyone’s pocket; it is there for the expansion of the pipeline to meet the energy security needs of the south west of the State. Mr M.W. Trenorden: What has happened to the tariff - $110 million plus a higher tax? The SPEAKER: Order, Leader of the National Party! Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the National Party does not know what he is talking about. Maybe if his questions were not drafted in the corporate headquarters of Epic Energy, he would have a bit more knowledge of, and a more balanced approach to, the whole energy question. Whenever he comes into this Parliament with questions drafted by particular corporate interests we cannot trust his approach to the energy issue. Mr M.W. Trenorden: You are incompetent; Peter’s right! Mr E.S. RIPPER: I am competent enough to write my own questions. I do not need Epic Energy to write them for me! The Opposition is making hysterical claims about the lack of precedent for this issue. Those claims are just hysterical. Does the Leader of the Opposition not recall the Court Government’s financial assistance of $140 million for the construction of a privately owned convention centre? Does he not recall the financial assistance he offered to get the Windimurra project off the ground? Does he not recall all the expenditure on Oakajee in support of the Kingstream project, in which the then Premier’s brother was a key figure? I do not think he will openly admit to recalling that, but he should. There is another thing that he should recall. With regard to Windimurra and Oakajee, we got nothing to show for that assistance. The critical difference is that this time we will get the expansion of the pipeline to ensure the energy security, the economic development, the jobs and the growth that we deserve and want in the south west of Western Australia.
With great pleasure. This is another instance when the Leader of the Opposition simply cannot admit to his mistakes. He botched the privatisation of this pipeline and he left Western Australian businesses and householders hostage to a multi-national company that went broke and would not expand the pipeline to meet the interests of the people of Western Australia. We can all recall the celebrations when the previous Government sold and privatised the pipeline - the clinking of the champagne glasses and the glee as they pocketed $2.4 billion. They ignored the long-term strategic interests of this State. They did not do anything to protect those interests. The deal soon started to go pear-shaped, even before the Court Government left office, because Epic Energy started to claim that it had a compact with the former Government to have tariffs set at a particular level. Dr G.I. Gallop: It would have been nice to have an inquiry into that. Mr E.S. RIPPER: It would have been interesting to have an inquiry into that. The then Minister for Energy, the now Leader of the Opposition, said in this House on 13 June 2000 that - Every bidder armed with armies of lawyers and accountants in a document room which was open for six weeks knew that the process of national gas pipeline access regulation was in place and that there would be an independent gas regulator who from 1 January 2000 would set the tariff. He had to deal with the issue of the deal going pear-shaped before the change of government. What is interesting about that comment is that he was entirely comfortable with the independent regulation of the tariff. Indeed, we would expect him to be, because he was the minister who introduced the laws that prevented ministerial intervention in tariff setting. After the election of the Gallop Government, he started demanding that the Labor Government act corruptly by breaking the law and intervening to set a higher tariff. By doing that, he was suggesting that in effect we should allow the multinational to whom he sold the pipeline to charge higher tariffs to our businesses and householders. In other words, he supported a solution that would have allowed Epic Energy to put a secret tax on the people who rely on the electricity produced by the gas that comes down that pipeline. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr E.S. RIPPER: We are now fixing that problem so that we can guarantee gas supplies for the south west of Western Australia well into the future. There is now a powerful incentive for that pipeline to be expanded; that is, the grant that the Government is prepared to make to fund part of the expansion of the pipeline. We offered that grant on an open and transparent basis before bids closed so that everyone who was participating in the process would know exactly how this matter would work. It is not an unconditional grant; it is a grant to fund the expansion of the pipeline. It will not go just into anyone’s pocket; it is there for the expansion of the pipeline to meet the energy security needs of the south west of the State. Mr M.W. Trenorden: What has happened to the tariff - $110 million plus a higher tax? The SPEAKER: Order, Leader of the National Party! Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the National Party does not know what he is talking about. Maybe if his questions were not drafted in the corporate headquarters of Epic Energy, he would have a bit more knowledge of, and a more balanced approach to, the whole energy question. Whenever he comes into this Parliament with questions drafted by particular corporate interests we cannot trust his approach to the energy issue. Mr M.W. Trenorden: You are incompetent; Peter’s right! Mr E.S. RIPPER: I am competent enough to write my own questions. I do not need Epic Energy to write them for me! The Opposition is making hysterical claims about the lack of precedent for this issue. Those claims are just hysterical. Does the Leader of the Opposition not recall the Court Government’s financial assistance of $140 million for the construction of a privately owned convention centre? Does he not recall the financial assistance he offered to get the Windimurra project off the ground? Does he not recall all the expenditure on Oakajee in support of the Kingstream project, in which the then Premier’s brother was a key figure? I do not think he will openly admit to recalling that, but he should. There is another thing that he should recall. With regard to Windimurra and Oakajee, we got nothing to show for that assistance. The critical difference is that this time we will get the expansion of the pipeline to ensure the energy security, the economic development, the jobs and the growth that we deserve and want in the south west of Western Australia.
Dr G.I. Gallop: It would have been nice to have an inquiry into that. Mr E.S. RIPPER: It would have been interesting to have an inquiry into that. The then Minister for Energy, the now Leader of the Opposition, said in this House on 13 June 2000 that - Every bidder armed with armies of lawyers and accountants in a document room which was open for six weeks knew that the process of national gas pipeline access regulation was in place and that there would be an independent gas regulator who from 1 January 2000 would set the tariff. He had to deal with the issue of the deal going pear-shaped before the change of government. What is interesting about that comment is that he was entirely comfortable with the independent regulation of the tariff. Indeed, we would expect him to be, because he was the minister who introduced the laws that prevented ministerial intervention in tariff setting. After the election of the Gallop Government, he started demanding that the Labor Government act corruptly by breaking the law and intervening to set a higher tariff. By doing that, he was suggesting that in effect we should allow the multinational to whom he sold the pipeline to charge higher tariffs to our businesses and householders. In other words, he supported a solution that would have allowed Epic Energy to put a secret tax on the people who rely on the electricity produced by the gas that comes down that pipeline. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr E.S. RIPPER: We are now fixing that problem so that we can guarantee gas supplies for the south west of Western Australia well into the future. There is now a powerful incentive for that pipeline to be expanded; that is, the grant that the Government is prepared to make to fund part of the expansion of the pipeline. We offered that grant on an open and transparent basis before bids closed so that everyone who was participating in the process would know exactly how this matter would work. It is not an unconditional grant; it is a grant to fund the expansion of the pipeline. It will not go just into anyone’s pocket; it is there for the expansion of the pipeline to meet the energy security needs of the south west of the State. Mr M.W. Trenorden: What has happened to the tariff - $110 million plus a higher tax? The SPEAKER: Order, Leader of the National Party! Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the National Party does not know what he is talking about. Maybe if his questions were not drafted in the corporate headquarters of Epic Energy, he would have a bit more knowledge of, and a more balanced approach to, the whole energy question. Whenever he comes into this Parliament with questions drafted by particular corporate interests we cannot trust his approach to the energy issue. Mr M.W. Trenorden: You are incompetent; Peter’s right! Mr E.S. RIPPER: I am competent enough to write my own questions. I do not need Epic Energy to write them for me! The Opposition is making hysterical claims about the lack of precedent for this issue. Those claims are just hysterical. Does the Leader of the Opposition not recall the Court Government’s financial assistance of $140 million for the construction of a privately owned convention centre? Does he not recall the financial assistance he offered to get the Windimurra project off the ground? Does he not recall all the expenditure on Oakajee in support of the Kingstream project, in which the then Premier’s brother was a key figure? I do not think he will openly admit to recalling that, but he should. There is another thing that he should recall. With regard to Windimurra and Oakajee, we got nothing to show for that assistance. The critical difference is that this time we will get the expansion of the pipeline to ensure the energy security, the economic development, the jobs and the growth that we deserve and want in the south west of Western Australia.
Mr E.S. RIPPER: It would have been interesting to have an inquiry into that. The then Minister for Energy, the now Leader of the Opposition, said in this House on 13 June 2000 that - Every bidder armed with armies of lawyers and accountants in a document room which was open for six weeks knew that the process of national gas pipeline access regulation was in place and that there would be an independent gas regulator who from 1 January 2000 would set the tariff. He had to deal with the issue of the deal going pear-shaped before the change of government. What is interesting about that comment is that he was entirely comfortable with the independent regulation of the tariff. Indeed, we would expect him to be, because he was the minister who introduced the laws that prevented ministerial intervention in tariff setting. After the election of the Gallop Government, he started demanding that the Labor Government act corruptly by breaking the law and intervening to set a higher tariff. By doing that, he was suggesting that in effect we should allow the multinational to whom he sold the pipeline to charge higher tariffs to our businesses and householders. In other words, he supported a solution that would have allowed Epic Energy to put a secret tax on the people who rely on the electricity produced by the gas that comes down that pipeline. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr E.S. RIPPER: We are now fixing that problem so that we can guarantee gas supplies for the south west of Western Australia well into the future. There is now a powerful incentive for that pipeline to be expanded; that is, the grant that the Government is prepared to make to fund part of the expansion of the pipeline. We offered that grant on an open and transparent basis before bids closed so that everyone who was participating in the process would know exactly how this matter would work. It is not an unconditional grant; it is a grant to fund the expansion of the pipeline. It will not go just into anyone’s pocket; it is there for the expansion of the pipeline to meet the energy security needs of the south west of the State. Mr M.W. Trenorden: What has happened to the tariff - $110 million plus a higher tax? The SPEAKER: Order, Leader of the National Party! Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the National Party does not know what he is talking about. Maybe if his questions were not drafted in the corporate headquarters of Epic Energy, he would have a bit more knowledge of, and a more balanced approach to, the whole energy question. Whenever he comes into this Parliament with questions drafted by particular corporate interests we cannot trust his approach to the energy issue. Mr M.W. Trenorden: You are incompetent; Peter’s right! Mr E.S. RIPPER: I am competent enough to write my own questions. I do not need Epic Energy to write them for me! The Opposition is making hysterical claims about the lack of precedent for this issue. Those claims are just hysterical. Does the Leader of the Opposition not recall the Court Government’s financial assistance of $140 million for the construction of a privately owned convention centre? Does he not recall the financial assistance he offered to get the Windimurra project off the ground? Does he not recall all the expenditure on Oakajee in support of the Kingstream project, in which the then Premier’s brother was a key figure? I do not think he will openly admit to recalling that, but he should. There is another thing that he should recall. With regard to Windimurra and Oakajee, we got nothing to show for that assistance. The critical difference is that this time we will get the expansion of the pipeline to ensure the energy security, the economic development, the jobs and the growth that we deserve and want in the south west of Western Australia.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr E.S. RIPPER: We are now fixing that problem so that we can guarantee gas supplies for the south west of Western Australia well into the future. There is now a powerful incentive for that pipeline to be expanded; that is, the grant that the Government is prepared to make to fund part of the expansion of the pipeline. We offered that grant on an open and transparent basis before bids closed so that everyone who was participating in the process would know exactly how this matter would work. It is not an unconditional grant; it is a grant to fund the expansion of the pipeline. It will not go just into anyone’s pocket; it is there for the expansion of the pipeline to meet the energy security needs of the south west of the State. Mr M.W. Trenorden: What has happened to the tariff - $110 million plus a higher tax? The SPEAKER: Order, Leader of the National Party! Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the National Party does not know what he is talking about. Maybe if his questions were not drafted in the corporate headquarters of Epic Energy, he would have a bit more knowledge of, and a more balanced approach to, the whole energy question. Whenever he comes into this Parliament with questions drafted by particular corporate interests we cannot trust his approach to the energy issue. Mr M.W. Trenorden: You are incompetent; Peter’s right! Mr E.S. RIPPER: I am competent enough to write my own questions. I do not need Epic Energy to write them for me! The Opposition is making hysterical claims about the lack of precedent for this issue. Those claims are just hysterical. Does the Leader of the Opposition not recall the Court Government’s financial assistance of $140 million for the construction of a privately owned convention centre? Does he not recall the financial assistance he offered to get the Windimurra project off the ground? Does he not recall all the expenditure on Oakajee in support of the Kingstream project, in which the then Premier’s brother was a key figure? I do not think he will openly admit to recalling that, but he should. There is another thing that he should recall. With regard to Windimurra and Oakajee, we got nothing to show for that assistance. The critical difference is that this time we will get the expansion of the pipeline to ensure the energy security, the economic development, the jobs and the growth that we deserve and want in the south west of Western Australia.
The SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr E.S. RIPPER: We are now fixing that problem so that we can guarantee gas supplies for the south west of Western Australia well into the future. There is now a powerful incentive for that pipeline to be expanded; that is, the grant that the Government is prepared to make to fund part of the expansion of the pipeline. We offered that grant on an open and transparent basis before bids closed so that everyone who was participating in the process would know exactly how this matter would work. It is not an unconditional grant; it is a grant to fund the expansion of the pipeline. It will not go just into anyone’s pocket; it is there for the expansion of the pipeline to meet the energy security needs of the south west of the State. Mr M.W. Trenorden: What has happened to the tariff - $110 million plus a higher tax? The SPEAKER: Order, Leader of the National Party! Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the National Party does not know what he is talking about. Maybe if his questions were not drafted in the corporate headquarters of Epic Energy, he would have a bit more knowledge of, and a more balanced approach to, the whole energy question. Whenever he comes into this Parliament with questions drafted by particular corporate interests we cannot trust his approach to the energy issue. Mr M.W. Trenorden: You are incompetent; Peter’s right! Mr E.S. RIPPER: I am competent enough to write my own questions. I do not need Epic Energy to write them for me! The Opposition is making hysterical claims about the lack of precedent for this issue. Those claims are just hysterical. Does the Leader of the Opposition not recall the Court Government’s financial assistance of $140 million for the construction of a privately owned convention centre? Does he not recall the financial assistance he offered to get the Windimurra project off the ground? Does he not recall all the expenditure on Oakajee in support of the Kingstream project, in which the then Premier’s brother was a key figure? I do not think he will openly admit to recalling that, but he should. There is another thing that he should recall. With regard to Windimurra and Oakajee, we got nothing to show for that assistance. The critical difference is that this time we will get the expansion of the pipeline to ensure the energy security, the economic development, the jobs and the growth that we deserve and want in the south west of Western Australia.
Mr E.S. RIPPER: We are now fixing that problem so that we can guarantee gas supplies for the south west of Western Australia well into the future. There is now a powerful incentive for that pipeline to be expanded; that is, the grant that the Government is prepared to make to fund part of the expansion of the pipeline. We offered that grant on an open and transparent basis before bids closed so that everyone who was participating in the process would know exactly how this matter would work. It is not an unconditional grant; it is a grant to fund the expansion of the pipeline. It will not go just into anyone’s pocket; it is there for the expansion of the pipeline to meet the energy security needs of the south west of the State. Mr M.W. Trenorden: What has happened to the tariff - $110 million plus a higher tax? The SPEAKER: Order, Leader of the National Party! Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the National Party does not know what he is talking about. Maybe if his questions were not drafted in the corporate headquarters of Epic Energy, he would have a bit more knowledge of, and a more balanced approach to, the whole energy question. Whenever he comes into this Parliament with questions drafted by particular corporate interests we cannot trust his approach to the energy issue. Mr M.W. Trenorden: You are incompetent; Peter’s right! Mr E.S. RIPPER: I am competent enough to write my own questions. I do not need Epic Energy to write them for me! The Opposition is making hysterical claims about the lack of precedent for this issue. Those claims are just hysterical. Does the Leader of the Opposition not recall the Court Government’s financial assistance of $140 million for the construction of a privately owned convention centre? Does he not recall the financial assistance he offered to get the Windimurra project off the ground? Does he not recall all the expenditure on Oakajee in support of the Kingstream project, in which the then Premier’s brother was a key figure? I do not think he will openly admit to recalling that, but he should. There is another thing that he should recall. With regard to Windimurra and Oakajee, we got nothing to show for that assistance. The critical difference is that this time we will get the expansion of the pipeline to ensure the energy security, the economic development, the jobs and the growth that we deserve and want in the south west of Western Australia.
Mr M.W. Trenorden: What has happened to the tariff - $110 million plus a higher tax? The SPEAKER: Order, Leader of the National Party! Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the National Party does not know what he is talking about. Maybe if his questions were not drafted in the corporate headquarters of Epic Energy, he would have a bit more knowledge of, and a more balanced approach to, the whole energy question. Whenever he comes into this Parliament with questions drafted by particular corporate interests we cannot trust his approach to the energy issue. Mr M.W. Trenorden: You are incompetent; Peter’s right! Mr E.S. RIPPER: I am competent enough to write my own questions. I do not need Epic Energy to write them for me! The Opposition is making hysterical claims about the lack of precedent for this issue. Those claims are just hysterical. Does the Leader of the Opposition not recall the Court Government’s financial assistance of $140 million for the construction of a privately owned convention centre? Does he not recall the financial assistance he offered to get the Windimurra project off the ground? Does he not recall all the expenditure on Oakajee in support of the Kingstream project, in which the then Premier’s brother was a key figure? I do not think he will openly admit to recalling that, but he should. There is another thing that he should recall. With regard to Windimurra and Oakajee, we got nothing to show for that assistance. The critical difference is that this time we will get the expansion of the pipeline to ensure the energy security, the economic development, the jobs and the growth that we deserve and want in the south west of Western Australia.
The SPEAKER: Order, Leader of the National Party! Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the National Party does not know what he is talking about. Maybe if his questions were not drafted in the corporate headquarters of Epic Energy, he would have a bit more knowledge of, and a more balanced approach to, the whole energy question. Whenever he comes into this Parliament with questions drafted by particular corporate interests we cannot trust his approach to the energy issue. Mr M.W. Trenorden: You are incompetent; Peter’s right! Mr E.S. RIPPER: I am competent enough to write my own questions. I do not need Epic Energy to write them for me! The Opposition is making hysterical claims about the lack of precedent for this issue. Those claims are just hysterical. Does the Leader of the Opposition not recall the Court Government’s financial assistance of $140 million for the construction of a privately owned convention centre? Does he not recall the financial assistance he offered to get the Windimurra project off the ground? Does he not recall all the expenditure on Oakajee in support of the Kingstream project, in which the then Premier’s brother was a key figure? I do not think he will openly admit to recalling that, but he should. There is another thing that he should recall. With regard to Windimurra and Oakajee, we got nothing to show for that assistance. The critical difference is that this time we will get the expansion of the pipeline to ensure the energy security, the economic development, the jobs and the growth that we deserve and want in the south west of Western Australia.
Mr E.S. RIPPER: The Leader of the National Party does not know what he is talking about. Maybe if his questions were not drafted in the corporate headquarters of Epic Energy, he would have a bit more knowledge of, and a more balanced approach to, the whole energy question. Whenever he comes into this Parliament with questions drafted by particular corporate interests we cannot trust his approach to the energy issue. Mr M.W. Trenorden: You are incompetent; Peter’s right! Mr E.S. RIPPER: I am competent enough to write my own questions. I do not need Epic Energy to write them for me! The Opposition is making hysterical claims about the lack of precedent for this issue. Those claims are just hysterical. Does the Leader of the Opposition not recall the Court Government’s financial assistance of $140 million for the construction of a privately owned convention centre? Does he not recall the financial assistance he offered to get the Windimurra project off the ground? Does he not recall all the expenditure on Oakajee in support of the Kingstream project, in which the then Premier’s brother was a key figure? I do not think he will openly admit to recalling that, but he should. There is another thing that he should recall. With regard to Windimurra and Oakajee, we got nothing to show for that assistance. The critical difference is that this time we will get the expansion of the pipeline to ensure the energy security, the economic development, the jobs and the growth that we deserve and want in the south west of Western Australia.
Mr M.W. Trenorden: You are incompetent; Peter’s right! Mr E.S. RIPPER: I am competent enough to write my own questions. I do not need Epic Energy to write them for me! The Opposition is making hysterical claims about the lack of precedent for this issue. Those claims are just hysterical. Does the Leader of the Opposition not recall the Court Government’s financial assistance of $140 million for the construction of a privately owned convention centre? Does he not recall the financial assistance he offered to get the Windimurra project off the ground? Does he not recall all the expenditure on Oakajee in support of the Kingstream project, in which the then Premier’s brother was a key figure? I do not think he will openly admit to recalling that, but he should. There is another thing that he should recall. With regard to Windimurra and Oakajee, we got nothing to show for that assistance. The critical difference is that this time we will get the expansion of the pipeline to ensure the energy security, the economic development, the jobs and the growth that we deserve and want in the south west of Western Australia.
Mr E.S. RIPPER: I am competent enough to write my own questions. I do not need Epic Energy to write them for me! The Opposition is making hysterical claims about the lack of precedent for this issue. Those claims are just hysterical. Does the Leader of the Opposition not recall the Court Government’s financial assistance of $140 million for the construction of a privately owned convention centre? Does he not recall the financial assistance he offered to get the Windimurra project off the ground? Does he not recall all the expenditure on Oakajee in support of the Kingstream project, in which the then Premier’s brother was a key figure? I do not think he will openly admit to recalling that, but he should. There is another thing that he should recall. With regard to Windimurra and Oakajee, we got nothing to show for that assistance. The critical difference is that this time we will get the expansion of the pipeline to ensure the energy security, the economic development, the jobs and the growth that we deserve and want in the south west of Western Australia.
The Opposition is making hysterical claims about the lack of precedent for this issue. Those claims are just hysterical. Does the Leader of the Opposition not recall the Court Government’s financial assistance of $140 million for the construction of a privately owned convention centre? Does he not recall the financial assistance he offered to get the Windimurra project off the ground? Does he not recall all the expenditure on Oakajee in support of the Kingstream project, in which the then Premier’s brother was a key figure? I do not think he will openly admit to recalling that, but he should. There is another thing that he should recall. With regard to Windimurra and Oakajee, we got nothing to show for that assistance. The critical difference is that this time we will get the expansion of the pipeline to ensure the energy security, the economic development, the jobs and the growth that we deserve and want in the south west of Western Australia.
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