❓ A heated exchange in WA Parliament regarding the proposed re-merger of electricity utilities, with the opposition arguing it will reduce competition and increase costs for families, while the Premier defends it as necessary for economies of scale.
AnsweredQoN 602Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ELECTRICITY UTILITIES — RE-MERGER
I have a supplementary question. How will this proposed re-merger, which will create less competition and make Verve a monopoly, actually help families that are struggling with the power cost increases for which the Premier must take responsibility? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr C.J. BARNETT
I have a supplementary question. How will this proposed re-merger, which will create less competition and make Verve a monopoly, actually help families that are struggling with the power cost increases for which the Premier must take responsibility? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr C.J. BARNETT
AnswerView source ↗
As members have already interjected—they grasped the point immediately—Verve will not be a monopoly. It may be the biggest player in the system. Mr E.S. Ripper : You’ll reduce competition; you’ll make it a de facto monopoly. Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Leader of the Opposition wants to ask the question, he can run around here to my seat and answer and run back to his seat — Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there after March 2013. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition will not be even in his seat; he will be outside somewhere. Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there answering the question and I will have a better energy reform program than you’ve got. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The argument that it will reduce competition deserves a bit of examination. This is an industry in which size matters. The economies of scale in power generation are immense. What matters is the size of the generating unit in bringing down costs. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can’t you find an energy expert who agrees with you? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Other things being equal, a 300-megawatt unit will bring a far lower cost of production than a 100-megawatt unit. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can you find anyone in the private sector who agrees with you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to answer the question. In an industry in which economies of scale dominate and in which there is no interconnection with other states—a stand-alone grid—we will not get a large number of competitive producers under any scenario; it is too small a system. It will always be a regulated monopoly of one form or another; that will be the reality. What is coming forward into the future are around 1 600 — Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: As members have already interjected—they grasped the point immediately—Verve will not be a monopoly. It may be the biggest player in the system. Mr E.S. Ripper : You’ll reduce competition; you’ll make it a de facto monopoly. Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Leader of the Opposition wants to ask the question, he can run around here to my seat and answer and run back to his seat — Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there after March 2013. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition will not be even in his seat; he will be outside somewhere. Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there answering the question and I will have a better energy reform program than you’ve got. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The argument that it will reduce competition deserves a bit of examination. This is an industry in which size matters. The economies of scale in power generation are immense. What matters is the size of the generating unit in bringing down costs. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can’t you find an energy expert who agrees with you? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Other things being equal, a 300-megawatt unit will bring a far lower cost of production than a 100-megawatt unit. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can you find anyone in the private sector who agrees with you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to answer the question. In an industry in which economies of scale dominate and in which there is no interconnection with other states—a stand-alone grid—we will not get a large number of competitive producers under any scenario; it is too small a system. It will always be a regulated monopoly of one form or another; that will be the reality. What is coming forward into the future are around 1 600 — Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: As members have already interjected—they grasped the point immediately—Verve will not be a monopoly. It may be the biggest player in the system. Mr E.S. Ripper : You’ll reduce competition; you’ll make it a de facto monopoly. Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Leader of the Opposition wants to ask the question, he can run around here to my seat and answer and run back to his seat — Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there after March 2013. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition will not be even in his seat; he will be outside somewhere. Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there answering the question and I will have a better energy reform program than you’ve got. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The argument that it will reduce competition deserves a bit of examination. This is an industry in which size matters. The economies of scale in power generation are immense. What matters is the size of the generating unit in bringing down costs. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can’t you find an energy expert who agrees with you? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Other things being equal, a 300-megawatt unit will bring a far lower cost of production than a 100-megawatt unit. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can you find anyone in the private sector who agrees with you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to answer the question. In an industry in which economies of scale dominate and in which there is no interconnection with other states—a stand-alone grid—we will not get a large number of competitive producers under any scenario; it is too small a system. It will always be a regulated monopoly of one form or another; that will be the reality. What is coming forward into the future are around 1 600 — Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: As members have already interjected—they grasped the point immediately—Verve will not be a monopoly. It may be the biggest player in the system. Mr E.S. Ripper : You’ll reduce competition; you’ll make it a de facto monopoly. Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Leader of the Opposition wants to ask the question, he can run around here to my seat and answer and run back to his seat — Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there after March 2013. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition will not be even in his seat; he will be outside somewhere. Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there answering the question and I will have a better energy reform program than you’ve got. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The argument that it will reduce competition deserves a bit of examination. This is an industry in which size matters. The economies of scale in power generation are immense. What matters is the size of the generating unit in bringing down costs. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can’t you find an energy expert who agrees with you? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Other things being equal, a 300-megawatt unit will bring a far lower cost of production than a 100-megawatt unit. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can you find anyone in the private sector who agrees with you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to answer the question. In an industry in which economies of scale dominate and in which there is no interconnection with other states—a stand-alone grid—we will not get a large number of competitive producers under any scenario; it is too small a system. It will always be a regulated monopoly of one form or another; that will be the reality. What is coming forward into the future are around 1 600 — Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
As members have already interjected—they grasped the point immediately—Verve will not be a monopoly. It may be the biggest player in the system. Mr E.S. Ripper : You’ll reduce competition; you’ll make it a de facto monopoly. Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Leader of the Opposition wants to ask the question, he can run around here to my seat and answer and run back to his seat — Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there after March 2013. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition will not be even in his seat; he will be outside somewhere. Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there answering the question and I will have a better energy reform program than you’ve got. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The argument that it will reduce competition deserves a bit of examination. This is an industry in which size matters. The economies of scale in power generation are immense. What matters is the size of the generating unit in bringing down costs. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can’t you find an energy expert who agrees with you? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Other things being equal, a 300-megawatt unit will bring a far lower cost of production than a 100-megawatt unit. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can you find anyone in the private sector who agrees with you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to answer the question. In an industry in which economies of scale dominate and in which there is no interconnection with other states—a stand-alone grid—we will not get a large number of competitive producers under any scenario; it is too small a system. It will always be a regulated monopoly of one form or another; that will be the reality. What is coming forward into the future are around 1 600 — Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr E.S. Ripper : You’ll reduce competition; you’ll make it a de facto monopoly. Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Leader of the Opposition wants to ask the question, he can run around here to my seat and answer and run back to his seat — Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there after March 2013. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition will not be even in his seat; he will be outside somewhere. Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there answering the question and I will have a better energy reform program than you’ve got. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The argument that it will reduce competition deserves a bit of examination. This is an industry in which size matters. The economies of scale in power generation are immense. What matters is the size of the generating unit in bringing down costs. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can’t you find an energy expert who agrees with you? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Other things being equal, a 300-megawatt unit will bring a far lower cost of production than a 100-megawatt unit. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can you find anyone in the private sector who agrees with you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to answer the question. In an industry in which economies of scale dominate and in which there is no interconnection with other states—a stand-alone grid—we will not get a large number of competitive producers under any scenario; it is too small a system. It will always be a regulated monopoly of one form or another; that will be the reality. What is coming forward into the future are around 1 600 — Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Leader of the Opposition wants to ask the question, he can run around here to my seat and answer and run back to his seat — Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there after March 2013. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition will not be even in his seat; he will be outside somewhere. Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there answering the question and I will have a better energy reform program than you’ve got. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The argument that it will reduce competition deserves a bit of examination. This is an industry in which size matters. The economies of scale in power generation are immense. What matters is the size of the generating unit in bringing down costs. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can’t you find an energy expert who agrees with you? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Other things being equal, a 300-megawatt unit will bring a far lower cost of production than a 100-megawatt unit. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can you find anyone in the private sector who agrees with you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to answer the question. In an industry in which economies of scale dominate and in which there is no interconnection with other states—a stand-alone grid—we will not get a large number of competitive producers under any scenario; it is too small a system. It will always be a regulated monopoly of one form or another; that will be the reality. What is coming forward into the future are around 1 600 — Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there after March 2013. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition will not be even in his seat; he will be outside somewhere. Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there answering the question and I will have a better energy reform program than you’ve got. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The argument that it will reduce competition deserves a bit of examination. This is an industry in which size matters. The economies of scale in power generation are immense. What matters is the size of the generating unit in bringing down costs. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can’t you find an energy expert who agrees with you? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Other things being equal, a 300-megawatt unit will bring a far lower cost of production than a 100-megawatt unit. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can you find anyone in the private sector who agrees with you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to answer the question. In an industry in which economies of scale dominate and in which there is no interconnection with other states—a stand-alone grid—we will not get a large number of competitive producers under any scenario; it is too small a system. It will always be a regulated monopoly of one form or another; that will be the reality. What is coming forward into the future are around 1 600 — Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition will not be even in his seat; he will be outside somewhere. Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there answering the question and I will have a better energy reform program than you’ve got. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The argument that it will reduce competition deserves a bit of examination. This is an industry in which size matters. The economies of scale in power generation are immense. What matters is the size of the generating unit in bringing down costs. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can’t you find an energy expert who agrees with you? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Other things being equal, a 300-megawatt unit will bring a far lower cost of production than a 100-megawatt unit. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can you find anyone in the private sector who agrees with you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to answer the question. In an industry in which economies of scale dominate and in which there is no interconnection with other states—a stand-alone grid—we will not get a large number of competitive producers under any scenario; it is too small a system. It will always be a regulated monopoly of one form or another; that will be the reality. What is coming forward into the future are around 1 600 — Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there answering the question and I will have a better energy reform program than you’ve got. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The argument that it will reduce competition deserves a bit of examination. This is an industry in which size matters. The economies of scale in power generation are immense. What matters is the size of the generating unit in bringing down costs. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can’t you find an energy expert who agrees with you? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Other things being equal, a 300-megawatt unit will bring a far lower cost of production than a 100-megawatt unit. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can you find anyone in the private sector who agrees with you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to answer the question. In an industry in which economies of scale dominate and in which there is no interconnection with other states—a stand-alone grid—we will not get a large number of competitive producers under any scenario; it is too small a system. It will always be a regulated monopoly of one form or another; that will be the reality. What is coming forward into the future are around 1 600 — Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : The argument that it will reduce competition deserves a bit of examination. This is an industry in which size matters. The economies of scale in power generation are immense. What matters is the size of the generating unit in bringing down costs. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can’t you find an energy expert who agrees with you? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Other things being equal, a 300-megawatt unit will bring a far lower cost of production than a 100-megawatt unit. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can you find anyone in the private sector who agrees with you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to answer the question. In an industry in which economies of scale dominate and in which there is no interconnection with other states—a stand-alone grid—we will not get a large number of competitive producers under any scenario; it is too small a system. It will always be a regulated monopoly of one form or another; that will be the reality. What is coming forward into the future are around 1 600 — Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr E.S. Ripper : Can’t you find an energy expert who agrees with you? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Other things being equal, a 300-megawatt unit will bring a far lower cost of production than a 100-megawatt unit. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can you find anyone in the private sector who agrees with you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to answer the question. In an industry in which economies of scale dominate and in which there is no interconnection with other states—a stand-alone grid—we will not get a large number of competitive producers under any scenario; it is too small a system. It will always be a regulated monopoly of one form or another; that will be the reality. What is coming forward into the future are around 1 600 — Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Other things being equal, a 300-megawatt unit will bring a far lower cost of production than a 100-megawatt unit. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can you find anyone in the private sector who agrees with you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to answer the question. In an industry in which economies of scale dominate and in which there is no interconnection with other states—a stand-alone grid—we will not get a large number of competitive producers under any scenario; it is too small a system. It will always be a regulated monopoly of one form or another; that will be the reality. What is coming forward into the future are around 1 600 — Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Other things being equal, a 300-megawatt unit will bring a far lower cost of production than a 100-megawatt unit. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can you find anyone in the private sector who agrees with you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to answer the question. In an industry in which economies of scale dominate and in which there is no interconnection with other states—a stand-alone grid—we will not get a large number of competitive producers under any scenario; it is too small a system. It will always be a regulated monopoly of one form or another; that will be the reality. What is coming forward into the future are around 1 600 — Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr E.S. Ripper : Can you find anyone in the private sector who agrees with you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to answer the question. In an industry in which economies of scale dominate and in which there is no interconnection with other states—a stand-alone grid—we will not get a large number of competitive producers under any scenario; it is too small a system. It will always be a regulated monopoly of one form or another; that will be the reality. What is coming forward into the future are around 1 600 — Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to answer the question. In an industry in which economies of scale dominate and in which there is no interconnection with other states—a stand-alone grid—we will not get a large number of competitive producers under any scenario; it is too small a system. It will always be a regulated monopoly of one form or another; that will be the reality. What is coming forward into the future are around 1 600 — Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: As members have already interjected—they grasped the point immediately—Verve will not be a monopoly. It may be the biggest player in the system. Mr E.S. Ripper : You’ll reduce competition; you’ll make it a de facto monopoly. Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Leader of the Opposition wants to ask the question, he can run around here to my seat and answer and run back to his seat — Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there after March 2013. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition will not be even in his seat; he will be outside somewhere. Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there answering the question and I will have a better energy reform program than you’ve got. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The argument that it will reduce competition deserves a bit of examination. This is an industry in which size matters. The economies of scale in power generation are immense. What matters is the size of the generating unit in bringing down costs. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can’t you find an energy expert who agrees with you? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Other things being equal, a 300-megawatt unit will bring a far lower cost of production than a 100-megawatt unit. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can you find anyone in the private sector who agrees with you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to answer the question. In an industry in which economies of scale dominate and in which there is no interconnection with other states—a stand-alone grid—we will not get a large number of competitive producers under any scenario; it is too small a system. It will always be a regulated monopoly of one form or another; that will be the reality. What is coming forward into the future are around 1 600 — Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: As members have already interjected—they grasped the point immediately—Verve will not be a monopoly. It may be the biggest player in the system. Mr E.S. Ripper : You’ll reduce competition; you’ll make it a de facto monopoly. Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Leader of the Opposition wants to ask the question, he can run around here to my seat and answer and run back to his seat — Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there after March 2013. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition will not be even in his seat; he will be outside somewhere. Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there answering the question and I will have a better energy reform program than you’ve got. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The argument that it will reduce competition deserves a bit of examination. This is an industry in which size matters. The economies of scale in power generation are immense. What matters is the size of the generating unit in bringing down costs. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can’t you find an energy expert who agrees with you? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Other things being equal, a 300-megawatt unit will bring a far lower cost of production than a 100-megawatt unit. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can you find anyone in the private sector who agrees with you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to answer the question. In an industry in which economies of scale dominate and in which there is no interconnection with other states—a stand-alone grid—we will not get a large number of competitive producers under any scenario; it is too small a system. It will always be a regulated monopoly of one form or another; that will be the reality. What is coming forward into the future are around 1 600 — Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: As members have already interjected—they grasped the point immediately—Verve will not be a monopoly. It may be the biggest player in the system. Mr E.S. Ripper : You’ll reduce competition; you’ll make it a de facto monopoly. Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Leader of the Opposition wants to ask the question, he can run around here to my seat and answer and run back to his seat — Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there after March 2013. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition will not be even in his seat; he will be outside somewhere. Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there answering the question and I will have a better energy reform program than you’ve got. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The argument that it will reduce competition deserves a bit of examination. This is an industry in which size matters. The economies of scale in power generation are immense. What matters is the size of the generating unit in bringing down costs. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can’t you find an energy expert who agrees with you? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Other things being equal, a 300-megawatt unit will bring a far lower cost of production than a 100-megawatt unit. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can you find anyone in the private sector who agrees with you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to answer the question. In an industry in which economies of scale dominate and in which there is no interconnection with other states—a stand-alone grid—we will not get a large number of competitive producers under any scenario; it is too small a system. It will always be a regulated monopoly of one form or another; that will be the reality. What is coming forward into the future are around 1 600 — Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
As members have already interjected—they grasped the point immediately—Verve will not be a monopoly. It may be the biggest player in the system. Mr E.S. Ripper : You’ll reduce competition; you’ll make it a de facto monopoly. Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Leader of the Opposition wants to ask the question, he can run around here to my seat and answer and run back to his seat — Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there after March 2013. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition will not be even in his seat; he will be outside somewhere. Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there answering the question and I will have a better energy reform program than you’ve got. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The argument that it will reduce competition deserves a bit of examination. This is an industry in which size matters. The economies of scale in power generation are immense. What matters is the size of the generating unit in bringing down costs. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can’t you find an energy expert who agrees with you? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Other things being equal, a 300-megawatt unit will bring a far lower cost of production than a 100-megawatt unit. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can you find anyone in the private sector who agrees with you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to answer the question. In an industry in which economies of scale dominate and in which there is no interconnection with other states—a stand-alone grid—we will not get a large number of competitive producers under any scenario; it is too small a system. It will always be a regulated monopoly of one form or another; that will be the reality. What is coming forward into the future are around 1 600 — Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr E.S. Ripper : You’ll reduce competition; you’ll make it a de facto monopoly. Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Leader of the Opposition wants to ask the question, he can run around here to my seat and answer and run back to his seat — Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there after March 2013. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition will not be even in his seat; he will be outside somewhere. Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there answering the question and I will have a better energy reform program than you’ve got. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The argument that it will reduce competition deserves a bit of examination. This is an industry in which size matters. The economies of scale in power generation are immense. What matters is the size of the generating unit in bringing down costs. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can’t you find an energy expert who agrees with you? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Other things being equal, a 300-megawatt unit will bring a far lower cost of production than a 100-megawatt unit. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can you find anyone in the private sector who agrees with you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to answer the question. In an industry in which economies of scale dominate and in which there is no interconnection with other states—a stand-alone grid—we will not get a large number of competitive producers under any scenario; it is too small a system. It will always be a regulated monopoly of one form or another; that will be the reality. What is coming forward into the future are around 1 600 — Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Leader of the Opposition wants to ask the question, he can run around here to my seat and answer and run back to his seat — Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there after March 2013. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition will not be even in his seat; he will be outside somewhere. Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there answering the question and I will have a better energy reform program than you’ve got. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The argument that it will reduce competition deserves a bit of examination. This is an industry in which size matters. The economies of scale in power generation are immense. What matters is the size of the generating unit in bringing down costs. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can’t you find an energy expert who agrees with you? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Other things being equal, a 300-megawatt unit will bring a far lower cost of production than a 100-megawatt unit. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can you find anyone in the private sector who agrees with you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to answer the question. In an industry in which economies of scale dominate and in which there is no interconnection with other states—a stand-alone grid—we will not get a large number of competitive producers under any scenario; it is too small a system. It will always be a regulated monopoly of one form or another; that will be the reality. What is coming forward into the future are around 1 600 — Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there after March 2013. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition will not be even in his seat; he will be outside somewhere. Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there answering the question and I will have a better energy reform program than you’ve got. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The argument that it will reduce competition deserves a bit of examination. This is an industry in which size matters. The economies of scale in power generation are immense. What matters is the size of the generating unit in bringing down costs. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can’t you find an energy expert who agrees with you? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Other things being equal, a 300-megawatt unit will bring a far lower cost of production than a 100-megawatt unit. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can you find anyone in the private sector who agrees with you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to answer the question. In an industry in which economies of scale dominate and in which there is no interconnection with other states—a stand-alone grid—we will not get a large number of competitive producers under any scenario; it is too small a system. It will always be a regulated monopoly of one form or another; that will be the reality. What is coming forward into the future are around 1 600 — Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition will not be even in his seat; he will be outside somewhere. Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there answering the question and I will have a better energy reform program than you’ve got. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The argument that it will reduce competition deserves a bit of examination. This is an industry in which size matters. The economies of scale in power generation are immense. What matters is the size of the generating unit in bringing down costs. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can’t you find an energy expert who agrees with you? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Other things being equal, a 300-megawatt unit will bring a far lower cost of production than a 100-megawatt unit. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can you find anyone in the private sector who agrees with you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to answer the question. In an industry in which economies of scale dominate and in which there is no interconnection with other states—a stand-alone grid—we will not get a large number of competitive producers under any scenario; it is too small a system. It will always be a regulated monopoly of one form or another; that will be the reality. What is coming forward into the future are around 1 600 — Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr E.S. Ripper : I will be there answering the question and I will have a better energy reform program than you’ve got. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The argument that it will reduce competition deserves a bit of examination. This is an industry in which size matters. The economies of scale in power generation are immense. What matters is the size of the generating unit in bringing down costs. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can’t you find an energy expert who agrees with you? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Other things being equal, a 300-megawatt unit will bring a far lower cost of production than a 100-megawatt unit. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can you find anyone in the private sector who agrees with you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to answer the question. In an industry in which economies of scale dominate and in which there is no interconnection with other states—a stand-alone grid—we will not get a large number of competitive producers under any scenario; it is too small a system. It will always be a regulated monopoly of one form or another; that will be the reality. What is coming forward into the future are around 1 600 — Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : The argument that it will reduce competition deserves a bit of examination. This is an industry in which size matters. The economies of scale in power generation are immense. What matters is the size of the generating unit in bringing down costs. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can’t you find an energy expert who agrees with you? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Other things being equal, a 300-megawatt unit will bring a far lower cost of production than a 100-megawatt unit. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can you find anyone in the private sector who agrees with you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to answer the question. In an industry in which economies of scale dominate and in which there is no interconnection with other states—a stand-alone grid—we will not get a large number of competitive producers under any scenario; it is too small a system. It will always be a regulated monopoly of one form or another; that will be the reality. What is coming forward into the future are around 1 600 — Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr E.S. Ripper : Can’t you find an energy expert who agrees with you? The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Other things being equal, a 300-megawatt unit will bring a far lower cost of production than a 100-megawatt unit. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can you find anyone in the private sector who agrees with you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to answer the question. In an industry in which economies of scale dominate and in which there is no interconnection with other states—a stand-alone grid—we will not get a large number of competitive producers under any scenario; it is too small a system. It will always be a regulated monopoly of one form or another; that will be the reality. What is coming forward into the future are around 1 600 — Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Other things being equal, a 300-megawatt unit will bring a far lower cost of production than a 100-megawatt unit. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can you find anyone in the private sector who agrees with you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to answer the question. In an industry in which economies of scale dominate and in which there is no interconnection with other states—a stand-alone grid—we will not get a large number of competitive producers under any scenario; it is too small a system. It will always be a regulated monopoly of one form or another; that will be the reality. What is coming forward into the future are around 1 600 — Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Other things being equal, a 300-megawatt unit will bring a far lower cost of production than a 100-megawatt unit. Mr E.S. Ripper : Can you find anyone in the private sector who agrees with you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to answer the question. In an industry in which economies of scale dominate and in which there is no interconnection with other states—a stand-alone grid—we will not get a large number of competitive producers under any scenario; it is too small a system. It will always be a regulated monopoly of one form or another; that will be the reality. What is coming forward into the future are around 1 600 — Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr E.S. Ripper : Can you find anyone in the private sector who agrees with you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to answer the question. In an industry in which economies of scale dominate and in which there is no interconnection with other states—a stand-alone grid—we will not get a large number of competitive producers under any scenario; it is too small a system. It will always be a regulated monopoly of one form or another; that will be the reality. What is coming forward into the future are around 1 600 — Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am trying to answer the question. In an industry in which economies of scale dominate and in which there is no interconnection with other states—a stand-alone grid—we will not get a large number of competitive producers under any scenario; it is too small a system. It will always be a regulated monopoly of one form or another; that will be the reality. What is coming forward into the future are around 1 600 — Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr M. McGowan interjected. Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Several members interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, it is absolutely pointless. I am trying to give a sensible answer and no-one is listening. Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr E.S. Ripper : I am listening. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Well, the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues are not; they are failing to grasp some of the economics and engineering capacity of the industry. There are 1 600 — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
The SPEAKER : It would be pretty easy to call it quits right now. Can I just remind members of this place who come to me and ask me, “Can we get more questions today, Mr Speaker?” that yes, we could, if there were fewer interjections. Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : There is already significant private sector participation. That developed through the 1990s and has grown more and more quickly over the last 10 years. There are another 1 600 megawatts of estimated demand; the vast majority of that will be private sector investment. The structure of the industry is changing because of a government decision not to increase the market share of a government-owned utility. That will not be achieved by competition; it will be achieved by government decision-making. This is a monopoly and it requires regulation, and that is the way that we are going. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : The opposition’s view — Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr E.S. Ripper : You are going to make it worse—pure politics. The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
The SPEAKER : Leader of the Opposition, I am sure you want to ask more questions and I am sure people on your side want to ask questions as well. At this point, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Competition is not the end in itself. Competition is a means to getting production at minimum cost, and we will get production at minimum cost by having the most efficient generators, whether they be public or private. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Minister for Energy, did bring on competition, but do we know how he did it? He did it by cross-subsidising the private sector, by reducing the efficiency of the government utility and giving contracts out to private players. That is how he did it; that is not the way to get efficiency, either from an economic or technical point of view. That is why the price of electricity has gone up by so much, because of the Leader of the Opposition’s failed policy. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington! Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : At least this government recognises the failure and is prepared to act on it. All the Labor Party does is hide in the misbelief that it actually had a policy that worked. The Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices by 8.5 per cent; even by the Labor government’s own precious forward estimates, they went up by 60 per cent.
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