❓ Opposition questions the government's potential re-merger of Verve Energy and Synergy, citing concerns about investment. Minister defends the government's energy policy, highlighting cost savings and market changes.
AnsweredQoN 765Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
ENERGY UTILITIES — RESTRUCTURING
My question without notice is to the Minister for Energy. I refer to the Premier’s comments on 6PR yesterday that the government was looking at restructuring energy utilities. (1) Is the government currently conducting a review or inquiry into the possibility of a re-merge of Verve Energy and Synergy; and, if so, who is conducting the review? (2) What is the current status of the minister’s announcement in 2009 following the Oates review that Verve and Synergy would not be re-merged by this government? (3) Does the minister concede that the Premier’s continued obsession with a re-merge does nothing other than scare away investment in the Western Australian energy market? Hon PETER COLLIER
My question without notice is to the Minister for Energy. I refer to the Premier’s comments on 6PR yesterday that the government was looking at restructuring energy utilities. (1) Is the government currently conducting a review or inquiry into the possibility of a re-merge of Verve Energy and Synergy; and, if so, who is conducting the review? (2) What is the current status of the minister’s announcement in 2009 following the Oates review that Verve and Synergy would not be re-merged by this government? (3) Does the minister concede that the Premier’s continued obsession with a re-merge does nothing other than scare away investment in the Western Australian energy market? Hon PETER COLLIER
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(3) I state at the outset, with regard to Verve Energy and Synergy that—I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question—the honourable member is quite correct — Hon Kate Doust : There was no notice. Hon PETER COLLIER : Sorry, without notice actually! Hon Simon O’Brien : I think he was being ironic! Hon Kate Doust : No, I don’t think he was. Hon PETER COLLIER : We did contemplate quite seriously the concept of putting Verve and Synergy back together. We were faced with the prospect of Verve essentially haemorrhaging to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. That was unpalatable to the government, it was unpalatable to the people of Western Australia, and I think we wanted to do something about it. Therefore, we undertook a review process of Verve and Synergy and the alternatives. I announced at the state energy conference in August 2009 that we would not be going down that path, but I did say—I said it quite categorically—“for the time being”. I said that we would continue to monitor the situation, have some rule changes and assess the situation on an ongoing basis, watch the evolution of the market, and ensure that we did what was right for energy security in Western Australia. That came out of Peter Oates’ review and we have continued to monitor that. Over the last two years we have continued to watch the market, because what happened with the disaggregation process, or the splitting up, of Western Power is — Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich : You tell us what you’re going to do! The PRESIDENT : Order! Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister is, I think, trying to give an answer and he will give his answer. He does not really need any advice from other members of the chamber. Hon PETER COLLIER : Thank you, Mr President. It is like a crow at a picnic! What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
(1) Is the government currently conducting a review or inquiry into the possibility of a re-merge of Verve Energy and Synergy; and, if so, who is conducting the review? (2) What is the current status of the minister’s announcement in 2009 following the Oates review that Verve and Synergy would not be re-merged by this government? (3) Does the minister concede that the Premier’s continued obsession with a re-merge does nothing other than scare away investment in the Western Australian energy market? Hon PETER COLLIER replied: (1)–(3) I state at the outset, with regard to Verve Energy and Synergy that—I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question—the honourable member is quite correct — Hon Kate Doust : There was no notice. Hon PETER COLLIER : Sorry, without notice actually! Hon Simon O’Brien : I think he was being ironic! Hon Kate Doust : No, I don’t think he was. Hon PETER COLLIER : We did contemplate quite seriously the concept of putting Verve and Synergy back together. We were faced with the prospect of Verve essentially haemorrhaging to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. That was unpalatable to the government, it was unpalatable to the people of Western Australia, and I think we wanted to do something about it. Therefore, we undertook a review process of Verve and Synergy and the alternatives. I announced at the state energy conference in August 2009 that we would not be going down that path, but I did say—I said it quite categorically—“for the time being”. I said that we would continue to monitor the situation, have some rule changes and assess the situation on an ongoing basis, watch the evolution of the market, and ensure that we did what was right for energy security in Western Australia. That came out of Peter Oates’ review and we have continued to monitor that. Over the last two years we have continued to watch the market, because what happened with the disaggregation process, or the splitting up, of Western Power is — Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich : You tell us what you’re going to do! The PRESIDENT : Order! Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister is, I think, trying to give an answer and he will give his answer. He does not really need any advice from other members of the chamber. Hon PETER COLLIER : Thank you, Mr President. It is like a crow at a picnic! What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
(2) What is the current status of the minister’s announcement in 2009 following the Oates review that Verve and Synergy would not be re-merged by this government? (3) Does the minister concede that the Premier’s continued obsession with a re-merge does nothing other than scare away investment in the Western Australian energy market? Hon PETER COLLIER replied: (1)–(3) I state at the outset, with regard to Verve Energy and Synergy that—I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question—the honourable member is quite correct — Hon Kate Doust : There was no notice. Hon PETER COLLIER : Sorry, without notice actually! Hon Simon O’Brien : I think he was being ironic! Hon Kate Doust : No, I don’t think he was. Hon PETER COLLIER : We did contemplate quite seriously the concept of putting Verve and Synergy back together. We were faced with the prospect of Verve essentially haemorrhaging to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. That was unpalatable to the government, it was unpalatable to the people of Western Australia, and I think we wanted to do something about it. Therefore, we undertook a review process of Verve and Synergy and the alternatives. I announced at the state energy conference in August 2009 that we would not be going down that path, but I did say—I said it quite categorically—“for the time being”. I said that we would continue to monitor the situation, have some rule changes and assess the situation on an ongoing basis, watch the evolution of the market, and ensure that we did what was right for energy security in Western Australia. That came out of Peter Oates’ review and we have continued to monitor that. Over the last two years we have continued to watch the market, because what happened with the disaggregation process, or the splitting up, of Western Power is — Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich : You tell us what you’re going to do! The PRESIDENT : Order! Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister is, I think, trying to give an answer and he will give his answer. He does not really need any advice from other members of the chamber. Hon PETER COLLIER : Thank you, Mr President. It is like a crow at a picnic! What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
(3) Does the minister concede that the Premier’s continued obsession with a re-merge does nothing other than scare away investment in the Western Australian energy market? Hon PETER COLLIER replied: (1)–(3) I state at the outset, with regard to Verve Energy and Synergy that—I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question—the honourable member is quite correct — Hon Kate Doust : There was no notice. Hon PETER COLLIER : Sorry, without notice actually! Hon Simon O’Brien : I think he was being ironic! Hon Kate Doust : No, I don’t think he was. Hon PETER COLLIER : We did contemplate quite seriously the concept of putting Verve and Synergy back together. We were faced with the prospect of Verve essentially haemorrhaging to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. That was unpalatable to the government, it was unpalatable to the people of Western Australia, and I think we wanted to do something about it. Therefore, we undertook a review process of Verve and Synergy and the alternatives. I announced at the state energy conference in August 2009 that we would not be going down that path, but I did say—I said it quite categorically—“for the time being”. I said that we would continue to monitor the situation, have some rule changes and assess the situation on an ongoing basis, watch the evolution of the market, and ensure that we did what was right for energy security in Western Australia. That came out of Peter Oates’ review and we have continued to monitor that. Over the last two years we have continued to watch the market, because what happened with the disaggregation process, or the splitting up, of Western Power is — Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich : You tell us what you’re going to do! The PRESIDENT : Order! Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister is, I think, trying to give an answer and he will give his answer. He does not really need any advice from other members of the chamber. Hon PETER COLLIER : Thank you, Mr President. It is like a crow at a picnic! What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Hon PETER COLLIER replied: (1)–(3) I state at the outset, with regard to Verve Energy and Synergy that—I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question—the honourable member is quite correct — Hon Kate Doust : There was no notice. Hon PETER COLLIER : Sorry, without notice actually! Hon Simon O’Brien : I think he was being ironic! Hon Kate Doust : No, I don’t think he was. Hon PETER COLLIER : We did contemplate quite seriously the concept of putting Verve and Synergy back together. We were faced with the prospect of Verve essentially haemorrhaging to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. That was unpalatable to the government, it was unpalatable to the people of Western Australia, and I think we wanted to do something about it. Therefore, we undertook a review process of Verve and Synergy and the alternatives. I announced at the state energy conference in August 2009 that we would not be going down that path, but I did say—I said it quite categorically—“for the time being”. I said that we would continue to monitor the situation, have some rule changes and assess the situation on an ongoing basis, watch the evolution of the market, and ensure that we did what was right for energy security in Western Australia. That came out of Peter Oates’ review and we have continued to monitor that. Over the last two years we have continued to watch the market, because what happened with the disaggregation process, or the splitting up, of Western Power is — Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich : You tell us what you’re going to do! The PRESIDENT : Order! Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister is, I think, trying to give an answer and he will give his answer. He does not really need any advice from other members of the chamber. Hon PETER COLLIER : Thank you, Mr President. It is like a crow at a picnic! What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
(1)–(3) I state at the outset, with regard to Verve Energy and Synergy that—I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question—the honourable member is quite correct — Hon Kate Doust : There was no notice. Hon PETER COLLIER : Sorry, without notice actually! Hon Simon O’Brien : I think he was being ironic! Hon Kate Doust : No, I don’t think he was. Hon PETER COLLIER : We did contemplate quite seriously the concept of putting Verve and Synergy back together. We were faced with the prospect of Verve essentially haemorrhaging to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. That was unpalatable to the government, it was unpalatable to the people of Western Australia, and I think we wanted to do something about it. Therefore, we undertook a review process of Verve and Synergy and the alternatives. I announced at the state energy conference in August 2009 that we would not be going down that path, but I did say—I said it quite categorically—“for the time being”. I said that we would continue to monitor the situation, have some rule changes and assess the situation on an ongoing basis, watch the evolution of the market, and ensure that we did what was right for energy security in Western Australia. That came out of Peter Oates’ review and we have continued to monitor that. Over the last two years we have continued to watch the market, because what happened with the disaggregation process, or the splitting up, of Western Power is — Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich : You tell us what you’re going to do! The PRESIDENT : Order! Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister is, I think, trying to give an answer and he will give his answer. He does not really need any advice from other members of the chamber. Hon PETER COLLIER : Thank you, Mr President. It is like a crow at a picnic! What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Hon Kate Doust : There was no notice. Hon PETER COLLIER : Sorry, without notice actually! Hon Simon O’Brien : I think he was being ironic! Hon Kate Doust : No, I don’t think he was. Hon PETER COLLIER : We did contemplate quite seriously the concept of putting Verve and Synergy back together. We were faced with the prospect of Verve essentially haemorrhaging to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. That was unpalatable to the government, it was unpalatable to the people of Western Australia, and I think we wanted to do something about it. Therefore, we undertook a review process of Verve and Synergy and the alternatives. I announced at the state energy conference in August 2009 that we would not be going down that path, but I did say—I said it quite categorically—“for the time being”. I said that we would continue to monitor the situation, have some rule changes and assess the situation on an ongoing basis, watch the evolution of the market, and ensure that we did what was right for energy security in Western Australia. That came out of Peter Oates’ review and we have continued to monitor that. Over the last two years we have continued to watch the market, because what happened with the disaggregation process, or the splitting up, of Western Power is — Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich : You tell us what you’re going to do! The PRESIDENT : Order! Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister is, I think, trying to give an answer and he will give his answer. He does not really need any advice from other members of the chamber. Hon PETER COLLIER : Thank you, Mr President. It is like a crow at a picnic! What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Hon PETER COLLIER : Sorry, without notice actually! Hon Simon O’Brien : I think he was being ironic! Hon Kate Doust : No, I don’t think he was. Hon PETER COLLIER : We did contemplate quite seriously the concept of putting Verve and Synergy back together. We were faced with the prospect of Verve essentially haemorrhaging to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. That was unpalatable to the government, it was unpalatable to the people of Western Australia, and I think we wanted to do something about it. Therefore, we undertook a review process of Verve and Synergy and the alternatives. I announced at the state energy conference in August 2009 that we would not be going down that path, but I did say—I said it quite categorically—“for the time being”. I said that we would continue to monitor the situation, have some rule changes and assess the situation on an ongoing basis, watch the evolution of the market, and ensure that we did what was right for energy security in Western Australia. That came out of Peter Oates’ review and we have continued to monitor that. Over the last two years we have continued to watch the market, because what happened with the disaggregation process, or the splitting up, of Western Power is — Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich : You tell us what you’re going to do! The PRESIDENT : Order! Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister is, I think, trying to give an answer and he will give his answer. He does not really need any advice from other members of the chamber. Hon PETER COLLIER : Thank you, Mr President. It is like a crow at a picnic! What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Hon Simon O’Brien : I think he was being ironic! Hon Kate Doust : No, I don’t think he was. Hon PETER COLLIER : We did contemplate quite seriously the concept of putting Verve and Synergy back together. We were faced with the prospect of Verve essentially haemorrhaging to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. That was unpalatable to the government, it was unpalatable to the people of Western Australia, and I think we wanted to do something about it. Therefore, we undertook a review process of Verve and Synergy and the alternatives. I announced at the state energy conference in August 2009 that we would not be going down that path, but I did say—I said it quite categorically—“for the time being”. I said that we would continue to monitor the situation, have some rule changes and assess the situation on an ongoing basis, watch the evolution of the market, and ensure that we did what was right for energy security in Western Australia. That came out of Peter Oates’ review and we have continued to monitor that. Over the last two years we have continued to watch the market, because what happened with the disaggregation process, or the splitting up, of Western Power is — Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich : You tell us what you’re going to do! The PRESIDENT : Order! Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister is, I think, trying to give an answer and he will give his answer. He does not really need any advice from other members of the chamber. Hon PETER COLLIER : Thank you, Mr President. It is like a crow at a picnic! What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Hon Kate Doust : No, I don’t think he was. Hon PETER COLLIER : We did contemplate quite seriously the concept of putting Verve and Synergy back together. We were faced with the prospect of Verve essentially haemorrhaging to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. That was unpalatable to the government, it was unpalatable to the people of Western Australia, and I think we wanted to do something about it. Therefore, we undertook a review process of Verve and Synergy and the alternatives. I announced at the state energy conference in August 2009 that we would not be going down that path, but I did say—I said it quite categorically—“for the time being”. I said that we would continue to monitor the situation, have some rule changes and assess the situation on an ongoing basis, watch the evolution of the market, and ensure that we did what was right for energy security in Western Australia. That came out of Peter Oates’ review and we have continued to monitor that. Over the last two years we have continued to watch the market, because what happened with the disaggregation process, or the splitting up, of Western Power is — Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich : You tell us what you’re going to do! The PRESIDENT : Order! Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister is, I think, trying to give an answer and he will give his answer. He does not really need any advice from other members of the chamber. Hon PETER COLLIER : Thank you, Mr President. It is like a crow at a picnic! What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Hon PETER COLLIER : We did contemplate quite seriously the concept of putting Verve and Synergy back together. We were faced with the prospect of Verve essentially haemorrhaging to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. That was unpalatable to the government, it was unpalatable to the people of Western Australia, and I think we wanted to do something about it. Therefore, we undertook a review process of Verve and Synergy and the alternatives. I announced at the state energy conference in August 2009 that we would not be going down that path, but I did say—I said it quite categorically—“for the time being”. I said that we would continue to monitor the situation, have some rule changes and assess the situation on an ongoing basis, watch the evolution of the market, and ensure that we did what was right for energy security in Western Australia. That came out of Peter Oates’ review and we have continued to monitor that. Over the last two years we have continued to watch the market, because what happened with the disaggregation process, or the splitting up, of Western Power is — Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich : You tell us what you’re going to do! The PRESIDENT : Order! Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister is, I think, trying to give an answer and he will give his answer. He does not really need any advice from other members of the chamber. Hon PETER COLLIER : Thank you, Mr President. It is like a crow at a picnic! What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich : You tell us what you’re going to do! The PRESIDENT : Order! Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister is, I think, trying to give an answer and he will give his answer. He does not really need any advice from other members of the chamber. Hon PETER COLLIER : Thank you, Mr President. It is like a crow at a picnic! What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
The PRESIDENT : Order! Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister is, I think, trying to give an answer and he will give his answer. He does not really need any advice from other members of the chamber. Hon PETER COLLIER : Thank you, Mr President. It is like a crow at a picnic! What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister is, I think, trying to give an answer and he will give his answer. He does not really need any advice from other members of the chamber. Hon PETER COLLIER : Thank you, Mr President. It is like a crow at a picnic! What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister is, I think, trying to give an answer and he will give his answer. He does not really need any advice from other members of the chamber. Hon PETER COLLIER : Thank you, Mr President. It is like a crow at a picnic! What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Hon PETER COLLIER : Thank you, Mr President. It is like a crow at a picnic! What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
(1) Is the government currently conducting a review or inquiry into the possibility of a re-merge of Verve Energy and Synergy; and, if so, who is conducting the review? (2) What is the current status of the minister’s announcement in 2009 following the Oates review that Verve and Synergy would not be re-merged by this government? (3) Does the minister concede that the Premier’s continued obsession with a re-merge does nothing other than scare away investment in the Western Australian energy market? Hon PETER COLLIER replied: (1)–(3) I state at the outset, with regard to Verve Energy and Synergy that—I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question—the honourable member is quite correct — Hon Kate Doust : There was no notice. Hon PETER COLLIER : Sorry, without notice actually! Hon Simon O’Brien : I think he was being ironic! Hon Kate Doust : No, I don’t think he was. Hon PETER COLLIER : We did contemplate quite seriously the concept of putting Verve and Synergy back together. We were faced with the prospect of Verve essentially haemorrhaging to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. That was unpalatable to the government, it was unpalatable to the people of Western Australia, and I think we wanted to do something about it. Therefore, we undertook a review process of Verve and Synergy and the alternatives. I announced at the state energy conference in August 2009 that we would not be going down that path, but I did say—I said it quite categorically—“for the time being”. I said that we would continue to monitor the situation, have some rule changes and assess the situation on an ongoing basis, watch the evolution of the market, and ensure that we did what was right for energy security in Western Australia. That came out of Peter Oates’ review and we have continued to monitor that. Over the last two years we have continued to watch the market, because what happened with the disaggregation process, or the splitting up, of Western Power is — Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich : You tell us what you’re going to do! The PRESIDENT : Order! Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister is, I think, trying to give an answer and he will give his answer. He does not really need any advice from other members of the chamber. Hon PETER COLLIER : Thank you, Mr President. It is like a crow at a picnic! What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
(2) What is the current status of the minister’s announcement in 2009 following the Oates review that Verve and Synergy would not be re-merged by this government? (3) Does the minister concede that the Premier’s continued obsession with a re-merge does nothing other than scare away investment in the Western Australian energy market? Hon PETER COLLIER replied: (1)–(3) I state at the outset, with regard to Verve Energy and Synergy that—I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question—the honourable member is quite correct — Hon Kate Doust : There was no notice. Hon PETER COLLIER : Sorry, without notice actually! Hon Simon O’Brien : I think he was being ironic! Hon Kate Doust : No, I don’t think he was. Hon PETER COLLIER : We did contemplate quite seriously the concept of putting Verve and Synergy back together. We were faced with the prospect of Verve essentially haemorrhaging to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. That was unpalatable to the government, it was unpalatable to the people of Western Australia, and I think we wanted to do something about it. Therefore, we undertook a review process of Verve and Synergy and the alternatives. I announced at the state energy conference in August 2009 that we would not be going down that path, but I did say—I said it quite categorically—“for the time being”. I said that we would continue to monitor the situation, have some rule changes and assess the situation on an ongoing basis, watch the evolution of the market, and ensure that we did what was right for energy security in Western Australia. That came out of Peter Oates’ review and we have continued to monitor that. Over the last two years we have continued to watch the market, because what happened with the disaggregation process, or the splitting up, of Western Power is — Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich : You tell us what you’re going to do! The PRESIDENT : Order! Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister is, I think, trying to give an answer and he will give his answer. He does not really need any advice from other members of the chamber. Hon PETER COLLIER : Thank you, Mr President. It is like a crow at a picnic! What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
(3) Does the minister concede that the Premier’s continued obsession with a re-merge does nothing other than scare away investment in the Western Australian energy market? Hon PETER COLLIER replied: (1)–(3) I state at the outset, with regard to Verve Energy and Synergy that—I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question—the honourable member is quite correct — Hon Kate Doust : There was no notice. Hon PETER COLLIER : Sorry, without notice actually! Hon Simon O’Brien : I think he was being ironic! Hon Kate Doust : No, I don’t think he was. Hon PETER COLLIER : We did contemplate quite seriously the concept of putting Verve and Synergy back together. We were faced with the prospect of Verve essentially haemorrhaging to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. That was unpalatable to the government, it was unpalatable to the people of Western Australia, and I think we wanted to do something about it. Therefore, we undertook a review process of Verve and Synergy and the alternatives. I announced at the state energy conference in August 2009 that we would not be going down that path, but I did say—I said it quite categorically—“for the time being”. I said that we would continue to monitor the situation, have some rule changes and assess the situation on an ongoing basis, watch the evolution of the market, and ensure that we did what was right for energy security in Western Australia. That came out of Peter Oates’ review and we have continued to monitor that. Over the last two years we have continued to watch the market, because what happened with the disaggregation process, or the splitting up, of Western Power is — Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich : You tell us what you’re going to do! The PRESIDENT : Order! Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister is, I think, trying to give an answer and he will give his answer. He does not really need any advice from other members of the chamber. Hon PETER COLLIER : Thank you, Mr President. It is like a crow at a picnic! What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Hon PETER COLLIER replied: (1)–(3) I state at the outset, with regard to Verve Energy and Synergy that—I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question—the honourable member is quite correct — Hon Kate Doust : There was no notice. Hon PETER COLLIER : Sorry, without notice actually! Hon Simon O’Brien : I think he was being ironic! Hon Kate Doust : No, I don’t think he was. Hon PETER COLLIER : We did contemplate quite seriously the concept of putting Verve and Synergy back together. We were faced with the prospect of Verve essentially haemorrhaging to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. That was unpalatable to the government, it was unpalatable to the people of Western Australia, and I think we wanted to do something about it. Therefore, we undertook a review process of Verve and Synergy and the alternatives. I announced at the state energy conference in August 2009 that we would not be going down that path, but I did say—I said it quite categorically—“for the time being”. I said that we would continue to monitor the situation, have some rule changes and assess the situation on an ongoing basis, watch the evolution of the market, and ensure that we did what was right for energy security in Western Australia. That came out of Peter Oates’ review and we have continued to monitor that. Over the last two years we have continued to watch the market, because what happened with the disaggregation process, or the splitting up, of Western Power is — Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich : You tell us what you’re going to do! The PRESIDENT : Order! Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister is, I think, trying to give an answer and he will give his answer. He does not really need any advice from other members of the chamber. Hon PETER COLLIER : Thank you, Mr President. It is like a crow at a picnic! What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
(1)–(3) I state at the outset, with regard to Verve Energy and Synergy that—I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question—the honourable member is quite correct — Hon Kate Doust : There was no notice. Hon PETER COLLIER : Sorry, without notice actually! Hon Simon O’Brien : I think he was being ironic! Hon Kate Doust : No, I don’t think he was. Hon PETER COLLIER : We did contemplate quite seriously the concept of putting Verve and Synergy back together. We were faced with the prospect of Verve essentially haemorrhaging to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. That was unpalatable to the government, it was unpalatable to the people of Western Australia, and I think we wanted to do something about it. Therefore, we undertook a review process of Verve and Synergy and the alternatives. I announced at the state energy conference in August 2009 that we would not be going down that path, but I did say—I said it quite categorically—“for the time being”. I said that we would continue to monitor the situation, have some rule changes and assess the situation on an ongoing basis, watch the evolution of the market, and ensure that we did what was right for energy security in Western Australia. That came out of Peter Oates’ review and we have continued to monitor that. Over the last two years we have continued to watch the market, because what happened with the disaggregation process, or the splitting up, of Western Power is — Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich : You tell us what you’re going to do! The PRESIDENT : Order! Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister is, I think, trying to give an answer and he will give his answer. He does not really need any advice from other members of the chamber. Hon PETER COLLIER : Thank you, Mr President. It is like a crow at a picnic! What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Hon Kate Doust : There was no notice. Hon PETER COLLIER : Sorry, without notice actually! Hon Simon O’Brien : I think he was being ironic! Hon Kate Doust : No, I don’t think he was. Hon PETER COLLIER : We did contemplate quite seriously the concept of putting Verve and Synergy back together. We were faced with the prospect of Verve essentially haemorrhaging to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. That was unpalatable to the government, it was unpalatable to the people of Western Australia, and I think we wanted to do something about it. Therefore, we undertook a review process of Verve and Synergy and the alternatives. I announced at the state energy conference in August 2009 that we would not be going down that path, but I did say—I said it quite categorically—“for the time being”. I said that we would continue to monitor the situation, have some rule changes and assess the situation on an ongoing basis, watch the evolution of the market, and ensure that we did what was right for energy security in Western Australia. That came out of Peter Oates’ review and we have continued to monitor that. Over the last two years we have continued to watch the market, because what happened with the disaggregation process, or the splitting up, of Western Power is — Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich : You tell us what you’re going to do! The PRESIDENT : Order! Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister is, I think, trying to give an answer and he will give his answer. He does not really need any advice from other members of the chamber. Hon PETER COLLIER : Thank you, Mr President. It is like a crow at a picnic! What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Hon PETER COLLIER : Sorry, without notice actually! Hon Simon O’Brien : I think he was being ironic! Hon Kate Doust : No, I don’t think he was. Hon PETER COLLIER : We did contemplate quite seriously the concept of putting Verve and Synergy back together. We were faced with the prospect of Verve essentially haemorrhaging to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. That was unpalatable to the government, it was unpalatable to the people of Western Australia, and I think we wanted to do something about it. Therefore, we undertook a review process of Verve and Synergy and the alternatives. I announced at the state energy conference in August 2009 that we would not be going down that path, but I did say—I said it quite categorically—“for the time being”. I said that we would continue to monitor the situation, have some rule changes and assess the situation on an ongoing basis, watch the evolution of the market, and ensure that we did what was right for energy security in Western Australia. That came out of Peter Oates’ review and we have continued to monitor that. Over the last two years we have continued to watch the market, because what happened with the disaggregation process, or the splitting up, of Western Power is — Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich : You tell us what you’re going to do! The PRESIDENT : Order! Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister is, I think, trying to give an answer and he will give his answer. He does not really need any advice from other members of the chamber. Hon PETER COLLIER : Thank you, Mr President. It is like a crow at a picnic! What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Hon Simon O’Brien : I think he was being ironic! Hon Kate Doust : No, I don’t think he was. Hon PETER COLLIER : We did contemplate quite seriously the concept of putting Verve and Synergy back together. We were faced with the prospect of Verve essentially haemorrhaging to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. That was unpalatable to the government, it was unpalatable to the people of Western Australia, and I think we wanted to do something about it. Therefore, we undertook a review process of Verve and Synergy and the alternatives. I announced at the state energy conference in August 2009 that we would not be going down that path, but I did say—I said it quite categorically—“for the time being”. I said that we would continue to monitor the situation, have some rule changes and assess the situation on an ongoing basis, watch the evolution of the market, and ensure that we did what was right for energy security in Western Australia. That came out of Peter Oates’ review and we have continued to monitor that. Over the last two years we have continued to watch the market, because what happened with the disaggregation process, or the splitting up, of Western Power is — Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich : You tell us what you’re going to do! The PRESIDENT : Order! Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister is, I think, trying to give an answer and he will give his answer. He does not really need any advice from other members of the chamber. Hon PETER COLLIER : Thank you, Mr President. It is like a crow at a picnic! What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Hon Kate Doust : No, I don’t think he was. Hon PETER COLLIER : We did contemplate quite seriously the concept of putting Verve and Synergy back together. We were faced with the prospect of Verve essentially haemorrhaging to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. That was unpalatable to the government, it was unpalatable to the people of Western Australia, and I think we wanted to do something about it. Therefore, we undertook a review process of Verve and Synergy and the alternatives. I announced at the state energy conference in August 2009 that we would not be going down that path, but I did say—I said it quite categorically—“for the time being”. I said that we would continue to monitor the situation, have some rule changes and assess the situation on an ongoing basis, watch the evolution of the market, and ensure that we did what was right for energy security in Western Australia. That came out of Peter Oates’ review and we have continued to monitor that. Over the last two years we have continued to watch the market, because what happened with the disaggregation process, or the splitting up, of Western Power is — Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich : You tell us what you’re going to do! The PRESIDENT : Order! Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister is, I think, trying to give an answer and he will give his answer. He does not really need any advice from other members of the chamber. Hon PETER COLLIER : Thank you, Mr President. It is like a crow at a picnic! What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Hon PETER COLLIER : We did contemplate quite seriously the concept of putting Verve and Synergy back together. We were faced with the prospect of Verve essentially haemorrhaging to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. That was unpalatable to the government, it was unpalatable to the people of Western Australia, and I think we wanted to do something about it. Therefore, we undertook a review process of Verve and Synergy and the alternatives. I announced at the state energy conference in August 2009 that we would not be going down that path, but I did say—I said it quite categorically—“for the time being”. I said that we would continue to monitor the situation, have some rule changes and assess the situation on an ongoing basis, watch the evolution of the market, and ensure that we did what was right for energy security in Western Australia. That came out of Peter Oates’ review and we have continued to monitor that. Over the last two years we have continued to watch the market, because what happened with the disaggregation process, or the splitting up, of Western Power is — Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich : You tell us what you’re going to do! The PRESIDENT : Order! Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister is, I think, trying to give an answer and he will give his answer. He does not really need any advice from other members of the chamber. Hon PETER COLLIER : Thank you, Mr President. It is like a crow at a picnic! What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich : You tell us what you’re going to do! The PRESIDENT : Order! Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister is, I think, trying to give an answer and he will give his answer. He does not really need any advice from other members of the chamber. Hon PETER COLLIER : Thank you, Mr President. It is like a crow at a picnic! What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
The PRESIDENT : Order! Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister is, I think, trying to give an answer and he will give his answer. He does not really need any advice from other members of the chamber. Hon PETER COLLIER : Thank you, Mr President. It is like a crow at a picnic! What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister is, I think, trying to give an answer and he will give his answer. He does not really need any advice from other members of the chamber. Hon PETER COLLIER : Thank you, Mr President. It is like a crow at a picnic! What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister is, I think, trying to give an answer and he will give his answer. He does not really need any advice from other members of the chamber. Hon PETER COLLIER : Thank you, Mr President. It is like a crow at a picnic! What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Hon PETER COLLIER : Thank you, Mr President. It is like a crow at a picnic! What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
What happened as a result of the displacement process of generation was that we were actually paying money to private generators while at the same time we had state-owned assets sitting in Kwinana and Collie that were basically idle. Again, that was unpalatable. I do not like having the managing director of Verve ringing to say, “I’m sorry, minister, but we’ve turned off our baseload power plants”, and at the same time paying private generators. I do not think that anyone wants that. Therefore, we made those significant changes. As a result of the changes that we as a government made, we have saved Western Australia over $1 billion. It is as simple as that. The dietitians of doom came out and said that it was the end of private enterprise and the end of the free market in generation, but that is not the case; that is simply not the case. As I announced at the energy — Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Hon Kate Doust : Do you want a copy of the question because you’re not answering what I’ve asked for? Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Hon PETER COLLIER : I can answer the question however I like! The member asked the question without notice; I can answer however I like. I do not need it. Sorry, Mr President, but the question was asked without notice, so this is a golden opportunity! I do not get them too often nowadays, so I am going to make the most of it. How long have I got? Twenty minutes, good. Now we have got a situation in which, as I said — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister does not have 20 minutes. The member who asked the question has asked the question. Now let the minister get on with his answer and come to a conclusion, which I am sure he is working his way to. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Hon PETER COLLIER : I am getting there, thank you, Mr President. It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
It is very important that we have the background because we need to put into context the Premier’s comments made yesterday and today, as well as comments that I have consistently made over the last two years. What I said just a month ago at the 2011 conference, contrary to those poor cynical souls who said, “Yes, we’re not going to have any opportunity for the private sector”, was that we have about 1 600 megawatts of capacity that will be open to opportunities for generation by 2020. So when the Premier made his comments yesterday, he did not say anything that was profound, new or revolutionary. The Premier said something that both he and I have said consistently over the last two years; namely, that we will continue to monitor the market and, if necessary, the option of a Verve–Synergy re-merge is still on the books. There was nothing profound about that. In a direct answer to the honourable member: there is no review of Verve–Synergy—none whatsoever. There is no formal context whatsoever; there have been no formal meetings whatsoever—none at all. My office is not engaged in any review. The Office of Energy is not engaged in any review. As I said, over the last two years — Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Hon Kate Doust : So it was just another Barnett thought bubble, was it? Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Hon PETER COLLIER : No. That is a line that some of the media also took with the Premier yesterday. The last time I spoke to the Premier about this, again, was in the context of a number of issues with the energy sector, probably six weeks ago. It was an informal discussion; there was no formality about it. I have never had a formal meeting with the Premier about the potential of a Verve–Synergy merger. It has always been on the end of other discussions, but it has always been there. I have been consistent in my approach to this and I have said over and again that the way the splitting up of Western Power was done was fatally flawed. I was faced with the legacy of that flawed process. We were told categorically by Hon Eric Ripper and Hon Alan Carpenter ad infinitum, day in and day out, that what would happen when we split Western Power was that we would have lower electricity prices. They were right off the boil—completely! Guarantees that we would have reduced electricity prices — Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
Hon PETER COLLIER : We took the then government at its word. Guess what? It let us down, and it let the people of Western Australia down. We will continue to monitor the market and the energy sector. We have completely turned around the legacy of the previous government’s wastage and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. We have saved Western Australians over $1 billion as a result of the changes that we made to the vesting contract. We have not decided on a formal review of Verve Energy and Synergy and there have been no formal meetings at any stage about that proposal.
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