❓ Question regarding energy security planning after gas interruptions. Premier Barnett responds by criticising the previous Labor government's energy policies, particularly regarding electricity prices and production, and defends his government's actions.
AnsweredQoN 387Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ENERGY SUPPLIES
On two occasions last year Western Australians were hit hard when gas interruptions caused energy generation issues, which highlighted a lack of energy security planning and capacity issues. Can the Premier please outline the latest steps being taken by this government to improve the state’s ability to allow businesses and families to keep their lights on? Mr C.J. BARNETT
On two occasions last year Western Australians were hit hard when gas interruptions caused energy generation issues, which highlighted a lack of energy security planning and capacity issues. Can the Premier please outline the latest steps being taken by this government to improve the state’s ability to allow businesses and families to keep their lights on? Mr C.J. BARNETT
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question. Indeed, his electorate is very near to the Collie area. There is nothing more important in the electricity sector than reliability of supply. The incident on Varanus Island last year was one of those incidents that could not be avoided. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : As an incoming government, and although Varanus is back into production, we were faced with the situation that in summer 2011-12 this state would be more than 200 megawatts short of the energy capacity required to maintain reliability of supply. I remind members of the outstanding effort of the now Leader of the Opposition when he promised people lower electricity prices. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Collie-Preston! Mr M.P. Murray interjected. The SPEAKER : I realise that it is an issue close to the member for Collie-Preston’s heart, but there are more appropriate ways to deal with this. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The policy of the Labor Party, which it pursued relentlessly for seven years, was to break up what was then Western Power and to introduce competition. That was the Labor Party’s objective—competition. Mr M. McGowan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : It was not about reliability of supply and not about reducing prices as such; it was about competition. I pose the question: what is competition—if it is a good thing, and I believe it is—meant to deliver? It is meant to deliver lower prices, increased production, sustainable profit levels for operators within the industry and an improvement in the quality of the product for consumers. Mr F.M. Logan : Competition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Members opposite keep on telling us about competition. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the member for the question. Indeed, his electorate is very near to the Collie area. There is nothing more important in the electricity sector than reliability of supply. The incident on Varanus Island last year was one of those incidents that could not be avoided. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : As an incoming government, and although Varanus is back into production, we were faced with the situation that in summer 2011-12 this state would be more than 200 megawatts short of the energy capacity required to maintain reliability of supply. I remind members of the outstanding effort of the now Leader of the Opposition when he promised people lower electricity prices. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Collie-Preston! Mr M.P. Murray interjected. The SPEAKER : I realise that it is an issue close to the member for Collie-Preston’s heart, but there are more appropriate ways to deal with this. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The policy of the Labor Party, which it pursued relentlessly for seven years, was to break up what was then Western Power and to introduce competition. That was the Labor Party’s objective—competition. Mr M. McGowan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : It was not about reliability of supply and not about reducing prices as such; it was about competition. I pose the question: what is competition—if it is a good thing, and I believe it is—meant to deliver? It is meant to deliver lower prices, increased production, sustainable profit levels for operators within the industry and an improvement in the quality of the product for consumers. Mr F.M. Logan : Competition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Members opposite keep on telling us about competition. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
I thank the member for the question. Indeed, his electorate is very near to the Collie area. There is nothing more important in the electricity sector than reliability of supply. The incident on Varanus Island last year was one of those incidents that could not be avoided. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : As an incoming government, and although Varanus is back into production, we were faced with the situation that in summer 2011-12 this state would be more than 200 megawatts short of the energy capacity required to maintain reliability of supply. I remind members of the outstanding effort of the now Leader of the Opposition when he promised people lower electricity prices. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Collie-Preston! Mr M.P. Murray interjected. The SPEAKER : I realise that it is an issue close to the member for Collie-Preston’s heart, but there are more appropriate ways to deal with this. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The policy of the Labor Party, which it pursued relentlessly for seven years, was to break up what was then Western Power and to introduce competition. That was the Labor Party’s objective—competition. Mr M. McGowan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : It was not about reliability of supply and not about reducing prices as such; it was about competition. I pose the question: what is competition—if it is a good thing, and I believe it is—meant to deliver? It is meant to deliver lower prices, increased production, sustainable profit levels for operators within the industry and an improvement in the quality of the product for consumers. Mr F.M. Logan : Competition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Members opposite keep on telling us about competition. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
There is nothing more important in the electricity sector than reliability of supply. The incident on Varanus Island last year was one of those incidents that could not be avoided. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : As an incoming government, and although Varanus is back into production, we were faced with the situation that in summer 2011-12 this state would be more than 200 megawatts short of the energy capacity required to maintain reliability of supply. I remind members of the outstanding effort of the now Leader of the Opposition when he promised people lower electricity prices. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Collie-Preston! Mr M.P. Murray interjected. The SPEAKER : I realise that it is an issue close to the member for Collie-Preston’s heart, but there are more appropriate ways to deal with this. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The policy of the Labor Party, which it pursued relentlessly for seven years, was to break up what was then Western Power and to introduce competition. That was the Labor Party’s objective—competition. Mr M. McGowan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : It was not about reliability of supply and not about reducing prices as such; it was about competition. I pose the question: what is competition—if it is a good thing, and I believe it is—meant to deliver? It is meant to deliver lower prices, increased production, sustainable profit levels for operators within the industry and an improvement in the quality of the product for consumers. Mr F.M. Logan : Competition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Members opposite keep on telling us about competition. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : As an incoming government, and although Varanus is back into production, we were faced with the situation that in summer 2011-12 this state would be more than 200 megawatts short of the energy capacity required to maintain reliability of supply. I remind members of the outstanding effort of the now Leader of the Opposition when he promised people lower electricity prices. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Collie-Preston! Mr M.P. Murray interjected. The SPEAKER : I realise that it is an issue close to the member for Collie-Preston’s heart, but there are more appropriate ways to deal with this. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The policy of the Labor Party, which it pursued relentlessly for seven years, was to break up what was then Western Power and to introduce competition. That was the Labor Party’s objective—competition. Mr M. McGowan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : It was not about reliability of supply and not about reducing prices as such; it was about competition. I pose the question: what is competition—if it is a good thing, and I believe it is—meant to deliver? It is meant to deliver lower prices, increased production, sustainable profit levels for operators within the industry and an improvement in the quality of the product for consumers. Mr F.M. Logan : Competition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Members opposite keep on telling us about competition. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : As an incoming government, and although Varanus is back into production, we were faced with the situation that in summer 2011-12 this state would be more than 200 megawatts short of the energy capacity required to maintain reliability of supply. I remind members of the outstanding effort of the now Leader of the Opposition when he promised people lower electricity prices. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Collie-Preston! Mr M.P. Murray interjected. The SPEAKER : I realise that it is an issue close to the member for Collie-Preston’s heart, but there are more appropriate ways to deal with this. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The policy of the Labor Party, which it pursued relentlessly for seven years, was to break up what was then Western Power and to introduce competition. That was the Labor Party’s objective—competition. Mr M. McGowan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : It was not about reliability of supply and not about reducing prices as such; it was about competition. I pose the question: what is competition—if it is a good thing, and I believe it is—meant to deliver? It is meant to deliver lower prices, increased production, sustainable profit levels for operators within the industry and an improvement in the quality of the product for consumers. Mr F.M. Logan : Competition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Members opposite keep on telling us about competition. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr M.P. Murray interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Collie-Preston! Mr M.P. Murray interjected. The SPEAKER : I realise that it is an issue close to the member for Collie-Preston’s heart, but there are more appropriate ways to deal with this. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The policy of the Labor Party, which it pursued relentlessly for seven years, was to break up what was then Western Power and to introduce competition. That was the Labor Party’s objective—competition. Mr M. McGowan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : It was not about reliability of supply and not about reducing prices as such; it was about competition. I pose the question: what is competition—if it is a good thing, and I believe it is—meant to deliver? It is meant to deliver lower prices, increased production, sustainable profit levels for operators within the industry and an improvement in the quality of the product for consumers. Mr F.M. Logan : Competition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Members opposite keep on telling us about competition. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
The SPEAKER : Member for Collie-Preston! Mr M.P. Murray interjected. The SPEAKER : I realise that it is an issue close to the member for Collie-Preston’s heart, but there are more appropriate ways to deal with this. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The policy of the Labor Party, which it pursued relentlessly for seven years, was to break up what was then Western Power and to introduce competition. That was the Labor Party’s objective—competition. Mr M. McGowan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : It was not about reliability of supply and not about reducing prices as such; it was about competition. I pose the question: what is competition—if it is a good thing, and I believe it is—meant to deliver? It is meant to deliver lower prices, increased production, sustainable profit levels for operators within the industry and an improvement in the quality of the product for consumers. Mr F.M. Logan : Competition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Members opposite keep on telling us about competition. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr M.P. Murray interjected. The SPEAKER : I realise that it is an issue close to the member for Collie-Preston’s heart, but there are more appropriate ways to deal with this. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The policy of the Labor Party, which it pursued relentlessly for seven years, was to break up what was then Western Power and to introduce competition. That was the Labor Party’s objective—competition. Mr M. McGowan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : It was not about reliability of supply and not about reducing prices as such; it was about competition. I pose the question: what is competition—if it is a good thing, and I believe it is—meant to deliver? It is meant to deliver lower prices, increased production, sustainable profit levels for operators within the industry and an improvement in the quality of the product for consumers. Mr F.M. Logan : Competition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Members opposite keep on telling us about competition. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
The SPEAKER : I realise that it is an issue close to the member for Collie-Preston’s heart, but there are more appropriate ways to deal with this. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The policy of the Labor Party, which it pursued relentlessly for seven years, was to break up what was then Western Power and to introduce competition. That was the Labor Party’s objective—competition. Mr M. McGowan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : It was not about reliability of supply and not about reducing prices as such; it was about competition. I pose the question: what is competition—if it is a good thing, and I believe it is—meant to deliver? It is meant to deliver lower prices, increased production, sustainable profit levels for operators within the industry and an improvement in the quality of the product for consumers. Mr F.M. Logan : Competition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Members opposite keep on telling us about competition. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : The policy of the Labor Party, which it pursued relentlessly for seven years, was to break up what was then Western Power and to introduce competition. That was the Labor Party’s objective—competition. Mr M. McGowan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : It was not about reliability of supply and not about reducing prices as such; it was about competition. I pose the question: what is competition—if it is a good thing, and I believe it is—meant to deliver? It is meant to deliver lower prices, increased production, sustainable profit levels for operators within the industry and an improvement in the quality of the product for consumers. Mr F.M. Logan : Competition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Members opposite keep on telling us about competition. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr M. McGowan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : It was not about reliability of supply and not about reducing prices as such; it was about competition. I pose the question: what is competition—if it is a good thing, and I believe it is—meant to deliver? It is meant to deliver lower prices, increased production, sustainable profit levels for operators within the industry and an improvement in the quality of the product for consumers. Mr F.M. Logan : Competition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Members opposite keep on telling us about competition. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : It was not about reliability of supply and not about reducing prices as such; it was about competition. I pose the question: what is competition—if it is a good thing, and I believe it is—meant to deliver? It is meant to deliver lower prices, increased production, sustainable profit levels for operators within the industry and an improvement in the quality of the product for consumers. Mr F.M. Logan : Competition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Members opposite keep on telling us about competition. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr F.M. Logan : Competition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Members opposite keep on telling us about competition. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Members opposite keep on telling us about competition. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr F.M. Logan interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I thank the member for the question. Indeed, his electorate is very near to the Collie area. There is nothing more important in the electricity sector than reliability of supply. The incident on Varanus Island last year was one of those incidents that could not be avoided. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : As an incoming government, and although Varanus is back into production, we were faced with the situation that in summer 2011-12 this state would be more than 200 megawatts short of the energy capacity required to maintain reliability of supply. I remind members of the outstanding effort of the now Leader of the Opposition when he promised people lower electricity prices. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Collie-Preston! Mr M.P. Murray interjected. The SPEAKER : I realise that it is an issue close to the member for Collie-Preston’s heart, but there are more appropriate ways to deal with this. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The policy of the Labor Party, which it pursued relentlessly for seven years, was to break up what was then Western Power and to introduce competition. That was the Labor Party’s objective—competition. Mr M. McGowan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : It was not about reliability of supply and not about reducing prices as such; it was about competition. I pose the question: what is competition—if it is a good thing, and I believe it is—meant to deliver? It is meant to deliver lower prices, increased production, sustainable profit levels for operators within the industry and an improvement in the quality of the product for consumers. Mr F.M. Logan : Competition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Members opposite keep on telling us about competition. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
I thank the member for the question. Indeed, his electorate is very near to the Collie area. There is nothing more important in the electricity sector than reliability of supply. The incident on Varanus Island last year was one of those incidents that could not be avoided. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : As an incoming government, and although Varanus is back into production, we were faced with the situation that in summer 2011-12 this state would be more than 200 megawatts short of the energy capacity required to maintain reliability of supply. I remind members of the outstanding effort of the now Leader of the Opposition when he promised people lower electricity prices. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Collie-Preston! Mr M.P. Murray interjected. The SPEAKER : I realise that it is an issue close to the member for Collie-Preston’s heart, but there are more appropriate ways to deal with this. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The policy of the Labor Party, which it pursued relentlessly for seven years, was to break up what was then Western Power and to introduce competition. That was the Labor Party’s objective—competition. Mr M. McGowan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : It was not about reliability of supply and not about reducing prices as such; it was about competition. I pose the question: what is competition—if it is a good thing, and I believe it is—meant to deliver? It is meant to deliver lower prices, increased production, sustainable profit levels for operators within the industry and an improvement in the quality of the product for consumers. Mr F.M. Logan : Competition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Members opposite keep on telling us about competition. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
There is nothing more important in the electricity sector than reliability of supply. The incident on Varanus Island last year was one of those incidents that could not be avoided. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : As an incoming government, and although Varanus is back into production, we were faced with the situation that in summer 2011-12 this state would be more than 200 megawatts short of the energy capacity required to maintain reliability of supply. I remind members of the outstanding effort of the now Leader of the Opposition when he promised people lower electricity prices. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Collie-Preston! Mr M.P. Murray interjected. The SPEAKER : I realise that it is an issue close to the member for Collie-Preston’s heart, but there are more appropriate ways to deal with this. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The policy of the Labor Party, which it pursued relentlessly for seven years, was to break up what was then Western Power and to introduce competition. That was the Labor Party’s objective—competition. Mr M. McGowan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : It was not about reliability of supply and not about reducing prices as such; it was about competition. I pose the question: what is competition—if it is a good thing, and I believe it is—meant to deliver? It is meant to deliver lower prices, increased production, sustainable profit levels for operators within the industry and an improvement in the quality of the product for consumers. Mr F.M. Logan : Competition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Members opposite keep on telling us about competition. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : As an incoming government, and although Varanus is back into production, we were faced with the situation that in summer 2011-12 this state would be more than 200 megawatts short of the energy capacity required to maintain reliability of supply. I remind members of the outstanding effort of the now Leader of the Opposition when he promised people lower electricity prices. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Collie-Preston! Mr M.P. Murray interjected. The SPEAKER : I realise that it is an issue close to the member for Collie-Preston’s heart, but there are more appropriate ways to deal with this. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The policy of the Labor Party, which it pursued relentlessly for seven years, was to break up what was then Western Power and to introduce competition. That was the Labor Party’s objective—competition. Mr M. McGowan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : It was not about reliability of supply and not about reducing prices as such; it was about competition. I pose the question: what is competition—if it is a good thing, and I believe it is—meant to deliver? It is meant to deliver lower prices, increased production, sustainable profit levels for operators within the industry and an improvement in the quality of the product for consumers. Mr F.M. Logan : Competition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Members opposite keep on telling us about competition. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : As an incoming government, and although Varanus is back into production, we were faced with the situation that in summer 2011-12 this state would be more than 200 megawatts short of the energy capacity required to maintain reliability of supply. I remind members of the outstanding effort of the now Leader of the Opposition when he promised people lower electricity prices. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Collie-Preston! Mr M.P. Murray interjected. The SPEAKER : I realise that it is an issue close to the member for Collie-Preston’s heart, but there are more appropriate ways to deal with this. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The policy of the Labor Party, which it pursued relentlessly for seven years, was to break up what was then Western Power and to introduce competition. That was the Labor Party’s objective—competition. Mr M. McGowan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : It was not about reliability of supply and not about reducing prices as such; it was about competition. I pose the question: what is competition—if it is a good thing, and I believe it is—meant to deliver? It is meant to deliver lower prices, increased production, sustainable profit levels for operators within the industry and an improvement in the quality of the product for consumers. Mr F.M. Logan : Competition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Members opposite keep on telling us about competition. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr M.P. Murray interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Collie-Preston! Mr M.P. Murray interjected. The SPEAKER : I realise that it is an issue close to the member for Collie-Preston’s heart, but there are more appropriate ways to deal with this. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The policy of the Labor Party, which it pursued relentlessly for seven years, was to break up what was then Western Power and to introduce competition. That was the Labor Party’s objective—competition. Mr M. McGowan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : It was not about reliability of supply and not about reducing prices as such; it was about competition. I pose the question: what is competition—if it is a good thing, and I believe it is—meant to deliver? It is meant to deliver lower prices, increased production, sustainable profit levels for operators within the industry and an improvement in the quality of the product for consumers. Mr F.M. Logan : Competition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Members opposite keep on telling us about competition. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
The SPEAKER : Member for Collie-Preston! Mr M.P. Murray interjected. The SPEAKER : I realise that it is an issue close to the member for Collie-Preston’s heart, but there are more appropriate ways to deal with this. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The policy of the Labor Party, which it pursued relentlessly for seven years, was to break up what was then Western Power and to introduce competition. That was the Labor Party’s objective—competition. Mr M. McGowan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : It was not about reliability of supply and not about reducing prices as such; it was about competition. I pose the question: what is competition—if it is a good thing, and I believe it is—meant to deliver? It is meant to deliver lower prices, increased production, sustainable profit levels for operators within the industry and an improvement in the quality of the product for consumers. Mr F.M. Logan : Competition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Members opposite keep on telling us about competition. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr M.P. Murray interjected. The SPEAKER : I realise that it is an issue close to the member for Collie-Preston’s heart, but there are more appropriate ways to deal with this. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The policy of the Labor Party, which it pursued relentlessly for seven years, was to break up what was then Western Power and to introduce competition. That was the Labor Party’s objective—competition. Mr M. McGowan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : It was not about reliability of supply and not about reducing prices as such; it was about competition. I pose the question: what is competition—if it is a good thing, and I believe it is—meant to deliver? It is meant to deliver lower prices, increased production, sustainable profit levels for operators within the industry and an improvement in the quality of the product for consumers. Mr F.M. Logan : Competition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Members opposite keep on telling us about competition. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
The SPEAKER : I realise that it is an issue close to the member for Collie-Preston’s heart, but there are more appropriate ways to deal with this. Mr C.J. BARNETT : The policy of the Labor Party, which it pursued relentlessly for seven years, was to break up what was then Western Power and to introduce competition. That was the Labor Party’s objective—competition. Mr M. McGowan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : It was not about reliability of supply and not about reducing prices as such; it was about competition. I pose the question: what is competition—if it is a good thing, and I believe it is—meant to deliver? It is meant to deliver lower prices, increased production, sustainable profit levels for operators within the industry and an improvement in the quality of the product for consumers. Mr F.M. Logan : Competition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Members opposite keep on telling us about competition. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : The policy of the Labor Party, which it pursued relentlessly for seven years, was to break up what was then Western Power and to introduce competition. That was the Labor Party’s objective—competition. Mr M. McGowan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : It was not about reliability of supply and not about reducing prices as such; it was about competition. I pose the question: what is competition—if it is a good thing, and I believe it is—meant to deliver? It is meant to deliver lower prices, increased production, sustainable profit levels for operators within the industry and an improvement in the quality of the product for consumers. Mr F.M. Logan : Competition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Members opposite keep on telling us about competition. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr M. McGowan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : It was not about reliability of supply and not about reducing prices as such; it was about competition. I pose the question: what is competition—if it is a good thing, and I believe it is—meant to deliver? It is meant to deliver lower prices, increased production, sustainable profit levels for operators within the industry and an improvement in the quality of the product for consumers. Mr F.M. Logan : Competition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Members opposite keep on telling us about competition. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : It was not about reliability of supply and not about reducing prices as such; it was about competition. I pose the question: what is competition—if it is a good thing, and I believe it is—meant to deliver? It is meant to deliver lower prices, increased production, sustainable profit levels for operators within the industry and an improvement in the quality of the product for consumers. Mr F.M. Logan : Competition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Members opposite keep on telling us about competition. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr F.M. Logan : Competition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : Members opposite keep on telling us about competition. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Members opposite keep on telling us about competition. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr F.M. Logan interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
The SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will get to the member for Cockburn. His contribution stands out also. Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Competition is about lower prices, more production, a better quality product and sustainable profit levels. Those are the four criteria that we could pick. Let us look at the effort on prices. Did Labor reduce electricity prices? No. Labor left us with a legacy of the scenario of a 72 per cent increase in electricity prices. When questioned about why his policy did not reduce electricity prices, the now Leader of the Opposition had this to say in a radio interview — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices — Mr E.S. Ripper : It’s true, isn’t it? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, it is not — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
The SPEAKER : Order, member for Rockingham! Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I want to be fair to the Leader of the Opposition; I think that the public needs to hear his quote in full, so I will start again. Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr E.S. Ripper : They already have, my friend. Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are going to hear it again; they need to hear it again—it is so good. Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : The Leader of the Opposition said — Yeah, but what I said was, the reform would put downward pressure on prices. What we’ve got is upward pressure, overwhelming the downward pressure and creating ultimately after the two factors have interacted, a price increase. Downward pressure overwhelmed by the upward—I mean, this is just garbage! That is absolute garbage. The previous Labor government was going to reduce electricity prices, and it came out with a scenario announced by the former hapless Minister for Energy at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon who said, “Sorry, we’ve got a 47 per cent increase and another 15 per cent to come on top of that.” Therefore, the former government failed on prices. The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
The other measure of competition would be more production. The previous Labor government failed on that. We had the infamous blackout in 2004 when we just ran out of electricity. We simply ran out of electricity because we had — Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr E.S. Ripper interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : — three hot days in February. There have been three hot days in February for every day I have been alive! We had three hot days and we ran out of electricity. Then we had the importation of fuel at record world prices and the installation of little dinky toy generators, even in places such as parks in Dalkeith, to try to maintain the power supply. Therefore, the former Labor government failed on price, reliability of supply and on quantity. It failed to bring on the investment. We were faced with the scenario, unsurprising, that we did not have enough electricity capacity for the summer of 2011-12. Therefore, yesterday, along with the work done very well, I might say, by Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Energy, the state government announced — Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr E.S. Ripper : You let him do something, do you? Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : He did this, and he did it all by himself. He did a fantastic job. He has learnt very, very quickly. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : The state government will have, and I think the Speaker will agree with this, two 100-megawatt high-energy gas turbines. It is the latest technology and the first application of this technology in Australia; there are only about seven others around the world. It will be the most efficient—using the latest technology—gas plant to bring on 200 megawatts. Construction will start immediately and it will be in place for late 2011—for that summer. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I knew the member for Collie-Preston could not resist. It is always the Liberal-National governments that support Collie. I do not get why the people of Collie vote Labor; it must be they own the local member because it is always this side of politics that helps out Collie. Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I well remember the member left early on the day. I do not know why he left early. When Richard Court and I opened the 300-megawatt Collie A power station, there was great celebration in Collie. This was after 12 years of promises by Labor with nothing delivered, and the member left early. He walked out. I do not know why he did not enjoy it; all his colleagues were there celebrating. There was nothing—no public investment by the Labor government for eight years in Collie. Now the Liberal-National government, not the ideal, but with a joint-venture partner — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
The SPEAKER : Thank you, Leader of the Opposition! Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : — will refurbish the old Muja A and B units. They are more than 40 years old but they can be refurbished and retrofitted to meet modern environmental standards so we can bring them up. They are not the flashest power units in the world, but they can be kept in commission, because if we do not do that, we will run out of electricity. Therefore, investment in high-efficiency clean gas and refurbishing — Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr M.P. Murray interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I would have thought that the member for Collie-Preston would support me for once. Does the member for Collie-Preston support the decision? Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr M.P. Murray : I do. Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Good; excellent. Once again the Liberal-National government delivers. However, the spokesperson opposite does not — Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr M.P. Murray : But why didn’t you build a 600-megawatt station in the first place? You built a 300-megawatt station that caused the shortfall. It is your problem! Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : But we did not build a virtual 600-megawatt station; we got a real 300-megawatt station. It can have a super-critical 300 megawatts added to it. However, the opposition spokesperson, the member for Armadale, opposed the decision yesterday. She opposed it. Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr M.P. Murray : Everyone would agree you must have renewables; everyone would agree with that. Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I am with the member for Collie-Preston; we will continue to support the community of Collie.
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