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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 116 asked in the Legislative Council on 21 February 2019 by Hon Dr Steve Thomas

Parliament: 40 Session: 1

BIOMASS ENERGY PLANT — COLLIE

116. Hon Dr STEVE THOMAS to the Minister for Regional Development:

I refer to my question without notice 1295, asked on 4 December 2018, on the 2017 Labor election commitment to a biomass plant in Collie.

(1) Has the prefeasibility study identified by the minister in question without notice 1295 been completed?

(2) If yes to (1), will the minister table it; and, if not, why not?

(3) Given that the member for Collie–Preston has this week admitted that no private companies have been interested in building it and that it is not a government initiative as such, will the government now scrap this proposal and invest the money in something that might actually benefit or stimulate the economy in Collie?

(4) Will the minister give a commitment that the funding will not be returned to the general royalties for regions budget for redistribution elsewhere?

(5) Will the government build a business case for whatever replacement project or program it develops, to ensure that it is not just another dud Labor Party election thought bubble?

The PRESIDENT: Minister for Regional Development, I am just thinking that there might be a couple of parts of that question that you might not be able to answer because they are outside the purview of the minister.

Hon ALANNAH MacTIERNAN replied:

Thank you, Madam President. I will certainly take that on board, but I am happy to answer parts (1) to (4).

(1) Yes.

(2) Not at this time. The results of the study are still under consideration by government.

(3) The matter is yet to be considered.

(4) Any possible reconsideration of funding would be subject to—I think that probably means any possible repurposing of the funding—a recommendation of the Expenditure Review Committee and a decision by cabinet.