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.