WESTERN POWER — OUTAGES
786. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Minister for Energy:
I
refer the minister to the independent review of last Christmas's power
outages and Western Power's implementation plan for the recommendations, which contradicts
the minister's claim that all recommendations have been addressed.
(1) Why was Eco
Logical Australia, an environmental consultancy, appointed to review the
bushfire risk management procedures rather than a local expert with experience
in bushfire management?
(2) As the fire
risk and outage repair process is still under review, is the minister satisfied
that we will not see extended power outages due to hot weather, as happened
last year?
Mr W.J.
JOHNSTON replied:
(1)–(2) The
hairs that get split by the member for Cottesloe! Has he looked at Eco Logical's
website? It actually extensively comments on its website about the work it does
on bushfire management. The basis of the question is simply reflective of the
fact that the member does not do any work. I was the shadow Minister for Energy
for five years. There were no circumstances in which I would have come into the
chamber and asked a question that was fundamentally not correct. I would have
gone and done some work and had a look and known that the basis of the question
was wrong. It is just ridiculous.
Eco
Logical was chosen by Energy Policy WA through a government procurement process
that the Minister for Energy has nothing to do with, and nor should I have
anything to do with it. The idea that I should choose which individual
companies are hired by government and get taxpayers' money is asking me
to be involved in corruption. I know that the member has asked for that
before, but I do not do that. I will not breach the purchasing arrangements for
government and I will not breach the Public Sector Management Act, and I do not
know why the member asks me to do either of those things.
Dr D.J. Honey: Is the process
finished?
Mr W.J. JOHNSTON: I have said
that Western Power is addressing each recommendation, and that is exactly what
the member just said was in the report.
Western Power is going through an
extensive process of engagement with local governments. It has gone to, I think,
six of the local governments in the highest impacted areas in non-metropolitan
WA to have one-on-one, face-to-face meetings, and it is having a series of other
online engagements with local governments. It is exactly what I have said in
the past.
This is the next thing. A
couple of weeks ago, 162 000 customers in South Australia were without
electricity. Tens of thousands of
them were without electricity for over 10 days. The reason for that was
lightning strikes. Stuff happens in the electricity system. It is not
possible to guarantee it. If the member for Cottesloe were the minister, he
would not be able to tell anybody that there would not be a power outage. If he
did, he would be telling a lie. I do not understand why the member criticises
me for telling the truth. The system in Western Australia, which is one of the
most reliable in the world, continues to improve, but that does not mean that
there will not be outages. There will be outages because that is the nature of
the system. There were 37 outages last Christmas; five or six of those were the
result of a car versus a pole. I cannot stop a car hitting a pole. If there is
a bushfire, the power will go off. That is just the way the world works, in the
same way that when cyclone Seroja hit Kalbarri in the electorate of the member
for North West Central, the power went out. That is right; that is what
happens. It is time for the member to show some maturity. He has an important
job and he is not doing it well.