DOMESTIC GAS SUPPLY — SANTOS SHUTDOWN
804. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question.
Does the rapid impact of this gas production shutdown highlight the tightness
of WA's domestic natural gas supply, which will confound power supply
reliability when the government shuts down coal-fired power stations in Western
Australia by 2030?
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER: Order, members!
Mr M.
McGOWAN replied:
I am at a bit of a loss here. You
and your former leader Zak Kirkup were out there standing up and saying you
were going to shut it down in three years from now! That is what you were
doing. I remember watching it. Zak and the member for Cottesloe were out there
calling for it all to be closed. Had you been elected in that election, we would be only two years away from the closure.
That was your policy. Now you come in saying something totally contrary
and you think no-one notices. The thing about you is that people do notice, and
that is probably why they do not cover anything you say!
We will carefully manage, over the
course of the rest of this decade, how the system evolves. Obviously in Western Australia, we will continue to use gas. We
will phase out coal for a range of reasons. Essentially, the way that
renewables come onto the grid each and every day is inconsistent with
coal-fired power. The fact is that coal-fired power is not meant to ramp up and
down each and every day, so the coal-fired power stations are not working in
the way they were traditionally meant to. There are other alternatives;
renewables are coming on at a massive rate each and every day. We will continue
to have a gas supply that provides the balance in our system.
Visitors — Bassendean
Primary School Parents and Citizens Association
The
SPEAKER: On behalf of the member for Bassendean, I would like to
welcome to the Legislative Assembly today members of the Bassendean Primary
School Parents and Citizens Association.