Electricity (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill
21/09/2011
I wish to briefly place on the record my position on this bill. First of all, it is worth pointing out that I form part of a generation that is lucky enough to have a lot of environmental science available to it. We have been educated to respect the planet and minimise the harm that we do to it. As such, I can easily see the benefits of alternative energy sources like solar. Of course, I can see that it is not just my generation who understands these benefits and I must congratulate the Rann government on sometimes understanding and recognising the importance of the environment, with one notable example being the introduction of South Australia’s solar feed-in scheme in 2008.
It is a fantastic scheme which was a nation leading concept and which has been very successful, but the scheme has not reached its full potential. Now the government is planning on using this bill to cut it short. I can understand that the government wishes to minimise the added financial burden that a feed-in tariff has put on electricity consumers, but I do not believe that this benefit has been properly weighed against the cost of cutting off an alternative energy scheme that is still in the developing stages.
Halting the feed-in tariff this October, with hardly any warning, will cripple the solar industry, potentially meaning the loss of 1,500 jobs. It will also drastically reduce the affordability of solar systems for householders, meaning South Australia continues into this decade with a heavy reliance on expensive and harmful fossil fuels. It is better for us, for the environment and for the economy to continue to support the solar industry a little while longer.
That is why I must thank the Hon. Mr Parnell for taking the time to do the thorough research necessary to draft his amendments. With the Hon. Mr Parnell’s amendments, I believe that this bill can strike the right balance. It will reduce the financial burden on some consumers paying for a feed-in tariff while still supporting the solar industry up until the point that it can stand alone. I am particularly pleased that the Hon. Mr Parnell has seen fit to make a special provision for those who are most vulnerable by giving concession holders an exemption from paying the feed-in tariff at all.
The reality is that, for the majority of people, funding the feed-in tariff is not a huge cost impost, and most people would think it is reasonable to keep adding a little more money to the scheme for a few years so that we can all look forward to a cleaner future. To that end, I look forward to the committee stage, particularly looking at the government and Liberal amendments, which have been tabled just this morning. I look forward to progressing this bill and this fantastic scheme.
