Electricity Industry Privatisation

Mr ANDREW STONER: My question is directed to the Premier. Given that Michael Costa described a rural communities impact statement on the sale of electricity as "sensible", can the Premier explain why it was the Liberal-Nationals Coalition that dragged him kicking and screaming over the line on this, rather than his so-called Country Labor faction?

The SPEAKER: Order! The House will come to order. The member for Bathurst will cease interjecting.

Mr MORRIS IEMMA: To the best of my recollection, the Leader of The Nationals has asked me that question previously.

Mr Andrew Stoner: And you weren't going to do it.

Mr MORRIS IEMMA: No, just calm down—I will certainly provide a response.

The SPEAKER: Order! I call the member for Clarence to order.

Mr MORRIS IEMMA: In relation to Country Labor, Mr Wong was Country Labor's representative on the Unsworth committee. The terms of reference of the Unsworth committee were to test the impact—

The SPEAKER: The member for Coffs Harbour will cease interjecting.

Mr MORRIS IEMMA: I repeat: it was to test the impact. Some of the matters that the Unsworth committee had to take into account were the impact on jobs, the impact on communities, the social impact, the pricing impact and the environmental impact. Mr Wong ably represented Country Labor. As I responded when asked this question previously—

The SPEAKER: Order! Members will cease interjecting. I call the member for Murrumbidgee to order. I call the member for Murrumbidgee to order for the second time.

Mr Adrian Piccoli: Richard put me up to that.

Mr MORRIS IEMMA: That is not all he put you up to. When asked this question previously, I ran through, for him, what the proposals involved in additional investment, infrastructure and jobs for rural and regional New South Wales. Since that time I can point him in the direction of his colleague the member for Upper Hunter. When the feasibility study of the Queensland Gas Company is complete, and should that feasibility study give that company's proposal a tick, it will mean the location of an $800 million gas power station for his colleague in the Upper Hunter, because his electorate covers two possible sites—Liddell and Bayswater. That power station can be converted to a baseload power station. Further, his colleague's electorate plus others in the upper and lower Hunter area will also benefit from an ancillary investment related to that gas power station, and that is the pipeline coming from south-east Queensland, the coal seam gas.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Upper Hunter will cease interjecting.

Mr MORRIS IEMMA: The coal seam gas will be brought into New South Wales, to an economic powerhouse such as the Hunter, to drive further investment and jobs. The pipeline will be there for that potential power station and it will provide the platform for gas at a much more competitive price in the Hunter for other businesses so that they can—guess what—expand, add jobs and invest, and add to the economic growth of the Hunter.

In the same way that a gas-fired power station is being built by TRUenergy at Tallawarra on the South Coast—it is almost complete and will be commissioned in the second half of this year—the construction of this power station has created 600 jobs and when commissioned will result in a 70 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The nation's most efficient power station will be in the Illawarra and it will supply 225,000 households with electricity. In response to the honourable member's question, yes, we do want more of that. Why? Because New South Wales needs more electricity! The Leader of The Nationals has asked what the rural impact will be. My answer is that Country Labor was represented on the impact assessment that was conducted.

Mr David Campbell: Well represented.

Mr MORRIS IEMMA: Yes, well represented. The outcome of that impact statement was to enhance the package in the environment with the green and the renewable energy funds and to enhance the social safety net, which was one of the points made by the Leader of The Nationals in his press release. In April, as a result of the work of people such as Mr Whan, the Government enhanced the package to provide for indexation of pensioner rebates for electricity and to provide disadvantaged people on sickness or carers allowances to receive additional concessions.

As the Leader of The Nationals pointed out in his statement to the Treasurer, the Government would be pleased to conduct a further round of impact consultation. To date studies of this matter have been examined in the following way. The submissions that were made to the Owen Inquiry by environmental groups and the non-government sector in the social services area, for example, were addressed in the consultation process that the Government undertook from September to December when the Government said it would consider the recommendations of the inquiry. I note the Opposition did not bother to lodge a submission. In December the Government released its response, following consideration of the Owen Inquiry recommendations and meetings with environmental groups, the trade union movement and other consultations. In addition, the third measure of consultation and testing of the impact was the Unsworth Committee. At the conclusion of the Unsworth Committee's work, the Government amended the package and added additional enhancements and protections for pensioners, those on sickness allowances and carers benefits. In the area of the environment, the Government added further measures to provide protection—

The SPEAKER: Order! I call the member for Murray-Darling to order for the second time.

Mr MORRIS IEMMA: You want to have a further round of consultation on impact? The Government has no difficulty with that. We are absolutely confident—

Mr Adrian Piccoli: Because you don't have the numbers.

Mr MORRIS IEMMA: The member for Murrumbidgee should worry about his own show.

The SPEAKER: Order! The House will come to order. I place the member for Murray-Darling on three calls to order.

[Interruption]

Mr MORRIS IEMMA: Listen, Thomas, if you want to trade phone calls, two people can play. Do not tempt me like you did last time. Thomas, that mental health facility is a fabulous one.

Mr Thomas George: It is not funded. There are no patients or staff there!

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Lismore and the Leader of the House will come to order.

Mr MORRIS IEMMA: The member for Coffs Harbour should not worry about hospitals. If it were left to him, Coffs Harbour would have been built in two stages, not in one stage as was done by the Labor Government.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Coffs Harbour will cease interjecting.

Mr MORRIS IEMMA: By the way, we are still waiting for a note from the member for Coffs Harbour on that radiotherapy centre. If the member does not want a subacute mental health unit at Coffs Harbour, then the member for Lismore would love nothing more than to add one to that fabulous acute mental health hospital that has just been opened at the Lismore Base Hospital. I can assure the member for Coffs Harbour that there is not a member on the Government side that does not advocate for mental health services but there are plenty on your side. Andrew, if you do not want it I am sure that Thomas would love to have it in his electorate.