Ian Macfarlane (Groom, Liberal Party, Minister for Industry and Science) Share this | Hansard source

I thank my good friend the member for a Grey for his questions, and I am going to be brief in my answer so as to allow further questions. The South Australian energy supply situation is in good shape. As the member identifies, we have a large oversupply of electricity in the national energy market and South Australia's renewable energy penetration is around 40 per cent, which is the second highest anywhere in Australia. Importantly, South Australia is connected to the national grid, which means it can draw power from across the border if it needs to. We need to be mindful of the fact that given the way the grid is managed it should be able to cope with the challenges that may present as a result of Alinta closing.

In terms of the Port Augusta area—and I did enjoy meeting the mayor, a person of great enthusiasm and I have to say optimism in terms of the challenges they are facing—we as a government are investing around $2.2 billion in industry programs, which of course South Australia will be the beneficiary of. As I have just said, we have $155 million in the growth fund, of which South Australia is a significant beneficiary, along with Victoria. Those two states are receiving all of that. South Australia will, as a result of the changes going on, need to strengthen and diversify its economy, and I know that we as a government will work to that and I hope the South Australian state government does the same. In our budget we have provided a significant boost to the small business sector, which includes those small businesses in Port Augusta, and we will work with the South Australian government to put out new opportunities in South Australia.

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