Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Hansard source

We have seen the damage that state based, go-it-alone type policies have done. In Queensland, the gaming of the system by state owned generators drove up wholesale prices and cost households and businesses enormously. In Victoria, the tripling of coal royalties and the reckless state renewable energy target helped to drive the closure of Hazelwood. Everyone knows about the impact of the 50 per cent renewable energy target in South Australia which was done with no plans for back-up or storage. Of course, we saw the consequences there for reliability and affordability. If energy policy had gone so well in South Australia, you have to ask yourself: why is it that Jay Weatherill's answer after the statewide blackout was to come along and install diesel generators to keep the state going through this summer until the next election? We have 'Green Jay' out there with his green policies, and yet his solution is diesel generators to get through until March next year—hardly a green solution.