Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to amend notice of motion No. 201, standing in my name for today, relating to the Port Augusta ash dams.

Leave granted.

I move the motion as amended:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the long-term remediation of the ash dams adjacent to the decommissioned Port Augusta Power Station has begun,

(ii) the people of Port Augusta have health concerns due to the ash cloud and should be supported,

(iii) Port Augusta residents have had lung cancer rates double the state average and have led a passionate campaign to build a solar thermal plant to secure their energy future, and

(iv) the slow response to the closure of the Port Augusta Power Station and the resultant pollution should serve as a lesson to other power station operators in the country; and

(b) calls on the Turnbull Government to:

(i) offer support to the people of Port Augusta in regards to their health concerns and take all possible steps to avoid a repeat of the situation in Port Augusta elsewhere,

(ii) expedite the process of permanently rehabilitating the ash dam site at Port Augusta by assisting the State Government and Flinders Power, and

(iii) secure Port Augusta's future as a renewable energy leader by providing the support needed to build a solar thermal power plant.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is leave granted? Leave is granted for one minute.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The monitoring and regulation of air pollution is a state government responsibility. The South Australian Environment Protection Authority and health department are responding to this issue and have directed Flinders Power to replace the sealant covering the ash and to step up monitoring, and it will be looking at what further action is needed. The environmental regulation and licensing of power stations, including waste storage and management from such facilities, is also managed by state governments.

The Minister for the Environment and Energy recently updated the Australian Renewable Energy Agency's statement of expectation to prioritise support for technologies such as energy storage that would support improved security and reliability of the network. Federal government agencies ARENA and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation are engaged directly with proponents of potential concentrated solar thermal projects proposed for Port Augusta.

Question agreed to.