Full transcript of media conference by Premier Ted Baillieu – 20...

Full transcript of media conference by Premier Ted Baillieu – 20 March 2012

http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/media-centre/transcripts/3481-full-transcript-of-media-conference-by-premier-ted-baillieu-20-march-2012.html

REPORTER:
Premier, can you just run us through this new deal to send Victorian coal offshore?


TED BAILLIEU:
This is an exciting opportunity, I think, for Victoria and this is about, in the first instance, securing our energy resources for the future, and the second instance, helping to develop technology which will reduce emissions from coal fire generators, and thirdly, making the most of the resources that we do have in this state.


REPORTER:
I mean, what’s this going to mean for jobs? Especially down in the La Trobe Valley?


TED BAILLIEU:
This is a huge opportunity and it’s an opportunity for investment. It’s an opportunity to add value to our resources here. It’s an opportunity to secure our resources here for our own use as well and to ensure that those resources are used in the most emission-efficient way possible, and that means future jobs, future contracts and it means that business will have an opportunity to invest here, knowing that there is an energy supply here which they can make the most of.


REPORTER:
But for a new export industry like this, we don’t have any of that infrastructure in place. What’s it going to cost, how much are you putting into getting those ports ready and ...


TED BAILLIEU:
Well, the thing about this is this will be a tender and a competitive tender for allocation of resources and the countries and the companies that have been talking to the Government, they want to demonstrate that the technology that they have will work and will produce results, and we would anticipate that those who take allocations will also provide for investment in the infrastructure needed to do what they wish to do, depending on the product.


REPORTER:
How confident are you that that technology is up to scratch to be able to get this resource into a state that is useful and is transportable?


TED BAILLIEU:
Well, I’m confident that those who’ve been coming to us, other countries and the commercial organisations, are confident in their technology and what we’re looking at here is a competitive tender for an allocation of resources so that these various technologies can be tested and tested in a commercial environment and those companies will be putting their funding into a situation, their investment into a situation where the technology is to be tested and proven. It think that’s a good thing. It’s a good thing for Victoria, it’s a good thing for investment in this state, it’s a great thing for jobs, particularly in the Latrobe Valley and it sends a signal to business that Victoria will remain acutely interested in getting the best value for our resources in this state, and we’ll be able to add value to the resources. That’s the most important thing.


REPORTER:
Have you spoken to the Federal Government about this and what’s their response?


TED BAILLIEU:
Well, this is an arrangement that’s been developing and there’s some further work to do and the Commonwealth certainly are aware of our interest in getting the best value for the resources we have in Victoria.


REPORTER:
Is it a bit double standards in you’re investing in all these clean technologies as well on one hand, and then on the other hand you’re shipping off brown coal ...


TED BAILLIEU:
Australia already exports coal, but we export black coal. There is next to no export of brown coal because of its volatility, because of the nature in composition of brown coal. So what we’re talking about here is allowing companies to compete for the right to test their technology on cleaner emissions and a better use of the coal resources we have. That’s got to be a good thing. Now, this is, as I say, about securing our resources, about demonstrating more emission-efficient technology and making the most of our resources.


REPORTER:
Just back on the first topic, I guess, do you have a timeline for when you envision the project will get underway?


TED BAILLIEU:
Well, the first step is to make the allocation tender available and we’ll be doing that over the next period. The details of that will be announced in due course, but we are very keen to get on with this as soon as we can.


REPORTER:
What about decreasing ... the project doesn’t really do anything to decrease our reliance on brown coal.


TED BAILLIEU:
The bottom line is Victoria now uses brown coal for about 90 per cent of our generation and we are going to continue to use brown coal in this state for a long, long time to come. We have an enormous resource. I think the ambition of everybody is to reduce the emissions as best we can, but we need to use the resources we have to ensure that we have opportunities to embrace new technology and to provide certainty into our energy sector and that’s one of the things that’s been missing and we want to send that message to generators that we think there’s a future in this state for generation out of brown coal.