A responsible government should understand that we all have a duty to be good stewards of our environment.
A responsible government should also understand that supplying energy reliably to households is an essential service in a modern democracy.
And a responsible government should facilitate new opportunities for energy supply while always asking the question: How much is this going to cost?
Western Australia finds itself at a critical juncture.
While the shift towards “renewables” is obviously part of the Cook Labor Government’s plan, the mounting costs and apparent mismanagement of the transition are a major cause for concern.
This week in Parliament, I had the opportunity to ask questions of certain government agencies about their performance over the past year.
One that I was very interested in probing this week was Synergy.
On your behalf, I cross-examined Synergy on its astronomical losses, which were revealed in its Annual Report tabled in Parliament.
The CEO reported:
Synergy’s financial year result for 2022-23 was a net loss before tax of $732.6 million… The net loss in 2022-23 is predominantly due to onerous contracts of $773.7 million, where the unavoidable costs of meeting the obligations under the contract exceed the economic benefits received under the contract.
This is on the back of a $429 million loss the year before and $262 million loss in 2020/21.
So, in the last three reporting periods, Synergy has incurred losses of $1.4 billion.
To put it into perspective, that is 1,400 x 1 million dollars.
As a journalist recently stated, “Last year’s accounts gave the taxpayer’s asset (Synergy) a net value of zero, down from around $1 billion when Labor came into power in 2017”.
How has this been allowed to happen, and who’s responsible for these onerous contracts?
Synergy’s Annual Report also states, “As coal is retired and use of renewables increase, the market will require investment for reliability.”
So, with Synergy losing taxpayers money hand over fist, who will be making this investment?
The Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) insights into Western Australia's energy future are outlined in the report 2023 Western Australian (WA) Gas Statement of Opportunities (GSOO), which forecasts domestic natural gas demand to increase by an average of 2.2% annually between 2024–33, while supply is expected to decline 0.9% on average each year over the same period.
According to the Australian Energy Market Operator, “From 2030, the increase in gas required for power generation following Synergy’s coal retirements is projected to result in a deficit of up to 296 TJ/day by 2032.”
It is evident that the Cook Labor Government’s current approach to “renewable” energy transition in Western Australia is unsustainable.
Merely throwing money at ambitious projects is not the solution.
What is needed is a pragmatic and transparent plan that addresses the economic realities.
Switching off coal before other alternatives are well developed is a recipe for disaster.
In his Premier’s statement, Roger Cook said, “we will put our decarbonisation targets into law. Our commitment … will be locked into law.”
Well, Mr Cook, instead of boasting about enshrining your energy ideology into law, how about you explain how you plan to comply with that law and what the cost of doing so will be!
If you are concerned about this ideology and attitude by Labor, you can support my Federal colleague Andrew Hastie who has a petition challenging one of Labor’s latest “renewable” projects.
Yours for a return to responsible government,
Nick
P.S. You have my unequivocal commitment to keep asking the questions that need to be asked. If you would like to support my re-election campaign, you can do so here. Thank you for your continued support.
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