Energy policy
Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (12:26): (1002) My question is to the Minister for Regional Development. BIG4 Bendigo Marong Holiday Park was offered a $5000 incentive just six years ago to convert to natural gas and connect all its holiday cabins to CNG, a project that is still in progress. They have spent $150,000 on the conversion to date and now face tens of thousands of dollars of additional costs to convert back, due to the closure of the local CNG network. Operator of the network Solstice Energy had a 20-year contract with the state government. Why did the Labor government agree to break the contract 10 years early, leaving customers like BIG4 Bendigo in the lurch?
Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Treasurer, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Regional Development) (12:26): I thank Mrs Broad for her question. The scenario that she has put forward is different, but the topic is exactly the same as yesterday. I think that impacted members were offered a briefing on Solstice and the decision to work with them to ensure that customers did not face a 50 per cent increase on their gas bills because of the challenges of supplying CNG to those towns by truck. I went through this at length yesterday. This is a decision that had to reverse basically a dud policy that was going to saddle these communities with unpayable bills because of how expensive the supply of gas by truck was going to be. We took our time to work out the best solution. We were at pains to work out the best solution, and the best solution was to cancel the dud National Party policy and replace it with the ability for the company to pay impacted customers cash for them to use it to transition, using either bottle gas or flipping to electricity. Commercial arrangements will have bespoke transition support, and if BIG4 are not already speaking to Solstice about this – and I would be surprised if they are not – through you, if you want to provide me with any information, if they are not connected already, we can make sure that that happens, because those arrangements are open for discussion between commercial entities and the company.
Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (12:28): Janelle and John Maynard run the Broken Willow restaurant in Nathalia. They have spent $40,000 in the past year setting up their restaurant to use CNG, and with the closure of the network they now face a minimum $20,000 bill to replace their appliances. Because their appliances are new, they will not be eligible for any government rebates to convert to electric, and their site has no room for LPG bottles. Given the shutdown of the CNG network is only occurring because the government has agreed to terminate a contract, will the government now ensure that John and Janelle and hundreds of others like them are not left out of pocket?
Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Treasurer, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Regional Development) (12:29): Again, the issue that we have, Mrs Broad, is that this was effectively a dud program. It would have been a white elephant, and we have had to fix up the mess that we inherited. The cost to proceed with CNG –
David Davis interjected.
Jaclyn SYMES: You should be apologising to them, because you put them in this position. I have had to work to try and find the best solution for impacted communities.
Members interjecting.
Sonja Terpstra: On a point of order, President, I cannot hear the minister and her answer because of the constant barrage and unruly interjections that are coming from the other side. I would ask that the minister be allowed to continue her answer in silence.
The PRESIDENT: I will uphold the point of order. I will bring the chamber to order.
Jaclyn SYMES: I think it would be timely to remind people of the quote from the Solstice CEO that I read in yesterday: this is not about gas networks, energy policy or the energy transition; it is about shutting down a very expensive network. Shutting it down is the best option.
I am certainly not saying that it is an ideal situation, but this is fixing a mess, and it is the best way forward. There is assistance available. I encourage BIG4 –
Members interjecting.
Jaclyn SYMES: We are trying to fix the problem. That is how long it took to try and work out whether we could come up with a solution to fix your problem. We are trying to fix a problem and trying to get the best outcome.