Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee, , 7:38:17 to 7:44:35
A heated exchange occurs regarding which government is responsible for the project's failures, with the Minister blaming the previous administration's poor engineering design and lack of due diligence.
Topics: Renewable energy, Integrity, Energy storage
Speakers: Hon Tim Ayres, Malcolm Roberts, Varun Ghosh, Unknown Speaker, Hon Sarah Henderson
>> I think from the government's perspective, um, Senator, um, this is, an important project that will strengthen energy security. you you said earlier in questions today that you're worried about firming. This is a very important project uh in the context of the requirement for firming. As um as Mr. Barnes said the the increase in costs is disappointing. >> Uh but it's a consequence a decision by the previous government to
grant that we were criticizing it back then
>> including including your leader Mr. Joyce um uh to race to leader to to to a to a race
>> I thought leader
>> Well, I'll leave that to you guys. A a a to a uh and as Mr. Joyce said done on the back of a beer coaster. Uh now there are consequences when large infrastructure projects are run like that. Uh increased costs increased costs are inevitable. uh once you have a kind of path dependency and poor engineering design uh then the rectification costs for that with the limited number of choices that you have.
>> So you inherited that project why didn't you stop it right then
>> because it is an important project for the country
>> with the numbers
Australians do hard things and we're going to get through this project because it is required to make the country stronger
>> but most
65% It is 65% complete. We will see it through
>> for minuscule benefit. Minuscule benefit. And how much more is going to be lost?
>> Well, Senator, it is not it is not a minuscule benefit. It is a very important national project. We will complete the project. uh there are consequences from a a failure to do the design work by the kind of abbott turn Morrison axis of kind of disinvestment and disaster that is true uh Mr. Joyce was a key architect of that and Mr. Taylor was the minister I mean Mr. Taylor said at the time um he said uh very encouraging things he said the the economics stack up he said Mr. Taylor said, "This is a great day for this region. This is a great day for Snowy Hydro. Most of all, this is a great day for Australia." >> Now, now you Well, he was the one who bundled ition to Mr. Taylor. Mr. Taylor, sorry,
Minister, just one second. Senator Henderson, you interrupted on me and now you've interrupted on Mr. Roberts or Senator Roberts. Please don't interrupt other senators when they're asking their
questions. I'm not going to be bellowed over that Mr. Taylor is the principal architect of this problem. >> He He is the worst energy minister Australia has ever had. >> Has ever had out delay disinvestment decay that is that is what that is Mr. Taylor's legacy
Henderson, he's making an observation about governments, but he is answering a question from Senator Roberts. So, will everyone please come to order? Minister, please finish your answer and then we'll go back to M. Senator Roberts for his
>> Um, I I think I'm done.
>> Senator Roberts, Minister, your government, the Albani Bowen government endorsed this project when you came into power. You had the authority of of the public service. You had the whole public service at your at your disposal and you did not do a proper evaluation. The project came out from the Liberals with no no policy basis, no no uh options, no alternatives, no business case, no costbenefit analysis and have went ahead. No adequate drilling. You knew all of that. You'd been sweating on that for years and yet you still went ahead with it. That's worse than the Liberals. The Liberals went ahead with it because they they were ignorant, but you went ahead with it deliberately. Why?
>> Well, it's a project uh of uh national importance. Um Mr. Taylor said in October 2019 Lee, he said,
>> "Why did you question?"
>> We made our investment decision after we' done a cost benefit, he says, and after we' done the feasibility work. That's what Mr. Taylor said.
>> Heavily redacted.
>> Snowy. No, no, no, no, no. It's it's the words that he used in a in a radio
interview. >> You knew all of this. You knew all of this.
>> He said, "Snowy 2.0 is a defining project in our country's history >> and forms a key." See, the problem for the Liberals and Nationals is you can't accept responsibility for what you got wrong. for what it went off the rails
under your government as the whole thing has gone up.
>> Senator Henderson, I've asked you a number of times to please stop interjecting while the minister is answering Senator Roberts' questions.
>> We you may be unable to accept responsibility.
>> You can't accept the fact
>> uh and and you demonstrate that when you shout over the top of me, but this is an important project >> that that was that was set up badly by the previous government. the costs of abandoning it are immense for for the Australian community. We will see it through and we will get it done. Uh and we are relying upon uh Snowy Hydro to do that work. Um it is, as Mr. Taylor said, uh an important project.