Is our Premier a hypocrite?

Our Premier Colin Barnet in 2004 gave this (below) grievance speech on Kwinana pollution to the parliament.

Now Colin Barnett is denying the people of Kwinana justice in knowing what is in the air they breath.

MR C.J. BARNETT (Cottesloe - Leader of the Opposition) [9.37 am]: My grievance is to the Minister for the Environment. I imagine that the Minister for the Environment is probably thinking that it is a bit unfair that I would raise with her something about energy. The reason I am directing this grievance to the Minister for the Environment is that I am really asking her what her position is on a major environmental issue - that is, air quality above Perth - and particularly on the impact of the Kwinana industrial area on the neighbouring communities of Hope Valley and Wattleup and on the air quality of the broad southern corridor. Kwinana is our most important industrial area; there is no doubt about that. However, an air quality issue has gradually developed over the past 40 years in Kwinana. As urban growth has continued in the southern corridor, that problem has become more acute. The previous coalition Government recognised the problems, in particular for Hope Valley and Wattleup, and started a very difficult process of essentially relocating and closing down communities. That is very hard to do and will probably take a generation to ultimately achieve. However, there is a public health issue. In the past couple of days it has emerged publicly that the energy policy of this State is a complete failure. That is not the main point of my grievance. This State is going back 40 years to import oil and burn it in Kwinana for power generation. Economically, it is a backward step. For a State with well over 100 years of proven gas and coal reserves to be reverting to importing 25 000 tonnes of oil at approximately $800 a tonne is economically absolutely incompetent.

I could have an argument, as I did on ABC radio this morning, with the Minister for Energy about gas pipelines and the like. However, the point I raise today is the environmental impact. A decision was made late in the term of the previous Government, when I was the Minister for Energy, to proceed with new combined cycle gas-powered generation at Kwinana. That decision was followed through by this Government, and the Cockburn 1 plant, at a cost of some $250 million, is now operating. That is clean, efficient power generation using natural gas - that is great - and there are prospects to expand that. Part of that decision, from a government policy point of view, was that that would not only add to power generation on the south west grid, but also the burning of coal in Kwinana would cease. Our coal is relatively clean. Coal still forms the major fuel for power generation on the south west grid. It accounts for in excess of 60 per cent of generation, and it will have an ongoing permanent role. However, coal produces high levels of emissions compared with natural gas. It is logical for the long-term issue of air quality to ensure that coal burning for power generation is not located in the urban area. Coal has a permanent future, but it needs to be based essentially around Collie, where there is not such a congregation of population and there is not the environmental impact.

In fact, it was an environmental condition in the approval process that coal burning would stop in Kwinana in 2003 when the new gas-powered generation unit came on stream. The new gas plant is operating, and that is good, but what I find tragic is that, as a consequence of the incompetence of the Minister for Energy, coal will continue to be burnt in the old Kwinana power plant and, indeed, about $5 million will be spent on that Kwinana plant to reconvert some of it so that it can go back to burning oil. I do not blame the Minister for the Environment for that; I blame the Minister for Energy.

Let us look at it. Apart from bad economic and bad power generation management, there is a significant environmental impact when gas is burnt instead of coal for power generation. Gas produces about half the emissions, particularly greenhouse gas emissions, than does coal; coal produces twice the number of emissions than does gas. Burning oil produces 25 per cent more emissions than are produced from burning natural gas. Therefore, we will be contributing more to greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, with some of the industrial development in the area, we will be adding to pollutants of greater concern, particularly nitric oxides and sulfur oxides.

I relate this to an earlier decision of this Government, of which it is probably very proud, to scale up the HIsmelt project in Kwinana. However, the HIsmelt project of Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd and Rio Tinto Ltd is a result of their processing obligations under state agreement Acts for mining iron ore. It was always envisaged that iron ore processing would take place in the Pilbara, or perhaps, as a compromise, in the mid west. I believe this Government made a very short-sighted decision when it agreed to put the HIsmelt project into Kwinana. I will tell the House why. The HIsmelt project in Kwinana uses huge amounts of power and massive amounts of water. Yes, the water may be recycled, but one could argue that that water should be recycled and used broadly across the urban area. It is a huge drain on energy and water resources. However, the HIsmelt project will produce some 1 500 tonnes of emissions a year.

I mention that because this Government is at pains to justify, in part, its southern rail project on the basis that it will improve the environment. This Government and the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure argue that the rail link will save 96 tonnes of emissions. That is why I have raised this grievance with the Minister for the Environment. The rail project may save 96 tonnes of emissions, but the HIsmelt project alone puts 1 500 tonnes of emissions into that area. That swamps by a factor of 15 000 per cent the impact of the railway. Coupled with that, coal continues to be burnt, and now oil will be burnt in Kwinana.

Perhaps I addressed this grievance to the minister a little unfairly. However, I want to know where the Minister for the Environment is on the big issues; and in this case, on the big issue of air quality over Kwinana and the southern suburbs.

(PDF of full speech here)

Perhaps Mr. Premier YOU can now do the right thing and have the DEC appropriately carry out Kwinana Air Toxics Study, but what industry wants....