Premier Peter Malinauskas’ love of renewable energy is putting $20 billion in job-creating BHP investment in South Australia at risk, according to Family First.
Upper House candidate Deepa Mathew said news buried in the business section of The Australian newspaper revealed that expensive and unreliable energy was making South Australia an unattractive place to invest.
BHP Billiton was fast-tracking big copper mining investments in South America but slow-walking South Australia because of the government’s decarbonisation priority and too much red tape.
The Australian reported that BHP was “cautiously advancing its $20bn-plus investment to dramatically expand copper production in South Australia – a megaproject which could deliver another nation-defining resource play to rival the Pilbara”.
The mega project known as Copper SA was drifting and with BHP putting of a decision on an energy intensive smelter until 2028.
The Australian reported:
“The energy crisis is stark. ABS inflation figures this week show electricity costs in Australia have surged 22 per cent in two years, excluding rebates. Costs here are two or more times higher than in Canada and other countries where BHP operates, and 50-100 per cent higher than in the US.”
Ms Mathew said South Australia was saddled with massive government debt and needed wealth-creating projects like Copper SA so families could once again flourish economically.
“Peter Malinauskas is letting investment slip through South Australia’s fingers to South America and that is putting pressure on families.
“It’s time for ideology to stop driving energy policy.
“To take the pressure off families, South Australia needs abundant, cheap and reliable energy so industry can invest and create the jobs our kids need.
“Windmills farms and solar factories can’t do it and there is no battery in existence that can power a city let along a copper smelter.”
Ms Mathew said Family First would always prioritise cheap and reliable energy like gas, coal and in the future uranium over expensive and ideologically driven windmills and solar factories.
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