I wish to reiterate an issue raised during the debate on the Electricity Price Reform Amendment Bill. That issue is the matter of the electricity infrastructure in Queensland being able to cope with only a 30 per cent feed-in penetration from solar photovoltaic systems.
I want to quote in part what the member for Capalaba said yesterday in this chamber. The member stated—
In the last two weeks or so, the government conducted a Bright Thing solar forum in my electorate of Capalaba ... at least 120 people turned up ... A survey was conducted at the end of the presentation and it revealed the following. Close to 38 per cent of the people who attended came to learn specifically about solar power and 60 per cent indicated that they came to learn both about the solar PV panel as well as the solar hot-water system ... As a consequence, 59 per cent of those who attended the forum believed that they are more likely now to install a solar panel on their roof.
In the interests of transparency, I call upon the government to advise the extent of the information that was supplied to the members of the public who attended the Bright Thing forum regarding the 30 per cent limit on solar feed-in penetration and the possibility that their applications to feed back to the grid from a system that they purchased could be declined.
The feedback I am getting is that not too many people out there know anything about the possibility that their applications may be knocked back on the basis that power infrastructure in their areas cannot cope with more than 30 per cent feed-in penetration. So I think it is necessary for the government to publicly advise the community about this flaw in Labor’s policy.
Additionally, I call upon the government to table a list of identified areas across Queensland where the feed-in penetration is limited to 30 per cent. I believe this will turn out to be Pandora’s box, not what Labor has put forward as the panacea of all things.