Mr BAILEY - 1998-02-17
The report that has been tabled states that delays in restoring power to Tiwi and Wanguri occurred because the Power and Water Authority did not have generators to do the job. Not only did PAWA not have enough generators, but those it did have could not be used. Will the minister tell this House why PAWA did not have sufficient generators to do the job? Will he also explain why the generators owned by PAWA were not noise-abated and were therefore totally useless for the job? Can he confirm that PAWA workers called for noise-abated generators 3 years ago, but were knocked back because of lack of funding from this Country Liberal Party administration?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I will take some of those questions on notice because I do not have that level of detail.
Mr Bailey: You said you had read the report. It is not that long.
Mr POOLE: What you have produced is a draft report. When I compare that report with the report I received, I will be happy to go into detail. Let me say, however, that the draft report states: 'Having interviewed many long-serving members, the general consensus is that the fault that occurred was the most extensive and complex experienced for many, many years - some said since Cyclone Tracy'. That was the extent of the problem. It was a huge fault. Whilst many generators were deployed around Darwin at the time, the fault was so big that, in effect, PAWA ran out of serviceable generators. The authority has taken action since to ensure that that does not happen again. The efficiency of its new measures was evidenced by the speed with which generators were moved to Katherine in the recent flood crisis. I assure honourable members that the lack of sufficient generators will not occur again.
It is strange that members opposite concentrate on all the negative aspects of the report. The report states: 'It is important to note, however, that the piece of equipment that failed was serviced in 1993 and, as such, the maintenance regime of that time was well within the manufacturer's set guidelines'. PAWA has told me that
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the maintenance required for that piece of equipment was done. Obviously, there was an equipment fault, and I regret the inconvenience to Territorians that occurred.
Expertise and technical knowledge within the Power and Water Authority have improved considerably in 20 years. An honourable member reminded me earlier today that, 20 years ago, he used to keep a roll of tape on top of his freezer because the power outages occurred so regularly. He would tape around the top of the freezer lid to ensure that the food lasted a little longer. Things have changed enormously. For example, we have seen vast construction in the town of Palmerston. I suggest that the Power and Water Authority has done a tremendous job in providing electricity to consumers.
In common with the rest of tropical Australia, the Territory has many problems that do not exist in other climates. One of those problems is in the distances involved and the expense of providing power to small numbers of consumers at the end of very long powerlines. Much of the infrastructure in the system is now 20 years old and is being replaced at a cost of some $20m a year. The same situation exists with the sewerage system in Darwin. Considerable sums have been made available to renew, where necessary, or upgrade the system. It is an ongoing activity. Since 1992, I believe we have been spending a couple of million dollars a year in doing that.
The Territory has numerous problems with the supply of power. These are caused by the inordinate incidence of lightning strikes, the length of the lines, and the variety of equipment that has been used to bring small communities into our systems. Generally, it is a very expensive business. To say that these types of problems have occurred because of a lack of maintenance is simply not true. This piece of equipment was 20 years old. I understand that a check has been made of similar equipment around the northern suburbs and remedial action has been taken where necessary. I would like to say that I am very confident that we will never have another power outage. However, it would be silly of me to say that. In tropical regions, there will always be power outages caused by bird strikes, high winds, excessive rains or whatever.
In general, I accept that the Power and Water Authority has responded well to this emergency. It has implemented a regime that will minimise the occurrence of these sorts of problems in future. Given the quality of the workers in the Power and Water Authority, I am confident they will continue to perform beyond the expectations of the general public to ensure the supply of electricity to Darwin and the Territory in general.
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ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I will take some of those questions on notice because I do not have that level of detail.
Mr Bailey: You said you had read the report. It is not that long.
Mr POOLE: What you have produced is a draft report. When I compare that report with the report I received, I will be happy to go into detail. Let me say, however, that the draft report states: 'Having interviewed many long-serving members, the general consensus is that the fault that occurred was the most extensive and complex experienced for many, many years - some said since Cyclone Tracy'. That was the extent of the problem. It was a huge fault. Whilst many generators were deployed around Darwin at the time, the fault was so big that, in effect, PAWA ran out of serviceable generators. The authority has taken action since to ensure that that does not happen again. The efficiency of its new measures was evidenced by the speed with which generators were moved to Katherine in the recent flood crisis. I assure honourable members that the lack of sufficient generators will not occur again.
It is strange that members opposite concentrate on all the negative aspects of the report. The report states: 'It is important to note, however, that the piece of equipment that failed was serviced in 1993 and, as such, the maintenance regime of that time was well within the manufacturer's set guidelines'. PAWA has told me that
Page 5
the maintenance required for that piece of equipment was done. Obviously, there was an equipment fault, and I regret the inconvenience to Territorians that occurred.
Expertise and technical knowledge within the Power and Water Authority have improved considerably in 20 years. An honourable member reminded me earlier today that, 20 years ago, he used to keep a roll of tape on top of his freezer because the power outages occurred so regularly. He would tape around the top of the freezer lid to ensure that the food lasted a little longer. Things have changed enormously. For example, we have seen vast construction in the town of Palmerston. I suggest that the Power and Water Authority has done a tremendous job in providing electricity to consumers.
In common with the rest of tropical Australia, the Territory has many problems that do not exist in other climates. One of those problems is in the distances involved and the expense of providing power to small numbers of consumers at the end of very long powerlines. Much of the infrastructure in the system is now 20 years old and is being replaced at a cost of some $20m a year. The same situation exists with the sewerage system in Darwin. Considerable sums have been made available to renew, where necessary, or upgrade the system. It is an ongoing activity. Since 1992, I believe we have been spending a couple of million dollars a year in doing that.
The Territory has numerous problems with the supply of power. These are caused by the inordinate incidence of lightning strikes, the length of the lines, and the variety of equipment that has been used to bring small communities into our systems. Generally, it is a very expensive business. To say that these types of problems have occurred because of a lack of maintenance is simply not true. This piece of equipment was 20 years old. I understand that a check has been made of similar equipment around the northern suburbs and remedial action has been taken where necessary. I would like to say that I am very confident that we will never have another power outage. However, it would be silly of me to say that. In tropical regions, there will always be power outages caused by bird strikes, high winds, excessive rains or whatever.
In general, I accept that the Power and Water Authority has responded well to this emergency. It has implemented a regime that will minimise the occurrence of these sorts of problems in future. Given the quality of the workers in the Power and Water Authority, I am confident they will continue to perform beyond the expectations of the general public to ensure the supply of electricity to Darwin and the Territory in general.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016