The New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, has appointed Paul Broad, a veteran energy executive, as a special adviser – an appointment that caught the state’s energy minister by surprise.
Perrottet announced Broad’s appointment on Friday during a radio interview on 2GB, surprising some within the government. Guardian Australia understands the state’s energy minister and treasurer, Matt Kean, who has been attending the COP27 climate talks in Egypt, was not informed in advance.
Perrottet described Broad as a “special adviser” reporting to him on energy, saying he had worked well with him in the past when he was head of Infrastructure NSW.
“There’s not many people in the country who know energy, infrastructure, engineering and water than Paul Broad,” he said. “I want the best and brightest minds giving me advice to get these [energy projects such as Santos’s Narrabri gasfield] up and running.”
Questioned whether it was a “slap in the face” for Kean, Perrottet said he “didn’t see it like that”.
Broad was previously head of Snowy Hydro, the commonwealth-owned entity that controls the giant hydro plants in the Australian Alps. He left the role in August amid reports the firm’s $5.9bn pumped hydro project was facing delays and budget blowouts.
Broad also reportedly clashed with the federal energy minister, Chris Bowen, over public comments about Snowy’s $600m-plus Kurri Kurri gas plant now under construction in the Hunter region of NSW. At issue is whether hydrogen will be available as a fuel source to supplement fossil gas when the plant opens in 2024.
The Liberal Nationals-led NSW government unveiled its renewable energy roadmap two years ago, with support from Labor, the Greens and some crossbenchers. It aims to lure $32bn in new renewable energy and storage projects to ensure there are ample supplies of electricity to cope with the exit of ageing coal-fired power stations.
Since then, plans by Origin Energy to bring forward the closure of the Eraring power station by seven years to 2025 and doubts about whether the Mt Piper plant near Lithgow will operate beyond 2030 have added urgency to the need for more renewables to be added to the grid.
Former and current senior NSW energy officials described the appointment variously as “bizarre”, “remarkable” and “strange”, saying it was unclear how Broad would operate within the existing organisations. “Stuff like this just doesn’t work,” one of them told Guardian Australia.
One former NSW official told us Broad’s appointment was “a stupid move”.
“NSW has a strong framework, which is getting stood up,” this person said. “Having another cook in the kitchen is going to cause more pain.”
A current NSW official described Broad’s new role as a “bizarre” appointment, that might be welcomed by the Albanese government.
Guardian Australia has sought comment from Broad and the premier’s office, Kean, the acting energy minister James Griffin, and Bowen.
The Guardian has attempted to contact Broad for comment.
