Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

As we can see, the opposition's campaign of fear and distortion continues. The member who asked the question apparently never asked herself: what was the impact for her constituents and businesses in her electorate as electricity prices went up 70 per cent because of factors associated with investment in the poles and the wires and the operation of the electricity system in New South Wales? She never asked herself the question as the current state Liberal government delivered its budget with big dividends from state electricity assets. She never asked herself the question: what does that mean for my constituents or businesses in my electorate? She never concerned herself about the huge rises in electricity—presumably because, at that point, she was following the Leader of the Opposition down a false and misleading path and pretending either these increases had not happened or they were the result of carbon pricing, even though they predated when carbon pricing started.

Unlike the member who asked the question, I am concerned about those electricity price increases. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, I do not deny that they exist. We are determined to act on them and we will be working, hopefully cooperatively, with state and territory colleagues including the New South Wales government to act on them.

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