Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment) Share this | Hansard source

Let me say this. The member for Robertson is right to be concerned about puffed up electricity bills. The member for Robertson is right to be concerned about overinflated electricity bills. And the member for Robertson is dead right to be concerned about the effect of dodgy electricity bills on families and jobs. So she is also right when she quotes the New South Wales Treasurer, Minister Baird, who said:

If Federal Labor would now get out of the way and allow Tony Abbott to abolish the carbon tax, price relief for NSW households in 2014 … would be around 10 per cent …

So the New South Wales government is absolutely right, and when you look around Australia the same applies. The Australian Treasury has estimated that the average electricity bill across the country would go down by nine per cent if the Leader of the Opposition were to allow his senators to move out of the way and abolish the carbon tax. Gas prices would go down by seven per cent. Household bills would go down, on average, by $550. So when you look at the carbon tax you look at an electricity tax.

What is the impact of that electricity tax? At the moment, the Clean Energy Regulator is preparing the final calculations for the cost of last year's carbon tax. It is likely to be close to $7½ billion. The electricity component alone is likely to be close to $4 billion—in the case of Macquarie Generation: a $900 million electricity bill and a $1 billion asset write-down which could have delivered infrastructure for New South Wales; in the case of Victoria, $1.3 billion of electricity bills; if you go to Queensland, $800 million of electricity bills; and if you look at Western Australia, $200 million for the primary generator there. These are real and significant bills right now which are having an impact on families and businesses.

If the opposition is concerned about jobs and competitiveness, the cost of doing business is fundamental. And right at the heart of the cost of doing business is the price of gas and the price of electricity and the impact of electricity bills. Against that background, there is a moment in time over the coming weeks when the opposition can stand up for Australian jobs and do something that matters. I say to the Leader of the Opposition: your senators are on an industrial go-slow right now. Put them back to work, vote for repeal of the carbon tax and get out of the way of lower electricity bills.

See this speech in context