Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. Every policy of my government—every measure—is driving stronger economic growth, without which we cannot achieve the rise in incomes, the new opportunities, the environment where businesses can prosper and where Australian families can get ahead and realise their dreams. We know that, although we have benefited in Australia from a record run of economic growth—26 years—not all Australians have benefited equally from that. Many households, many families are doing it tough under the weight of cost-of-living pressures from rising energy costs to child care. That is why we are taking those important steps to ease those cost-of-living pressures.

Our energy policies are delivering affordable and reliable power. We are securing Australia's domestic gas supply. It was under the Labor Party that those measures were taken to export gas from the east coast, which has had the consequence, coupled with ideological policies, especially in the state of Victoria, of a shortage of gas on the east coast. Tens of thousands of Australians would lose their jobs, so we intervened. Under the Domestic Gas Security Mechanism, Australians can be confident that there will be adequate domestic gas supplies—essential for keeping prices down.

On electricity, we have instructed the ACCC to scrutinise retail electricity prices to ensure that Australians are getting a fair deal. By also making markets and trading in the gas market transparent that will deliver fairer and more accessible gas supplies for Australian industry. We are making renewables reliable by investing in pumped hydro at the Snowy Hydro 2.0, which will increase the size of the Snowy Mountains scheme by 50 per cent—the biggest addition to pumped hydro storage in our nation's history. It will make, as I said, renewables reliable.

You would think that the opposition would welcome all of these measures, but what they have done is persist with energy policies that are all ideology—no engineering and no economics. They have pursued the policies that caused the blackouts in South Australia. They have created an enormous renewable resource there, capable of supplying all of the state's electricity at one moment and then none at the next. It is connected by nothing more than an extension cord to the Latrobe Valley.

Labor has failed on energy. They have failed on energy like they have failed on child care. They have failed to protect Australian families from rising cost-of-living pressures. We are protecting them. We are delivering them the growth that they deserve and their children deserve— (Time expired)

See this speech in context