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

Measure after measure has been taken by my government to address the energy mess left us by the Labor Party. We have been left with a shocking failure of policy by the Labor Party. What about gas? Let's think about this for a minute. The largest driver of electricity prices going up at the moment is the price of gas on the east coast. A federal Labor government and a Queensland state Labor government, together, allowed a massive export facility to be built at Gladstone without any regard for the consequences for the domestic market. The consequences of that has been that the domestic market was short of gas because the exporters were taking gas out of the domestic market to fulfil their export contracts. The consequence was, because gas is the marginal fuel source in the electricity market, a massive increase in electricity prices. It has put manufacturing businesses, which require gas as a feedstock or for heating, at risk. What we have done is taken strong action to limit exports; that is already seeing a reduction in the spot price of gas. The only reason we had to do that is because of the complete mindlessness, stupidity and complacency on the part of the Labor Party. What were they thinking? Well, I will tell you: they weren't thinking at all. That is the whole problem with the Labor Party. They do not plan. It is all ideology and politics—no economics, no engineering. That's how the honourable member's state got into the challenges it now faces with the most expensive and the least reliable energy in Australia. I have to say to the honourable member: the last group of people we will take lectures from on energy policy are the South Australian Labor Party. They've created the highest electricity prices and the least reliable electricity in the OECD. What an outstanding achievement for Labor ideology!

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