Joanne Ryan (Lalor, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Two weeks ago, I met with Maria in my electorate. Maria is an age pensioner and she came to see me to explain that she lives frugally. She turns the heater on for an hour a day in the morning and her electricity bill has doubled in the last two years, In this place, every day, we listen to our Prime Minister blame everybody else for an issue that he is clearly responsible for. Maria is just one example. I also visited Quenos recently and they need action on gas. They need the Prime Minister to pull the trigger on gas. I met young Rhys, who is reliant on the Prime Minister to pull that trigger so he can keep his job. Young Rhys has a good job and I would like him to keep it.

I want the Prime Minister to stop shouting and blaming the rest of the world; stop having 'hard chats' with retailers, to no effect; and stop talking about what he might do in five years. I want him to come in here and explain to the Australian public why they spent three years at their letterboxes waiting for their $550 refund on their gas prices and electricity prices and now he wants them back out to their letterboxes waiting for an explanation from the retailers. I want him to come in here and give the House an explanation as to why the energy crisis is here.

See this speech in context