Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Dunkley for his question and I thank him for his support, along with all the members on this side of the House, for the Prime Minister's plan to put downward pressure on rising electricity prices, which was outlined in this year's budget. It is about securing our gas; ensuring we get a fairer deal for consumers and businesses from the energy companies through the initiatives of the Prime Minister and the inquiries being run by the ACCC; and ensuring we remove those loopholes which have been gamed by companies, both privately owned and government owned, to drive up prices and have impacted on households and on businesses. It includes a new-energy investment framework, which we're working to deliver and which supports investment right across this spectrum, with an all-of-the-above approach when it comes to resources: from coal, of course, through to the more-renewable energy sources, the investment in Snowy 2.0 and our support for lower emissions technology. This is a comprehensive plan. It is a full plan.

Those opposite have no plan whatsoever to put downward pressure on rising electricity prices. Labor's policies are driven by emojis and ideology, not engineering and economics. That will only lead them to one thing: another big, epic Labor fail like that we saw in South Australia under the ridiculous experiment put in place by the South Australian Labor government, which switched the lights out. On top of that, they have their emissions reduction target of 45 per cent, which by their own admission, by their own modelling in government, will drive up prices by up to 80 per cent—78 per cent is what their own figures showed on their 45 per cent emissions reduction target. Their 50 per cent RET will only drive prices further up. They will shut down baseload coal-fired power stations like Liddell, which they're happy to support.

Labor's members are standing up for inner city Greens ideology; they're not standing up for the workers they're supposed to represent. The member for Hunter put the white flag up on Liddell, and today he's putting up the big white hankie for the CEOs of large energy companies. They're the people he doesn't want us to stand up to. He wants us to take away the jobs of the people who live in his own electorate. The member for Port Adelaide was no better when he was asked on radio last night what he was concerned about. He was asked: 'What would you like to see, outcome wise, from the PM's meeting with Andy Vesey from AGL?' This is what he said: 'I'd like to see the tone calm down a little bit.' That was his answer. It wasn't that we'd like to see it stay open or that there would be a plan. This petal just wants a more polite conversation. He doesn't want lower energy prices. The Australian people have worked this mob out.

Mr Shorten interjecting—

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