Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

But he's not the only one who will say one thing to blue-collar workers and then say another thing to the Canberra press gallery pack, because the member for Hunter has said on the white flag he will not support the workers at Liddell. Guess what the member for Hunter says in his own electorate? Guess what the member for Hunter wrote in the Newcastle Herald earlier this year? Listen carefully. This is what the member for Hunter said:

The coal industry remains strong and it can continue to count on my energetic support. So too can those who keep our coal-fired electricity generators humming, our lights on, fridges cold and our manufacturing plants and other businesses running.

So, Member for Hunter, which one is it? Is it your energetic support to keep coal-fired power plants humming, or is it supporting your Leader of the Opposition and motions in the Senate to close down our coal-fired power stations? You can't have it both ways. You're being dishonest with the Australian people. You're telling your electorate and the workers one thing, and in this House you are supporting another. This goes to the heart of the Leader of the Opposition's lack of understanding about what comprises the energy market and how important thermal synchronous baseload dispatchable power is to the system.

Mr Fitzgibbon interjecting—

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