Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Hansard source

I want to thank the member for Mallee, who's been a passionate advocate for Horsham hospital, Kerang hospital and West Wimmera hospital services in areas such as Nhill and Jeparit. But one of the things he knows as a practical farmer is that if you can't keep the lights on you can't run a hospital service; you can't take care of people. There are two fundamental approaches to electricity affordability in this House: on one side is a constant push for downward pressure on electricity prices, and on our side it is to increase electricity reliability. Whether that involves the abolition of Labor's electricity tax, its carbon tax, whether that involves pushing to overturn the approaches in South Australia and Victoria which have created massive electricity instability and price hikes, or whether that involves opposing Labor's new $66 billion electricity tax, our side is consistent. We believe and we practise policy which pushes down electricity prices.

By comparison, there's a very different approach, a very different philosophy, a very different belief on their side of higher electricity prices and higher electricity taxes. This is why we have seen, in Victoria, Horsham hospital hit with a potential $500,000 increase in its electricity prices this year as part of a $44 million increase in electricity prices for Victoria's hospitals, this is why we've seen a $370,000 hit to the West Woomera hospital service, and this is why Kerang has been hit and the Bendigo region has also been hit. What we see is an outcome of deliberate Labor policy. They intentionally took action to close down the Hazelwood Power Station in Victoria and to blow up the Northern Power Station in South Australia, and the outcome of that was higher electricity prices.

On this side, what we've seen is not just the abolition of the last electricity tax, not just opposition to the next electricity tax but the Prime Minister's work and the energy minister's work with the National Energy Guarantee. These things are about making sure that you can keep the lights on for the homes, for the pensioners, for the community centres and, in particular, for the hospitals. When you rip $44 million out of the hospital service by placing massive high electricity taxes on them, you are hurting hospital services in Victoria. The significance is real and the opportunity cost is profoundly important. At the end of the day, there are two fundamental approaches: one is that we have an approach of downward pressure on electricity prices; the other is that they have a $66 billion electricity tax. (Time expired)

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