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

I'm referring to comments that the former Prime Minister was making about the National Energy Guarantee. He has made it very clear that the mechanism would be similar, but the key difference is that a 45 per cent emissions reduction target would push up electricity prices. This is something the Leader of the Labor Party does not want to have a discussion about. We are implementing and meeting our emissions reduction targets through the Renewable Energy Target, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, our energy efficiency measures and the Emissions Reduction Fund. Per capita emissions are now at their lowest level in 28 years, so our government is implementing and meeting our targets. We have smashed Kyoto 1. We are going to smash Kyoto 2. The findings of the recent IPCC report said very clearly that we are meeting our emissions reduction target. We will meet our 2030 target. We will meet this without putting up electricity prices.

Those opposite, the Labor Party, have got a plan, but it is a plan to increase electricity prices for every single household in this country. They've got form. When they were last in government they introduced the carbon tax, and it put up electricity prices—the carbon tax that they promised they wouldn't introduce but introduced anyway, in defiance and in arrogance, driven by ideology. And it hurt every single family. We're not going to do that. We are going to meet our emissions reduction target, and we are going to balance that with sensible energy policies that get electricity prices down. The Australian people have a choice: higher electricity prices under Labor or lower electricity prices under the Liberal and National parties.

See this speech in context