Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, there were faceless men in the Labor Party who, on research, came up with the line that they believed the Australian public wanted to hear, and this Prime Minister looked the Australian public in the eye on 97 occasions and told them that they would get a $275 cut to their power bills—97 times! Do you know what's happened since the election, Mr Speaker? We have given every opportunity to the Prime Minister to repeat that claim, to say to the Australian public: 'You didn't mishear me during the election campaign. You aren't going crazy. You actually heard—yes, you did—on 97 occasions that Labor, in government, would reduce power prices by $275.'

The Prime Minister, on 27 occasions now since the election, has been given the opportunity in this parliament to apologise to the Australian people, to say that he made a mistake, to suggest to the Australian people that somehow they misunderstood. That hasn't happened, because that decency that the Prime Minister could express, the apology that he should give to the Australian people, completely escapes him.

At a time when families are seeing an increase in their power prices because of Labor Party policies, at a time when Australians are seeing an increase in their gas prices because of Labor Party policies, they are feeling deceived by this Prime Minister. They wanted to believe in him, they wanted to believe that he was sincere, they wanted to understand that he would deliver on a promise that he made solemnly to them on 97 occasions, and there's no chance of it—no chance of it at all.

I'll tell you what's happened since the election. The Labor Party delivered a budget only a month ago. In that budget the Australian public expected that after five months in government the government would have come up with a plan to deliver on their election promises. That's what they expected in the budget—not unreasonably, either, I might say. What happened in the budget was that Labor said to the Australian public: no $275 cut. There was no mention of $275 anywhere in the papers associated with the budget. So not only can they not say it in this place; they can't say it in their budget papers.

What did the budget papers tell us, Mr Speaker? They were very clear. The budget papers delivered in October said two things, amongst many. Firstly, they said that after two years of Labor Party policy the price of electricity would go up by 56 per cent. There was no mention of that before the election. Secondly, they said that gas prices after two years of Labor policy would go up by 44 per cent. Now, I know that Labor isn't too good when it comes to management of the economy or numbers, but surely it doesn't escape even the Australian Labor Party that a promise of $275 is the complete opposite of delivering a 56 per cent increase.

I'll tell you who does get it, Mr Speaker: Australian families. At the moment, they are facing eight per cent inflation under this Labor government. They are facing increased interest rates. Australian families are coming off fixed interest rates of 1.8 per cent and going up to 4½, and interest rates are going north. They are facing huge increases in every line item in the household budget. We're now getting Australian manufacturers who are talking about moving offshore because they're worried about the instability in the system. They're worried about massive increases well beyond the 56 per cent and well beyond the 44 per cent.

To compound the Prime Minister's deception of the Australian people, they have now concocted this argument that somehow the war in Ukraine—the illegal invasion by Russia into Ukraine in February this year—is the excuse for not delivering the $275. Let's be very clear about this, because this deception was repeated in question time again today. I wish I had more time. I wish the government would allow us to have the debate, but let me say this—on 24 February Russia invaded Ukraine. Since that date, the Prime Minister has personally promised on 28 occasions to cut power bills by $275. Today, the Prime Minister is saying we can't deliver on the $275 because of Russia going into Ukraine. Yet since Russia has gone into Ukraine the Prime Minister has repeated that promise to deliver the $275 price cut on 28 occasions.

The Australian people aren't stupid. They are not stupid. They can see a fake and a phony a mile away. I'll you what—they saw in Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard. They are seeing this government make critical economic mistakes right now, including significant changes to the industrial relations system which will come as a wet blanket across the Australian economy at exactly the wrong time. The Australian public and small businesses get it. They know that at the last election they were deceived by this Prime Minister. They thought he was a man whose word he would honour and whose word they could trust, and he has demonstrated to them time after time, before and since the election, that he does not live up to his word. There are 28 occasions—and I am very happy to table that and to go through each and every one of the quotes: on 3AW, on AFR, on ABC in Townsville, at a doorstop by the Prime Minister in Tasmania, on Today Extra, on ABC News Breakfast and on Channel 7 news. This Prime Minister says one thing to the Australian public before an election, and then does the complete opposite after. So, don't believe a word this Prime Minister has to say when it comes to electricity prices.

Under this government, with the policies that they are delivering, with what they have promised in their budget, your power prices are going up. Your electricity prices are going up. Your gas prices are going up. I say to the Australian public: don't trust this Prime Minister.

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