Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his question. I note that the report the member refers to—and they have been referring to it—also makes comments about nuclear energy. They say that it doesn't stack up and that it should be ruled out. It says: 'Don't do it.' As any rational person who's looked at Australia's energy needs and opportunities knows, we have these great renewable energy resources. We have solar. We have wind. We have the anger of the Leader of the Opposition, who made an announcement last Wednesday and then had a meltdown on Saturday. No wonder he's melting down, because one of the things that this reflects is the fact that, since the election in 2022, the lessons learned by those opposite are that they're not right-wing enough, they're not in enough climate change denial, they're not sceptical enough and they're not against marketplace mechanisms enough. What they have done is come out with a position which mainstream Liberals oppose. That's why we worked constructively with the former Perrottet government to make a difference—to put caps on coal, to put caps on gas and to make sure we had the energy price relief plan that has made a substantial difference.

In one week's time, Australians will benefit. Every household will benefit from $300 off their energy bills. What those opposite want to do is: nothing until 2040, and then have higher energy bills. Here's what the Australian Energy Market Operator had to say about costs—

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