Julian Hill (Bruce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The last session of parliament has put beyond doubt—if there was any doubt—just how bad, and how unfit for government, is that supposed alternative government over there: that ragtag rabble, that chaotic show, that shambles of a—what is it now? The Littleproud-Dutton government, it would become. They've got the National Party tail wagging the Liberal Party dog.

Now, I didn't think I'd say this. I've been a big critic of the opposition for the last couple of years, because they've had no policies; the alternative government of the country, His Majesty's loyal opposition over there, have had no policies to govern the country, but I think that was actually better than the three policies they have now. Their No. 1 policy is to push up house prices by letting young people raid their superannuation accounts—trashing their retirement savings—and bidding up the cost of housing. Genius! You don't make housing more affordable by making it more expensive, and, as the modelling shows, if that ridiculous policy was ever to actually be implemented, the median house price in Australia would rise by around $75,000—funnily enough, advantaging all the people who already own houses.

Their second genius policy is their new one to push up power prices, with their fantasy, risky nuclear reactors—too expensive and too slow: the most expensive form of new energy that there is, delivered in 20 years! Meanwhile, they'd spend God knows how much more taxpayer money extending the life of inefficient, broken, coal-fired power stations. Under their dismal decade of decay and division and dithering when they were in office, 24 out of 28 of Australia's coal-fired power stations announced they were going to close, and they literally did nothing. They've had 22 energy policies in nine years.

But now we've got the third of their triumvirate of wacky policies: to push up grocery prices. The National Party tail, yet again, has wagged the Liberal Party dog, and they've now got their latest policy—their one big idea for cost of living: the grocery big stick. Their angry, negative opposition leader is now running around being angry about grocery prices.

Well, so is the government. The difference is that we're actually doing something and have been doing something. They've come up with a truly ridiculous plan. Their big stick would break up the supermarkets. Their answer to grocery prices is to break up the supermarkets—to increase the risk and the cost of capital, to push up prices and to break up the supermarkets. Coles will buy Woollies and Woollies will buy Coles. Does anyone actually think, if they came to government, that they'd break up the supermarkets and that that would be the answer to pushing down grocery prices? It's completely ridiculous. Even that left-wing socialist the former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett said it is madness, which is why every sensible economist has rejected it as any kind of answer to grocery prices. I'm sure it's populist. I'm sure it plays well in certain parts of the community. But it's economic populism and economic nonsense. Many of the Labor government's regional members—like the member for Bendigo—represent communities and small towns with one supermarket. How is this actually going to help them?

The government's response makes sense. We're focused on mandating compliance with the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct and cracking down on anti-competitive behaviour, with huge fines and price monitoring—we've funded Choice to do the quarterly price monitoring—and through the ACCC inquiry that is ongoing. The economists are clear: huge fines and compliance with the code will drive competitive behaviour, not this nonsense of a big stick.

They love the big stick. When the shadow Treasurer was the energy minister in that golden era of 22 policies—a couple of which were his—he had his big stick. The parliament was replete with phallic jokes for about a year about Angus's little twig and his tiny toothpick and all that, but it's not actually funny. This is the alternative government, with their three policies: push up house prices, push up power prices and, now, push up grocery prices. They have absolutely nothing to say on the cost of living. It's rushed; it's chaotic. There's only one reason—and we're clear on this; when you talk to the community and you see the polling, it's as clear as day, and it's only just begun. They rocked out the big stick on grocery prices as some kind of a desperate distraction from the nuclear shambles, because the community is already onto it. Why would you want the most expensive form of new energy, in 20 years time, as any kind of answer to the power crisis now, which we inherited from them? The election will be a choice on energy, as they wanted, between Labor's positive, costed plan for the energy transition and the coalition's costly, risky nuclear fantasy with more questions than answers.

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