Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency. Minister, why is it important to be transparent and responsible on the impact of carbon pricing on household electricity prices and the cost of living?

Greg Combet (Charlton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Hindmarsh for his question. It is extremely important that there is transparency about the impact of carbon pricing on electricity prices. In recent weeks regulators in jurisdictions such as New South Wales and Queensland have confirmed that the Treasury modelling of this impact is bang on what the Treasury said it would be. Indeed, there is an average impact on households across the nation of only $3.30 a week and the government is making available household assistance that averages $10.10 a week across households in Australia—$3.30 versus $10.10. That household assistance is delivered via tax cuts from 1 July this year involving a trebling of the tax-free threshold and an increase in the pension of $338 a year for a single pensioner—and $250 of that increase will be delivered over May-June to single pensioners. Many self-funded retirees will receive benefits, and a supplementary allowance for youth, the unemployed and single parents, to be paid in the next financial year, was also announced by the Treasurer in the budget.

This government is acting to relieve cost-of-living pressures on Australian householders. Up against this are all sorts of misrepresentation. The Leader of the Opposition has claimed there would be unimaginable cost increases. He has claimed that electricity prices will rise by as much as 30 per cent. Today in Western Australia the Liberal Premier, Colin Barnett, is trying to misrepresent the fact that he has already increased electricity prices for Western Australian households by 57 per cent since he came to power, and now he is increasing them by another 15 per cent and trying to blame the federal government. In fact, the electricity price rise, averaged across Western Australian households, is less than $3 a week and the federal government is delivering an average of $10.10 a week in assistance.

The shadow Treasurer has been tweeting on this issue this morning indicating that, if the opposition came to power, they will cut electricity prices. The question for the Leader of the Opposition is: will he tell us in his address tonight whether he is going to cut electricity prices? Rule it in or rule it out. Let us have the facts.