Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister update the House on the action the government is taking, including ordering the ACCC to review electricity prices, to ensure that energy is reliable and affordable? How will these measures benefit households and businesses of Australia, including in my electorate of Forde?

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. The businesses and the families in the honourable member's electorate and in the electorate of every honourable member in this House depend upon secure and affordable electricity. It is the lifeblood of our economy. We need it at every level of our business. Every part of our lives depends on secure and affordable electricity.

We are seeing today an extraordinary combination of failed Labor policies that are driving electricity prices up and driving reliability down. During the six years of the Labor government, household electricity prices went up by 100 per cent. They then declined with the abolition of the carbon tax, and now they are rising again, and we are taking action. We are setting out to ensure that the gas supply—

Mr Bowen interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for McMahon.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

is secure. We have got a commitment from the gas producers—because, again, Labor policy has made gas scarce. The Victorian government's is the latest example of energy recklessness. The Victorian government has allowed the huge Hazelwood Power Station to close, tripling the royalty on brown coal; doing nothing—

Mr Champion interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Wakefield.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

to provide the backup or the storage required to replace it, or an alternative generator; they have done nothing except ban the exploration for and development of gas in Victoria—gas, of course, being the fuel that we were supposed to be transitioning to, but of course it is not affordable.

We have seen these rises in electricity prices. We have seen the criticism of the way in which the retail market is operating, particularly in Victoria, and the Treasurer has asked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the consumers' defender, to investigate this move in retail prices, and they will thoroughly investigate that, and they will give us, using their compulsory powers, the information we need to ensure that we protect Australian families, Australian businesses and Australian jobs.

Our energy policy is based on economics and engineering. We are providing the backup. We are defending the market. We are backing storage. We are about to embark on the largest storage project in our history, and we are making sure the consumer watchdog is there, protecting Australian families from rip-offs in the electricity market. We are getting on with the job. Labor is standing in the way of affordable and reliable electricity.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think it is a good time to remind members on both sides: I will not continually keep warning them, particularly if they have a track record. The member for Wakefield is warned, as is the member for McMahon.