Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Under this government Australians are struggling with rising electricity and gas bills. Why is the Prime Minister wasting $122 million of taxpayers' money on a pointless and unnecessary postal plebiscite, when he could use that money to help fund this year's energy supplement for 334,000 pensioners?

Mr Pyne interjecting—

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

The Leader of the House will cease interjecting!

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

I thank the honourable member for his question. The government is delivering on its promise to give all Australians a say. At the same time, we are working to bring electricity prices down.

Mr Snowdon interjecting—

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

The member for Lingiari is warned!

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

What has the Labor Party done?

They do not have a policy to create a job, to create a dollar of investment. It is the most left-wing anti-business Labor Party we have seen in generations. What is their plan for energy prices? Huge renewables targets, closing down base-load power, no plans for storage, no plans for anything. If you want to know what it would look like across Australia, South Australia is right there. They know. The South Australians in this chamber know very well what the consequence of Labor's reckless ideological approach to energy is. Just today we have met with the energy retailers, securing real action from them to ensure that Australian families will not be paying any more for their electricity than they need to. That is securing a better deal for millions of Australian families. That is going to have an impact in the here and now.

The Labor Party likes to talk about its vision for renewable energy. Well, in the here and now, we are going to build the largest renewable energy project in the Southern Hemisphere. That is the difference between this side of the House and that side of the House: ideology and politics; engineering and economics. The reality is we are getting on with the job of ensuring Australians have affordable and reliable power. The Labor Party has presided over a rise in energy prices driven by their recklessness. Whether it is in the gas market or in the electricity market it is Labor's failure to plan, Labor's addiction to ideology, that has created the pressures on Australian families that we are seeking to relieve not next year, not in 10 years, but right now. We are looking after Australian families today.