Stephen Jones (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Development and Infrastructure) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There's a reason people are scratching their heads and asking themselves: are this mob as dumb as a box of spanners? You really can't make this stuff up. You get one of the smartest blokes in Australia to write your energy policy, and, if you don't like some of the recommendations, you go to some of the daftest blokes in your caucus, and you say, 'Can I have a few ideas?' That's exactly what they've done. After five years, they still do not have an energy policy.

While these guys are playing parlour games, the people in Australia have got real problems. They were promised that their power bills were going to go down by $550, but instead they've gone up and up and up. Businesses have been quoted prices for their next contracts with increases between 70, 80 and 90 per cent. And then, a few moments ago, we had the energy minister, who's probably never opened his own power bill in his life, telling Australians that their power bills have gone down. You cannot make this stuff up.

The Prime Minister has got to stop telling people that he is a strong leader, and he's got to start acting like one—start acting, putting in place an energy plan, because the people of Australia need it.