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

My question is to the Prime Minister. When can the Prime Minister guarantee Australians that the cost of their power bills will go down?

Government Members:

Government members interjecting—

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

The Prime Minister will resume his seat.

Mr Tim Wilson interjecting—

Mr Frydenberg interjecting —

The member for Goldstein is warned. The Minister for the Environment and Energy will cease interjecting and denying the Prime Minister the call. The Prime Minister has the call.

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

If the Leader of the Opposition is to be taken at his word, his renewable energy objective would result in a $66 billion subsidy that would be imposed on Australian families—a subsidy that is completely unnecessary and which is effectively industry policy, pouring billions of dollars in additional costs onto Australian families. That's his policy.

What we're doing is committed to ensuring that our energy policy delivers affordable and reliable power and that we meet our international commitments. We're taking up the recommendations of the Energy Security Board, the members of which were applauded by the member for Port Adelaide when they were appointed. He welcomed them—leading experts in the field—

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

The Prime Minister will resume his seat. I again say to the Minister for the Environment and Energy that he's being far too loud. The Manager of Opposition Business on a point of order.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's on direct relevance. You don't get a more specific direct question than this one.

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

The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat. It was a short question. It didn't have a preamble, I concede that. I'm listening very closely to the Prime Minister. The requirement is that the Prime Minister be relevant to the question. I believe he's being relevant. It's not for him to answer it to the satisfaction of the questioner. He's on the policy topic. I will call the Prime Minister.

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

The Leader of the Opposition will have to reflect on the expert advice of the Energy Security Board. This is someone who has called for bipartisanship in energy policy. That's what he's called for. What we have is a recommendation from an expert board appointed by COAG—appointed by more Labor governments than coalition governments. This is what they've said in their formal advice: 'It's expected that following the guarantee could lead to a reduction in residential bills in the order of $110 to $115 per annum over the 2020 to 2030 period. Wholesale prices are expected to decline by 20 to 25 per cent per annum over the same period. Compared to the clean energy target, as specified in the Finkel review, this guarantee could be expected to lead to wholesale prices that are on average eight to 10 per cent lower under that period.'

We have arranged for the opposition to have a briefing from the Energy Security Board. We look forward to them becoming fully briefed and we encourage them to get on board and adopt this expert recommendation that, for the first time, will level the playing field, end the subsidies, end the taxes and ensure that we have a genuinely technology-agnostic energy market that enables us to have energy that is affordable, reliable and responsible. That's what Labor should support. It should stop the nonsense about its claimed bipartisanship and get real and get on board with the plan that guarantees Australia's energy future.

Opposition members interjecting—

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

The member for Isaacs will cease interjecting. The member for Griffith is now warned!

Jason Wood (La Trobe, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is also to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister advise the House how the government's National Energy Guarantee will ease the pressure on power bills, guarantee reliability and reduce emissions for hardworking Australian families and businesses, including in my electorate of La Trobe? What would be the impact of alternative approaches?

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

I thank the honourable member for his question. We all know very well what the impact of Labor's policies have been. What we have seen is unaffordable power and unreliable power. We've just come from a press conference where the Energy Market Operator's Audrey Zibelman has described how she has to intervene again and again in the South Australian market to keep the lights on because of the instability in that market created by the force-feeding of masses of intermittent renewables like wind without any regard for stability or backup or storage.

What we've seen with the Labor Party's approach to energy has been a triumph of ideology over good sense. What we need now is the engineering and the economics. They are what guide our energy policy, and we have seen the work of engineers and economists on the Energy Security Board with their recommendation. The National Energy Guarantee recommended by the Energy Security Board—established by COAG as one of the recommendations of the Finkel review—ensures that Australians will be able to afford to pay their electricity bill and that the lights will stay on. That is vitally important. And, by combining climate and energy policy, you have a mechanism that ensures we deliver our commitment to cut our emissions in accord with the Paris Agreement and, at the same time, deliver the reliability that we need.

What that will do is bring more investment into the system, and investment of every kind—investment in coal, in gas, in renewables, in storage. It is a genuinely level playing field. The subsidies have got to come to an end. The clean energy sector, the renewables sector, say that they are competitive, and so they are. So they are. And now they have the opportunity to compete.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

The Prime Minister will resume his seat for a second. The members for Fenner, Barton, Whitlam and Hotham will not hold up signs during question time. Otherwise, they will be holding them up back in their offices. They are warned.

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

As Dr Kerry Schott, the chair of the Energy Security Board, said, this 'will place downward pressure on wholesale prices'. A 20 to 25 per cent reduction in wholesale prices—

Honourable members interjecting—

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

The member for Bruce is warned!

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

is forecast by the Energy Security Board, and that flows through—

Ms Burney interjecting—

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

The member for Barton will leave under 94(a).

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

into everybody's power bill. And that of course is part of—

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

The Prime Minister will resume his seat. I've asked the member for Barton to leave under 94(a).

An opposition member interjecting—

That's why I asked the Prime Minister to resume his seat—so she's in no doubt. I've now asked her three times to leave under 94(a).

The member for Barton then left the chamber.

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

What this National Energy Guarantee does is work with all of our other measures: on retail bills, on gas, on the abolition of the limited merits review. Every lever that can be pulled to reduce energy prices— (Time expired)