Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer: Today the Treasurer said that the opposition had been provided with all the documentation the government had on its latest energy policy. Can the Treasurer confirm that the sum total of documentation provided to the opposition is a single letter? Given that the opposition has received absolutely no other documentation, modelling or evidence from the government, can the Treasurer confirm that the cabinet and the joint party room considered and adopted a major government policy based purely on 'the vibe'?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The shadow Treasurer is such a sook. He's such a terrible, sad sook. Here are the papers the government has available to it and that are available to the opposition: the ACCC's inquiry into gas—the interim report, and it's some 75 pages; the ACCC's report into retail electricity pricing—it's some 175 pages; the Electricity Statement of Opportunities prepared by AEMO, which I tabled; and the advice to the Commonwealth government on dispatchable capacity, which I'm happy to table. I have another document here. It's a statement from the Chief Scientist, Dr Alan Finkel, on the Australian government's energy announcement, in which he says: 'The process was thorough. The emissions reduction trajectory provides a credible mechanism to enable the regulators to ensure the new emissions energy enters the market, a new lower emissions generation should occur in the context of a generator reliability obligation, and it imposes an equivalent obligation.'

They are just some of the documents which I tabled which are available to the shadow Treasurer to peruse. Over this entire debate, he has shown an inadequacy of understanding when it comes to energy issues. This is the shadow Treasurer who, yesterday, came into this place and went on about regulatory impact statements when his own party, his own government, failed to produce a regulatory impact statement for cabinet for the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment Bill, the fair work amendment bill, the national broadband network implementation bill, labour market testing for 457 workers and tax laws amendment bills brought by the shadow Treasurer when he was the Assistant Treasurer. It includes the monty of them all—the minerals resource rent tax, which the member for Lilley will remember well. The private health insurance rebate has been denied for Bowen therapy. I suspect Bowen therapy should be denied for the Leader of the Opposition.

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

The Treasurer will refer to members by their correct titles.