Nicolle Flint (Boothby, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. I refer the Treasurer to data that reveals Adelaide power prices increased by more than twice the national average over the September quarter. Would the Treasurer outline why it is crucial to have a national approach to energy security and affordability? Is he aware of any alternative approaches?

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

I thank the member for Boothby for her question. She makes reference to those September quarter figures for inflation and the impact of electricity prices. She would also be aware that electricity prices for Adelaide went up 24.3 per cent through the year.

I'm asked about comparisons to other cities. I'm happy to oblige the member. This is more than 1½ times the rate of increase in Sydney, almost three times the rate of increase in Melbourne, almost seven times the increase in Brisbane and 27 times the rate of increase in Hobart. The member for Port Adelaide thinks somehow South Australia is a leader on energy crisis. The only thing they're leading on is ruining the energy market and ruining the household budgets of South Australian families. This week, the Productivity Commission also confirmed that South Australia experienced the most volatility in wholesale prices, with the highest number of price spikes of any state: 610 between January 2013 and August of 2016.

The member for Boothby and, I think, most South Australians—except for the Premier and maybe the member for Port Adelaide—understand why this is happening in South Australia. It's because of the irresponsible energy policies of South Australian Labor government, who have put unrealistic renewable energy targets ahead of affordability for families and reliability for the supply of energy to businesses. That's the trade-off they've made.

We can't allow the Labor experiment in South Australia, which has failed and continues to fail, to infect the rest of the national energy market in Australia. The recommendation of the COAG-appointed independent Energy Security Board is that we have to go forward in one direction together. That direction is the National Energy Guarantee, which provides certainty to increase investment in new energy supply, to provide households and business with the reliability that they deserve, to provide savings of up to $115 per year and to act to ensure we meet our emissions reduction targets. That's what the National Energy Guarantee delivers.

It's time for the Labor Party to get on board with the National Energy Guarantee, to ensure that we have bipartisanship in this place that means we can move as one entire nation in the direction that household and businesses demand of this parliament and demand of state and territory governments all around the country. Labor knows, as the shadow Treasurer knows, that their policies and the 50 per cent RET will force up prices by at least $192 per year. If he wants to be very lippy about this topic, maybe we'll get a question today; he hasn't had one in a while. (Time expired)