Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for the Environment and Energy. Will the minister update the House on how the government is reducing power prices in Queensland households and businesses, including in my electorate of Wright? Is the minister aware of any conflicting propositions?

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Wright for his question. Federal Labor left us a huge mess when it comes to energy. They left us a huge mess! When Labor was last in office, energy prices doubled. The networks were gold plated. The gas market was ignored, and the warnings were ignored as to the impact of such large exports from the east coast. And what did the Leader of the Opposition do when he was a senior minister in the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years? He sat idly by and did nothing—too busy plotting and scheming around the lazy Susan to do anything about energy prices. And what about the member for Port Adelaide? When Jay Weatherill conducted his big experiment in South Australia, the member for Port Adelaide wasn't sitting idly by; he was egging him on, saying, 'Let's take this project national,' even though South Australians paid the highest prices in the country.

In contrast, we have an energy plan that is working. We have reined in the power of the networks and, if the Labor Party had done it, it would have saved $6½ billion. We've ensured more gas is available for Australians before it's exported overseas. We're getting a better deal from the retailers for thousands of Australian customers, and of course the National Energy Guarantee will leave Australians $300 a year better off than they were under the Labor Party, and it's being supported by the big energy users: BlueScope, BHP, Rio Tinto and the national farmers. And, when it comes to energy prices, lower energy prices under the coalition are not just an aspiration, they're a reality, because in Queensland we have seen prices starting to come down. We've seen the big three reduce prices across New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland—like on the Tarome farm, a family-owned vegetable business in the electorate of Wright, which Glenn and Sally run, employing more than 60 pickers and packers, drivers and mechanics. Whether it's carrots or beetroot, whether it's onions or pumpkins, they are delivering it to the market and, with lower power prices, they can employ more people. This is what the coalition is delivering.

At the next election, there will be a clear choice. Under the Labor Party, with their reckless renewable energy targets, with their track record of delivering blackouts and higher prices, you will get more of it. Under the coalition, we are reducing power prices and we will deliver a more reliable and affordable system for all Australian families and businesses.