Mike Kelly (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence Industry and Support) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. In Senate estimates, Snowy Hydro was asked if the construction of new coal-fired power stations would put the viability of Snowy 2.0 in doubt. Snowy Hydro's chief operating officer responded, 'Simply put, yes.' Prime Minister, why are you jeopardising Snowy 2.0?

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

I thank the honourable member. The government is getting on with Snowy Hydro 2.0. It's going to be built. There will be lots of jobs created in the honourable member's electorate. The reality is that Snowy Hydro 2.0 will put downward pressure on electricity prices, because it will reduce volatility in the electricity market. It has an enormous role to play in delivering greater security and lower prices.

Dr Mike Kelly interjecting—

I heard the honourable member agree with me when I said it would deliver lower prices. What a pity it wasn't his idea or the Labor Party's idea—what a pity! What a pity that it fell to the Liberal Party and the National Party to come back and get that great project out of the old, cobwebbed filing cabinet that it had been left in since the late 1980s—to get that back and get on with it. The Labor Party talks about energy and they talk about renewables, but it's all ideology and plenty of idiocy. We're providing the engineering and the economics, and the engineering and the economics mean you've got to have cheaper electricity. To have cheaper electricity, you need to have storage, and that's the role pumped hydro can play. I thank the honourable member. Although he's not necessarily very factual in his responses, I thank him for giving me the opportunity to talk about one of the great price-reducing initiatives, engineering initiatives and economic initiatives of my government.

Ann Sudmalis (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment. Could the minister please update the House on the importance of reliable and affordable energy for Australia's manufacturing exports? Is the minister aware of any threats to successful manufacturing export?

Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for her question. I know the member for Gilmore is a very strong supporter of reliable and affordable energy. Her electorate is, of course, home to workers from Port Kembla BlueScope. The steelworks there are a great example of Aussie enterprise in action. I'm very pleased that the coalition, through the Prime Minister, was able to secure the only country exemption from the United States' steel tariffs, delivered by this Prime Minister in direct discussions with the US President, which has safeguarded the jobs of those workers in the member's electorate. It's an absolute credit to her strong advocacy, as well. In fact, BlueScope have a product that the Leader of the Opposition might be interested in. They produce Colorbond, of course, and he could use a Colorbond fence. They might even name it after him. They could call it 'Colorbill'. On one side, it could be red, and, on the other side, it could be green.

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

The minister will pause for a second. I've warned about the use of correct titles and, in fact, if I'm not mistaken, I've sat the minister down before.

Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was talking about a Colorbond product, Mr Speaker. But I'll carry on.

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

Minister, you don't have the call, actually—and you're about to not get it. It's very clear what the minister was trying to do, and that was to refer to the Leader of the Opposition by an incorrect title. The minister has the call.

Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Speaker. As Australia's largest domestic manufacturer, with an energy bill of around $150 million a year, BlueScope certainly recognises the importance of energy certainty and energy cost and reliability. In fact, the malign legacy of the Australian Labor Party is a threat that must be addressed. When Labor was last in office, we saw energy costs double, increasing by 101 per cent, so the fact is that there is a real threat to the future of jobs at manufacturers like BlueScope. That threat is the Australian Labor Party and the Leader of the Opposition, as he goes about his mission impossible of trying to appease both the Greens and the CFMEU at the same time when it comes to energy policy.

You can almost imagine a top-secret meeting between Labor and the Greens. They say, 'Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to make Australia's coal workers think that you're standing up for them on the red side, just like the Cleanevent workers did, and also to make those in the inner city suburbs think that you're standing up for the environment on the green side.' The simple fact is that this Leader of the Opposition is no Tom Cruise. This Leader of the Opposition is the kind of guy who's going to let down the workers at BlueScope, and he's going to let down those who are concerned about the environment—because the simple, inescapable fact is that Labor's federal energy policy will be a continuation of an approach that has seen higher energy prices, with a doubling of energy costs when Labor was last in power, and will see blackouts not only in South Australia but across the country, as a direct result.