Chris Crewther (Dunkley, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Energy. Will the minister update the House on how the government's plan to lower power prices is supporting households and backing small business, including in my electorate of Dunkley? Is the minister aware of the impact of any alternative approaches?

Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Minister for Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Dunkley for his question. He knows that this government's priority when it comes to energy policy is getting electricity prices down while we keep the lights on. That's why we're cracking down on the big energy companies' rip-offs, it's why we're creating a price safety net for customers and it's why we're underwriting new, reliable, 24/7 generation and pressuring energy retailers to make sure they have the supply in place years ahead of time to meet demand.

Our pressure on energy companies is already yielding results. We've seen that AGL will protect customers on standing offers by implementing a price safety net from 1 January, which means more than 150,000 families and 27,000 small businesses will be better off. There are 150,000 households and 27,000 small businesses that will get a better deal across Victoria and New South Wales. Standing offer customers will get 10 per cent price cuts, with similarly large price cuts in other states. This shows that our policies are working. We're already yielding results. We've also seen interventions in gas networks, with prices down by up to 50 per cent. We're reining in the power of the network companies. If Labor had done this earlier, they would have saved Australian households $6 billion. That is $6 billion for Australian households that was left on the table.

The member asked about alternatives. The Labor Party's reckless 45 per cent emissions reduction target will be a wrecking ball through our economy. It will hurt our manufacturing sector and our agriculture sector. It'll hurt our smelters, our refineries, our farmers and our transport industry. Which industry does the Leader of the Opposition want to shut down first? Is it aluminium smelting? Is it refining? Is it cement factories? Is it fertiliser factories? Is it the beef industry? Which regions does he want to shut down first? Is it Gladstone? The member for Flynn might have something to say about that. Is it Portland? The member for Wannon might have something to say about that. Is it Tomago? The member for Paterson should have something to say about that.

Meanwhile, those opposite are sitting on the side of the big energy companies, throwing $15 billion worth of subsidies at the big energy companies while they refuse to support us on legislation to crack down on dodgy practices—legislation which they haven't even seen. We sit on the side of energy consumers. They sit on the side of the energy companies. (Time expired)