Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Monty Python is not meant to be an idiot's guide to government, but that's what we have opposite. I'm a fan of Life of Brian, as you might expect, but art is coming dangerously close to imitating life in this place. Instead of Biggus Dickus we have the energy minister, Biggus Stickus, or, as we are yet to see his energy policy, perhaps Tiny Twiggus. We have the various factions opposite—Julia's 'People's Front of Liberals', Tony's 'Liberal Front of People', Scott's 'Front of Liberal People'—all over there in their rainbow colours. It would be funny if it weren't so serious. After 5½ years of Liberal government, our country has no energy policy. We have lots of gonnas—'gonna do this; gonna do that'—but the only thing this country has is instability and uncertainty. This week Derwent Valley dairy farmer David Jones told the ABC that he expects his power prices, after five years of Liberal government in Tasmania and five years of Liberal government in Canberra, to go up $30,000, to $100,000, next year. After five years of Liberal government, that's what has happened to energy under you. Only Labor has a policy for energy security, only Labor has a policy that will provide certainty for investors and only Labor has a policy that will bring prices down for consumers.