Fiona Martin (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction. Will the minister update the House on the Morrison government's—

Dr Chalmers interjecting—

Mr Frydenberg interjecting—

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

The member for Reid will resume her seat. It's difficult to hear the member for Reid when the member for Rankin and the Treasurer are carrying on their argument. I don't think you'll find it funny if you have to continue it outside.

Fiona Martin (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will start again. My question is to the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction. Will the minister update the House on the Morrison government's plan to lower power prices, reduce emissions and strengthen grid reliability in New South Wales, including in my electorate of Reid? Is the minister aware of any alternative approaches?

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

I thank the member for Reid for her question and I congratulate her on the extraordinary work she's doing as the new member for Reid. Like all of us on this side of the House, she's focused on driving down energy prices, making sure there's a fair deal for energy for all her constituents while we reduce emissions. That's why we recently announced the landmark state energy deal with the New South Wales government. This is a good deal for the people of New South Wales and it's a good deal for all Australians.

The deal includes adding new supply to the electricity market, whether it's through new generation projects under the underwriting new generation program; making sure there's enough supply for one of the newest and cleanest coal-fired generators in Australia, at Mt Piper; strengthening transmission networks and reliability of the grid through projects like QNI and HumeLink; or dollar-for-dollar matching to support our emissions reduction and clean energy technology investments, particularly focused outside the electricity grid in sectors like agriculture, industry and transport. Importantly, this deal includes a commitment from New South Wales for more than 70 petajoules of gas in a market of only 120. We're already seeing a 35 per cent reduction in the wholesale price of gas, but this is 70 extra petajoules in the New South Wales market.

We are happy to do similar deals with other states, right across Australia. We want this deal to be the first of many, because state governments play a crucial role in working with the federal government to deliver a fair deal on energy and to reduce emissions. But those states must do the right thing. For instance, in Victoria there is a moratorium on onshore gas, conventional and unconventional. There is a blanket moratorium on gas in Victoria. When it comes to these deals, whether it's New South Wales or Victoria the principle is very simple: no gas, no cash. We're delighted to be working with the New South Wales government. We look forward to working with others and we look forward to continuing to drive down the price of energy, drive down emissions and meet our international obligations, working closely with like-minded state governments.