Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction. Will the minister update the House on the progress of the Morrison government's technology led approach to reducing emissions? How does this ensure that we create jobs and strengthen industry as we reduce emissions? And is the minister aware of any alternative approaches?

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

I thank the member for Fisher for his question. Of course, he knows, as we all do on this side of the House, that the way to reduce emissions and to deliver affordable, reliable energy is to be technology led. As someone who worked in traditional industries, like the construction industry as a builder, before he came into this place, he knows how important this is for our traditional industries. That is why we're focusing on technology, not taxes—not taxes—and on reducing the cost of low-emission technologies and not increasing the cost of traditional technologies and increasing the cost of electricity.

We have seen one in four houses in Australia with solar on their roofs, but we're also focused on a portfolio of technologies that deliver that affordable, reliable energy which has been such an important part of Australia's competitive advantage. We're positioning Australia for success, transparently: $20 billion in our Technology Investment Roadmap, which will bring forward $80 billion of public and private sector investment in the coming years, and 160,000 jobs in the coming decade from that Technology Investment Roadmap. This is not about imposing new costs on Australian households and businesses. And it's not about raising the price of electricity or destroying jobs in traditional industries because, at the end of the day, there are only two ways to reduce emissions: technology or taxes, and we have picked technology.

But those opposite choose tax every time. We heard it again on the weekend. The Leader of the Opposition doubled down on his approach to a technology led focus for bringing down emissions, describing it as 'absurd'. He described it as absurd! He described our clean energy focus as absurd. Labor voted against a technology led approach seven times. They will not be happy until Australians pay more tax.

We heard this from the shadow finance minister in the last week or so, that Labor is considering reintroducing an electricity tax. He said it, 'We are looking at everything.' That's what he said, 'We are looking at everything.'

Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Gallagher is a woman!

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

The member for McMahon! The minister will pause for a second and grab a seat somewhere. The Leader of the Opposition on a point of order.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, Mr Speaker. It goes to the verballing that occurs here regularly at the dispatch box. On Saturday, I was at—

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

No, this is not an opportunity for a point of order. I've made this clear. I'm going to ask the Leader of the Opposition to resume his seat. As I've said many times, I can't vouch for the facts of answers or questions. If you think that through, it would be impractical to be otherwise. We'd be suspending the House while I was judge and jury. As the Leader of the Opposition well knows, he has an opportunity at the end of question time if he believes that he has been misrepresented. The minister has the call.

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

They're a bit sensitive, Mr Speaker, because—

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

No, the minister will—

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

they're in favour of taxes. We heard it from the shadow finance minister. She said, 'We're looking at everything.' The member for McMahon is in that club; he loves a tax and there's never been a tax that he didn't like. He salivates over the opportunity of bringing forward an electricity tax. But whilst those opposite are thinking about how to raise the price of energy we're getting on with our technology led approach.

Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Given his previous statements that 'electric vehicles would end the weekend', that 'renewable energy targets are nuts' and that the 'world's biggest battery to store renewable energy was as useful as a big banana and a big prawn', why would Australians trust the Prime Minister to deliver action on climate change?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I opposed Labor's policies. I opposed their approach to the issues you were referring to. I didn't agree with the way that they wanted to do that, and the Australian people agreed with me. The approach that the Labor Party were seeking to take at the last election on those matters was not an approach that I agreed with. We had policies that were supportive of electric vehicles and renewable technologies—all of these things—at the last election, and the Australian people supported those policies. And we want to keep doing that.

Under our policies, we want to see more and more investment going into these areas. That is why we are trying to change ARENA's mandate, so that they can invest in these important technologies. There is $192.5 million in support for lower-emissions technologies, including $72 million to support EVs, electric vehicles, and hydrogen vehicle charging infrastructure; more than $52 million for microgrids in regional Australia—and I know the member for Indi will be interested in that; over $20 million to look at how we can make heavy trucks more fuel-efficient and adopt new technologies; and $47 million to help heavy industry to reduce their energy consumption. That is what we're trying do. The Labor Party are voting against all of those things by supporting the disallowance motion that would prevent us from investing in those renewable technologies, in particular on electric vehicles and hydrogen vehicle charging infrastructure.

So I'm not going to cop the hypocrisy of the Labor Party, whose policies were rejected at the last election because they were carried away with a fantasy. They overreached and the Australian people caught them out and said, 'We're not going to pay for your policies that you haven't thought through.' That is what they are not going to pay for, and the Labor party are still in the same place. They still have not thought their policies through. They still have not prepared a plan for how they will achieve their targets. They don't even have a 2030 target, and they are going to the Australian people and saying, 'Just trust us.' Who would trust the Labor Party with an economic policy to take Australia through one of the biggest changes in the global economy that is occurring with energy than we have seen in at least a generation, if not 50 years? The Labor Party cannot be trusted to manage the economy through this major change.

Our policies will set out very clear plans. There will be technology; there won't be taxes. There will be clear respect for people's choices. We won't be mandating what they should buy, when they should buy it and where they should buy it. We are going to let Australians make their own minds up because we trust Australians to make good choices in their interest—and they will have lower taxes to pay for them too, courtesy of the Treasurer. You cannot trust Labor on their emissions policy. (Time expired)