Ted O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question goes to the Prime Minister. I refer to the fact that the official Labor Party website continues to promote the promise of a $275 cut in people's household bills. If you're not sure, I've got it just here. I've highlighted it for you. It still says it today—a cut by $275.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Fairfax will withdraw that prop.

Ted O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Will the Prime Minister please tell us why he's giving false hope to Australians, who are already struggling with their cost of living, that they're going to get a cut in their power bills?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'll ask the minister to supplement this question because I shouldn't get all of this. We should spread the opportunity. The truth is that they knew before the election that power prices were going up, but they chose to keep Australians in the dark. They were a light-on government that did nothing to keep the lights on. That's what those opposite were. They had 22 different energy policies and didn't land one of them—not one.

We have one policy. We announced it in December last year. We will implement that policy. We will deliver more renewables into the system, which is the cheapest form of new energy, unlike those opposite, who actually had a billion dollar fund that they announced. They announced project after project. Three years ago Alinta Energy in Gippsland—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Fairfax is seeking the call on a point of order.

Ted O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The point of order is on relevance. My question was very clear. It asked the Prime Minister why the website of the Labor Party continues to promote a promise that he has since abandoned, or is he now telling us that he will commit to the—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! I'll ask the Prime Minister to be relevant to the question. He is talking about the policy and comparing—regarding ALP policy.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That's right. Three years ago they announced 3,800 megawatts of new generation in East Gippsland; Reeves Plains; Gatton, Queensland; Dandenong, Victoria; Port Kembla, New South Wales; Lincoln Gap, South Australia; Baroota, South Australia; Armidale, New South Wales; Crows Nest, Queensland; Tasmania; Eyre Peninsula; and Lake Macquarie. Three years later there's not one dollar and not enough energy to light up a lightbulb. I'll ask the Minister.

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

Thanks to the Prime Minister. We are going about implementing our election commitments, because we know, on this side of the House, that clean energy is cheap energy. We have already started implementing our policies to move renewables to 82 per cent of our grid. It is the case that the former minister for energy didn't just not issue a release, he actually had to physically intervene to change the law. He sat in his office and signed an instrument to change the locks. He probably sat in his office and then once he'd done it he thought to himself: 'Fantastic. Well done, Angus.' That's what he thought. We've got the former minister for energy who sat on energy price rises. We've got the former Minister for Environment who sat on the State of the environment report. The entire leadership group of the opposition is a walking witness protection program. I'm surprised they don't have their meetings in a safe house.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I call the next member, I just remind the minister that members should be referred to by their correct title.

Daniel Mulino (Fraser, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. What are the implications of the ACCC's report into the gas market released today?

Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you to the member for Fraser for his question. High gas prices are making life harder for Australians, for Australian industries and for Australian employers. Wholesale gas prices in the second quarter of this year, around the time of the election, were more than three times higher than at the same time last year. That's why in June I worked closely with the minister for energy and the Minister for Resources and together we tasked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to investigate skyrocketing gas prices, to consider the supply of gas to domestic versus export markets and advise the government of any regulatory changes that might be required. I want to thank the ACCC and particularly its chair, Gina Cass-Gottlieb, for the first class report that I've released publicly today, which combines an aspect of their regular monitoring with the extra work that we asked them to do.

It contains some sobering reading, particularly in relation to these three warnings that they issued. First, the upstream gas market is highly concentrated. Around 90 percent of the market is dominated by three major players. Second, exporters aren't always meeting the spirit of their obligations to the domestic market under the heads of agreement. Third, the domestic market faces a major supply shortfall in 2023 unless action is taken to fix the regime. In other words, the arrangements set up by those opposite aren't working to ensure enough domestic gas at competitive prices.

The ACCC made it really clear that the timing of the gas trigger isn't flexible enough and the rules are too narrow. The heads of agreement isn't working either, because companies aren't consistently offering gas to the domestic market with reasonable notice or at reasonable prices. Most of our excess gas, the gas that isn't contracted, is being exported to the international spot market to take advantage of the current conditions. The domestic shortage that comes from this is expected to be about one-tenth of the domestic supply that we need next year. But here's the thing: there's enough uncontracted gas to meet our needs in Australia if the spirit of the heads of agreement is adhered to. That's why the steps outlined by the Minister for Resources today are so important and why they are called for and supported by the ACCC: to reform the trigger and take the first step towards activating it, to consult on the best ways to go about it and to improve the heads of agreement.

This is all about two things: more gas for Australia at more competitive prices. As the PM said, we will take the necessary steps to make that happen. We call on the gas companies to do the right thing by our workers and by our industries. We can do all this without jeopardising our trade relationships and our reputation as a reliable exporter of energy. We are looking for solutions here, not unnecessary conflict. A decade of slogans, of 22 failed energy policies and of wasted opportunities has cost Australians and their industries too much already.