Zoe Daniel (Goldstein, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Treasurer is right to say that he is worried—very worried—about the cost of energy, especially the prospective cost of gas. For the residents and businesses of Goldstein it is not just a worry; it is having a real impact on their living standards and on the viability of their enterprises right now. Fab, a shopowner in Hampton, told me last week that he had confronted a 30 per cent increase in energy costs over the past two years, and shoppers are now buying less.

I've been surveying the Goldstein community, and the results are as predictable as they are disturbing: 54 per cent of respondents report concern over household bills; 53 per cent are worried about meeting the cost of health and medical expenses; and 53 per cent report pressure about the day-to-day cost of living—paying for essentials like food, clothing and transport. As one concerned constituent put it: 'I've cut back on my grocery costs, but I still have fresh food. I'm also more careful about my power usage and use public transport whenever possible.'

Voters have been making it clear for some time that something has to give, so I am pleased that the Treasurer is at last warning of the need for greater regulation to force gas prices down. I also note that Ministers Bowen, Husic and King are now emphasising the need for the ACCC to consider options to improve price transparency in the gas supply code of conduct and whether to make it mandatory. Maybe the gas suppliers will get the message that, if they're not prepared to do something voluntarily about price, they will have a solution imposed on them.

This is not some kind of theoretical argument. Last week I spoke to a major textile manufacturer—one of just three of its kind in Australia—with around 50 workers. The price of energy for his business is now between 40 per cent and 60 per cent of his value-added costs. 'It's unsustainable,' he says, and if there is no relief he may need to shut his doors.

If the energy suppliers don't get it, there is no alternative but for the government to intervene. If not, jobs will be lost and any hope for a return to real growth will evaporate.