Angie Bell (Moncrieff, Liberal National Party, Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. How much will wholesale electricity prices need to fall to deliver the promised $275 reduction in bills for Australian families?

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

The member for Hunter will cease interjecting.

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

I thank the member for her question and I refer of course to the government's position on renewables and on taking action, because we do need to act to ensure that we can reduce power prices, which are under pressure from the now 23—if you count the latest thought bubble on nukes—energy policies of those opposite over a wasted decade as well as the invasion by Russia of Ukraine.

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

The member for Hunter is warned.

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

The budget made a significant start on that—a nearly $24 billion investment in clean energy, including Marinus Link, the interconnector between Tasmania and Victoria, Battery of the Nation, pumped hydro in Tasmania, six renewable energy zones created, legislating to create Australia's offshore wind industry, 400 community batteries. We've given the ACCC, the AER—

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

The Manager of Opposition Business on a point of order?

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On relevance, Mr Speaker: you have previously directed a minister to deal with the terms of the question, and I ask you to uphold that ruling. It was a very tight question. The question was: what has to happen to wholesale prices, how much will wholesale electricity prices need to fall? And the Prime Minister should be directed to that question.

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

I will hear from the Leader of the House.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

To the point of order, the Manager of Opposition Business didn't complete the question that was asked, which, as I recall, went specifically to the impact on family electricity bills. And the Prime Minister is answering quite directly on ways of impacting on that.

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

Yes, the question was also about wholesale prices. I was ruling on the point of order, but I'll hear from the Leader of the Opposition.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

To the point of order, the Leader of Government Business has suggested that there was some other part to this question, which is not the case. The question was very tight: how much will wholesale electricity prices need to fall to deliver the promised $275 reduction in bills for Australian families? It couldn't have been any tighter than that, ant the Prime Minister should be asked to answer the question: how much will wholesale electricity prices need to fall?

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

The Prime Minister is not halfway through his answer. The question was specific. I'm going to ask him to return to the question. He's setting some context, but I'll be listening carefully to his answer to make sure he addresses the issue of wholesale prices.

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

Of course, wholesale prices will increase by up to 20 per cent as a result of information that the former government kept quiet. Indeed, they legislated to make sure that people didn't know what would happen with wholesale prices.

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

The member for Barker is warned.

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

What we won't do is legislate so that people won't find out anything until after the next election, which is what the government did.