Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We all know about the famous exploits of the member for Hume, the now shadow Treasurer, and his blatant decision to deliberately hide electricity price rises from the Australian people during the last election. But I was astounded to read over the weekend that evidence has emerged that the former energy minister was not alone in hiding this information. As reported in the Guardian, the member for Cook, the former Prime Minister and the former Treasurer—who are all the same person—and his mate Frydenberg were in cahoots with the member for Hume to make this happen.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not astounded that the former PM and Treasurers were both involved, but seeing it was an absolute revelation. Answers to questions on notice by PM&C show the former Prime Minister was told by the former Treasurer—not him, the other one—that he had given the member for Hume the power to hide the price rises. And that's just what he did. On 7 April 2022, he changed the regulations and put off the notification of the price rises until the week after the election—a deliberate strategy to lie to the Australian people. And then the member for Hume has the gall to come into this place and vote against our energy plans. He stuffed up the energy market not once but 21 times and made us vulnerable to the international shocks that we're now experiencing.

If he cared about it, and if those opposite cared about it, they would come in, redo it and vote for household assistance. Shame on them. It's time that the members for Hume and Cook followed their mate Frydenberg and got out of here.