Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. A single mother with six children in Queensland has been hit with a $1,500 electricity bill, much of which is due to the mother's need to charge her NDIS-supported daughter's electric wheelchair. Given a worker at the mother's electricity company told this struggling single mother she will probably be paying her bill 'for the rest of her life', will the Prime Minister immediately apologise to this family for promising them a $275 annual cut to their power bill? Why do Australian families always pay more under Labor?

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

I thank the member for Forde for his question. I do note he was absent—he had leave—when the vote happened in this parliament, which was $1.5 billion of assistance for people just like the constituent that he raised. That is why the Queensland government, as well as the New South Wales government, as well as every state and territory government, as well as this national government all signed up to energy price relief—$1½ billion, but those opposite, of course, voted against that. They voted against price caps that are already having an impact on prices. We know the member for Hume hide the price rises before the election and then misled Australians about it—actually changed the rules so that it wouldn't be declared.

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

The member for Hume is warned.

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

Of course, as well we know we're more vulnerable to international price increases than we should be because four gigawatts of capacity got taken out of the grid and only one gigawatt put in. We're more vulnerable because we had 22 energy policies announced but not a single one delivered. They left us with an energy grid that was built for the last century. Snowy Hydro is a positive initiative. They just forgot to plug it into the grid.

Those opposite came up with all sorts of fantasies about a way forward, including one in Queensland I well remember—the feasibility study that was happening for the Collinsville power plant. I wonder who they gave $4 million for a feasibility study to. They gave it to the proponent—'Here's $4 million to see if your project stacks up.' They took that to an election. They told Queenslanders that it was going to make a difference.

Government members interjecting—

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

The Prime Minister will pause. Members on my right will cease interjecting so I can hear from 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

It's on relevance. If the Prime Minister has no practical assistance to offer this single mother and her family—

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

Resume your seat. That is borderline abuse of the standing orders, Manager of Opposition Business. You won't be warned again if that happens. The Prime Minister is in order. The question was about electricity prices and energy. He is answering the question directly. I give him the call.

The member for Fairfax is warned.

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

We had $1½ billion of price relief that they voted against. They had the Collinsville fantasy that they took to the election. They kept talking about it throughout the entire last term, knowing that it was never going to happen.

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

The member for Dawson is warned.

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

It's a bit like their glow-in-the-dark nuclear fantasy they're on about now.