Anne Webster (Mallee, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Regional Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister has failed to deliver his promised $275 cut to electricity prices. The Prime Minister has also failed to deliver the financial support he promised families last year. Can the Prime Minister advise the House how many more Australians will be forced onto hardship programs with their electricity retailer as a result of the government's delay in providing any financial support? 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 Mallee for her question, which can, essentially, be summed up as 'why aren't you doing what I voted against earlier?' That's basically what I'm being asked here.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

Why did you vote against it?

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

The Treasurer will cease interjecting.

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

What they voted against was $1½ billion dollars of relief, and now they're complaining that it's not being delivered early enough. But that was the gist of the question.

Those opposite voted against $1½ billion dollars in direct fuel relief and they voted against price caps. The member for Hume hid the price rises before the election and then misled Australians about it. They took four gigawatts out of the system and only put one gigawatt back. They had 22 energy policies and didn't land one. And then they come in here and say, 'Why isn't it all fixed?' It reminds me, as someone who is a dog lover, of someone who comes home and finds bits of the cushions everywhere. There are bits which have been torn out and they're all over the lounge room. They're all over the kitchen and they're down the corridor. And they look at their pooch and they go, 'What's gone on here?' And the pooch looks back, with those eyes, saying 'Look at the mess you've made!'

Fair dinkum! You did nothing for 10 years. You voted against it when we had a plan, and then you come in here and say, 'Why didn't you do it earlier?'