Daniel Mulino (Fraser, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. How will the Albanese Labor government's action on energy prices deliver cost-of-living relief for households and businesses? What has been the response?

Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank my honourable friend for his question and his policy leadership in this House. I'm pleased to report to the honourable member that his constituents, and all Victorians, have avoided price rises in relation to electricity of $555 per household. For small businesses in Victoria, it's $955. In other states, the savings have been even bigger. Take South Australia, for example. Because of the intervention of the Albanese government last year, a projected 51 per cent price rise for those receiving the government's rebates has changed to a three per cent cut in energy prices in South Australia, which is a $992 saving for people in South Australia. And there are similar figures across the board: $843 of increases avoided in New South Wales, $819 in Queensland $488 in Tasmania and so on. These are important savings for households and small businesses.

The honourable member asked me what the response has been. Expert after expert has been making the point that it is directly the intervention of the government which has led to this bill relief—expert after expert has said that it is the intervention of the government. We saw Clare Savage, chair of the Australian Energy Regulator, said that it's this policy which reduces power prices—

Ted O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Power prices are going up!

Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's not Foghorn Leghorn interjections from the peanut gallery, it's policy interventions which reduce power prices—

Opposition members interjecting—

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

Order! The minister will pause.

An opposition member interjecting

I'm dealing with that. The minister will withdraw that comment and return to the question.

Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I withdraw. The Energy Regulator chair herself said,

… it's really good to see that all governments have intervened in both coal and gas markets and that has brought down the price expectations in the system, …

Dr Steven Kennedy, the Treasury secretary, has said that the intervention has reduced inflation by reducing power prices directly and clearly. And, perhaps most clearly of all, the governor of the Reserve Bank said, 'The regulation in the energy market has had a direct impact on electricity prices over the next year.' 'A direct impact on electricity prices' is what the governor said.

There has been another response—maybe not so much from an expert, but from the member for Fairfax. He has had something to say. He was interviewed on Sky News, and it was a rather difficult interview for the member for Fairfax on Sky News. He gets the tough questions: he was asked about the impact, and he conceded that energy prices were down. But he had a causality problem; he said, 'There's no evidence that the intervention itself was the thing that got prices down.' So he conceded that prices were down but he denied that—

Ted O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Prices are going up!

Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He's a relief denier!

Ted O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Prices are going up!

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

The member for Fairfax!

Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He tried to deny the relief for his voters and now he's denying its reality. But apart from the governor of the Reserve Bank, the secretary of the Treasury and the Australian Energy Regulator chair, he has a point!

I am also advised that the honourable member is not sure about the death of Elvis! He hasn't seen enough evidence of that as well—

It's policy interventions which reduce power prices, not interventions from the peanut gallery.

Opposition members interjecting—

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

I couldn't hear what the minister was saying because of the interjections! The minister has said something unparliamentary and I'm going to ask him to withdraw.

Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I withdraw.

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

And the member for Fairfax is warned.