Zoe McKenzie (Flinders, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. Given that Australians have already seen their power bills go up by a thousand dollars since the Albanese government came to power and the government has just committed to a Ponzi scheme as it tries to mop up its renewables-only energy policy, can the minister guarantee that this Ponzi scheme will not—

Hon. Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

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

Order! The member will resume her seat. The minister for infrastructure is warned. We're just going to hear that question from the top.

Zoe McKenzie (Flinders, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the minister for climate change and energy. Given that Australians have already seen their power bills go up by a thousand dollars since the Albanese government came to power and the government has just committed to a Ponzi scheme as it tries to mop up its renewables-only energy policy, can the minister guarantee that this Ponzi scheme will not see Australians facing yet another thousand-dollar increase in their power bills?

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

Order! I just want to 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

Mr Speaker, there was a term used twice in that question with respect to schemes which makes the question clearly out of order.

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

Order! I think the question can be phrased to enable that term, but just not the way it currently is now. The Manager of Opposition Business?

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

Mr Speaker, this wording has already been accepted in an earlier question. The Leader of the House can't be making up objections on the fly here.

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

To assist the House, if the member can, just around that portion of the question, perhaps rephrase that part so we can—

Order! The member for Fairfax isn't helping. I will give the member for Flinders the benefit of the doubt and get her to state the question.

Zoe McKenzie (Flinders, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. Given that Australians have already seen their power bills go up by $1,000 since the Albanese government came to power and the government has just committed to a scheme to mop up its renewables-only energy policy, can the minister guarantee that this scheme will not see Australians facing yet another $1,000 increase in their energy bills?

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

I thank the honourable member for her question. I particularly welcome it when the opposition just underline how much they hate renewable energy and how they don't get that it's the cheapest form of energy. The honourable member should share that question with her electorate and show them what she really thinks of renewable energy. I'm happy to assist. We on this side of the House know that renewable energy is the cheapest form of energy and getting more of it into the system means lower prices.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

Order! The Leader of the Nationals is on a warning.

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

I'm not the only one who thinks it. In response to the announcement last week, those well-known socialists down at the Australian Aluminium Council said:

The Australian Aluminium Council welcomes the expansion of the Capacity Investment Scheme bringing forward investment and placing downward pressure on #electricity prices for #consumers, including households and industry.

Ai Group, the Australian Industry group, said:

Today's announcement of an expansion of the existing Capacity Investment Scheme … will greatly expand the scope of capacity contracts from the Federal Government and looks like a very helpful step to addressing fears that inadequate supply would pose to price and reliability this decade.

The Energy Users Association of Australia said:

We welcome the announcement from the Commonwealth as it should provide a level of certainty for investors and consumers in these highly volatile times. We expect this approach will help facilitate the deployment of renewable energy and storage technology while working to shield Australian households and business from significant increases in energy costs.

I could go on. Group after group, peak group after peak group, know that a more orderly transition, getting more investment in early and getting more dispatchable energy into the grid, is good for prices, good for reliability and good for emissions.

Opposition members interjecting—

The only people who don't get it are the opposition. They've still got their little fantasy wrapped in an illusion: nuclear energy. The Leader of the National Party, to his credit, on Friday was honest. He came out and said, 'We don't expect nuclear energy in the next decade or so, but we've got till 2050.' I've got news for the Leader of the National Party: we don't have till 2050, because we've got to provide reliability in the energy grid today. I don't think we should wait until 2050. As coal fired power ages and becomes more unreliable, we need more investment today. The Leader of the National Party and his cohort might be happy to leave fixing that until 2050. They spent nine years not fixing it. They might as well spend till 2050 not fixing it.

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

Order! There was far too much noise during that answer.