Angie Bell (Moncrieff, Liberal National Party, Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. In the last two years, electricity bills in South-East Queensland have increased by up to $622. The minister repeatedly promised to cut prices by $275 a year, yet in South-East Queensland Labor has fallen short of its election commitment by up to $897. If the minister can't guarantee this reduction, will he admit that he was wrong and apologise to struggling Australian families?

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

I appreciate the question from the honourable member. She asked about promises on electricity prices. She asked about promises politicians make on electricity prices. And I understand the sensitivity—

Opposition members: Yours!

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

The minister will pause. We are 14 seconds into an answer. I can't hear what the minister is saying. The Leader of the Nationals is going to remain silent for the remainder of this question, otherwise he won't stay. Fourteen seconds. The minister now has two minutes and 46 seconds.

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

Of course, it is not unusual for promises to be made about electricity prices. For example, the member for Hume, in the 2019 election, promised a wholesale price of $70 a megawatt hour.

Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Below that!

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

And he says, 'Oh, look, it's below that.' Well, it is now. It is now; that is true. But, on the day of the 2022 election, it was $286 a megawatt-hour. As of today, it is under $70 a megawatt hour—

Opposition members interjecting—

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

The minister will pause. I remind the member for Moncrief that there is only one point of order taken on relevance, so I will hear what she has to say. It is early in the answer, but I will give her the call.

Angie Bell (Moncrieff, Liberal National Party, Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The point of order is on relevance. There was nothing in the question about coalition policies. It was asking—

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

Resume your seat. The minister is able to do some compare and contrast, but his answer cannot be all about the coalition and their policy. He knows that. Now that he is one minute into the answer there will be no more points of order on relevance because that has already been done.

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

Certainly, I was pointing out and will continue to point out that when we came to office the wholesale price of energy was $286 a megawatt-hour after the member for Hume had promised it would be $70 a megawatt-hour. As of today, it is $64 a megawatt-hour, and that is less than to $286—it's less than $70. And it's a result of several things, including coal and gas caps that were put in place by this government, this Prime Minister, opposed by that Leader of the Opposition, who opposes absolutely everything he ever sees. It's a result of international pressures changing. It's a result of more renewables in the system. Trigger warning: I mentioned renewables. I know it sends those opposite off, but it's a statement of fact. It's just a trigger warning to assist—I'm always here to help—and we'll continue to do what it takes to put downward pressure on energy prices, while those opposite promised lower prices are delivered higher prices.

Michelle Ananda-Rajah (Higgins, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. What has been the response to the latest analysis from the CSIRO, which has once again confirmed that nuclear is the most expensive form of energy?

Hon. Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

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

Order! The member for Higgins was heard in silence. There's far too much noise.

The member for O'Connor is not helping the situation.

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

We probably should have had another trigger warning, because we mentioned the CSIRO and science. I do thank the honourable member for Higgins—what a difference she has made; what a climate leader she is in this House. We welcome her presence in this House as a leader on climate action. As the honourable member referred to, the recent GenCost report by the CSIRO and AEMO has confirmed yet again that renewables are the cheapest form of energy and nuclear is the most expensive form of energy. This is consistent with findings overseas and with continual findings by the CSIRO and AEMO.

I'm asked what the response has been, and the response from those opposite has been very disappointing. The member for Fairfax had a very interesting formulation. He said:

… renewables may be the cheapest form of energy for investors, but not for consumers.

Apparently energy is the only commodity in the world where, if it's more expensive to build, the investors don't need to get a return on capital and it's a lot more expensive for consumers. The only one of all of them is energy.

But that looks good compared to the Leader of the Opposition, who chose to attack the CSIRO and call the report 'discredited', which is to the discredit of the Leader of the Opposition as the alternative Prime Minister of Australia. He falsely claimed that GenCost doesn't count the cost of transmission, which is not true and he should apologise to the CSIRO and AEMO. This is all part of the opposition's policy to introduce the most expensive form of energy, as identified in the GenCost report.

We've been on quite a journey with the opposition over the last two years. For two years they've been telling us that they're going to introduce small modular reactors, which is what GenCost deals with. They keep telling us that small modular reactors is where the action is, despite the fact—we pointed out on multiple occasions—that they don't exist. It's actually a fiction; there's no such thing as a small modular reactor. The Leader of the Opposition even said, on 5 March 2023—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

I'm quoting the Leader of the Opposition. You might want to listen to this, because I'm sure you'll want to hear what he said. He said: 'I don't support the establishment of big nuclear facilities here at all. I'm opposed to it.' Now we know that their policy is big nuclear reactors. The big Hinkley Point C nuclear reactor, which is the poster child, has recently been costed at A$86 billion for one reactor—A$86 billion! The Leader of the Opposition has finally got a plan for Australia. After two years of negativity, he's finally got a policy; he's finally got a plan. The bad news is it's an absolute stinker. It's an absolute shocker. Nuclear is the wrong plan for Australia.