Dai Le (Fowler, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. During my doorknocking in the past six months my community of Fowler have told me that they have seen unprecedented increases in their energy bills under your Labor government. What will your government do to reform the electricity market and provide meaningful and real relief for households and businesses who are hurting, instead of offering small, temporary handouts, which we all know are short-term solutions?

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

I thank the member for Fowler for her question. I note that she would have been doorknocking for the local government elections that were held, and I congratulate her on her election to Fairfield City Council in the elections that were held in September.

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

Donating her wage.

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

Order! The member for Moncrieff does not need to interject while the Prime Minister is congratulating a member.

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

I was indeed also in her electorate last Friday, in Cabramatta with my friend Tu Le, walking through the electorate and talking to constituents. I must say that it was a very warm welcome that I received in that wonderful multicultural community that she represents in this place.

With the issue of energy relief, the recent figures show a decrease, a drop, that has occurred. The member, from memory, also voted for energy bill relief that we introduced into this chamber. It was for $300. In addition to that, you've had the New South Wales government, under the former coalition, which, unlike this coalition here, actually supported energy bill relief. They also supported the unprecedented action that we took to put a cap on gas and coal prices. We understood that, because of those global factors, there was a need for intervention. That was something that was opposed by those opposite but was supported overwhelmingly by the crossbench both in this House and in the Senate. We'll continue to address cost-of-living relief, whether it be energy, the medicine price relief that her constituents would have benefited from, the cheaper child care that they would have benefited from and the fee-free TAFE that they would have benefited from.

I look forward to visiting the electorate of Fowler regularly over the coming months, where, no doubt, I will talk with her constituents about the needs that they have in that important part of south-west Sydney.