Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Hansard source

The very quick answer is simply no. Of course it would not because the Australian government has been investing substantially in renewable energy technologies without requiring mandatory renewable energy targets. My fellow Tasmanians, for example, would be fully aware that the Tasmanian Labor government will be increasing energy prices by about 15 per cent. On top of that, federal Labor would increase their energy prices even further through their ill thought out policy of increasing the mandatory renewable energy targets, because mandating will require that every consumer of energy within Australia pay a higher power bill.

Labor may parade to the workers and pensioners of this country some feigned concern for their circumstances, but their Green-Labor accord type of policies will in fact have workers and pensioners out of pocket every time they pay their power bills. We as an Australian government are concerned to ensure that we get a sensible renewable energy policy right around Australia so that we do not have Victoria on eight per cent and New South Wales with another target and somebody else with another target. The Prime Minister’s task force—