Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

As a former minister for climate change I am aware of the situation in Western Australia and—

Senator Abetz interjecting—

I was asked 'is the minister aware?' and I answered that first part of the question. Senator Abetz just does not like it when we actually answer the question. The government understands the importance of energy security and reliability as a carbon price is introduced. I would remind the good senator from Western Australia of the very substantial increases in power prices which have occurred under his friend and colleague the Premier of Western Australia.

In relation to the assistance that is provided under the Clean Energy Future package, the senator should know, if he has looked at the detail of that announcement, that the government consulted with the energy market agencies, including the Western Australian independent market operator, during the process of developing the energy security measures which were spelt out in the Clean Energy Future package. In relation to energy security risks, obviously the reality is that such risks would be concentrated amongst the most emissions-intensive coal fired generators. That is self-evident in terms of the economics because it is those emissions-intensive generators which would bear the most impost as a result of a carbon price. The government support to generators is targeted at the most emissions-intensive generators and that is because we are serious about ensuring energy security and stability in the electricity market.

As I described yesterday, the Energy Security Fund, which the government has announced in the context of its package, includes an estimated $5½ billion in transi­tional assistance over six years to strongly affected electricity generators. The govern­ment is also creating an Energy Security Council to provide advice on systemic risks to energy security.