Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Deputy Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Back for his question and acknowledge his very keen interest in energy issues in Western Australia. The first thing this government did was get rid of Labor's unfair carbon tax, which hit the hip pockets of businesses and households across regional Australia harder than anywhere else. This coalition government is going to have a practical, balanced, sensible approach to reliable, affordable and secure energy supply. That is what we are about on this side of the chamber. Unlike those on the other side, only those of us on this side of the chamber and not Labor are going to be focused on energy security. We have said that the national energy policy should be technology agnostic. It is security and affordability that matters, not how you deliver it—something, unfortunately, those on the other side continue to fail to understand. Unlike Labor, the coalition government is listening to people out there in those communities across this country who are telling us that they are worried about their cost of living, and it is only this coalition government that is going to help them alleviate their concerns and do something, unlike those opposite in the Labor Party. We are making sure that we have appropriate targets so that we can reduce our emissions and at the same time ensure we have a reliable, affordable, secure energy supply.