George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

And, if you look at the charts, Senator Carr, that the ACCC has produced, that will demonstrate that to be the case. So we're not going to be taking any lectures from the Australian Labor Party or dinosaurs like you, Senator Carr, about keeping electricity prices low. We're not going to be taking any lectures about electricity pricing from the party which, in the state of South Australia, has presided over the most catastrophic policies of any state in the Commonwealth—a state government, under the leadership of the Labor Premier, Mr Weatherill, that cannot keep the lights on. And the reason for that is: you are wedded to ideology and we are not, Senator Carr. We are wedded to pragmatism; we are wedded to good economics; we are wedded to decent engineering solutions, because the Australian people will always know that electricity prices will be lower and supply will be more reliable under a coalition government than it ever would be under a Labor government. If anyone ever had any doubt about that proposition, just look at South Australia.