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

Senator Carr, I think what you ought to be focused on are the policies that will have the most impact on electricity prices, because that is what we are focused on. This debate in Australia—we have seen it in the Senate for years now—has been bedevilled because people have become obsessed with a single policy and have seen in that single policy the only possible way of achieving an outcome.

Well, we're not obsessed with a single policy. We're obsessed with an outcome, and the outcome we're obsessed with is ensuring that electricity prices are lower than they otherwise would be and that supply is reliable. That's what we care about. Senator Carr, you were the minister for industry for a period of years, during which electricity prices had their sharpest upward movement in Australian history. We are not going to repeat your mistakes or the mistakes of the South Australian Labor government. We are going to deliver affordable and reliable electricity.