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

That's not just my view; that's the view of the Energy Security Board, who are the authors of this policy—and I adopt their view. Like you, Senator Polley, I am not a specialist in the field of energy markets. I suspect that, apart from the Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, there is no-one in this chamber who is a specialist in the field of energy markets and electricity markets. However, therefore, governments adopt the advice of the best expert evidence available to them. The best expert evidence available to us comes from the members of the Energy Security Board, led by Dr Kerry Schott, and the advice of the Energy Security Board to us is that the adoption of these measures will lead to a reduction in the price of the average household's electricity bill, annualised, of $110 to $115 per year.

So, Senator Polley, that's our advice. That is the judgement that the experts have made and it's the basis on which the government has acted. I point out to you once again that there is only one side of this chamber that has a plan for lower electricity prices, and that is the government side. It is a plan informed by evidence, informed by engineering, informed by economics and, most importantly, informed by the best specialist advice that the government can have.

Your side, Senator Polley, the Labor Party, has no plan to reduce electricity prices. In fact, for years now you have been dragged along in the slipstream of Greens ideology, who not only have no plan to reduce electricity price they have a plan to increase it. (Time expired)