Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Hansard source

There are few more fundamental things for businesses and for households than the guarantee that energy will be there in a reliable and affordable way when they need it. Whether you're in Townsville or Far North Queensland, western Queensland or the more urbanised area of Queensland, it's essential for businesses to be able to open their doors with confidence, invest with confidence and, of course, employ with confidence. The mistake made too often, particularly by those opposite—or, indeed, by some state governments—has been to consider parts of energy policy in isolation. The approach the Turnbull government is taking is to recognise that you have to deal with every aspect of the energy market: retailers; distributors; wholesalers; generators. You also have to deal, of course, with all of the different policy impacts on it: international obligations; reliability; affordability. And you cannot do any of those things in isolation, which is why our approach, our Energy Guarantee, is about tackling them all in a fully integrated manner.