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

Yes, Senator O'Sullivan. Under the Palaszczuk Labor government, Queenslanders were paying the highest wholesale prices in the first half of this year—30 per cent above the National Electricity Market average. That's because Queensland Labor have mismanaged the electricity system, imposing higher costs on families and businesses. They have, as Mr Sims and the ACCC concluded, threatened the competitiveness of Queensland with poorly considered, ideologically driven renewable energy targets. We've seen this in South Australia, we see it coming in Victoria, and Labor want to bring it into Queensland—force-feeding intermittent generation into the system without regard to costs, system reliability or investment certainty. One big difference between the LNP and the Palaszczuk Labor government: lower electricity prices under Tim Nicholls.