Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The remarkable thing we've seen from the contribution of those opposite is that you would think they've only been in government for about six months, the way they're carrying on and talking about, 'We've come up with this fantastic policy'. You've been in government for five years. What's your record? That's what the Australian people will judge them on. Their record after five years is a simple one: prices up, emissions up and reliability down. That is their record after five years in government.

The fact is, we've been talking about this policy for about 12 months. It's taken them 12 months to come up with this and there is still chaos and division on their backbench. The reason they are so divided on this is that, with the policy that they have come up with, they didn't have the Australian people in mind, they didn't have Australian workers in mind and they didn't have Australian businesses in mind; they had their backbench in mind. That was their motivation in coming up with this policy. There are so many flaws in this that they will be responsible for. They will be held to account for this. When you look at their record and you look at their motivation, this isn't about the Australian people; this is about their own internals. And the chaos and division that we've seen for 12 months is only going to continue because of the way that they have been behaving.

Regarding the stance that the Labor Party has taken on the National Energy Guarantee, it's quite amusing that those over there are starting to run a scare campaign against Labor. That's all they've got: a scare campaign. They've been doing it since Tony Abbott. Malcolm Turnbull promised something different as Prime Minister, but we're seeing the same again—they're trotting it out today. They're not defending their policy; they're attacking Labor's policy.

I agree with federal Labor leader, Bill Shorten, and the shadow minister, Mark Butler, who said that we want to work in a bipartisan manner. We understand the importance of the price and reliability of electricity to Australian families and businesses, and to creating jobs. We've been patiently waiting for those opposite to settle their differences so that we can try to come up with a bipartisan solution that the Australian people can have confidence in. But they didn't reach out across the aisle to try to work with Labor on this. They are so divided on their own side that they can't talk to us. Any policy that we could sign up to is obviously too much for their backbench. That is the division we've seen from those opposite.

The fact of the matter is that what they are talking about—I think every one of their speakers has talked about it—is the $550 price reduction. That's exactly what they said when it came to the carbon tax and Tony Abbott said he would abolish it: $550 was the amount prices were going to be reduced by. I challenge any Australian family who pays their electricity bills to say that is true, and that they believe them this time. The reality is that this is a hoax from those opposite in terms of how they are presenting this policy. They proved it when they axed the carbon tax and they are going to prove it on the back of this as well. Australian families will see through what they are purporting to represent.

There are some other consequences from the National Energy Guarantee that Labor will be putting on the record. The government's own modelling in this shows that there will be no large-scale investment in renewables after 2021. The rate of rooftop solar will halve in this time as well. So, in terms of what the Australian people are wanting to see from a new policy and what they want to see from governments, this National Energy Guarantee is actually going to achieve the opposite of what Australian families and businesses are looking for.

It is also worth pointing out that there are still complaints now about the cost of gas and the impact that is having on electricity and also, importantly, on Australian businesses. Those opposite try to claim that they have ticked the box and solved the gas crisis. Well, day after day we are constantly seeing businesses highlight the fact that they are paying exorbitant rates for gas, which is limiting their ability to invest and create more jobs in their businesses.

Coming back to the National Energy Guarantee, there really are some key parts of this that are concerning. One is their record. We know that prices are up, emissions are up and reliability is down. We know that their motivation in pursuing the National Energy Guarantee is all wrong. It's all about trying to appease their backbench and not about delivering for Australian families. We know that some of those opposite are prepared to sign up for what is effectively a hoax on the Australian people, whether it be around the price reductions that they're promising or the coal-fired power generation as well—there is no proposal for that.

Question agreed to.