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

I thank Senator Hume for her question, knowing that Senator Hume, like every single member of the coalition, is driven by a desire to see lower energy prices for Australian households and lower energy prices for Australian businesses. Indeed, that is why it's so important to deliver the reliability and the affordability that the National Energy Guarantee will provide for all Australians, including those in the great state of Victoria.

As the Senate is well aware, the National Energy Guarantee has come from recommendations of the Independent Energy Security Board. It's a guarantee that for the first time brings together an integrated approach to energy policy and deals with it in a way that ensures we get the lowest-cost outcome for Australian households. And those benefits will be real right across the nation, including in Victoria. It's backed by industry; by business groups; by consumer groups; by organisations; and by companies such as Orora, who have 11 locations across Victoria, in places such as Scoresby, Wendouree, Altona and Dandenong; by Rheem, located in Moorabbin; by Orica, located in East Melbourne and Deer Park.

It will see Australian households enjoy benefits to the tune of around $550 in their electricity prices. It will see wholesale prices forecast to drop by 20 per cent. And what does that mean? Well, that 20 per cent reduction in wholesale prices flows through. It means that Victorian supermarkets will see reductions in prices of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Victorian chemical factories or industrial factories or large employers could see savings to the tune of millions of dollars in their energy costs. All of this makes it more affordable for them to invest, to create more jobs, to create a circumstance where they have the confidence to create a better working environment for all Victorians, just as it will happen across every other state of Australia.