Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

No, I have not. But Senator Marshall is correct; I was at the COAG Energy Council last week to discuss the future energy policy of this nation. It is instructive that we have a Victorian government that's running in lock step with GetUp! and Greenpeace on these issues. We have a Labor Party that are not interested in lowering power bills for Australian people. They're not interested in securing the future jobs in our manufacturing sector in Australia. They are not interested in the people of this country who are at their kitchen tables struggling to pay their bills right now. They're not interested in the pensioners that have to put extra doonas on to keep themselves warm in winter. They are not interested in these things. They are focused on an election where they need the support of GetUp! to win marginal seats in Melbourne. That's what they are focused on.

At that meeting last week, it was very, very clear from the delegation from Victoria that they were focused on one thing: their re-election, not the reduction of power bills for the Australian people. That was their focus. Right through this process, the Victorian government have otherwise supported the National Energy Guarantee. They've supported good policy to try and find a stable and consistent policy framework for our nation in this space. And then, guess what? Just as they receive a few emails from GetUp! and some people that they're scared of, they jump to that tune. We know who sings the song for the Labor Party in Victoria, and it ain't the average families in this country. It is the activists in Melbourne who are leading the Victorian government down a garden path that is not about lowering prices but meeting emissions reduction targets and nothing else.