Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

That's five minutes of my life I will never get back. Thank you very much, Senator Sterle. Obviously, Senator Sterle, as we well know, is one of the noisiest voices in the overcrowded clown car that is the ministerial wannabes on the other side of this chamber. The only thing that Senator Sterle has brought to the energy debate is availability.

Let's get on to what the real issue is here. The real issue is that Australia's energy resources and technological capabilities are the envy of the world, yet, for over a decade, we have seen successive failures. Ideology, politics and uncritical groupthink have invaded political discourse and policy. I will stand up here now, proudly, and say: yes, Australia's energy crisis is entirely government made, and it is arguably, probably, the most expensive policy failure of our lifetime. But this government—the Turnbull coalition government—is doing something about it.

Let's just recall that, during the six years of a Labor government, electricity prices doubled, and they went up each and every year. State governments have worsened the situation with their ideological and job-destroying policies of gas bans, moratoriums on gas exploration and crazy and unrealistic renewable energy targets that appease the inner-city green flanks at the expense of industry, businesses, families and households. Of course, my greatest personal frustration is that the open hostility towards reliable and dispatchable power, such as the Andrews government's 300 per cent increase on coal royalties, forced the closure of Hazelwood Power Station in my state of Victoria. How irresponsible, how negligent and how reckless can any government have been to intentionally the source of our greatest competitive advantage for decades?

We in the coalition have always known that fixing this mess will not be easy. It requires federal, state and local governments to focus on not political opportunism but national interest. The mission is certainly urgent. Electricity prices are way too high. Your bills are too high. Business is suffering. Households are suffering. Our progress, our prosperity, our entire economy are weighed down by the anchor of an inefficient energy market. But the Turnbull government have grasped the nettle and we are fixing this mess. We have developed and are systematically implementing a comprehensive suite of measures that will bring prices down. We've been doing this for over a year already, and already the effects are being felt.

Power prices have in fact reduced in Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia since 1 July, 2018, and we expect reductions in Victoria when prices are repriced on 1 January. We've secured priority gas supplies before gas is exported overseas, and already this has brought down wholesale gas prices by 25 per cent. Bless the Guy opposition in Victoria, who have committed to reducing Daniel Andrews' ridiculous ideological moratorium on conventional gas exploration. We have required power companies to provide better deals to millions of consumers. Retailers have been brought in and asked a 'Please explain'. If they're not offering customers the best deal possible, why are they not offering customers the best deal possible? Already the retailers have written to more than 1.6 million households and saved them hundreds and hundreds of dollars on their annual bills.

We've stopped the energy networks gaming the system—a Gillard policy, bringing in the limited merits review. Network costs make up about 40 to 50 per cent of household bills. No longer can networks challenge the AER's decisions. We're investing in national infrastructure like Snowy 2.0, expanding the capacity of this iconic nation-building scheme. We are taking action on a number of fronts to lower prices through the ACCC and are supporting the financing of projects that will see new generation assets built for large commercial and industrial customers. We are creating a level playing field through the National Energy Guarantee that will ensure all types of energies are part of Australia's mix, ensuring reliability and affordability.

But what is the Labor alternative? A 45 per cent emissions target, a 50 per cent renewable energy target, more taxes, more subsidies, more appeasement to your Green-left flank. Our focus is on reducing power prices. Our policies are pragmatic and principled. Our approach is comprehensive. And our mission is clear: power prices will only come down under a coalition government. (Time expired)