Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

The answer to that question is no. The work done by the Turnbull government has helped bring down electricity prices and has helped improve the reliability of energy supplies—and of course we will continue to focus on that objective—unlike the policies of the Labor Party. The Labor Party has a commitment to increase the emissions reduction target to 45 per cent. The Labor Party has a commitment to increase the Renewable Energy Target to 50 per cent. You know what that's going to do? That's going to push up the cost of electricity, which is going to hurt households, it's going to hurt families and pensioners, and it's going to hurt businesses and cost jobs. So, on this side of the chamber, we will continue to work to reduce electricity prices and we will continue to work to improve the reliability of energy supplies.

And where was the Labor Party? If you were so committed to the National Energy Guarantee, why didn't you come out and say so? The opportunity's still there. You stood up against company tax cuts, even though you knew it was the right way to go, just because of politics. You're not interested in the national interest; you're just interested in your opportunistic, political self-interest. When Mr Shorten has a choice between opportunism and doing the right thing, he will always go for self-interest and political opportunism.