Jim Molan (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The matter of public importance today is the need for the government to take immediate and meaningful steps to reduce electricity prices for all Australians, and that's exactly what we're doing. We have a minister who has but one job, and that job is to do exactly what this MPI calls for. We have a minister who has background and knowledge in this area and has the support of the government. We have an energy policy, despite what Senator McAllister says, and that energy policy is as complex as we want to make it, but, quite simply, it consists of a safety net price—that is, a default market offer. If you're on an inflated offer and go to this standard offer, the ACCC estimates the price of your electricity could fall by between $180 and $416 a year, and small businesses could save up to $1,457. That safety net price or default price is the first part of the policy.

The second part is a big stick. It gives the government serious new powers so the ACCC can stop energy companies ripping off customers. The third part of our policy is new energy generation. That is a technology-neutral program to underwrite new, stable, low-cost generation for commercial and industrial customers. As Senator Cormann reminded us and, in particular, the Greens today during question time, we remain committed to achieving our Paris agreement, just as we met and exceeded the Kyoto target.

Senator McAllister suggested that we in the coalition should consult constituents who are involved in transport and farming. I certainly have those constituents and I certainly have consulted them over the last three or four months. What they tell me is that they want lower prices, and we will deliver those lower prices for them. This government is absolutely committed to reducing power prices while keeping the lights on. We know that power prices have risen by 56 per cent over the last 10 years. We understand Australian families are struggling with the cost of living and the rising power prices, which are impacting on their household budgets. Small businesses, the backbone of this nation, are also struggling with rising power prices. This prevents them from being able to employ more people and take advantage of new opportunities.

We will not be distracted from our goal of lowering power prices for Australian households and small businesses. The electricity sector needs to re-establish its credibility and trust with the community, and the coalition government will ensure the interests of customers come first. As I explained before, we're taking very practical actions to lower power prices: stopping price gouging by energy companies, providing customers with a price safety net, backing investment in reliable generation and encouraging more competition in the market. We've turned the corner on power prices, with reductions announced already in Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia from 1 July 2018. And I can assure you, Mr Acting Deputy President Sterle, that the coalition government is not afraid to use a big stick on the big energy companies to stop the big rip-offs.

And we stand on our record and on our policy. We have secured more gas for Australians. Prices are down by up to 50 per cent. We did this by introducing the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism, securing an agreement with LNG exporters to offer gas to the domestic market, and committing $90 million in the 2017-18 budget to expand gas supply and increase competition in the market. As a result, gas prices have now fallen from close to $20 a gigajoule in early 2017 to $11 a gigajoule in 2018.

We have reined in the power of the networks; if Labor had done it sooner, that would have saved Australia $6 billion. Past over-investment in networks is the biggest contributor to the increase in electricity prices over the last 10 years, and this government has abolished the Limited Merits Review regime. We have got customers a far, far better deal. After meeting with government, retailers have simplified their offerings and written to around 1.6 million households in this country to tell them better deals are available. Over one million people have visited the government's website to compare offers. We are changing the rules to get retailers to lift their game, including banning dodgy discounting practices; getting retailers to notify price rises more quickly so that customers can shop around; and speeding up metering in stores. As I said before, we have seen retail prices come down in Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia as of 1 July.

Labor's appalling policy was essentially based on hope. Electricity bills under Labor will soar, and gas and coal fired power stations will close, if the share of wind and solar generation increases dramatically. This comes from engineers who have warned after analysing the nation's energy supply. The analysis casts severe doubt on Labor's claim that a 50 per cent renewable energy target, the centrepiece of the opposition's energy policy, would reduce electricity prices. It found that bills were likely to soar by 84 per cent, or about $1,400 a year, for the typical household if wind and solar power supplied 55 per cent of the national electricity market. And that's what Labor's policy is. A RET of 50 per cent would not reduce bills; 50 per cent renewables means an 85 per cent in bills to $1,400 for the average household.

As the head of the ACCC, Rod Sims, reminds us, electricity prices have gone up by 50 per cent over the last 10 years, but standing offers have gone up to 100 per cent. So we need a strong cop on the beat. We need a government which is prepared to act to create a truly competitive market in the energy sector. Many people are still stuck on high standing offers. The default offer should be set by government, and that is certainly now within the power of the ACCC. The ACCC has given us a blueprint to get the offers down.

Labor's record on all of this, if we are considering how to get prices down, is very, very interesting. During six years of Labor government, power prices doubled and they went up each and every year. The Labor government gave us pink batts, the carbon tax, cash for clunkers and a citizens assembly as their response to rising power prices. Federal and state Labor policies have continued to increase pressure on prices through job-destroying gas bans and moratoriums, unrealistic renewable energy targets and open hostility to reliable dispatchable power. Bill Shorten wants a 50 per cent renewable target on a national level, which will mean more subsidies and therefore higher prices and greater unreliability.

Labor also wants Australia to go far beyond the rest of the world and cut carbon emissions by 45 per cent. This reckless policy will harm our economy, and it will definitely cost jobs. Under Labor's emissions intensity scheme, households would pay $300 a year more on their power bills compared to under the coalition. Labor's true thinking was revealed by its Labor Environment Action Network, which said, 'High prices are not a market failure, they are proof of the market working well.' That's not a view held by most Australians. In the last polls taken, 70 per cent of Australians reported that they would like to move out of Paris if that meant lowering their electricity prices. The fact is that Australians will pay higher power bills under Labor and they will be left in the dark.

Of course, the impact of lower energy prices on Australia's ability to generate jobs in the way that we've generated them over the last couple of years—a million jobs since 2013—and on running the economy is absolutely critical. The budget is now in a good position and the economy is in good shape. When we took over from Labor in 2013, not only because of the appalling Labor Party energy policy but for a range of reasons, the economy was on the way down and the budget was in trouble. We changed that and we will lower prices for energy. (Time expired)