Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications and the Arts) Share this | Hansard source

What this government wants to see is a balance—a range of sources of energy—and we do have a balanced and sensible plan for affordable and reliable energy for families and small businesses. Our plan will lower power prices by stopping the price gouging. We have a legislative package which we're introducing. We have a price safety net, which will be in place by 1 July next year, with a down payment on 1 January. We're backing investment in reliable generation with a shortlist of projects by early next year, and from 1 July we'll require energy companies to invest in fair dinkum electricity generation years ahead to meet customer needs through a reliability obligation. We want to ensure that Australians can have power that is reliable and affordable, and that means having a mix of sources of electricity generation. That is what all the policies that this government has in place and is implementing are all about.

Now, I should point out to Senator Storer, in the kindest possible way, the experience in his home state of South Australia. If there is a jurisdiction which is a case study in what not to do when it comes to ensuring affordable and reliable power, it is South Australia. That's one of the many reasons why on this side of the chamber we're very pleased that the Marshall government is in office there to partner with us in making sure that, nationwide, we can have policies in place which will see the lights stay on and power be affordable for families and for businesses.