Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Waters for that question. The reason why Labor and the Greens attack Minister Taylor so mercilessly is that he's such a good minister. He is so effective at bringing down the cost of electricity, he's so effective at bringing emissions down, and the Labor Party and the Greens don't like it. Minister Taylor has introduced the default market offer, the price caps; he's setting up the $1 billion Grid Reliability Fund; he delivered a $370 million investment in hydrogen and announced the National Hydrogen Strategy; he put an end to dodgy discounts and late payment fees; he implemented the Retailer Reliability Obligation; he's been successful in getting the big-stick legislation passed through the parliament; he delivered the Business Energy Advice Program; he advanced our Gas Market Reform Package; he established the Liddell Taskforce; he invested in four hydrogen projects and one bio energy project; he agreed to underwrite the Queensland-New South Wales Interconnector; he invested in two electric vehicle development projects; he opened formal negotiations with the US around access to strategic petroleum reserves; and there is more. Minister Taylor is a hardworking, highly effective minister. The Labor Party and the Greens don't like him because of how effective he is. They're just pursuing one political smear after the other to try and bring down somebody who is making a fine contribution to our country.