Linda White (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

They don't want to remember it—absolutely! Luckily for us the Australian people saw it and remembered it at the ballot box almost a year ago. They remembered it. It seems like there's a bit of amnesia and re-creation of history. Let's remember that last year the Albanese government legislated to cap wholesale energy prices on coal and gas. We did that in large part because we had to deal with a wasted decade of failed energy policies from the coalition. We did that in part to respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which had put enormous pressure on global energy markets. We recalled the parliament—do you remember that?—before Christmas to deal with the situation because we prioritised energy prices and we prioritised what we thought was a difficult situation. This government took it very, very seriously, so we legislated the Energy Price Relief Plan. Do we remember that?

Now, just three months later, we're already hearing from the Australian Energy Regulator that, had we not acted when we did, energy prices would be 40 to 50 per cent more expensive than they are now. Without that government intervention, Australian families would be paying more for electricity. Without the government intervention, Australian businesses would have paid extra. Because we acted, hundreds of dollars in additional increases for households have been avoided, and people have saved thousands of dollars.

But wait a minute; let's remember—where was the coalition when this emergency was going on? When given the chance to support cheaper power prices, what did the coalition say? They didn't say yes, they said no. When asked if they would support Australian households and business by stabilising the energy market, the Liberal and National Party said no. The 'no-alition' over there voted against cheaper energy prices and voted against support for Australians feeling the sting of inflation. If the coalition had been in charge last year, Australians would be paying hundreds and hundreds of dollars more for electricity than they currently are. Why? Because the Albanese government had a plan and we implemented that plan, but with no help from the 'no-alition'—no help whatsoever. Are we surprised about that? No, because during their nine years in office they had 20 failed energy policies. There was inaction—