Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Hughes, you are right. It is not even winter yet. What is the government going to say to those people? It made certain promises to them prior to the election, promises that they took in good faith and actually voted for. One promise, which they're never going to get, was that it would reduce energy bills by $275; instead, this is what we are now seeing, and that's before this bill goes through. Electricity prices are continuing to spiral out of control under Labor, with new increases of up to 23.7 per cent for households. That money doesn't just fall into people's pockets by accident; they've got to go and find that additional money. There's a 25.7 per cent increase for small businesses—again, small businesses are battling as it is. Where do they find an additional 25.7 per cent on their energy bill?

What's worse, though, is the proposed increase to the default market offer. That's going to directly affect around half a million households across Australia, and guess what—they are not going to be better off; they are going to be worse off. You would think it was the opposition putting this forward, but it's not us at all! This is the analysis that has been undertaken. The proposed increases to the default market offer will ensure that more than half a million households across Australia will be worse off. If you're in New South Wales, that's up to $564 per year. So much for electing the Albanese government, who told you they would lower your energy bills! Well, that's not happening. You're not getting the $275 taken off. The increase in the default market offer means you're going to be worse off—by up to $564 a year in New South Wales, $485 a year in South Australia and $383 a year in South-East Queensland. I mean, seriously!

This isn't the only thing that's breaking people's bank. More than 100,000 small businesses will also be impacted by increase in bills of up to $1,151 a year. Again, I don't know where these small businesses will find this additional money. It gets worse, though. It gets worse! This comes on top of increases announced in Victoria of, on average, 31.1 per cent for households and an enormous 33.2 per cent for small businesses. That is on top of 400,000 families and 55,000 businesses that will be hit by unprecedented price rises.

What does the government think is going to happen? What does it honestly think is going to happen when the major coal companies are saying, 'We are the experts, and guess what—the bill that you are going to pass'—in fact, it's not the bill they're going to pass; it's actually going to be way worse. We haven't seen the amendments, but we heard Senator Waters give us an outline that this is only step 1; steps 2, 3, 4 and 5 are well and truly on their way. In addition to all of the price rises that are currently being felt because of decisions that you are making and because of your failure to understand one word when it comes to gas—that is, supply; getting more supply into the market is how you put downward pressure on prices, but you don't know that—you are actually going to pass a bill that companies are saying will drive up energy prices, destroy jobs and kill foreign investment. As reported in the Australian:

With coal Australia's largest export industry … Global coal demand is at the highest level in history and it's fanciful to think that reducing our high-quality—

note: high quality—

exports in the face of record demand will do anything other than drive up energy and steel prices, create a net increase global emissions—

that's a great result for everybody here when they cross to the other side of the chamber and support the bill. You could drive up energy and steel prices, create a net increase in global emissions and, on top of that—

… destroy Australian jobs, both in regions and in cities.

Again, I'm not quite sure what you are seeking to achieve with this bill.

It is possible to take action on climate change. It is possible to take action to reduce emissions but at the same time balance the economy, balance increasing productivity and balance ensuring that Australians are not being subjected to record-high energy prices and that Australians are not losing their jobs. But you are ideological zealots who don't care about the economy, who don't care about the average Australian and who don't care about the increase in costs that they are seeing on a daily basis.

I look at my home state of Western Australia. The president of Peabody's Australian operations said:

… the company was concerned the legislation would "make the mining industry less competitive at a time when it's integral to providing the minerals and energy required for the energy transition".

Mining and resources are an integral part of our economy, and you have the president of Peabody's Australian operations saying that you're going to make the mining industry less competitive. What else can you make less competitive in this country? Seriously! It's the Midas touch in reverse. Everything you touch, you are making less competitive. Everything you touch, you are increasing the price on. Every promise you made prior to the election, you are not standing by. And you don't seem to care.

People took you at your word when you made promises to them. People took you at your word that you would tackle inflation, tackle interest rates, tackle the rising cost of living and tackle energy price increases. Yet piece after piece of legislation that is going through this place is doing nothing to tackle those increasing costs for Australians. As I said, you see what the experts are now saying: this piece of legislation is going to have a detrimental impact on the Australian economy. It is going to have a detrimental impact on jobs. It is going to have a detrimental impact on energy prices. As the experts say, it is going to make Australia a less competitive place to do business.

That's the lot we now live with in Australia. You are walking in lock step with the Australian Greens. Yet again, history is about to repeat itself. The sad thing is, we'll see in the future what suffering this bill brings to the Australian people. We'll see in the future how this bill wrecks our economy and how it makes life more difficult for all Australians. To those on the other side, in concert with the Australian Greens: shame on you. You should hang your heads in shame.