Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Environment, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

I always love looking backward rather than forward, which seems to also be a feature of this government. For the last 10 months, all we've talked about is what's happened over the last nine years. But you got elected with a range of policies which you promised you would implement and which you said would do certain things. If we're to look forward, which is what we're supposed to be doing—I presume this legislation is mostly prospective rather than retrospective, so I don't know why we keep talking about the past. Actually looking to the future seems to be something this government has a problem with. On promises though, there was a promise in the energy space around bringing down power prices by $275. Maybe, Minister, you can confirm that the government intends to honour that promise of bringing power prices down by $275. I did try to ask you at estimates. You wouldn't even say the number. None of your colleagues on the frontbench, in the next row, in the row behind that and in the other place—nowhere—would say it.

A feature of this government—if we're going to talk about features—is not honouring promises and not living up to the promises you make. While you might talk about 10 years of policy failure, 22 policies and all of those ALP talking points, one thing Australians are going to be judging this government on is whether it honours its promises to bring down power prices by $275—not just downward pressure, not just a failed gas price cap that will actually have unintended consequences, yet to be realised but whether it will honour that key promise. If you want to talk about features, we can go toe to toe all morning on those sorts of things, and we'll continue to hold you to account. I look forward to—one day when Labor doesn't want to stitch up a dodgy deal with the Greens to prevent us from dealing with our private senator's bill—perhaps debating my bill to report on power prices every quarter. But, if you want to stick to the bill, I'll happily do it too, Senator McAllister. Under the Westminster system of democracy, a government sets out policies and promises at the election and then honours them, generally speaking. Is it the government's intent to eventually expand the safeguard mechanism to include scope 3 emissions for all projects or will there be a guarantee provided that this will be ruled out for every project?