Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator McDonald for the question. In relation to ActewAGL, which is the provider here in the territory, that's really a matter for them. I don't have responsibility for the price setting. There's an ICRC in the ACT that does that, and then the utilities apply that to their account holders. So I can't answer on that, but what I can say is that the ACT has led the way in terms of renewable energy generation. I was proud to be part of a government that took that decision many years ago and started the shift from a reliance on gas, particularly, to more adoption of renewable energy across households in the ACT. Households in the ACT have been the beneficiary of that not only in terms of some of the price increases that we have seen around the country but also importantly in terms of supporting the investment into renewables.

I know we were one of the first jurisdictions to have reverse auctions for renewable energy projects. We were one of the first jurisdictions to have big solar farms built, providing energy into the grid here. I think the ACT has often led the way on these things, and I'm proud to be part of a government that continues to support the rollout of renewable energy. I'm proud to stand here and say it is the cheapest form of energy. It will help households with these costs. We don't support the scam that they're trying to pull on people with this nuclear energy fantasy that seems to be peddled by some over there—not all, because I've hardly seen you awake this question time in terms of leaning into support for such a so-called big announcement.