Maria Kovacic (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to thank Senator Scarr for bringing this matter of urgency before the Senate, because he's right: the matter at hand is urgent. Australian power prices have skyrocketed under this government. It's important that we point that out, despite what Senator Rennick said. We need to hold government to account. That is our job in opposition.

It is not okay that Australians are worried when they get their electricity bill. They're worried about how high it's going to be this time and whether they're going to be able to pay it. 'Do I have to go into a payment arrangement with my energy supplier, and how long before I can pay it off?' That is entirely unacceptable, but it is the lot of many Australians when they get their power bill.

These costs have skyrocketed despite the Prime Minister promising 97 times before the last election that power bills would be reduced by the magical figure of $275. We've talked about that a lot because we need to talk about it a lot. We need to point out this fundamental failure. This wasn't something that was mentioned once or twice, or offhandedly here and there. It was mentioned 97 times prior to the last election. It's what is called an election promise. This government was elected on the back of promises that this Prime Minister has failed to keep over and over and over again. Few were of greater significance than their energy policy, and they made some grand promises.

Not only has there not been a cut of $275 but power bills have risen, on average, by $1,300 for households in my state of New South Wales. This is more than a mere inconvenience. It is a massive economic blow. It is even worse for small-business owners. It's a massive impost on their costs, where their bills have doubled and tripled. Across the nation this is having catastrophic consequences. We have seen 29,000 businesses close their doors under this government's watch. Energy prices are a key factor in this business failure epidemic. Wherever I go and speak to small-business operators, and ask them what their one most significant impact is in terms of costs, they always mention their energy costs. It's another layer in Labor's cost-of-everything crisis.

What is Labor's solution? It's a $150 rebate. That's right—$150. Let's spend $6.8 billion of taxpayer money on an attempt to subsidise energy bills. Yet, despite this colossal expenditure, energy prices will continue to rise. This $150 rebate is nothing more than a short-term fix designed to buy votes before an election. The truth is that $150 will not even come close to covering those costs. It is an insult to the Australians who are struggling to pay their bills, who are working their guts out and who still can't pay their bills. They can't afford the things that their family needs, not because they are not working—it's not because they aren't trying; it's not because they aren't doing their best—but because the cost of everything is spiralling out of control. Not means testing this rebate is another failure of this government. It means that households who do not need financial assistance are getting it anyway. They will receive the same $150 rebate as those people who are struggling to pay their bills, the same rebate that small businesses who are on the brink, who are closing their doors, will get. This is a flawed and inefficient system that fails to target relief where it is truly needed.

In Australia, a family with a typical mortgage has paid an extra $50,000 in interest payments since Labor came to government, and Labor wants us to think that $150 off your electricity bill is going to help. I think there might have been a better way to invest $6.8 billion of taxpayer money, and it is an insult to all of us that they have decided to do this yet again. Labor's inability to manage the economy has left Australians and small businesses vulnerable to rising costs, and they're struggling to survive.