Hollie Hughes (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answers given by ministers to questions without notice asked today.

It is absolutely unbelievable, the way that you come in here and just blatantly lie to the Australian people, hiding behind your broken promises and trying to look backwards and rewrite a history that never occurred. It is just extraordinary that you seem to have forgotten that a pandemic occurred. You seem to have forgotten—

The D:

On a point of order, Senator Wong?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The senator is experienced enough to know that she has to withdraw that.

Andrew McLachlan (SA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I didn't hear the comment, but on the advice of the clerk could I ask you for the benefit of the chamber to withdraw. I've had it relayed to me by the clerk that the phrase you used was 'people cannot come in here and lie'. That's a reflection on a group, that people may have come and misled the chamber. So for the benefit of the chamber can I ask you to withdraw.

Hollie Hughes (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I withdraw. Unlike some of my colleagues here, I will withdraw unequivocally. But I will say that we come in here with a government who hides behind a litany of broken promises, untruths told to the Australian people during the campaign, and come in here unable either to answer a question or, when they do utter a sentence in any form or format, it is constantly heavy on politics, heavy on excuses and very short on a plan. I might point out to those opposite that for Australians who are about to come off their fixed mortgage rates, who are about to require $12,000 to $20,000 a year, depending on the size of their mortgage, when they're looking to this federal government to provide them with some guidance, a plan, cost of living support, all they are hearing from you is petty political point-scoring that is actually based on falsehoods. No-one opposite remembers the pandemic. No-one opposite remembers that our economy came out of the pandemic 3.4 per cent bigger than it was going into it; that the cash rate was 0.35 per cent; that we had lower unemployment coming out of the pandemic than we had going into it; that we had strong GDP growth and in fact we were one of the few economies that maintained an AAA credit rating.

So perhaps a history lesson is required, and not even a particularly lengthy history lesson, because it wasn't that long ago. It wasn't until you lot took the helm that the wheels completely and utterly fell off. But instead of putting together a plan, instead of doing some work, there has been a constant cry that 'Government is hard and boo-hoo, we didn't get it right.' The fact that we heard from the finance minister prior to the October budget—for those listening or any of those in the chamber, this government actually has had a budget—so when they talk about budget and issues in the budget, this is their budget that contains the issues, because they have had a budget. It wasn't an economic forecast; it wasn't a statement; it was a budget with lots of budget papers. We all got them delivered to our offices and we went through them, and then we had lots of budget estimates in a follow-up to Labor's budget. But we did hear from the finance minister time and time again—I'm not sure if it was 97 times; we might have to go back and check. During the election we heard 97 times that power prices were going to go down by $275, but we now know that wasn't true and that's not going to happen, to the point that when Senator Farrell was asked 'Can you just say the number 275', he declined. It's not that hard, people.

We don't know if the finance minister said it 97 times, but she said an awful lot that she was going through the budget with the treasurer line by line. What does that mean? Does that mean she opened it up and flicked through and had a quick skim? We were told time and again that line by line this was going to be gone through. Is it incompetence? Is it inability to look into detail and understand what's written in the budget papers? How is it now that we have those opposite coming in and talking about mistakes they made in their own budget—mistakes they made when they, the ones in charge on the Treasury benches, could not go through a budget, didn't know how to look at programs, didn't know funding through to the forward estimates? This whole line that you're all wheeling out about fiscal cliffs—we know that none of you sat through economics 1.01 for may be more than half a lecture before it all got too hard, because that is the level of economic comprehension that's demonstrated day by day by those opposite.

Terminating measures are a common tool used in a budget by responsible governments. It's just the way they work. I'm sure we will see in the May budget that those opposite may actually be employing similar methods, but, when they do it, it'll be completely different because it's just the way the budget needs to be reported. It's the way budgets are done, and you have had your budget. Your budget was in October. You missed it. You goofed it. You got it wrong. You're not up to it. You can't get across the detail. Do you know who's paying for this? The Australian people. You're not giving them a plan. You're giving them excuses and petty politics, which we saw from your frontbench today.

Andrew McLachlan (SA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Walsh, Senator Ciccone—I'm happy to give either of you the call.

Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Ciccone, for your generosity. You are indeed a gentleman.

We welcome the opposition's questions about our government's responsible approach to managing the budget, our approach to cleaning up the mess that was left behind by those opposite and our approach to dealing with the trillion dollars of debt that they left behind, with absolutely nothing to show for it. We welcome your questions about our approach to dealing with all of that while we get on with our plans: to build a better, stronger future for all Australians; to support Australians with the cost of living; to deal with the energy mess that was left behind after 10 years of complete denial and delay from those opposite; to build a strong and diverse economy, making more of what we need right here in Australia; and to build an economy that is powered by cheap and clean energy—a decarbonising economy.

This week, though—and every week—what we see from those opposite, the former government, is that they are all about saying no: saying no to the good ideas that we took to the election; saying no to the good plans that the Australian people supported at the election; saying no to safeguarding our climate; saying no to safeguarding jobs in regions in transition; saying no to even being part of the conversation about how we do that; saying no to rebuilding Australian manufacturing and making more of what we need right here; saying no to building more social and affordable homes for those in need; saying no to homes for 4,000 women and children escaping family violence—can you believe that the coalition is saying no to that?—saying no to funding for urgent repairs to Indigenous housing; and saying no to capping power prices last year, after they said no to telling the Australian people before the election that prices were indeed about to rise. Right now, the coalition has been reduced to being the party of 'no'—no to being a viable party of government and no to even being a viable opposition.

We know from today's figures that inflation is moderating, but it is still high, and it's still tough for Australian families and Australian businesses. We know that it is hard out there for people. That's why our investments are so important: our investments in households, industry, the economy, the future of our country, cheaper child care, cheaper medicines, fee-free TAFE, putting downward pressure on energy prices and getting more renewables into our grid.

These measures are not only things that help households and businesses; they are also part of our plan to drive inflation down. We've been talking this week about our plan to strengthen and diversify our economy, to rebuild manufacturing through the National Reconstruction Fund—a plan that is supported by everyone except for the opposition. It's a plan that is all about creating the jobs of the future. It's a plan that's all about making more of what we need right here in Australia. It's a plan that is all about securing our supply chains in critical sectors, like medical manufacturing and defence. It's all about making sure that we grab the job opportunities for the future for regions that are in transition.

But who opposes that plan? The coalition—the opposition—opposes that plan. They oppose the jobs of the future. They oppose jobs in regions. They oppose taking advantage of the jobs in renewables and low-emission technologies that we know are the future for our country. They also oppose plans supported by the rest of the parliament to create the safeguard mechanism. This is a plan that industry supports, a plan that industry is keen to play its part in. What people want is certainty. What they want is support. All they're getting from those opposite is, 'No'.

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (NT, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, we hear a lot about plans and we see very little action. And yes, we will continue to oppose and say no to bad policy. We heard earlier my colleague Senator Colbeck asking Senator Gallagher about the October budget's forecast—a 56 per cent increase in electricity bills for Australian households over the next two years—and whether the government believes that the actual increase will be higher or lower than that forecast. Senator Gallagher, however, did not simply give an answer to the question, instead informing this chamber that the budget figures would be updated in May and then taking the opportunity to try and lay blame at the feet of anyone else. Telling us that the figures will be released at a later date is not answering the question, but then I don't expect anyone from the other side to answer any questions legitimately. We still do not know whether the government believes that their October budget forecast is in fact accurate. Instead of taking responsibility for the decisions of the Labor government that have contributed to the rising cost of living for Australians now, Senator Gallagher and the Labor government would rather hide the answer from Australians and hide from their responsibilities. This has clearly become the norm for this government—breaking promises and then hiding the details while throwing the blame on everybody else.

But this government cannot continue to run from their broken promises. They cannot continue to try to lay the blame at the feet of past governments when their own policies simply do not work. At least 97 times before the election the government promised that it would cut Australians' electricity bills by $275. Of course, they cannot even bring themselves to say the number 275. But not only has the government been unable to deliver on that promise; they have also overseen price increases. They've overseen the contribution of massive pressure and stress on the budgets of Australian families and will continue to do so as they pursue their renewable energy utopia. The reality is that energy prices are predicted to continue to rise at brutal rates that will have real consequences for many everyday Australians come this winter. This is no doubt partly due to the Labor-Greens attack on cheap and reliable energy sources, such as coal, gas and oil, sources of energy that will still be required to back up the Green dream of 100 per cent renewables so that when the wind stops blowing and the sun goes down Australians will still be able to heat their homes and live their lives. While Labor and Minister Gallagher dream of becoming a renewable energy superpower, Australians continue to struggle with the extreme cost of their decisions.

The reality is that renewable energy sources like solar and wind are not cheap, they are not reliable, and they are not powering Australians into the future. They are expensive, add extreme costs and pressure to the grid and leave Australians vulnerable to energy poverty and related dangers. Labor needs to acknowledge this cost to the transitioning and be up-front with the Australian people about the pressures that will come with it. Instead, the Labor government continue to lay the blame on everybody else and anything else to avoid taking responsibility for their own failures.

As was discussed in great detail in the early hours of this morning, the previous coalition government had reduced emissions by 20 per cent on our 2005 base level and put Australia on track to beat our Paris treaty commitments. The previous coalition government had met and exceeded Australia's Kyoto targets. The previous coalition government had committed to a net zero target by 2050 while working to ensure the energy security of Australians—delivering cheap and reliable base-load power to reach a cleaner future while also ensuring Australia remains strong, prosperous and independent. Can the government please stop providing all these grandiose plans, and can the Australian people see action to reduce their electricity and power prices.

Raff Ciccone (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think it's fair to say that the very late sitting we had last night, thanks to those opposite filibustering until four o'clock this morning, is a clear indication of the quality of questions that we have from those opposite.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Point of order, Deputy President: the coalition was not filibustering last night. I would ask that Senator Ciccone withdraw that outrageous and hurtful allegation.

Andrew McLachlan (SA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm not sure it gets to 'outrageous' or 'hurtful', but I'm sure Senator Ciccone will reflect on his language.

Raff Ciccone (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As always, Deputy President, I don't intend to hurt anyone, but certainly filibustering is an accurate description. Regardless, my point is the quality of the questions we had today in question time from those opposite. We'd expect it from some others, predominantly those on the crossbench—with the greatest of respect to them—but the quality of the questions that we had from the coalition today was quite outrageous. We had minister after minister providing answers to questions that were put to them, particularly around inflation, the cost of living and spending, but the coalition senators have been ignoring the fact that this government, having been in power for less than one year, has had a hell of a job of trying to fix up the mess of the last decade.

It's always important to put the facts on the table. I know those opposite, particularly three of my favourite senators over there, love facts on the table. My first question is: who racked up a trillion dollars of debt and had nothing to show for it? It was the coalition. Who had a spike in power prices just before the last federal election and didn't tell voters about it? It was the coalition. Who spent almost a decade deliberately putting downward pressure on wages growth? It was the coalition. Who also spent almost a decade telling the automotive industry to go away and not invest in domestic manufacturing here in Australia?

Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The coalition.

Raff Ciccone (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That's right, Senator Chisholm—the coalition.

The Australian people decided: 'We want a change of government. We're going to voting for an Albanese Labor government, which will invest in health, education and jobs and make sure our sovereign capability gets back up to scratch.' Now that the Australian people have made that choice, those opposite come in here, every single day that we sit, and lecture us. They lecture the government while we try to clear up their mess, and they try to pretend that their mess never existed. They're embarrassed about the problems they created. They don't want to take ownership of it.

It is the case that we were here till very late this morning—4.15 to be precise—listening to contributions by those opposite on a number of bills that we had before this parliament. A tip for those opposite, particularly the Nationals and Liberal colleagues: being in opposition is hard; I understand that. It is always hard being on the losing side. I get that. I was there for three years, but I learnt a lot. By learning a lot, I'm now on this side of the chamber, with my lovely colleagues, implementing reforms and making changes in the interests of working people.

As a senator, I value working with everyone across the chamber, as you would all know. I think it's actually much healthier for democracies, for parliaments, for chambers like this Senate, when we are actually all working together in the national interest, rather than the sort of short-term political point scoring that we see from those opposite. But the coalition makes it very, very difficult.

I suspect that when they get up every morning they go to their tactics and say: 'Right; how are we going to say no to Labor's policy reforms? How are we going to say no to making the lives of working people better?' Their tactics must be fascinating, because they're having to deal with not only those in the sensible centre but also those on the fringes who are constantly against the interests of working people. When this government comes into this place and has an approach, how do we work with senators? I hate to say it to those opposite, but the only common sense we're getting at the moment is from the crossbench, who are willing to sit down and work with the government to tackle the cost-of-living issues, to tackle investments in manufacturing and also to invest in the very people that elected us to this great place.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In joining this very illustrative and quite deep philosophical debate, I would like to contribute by observing that the answers given by ministers to the questions asked by my coalition colleagues were characterised by their lack of detail and their lack of information and, quite frankly, by just not answering the questions at all. If anything, question time today was a caricature of the government of Australia that we have at the moment: a government that is tricky, a government that is not fulsome with the truth, if I am allowed to say that—

I will take the interjection from Senator Duniam—a government who runs from accountability and runs from transparency.

Senator Ciccone touched upon the very important debate that started last night in relation to the Safeguard Mechanism (Crediting) Amendment Bill 2023. It is disappointing—it is actually quite sad—that the journalists and people in this building were not able to hear my contribution at three o'clock this morning, because it was a very good contribution, if I may say so myself. This is what this government is about. They're using the guillotine like mad members of revolutionary fronts. They are guillotining everything because they don't want transparency and they don't want accountability, and they do not want the opposition to be able to use this chamber as the appropriate mechanism by which to analyse and discuss our views on a very, very challenging piece of legislation. It was disappointing that members of the Liberal and National parties were forced to give their speeches beyond the witching hour, and that is sad. It shows the arrogance of this government, who will do dirty deals in the dark, dirty deals behind closed doors, dirty deals done behind closed doors with darkened windows, in relation to the governance of this country but also the management of this chamber.

What is particularly disappointing about question time today and the debate last night is that the No. 1 issue in Australia at the moment is the cost of living. The Labor Party and their coalition partners, the Greens, fail to appreciate how the cost of living is hurting Australians. And their solution is not just a new tax, the carbon tax 2.0; it is a giant, throbbing tax, a massive tax that they're going to pick up in their hands and chase after every Australian and every Australian family and whack them over the heads with. What we've seen from this government is that they're giving a giant wedgie to Australians through their secret deals with the Greens, and that is wrong. It is wrong that they would treat Australians so poorly. It is wrong that they would treat this chamber so poorly when it comes to allowing opposition members to question giant wedgies—because that's what the Labor government are doing to Australians: giving everybody a giant wedgie.

What they're failing to let us question is the wedgie that is coming with people's power bills. This government promised 97 times before the last election that it would cut your power bills by $275—97 times. It wasn't that the Prime Minister had a verbal burp and accidentally said something. This was a deliberate tactic. They get into power and, instead of cutting your bills by $275, what the October budget showed was that power bills are going to go up by 56 per cent over the coming months. This is the modern Labor Party. They talk about the light on the hill, but guess what: there is no light on the hill, because people can't afford to pay the power bill for the light on the hill. This is how the modern Labor Party have sold out working Australians and businesses across Australia, and this is why we will spend every day, every hour and every minute making sure that you own what happened last night and this morning in this chamber.

Question agreed to.