Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

The last time I looked, Labor was for a clean energy target and, before that, an emissions intensity scheme and, before that, a CPRS and, before that, an ETS and, before that, a $15 billion dreaded carbon tax. When we on this side of the House abolished that we saw the greatest single drop in electricity prices ever recorded. Do you remember that great democratic forum—like Plato, Socrates and Aristotle—of the citizens assembly? Do you remember that one? Do you remember cash for clunkers? Do you remember the pink batts? Do you remember spending billions of dollars to keep coal-fired stations open and then spending billions of dollars to close them? What was the result of all that mess? It was a 100 per cent increase in power prices under the Labor Party. Then they had the hide to come into this place during the last sitting fortnight and tell mistruths about people's power bills to scare mums and dads—the Michaels and Michelles in Maribyrnong and the Beths and Barries in Balmain. This is the Labor Party scaring them about false numbers and going against the best advice of our experts.

Today we have announced that the Turnbull government will support a unanimous recommendation from the Energy Security Board. The Grattan Institute, a non-partisan institute, has said today the following: 'The ESB has given the Turnbull government the last piece in the complex jigsaw puzzle of a credible energy and climate change policy for Australia.' That is what the Grattan Institute has said today. The head of AGL has said: 'The government announcement is an important step. We are keen to work together to make it work with bipartisan support. It will provide investment certainty.' The head of the BCA, as quoted by the Treasurer, has come out and supported this. It has industry support, it has business support and it is the recommendation of the experts. Only the Labor Party, who is again playing politics with energy, will prevent this being the first serious attempt in a decade to get a bipartisan approach to energy policy, to get a more reliable and more affordable energy system.

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