Nicolle Flint (Boothby, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for the Environment and Energy. Would the minister update the House on how the government is prioritising a stable, secure and affordable energy supply which supports jobs for hardworking Australians? What hurdles stand in the way of providing a secure and affordable electricity supply to families and businesses in my electorate of Boothby and elsewhere?

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

I thank the member for Boothby for her question. I acknowledge her deep concern about the rising energy prices and the impact it's having on people in her electorate, from Mitcham to Marion. The Turnbull government is taking action on a number of fronts. We are trying to drive down the price of gas by putting in place a mechanism which could potentially restrict exports. We have also put in place new regulation around the transportation of gas on pipelines from 1 August—the most significant reforms in more than two decades. We are also taking action to stop energy companies gaming the system. That is why we took action to abolish the limited merits review process, which was giving the network companies a free option and leading to billions of dollars of higher energy bills for Australians. That is why the Labor Party have left it to us—because they did not take any action when they were in government. Tomorrow the Prime Minister is speaking to the energy retailers, wanting to ensure that Australian households, particularly the most vulnerable Australian households, are getting the best possible market deal, not the more expensive standing offers. We are also investing in new technology and innovation, in Snowy Hydro 2.0, demand-side management and energy efficiency.

I am asked if there are any obstacles to this approach. We know under the Labor Party, when they were in office, electricity prices went up by more than 100 per cent, and we know they have an ideological commitment to a 50 per cent renewable energy target and a 45 per cent emissions reduction target. And we know, in the state of South Australia, what goes wrong when you pursue these green-left policies. Indeed, they have the highest price and a less stable system in the national energy market.

What is the inconvenient truth of South Australia's energy system? It's that they are now importing, more than ever, brown coal fired power from Victoria. It's now that they have just spent hundreds of millions of dollars in building a new gas fired generator. And it's now, clearer than ever, that they have to spend $110 million on diesel generators that do not work in warm temperatures. I think the funniest impact of this green ideology is the fact that Jay Weatherill is hiring collaborative conservationists, people who will doorknock 18,000 homes spreading the gospel of green energy, which, ultimately, in the case of South Australia and the Commonwealth and the Labor Party, can only lead to higher prices.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I ask that further questions be put on the Notice Paper.