Anne Aly (Cowan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

There was a time when I lived in a place where there were regular blackouts and power outages. I found it particularly difficult because we lived on the 13th floor back then and when the elevators went out I got quite a bit of exercise. But that was in a Third World country and it was well over 20 years ago; in fact, closer to 30 years ago.

Fast forward to Australia in 2017, and under this Liberal-National government we are a developed nation facing a national energy crisis. We cannot allow power cuts in South Australia, New South Wales and elsewhere to become part of the new norm because this government ignore recommendations from the AEMC, the CSIRO, the electricity generation industry and others by rejecting an emissions intensity scheme. Instead, what do they do? They continue to attack renewables and falsely blame blackouts on renewables in a shameful misrepresentation to the Australian people, right here in this parliament. Instead, they bring in lumps of coal—I suspect it was really the minister's well-deserved Christmas present—and play politics while families, pensioners and businesses suffer under their right-wing-led approach, denying that climate change even exists and following the climate change deniers and conspiracy theorists down the path of ruin.

The member for Barker spoke about energy security and affordability and said that it was so simple. Why aren't they doing anything about it if it is so, so simple? The member for Barker chose to wax lyrical about affordability and lamented soaring electricity prices in South Australia: electricity prices that are soaring because their government privatised the market—just like the WA Liberals want to privatise Western Power when they get in. That seems to be the modus operandi of this LNP government: run it into the ground then sell it off without a single thought for the people who will suffer most—the mums and dads, the pensioners and those on low incomes, who will all be burdened with high energy costs.

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