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

I can understand the way in which the Leader of the Opposition is squirming on this issue. I can understand his embarrassment. Having called for bipartisanship, having called for us to listen to experts, having supported the establishment of the Energy Security Board, then, when these independent experts, authorities in the field, give advice that doesn't suit him politically, he wants to attack them personally. He wants to challenge their integrity. Yesterday, he was having a go at the integrity of the Energy Security Board, muttering to himself. He was; I could hear him muttering away to himself, talking to himself. I think that may well have been the case. He will always get an attentive audience when he does that.

What we have is the advice from the Energy Security Board that will deliver affordable and reliable power. What it does is ensure that the Energy Market Operator will not have to be, as it is every other weekend, intervening in the South Australian energy market, calling on expensive gas-fired generation just to keep the lights on because there is not enough dispatchable power in the South Australian market. What this will do is ensure that we have reliable power that is affordable and that we meet our emissions reduction obligations under the Paris agreement. What the experts have done is given us that advice, and we know that that is advice from the most qualified people in the nation. Their establishment was recommended by Alan Finkel. Their recommendations have been welcomed by Alan Finkel, they've been welcomed by the industry and they've been welcomed by distinguished commentators, like Tony Wood of the Grattan Institute.

This is seen as the best chance we've had for years to achieve a bipartisan energy policy that will restore investment certainty into the market. I refer honourable members to the Energy Security Board's letter to the government—it is a public document. It says:

Under this scheme, the wholesale price would be expected to be lower relative to today and lower compared to a certificate-based scheme.

So they've carefully considered the recommendation of the Finkel review for a clean energy target and what they have come up with is a mechanism that works even better, that does a better job on reliability and does the same job of reducing emissions—very importantly. But, above all, because it integrates climate and energy policy, it will result in lower costs and, hence, lower prices for Australian families. Everything we are doing is aimed at bringing prices down— (Time expired)

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