Susan Lamb (Longman, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

You'd think the member for Fairfax would have learnt by now that the people of Queensland are sick and tired of the 'blame Labor' mantra. It's galling he can stand up here in this chamber and point the finger on energy policy when his party has held government since 2013 and done absolutely nothing for power prices. This government is in its sixth year and they haven't done anything but bicker amongst themselves about whether to listen to trusted scientists and economists.

On average, electricity prices in Queensland are the cheapest of all mainland states in Australia—the cheapest! In fact, the Queensland Competition Authority says that power prices have either fallen or remained stable in South East Queensland for four quarters in a row. The ACCC have acknowledged that this, at least in part, is because of the Palaszczuk government's policies, which are placing downward pressure on electricity prices. The fact of the matter is that Queensland state Labor government have been investing in affordable energy. Their $2 billion affordable energy plan is on track and more than 90 per cent—more than 90 per cent!—of the dividends received by the state-owned power assets have been invested into putting downward pressure on prices. You won't hear that from the member for Fairfax, of course.

But it seems that the facts don't interest the member for Fairfax. The LNP's analysis relies on incorrect assumptions and flawed logic from the starting proposition that wholesale prices have been reduced by 40 per cent. The Queensland government's actions have certainly put pressure on wholesale spot prices, which have fallen 21.7 per cent between 2016-17 and 2017-18. But the author of this motion, the member for Fairfax, should know that spot prices do not correlate directly with expected reductions in household bills. Queensland power assets compete in a national energy market to sell power. Consequently, they need to be competitive, and their cost structures, including their staffing, need to reflect a commercial reality. Further to this, the Australian Energy Regulator regulates Queensland's power network, including just how much revenue it can make—interesting. Again, you won't hear that from the member for Fairfax.

It's because Queensland has fought against the LNP's goal of privatising our power networks that the Queensland government can invest the dividends from these businesses to make electricity more affordable. Clearly the member for Fairfax has forgotten about Campbell Newman and the LNP government in Queensland. Ask Queenslanders what they thought of that government. There is no need to plead with boards or CEOs interstate or overseas for profits to be returned or reinvested into Queensland. But the member for Fairfax chooses to ignore absolutely all of this. Instead, he's just lazily pointing his finger.

After five years, we are still waiting for a federal policy from this government. The reality is that the federal Labor Party have instead stepped in and crafted sensible policy from opposition—a policy of cheaper energy, cleaner energy and reliable energy, and a policy that means working with states and private companies, not fighting with them. It involves listening to scientists and economists to create a forward-thinking plan that acknowledges the life spans of our pre-existing power stations and complements them with technologies like renewable energy generators and energy storage.

It's true that we've never been the biggest fans of the National Energy Guarantee, but, if it means something finally gets done, we're happy to work with the government to get this passed. If that's what it means, let's do something and get this passed. It's time that this government put aside its petty politics and sought to find a way to compromise within its party and its party room so that regular Aussies finally get a go. It's time the Liberals actually showed some leadership. It's time they showed up, took some initiative, took some action and put downward pressure on power prices, just as Queensland's state Labor government has done. I would suggest it would be fine if they just showed up. As we heard the member for Moreton say, there are not too many speakers today. Maybe they could just show up. That might be a good start. I'd suggest that, if this government doesn't take action now, what's going to happen come election time is that the voters are going to be pulling out a big stick for it.

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