House debates

Monday, 9 November 2020

Bills

Industry, Science, Energy and Resources Portfolio

6:46 pm

Photo of Angus TaylorAngus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction) Share this | Hansard source

I thank all those who have contributed to this consideration in detail, particularly the question that came from the member for Bennelong and the question from the member for Indi. Of course, the member for Bennelong focused on the importance of affordable, reliable energy for manufacturing. It is absolutely essential and it is a central pillar, focusing on affordable, reliable energy, for our JobMaker plan. We know that manufacturing uses energy in significant quantities, and Australia has relied on that affordable energy for a long, long time—not just decades; beyond that—to provide those jobs for manufacturers right across Australia, in the member for Bennelong's electorate, and right across regional Australia. The member for Indi pointed out the importance of energy across regional Australia.

In contrast to what we've just heard from the member for Burt, we are seeing electricity price reductions; indeed, we've seen seven straight quarters of CPI reductions in electricity. We have never seen that before in this country. And that's in parallel with—

Mr Conroy interjecting

The member for Shortland doesn't like this, because it's the truth. The member for Shortland should be standing up for his coalminers in his electorate.

This follows on from wholesale electricity price reductions that we're seeing across the board. Indeed, before COVID struck we'd seen reductions in wholesale electricity prices of over 40 per cent across the National Electricity Market. That is good news for manufacturers. That is good news for households. That is good news for small businesses. Our budget initiatives are all focused on locking in those gains and making sure they're passed on. We passed legislation, which was opposed by those opposite 13 times, through the parliament to make sure wholesale price reductions are passed through to consumers.

Included in the budget are important initiatives like the $53 million microgrid initiative. This is about making sure regional communities get access to those opportunities as new technologies emerge. Farmers across Australia understand microgrids. The Southern Cross windmill was a microgrid. They've been using microgrids for a long, long time. The technology is changing and local communities across regional Australia can make use of it. That's why it's in the budget. But we also stepped in in the budget to make sure that Liddell is going to be replaced with capacity that can drive down prices. Liddell is in the member for Shortland's electorate.

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