Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Indi for her question. I also thank her for her engagement on this issue, not just this year but in the meetings we had last year as well. She knows my keen interest in the path that she's pursuing here and the tangible benefits that can be achieved for local communities and what that could mean for regional communities, not just householders, especially when it comes to investment in renewable energy. Our government is considering the proposal in good faith, as I've said, and we will continue to work through that detail. I note the matter that the member has brought before this House to that end, and we're also considering government's support for community driven renewable energy projects. Part of our plan includes our $50.4 million Regional and Remote Communities Reliability Fund, backing microgrid feasibility studies across Australia to help unlock investment that would better meet the local electricity supply. I know the member for Leichhardt is also very interested in those proposals and in many others around the country.

I say to the member for Indi: this is exactly the type of thing we want to see realised. Our plan is working. We have now seen a record eight consecutive quarters of year-on-year CPI price reductions in energy. We want to see that realised in regional Australia as much as we want to see it in our metropolitan areas. I'll ask the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction to respond further.

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