Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I pay tribute to the opposition tactics committee, who decided, on today of all days, that the matter of public importance today will be the shadow Treasurer talking about energy prices. When I got given this by my office, I couldn't believe my eyes. The guy who has his fingerprints all over this energy policy chaos that we've inherited, the guy who was more responsible than anyone else in this building for the fact that we've had this wasted decade which has given us energy policy chaos, has the nerve to ask us a question about energy prices! This is the guy who gave us the wasted decade of missed opportunities, with electricity market chaos, and, now that we've got this war in Ukraine, our energy markets are more vulnerable than they should be because of the rank incompetence of the shadow Treasurer. We've spoken in this place before about the sense of humour that the opposition tactics committee has in giving the shadow Treasurer questions on energy prices. Before, when everybody jumped at the same time to ask a question and, Mr Speaker, you didn't give the call to the shadow Treasurer, the biggest sigh of relief came from over there, because he has got his fingerprints all over this energy policy crisis.

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