Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Chips are bad for you, Member for Indi, but some people do like them, and they deserve a treat, and two for $11 seems remarkably expensive. That's the other question for the minister: what are the long-term plans to bring energy prices down? Energy prices, in the government's own budget, are forecast to continue to rise over coming years. But the Australian Labor Party continue to tell people that they've never had it better and they're going to get $500 back, in a temporary, one-off sugar hit. Are the budget papers correct? Will prices continue to rise into the long term or is the government misleading the Australian people? Are they going to bring prices down in the long term or are prices going to continue to go up? This is a serious question.

We all know that it is challenging as we transition to net zero, but we've got an obligation to provide cheap, reliable power to all Australians, including those on fixed incomes, those doing it tough. I grew up raised by a single mum with five kids. I don't know how we would have survived today if we were copping the increases in our power bills that many Australians are copping at the moment. That's the reality. We can continue to talk theatre and all these other things that we talk about, but that's the reality. Australian families, Australian people, Australian businesses are suffering. The government needs to bring these prices down. They don't have a long-term plan.

See this speech in context