Simon Kennedy (Cook, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I withdraw, and I'll adjust. FJP Manufacturing's bills are up 76 per cent. They had seven apprentices just at the start of the last term of government. They're down to three apprentices, and they're worried it's going to zero. These people employ 50 people in my electorate. Phill is the guy who runs the show there. He works incredibly hard bending metal, doing powder coatings and supplying businesses all throughout Sydney. Yet they are being crushed under energy prices. Only three weeks ago, I was out at Kareela shops, meeting a chicken shop provider there that's had its energy prices more than double. Just yesterday, I received an email from someone in my electorate screenshotting their bill. What did they screenshot in their bill? Even though they had solar, their home bill had more than doubled. Their rate per kilowatt hour had tripled. This is the reality Australians are living with.

So, when those on the other side stand up here and tell us, 'Oh, yes, the only reason we have electricity prices up is the coalition,' it's clearly not true. Why are these lies being peddled? Because it's a vulnerability. It is a vulnerability, and it's going to get worse. Why do we know this? Because we're seeing the bodies pile up—Whyalla steelworks bankrupt, Tomago about to be bankrupt and Mount Isa smelter bankrupt. The CEOs of BlueScope Steel, Cadbury and Mars are all coming in and saying that manufacturing and industry are at a crossroads, and they risk going offshore. The CEO of BHP said that in Australia energy costs are two to three times those of comparable economies. BlueScope Steel said our gas prices are three to four times those of the US. The bodies are piling up, and it's not pretty. Guess who's holding the gun? It's the energy minister of Australia.

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