Sam Birrell (Nicholls, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Regional Health) Share this | Hansard source

Australia needs an energy plan that is cheaper, better and fairer. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure the prosperity of our nation. Energy is the economy, so to ensure the prosperity of our nation, the government needs to focus on making sure that energy is affordable and energy is reliable. This is particularly evident in my electorate of Nicholls, which has significant manufacturing facilities, both for food and for other goods, who are very reliant on energy, both electricity and gas. Those prices are going up significantly. Electricity prices are up by 39 per cent, and gas prices are up by 46 per cent. That threatens the viability of these industries in my electorate and manufacturing industries across Australia. When the viability of these industries in Australia is threatened, they don't just stop doing what they're doing; they pack up what they're doing in Australia and they go and do it somewhere else. Emissions stay high, but Australia's economic future is damaged irrevocably. We need a plan which is cheaper, better and fairer.

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