Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

and we will keep going with what needs to be done. We won't stop the drive to the most affordable, the cheapest, the most reliable and the lowest emissions form of energy. We know that there are different ways. We know that household power bills could rise by $449 a year if we had greater reliance on gas and coal and if renewables were built more slowly, as the Clean Energy Council has pointed out. We know, as the Treasury has said:

Not pursuing net zero by 2050 risks lower economic growth, reduced investment, missed export and employment opportunities, and higher electricity prices.

The Grattan Institute's energy director, Tony Wood, has said:

There's very little that I can see in what the Liberal Party announced today which would actually bring down power prices.

We know that because their plan is cobbled together to save the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition in a vain attempt—it's not about Australian businesses; it's all about Liberal Party internal politics. We all remain focused on small businesses, medium-sized businesses and households, and giving them access to cheaper, more reliable, lower emissions energy.

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