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

I hit a nerve, obviously. You're hearing a lot about unity. They're breaching unity. As they say, beware those that protest too much. We saw the reports this week about the member for Parramatta. He's being shaped up as the new energy minister. He's going to fly in and save Minister Bowen, because he's quite busy at the moment.

So I thought: what does the potential minister, the member for Parramatta, think about nuclear energy, because the minister was happy to talk about nuclear energy? Let me quote something that the member for Parramatta wrote prior to politics, when he was free to say what he thought. As we know, the Prime Minister sent that warning across the backbench, and, as we know, you're not individuals—you don't have your own views; you just follow orders. That was the warning the Prime Minister sent to his backbench.

So what did the member for Parramatta say when he had to freedom to say what he really thought about energy? I'm going to quote the member for Parramatta:

… nuclear power will be an essential weapon in the fight against climate change. For one thing, nuclear is cheaper and more reliable than renewable energy.

Well, there you go. That was the member for Parramatta's contribution when he was able to give his contribution. He also said:

Nuclear power is, on many criteria, also better for the environment than currently available renewable technology.

Potentially, the member for Parramatta has visited agricultural land that is being destroyed by all these regional transmission lines and renewable power. Potentially, he's visited those pristine forests that are being destroyed for new transmission lines and for new energy generation that is happened all across regional Australia. That is perhaps the reason why the member for Parramatta believes that nuclear is better for the environment than renewable energy.

I want to give some credit to the member for Hunter. The member for Hunter at least has the courage to stand in this House and say what he really believes. He spoke recently on energy and net zero and said that he would back any technology that stacked up financially, including coal and gas. He said he'd back any technology that stacked up financially. So we've got at least one member of those opposite that cares about their community and making sure they have affordable power, because that is the priority. You have to make a choice about what you focus on.

The coalition are very happy to say we will focus on affordability and reliability for the Australian people. As the son of someone who was raised by a single mother, I'm not going to ask any single mother in my community to pay a dollar more for power than they have to. They deserve the right to have the cheapest power possible to power their house, turn the air conditioner on if they want to and make sure they can feed their family.

I spent a decade working in the food industry. Energy is at the heart of every food product that is made in this country. It is in the cool rooms and the retail stores of the retailers that sell it. It is in the transport that gets it there. It is in the production of every product that is made by a food manufacturer in this country. It is in the raw materials that they have to pay more to buy. It is in the packaging that they use. It is in the gas that they need to create these products.

When we talk about cheaper energy, we are talking about cheaper prices for every product in the country, and, at a time when this Treasurer cannot control inflation—it is at 3.8 per cent and getting worse—I have no problem standing in this House to fight for cheaper energy for my community and for every community across the country. It is a shame that those opposite have to follow orders and are happy to say to their communities: 'We do not care about prices. We are not worried about making sure we can bring prices down. We will follow the orders of the Prime Minister and Minister Bowen. If we don't we'll end up like the member for Chifley, the member for Isaacs or Senator Payman, who is no longer a member of the ALP because if you disagree you're kicked out.'

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