Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The uncertainty that faces the world today, particularly with the conflict between the USA, Iran and Israel, inevitably has an effect on us here, back at home. The best way to deal with this is to have a solid, practical government that concerns itself with good evidence based policy: a government that deals with short-term problems and at the same time works towards long-term solutions to the overarching challenges that are confronting us, then works to permanently reduce energy costs.

The member for Wannon's party is from time to time in coalition with the National Party—and members of that party have just today elected a climate denier to lead them. Senator Canavan is, of all members of this parliament, one of the least acquainted with evidence based policy. It's all very well for the member for Wannon to want to talk about fuel prices. When this government capped gas prices, the member for Wannon and Senator Canavan voted against it. When this government takes measures to reduce energy bills, to encourage the take up of renewables and EVs, or for tax cuts that help Australian workers with the cost of living, the member for Wannon and Senator Canavan vote against it. Voters deserve a Liberal Party and a National Party that offer real alternatives and not just a policy-free zone, ongoing infighting and heads in the sand.

Nevertheless, global events remind us how interconnected the world's energy markets have become. I'm sure all members would wish, as I do, that the conflict in the Middle East might come to an end soon. It is, however, outside our control, and while it continues it carries risk both to global inflation and growth. We are not immune to that, but we are well positioned to weather it. We are fuel secure. We are above our minimum petrol stockholding obligations, and fuel does continue to arrive. Now, the price of fuel, of course, is fluctuating. The volatility sees the price of fuel barrels fluctuating on a daily basis anywhere from $80 to $120. So I call on constituents in my electorate of Hasluck to keep an eye on our WA FuelWatch. This helps us identify which fuel stations are offering petrol and diesel at what prices. And in my electorate—in Ellenbrook, Midland and Noranda—there is a 40 cent price difference across the fuel station offerings, so please do check in there.

In the meantime, we've written to the ACCC to ensure that fuel retailers are not using the conflict in the Middle East to price gouge and profiteer, to see this as a commercial opportunity for profit. They're on notice. The government has already increased the penalties available to the ACCC by five times, up to $50 million, and there are on-the-spot fines.

What we see now is not just the management of short-term pressures on global energy markets, which is obviously critical; our government is also focused on doing something equally important, which is driving down energy costs permanently for Australian households and businesses. One of the most powerful ways that we can do this is by accessing the technology that's already available on the market. It is for Australians to be generating and storing cheaper power at home. Households in Hasluck across the suburbs of Midland, Bassendean and Ellenbrook. We're already embracing this with rooftop solar at remarkable rates. Western Australians are, in fact, leading the nation in the rate of household solar uptake.

And then we have our Cheaper Home Batteries Program, where the government is investing around $2.3 billion to reduce the upfront costs of household batteries by around 30 per cent, or roughly $4,000 off a purchase price for battery set-up. This combination of solar and then the battery storage can save as much as $2,300 on an electricity bill, and it dramatically reduces reliance on the grid, I'm happy to report, in fact, that our household bill has gone to zero thanks to the installation of the battery system. Thanks to the government grants, we now have now 250,000 installations, and, at last count in WA, Tangney leads the pack, with over 2,300 installations; Bullwinkel is second, with just under 2,300; and Hasluck is not far behind, with 2,100. While people like the member for Canning spend a fair bit of time awkwardly perched on the bonnet of a car and hysterically trying to suggest that net zero is killing industry, the good people of Canning know otherwise and, in fact, have installed over 2,000 batteries under the scheme. Home batteries allows families to store their own power, reduce reliance on the grid at peak times and cut their bills. (Time expired)

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