Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. The clean energy target has never been Labor's preferred position, but we are willing to work with the government in the national interest. Will the Prime Minister now commit to work with Labor in the national interest—

Government Members:

Government members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. Members on my right are preventing me from hearing the question.

An honourable member interjecting—

I did not pick up who said that—but, whoever it was, consider yourself lucky. The Leader of the Opposition will resume his question and members on my right will not interject. I need to hear the question. The Leader of the Opposition will begin his question again.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. The clean energy target has never been Labor's preferred position, but we are willing to work with the government in the national interest. Will the Prime Minister now commit to work with Labor in the national interest to end the policy paralysis which has led to high electricity prices and instability in the energy market?

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is always very busy in the lead-up to question time—and I know that the Leader of the Opposition was rushing out of his office and he grabbed the speech notes for the Midwinter Ball instead of for question time! What a phoney act of sincerity we have there, how unconvincing—so much bipartisanship from the Leader of the Opposition! Let us be very clear about this: Labor's track record on energy has delivered higher prices and insecurity.

Terri Butler (Griffith, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Four long years!

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Griffith is warned!

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Let me run through some of the great achievements of the Labor Party. The Labor Party have always made it their case that they prefer to put a tax on carbon. That has always been their preferred position. That has been their position federally. What they have done since then, whether it is with respect to gas or renewable energy, is put Australians' businesses and households at risk with higher prices and less secure electricity. The track record in South Australia, delivered by a Labor government over many years, is probably the most egregious. They have built up an enormous wind reserve and no storage at all—no backup at all. They did not even think about it. Completely mindless, thoughtless—all ideology, all politics, all slogans; no economics, no engineering. And then we see their achievements with gas. Let us reflect on this. Under the last federal Labor government and under a Queensland Labor government, they succeeded in allowing for the export of gas from Queensland. Fair enough. And new coal seam gas resources were tapped into. Fair enough. But did they give any thought to the domestic market? No, not at all—again, thoughtless, mindless. They got us into the situation where we had more of our gas being exported every day, to the point where Australian businesses, Australian industries and Australian households were being asked to pay more for gas than the customers of the gas exporters in Japan were. That is the consequence of Labor's approach to energy—thoughtless, slipshod political ideology with no economics and no engineering. We are delivering for Australian households affordable, secure energy and are meeting our emission commitments.

Opposition members interjecting—

Mr Husic interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Chifley will cease interjecting. Before I call the member for Robertson, I am not going to keep reminding members every question time not to interject and then warn them. The member for Perth is interjecting incessantly. He will cease interjecting if he wants to stay in question time, as will the member for Bruce, and the members for Kingston and Rankin as well.