Chris Crewther (Dunkley, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Health. I refer the minister to media reports that show hospitals in Victoria are struggling to fund vital services due to skyrocketing energy costs. Why is energy security essential to healthcare services across Australia, including in my electorate of Dunkley?

Ms Chesters interjecting—

Ms Keay interjecting—

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

The member for Bendigo is warned, as is the member for Braddon.

Ms Catherine King interjecting—

The member for Ballarat will leave under standing order 94(a).

The member for Ballarat then left the chamber.

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to thank the member for Dunkley, who fought hard for and helped deliver a new MRI licence for Frankston Hospital. One of the things, though, that he is concerned about is the impact of electricity prices driven by state Labor policies on Victoria's hospital system. The Andrews government deliberately drove out of Victoria that state's lowest cost base-load power station and, in so doing, they deliberately drove up the price of electricity for pensioners, for seniors, for families, for businesses—but especially for hospitals. We know this from a report in last week's TheAge headlined, 'Victorian hospitals and health services reeling from electricity price bill shock'. What does that mean? It means that Health Purchasing Victoria has identified a $44 million hit on the ability of Victorian hospitals to fund vital services due to the increase in prices coming from the Hazelwood power station being deliberately pushed out of operation by Labor policy.

This, of course, is not just state Labor policy, it's also federal Labor policy—and the impacts are very clear. We've heard that Cobden Health, for example, has been hit with a near-doubling in its electricity prices following the closure of the Hazelwood power station. And what does the CEO of Cobden Health, Leonie Rooney, say? She's made it clear that these higher electricity prices will threaten their physiotherapy services, their rehabilitation services, their exercise programs. These are real world consequences of Labor's deliberate policy to increase electricity prices.

By comparison, on our watch, we took steps, which were fought every step of the way by Labor, to bring about the largest reduction in electricity prices in Australian history. We voted for it. They voted against it. What that means, though, is that while we are reducing pressure on electricity prices, they are deliberately increasing their pressure at the state level and at the federal level. And if you want to know what they propose to do at the federal level, let us just remind ourselves: 'ALP's $600 billion Carbon Bill'.

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

The minister knows the rules on props!

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What the Leader of the Opposition wants to do is take what's occurred in Victoria and multiply it nationally. It will hurt hospitals and schools. It will hurt families and small businesses. Because in the end, while our goal is to take the pressure off electricity prices, they are deliberately planning to send electricity prices skyrocketing, just as they've done in Victoria.