Tim Wilson (Goldstein, 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 South Australia and the great state of Victoria are facing summer blackouts and major power outages. Why is energy reliability and affordability essential to healthcare services across Australia, and is the minister aware of risks to delivering these vital and important services?

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

You know, Labor are electricity vandals and Labor are hospital vandals. I look by comparison at the member for Goldstein, who spent many years advocating for lower electricity prices and helping to design policies such as the abolition of the carbon tax which have delivered lower electricity prices. The member for Goldstein has done such a tremendous job in supporting new health services in his area, such as the new Holmesglen 160-bed hospital. But one of the things he remarked on to me at the opening of the new Holmesglen hospital is that hospitals like this cannot run unless they can afford the electricity with which to provide vital services.

We know that in South Australia, South Australian Labor deliberately drove the Northern Power Station out of operation. They didn't just drive it out of operation; they made sure that it was physically blown up. And do you know what? In so doing they destroyed the resilience of the South Australian system to the inevitable challenges that come.

And so what occurred? What did we see in terms of the impact of this South Australian system on health services in South Australia? Let me quote from the ABC's headline, and I want you to listen to this: 'Embryos destroyed at Flinders Medical Centre after generator fails in blackout'.

Ms Rishworth interjecting—

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

The Minister for Health will resume his seat. I've warned the member for Kingston. She's interjecting completely uncontrollably. She will leave the chamber under 94(a).

The member for Kingston then left the chamber.

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

Not only did we have that catastrophic outcome—a human outcome, an electricity outcome and an outcome for families—but now you would think that in Victoria they would have learnt the lessons. But instead Victorian Labor deliberately drove 1,600 megawatts of electricity base load out of the system, and right now Victorian hospitals are paying the price.

The member for Bendigo likes to chat from time to time. This is from an article from the Bendigo Advertiser of 25 August, headed 'Central Victorian hospitals balking at rising power costs':

Castlemaine Health has raised its concerns about the rising cost of energy with the state government, which has been criticised … for failing to account for soaring power prices.

What we are seeing is that Victoria's hospitals are now facing the same risk as South Australia's hospitals—all of that at a time when the Leader of the Opposition, at the federal level, is proposing to double down and introduce a massive new electricity price hike. So they want to increase prices. We've taken steps to reduce them. The Prime Minister has a national energy plan to reduce pressure on gas, reduce pressure on retail and ensure that we have storage through Snowy 2.0. We want to keep the lights on; they are risking our hospitals. (Time expired)