Melissa McIntosh (Lindsay, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. In the lead up to the 2022 election, and since, the government has repeatedly cited modelling forecasting that wholesale and residential electricity prices would decrease by 18 per cent. But the government's budget tells us that Australians can expect increases in electricity and gas prices of 50 per cent and 40 per cent respectively. Will the Prime Minister now admit that the modelling Labor stood by was flawed, and so too were the government's energy policies that relied on that modelling?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Lindsay for her question. Indeed, we did release modelling done by RepuTex in 2021. After that occurred, of course, there was not modelling but a factual change that occurred in May 2022 from the Australian Energy Regulator that pointed to a 20 per cent increase in costs of electricity, and that flowed through to wholesale prices. There are a couple of pressures on energy prices—one, of course, is the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and the second—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Members on my left will cease interjecting.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The modelling that I was asked about occurred in 2021. If you go back to when the Russian invasion of Ukraine was—

Opposition members interjecting—

I think you'll find out. I remember, and you should recall President Zelenskyy spoke to this chamber just before my last budget reply in March of this year. The second pressure is the failure to invest. In fact, four gigs went out and one gig of energy went in. That led to a massive failure to invest.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will cease interjecting.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Three years ago, before the 2019 election, there was a promise of $1 billion towards new generation. That would have added 3,800 megawatts of new generation. Instead of four-out one-in, that would have been 4.8 in and four in. It would have made a difference. What we saw was all of the commitments: Alinta Energy in East Gippsland, Alinta Energy in Reeves Plains, Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners in Gratton, APA Group in Dandenong, Australian Industrial Energy in Port Kembla, Sunset Power and Delta Electricity in Lincoln Gap, Rise Renewables in Baroota, UPC Renewables in Armidale, BE Power Solutions in Cressbrook, Hydro Tasmania, Battery of the Nation—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Manager of Opposition Business on a point of order?

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's on relevance. It was a very tightly worded question about the Labor Party's modelling. He's gone to the coalition's policies an election ago. If he can't answer the question, he should simply say so and sit down.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister was asked a—

Alright. I call the Prime Minister.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Three years later, that's what we inherited. Three years later, not a single dollar of that was delivered. Not a dollar. There were not any megawatts; they aimed for 3,800 and they delivered zero. A big duck egg. Not one. Not one watt of new generation as a result of that announcement. Of course, that's before we go to the farcical situation of the Collinsville promise, which was never delivered either. (Time expired)

Opposition members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Members on my left! When the House comes to order—

The Manager of Opposition Business will cease interjecting while I'm talking.