Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This government is obsessed with ideology over results and self-promotion over the needs of Australian people, and nowhere is this more apparent than in Labor's failing energy policy. Net zero at any cost is hurting families, hurting industry and hurting our nation's sovereignty. And for what? So that our illustrious minister for climate change and energy can cling to relevance by securing a COP31 'president of negotiations' title. While that might provide him with a personal ego boost, it doesn't provide a boost to our economy or the average Aussie's household budget. Household electricity bills are up a whopping 39 per cent, making power prices the single biggest contributor to inflation. If your bill is up 39 per cent, then you know that the businesses who manufacture, distribute and sell every product on our supermarket shelves are also forced to pay the increase in energy costs to consumers. Australia has already been cutting its emissions at roughly twice the pace of the OECD while producing just one per cent of the globe's total emissions. Why are everyday Australians expected to carry more of the global burden than they create? We have to focus on what is right for our country, our economy and our people, and that's affordable, reliable energy. There is a cheaper, better and fairer way forward, and the coalition are committed to delivering it.