Sally Sitou (Reid, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. How has the Albanese Labor government acted to help Australians with fuel and energy prices? What policies would see Australians paying more for their fuel and electricity?

Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy) | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank my honourable friend for the question and thank her for what she does to represent her part of the world here in Canberra. Right around Australia, households are making decisions and choices about reducing their own energy bills and their fuel bills, and the Albanese government is backing them in those choices. For example, we are backing the 451,428 households that have chosen to put in a cheaper home battery under the Albanese government's cheaper home battery scheme. When we came to office, one in 60 Australian houses had the benefit of reduced bills from a home battery. Today that figure is one in 17—from one in 60 to one in 17.

Another choice that Australians are making is the choice to buy electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. When we came to office, an electric vehicle was sold in Australia once every 50 minutes. Today the equivalent figure is once every three minutes. Australians are taking up choices. What they are doing in many instances is taking up the choice of increased models that are now available thanks to the new vehicle efficiency standards introduced by the Albanese government and opposed by those opposite. When the minister for transport and I argued in the House for new vehicle efficiency standards to give Australians more choice, the opposition argued that that was a terrible thing, and we have seen the choice of models triple in Australia since the new vehicle efficiency standards came in. Now a third of the models are available for under $60,000, and now there are 15 models available for under $40,000, really opening up more choices for Australians. That's a good thing.

The honourable member for Reid asked me what policies would see Australians paying more for fuel and electricity. Abolishing the cheaper home batteries policy would do that, abolishing the electric vehicle tax cut would do that and abolishing the new vehicle efficiency standard would do that as well. Honourable members don't need to take my word for it. You won't hear me say this very often, Mr Speaker, but they could listen to the Liberal Party because the Liberal Party went to the last election proposing to abolish the new vehicle efficiency standards. When they snuck out their costings just before the election, we saw the implications of this because they had to release the Parliamentary Budget Office costing.

It said that this proposal to abolish the standards would be expected to increase the fiscal underlying balance of the government. What does that mean? More taxes. In fact, it went on to say that this impact reflects the increase in the fuel excise that will be paid. 'How much?' I hear honourable members asking—$600 million more paid in petrol tax because they would abolish the new vehicle efficiency standards. This is the party that pretends to be for low taxes, but, whenever they get an opportunity, they actually argue for higher taxes and argue against Australians having the choice of vehicle, which we introduced and will defend.