Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr President. I will do my best to make sure that Senator Hinch can hear us as well, because it is important for Senator Roberts and all senators to appreciate that, during the six years of the previous Labor government, electricity prices across Australia rose by 101 per cent. There was a 101 per cent growth in electricity prices during that time, but, under the coalition government—as demonstrated by ABS data released in June 2016—it is clear we have seen the largest fall in electricity prices on record. That, of course, was driven in part through the abolition of the carbon tax and in part through reforms to network regulation that our government has overseen. We are determined to keep working on measures to bring down prices. Of course, our reforms to the renewable energy target to ensure that we have a target that is achievable without the types of pressures that were in place before are further measures in place to try to make sure that electricity generation is more affordable in the future, and we will keep pursuing—as we are through the Finkel review and other mechanisms—means to do so.