Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Smith for that question. As I flagged, it is particularly important for Western Australia because Western Australia is an energy island. Senator Macdonald and I were on the Senate fuel and energy committee and we took a lot of evidence—Senator Macdonald might remember—in Western Australia in relation to these matters. Under the last Labor governments—the Gallop and Carpenter Labor governments—families and businesses in Western Australia suffered blackout after blackout. This 50 per cent renewable energy target that the Labor Party in Western Australia wants to commit to, should Mark McGowan be successful at the next election, would damage the Western Australian economy. It would hurt energy security and it would drive up the cost of energy for families and for business, which would mean less profitable and less successful businesses in WA, fewer jobs and higher unemployment. That is why people in Western Australia should not take the risk of a McGowan Labor government. (Time expired)