George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

Well, might I remind you, Senator Carr, that it was the Prime Minister who commissioned the Finkel review through the COAG process. It was the Prime Minister who is giving effect to the recommendations of the Finkel review. It was the Prime Minister who summoned the gas company executives to Canberra to ensure that the availability of gas on the domestic market was appropriate, given the capacity of gas exporters to export gas and to use export licences as a vehicle or as a tool to ensure downward pressure on energy prices within the domestic market. And it was the Prime Minister who yesterday summoned the CEOs of the energy retailers, as I have explained, not for a cup of tea but for a serious discussion—a serious discussion—about how their billing practices can be made more transparent to energy consumers. That is the sort of decisive action that this government has taken and is taking.