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

I thank Senator Fawcett for his question and his ongoing commitment, which all members of our government have, to ensuring the stability, reliability and affordability of Australia's energy markets—guaranteeing, therefore, affordability and reliability for businesses across Australia to operate, and, of course, for households in tackling and dealing with their cost-of-living pressures.

We must simply ensure that the lights stay on for our businesses to continue to succeed in Australia and for jobs growth, which we have enjoyed in recent years, to be maintained and enhanced. We must also ensure that prices are tackled to help vulnerable Australians. That is why our government takes a technology-neutral, non-ideological approach to energy policy that is based on the economics and the engineering of the circumstances. That is why our focus is on affordability, to ensure that families and households are on the best possible energy deals around Australia. We know that around 50 per cent of Australian households have not moved retailers or changed contracts in the past five years, even though savings can be as high as $1,500 per annum for those households. That's why we are guaranteeing that some two million Australian households will get the information they need to be confident that they are on the plan best suited to their house to give them the lowest prices into the future.

Equally, we are taking action on stability and reliability. Our now generator reliability obligations ensure that intermittent sources of energy generation have offsetting sources that are reliable, with an appropriate level of back-up, to guard against blackouts in future. There are new requirements for large generators to give minimum three-year notice periods before closure, and we're seeing direct government action to work to ensure those large generators stay in the market as long as possible. There are tough new regulations in the gas sector, as well as abolishing the Limited Merits Review, which has been rorted by network systems, despite the fact that those opposite seem to want to play politics and delay our steps to abolish that Limited Merits Review. (Time expired)