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

I thank Senator Moore for the question, though it was a long, drawn-out process to get to it. The short answer is no; it doesn't impact on the government's determination to carefully consider the implementation of the recommendation from the Finkel report, and we will give that the type of careful consideration that, clearly, the opposition didn't give to any of their energy policies, just as they're unable to give any careful consideration as to how they frame their questions in question time. The challenges we're grappling with in terms of energy markets in Australia are challenges that are brought about in many ways by the flawed and failed policies of those opposite and by the flawed and failed policies of the state governments, who are also Labor governments, that they've championed, which have put undue pressure on prices and reliability right across the electricity landscape. That's why the Turnbull government's been taking action across the retail sector, the energy market and distribution channels, and in terms of energy generation to make sure that, at every possible step, we drive prices down into the future so far as possible and improve reliability.

If the Labor Party want to talk about divisions in the energy policy space, they need only look at Mr Fitzgibbon, who last week was saying that he'd like to see jobs saved at the Liddell power plant and that he'd like to see Liddell stay open if possible. He seems to have weaselled his way out of those statements, because Senator Cameron, Mr Shorten and others are quite happy, it seems, to see those jobs go and the power plant close and with that, though, the uncertainty that comes from the shortfall in dispatchable energy in Australia identified by AEMO, a shortfall that threatens affordability and reliability and one that the Turnbull government is determined to address and fix.