Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

Whilst our government has focused comprehensively on energy market reforms to drive prices down—and we will continue to do so in the future—we know that those opposite sat back when they were last in power and let power prices spiral, let Australian households and businesses wear the pain of higher prices. We also know that, in terms of the choice at the next election, Australians can look at a coalition government that has sought to drive prices down, that has the policies that are driving them down and that has done the hard yards through acting on the ACCC review, which will continue to put downward pressure on prices, versus those opposite, who go to the next election with policies that are likely to see dramatic escalation in power prices that Australians will face. These are policies such as the potential 50 per cent renewable energy target, which will likely increase intermittency and uncertainty in terms of reliability and result in higher prices, compared with a focus on making sure that the market works to the benefit of all households and consumers. (Time expired)