Senate debates

Wednesday, 5 December 2018

Questions without Notice: Take Note of Answers

Energy

3:10 pm

Photo of Slade BrockmanSlade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

As tempting as it is to get into the stick debate, I will avoid it. The Labor Party, as per usual, just wants to play the insider political games. Senator Cormann was very, very generous when he described the first question as a policy question. As usual from the Labor Party, it was an insider political question. That's all we've heard from the Labor Party in this place for the year I've been here. Policy questions from the other side have been as rare as a needle in a haystack.

This side cares about families' energy prices. We care about businesses' energy costs. I was at a meeting representing Minister Cash a few months ago and I met with a particular small-business person, the sort of enterprising individual who is at the core of the Australian economy—a small supermarket owner from South Australia. In the previous 12 months, he had seen his energy bill go up by $80,000 a year. Those opposite want to make jokes about energy prices, but $80,000 a year to a small business, a small IGA, means a very simple thing: it means laying off staff. It means less take-home pay for the owners of that business. It means fewer opportunities for young Australians to get a job in that economy. That is what we see as the outcome from the kinds of policies that are being touted by those opposite. They are job-destroying policies. That is what the business community is saying and that is what we and the Australian people know is the truth.

Labor's policy on energy will destroy jobs. The government's policy on energy is designed to do one thing—to drive down the cost for consumers. Families and small businesses are all energy consumers. We have already seen significant progress in that area. We've already seen significant announcements from the energy companies. The plans that this government has on energy are already working. Five hundred thousand Australians are already getting a better deal, with Origin, Energy Australia, AGL and other companies lowering their prices by up to 15 per cent from 1 January. This is what this government is achieving for the people of Australia.

Those opposite want to play politics and they want to make jokes, but they do not want to do the hard work in driving down energy costs for Australian families and Australian businesses. Their policies will do a very simple thing to the economy: they will destroy jobs. Jobs growth is so essential and it is one of the towering achievements of this government. We committed, on coming into government, to creating a million jobs—and that is just what we have done. We have put the settings in place to allow Australian businesses to create those million new jobs. The vast majority of them are full-time jobs. This gives people hope, this gives people opportunities and this gives people a chance to improve their lives.

We see the unemployment rate is down to five per cent. We see youth unemployment is at its lowest level in over six years. These are the important statistics that say whether a government is on track and whether a government is delivering for the Australian people. This government is delivering for the Australian people. Female full-time employment rose strongly by 29,000 in the latest figures. It has increased by 3.7 per cent in the past year. It stands at a record high. These are the kinds of achievements that this government will take to the next election. The Australian people will understand that this is what matters to the economy: this is what will enable the economy to continue to grow as we return to surplus, as we pay down the debt we inherited from Labor and as we continue to put in place the preconditions necessary for Australians to have a full and secure economic future.

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