Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Environment, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

It's great to be able to make a contribution on what I think is a very important piece of legislation, the Productivity Commission Amendment (Electricity Reporting) Bill 2023, given the current context of last night's budget and the fact that something we know all Australian households and businesses are struggling with is the cost of power. Lower power prices were indeed a central part of the last election campaign. Every single elected representative in this parliament knows that it's something everyone is struggling with.

Indeed, in the last election campaign we saw the Australian Labor Party promise 97 times that they would bring power prices down by $275. It was a very clear and unequivocal promise. There were no terms and conditions applying. There was just a dollar figure put out there amongst other rhetoric around the cost of living going up. But 97 times was this promise made that power prices would go down by $275. I am absolutely confident that many Australians out there, whether they be small-business people or just people who are struggling to pay their household power bills, took that to the bank. They figured: 'That's great. I need power price relief. The Australian Labor Party have promised me that power prices are going to go down by $275.' Now, granted, they said 'by 2025', and we'll come back to that—the trajectory of power prices at this point in time. But it's a promise that, funnily enough, has disappeared from the public debate. Not a single member of the government has, since the election, repeated that promise—not once. It featured pretty heavily in the debate prior to the election just a year ago. But since then it's like it never happened. Not once was that promise made again—instead they are saying, 'Look over here; we'll distract you from the pain you're having, and we will not revisit that promise.'

That's why this bill is important. It's important because, if it's passed, it's going to provide a number of benefits to Australians, Australian households and Australian businesses. The chief benefit to Australians is increased transparency and accountability in relation to the energy policies of this government and any future government of the Commonwealth. It's going to place increased scrutiny on the impact of energy policy and what that does to energy prices. And it will allow Australians a more comprehensive ability to fully understand the true extent of the cost-of-living crisis they've been enduring throughout much of their lives to date as a result, sadly, of the hapless policies of this government. I think it's important to allow us to give Australians the ability to see how this government is performing.

This bill, in short, is aimed at legislating for new and easily accessible nationally consolidated and regularly updated reports on retail electricity prices across the country. It would require the Productivity Commission, a trusted entity, to compile, on a quarterly basis, a report containing statistics on retail electricity prices and generation in each state and territory. It would also then require the Commonwealth government of the day to table these reports within a period of time after production. That, of course, then puts it on centre stage for consideration by this parliament and by the public—through the media—without any filter or interference.

Over recent years, there have been a number of steps to improve the range of information and the detailed statistics available around energy reporting, and there has been some success around exactly what those reports have been able to do. A variety of tools and products have been developed relating to energy prices in Australia, and that is an improvement on what was available previously, which was nothing, other than your own individual power bill. But it doesn't go far enough, and that's why I'm tabling this bill, and that's why I'm hoping that the government and crossbench senators will see their way to supporting this bill, which is a very sensible bill and one that only provides further transparency. It doesn't interfere. It doesn't change the issues we are facing; it just provides a clear, concise report on where things are at.

The most similar type of report that exists today is the Australian Energy Market Commission's Residential electricity price trends document. The AEMO maintains an online dashboard which brings together various sets of information around electricity prices around the country, and energy companies sometimes do provide data to that dashboard around their retail prices. The Australian Energy Regulator, or AER, has the Energy Made Easy site. There is also the Victorian government's Energy Compare site, and there are a range of other non-government entities that provide information, but none of these tools bridge that gap. None of these tools that are available now provide exactly what it is we are hoping Australians will be able to benefit from if this legislation passes.

For instance, the AEMC's Residential electricity price trends document uses a number of projections for future years, rather than reporting purely on actual past and, importantly, current prices. Also, it's not a mandated publication, so, if it is so desired, you can skip over tabling the information. That was exactly what happened on 1 December 2022, when it was reported that this entity—the AEMC—would not be producing an annual edition for that year and would defer the release of the next report to sometime around the middle of this year, 2023. That is a problem if we are seeking transparency and clarity around exactly where retail electricity prices are in Australia. Online comparison services have limitations too, including that none of them display comprehensive data for every retailer across every state and territory.

So there are some tools available, but they don't go far enough, and anyone who points to what's currently in the marketplace as a reason not to support this legislation is fibbing to the Australian public. There is no good reason not to support this legislation. There remains a need for relatively straightforward overall national breakdowns of data to be brought together all in one place and for reporting of that data to be mandated. The need for it has been made more urgent and more pressing by what we've seen over the last nearly 12 months. As I've said already, this government promised to reduce power bills by $275 a pop annually. Instead, it has presided over increases in energy prices, aided by others in the chamber, through misguided policies which will have detrimental impacts to energy prices. As I said before, not once since the election has the government mentioned that promise it made, that Australians took to the bank saying, 'This is great. My power bill will go down by $275. The future prime minister promised me so.' But instead of that we are seeing power prices going up.

We don't have to go far to see some examples of this. There are a range of businesses across Australia that are struggling. I look at my local newspaper, the Mercury, which in February reported on a business in southern Tasmania, Oceana Aquatic and Fitness. The owner said he was shocked at his monthly power bill. Last year, in January 2022, his bill was $6,479. Fast forward 12 months, to January 2023, and his power bill had doubled; it was $12,326. That's a shocking increase and something that any legislator, anyone who is concerned about power prices, would be worried about. We've seen other businesses too. Jeff Sadler, the owner and operator of the Quilt and Pillow Factory says electricity is a fundamental part of his business. He hasn't disclosed how much more he's paying, but he says it's significant. He made the point that he's got three options: put up prices, increase sales or lay off staff. So retailers—the people who provide employment to individuals across this country—are struggling just as households are and that will have flow-on impacts for the economy.

It would be a helpful tool for legislators too. We did see, in recent times, members of the government unable to tell us what was happening with electricity power prices. I expect Senator Farrell—I'm pleased he's here—would be very keen to support this legislation because it will make our jobs much easier, when we're asked questions in question time about how power prices are going in South Australia, Tasmania, New South Wales, Western Australia or Queensland. It will make it a very simple task for us to be able to report on these things and make decisions on that basis. I would hate for anyone to be perceived as not caring about these things, so this tool will enable all of us to be directly in touch with these issues that are impacting on Australian households and businesses.

I'm sure many Australians will welcome whatever help they can get, and there was some help provided in last night's budget. But there's a problem with what was provided. Aside from the obvious inflationary impact of Labor's support for households and businesses when it comes to power bills, that measure to help pay power bills out of the taxpayers' coffers is a concession that the government's policies around energy prices are failing. Power prices aren't going down. If they were, the government wouldn't have to provide this support.

This is why reporting on this information is so incredibly important, to understand where power prices are at, not after a rebate but what we're actually paying, because taxpayers paying part of your power bills isn't prices going down. That is not good policy. But we understand the need for support in the aftermath of failed policies from this government. Even after this handout is provided to Australian households and businesses—some of them—on average power prices are going to go up $500 this year alone. That's on top of things like the disastrous safeguard mechanism legislation, which is going to drive up the cost of so many inputs, adding other cost-of-living pressures.

To suggest that things are great, or going in the right direction, or that people can breathe a sigh of relief, is totally mischaracterising the situation we have out there. This bill will shine light on exactly what is happening in a consolidated, concise, regular and mandated way. It's something that will help Australians understand exactly what policies of government are doing for the things that hit them at home, in their hip pocket: their power bills, at a time when mortgage repayments are going up, and fuel, food and other life costs are becoming more expensive. Having that front and centre of debate in this place once every quarter—clear, accurate information provided by an entity as well-respected as the Productivity Commission—will be very hard to argue against, with minimal cost and an important contribution to the public debate on this issue.

Additionally, it's not just about costs. It's about the sources of energy generation. We will equally ask the Productivity Commission to tell us where energy is being generated from. There is a lot of talk about the need to transition. Let's see exactly how that is going. Let's see how much fossil fuel is being used in energy generation, how much hydro, how much wind and how much solar. It's important to be able to accurately measure the government's progress against their promises and, indeed, for other parties in this place to hold the government to account over their promises.

Again, the Productivity Commission would do this in an objective way. They would go out and seek the information from each jurisdiction and they would then go and publish it in the same fashion I have already mentioned—tabled quarterly in this parliament and available for debate. That is something I think we would all benefit from as much as the rest of the Australian population that we represent here.

There is nothing wrong with transparency. It was a hallmark of Labor's election pledges. I'm sure they'll welcome this legislation. Maybe today the government speaker on this bill will tell us they are going to vote for it. Maybe, in line with all of the promises they made around lowering power prices and providing transparency on all areas of government, they will tell us they are going to support this. I can assure them there is no sting in the tail. There is no ulterior motive and no hidden agenda in this legislation. It is very straightforward. It is a way of holding governments, plural, to account in the future—this government, which made its promise nearly 100 times before the election, but eerily hasn't said it since, to reduce power prices by $275 a year, but also future governments. When we win the next election we will be held to account for the promises we make and how those impact on power prices. I look forward to being held to account, because we are in the business of solving problems. This is a solution to one of those problems.

So I commend this bill to the Senate. I am hopeful that my friends over here in government and I am certainly hopeful that the Greens will find their way to supporting this bill given it provides further transparency around sources of generation and energy cost. The only benefit felt here is going to be by Australian households. It's about transparency, accountability and making sure the government stick to their promises.