Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader for Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Brandis. The Australian Energy Market Commission has recently admitted that moving to a five-minute settlement for electricity:

… flows through to lower wholesale costs, which should lead to lower electricity prices…

Given the Prime Minister has promised the Australian people he will do all in his power to lower electricity prices, when will the government instruct AEMC to implement this critical reform?

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Senator Carr. I can confirm that it is the policy of the government and that the Prime Minister has made it very clear that the government will be doing everything in its power to put downward pressure on electricity prices. Let me explain to you, Mr President, how the Australian government intends to do that. I tried to explain that to Senator McAllister before, but let me go through it again and, in doing so, might I remind you, Mr President, that during the period of the Labor government in which Senator Carr was a senior minister—

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Point of order, Senator Wong.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A thousand bucks higher under you! Mr President, it is a point of order on direct relevance. Senator Carr's question relates to a specific reform, the five-minute settlement that the AEMC has referenced. The question is: given the Prime Minister's promise to the Australian people that he will do everything in his power to lower electricity prices, when will the government instruct the AEMC to implement this critical reform?

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Wong. I will remind the Attorney-General of the question.

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am going tell you, Senator Carr, precisely what the government and the Prime Minister are doing to deliver the very thing that you have referenced—that is, to put downward pressure on electricity prices.

Senator Cameron interjecting —

Senator Wong interjecting —

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order on my left.

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What the government has been doing has been to bring the electricity companies in to ensure that they, in their dealings with their customers, ensure those customers have available to them knowledge of—

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! A point of order, Senator Carr.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader for Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, the minister's answer has got nothing whatsoever to do with the question. My point of order goes towards direct relevance. This is a question that specifically goes to the Australian Energy Market Commission on the five-minute settlement period. Will the minister directly address that proposition, which has been raised by the Australian Energy Market Commission?

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Carr. The Attorney-General has indicated that he will address the issue. But I take your point of order and I again remind the minister of the question.

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

So that is the first thing that the government has done. Secondly, as I also pointed out to Senator McAllister, what we have also done is we have published an instrument to ensure that we have the power to give a direction—

Senator Wong interjecting—

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order, Senator Wong. You have a colleague on his feet. Senator Carr, a point of order.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader for Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Once again I raise the question of direct relevance. This question goes directly to what the Australian Energy Market Commission is saying: that is, moving to the five-minute settlement on electricity will actually lower the wholesale costs of electricity, which will lower electricity prices. When will the minister directly respond to the question?

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you. Again, I remind the Attorney-General of the question.

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And, Senator Carr, the question, if I may say so, was in a broader context of what the government is doing to lower the price of electricity, and I am advising him what the government has been doing. So, as I was saying, another initiative that the government has taken—which was never taken by the Labor government, as its shadow minister now concedes it should have done—has been to create a mechanism—

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Cameron, a point of order.

Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The issue is direct relevance. You've drawn the minister's attention to the question on two separate occasions, and he is just ignoring your advice. He should deal with the question.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Cameron. As senators have been reminded both by myself and my predecessors, I cannot direct the minister on how to answer the question. I can remind the minister of the question, which I have done, and I call the Attorney-General.

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As a result of the instrument that we have put in place, the Australian government now has the capacity to— (Time expired)

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Carr, a supplementary question.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader for Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I ask the minister: why is this government refusing to introduce a reform that would result directly in the lowering of electricity prices?

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Carr, we are not refusing to introduce any reform; what we are doing is trying to progress reforms. I have been trying, through your points of order, to explain what those reforms are. So let me continue and tell you what some of the other reforms are that we have introduced. In addition, Senator Carr, we have invested heavily in renewable energy—in particular, the investment that the Australian government has made in Snowy Hydro 2.0. That is not the only investment, by the way, that the Australian government has made in renewable energy but it is one of the most important.

Fourthly, Senator Carr, we have brought the operators and the CEOs of the electricity companies in to speak to the government, most particularly, as you know, Senator Carr, in relation to the extension of the life of existing coal-fired— (Time expired)

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Carr, a final supplementary question.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader for Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Isn't the real reason that the government is failing to act on what the Australian Energy Market Commission has said is that it wants to protect the profits of the electricity companies ahead of the interests of Australian businesses and the Australian people?

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Carr, remarkably, the only parties in this parliament today that are trying to protect the profits of AGL are you and the Greens. It is the government that is trying to ensure that AGL does the right thing by the Australian people.

Senator Kim Carr interjecting—

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Carr, you've asked your question.

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Carr, if you want to know the difference between the government's approach to energy policy and your side's approach to energy policy it is this: we are committed to providing reliable power for all Australians—something which, when you were in power, you simply failed to.

Senator Kim Carr interjecting—

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Carr!

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That is why in the six years when the Labor Party was in power, electricity prices more than doubled on your watch. And, to this day, you are wedded to this ideological opposition to coal and this ideological opposition to fossil fuels.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader for Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You've got no idea!

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Point of order, Senator Hinch.

Derryn Hinch (Victoria, Derryn Hinch's Justice Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Point of order, Mr President. From back here at the rear of the chamber, the voice of Senator Carr is louder than the person answering the question.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Carr, I have been—

Senator Kim Carr interjecting—

Order, Senator Carr! I have been calling you to order, Senator Carr. Attorney-General, you have two seconds.

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Affordability from us; ideology from you. That's the difference. (Time expired)

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator O'Farrell?

Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Centenary of ANZAC) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I again seek leave to table a copy of the national partnership agreement and the schedule setting out projects funded in Queensland. I understand that is not opposed.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no objection, leave is granted.

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.