Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm almost prepared to concede my questions to Senator Watt again. I will instead ask the Minister for Education and Training, in his role, which he has equal expertise in and understanding of, as the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment and Energy, if he would be prepared to update the Senate on the benefits Australians have seen from the Turnbull government's decisive action on energy? Minister, you'll appreciate that I'm a Queensland senator and I'm a little parochial, so I would ask if you could perhaps focus on my home state of Queensland.

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

I thank Senator Macdonald, who has always been very action oriented when it comes to policies to put downward pressure on electricity prices across Australia, particularly in his home state of Queensland. Indeed, the Turnbull government has been delivering comprehensive reform to put short-term downward pressure on electricity prices and, indeed, long-term downward pressure on electricity prices.

We delivered reform in terms of the way gas markets operate that have seen the spot price in relation to gas reduced thanks to the Prime Minister's direct intervention into those markets—not only reduction in prices but also an increase in supply, helping to feed that reduction in prices and guaranteeing there is more affordable gas in the market in the future. Intervention, in terms of the retail market, has seen big retailers give almost two million Australians more information to choose better energy plans. Indeed, half a million Australians have visited the government's Energy Made Easy website. As an example, a Brisbane household has reported making changes worth some $630 a year as a result of advice provided by the government to them as to how they can best access cheaper electricity prices into the future.

But it doesn't stop there. Through our National Energy Guarantee there are longer term downward pressures that will play out in the energy market; estimates of bringing wholesale prices down by some 20 to 25 per cent, relative to what they would otherwise be; savings of, potentially, $5 million for an energy-intensive industrial user; or, of course, our reform to the limited merits review, changing the way in which those poles-and-wires network distributors work. In the Queensland case that is critical, because we know that the Palaszczuk Labor government has been ripping off energy users in their home state by dragging money out of their energy network systems and abusing this process. We have now put a roadblock to that occurring in the future.

Scott Ryan (President, Special Minister of State) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Macdonald, a supplementary question?

Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I appreciate the minister's very comprehensive answer, but I ask if the minister might be able to explain the importance of a secure and reliable supply of electricity for Australian households and businesses?

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

There are few more fundamental things for businesses and for households than the guarantee that energy will be there in a reliable and affordable way when they need it. Whether you're in Townsville or Far North Queensland, western Queensland or the more urbanised area of Queensland, it's essential for businesses to be able to open their doors with confidence, invest with confidence and, of course, employ with confidence. The mistake made too often, particularly by those opposite—or, indeed, by some state governments—has been to consider parts of energy policy in isolation. The approach the Turnbull government is taking is to recognise that you have to deal with every aspect of the energy market: retailers; distributors; wholesalers; generators. You also have to deal, of course, with all of the different policy impacts on it: international obligations; reliability; affordability. And you cannot do any of those things in isolation, which is why our approach, our Energy Guarantee, is about tackling them all in a fully integrated manner.

Scott Ryan (President, Special Minister of State) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Macdonald, a final supplementary question?

Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wonder if the minister could perhaps outline the risks of ad hoc, state based targets, such as those advocated by the Labor Party in my home state of Queensland?

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

It is remarkable—the Palaszczuk government in Queensland has a 50 per cent renewable energy target by 2030, yet it is coming off the lowest base in the country of only some five per cent of generation. They claim it will be cost-neutral, which is the most preposterous and unbelievable claim going around. Don't take my word for it, though. The Grattan Institute has said that Queensland Labor's policy is an 'economic illusion'. The Australian Energy Council has said that Queensland consumers and taxpayers will ultimately pay the price. Indeed, even the Queensland Council of Social Service has said there will be consequences for consumers in terms of higher retail energy prices. What is very clear is that, under these types of ad hoc approaches the likes of which the Palaszczuk Labor government are applying, consumers will pay a price; businesses will pay a price. Ultimately, there will be fewer jobs and higher prices for electricity, and that will be terrible, devastating news for the state of Queensland.