Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Families and Communities) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Cormann. The Liberal member for Goldstein, Tim Wilson, has said: 'If anyone thinks there is this great public sentiment out there that people hate renewables and that they're hugging coal, I say: get real.' Does Mr Morrison agree with Mr Wilson?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have never particularly been attracted to hugging coal, I've got to say! I think that coal is an important energy source for Australia. It's an important energy source globally. We, as a government, support an energy policy framework which is technology agnostic. We're in favour of renewables. We're in favour of coal. We're in favour of gas. We're in favour of all of those energy sources which help us ensure that we can (1) keep the lights on and (2) deliver reliable energy supplies in a way that is affordable—that is competitively priced.

We know that, under Labor, the experiment of an excessive Renewable Energy Target has been tried, by the South Australian state Labor government. And guess what? They couldn't keep the lights on. That is one of the reasons why prices across the National Electricity Market have been pushed up.

We are pursuing reforms to energy policy which will help bring down electricity prices and ensure reliable energy supplies into the future, because that is very important. That is very important for families around Australia. It's very important for our competitiveness as an internationally competitive economy. We understand that for Labor all of this is a game. They're not even listening to the answer. We also know that Bill Shorten, if he were elected Prime Minister, would bring back a carbon tax, a carbon tax which would push up the cost of electricity, which would harm the economy, which would put jobs at risk and which would hurt families around Australia wanting to get ahead.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator McAllister, a supplementary question?

Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Families and Communities) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Given Mr Morrison was so keen to demonstrate his love of coal that he carried a chunk of it into the House of Representatives, has Mr Wilson told the Prime Minister to get real?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I just continue to stick to the facts. The facts are that coal, by any reasonable projection, is going to continue to be a very important energy source for Australia to keep our economy strong and to ensure that Australians can have affordable access to reliable energy supplies. Guess what else? Coal will also continue to be a very important export earner for Australia. We understand that the Labor Party in Queensland is somewhat schizophrenic when it comes to these matters. They don't quite know. It is another wibble-wobble. We've got the Queensland Labor coal wibble-wobble. Don't come and ask us hypocritical questions, when we know that none other than Dr Brown once was on the record as saying how coal is a really important energy source which should be favoured ahead of hydro. We understand people around the chamber— (Time expired)

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator McAllister, a final supplementary question?

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

That was pathetic!

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Cameron, your colleague's on her feet.

Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Families and Communities) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Wilson reflected that on the booths in the Victorian election on the weekend 'there were people mentioning energy, climate or the deposing of the Prime Minister.' When will Mr Morrison end his government's ideological war on renewables and support Labor's plan for more renewable energy and cheaper power for all Australians?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is no war on renewables. We support renewables as part of our technology-neutral energy mix. We know that under Bill Shorten there will be a war on aspirational families across Australia with more than $200 billion in higher taxes, which will lead to less investment, lower growth, fewer jobs, higher unemployment, and on the back of higher unemployment lower wages. Under Bill Shorten's antibusiness, high-taxing, politics-of-envy agenda, Australia will be weaker, and Australians will be poorer. They'll earn less and have to pay more.