Kerrynne Liddle (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We're still on South Australia too. Labor governments across the country are addicted to reckless spending. Do you want certainty? Well, know that, as the taxpaying public, you can be sure that, when Labor runs out of money, they will come after yours. The $275? That's not coming. That's a lie. When you open up your next power bill, know that it is not your energy use that has likely gone up; it's Labor's spending that's driven up your cost. The pressure in homes and businesses and in organisations—Australians rely on them, but they'll be fixed not by subsidies, bailouts or even more red tape but by an energy plan that works. Labor's isn't it.

Without a credible plan underpinned by principles of reliable energy, inflation will rise, as we saw this week when it crashed through the Reserve Bank's target band. With no change in the cash rate, mortgage holders get no relief from repayments. Some are paying $1,800 more. Are you trying to break into the housing market? You can blame Labor for your dream disintegrating. It is Labor's reckless spending that is running at more than four times the rate of the economy, and it's at its highest level outside of recession in nearly 40 years. Australians are paying 15 per cent more for food, 19 per cent more for housing and nearly 40 per cent more for electricity. In South Australia, we pay some of the highest prices in the country and we have the greatest proportion of renewables in a state's energy mix. Add to that the state's $500 million failed investment in the green hydrogen hoax.

What is the key message for Labor? Energy is everything. Reliability and affordability are everything. Energy is not an experiment.