Senator WONG (South Australia—Minister for Foreign Affairs and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (14:48): There is no doubt that the problem in the energy grid, particularly the exiting of supply which has occurred over the last nine years, is one of the factors contributing to higher energy prices. It's one of the factors. I know the senator may have a different view about this, but it is very clear from advice from energy market operators and energy market suppliers that the cheapest form of new energy is renewables. I know those opposite, in particular, have such difficulty with that, and their difficulty with it has contributed to the mess and chaos that we have seen in energy markets in this country to date. I know that the senator is concerned, as we all are, by rising energy prices and the impact that has on family budgets. What we— Senator Rennick interjecting— Senator WONG: I'll take the interjection from Senator Rennick, who just asserted that renewables are more expensive. That falsehood is one of the reasons why energy markets are in such a mess. Under you, four gigawatts of dispatchable capacity exited the system and you put one gigawatt in. Anybody who understands basic supply and demand knows that if you reduce supply there's going to be an effect on prices; that is the case. We may not agree on everything, Senator Babet, but I do agree with you that this requires urgent attention. We believe on the basis of the advice from the industry, so this is— Honourable senators interjecting— The PRESI DENT: Please resume your seat, Senator Wong. This question is from Senator Babet. He is one of our crossbenchers. He gets very little opportunity to ask questions because it's on a shared basis. I would ask all senators to give him the respect he deserves and that the answer be heard in silence. Senator WONG: Senator Babet, I know one of the things people seek is a solution which may involve taxpayers putting in subsidies to keep open facilities which are not commercial. What is really required is a transformation of our electricity sector so we put more supply into the system and transform the grid. The PRESIDENT: Senator Babet, first supplementary?