Senator NAMPIJINPA PRICE (Northern Territory) (17:51): Cast your mind back to 2023. In February that year, Treasurer Jim Chalmers had his essay of more than 5,000 words published in the Monthly. The Treasurer wrote about wanting to 'build a better capitalism'. It was classic doublespeak, of course. What the Treasurer and the Prime Minister have wanted from day one is to move Australia away from a free-market economy and towards a state directed and controlled economy. Labor has embraced the same statist ideas that have devastated economies and people wherever they've been implemented. That's why Australia is in such an economic mess today. That's why instead of cost-of-living pressures going down, Australians will likely soon be hit by yet another interest rate rise. If the RBA decides to lift interest rates, it'll be the 13th rate rise Australians have experienced under this Labor government. Consider what we've seen under Labor. We've seen record government spending. Our economy will soon be burdened with $1.2 trillion of debt for the first time. We've seen the bloating of the Public Service. Australia's public sector workforce is now one of the largest in the world on a per capita basis. We've seen an appetite for government intrusion into the lives of Australians. Labor has enacted some 5,000 new regulations. We've seen interference across the economy—interference through Labor's environment, industrial relations and industry policies. It's no wonder that the economy is shuddering to a halt. It's no wonder that under Labor Australians are paying 15 per cent more for food, 19 per cent more for housing, 15 per cent more for health and 39 per cent more for insurance. If there's one area of Labor's policy agenda that's contributing to economic decline more than anything else, it's Labor's energy policy. We used to be a competitive economy because we believed in affordable and reliable power. But under Labor's reckless renewables-only push this government is making power unaffordable and completely unreliable. Labor has turned its back on coal and gas. It refuses to lift the ban on nuclear power because it knows nuclear power will be commercially viable, as it is in more than 30 other countries around the world. Instead Labor subsidises renewables to give renewables the appearance of being competitive. Chris Bown is engaging in one of the most scandalous cons ever attempted on the Australian people. The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT ( Senator Cox ): Senator Nampijinpa Price, just a reminder to refer to those from the other place by their correct title. Senator NAMPIJINPA PRICE: Certainly. But Australians of course aren't mugs. Every power bill they receive exposes the truth. Under Labor Australians are paying 40 per cent more for electricity. When energy prices skyrocket, it costs more to grow food, more to manufacture goods and more to run homes, businesses and factories. Energy costs are having an inflationary impact across Australia. We need affordable and reliable energy, but we won't get that with a net zero target. Australia contributes just over one per cent of global emissions. Reaching net zero could cost a staggering $7 trillion to $9 trillion by 2060, as estimated by independent experts. Net zero will impoverish and deindustrialise our nation to achieve an emissions reduction target that, in an Australian context, will not alter global temperatures a single iota. Labor's overbuild of renewables and enforcement of draconian emission reduction policies are only going to cause more harm. Power bills will continue to climb. More businesses will close, and more industries will move offshore. A public greenlash has started, just as it came in Europe and America. It's time the government started putting Australians first. It's time Labor prioritised affordable and reliable energy. It's time to end the net zero nonsense and restore common sense, if we're serious about turning our economy around. The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT ( Senator Cox ): The time for that debate has now expired. I shall proceed to the consideration of documents.