Ms KEARNEY (Cooper—Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care) (15:33): This MPI is extraordinary. They're raising questions about policies and energy prices. It's extraordinary because (1) they had no energy policies—it was energy policy chaos—and (2) we heard from all the experts and all the economic commentators that our policies—and, yes, Deputy Speaker, we do have policies in this area—actually have been far from inflationary. In fact, they have been helping to manage inflation. Specifically, they do not drive up energy prices. In fact, they have had the opposite impact. It's quite an interesting take from the opposition when even their Treasurer went on national television and couldn't remember which energy policies they had actually supported and opposed. But I'd be happier to discuss our policies which might give them a bit of help when they're going on telly again. We intervened in the market to ensure that Australians were shielded from the worst of the power price shocks we've seen internationally. We're seeing the benefits of that policy, with power prices being significantly lower than they would have been expected to be without our intervention. Those opposite scoffed; we got on with the job. Let me tell you about another policy, the Energy Price Relief Plan. This is providing targeted energy bill relief and investing in cleaner, cheaper energy for the future. Unlike those opposite, we know that action is needed right now to keep our prices down and deliver the energy system we need for the future. That's why we've partnered with states and territories to shield Australian families and businesses from the worst impacts of the energy price spikes, driven by global events that those opposite simply choose to ignore. Part of this plan is the $1.5 billion Energy Bill Relief Fund, another policy they might have forgotten about. This targeted and temporary support will provide hundreds of dollars of additional bill relief to eligible Australian families and small businesses. I'm personally delighted that eligible households in my home state will receive an additional $250 off their power bills as a direct result of this policy, making a huge difference to household bottom lines. As a result of the interventions we've made and the subsidies that we are providing, it's projected that families in my home state of Victoria will have an annual power bill that is $555 cheaper than it would have been. That's a real difference to the budget bottom line for households in Victoria, and we know that those savings are replicated right across the country. Maybe the opposition posed this MPI because they weren't listening when we reinforced our commitment to implement the long overdue Capacity Investment Scheme, a policy that will unlock around $10 billion of private and public sector investment in clean dispatchable storage and generation to ensure reliable and affordable electricity supply and to reduce our exposure to high-cost coal and gas prices over the medium and long term. The opposition might be wondering about our Powering Australia policy. Our government is refusing to be asleep at the wheel, like they were when they were in government. They can deny it all they like, but we know that renewable energy is cheaper energy. They denied and decried it for decades. Opposition members interjecting— Ms KEARNEY: In fact, I hear a few of them still denying it right now over there, true to style. But we won't put our heads in the sand like them. We wouldn't do that to the families and businesses in Australia, who deserve cleaner, cheaper energy. Our Powering Australia policy will be key in ensuring we have an energy system that will serve us well into the future. It's about backing Australian workers and creating jobs, cutting power bills and reducing emissions by boosting renewable energy. These are all policies that have a direct impact on the hip pocket of families and businesses. As part of this vision, the opposition might need to be reminded of our Rewiring the Nation plan, a policy that invests $20 billion to modernise transmission in our power grid, to unlock greater investment in renewables and to enable greater uptake in the National Energy Market. While those opposite were in government we were left with an aging power grid which was acting as a barrier, a literal, physical barrier, to the uptake of renewables. Our government is making sure there's nothing holding us back in going full speed towards our renewable, cheaper, cleaner energy future. We've invested more than $200 million in establishing 400 community batteries across the country, with one in Alphington in my electorate. Again, this policy will unlock households' access to cheaper, cleaner energy. I would be remiss not to ask if maybe they were thinking of another incredible policy announcement we made this week, the appointment of a chair and advisory board of the Net Zero Economy Agency. What those opposite failed time and time again to recognise is that workers deserve a government that will proactively support them through a transition to a clean energy economy. That's why we established the Net Zero Economy Agency. When I was President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, it was my privilege to speak with workers right across the country. I heard exactly what it was like on the ground. Our government understands that we absolutely cannot talk about easing the cost of living and transitioning to a clean energy future without thinking of the impact on those workers. We will absolutely not leave them behind. If the opposition want to sit there and make ridiculous claims that we don't understand the financial pressure that workers and their families face, I'll simply point them to this policy. We've done all of this, and there is policy after policy making sure that Australians are coping with the rising cost of living right now. We've unlocked billions of dollars of investment in new energy generation despite the blocking tactics of those opposite. You've heard the moniker of the 'no-alition', Madam Deputy Speaker, and what an accurate descriptor that is. This is an opposition that actually voted against making prices hundreds of dollars lower. It absolutely beggars belief. All those opposite do is say no. We put forward plans to get more energy into the system; they say no. We bring in legislation to cut wholesale power bills; they say no. We intervene in the market to stymie increases to power bills; they say no. In fact, after we intervened in the market to ensure households were protected from the worst of the power price hikes, they didn't just say no; the Leader of the Opposition went much further, saying, 'Just like Reagan, we will wind back government intervention.' Amazing! What an inspirational leader—just what the people of Australia have been crying out for. This is the Leader of the Opposition who seriously suggested, in his budget reply speech no less, that the solution to power price hikes is nuclear energy. Here we go again—the old nuclear power solution. It's an oldie but a goodie. It's been discredited as too slow, too expensive, potentially dangerous, a white elephant—the list goes on. Mr Ted O'Brien: It's not working, Ged. Why are you against AUKUS? Ms KEARNEY: I guess they needed something to say that would make us, rather than them, say no for a change. Mr Ted O'Brien interjecting— The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Claydon ): Member for Fairfax, I believe you were heard in silence. Ms KEARNEY: I mean, really! While those opposite sit on their hands, we are getting on with the job of delivering energy price relief to Australian households. They can snipe from the sidelines, continue their blocking tactics, continue to say no, but we're not wasting time. We're delivering relief to households who need it. They left a mess for families and businesses to bear through extraordinary times. They failed to invest in renewables. They failed to invest in power generation. Actually, they failed to invest in power transmission, losing us precious time. And they refused to accept not only the science of climate change but also the economic reality of the benefits of renewable energy. Put simply, they failed Australia. We understand that families are doing it tough. Inflation is the defining economic challenge of 2023, as it was in 2022, and we know Australians are feeling it and seeing it. We are currently dealing with the most significant shock to energy markets in 50 years due to Russia's prolonged attack on Ukraine. Energy prices are forecast to stay high for longer because global energy market disruptions have become more pronounced and are persisting longer. But we are acting. We have a huge suite of policies. After a decade of underinvestment, policy division, grandstanding about the virtue of fossil fuels and the demonising of renewables—after all of that—they dare to come into this place and say our policies are driving up energy prices. It's absolutely absurd. They are the masters of nothing other than a policy vacuum. Unlike those opposite, we have policies. We know that we need to act right now, and we have policies that are keeping prices down and delivering the energy system we need for our future.