PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS
Mr PASIN (Barker) (19:09): In my electorate, the No. 1 issue of concern for constituents is cost of living, so let's start with the basics. If we're serious about fixing the economy and putting downward pressure on the cost of living, we must get the cost of electricity down. Here is the very first and clear difference between the Labor Party and the coalition.
For Labor, energy policy is about ideology, emission targets, transmission lines, secret carbon taxes and billions of dollars in subsidies. The coalition knows that futureproofing electricity is very simple. The question is does it deliver affordable and reliable power to Australian households and businesses?
For the people I represent in Barker, electricity isn't an ideological exercise. Electricity is about the price of things. It's about producing the food Australians eat; pumping water and running irrigation; crushing grapes and making wine; milling the timber we use to build our homes; running a shop, a pub or a bakery; and keeping the lights on at a local service station.
Under Labor, electricity bills have increased by about 40 per cent. That matters in Barker. When electricity and gas prices rise, farmers pay more, manufacturers pay more, small businesses pay more, food processors pay more and ultimately South Australian families pay more.
Labor talks about making Australia a renewable energy superpower. We want to make Australia a production superpower. We know that means more cheaper energy, and it's not hard to do.
We live in an energy rich country. Australia is blessed with vast reserves of coal and uranium. Yet Australia and Australians are being denied the full benefit of these resources.
The coalition believes that we should be using Australian energy for Australian homes, farms and businesses instead of exporting it to our competitors. A sensible energy policy must back every technology capable of delivering affordable, reliable power. That means including coal, gas, renewables and indeed nuclear energy as part of a balanced energy mix.
We will get more Australian gas into the market. We'll keep reliable generation operating for as long as we need it. We'll lift the ban on nuclear energy.
We'll scrap Labor's secretive carbon taxes, including the Safeguard Mechanism. We'll back coal. We'll back gas.
We'll back hydro. We'll back nuclear. We'll back batteries and renewables in the right places.
The judge for energy policy is affordability and reliability. Cheaper power means cheaper food, cheaper power means stronger small businesses and cheaper power means Barker can keep doing what it does best, which is producing the food and fibre Australians need. That is one of the ways that we will fix the Australian economy.
In Barker, we produce food for the world. We're an agricultural powerhouse. Across food and fibre, we're world-class producers and an integral part of the South Australian and Australian economies.
Our farmers are already among the most efficient and innovative producers anywhere in the world. They need and are owed a government that is committed to protecting their right to farm. Here, again, is the fundamental difference between the party I represent and the once-great Labor Party.
Labor's net zero policies are now creating incentives for productive Australian land to be bought for carbon projects. We have already seen where that can lead. In Tasmania, Rushy Lagoon has been sold to a UK investment firm for $142 million.
A taxpayer backed Commonwealth body, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, provided $69 million towards that purchase. About 9,000 hectares are expected to be converted into a plantation. Think about what that means.
It means that Australian farmers are now competing with foreign investments that are backed by their own government. This is madness. Labor believes government should spend more.
Labor believes government should regulate more. Labor believes we should tax more and subsidise more. The Liberal Party, on the other hand, has a plan to fix the economy and protect our way of life, where we have lower taxes, lower immigration, lower regulation and lower energy costs.