address to parliament - PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS - Energy Bill Relief

In question time today I asked the Prime Minister a very serious question about Capital Brewing Co, a local success story. He took me up on the regionality of that. Given my boundary changes—many of us in New South Wales are experiencing electorate boundary changes, and I'm no different—my electorate will now wrap right around the Australian Capital Territory. Indeed, after these new changes, Riverina, if you look at it from the start of Federation, will now have bordered four different states or territories in its time. I think it would just about be the only electorate to do that. There was a very serious question from the Managing Director and Co-founder of Capital Brewing Co, Laurence Kain. Their energy costs have risen and are out of control. Their electricity bill has got up $4½ thousand a month, to $12,000 per month, over the past two years. The Prime Minister gave a very dismissive answer. Capital Brewing Co has made investments, as I understand, in Batlow Cider and that burgeoning industry, and that is good. Of course, Batlow is currently in Eden-Monaro but is soon to be back in the Riverina, as it was between 2010 and 2016.

But the trouble we've got with the energy mix is that Labor has an 'all eggs in the one basket' approach. It's renewables only, and it defies engineering and economics. We have to avoid and abandon this ideological approach at all costs. We need a network grid with balance, and that balance should include gas. We've got the Victorian state government trying to prevent and stop all gas in homes. If we've got a federal Labor Party determined to proceed with its Future Made in Australia manufacturing plan, then we have to have affordable, reliable, available gas. We have to open up opportunities in the Beetaloo Basin. We have to have more exploration and investment in Western Australia, Queensland and, for that matter, Victoria, because gas does provide many of the answers.

We should have a rational, national discussion about nuclear; we can't afford not to. Indeed, if we're going to get to net zero by 2050, as is our nation's desire, then we have to have nuclear in that balance. But let's have the discussion, with carefully considered costings and locations. Let's have a discussion about the viability of nuclear, not just, as the member for Moreton said in the last debate, these silly Homer Simpson references and that type of immaturity. Let's have a clear discussion with experts in the field, making sure everybody has their say. We appreciate that coal-fired power plants are exiting the system and that we do need to have renewables in the mix—we know that.

In this motion, the member for Jagajaga talks about how there is going to be a $325 reduction, but this is just a nonsense when you consider the costs of everything. There is $325 off just your power bills, for goodness sake. We've got rent up, food up, power up, education up and health costs up. Everything is just going up and up.

She talked about child care—it's fantastic, talking about the affordability of child care. I'm sure the member for Calare would agree with me: it's not just about affordability; it's about availability in regional areas. It is about availability, because many of our mums and dads who want to get into the workforce are just crying out for childcare centres. It's actually getting harder and tougher on Labor's watch.

The member for Jagajaga addressed bulk-billing too, but bulk-billing rates have slumped markedly from 88 to 77 per cent under Labor. When we talk about bulk-billing, we had the health minister Mark Butler say, 'If you can't get a doctor to bulk-bill, well, just find another one.' That ain't easy in regional Australia—trust me.