Page 458 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 19 February 2020
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inquiry and during the work that the ICRC is undertaking, Canberra’s fuel prices were, in fact, lower than those experienced by Sydney motorists.
In relation to energy, I do not think that we need to canvass this morning all the reasons why energy costs in this nation are higher than they should be, but the lack of investment certainly is one factor. Another is the ongoing civil war inside the Liberal and National parties in relation to renewable energy and the need for there to be a more secure investment framework and some clear national energy policy to guide new investment in energy production.
The cheapest new energy to produce in this nation now is renewable energy. And that is why this year we achieved our 100 per cent renewable energy target and why we will see, as the ICRC has already foreshadowed, the already low electricity prices in the ACT comparable with across the border in Queanbeyan and, indeed, in other parts of the nation, are going to fall further as a result of our investment and our encouragement of investment in renewable energy.
Until the Leader of the Opposition’s speech just then it was assumed that this was a tripartisan position but the Leader of the Opposition has just signalled in his speech a deviation from what was previously Canberra Liberals’ policy, as we understood it, to be in support of 100 per cent renewable electricity for our city. The Leader of the Opposition in his remarks just then has suggested that that policy that was previously supported by the Canberra Liberals has somehow been the cause of an increase in energy prices in the ACT when in fact what the ICRC have just released in their forecast for electricity prices for the coming fiscal year is that it will be our renewable energy generation that will contribute to a near seven per cent reduction, an anticipated near seven per cent reduction, in electricity prices in the territory.
Now that the Leader of the Opposition has signalled that it is no longer Canberra Liberals’ policy to support renewable energy production we obviously have a new point of difference in territory politics on the future of energy and how it should best be produced to ensure lower prices for Canberrans longer term, but also sustainability and environmental responsibility and responding to climate change are, again, issues of significant political difference in the ACT. I am pleased that the Leader of the Opposition has put that on the public record. I suspected that was always his view and he has now confirmed that in this debate this morning.
As we look to other measures that the government has introduced to reduce cost of living, one that comes to mind, because it started just this month, is the new motor accident insurance scheme that was opposed by the Leader of the Opposition. The contribution that that makes to simpler, fairer and more effective coverage for those injured in motor vehicle accidents has been canvassed extensively through numerous debates in this place.
But importantly what we are seeing, and what Canberra motorists are experiencing, is that the previous scheme in today’s dollars had premiums as high as $680. What we are now seeing is premiums down in the $460, $470 range, nearly a couple of hundred dollars a year saved by every Canberra motorist on their CTP insurance. That is in
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