Tuesday, 28 November 2023

State Electricity Commission

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:30): My question is to the Premier. Ahead of the last election Labor promised that the SEC would ‘lower power bills’. Instead electricity bills have jumped at least 25 per cent this year, a $352 increase for Victorian families struggling with the cost of living. When will the SEC actually bring down power prices, or is this just another broken Labor promise?

The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, you have asked two questions. Could you rephrase them into one question?

John PESUTTO: The whole question?

The SPEAKER: One question at the end – which question?

John PESUTTO: When will the SEC actually bring down power prices?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:31): It is like the Leader of the Opposition has almost gone all nuclear over there on this question. Of course the answer to the Leader of the Opposition’s question lies in the fact that we have had to bring back the SEC in the first place. Why are we bringing back the SEC in the first place? Why are we bringing back the SEC? Indeed why have we –

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Gippsland South!

Members interjecting.

Jacinta ALLAN: You’d be better, Brad – come on. You don’t want the SEC? That’s a shame.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Premier, through the Chair!

Jacinta ALLAN: We have brought back the SEC. I was proud to be with the energy minister, the minister for the SEC, and I will say this for the benefit of the house: we have a minister for the SEC; the opposition have a shadow minister –

Members interjecting.

Jacinta ALLAN: Hang on. The opposition have a shadow minister for the SEC – the very same person who was in the government that privatised the SEC.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: The Leader of the Nationals will come to order. The house will come to order. I know this is the last sitting week, members, but you are not school students; this is not muck-up week.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, it was a very, very simple question, and I would ask you to bring the Premier back to that question – from a government that pulled its SEC bills this week.

The SPEAKER: The Manager of Opposition Business will not trivialise points of order. I will not call you for points of order unless I hear them succinctly.

Jacinta ALLAN: Indeed I am pleased to have the opportunity to perhaps explain to the Leader of the Opposition and his colleagues that we have brought back the SEC. Before I was interrupted by the Manager of Opposition Business, I was referring to the opportunity where I joined with the minister for the SEC, where we launched the SEC’s 10-year strategic action plan – it was four weeks ago – well and truly acquitting that commitment to bringing back the SEC.

I am anxious that I do not cut across issues that might be on the notice paper, but the reason why we added to that commitment by not only bringing back the SEC but working with the Parliament to explore the opportunity to place that in the constitution was because we wanted to protect it from a future Liberal government. The Deputy Premier and I often talk about how our fathers experienced what it was like to go through the privatisation of the SEC in the 1990s. We also know that workers around the state lost those apprenticeship opportunities to get a trade and have a career, and that is why, as part of the 10-year strategic action plan –

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Eildon can leave the chamber for an hour.

Member for Eildon withdrew from chamber.

Jacinta ALLAN: that was launched a few weeks ago, we are putting people at the heart of that plan. Alongside the investments we are making in renewable energy, we also have a program to employ – from memory it was 57 or 59 –

A member: 59.

Jacinta ALLAN: 59,000 people who will be needed to work in this industry. Do you know where they will be trained? They will be trained in our TAFE institutions, which we had to save from the Liberal chopping block.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the Opposition on a supplementary question, and I would ask the Leader of the Opposition to listen to the answer.

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:36): At significant cost to taxpayers, the government has produced mugs, jackets, bags and even jelly beans featuring the SEC logo. Premier, how have mugs, jackets, bags and jelly beans helped reduce energy bills for Victorians? I make available for the benefit of the house this SEC bag as an exhibit of what has been done. How have these reduced power prices?

The SPEAKER: Unfortunately, Leader of the Opposition, you have breached the standing orders by bringing a prop into the house. Leave is not granted. Members know that props are not allowed in the chamber. I expected more from you, Leader of the Opposition. I am very disappointed.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, I clearly heard the Leader of the Opposition offer the item to the government to make it available to members of the government.

The SPEAKER: That is not a point of order.

James Newbury: It was not a prop!

The SPEAKER: Manager of Opposition Business, that is not a point of order.

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:37): The irony is not lost on those of us on this side of the house. The cheerleaders of privatisation –

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Nepean! The Premier will come to order.

John Pesutto: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, it was a very simple question: how have these mugs, jackets and bags helped reduce power prices?

The SPEAKER: You do not need to repeat the question. The Premier was being relevant.

Jacinta ALLAN: I think the Leader of the Opposition is being very brave asking about mugs, but anyway – a bit brave. The point I was making before the Leader of the Opposition made his point of order is: we are proud of our efforts in working with the Victorian community to bring back the SEC – to have brought back the SEC through the good work of our minister for the SEC and the release of the 10-year strategic plan. Yes, from time to time that will involve us talking to the community about why bringing back the SEC is important for that ongoing work to invest in renewable energy. We know those opposite want to block this every step of the way. It is a signal to the community that they will go back and privatise the SEC.