Thursday, 9 June 2022

Gas supply and prices

Mr ONDARCHIE (Northern Metropolitan) (12:27): My question today is to the Minister for Resources. Minister, in 2017 the Liberal-Nationals coalition called for a domestic gas reservation policy to ensure gas supplies for businesses and households were readily available and at affordable prices. Why has it taken the Andrews Labor government five years to adopt the coalition’s guidance on a domestic gas reservation policy?

Ms PULFORD (Western Victoria—Minister for Employment, Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital Economy, Minister for Small Business, Minister for Resources) (12:28): I thank Mr Ondarchie for his question. I think I can pretty much rule out on behalf of the government us adopting any of their policies on anything.

Mr ONDARCHIE (Northern Metropolitan) (12:28): No doubt we will ask for a fulsome response in writing given that was a nothing response. Minister, given the Andrews Labor government’s long delays in adopting a domestic gas reservation policy after eight years in office, will the government now apologise to Victorians for their higher gas bills as a result of its inaction?

Ms PULFORD (Western Victoria—Minister for Employment, Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital Economy, Minister for Small Business, Minister for Resources) (12:29): Because Mr Ondarchie in his substantive question asked about our government’s adoption of a coalition policy from 2017 about things like national energy policy—my answer to that being clearly no—and the time limits that our house provides under our standing orders of a minute only for answers to supplementary questions, I would dearly, dearly love to give Mr Ondarchie a long lesson in all of this. I will take his question on notice so that I can give it the regard that it deserves, because this is an incredibly important issue affecting industry and affecting households—2 million households in Victoria. There are a multitude of complex intersecting policy questions that their side of politics is wholly ill equipped to deal with. So I look forward to taking you to school on energy policy.

Mr DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan—Leader of the Opposition) (12:30): I move:

That we take into account the minister’s answer on the next day of meeting.

Motion agreed to.