Prime Minister

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning. Good to be with you, Patricia. KARVELAS: How much will bills be reduced by and when will that reduction kick in?

I'm the Prime Minister, and it would be inappropriate for me to comment, and I don't intend to. To be very clear, that is what will be before the Senate. In light of what is being alleged as a political conflict, will the Department insist that that Katy Gallagher recuse herself from any involvement on this? When people have a look at the detail, have a think about what we need to do, then they have acted responsibly, the energy ministers on Thursday, and all of the state and territories together with the Federal Government coming up with this agreement on Friday, I'd suggest that that would give pause for thought for those Members and Senators who have to make the decision this Thursday. But we have an immediate crisis as a result of the global spike in energy prices that is affecting inflation around the world as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. I talk with people, I'll continue to engage, the legislation will be finalised in time for people to have a look at it. PRIME MINISTER: If there is a cost of production that is higher than $125 per tonne, then it is reasonable that there be payments made for that to make sure that there isn't a disincentive to continue to supply. That is what the legislation will do. PRIME MINISTER: Treasury analysis suggests that the cap will reduce bills by some $230 as a result of the cap on gas and the cap on coal. You know, what we're dealing with is a reasonable response in the real world that puts downward pressure on the increases, which are a direct result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. They've met with the Treasurer prior to this agreement being made with the states and territories, they've met with the Energy Minister, they've met with the Resources Minister. There's been a discussion paper about a code of conduct, that is the subject of consultation, that has a line in it about reasonable price being offered, because it's the ACCC, like the ACCC looks at competition policy and reasonable pricing across the board.