00:00Another round of power price pain.
00:07We know Australians, like people right around the world, are doing it tough.
00:11Across much of the country, benchmark power prices are climbing.
00:15In New South Wales, the default offer for ordinary households is lifting by up to 8.8%,
00:20depending on your region.
00:22In South East Queensland, it's climbing 5.8%.
00:25And in South Australia, it's going up 5.1%.
00:29Victoria, which has a different regulator, is seeing prices rise by less than 1% on average.
00:35That's largely being driven by particularly gas prices.
00:39That's going to create real difficulty for many small businesses who are already doing
00:43it very tough.
00:45Landing just weeks out from an election campaign, it's quickly become political.
00:50Because of Anthony Albanese's energy policy, your electricity bill is going to go up by
00:559%.
00:56That's another 9%.
00:57That's not a $275 cut, which is what the Prime Minister promised you before the last
01:01election.
01:02Peter Dutton arguing for nuclear power, but barely mentioning the nuclear bit.
01:07We have to have a balanced and sensible energy system, and if we do that, we can bring downward
01:12pressure on energy prices.
01:14Every bit of renewable energy you introduce puts downward pressure on prices.
01:19And if you are planning on keeping coal in the grid for longer, that puts upward pressure
01:22on prices.
01:23The cost of living, and power bills, is on the minds of voters.
01:27I'm coping with them, but they're quite high.
01:30I don't know how I will be able to manage it.
01:32I can't afford to pay that much, heaps.
01:35Most people don't pay the default offer, and the government wants households to shop around
01:39for the best deal.
01:40It's also now weighing whether it will, again, knock $300 off household power bills.
01:46I'm determined to provide cost of living relief wherever we can.
01:49You can keep giving $300, but as we see today, you then push electricity prices up by $1,300.
01:56A few billion dollars to take a few hundred dollars off power bills will be a tempting
02:00option for a government preparing an unexpected budget.
02:03Peter Dutton remains concerned about inflation, but might not stand in the way weeks out from
02:08an election being called.
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