THE Albanese government secured its energy price relief laws today when the bill passed both houses of parliament after MPs and Senators were recalled to Canberra to debate the legislation.
The debate dominated the single-day sitting, which included a condolence motion after the tragic shootout in Queensland on Monday.
The new laws cap domestic gas at $12 a gigajoule and spot sales of thermal coal at $125 a tonne, introduce a mandatory gas market code of conduct and provide power bill support for those on government benefits.
Assured of sufficient cross-bench support in the Senate, the government did not need the Coalition vote to pass its Treasury Laws Amendment (Energy Price Relief Plan).
Amendments were rejected and the Bill passed the house after 12pm and the senate after 4pm.
Current power prices have risen from eight-year lows last December, and Labor speakers in the house blamed the rises on profiteering after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Opposition speakers criticised the market intervention. Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor said history showed price caps led to shortages and further price gouging.
One Nation Senator and former mine manager Malcolm Roberts said the major parties and the Greens were ignoring an inability of renewable generators to reliably replace coal-fired generation. Prices had risen on a shortage of coal.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the government was in discussions with the ACCC about the best way to make public the information that it used to justify its intervention. Earlier, the opposition said the parliament was given just a day to debate something that would normally take weeks if not months.
Australian Energy Regulator chair Clare Savage said before parliament sat that wholesale electricity contract prices had fallen by up to 50 per cent since power price relief was raised at the October budget.
NSW Treasurer Matt Kean said the state government was considering small modular nuclear reactors for electricity generation.
Having recently ridiculed the idea, Mr Kean said the government was looking to small reactors as part of a future energy mix.
Senator Matt Canavan has a private members' bill - the Environment and Other Legislation Amendment (Removing Nuclear Energy Prohibitions) Bill 2022 - which was introduced in September with the aim of lifting nuclear energy prohibitions.
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