It’s clear that the LNP’s arrogant refusal to apologise for power bill surges under Campbell Newman continues with Mr Hart blaming everyone but the LNP for the 43 per cent price rise over three years when they held government.
The LNP had the biggest majority in Australian political history, owning and controlling power assets and having more power than any government in our nation to deliver for electricity consumers.
Instead the LNP abandoned them. Prices were not locked in when the LNP were in power – it was up to Tim Nicholls and Campbell Newman to intervene and back consumers.
The Bligh Government issued Energex and Ergon a direction on 17 February 2012 to pass on savings to Queenslanders by reducing the annual regulated revenue allocated by the national regulator.
This was something that the Newman-Nicholls Government could have done, but didn’t – instead fattening up energy assets for privatisation via so-called Strong Choices.
The Palaszczuk Government has taken a very different approach pursuing electricity price stabilisation from day one. We've kept our power assets in public hands, directing them to back consumers and we’ve promoted the transition to cheaper renewable energy infrastructure.
Due to Abbot and Turnbull Government energy policy paralysis and recent heatwaves, we saw the Queensland Competition Authority determine a 7.1pc price increase for households from July.
The Palaszczuk Government acted on the same day slashing it by more than half to 3.3pc by reinvesting $770 million. Our intervention means that on average, the annual increase for households will be only 1.9pc over the first three years of the Palaszczuk Government.
Queensland is doing the best of any state or territory because of Palaszczuk Government action to shield consumers, something the LNP never did.
Mr Hart also tries to mislead readers when he knows full well that the head of the National Electricity Market Review, Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel, told Senate Estimates that it is now a lot more expensive to build new coal-fired power stations than renewable energy infrastructure.
Andy Vesey, CEO of Australia’s largest energy company AGL said exactly the same thing last week as he knows how fast the cost of renewables are falling as well.
I’ll take the word of our nation’s Chief Scientist and one of our captains of industry over Mr Hart’s ‘loose with the truth’ approach any day. His misrepresentation of the Finkel report as anti-renewable is frankly laughable.
The best way to put downward pressure on electricity bills is backing the latest, cheapest technology – renewable energy.
Queensland has the most robust power system in the nation and the Palaszczuk Government will continue to adopt a steady and measured approach to our transition to 50pc renewables by 2030.
The Palaszczuk Government’s $1.16 billion Powering Queensland Plan is comprehensive policy which maximises supply and competition to ensure affordable, secure, sustainable supply of electricity for Queensland homes, businesses and industry.
Within a day of our plan’s release, wholesale energy futures prices plunged 10pc in Queensland, which the Energy Users Association of Australia said is “providing real benefit and a ray of hope for all energy users”.
Queenslanders will indeed have a choice at the next election - price stabilisation, keeping power assets in public hands and transitioning to cleaner energy under our consistent and steady Annastacia Palaszczuk.
Or a return to the Newman era with Campbell’s right hand man Tim Nicholls for another round of 43pc price surges with the LNP backing expensive old technology and asset sales.
- Mark Bailey, Minister for Energy
