THE HON ANGUS TAYLOR MP – SHADOW TREASURER
SENATOR SUSAN MCDONALD – SHADOW MINISTER FOR RESOURCES
TED O’BRIEN MP – SHADOW MINISTER FOR CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENERGY
MEDIA RELEASE
Thursday, 15 December 2022
POWER PRICES AND BLACKOUTS WILL INCREASE UNDER LABOR’S DISGRACEFUL ENERGY DEAL
Family budgets will be clobbered with soaring energy bills this Christmas despite Labor claiming its energy legislation will provide relief.
After six months of inaction and delay, the Albanese Labor Government has failed to deliver any meaningful relief for millions of Australian households and businesses facing skyrocketing bills.
The Labor Party was elected on the promise of bringing power prices down by $275. The Prime Minister made this commitment on 97 occasions prior to the election. He hasn’t mentioned it since.
Make no mistake – this diabolical deal stitched up at five minutes to midnight will not reduce energy prices. Australian families will get a rude shock when they go to the mailbox and open their next power bill and see they’re paying more – a whole lot more.
The fact that this shambolic piece of legislation was dumped on Parliamentarians less than 12 hours before having to vote on it is a disgrace.
This is one the largest and most significant government interventions we have seen in a market in decades and the Albanese Labor Government is too arrogant and deceitful to allow proper consultation.
It was still in the oven being baked last night and it’s come out completely uncooked.
History has shown time and time again that price caps will only result in supply shortages and that leads to price rises. It’s economics 101.
Labor’s attempt to price-fix will only lead to higher risks of energy rationing and blackouts.
Price-controls have always failed. In Argentina and the US price caps cut supply, killed new investment, caused producers to leave the market and led to rationing and shortages forcing them to rely on imports.
There have been countless warnings from the ACCC and others about the growing likelihood of imminent gas shortages due to undeveloped reserves and lack of investment in new gas supply.
Experts are loudly warning that gas price-fixing will result in 19 years of gas supply being commercially stranded and will increase the risk of blackouts in 2023.
It’s simply beggars belief the government would ignore these warnings and risk severely curtailing supply in coming years.
As expected, industry is already being forced to reconsider their investments, with contracts for supply of new gas suspended. This is just the first step on the road towards blackouts.
Labor’s rushed energy package will come as a cruel hoax to the millions of Australians who took the Prime Minister at his word when he promised a solution to this crisis before Christmas.
It is little wonder energy experts are calling this package “the single worst piece of energy policy” seen anywhere in the last 20 years.
In the House of Representatives today the Treasurer refused to answer any questions on the detail of the Bill including how small businesses will be affected and the modelling behind the policy.
This Government had a plan to get elected and that’s where the planning ended.
ENDS.