HOUSEHOLDS FACE LABOR’S HUGE POWER PRICE HIKES

Household budgets across NSW will be under more pressure from July 1 as Labor drives up electricity prices, according to Bob Baldwin, Member for Paterson.

Country Energy customers will pay 13% more, Energy Australia 10%  and Integral Energy 7%, following the decision in April by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal.

Consumers are suffering the first of a series of annual electricity price rises that will see their bills rise by a huge 42% by 2012/13 for Country Energy, 36% for Energy Australia, and 20% for Integral Energy.

Gas prices will also rise by between 4 and 13% for the major suppliers.

“This is the cost of living under Labor,” said Mr Baldwin.

“The scary thing about these increases is that they will be even higher if Federal Labor is returned at the next election. New South Wales electricity increases would have been 50% higher if Federal Labor had pressed ahead with its emissions trading scheme. Julia Gillard has already confirmed she intends to implement the ETS after the election.

“These increases will hit low and middle income households hard. Before the election, Labor promised it would put downward pressure on the cost of living and this is what voters get – increases many times the Consumer Price Index which is currently 2.9%.

“Whether it’s Kevin Rudd or Julia Gillard in charge, Labor promises are clearly worth nothing. They said they’d do something about petrol prices and came up with FuelWatch, then they dropped it. 

“They said they’d do something about food prices and came up with GROCERYchoice which was useless.  Then they dropped it.

“Now Julia Gillard has confirmed she will be setting a price for carbon which means  those huge planned price rises will go even higher.  And she’s committed to the mining tax which will, in effect, be another great big tax on everything.

“This is the reality of life under Labor – broken promises, useless policies and rising prices.”