October 3, 2019
The State Government has squeezed an extra $333 million in profits from electricity customers, according to the LNP.
LNP Leader Deb Frecklington said Labor was using power bills to hit Queenslanders with a secret tax.
Labor had budgeted to receive dividends of $1.153 billion from government-owned electricity generators and networks in 2018-2019, but annual reports released recently show it actually netted $1.486 billion.
“Annastacia Palaszczuk is using high electricity bills to siphon off profits to the State Government,” Mrs Frecklington said.
“This is a secret tax grab from Labor and it shows how little Annastacia Palaszczuk cares about families and businesses which are struggling to pay their bills.”
The $1.486 billion in dividends was paid by CS Energy ($165 million), Stanwell Energy ($550 million), Powerlink ($114 million) and Energy Queensland ($657 million).
Shadow Energy Minister Michael Hart said an LNP Government would restructure the two State-owned generators to create a third company, increasing competition in the sector and reducing wholesale prices by 8 per cent.
The LNP says it would also cut the average regional bill by $300 a year by enabling electricity retailers to operate across the entire State, not just in the south-east.
