Misleading media releases won’t help Tasmanians with cost of living
Energy Minister Guy Barnett has shown just how out of touch he is by his misleading claim Tasmania has some of the lowest power bills in the country.
Shadow Minister for Community Services Jo Siejka said Mr Barnett had failed to tell Tasmanians the full story regarding power bills.
“While Tasmania might have among the lowest ‘regulated’ energy prices in the country, this does not mean we have the lowest power bills,” Ms Siejka said.
“The Economic Regulator’s report shows the lowest market offers in other states are well below Tasmania’s ‘regulated’ price.
“Add to this the fact Tasmanians have to use more power because of our much colder winters and you soon find bills here are actually the highest in the nation.
“And let’s not forget Tasmanian wages are more than $11,000 below the mainland average, so Tasmanians are also forced to spend a greater proportion of their income on electricity bills.”
Ms Siejka said it wasn’t just Labor saying this – the TasCOSS report into Tasmanian Residential Electricity Prices said exactly the same thing.
“Tasmanians know they have high bills and pretending otherwise only shows how out of touch this Government has become.
“Misleading media statements from an out of touch Minister won’t do anything to help Tasmanians struggling with the rising cost of living.”
Jo Siejka MLC
Shadow Minister for Community Services
