The Not4Sale campaign has called on the LNP to come clean on long-term plans to privatise Queensland’s energy assets after the Federal Liberal Government attacked the state’s publicly owned network for the second time in a week.
Federal Liberal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg yesterday attacked the operations of publicly owned power stations Stanwell Corporation and CS Energy, after previously ridiculing Queenslanders for keeping electricity assets in public hands.
Electrical Trades Union Queensland and NT Organiser Stuart Traill said the attacks were misinformed, as Queenslanders were facing the lowest electricity price rises of any mainland Australian state (3.3 per cent) this year.
Mr Traill said the Federal Government was attempting to undermine public confidence in the state’s energy network to make the case for asset sales.
“This is clearly a coordinated campaign by the LNP and Turnbull Government to work together and destroy the public’s confidence in the state’s publicly owned energy assets in order to improve Tim Nicholls’ case for asset sales,” he said.
“The LNP know that Queenslanders are emphatically opposed to privatisation.
“But Tim Nicholls is too afraid of voter backlash to attack these public assets himself, so he has the Turnbull Government do it for him.
“His Strong Choices plan is clearly still front and centre in his mind. It’s time Mr Nicholls came clean on his plans to sell off energy assets and make the case to voters himself.”
Mr Traill said Queensland’s publicly owned electricity network was the envy of other Australian states, who face price rises of 9.6 per cent or higher this year.
“Ask someone in South Australia, where they face a 19.9 per cent increase in electricity prices, whether they wish they still had control of their energy assets,” he said.
“It’s no surprise that the state with the most ownership is the state with the lowest prices.
“That’s why Queenslanders need to put the LNP and One Nation last this election. It’s simple math: the LNP plus One Nation equals assets sales.”
Further information please contact: Stuart Traill 0488 225 625 or Dan Nancarrow 0448 633 858