South Australians and other Australians will only be more worried about electricity prices as they climb even more steeply under Julia Gillard’s carbon tax, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment Simon Birmingham said today
His comments follow a poll showing that Australians are most concerned about electricity costs of all the major household expenses, and that South Australians are more concerned about rising electricity costs than people in any other state.
“People concerned about electricity prices are entirely justified as we approach Labor’s implementation of the world’s largest carbon tax, which is designed to force electricity prices to rise,” Senator Birmingham said today.
“Labor’s own modelling predicts the carbon tax will cause an increase to electricity bills around Australia by at least 10 per cent in the first year alone and an increase to gas bills by at least 9 per cent in the first year alone.
“Of immediate concern to South Australians is that the Essential Services Commission is considering a request from the state’s largest energy retailer, AGL, for price rises as a direct result of the carbon tax that would hit households by about $150 on average.
“Of greater concern in the longer term is that Julia Gillard’s carbon tax is planned to keep going up.
“The carbon tax lands on 1 July this year, but is forecast to keep going up over the coming years with resulting further increases on electricity, gas and transport as well as the flow on rises to the cost of everything else.
“According to the Galaxy poll conducted for the Institute of Public Affairs, more Australians are worried about price rises on electricity than on other major household expenses, with 41 per cent of South Australians citing electricity as their primary concern compared with a national average of 30 per cent.
“Many people not yet worried about the impact of skyrocketing electricity price rises certainly will be when the dramatic increases associated with the carbon tax start flowing through in just three months.”