As the nation’s eastern provinces get ready for a significant increase in electricity bills in just a few months, opposition leader Peter Dutton and deputy prime minister Richard Marles have gotten into a fight over growing energy prices.
The Australian Energy Regulator announced this week that rates around the east coast will increase by 20% to 25% starting in July.
Over half a million homeowners will be impacted by the revisions.
In light of the news, Mr. Dutton has been attacking Labour, saying Anthony Albanese “lied” to Australians by promising them $275 in power bill savings prior to the election.
The Liberal leader blasted the government for “completely underestimating” the effects of the cost-of-living problem on families during an appearance on the Today show.
On Friday, Mr. Dutton said to Today host Karl Stefanovic, “Let’s be very clear about it, he (the Prime Minister) promised on 97 occasions your bill would go down by $275.”
Mr. Marles, who co-hosted the breakfast programme with Mr. Dutton, defended his administration’s stance.
The cheapest kind of electricity in the future, according to what we said at the time, will be renewable energy, and we need to see more investment in it, Mr. Marles added.
“And after a decade of stagnation, that’s what we’ve done as a government,”
The “protracted conflict” in Ukraine, according to the Deputy Prime Minister, has made it challenging to meet the goal of lowering energy prices.
Mr. Dutton rejected the allegations, noting that Labour had even pledged to provide cheaper electricity when Russia invaded Ukraine.
He answered, “Forget about that… that sort of foolish reasoning.
Peter is free to make his argument, but Mr. Marles countered that no one could have predicted that the war would still be raging today in the manner it is.
Mr Marles mentioned a number of Labor-led initiatives to address the issue, such as a cap on petrol prices and a $3 billion plan to put downward pressure on pricing.
He pointed out that the Liberal Party had opposed granting that relief.
To lower the cost for families and small companies, Mr Dutton has endorsed increasing the amount of petrol available on the energy market.
He said on the Today programme that the government was “turning off the old system before the new one is ready” and that Labour had moved too quickly to switch to renewable energy.
The average home in New South Wales will pay an additional $480 annually as a result of Juky, while the average energy bill in Queensland will increase by about $402.
Victorian households will face an increase of around $352.
The biggest hit state will be South Australia, where bills are anticipated to increase by $512 annually.
Businesses operating in the eastern states might anticipate higher prices.
