Premier Daniel Andrews vows to fix ‘broken’ energy market

CONSUMERS have been dudded by energy market privatisation and the scales need to be tipped back in their favour, Premier Daniel Andrews will say in a major speech 100 days from the state election.

CONSUMERS have been dudded by energy market privatisation and the scales need to be tipped back in their favour, Premier Daniel Andrews says.

In a major speech 100 days from the state election, Mr Andrews will on Wednesday signal a re-elected Labor government will intervene to “tip things back in favour of the consumer, not the corporation”.

“We were promised that a privatised electricity market would lower prices,” the speech says. “Wrong. Privatisation has not worked. It’s only made things harder for families.”

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Premier Daniel Andrews. Picture: Nicole Garmston

In an admission that electricity costs have soared under his government, Mr Andrews says that the fact the system is “broken” is evidenced by AGL making $1 billion and Energy Australia tripling profits at the same time as consumer bills soared by 20 per cent.

“These everyday expenses — in the thousands of dollars — are growing faster than wages,” he said.

“For a carpenter on $60,000, or even a teacher on $75,000, that’s a big impact. It might not just mean putting off a holiday. It could mean putting off the Christmas presents.”

The premier’s new push into the energy market comes after his government spent months haggling over a National Energy Guarantee proposed by the Turnbull Government that is aimed at keeping prices lower while maintaining a reliable supply.

It has also created a new debate about renewables and coal as an energy source.

The Andrews Government is also still considering a key recommendation in a review of the electricity retail market, that argued for intervention and a new “no frills” basic tariff.

Mr Andrews’s speech, set to be made at a Committee for Economic Development of Australia event on Wednesday, sets the scene for a battle over cost of living and infrastructure ahead of the November election.

Declaring that the “status quo will no longer cut it” he will declare he has the “guts” to make big decisions. He also promises to invest even more money in roads and rail to keep up with Melbourne’s rapid growth.

“At the centre of this plan will be the biggest transport building program in Australian history,” he said.

“A building program stretching over decades — creating new industries, and tens of thousands of direct jobs.”

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