INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS ARE NEEDED

THE surging price of power in Queensland is a disaster entirely the making of politicians.

It is the sum total of their ham-fisted attempts to win votes by appearing to do something about climate change.

The only material thing any of them have achieved is a 257 per cent increase in Queensland electricity prices over the past 12 years.

In a state that is blessed with an almost endless supply of cheap fuel to guarantee reliable and affordable power, this will go down as one of the greatest political follies in the state’s history.

The ideologically-driven headlong rush to renewables threatens our energy security but just as significantly kills jobs as businesses and consumers struggle to pay their power bills.

The Bulletin identified power costs as one of the five key issues we want tackled during the state election campaign. We have called on all political parties to put forward their solutions so retirees are not forced to turn off air conditioners this summer.

Our special report today shows the huge impact on families and businesses of the skyrocketing cost of power.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has scrambled to cobble together a new rebate fund, worth $75 to consumers and $120 to small businesses.

In the face of increases worth thousands of dollars a year, this is tokenism at its most blatant.

Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls offers only a marginally better outcome: pledging a $780 cut over three years.

Of course they can’t offer more because they both now depend on the income the state-owned power assets deliver.

With public debt hovering at an eye-watering $81 billion and the annual bill to service that debt nearing $2 billion, they have little room for manoeuvre.

Palaszczuk was scandalously exposed by the competition watchdog earlier this year gouging Queenslanders by jacking up wholesale prices – the amount the generators charge distributors, which is duly passed on to electricity consumers.

Each is blaming the other – or the Feds, or other States – for the outrageous increases.

Enough. We’ve had a gutful of the buck passing.

Yes, we are subject to forces beyond our control. The national electricity grid ensures that demand in other states affects our own ability to deliver cheaper power.

So let’s get serious – and creative. For instance, could we create a power generator with a closed circuit – closed to the rest of the nation – that can seriously drive down prices?

These sorts of ideas must be considered to address this crisis.

The government needs to detox from its addiction to electricity revenue. The hit to the budget bottom line would be more than offset by the economic activity and jobs growth cheaper power would deliver.

The first party to offer a genuine plan to cut power prices will themselves likely surge to power.