ONE NATION SLAMS LIBS’ POWER PLAY
PAULINE Hanson’s One Nation has challenged Labor and the LNP to end the rip- off by governmentowned electricity corporations by cutting household power bills.
The party has also questioned LNP Leader Tim Nicholls’s commitment to building a high- efficiency low emission coal- fired power station in North Queensland.
Budget documents show electricity corporations in Queensland are expected to provide $ 1.1 billion in dividends to government coffers in 2017- 18 and more than $ 4 billion over the four years to 2020- 21.
One Nation Deputy Leader and Burdekin candidate Sam Cox said his party’s policy was to use the power corporations’ dividends to cut people’s electricity bills by at least 20 per cent.
“That money should not leave those government- owned electricity corporations,” he said.
“Those dividends should re- main with the electricity corporations which they can use to lower power prices.
“Our calculations are that we can conservatively reduce power bills by 20 per cent.”
One Nation has also committed to redirect the $ 5.4 billion earmarked for Brisbane’s Cross River Rail tunnel project to fund regional projects including a governmentowned coal- fired power station with a capacity of 1000 megawatts in North Queensland.
Mr Cox did not name a site but said it would likely be adjacent to a coal resource, that it would be government- owned and located in North Queensland.
He also revealed he had raised the issue with Mr Nicholls when he was an LNP MP for Thuringowa in late 2014, seeking a Newman government commitment that the next baseload power plant to be built in Queensland would be located in North Queensland.
Mr Cox claimed Mr Nicholls rejected the suggestion and questioned what would happen if a proponent wanted to build the power station in southeast
OUR CALCULATIONS ARE THAT WE CAN CONSERVATIVELY REDUCE POWER BILLS BY 20 PER CENT ONE NATION QUEENSLAND DEPUTY LEADER SAM COX
Queensland because they could make more profit.
Mr Cox said he replied that it was not about making profit but providing an essential service.
When asked about Mr Cox’s claims, an LNP spokesman said Mr Nicholls and the LNP first recognised the need for a new high- efficiency, low- emissions baseload coal- fired power station as part of the LNP’s New Deal for Regional Queensland, which was announced in March this year.
“Sam Cox and One Nation are merely playing catch- up on this issue because they have no new ideas of their own,” the spokesman said.
Mr Cox said cheap reliable electricity was what people wanted and would take nothing less.
“There is no bigger issue across this state that affects the smallest to the biggest as individuals or businesses,” Mr Cox said.
“The future of this state depends on it ( cutting power prices).”
Mr Cox said the “old parties” still wanted to prioritise delivering political ideologies before cheap, reliable electricity.