positive media for the cat, page-3

Courier Mail Editorial 29/30 ..2010

The State Government should accept the INEVITABLE
and fully deregulate the state's retail electricity
markets.Not only would this provide consumers with
a greater choice of retail and more competition-the
whole point of deregulation-but it would also free
the Gov from the regular public beating it receives
at this time every year when the Qld Competition
Authority announces the electricity price increase
for the last 12 months.

Yesterday's price hike of 13.29%,effective from July 1
is the highest annual increase since the Gov took the
first step to deregulate back in mid 2007,when it
opened the market to interstate competitors and app-
ointed the QCA to set an annual price cap.

It also means that despite then,premier Peter Beattie's
ill judged bluster back in late 2005 that "WE CAN GUAR-
ANTEE THAT NO ONE WILL PAY ANY MORE" under the
new scheme,electricity prices will have risen by more
than 50% in less than four years.

Every step of the way the state energy minister 'of the
moment' has found themselves in the uncomfortable pos-
ition of having to express public regret at the increases
and trying to sound as if the Gov can do something about
them,while knowing full well that in reality it can do
little but watch.

To make matters worse,he country's electricity retailers
say the price increases to date..driven largely by the
massive catch-up investment programs of the distribution
and transmission companies and by rising energy gener-
ation costs,have not been enough to encourage the retail
competition that was supposed to lead to greater choice
for Queensland households.

More than 20 companies applied for licences to sell
retail electricity in the state before the start of open
competition in July 2007.Today barely a handful of them
are trading in a Qld market overwhelmingly held by the
industry giants,Orgin and AGL. An 'OBVIOUS' response for
the State Government would be to remove the QCA and its
price-setting powers from the process and let the industry
find its own price levels.

This approach has obvious political risks.Who knows
exactly how high prices might rise in a totally de-
regulated market? But then,the same can be said of
virtually every other product in Australia-from petrol
prices to mobile phone contracts,where there might not
be a maximum cap,but there is plenty of competition
and choice for consumers.

The one near certainty is that retail electricity
prices will continue to rise well above the inflation
rate for some time to come,reflecting both the cont-
inuing multi billion-dollar investment programs of the
power distributors "struggling" to keep pace with Qlds
rocketing demand for electricity and the ever increasing
power generation costs.

The longer the Government tries to keep a lid on those
price pressures through the unwieldy process of an annual
maximum-price increase,the bigger the jump will be when
it finally accepts the inevitability of "free market
forces".

------------------------------

Queensland Social Service President Karyn Walsh said
the price hike would hurt 400,000 people living on the
poverty line,with 16,000 Queenslanders already
having had their power disconnected.And we will see
more people living without electricity for more periods
of time.

-----------------------------------

What ever happened to the adage...A government that
governs least..governs best??

What an utter mess both State and Federal Governments
are making of this great country of ours.Seems like the
only collective skills these failed politicians have is
to urinate into the wind..hoping they don't get wet.

C'mon Cougar.. get Kingaroy sorted..iron out those small
wrinkles and show these nincompoops how to operate a
successful business,that started with an idea and is
now on the cusp of benefiting this Big Brown Land under
the Southern Cross.

HM.