❓ Dr. Honey questions the Minister for Energy about the effectiveness of a $400 electricity credit in light of rising prices and disconnections. The Minister deflects, blaming federal interest rates and questioning the opposition's stance on unpaid bills.
AnsweredQoN 294Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ELECTRICITY — FEES AND CHARGES
294. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Minister for Energy:
I
have a supplementary question. I did not ask the minister what decision had
been made; I asked whether the minister had recommended it. After two
elections and significant price increases and an alarming number of
disconnections, is this $400 sugar hit another example of too little, too late
from the government?
294. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Minister for Energy:
I
have a supplementary question. I did not ask the minister what decision had
been made; I asked whether the minister had recommended it. After two
elections and significant price increases and an alarming number of
disconnections, is this $400 sugar hit another example of too little, too late
from the government?
AnswerView source ↗
The member raised the question of
the number of disconnections. The member knows, because the answer was given in
the upper house yesterday, that there were 32 disconnections for people in the
state for the month of April. That is not 32
on one day but over the month. I am not quite sure what the member is driving
at in that question about the number of disconnections. Fewer than 10 000
people will be disconnected for not paying their bill. What is the opposition's
proposal? Is the opposition saying that people who do not pay their bill should
be forgiven? Is that what opposition members are asking for? Fewer people are
having their power disconnected now than they were eight years ago. Let us
understand that. This is a difficult time for many people. One of the most
difficult things is that it is not necessarily low-income earners who do not
pay their bill; often it is people who have high mortgage costs. When the
federal Liberal government put up interest rates on home mortgages, it may well
have put more people into financial hardship. Members opposite need to
apologise to the people of this state for the Liberal Party putting up interest
rates. When they have done that, they can come back and talk to me.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
That supplementary did not strictly pertain to the original question. I think
that needs some reconsideration. The
minister's answer, of course, pertained to one tangent of what had been
asked there . I just advise that the
concept of the supplementary is that it needs to directly relate to and be a proper
follow-up on the original question. The ministerial answer to it should
also be relatively short. It is not another primary question as such.
the number of disconnections. The member knows, because the answer was given in
the upper house yesterday, that there were 32 disconnections for people in the
state for the month of April. That is not 32
on one day but over the month. I am not quite sure what the member is driving
at in that question about the number of disconnections. Fewer than 10 000
people will be disconnected for not paying their bill. What is the opposition's
proposal? Is the opposition saying that people who do not pay their bill should
be forgiven? Is that what opposition members are asking for? Fewer people are
having their power disconnected now than they were eight years ago. Let us
understand that. This is a difficult time for many people. One of the most
difficult things is that it is not necessarily low-income earners who do not
pay their bill; often it is people who have high mortgage costs. When the
federal Liberal government put up interest rates on home mortgages, it may well
have put more people into financial hardship. Members opposite need to
apologise to the people of this state for the Liberal Party putting up interest
rates. When they have done that, they can come back and talk to me.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
That supplementary did not strictly pertain to the original question. I think
that needs some reconsideration. The
minister's answer, of course, pertained to one tangent of what had been
asked there . I just advise that the
concept of the supplementary is that it needs to directly relate to and be a proper
follow-up on the original question. The ministerial answer to it should
also be relatively short. It is not another primary question as such.
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