❓ Opposition questions the Premier's honesty regarding electricity price promises made during the 2013 election, specifically whether promises were for one year only. The Premier defends his statements, referencing the context of the upcoming budget and criticising the previous Labor government's energy policies.
AnsweredQoN 195Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ELECTRICITY PRICES — PREMIER'S
COMMENTS
195. Mr W.J. JOHNSTON to the Premier:
I refer to the Premier's
comments on radio this morning in which he said —
I've never lied to the public
in 25 years of politics.
I also refer a question from Alisha
O'Flaherty to the Premier about electricity prices during the 2013
leaders' debate, which I quote —
� the budget forecasts further hikes of 25 per cent over three years. Is
that what you are planning?
(1) Did this question not clearly
ask for the Premier's plan for the next term of government?
(2) Has the
Premier not reinvented history by claiming that his promise to keep electricity
prices at or around the rate of inflation was only for one year?
COMMENTS
195. Mr W.J. JOHNSTON to the Premier:
I refer to the Premier's
comments on radio this morning in which he said —
I've never lied to the public
in 25 years of politics.
I also refer a question from Alisha
O'Flaherty to the Premier about electricity prices during the 2013
leaders' debate, which I quote —
� the budget forecasts further hikes of 25 per cent over three years. Is
that what you are planning?
(1) Did this question not clearly
ask for the Premier's plan for the next term of government?
(2) Has the
Premier not reinvented history by claiming that his promise to keep electricity
prices at or around the rate of inflation was only for one year?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) In
the lead-up to that debate there had been commentary about the forthcoming
budget and what would be in that budget if the government was re-elected. I
said our objective was to keep electricity prices at or around the rate of
inflation. I was answering that question in reference to the upcoming budget
and I think from memory —
Several members
interjected.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I was. I was answering
in reference to —
Several members
interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I
was not asked for a four-year prediction into the future. I cannot remember the
number—maybe someone can—but I think the increase in that year
was four per cent or something like that.
Mrs M.H. Roberts :
Above inflation.
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
Yes, at or around the inflation rate. Inflation then was probably around 3.5
per cent—not far off. We have kept —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Members!
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, this is so tedious.
The increase was above inflation, but not significantly. It
was not the 10 per cent that the previous government had planned for. Seven
years at 10 per cent, that was the Labor Party's policy. The answer was
in reference to that year. In the subsequent year, we also kept the rate of
increase relatively modest and we will attempt to do the same this year. The
Labor government lost $1 billion on electricity and we have had to handle that
and it is not easy. We realise people are doing it tough in the community and
there is a fair degree of insecurity about future employment for many people,
so we are trying to keep increases to a modest level. In terms of honesty, I
refer to the way the Labor Party has carried on about electricity prices. It
has never once apologised to the people of Western Australia and, as the
current Minister for Energy reminds us, there are power stations out there,
which the Labor government signed contracts for, that have never produced a
spark of electricity and we still pay for them. That is why people are paying
more for electricity than they should.
the lead-up to that debate there had been commentary about the forthcoming
budget and what would be in that budget if the government was re-elected. I
said our objective was to keep electricity prices at or around the rate of
inflation. I was answering that question in reference to the upcoming budget
and I think from memory —
Several members
interjected.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I was. I was answering
in reference to —
Several members
interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I
was not asked for a four-year prediction into the future. I cannot remember the
number—maybe someone can—but I think the increase in that year
was four per cent or something like that.
Mrs M.H. Roberts :
Above inflation.
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
Yes, at or around the inflation rate. Inflation then was probably around 3.5
per cent—not far off. We have kept —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Members!
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, this is so tedious.
The increase was above inflation, but not significantly. It
was not the 10 per cent that the previous government had planned for. Seven
years at 10 per cent, that was the Labor Party's policy. The answer was
in reference to that year. In the subsequent year, we also kept the rate of
increase relatively modest and we will attempt to do the same this year. The
Labor government lost $1 billion on electricity and we have had to handle that
and it is not easy. We realise people are doing it tough in the community and
there is a fair degree of insecurity about future employment for many people,
so we are trying to keep increases to a modest level. In terms of honesty, I
refer to the way the Labor Party has carried on about electricity prices. It
has never once apologised to the people of Western Australia and, as the
current Minister for Energy reminds us, there are power stations out there,
which the Labor government signed contracts for, that have never produced a
spark of electricity and we still pay for them. That is why people are paying
more for electricity than they should.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.