Opposition MP questions Synergy's operational subsidies and advertising spending, highlighting potential financial strain despite reported profits. Government cites cabinet confidentiality for subsidy details but provides profit and advertising figures.

AnsweredQoN 176Legislative Assembly
Asked
20 May 2025
Portfolio
Energy and Decarbonisation

QuestionView source ↗

Synergy—Operational subsidies
176. Hon Dr Steve Thomas to the Leader of the
House representing the Minister for Energy and Decarbonisation:
I refer to media
reports that in the lead-up to the Government
Mid-year Financial Projections Statement , released in December 2024, the
then Minister for Energy sought almost $1 billion in additional funding for
Synergy to cover operational subsidies.
(1) How much additional funding was sought by the
Minister for Energy or Synergy in late 2024 to cover operational subsidies?
(2) How much total funding was sought to cover
Synergy's operational subsidies?
(3) What was the total of the operational
subsidies received by or budgeted for Synergy in 2024–25?
(4) What was the profit and loss result for
Synergy in the 2023–24 financial year?
(5) While it loses money in operations, what was
the budget for Synergy's "Greater, connected" advertising campaign in
total and broken down by financial year?

AnswerView source ↗

(1)–(2) These matters were subject to
cabinet decisions and therefore the information is cabinet-in-confidence.
(3) The final amounts will be released as part of
the 2025–26 state budget.
(4) For the 2023–24 financial year,
Synergy reported a statutory net profit before tax of $589.7 million.
(5) Synergy has had a campaign called
"Greater, Connected" since the 2023 financial year. The budget for
that campaign is as follows: for the 2023 financial year, $3,273,000; for the 2024
financial year, $1,920,000; for the 2025 financial year, $1,664,000.

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