❓ Hon. Kate Doust questions the Minister for Energy on the justification for increasing dividends from government-owned electricity providers while simultaneously raising electricity prices for consumers. The Minister's response focuses on the need to move towards cost-reflective pricing and reduce government bailouts, but is disputed as not addressing the dividend question directly.
AnsweredQoN 263Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
ELECTRICITY CHARGES — INCREASING DIVIDENDS TO GOVERNMENT ENTITIES
I refer to the government’s 2010–11 budget. How can the minister justify increasing dividends to government—Synergy up by 25 per cent, Verve Energy up by 15 per cent, Western Power up by 15 per cent and Horizon Power up by 15 per cent—while simultaneously charging Western Australian consumers an average of an extra $194 a year for electricity? Hon PETER COLLIER
I refer to the government’s 2010–11 budget. How can the minister justify increasing dividends to government—Synergy up by 25 per cent, Verve Energy up by 15 per cent, Western Power up by 15 per cent and Horizon Power up by 15 per cent—while simultaneously charging Western Australian consumers an average of an extra $194 a year for electricity? Hon PETER COLLIER
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question. Hon Kate Doust : There was no notice. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am sorry? Hon Kate Doust : There was no notice. Hon PETER COLLIER : What? Hon Kate Doust : Don’t worry about it. Hon PETER COLLIER : I will make a succinct response so that we can get through question time pretty quickly today. Suffice to say, I fully understand and appreciate the community’s concerns with regard to raising electricity prices. I do. The simple fact of the matter is that we were faced with the possibility of either continuing to bail out Verve to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars—that is a mantra I will continue with—that could have been spent on schools, hospitals or any other raft of measures. What we have done is increase electricity charges to ideally get to the point of cost-reflective levels so that people actually pay for the amount it costs to produce their electricity. At the same time, we have also increased hardship allowances by $32.4 million to assist those who are least able to pay. We are therefore at a point at which there have been some significant increases in the price of electricity but we have made significant inroads in getting to the point of having a user-pays system for electricity. I believe that has had some benefits in reducing the amount of money, or bailout, that the government is having to pay for Verve or any of the other utilities, and I would like to think that that will lessen the pain in future years. Hon Kate Doust : Excuse me, you didn’t answer the dividend question at all. Hon Peter Collier : I did answer the question. Hon Kate Doust : You didn’t. I asked you to justify why the government has increased the dividend. Hon Peter Collier : What rubbish! That’s a stupid question. Hon Kate Doust : I’ll come back to that next week. The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
Hon PETER COLLIER replied: I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question. Hon Kate Doust : There was no notice. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am sorry? Hon Kate Doust : There was no notice. Hon PETER COLLIER : What? Hon Kate Doust : Don’t worry about it. Hon PETER COLLIER : I will make a succinct response so that we can get through question time pretty quickly today. Suffice to say, I fully understand and appreciate the community’s concerns with regard to raising electricity prices. I do. The simple fact of the matter is that we were faced with the possibility of either continuing to bail out Verve to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars—that is a mantra I will continue with—that could have been spent on schools, hospitals or any other raft of measures. What we have done is increase electricity charges to ideally get to the point of cost-reflective levels so that people actually pay for the amount it costs to produce their electricity. At the same time, we have also increased hardship allowances by $32.4 million to assist those who are least able to pay. We are therefore at a point at which there have been some significant increases in the price of electricity but we have made significant inroads in getting to the point of having a user-pays system for electricity. I believe that has had some benefits in reducing the amount of money, or bailout, that the government is having to pay for Verve or any of the other utilities, and I would like to think that that will lessen the pain in future years. Hon Kate Doust : Excuse me, you didn’t answer the dividend question at all. Hon Peter Collier : I did answer the question. Hon Kate Doust : You didn’t. I asked you to justify why the government has increased the dividend. Hon Peter Collier : What rubbish! That’s a stupid question. Hon Kate Doust : I’ll come back to that next week. The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question. Hon Kate Doust : There was no notice. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am sorry? Hon Kate Doust : There was no notice. Hon PETER COLLIER : What? Hon Kate Doust : Don’t worry about it. Hon PETER COLLIER : I will make a succinct response so that we can get through question time pretty quickly today. Suffice to say, I fully understand and appreciate the community’s concerns with regard to raising electricity prices. I do. The simple fact of the matter is that we were faced with the possibility of either continuing to bail out Verve to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars—that is a mantra I will continue with—that could have been spent on schools, hospitals or any other raft of measures. What we have done is increase electricity charges to ideally get to the point of cost-reflective levels so that people actually pay for the amount it costs to produce their electricity. At the same time, we have also increased hardship allowances by $32.4 million to assist those who are least able to pay. We are therefore at a point at which there have been some significant increases in the price of electricity but we have made significant inroads in getting to the point of having a user-pays system for electricity. I believe that has had some benefits in reducing the amount of money, or bailout, that the government is having to pay for Verve or any of the other utilities, and I would like to think that that will lessen the pain in future years. Hon Kate Doust : Excuse me, you didn’t answer the dividend question at all. Hon Peter Collier : I did answer the question. Hon Kate Doust : You didn’t. I asked you to justify why the government has increased the dividend. Hon Peter Collier : What rubbish! That’s a stupid question. Hon Kate Doust : I’ll come back to that next week. The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
Hon Kate Doust : There was no notice. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am sorry? Hon Kate Doust : There was no notice. Hon PETER COLLIER : What? Hon Kate Doust : Don’t worry about it. Hon PETER COLLIER : I will make a succinct response so that we can get through question time pretty quickly today. Suffice to say, I fully understand and appreciate the community’s concerns with regard to raising electricity prices. I do. The simple fact of the matter is that we were faced with the possibility of either continuing to bail out Verve to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars—that is a mantra I will continue with—that could have been spent on schools, hospitals or any other raft of measures. What we have done is increase electricity charges to ideally get to the point of cost-reflective levels so that people actually pay for the amount it costs to produce their electricity. At the same time, we have also increased hardship allowances by $32.4 million to assist those who are least able to pay. We are therefore at a point at which there have been some significant increases in the price of electricity but we have made significant inroads in getting to the point of having a user-pays system for electricity. I believe that has had some benefits in reducing the amount of money, or bailout, that the government is having to pay for Verve or any of the other utilities, and I would like to think that that will lessen the pain in future years. Hon Kate Doust : Excuse me, you didn’t answer the dividend question at all. Hon Peter Collier : I did answer the question. Hon Kate Doust : You didn’t. I asked you to justify why the government has increased the dividend. Hon Peter Collier : What rubbish! That’s a stupid question. Hon Kate Doust : I’ll come back to that next week. The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
Hon PETER COLLIER : I am sorry? Hon Kate Doust : There was no notice. Hon PETER COLLIER : What? Hon Kate Doust : Don’t worry about it. Hon PETER COLLIER : I will make a succinct response so that we can get through question time pretty quickly today. Suffice to say, I fully understand and appreciate the community’s concerns with regard to raising electricity prices. I do. The simple fact of the matter is that we were faced with the possibility of either continuing to bail out Verve to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars—that is a mantra I will continue with—that could have been spent on schools, hospitals or any other raft of measures. What we have done is increase electricity charges to ideally get to the point of cost-reflective levels so that people actually pay for the amount it costs to produce their electricity. At the same time, we have also increased hardship allowances by $32.4 million to assist those who are least able to pay. We are therefore at a point at which there have been some significant increases in the price of electricity but we have made significant inroads in getting to the point of having a user-pays system for electricity. I believe that has had some benefits in reducing the amount of money, or bailout, that the government is having to pay for Verve or any of the other utilities, and I would like to think that that will lessen the pain in future years. Hon Kate Doust : Excuse me, you didn’t answer the dividend question at all. Hon Peter Collier : I did answer the question. Hon Kate Doust : You didn’t. I asked you to justify why the government has increased the dividend. Hon Peter Collier : What rubbish! That’s a stupid question. Hon Kate Doust : I’ll come back to that next week. The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
Hon Kate Doust : There was no notice. Hon PETER COLLIER : What? Hon Kate Doust : Don’t worry about it. Hon PETER COLLIER : I will make a succinct response so that we can get through question time pretty quickly today. Suffice to say, I fully understand and appreciate the community’s concerns with regard to raising electricity prices. I do. The simple fact of the matter is that we were faced with the possibility of either continuing to bail out Verve to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars—that is a mantra I will continue with—that could have been spent on schools, hospitals or any other raft of measures. What we have done is increase electricity charges to ideally get to the point of cost-reflective levels so that people actually pay for the amount it costs to produce their electricity. At the same time, we have also increased hardship allowances by $32.4 million to assist those who are least able to pay. We are therefore at a point at which there have been some significant increases in the price of electricity but we have made significant inroads in getting to the point of having a user-pays system for electricity. I believe that has had some benefits in reducing the amount of money, or bailout, that the government is having to pay for Verve or any of the other utilities, and I would like to think that that will lessen the pain in future years. Hon Kate Doust : Excuse me, you didn’t answer the dividend question at all. Hon Peter Collier : I did answer the question. Hon Kate Doust : You didn’t. I asked you to justify why the government has increased the dividend. Hon Peter Collier : What rubbish! That’s a stupid question. Hon Kate Doust : I’ll come back to that next week. The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
Hon PETER COLLIER : What? Hon Kate Doust : Don’t worry about it. Hon PETER COLLIER : I will make a succinct response so that we can get through question time pretty quickly today. Suffice to say, I fully understand and appreciate the community’s concerns with regard to raising electricity prices. I do. The simple fact of the matter is that we were faced with the possibility of either continuing to bail out Verve to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars—that is a mantra I will continue with—that could have been spent on schools, hospitals or any other raft of measures. What we have done is increase electricity charges to ideally get to the point of cost-reflective levels so that people actually pay for the amount it costs to produce their electricity. At the same time, we have also increased hardship allowances by $32.4 million to assist those who are least able to pay. We are therefore at a point at which there have been some significant increases in the price of electricity but we have made significant inroads in getting to the point of having a user-pays system for electricity. I believe that has had some benefits in reducing the amount of money, or bailout, that the government is having to pay for Verve or any of the other utilities, and I would like to think that that will lessen the pain in future years. Hon Kate Doust : Excuse me, you didn’t answer the dividend question at all. Hon Peter Collier : I did answer the question. Hon Kate Doust : You didn’t. I asked you to justify why the government has increased the dividend. Hon Peter Collier : What rubbish! That’s a stupid question. Hon Kate Doust : I’ll come back to that next week. The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
Hon Kate Doust : Don’t worry about it. Hon PETER COLLIER : I will make a succinct response so that we can get through question time pretty quickly today. Suffice to say, I fully understand and appreciate the community’s concerns with regard to raising electricity prices. I do. The simple fact of the matter is that we were faced with the possibility of either continuing to bail out Verve to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars—that is a mantra I will continue with—that could have been spent on schools, hospitals or any other raft of measures. What we have done is increase electricity charges to ideally get to the point of cost-reflective levels so that people actually pay for the amount it costs to produce their electricity. At the same time, we have also increased hardship allowances by $32.4 million to assist those who are least able to pay. We are therefore at a point at which there have been some significant increases in the price of electricity but we have made significant inroads in getting to the point of having a user-pays system for electricity. I believe that has had some benefits in reducing the amount of money, or bailout, that the government is having to pay for Verve or any of the other utilities, and I would like to think that that will lessen the pain in future years. Hon Kate Doust : Excuse me, you didn’t answer the dividend question at all. Hon Peter Collier : I did answer the question. Hon Kate Doust : You didn’t. I asked you to justify why the government has increased the dividend. Hon Peter Collier : What rubbish! That’s a stupid question. Hon Kate Doust : I’ll come back to that next week. The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
Hon PETER COLLIER : I will make a succinct response so that we can get through question time pretty quickly today. Suffice to say, I fully understand and appreciate the community’s concerns with regard to raising electricity prices. I do. The simple fact of the matter is that we were faced with the possibility of either continuing to bail out Verve to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars—that is a mantra I will continue with—that could have been spent on schools, hospitals or any other raft of measures. What we have done is increase electricity charges to ideally get to the point of cost-reflective levels so that people actually pay for the amount it costs to produce their electricity. At the same time, we have also increased hardship allowances by $32.4 million to assist those who are least able to pay. We are therefore at a point at which there have been some significant increases in the price of electricity but we have made significant inroads in getting to the point of having a user-pays system for electricity. I believe that has had some benefits in reducing the amount of money, or bailout, that the government is having to pay for Verve or any of the other utilities, and I would like to think that that will lessen the pain in future years. Hon Kate Doust : Excuse me, you didn’t answer the dividend question at all. Hon Peter Collier : I did answer the question. Hon Kate Doust : You didn’t. I asked you to justify why the government has increased the dividend. Hon Peter Collier : What rubbish! That’s a stupid question. Hon Kate Doust : I’ll come back to that next week. The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
Suffice to say, I fully understand and appreciate the community’s concerns with regard to raising electricity prices. I do. The simple fact of the matter is that we were faced with the possibility of either continuing to bail out Verve to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars—that is a mantra I will continue with—that could have been spent on schools, hospitals or any other raft of measures. What we have done is increase electricity charges to ideally get to the point of cost-reflective levels so that people actually pay for the amount it costs to produce their electricity. At the same time, we have also increased hardship allowances by $32.4 million to assist those who are least able to pay. We are therefore at a point at which there have been some significant increases in the price of electricity but we have made significant inroads in getting to the point of having a user-pays system for electricity. I believe that has had some benefits in reducing the amount of money, or bailout, that the government is having to pay for Verve or any of the other utilities, and I would like to think that that will lessen the pain in future years. Hon Kate Doust : Excuse me, you didn’t answer the dividend question at all. Hon Peter Collier : I did answer the question. Hon Kate Doust : You didn’t. I asked you to justify why the government has increased the dividend. Hon Peter Collier : What rubbish! That’s a stupid question. Hon Kate Doust : I’ll come back to that next week. The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
We are therefore at a point at which there have been some significant increases in the price of electricity but we have made significant inroads in getting to the point of having a user-pays system for electricity. I believe that has had some benefits in reducing the amount of money, or bailout, that the government is having to pay for Verve or any of the other utilities, and I would like to think that that will lessen the pain in future years. Hon Kate Doust : Excuse me, you didn’t answer the dividend question at all. Hon Peter Collier : I did answer the question. Hon Kate Doust : You didn’t. I asked you to justify why the government has increased the dividend. Hon Peter Collier : What rubbish! That’s a stupid question. Hon Kate Doust : I’ll come back to that next week. The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
Hon Kate Doust : Excuse me, you didn’t answer the dividend question at all. Hon Peter Collier : I did answer the question. Hon Kate Doust : You didn’t. I asked you to justify why the government has increased the dividend. Hon Peter Collier : What rubbish! That’s a stupid question. Hon Kate Doust : I’ll come back to that next week. The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
Hon Peter Collier : I did answer the question. Hon Kate Doust : You didn’t. I asked you to justify why the government has increased the dividend. Hon Peter Collier : What rubbish! That’s a stupid question. Hon Kate Doust : I’ll come back to that next week. The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
Hon Kate Doust : You didn’t. I asked you to justify why the government has increased the dividend. Hon Peter Collier : What rubbish! That’s a stupid question. Hon Kate Doust : I’ll come back to that next week. The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
Hon Peter Collier : What rubbish! That’s a stupid question. Hon Kate Doust : I’ll come back to that next week. The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
Hon Kate Doust : I’ll come back to that next week. The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
Hon PETER COLLIER replied: I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question. Hon Kate Doust : There was no notice. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am sorry? Hon Kate Doust : There was no notice. Hon PETER COLLIER : What? Hon Kate Doust : Don’t worry about it. Hon PETER COLLIER : I will make a succinct response so that we can get through question time pretty quickly today. Suffice to say, I fully understand and appreciate the community’s concerns with regard to raising electricity prices. I do. The simple fact of the matter is that we were faced with the possibility of either continuing to bail out Verve to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars—that is a mantra I will continue with—that could have been spent on schools, hospitals or any other raft of measures. What we have done is increase electricity charges to ideally get to the point of cost-reflective levels so that people actually pay for the amount it costs to produce their electricity. At the same time, we have also increased hardship allowances by $32.4 million to assist those who are least able to pay. We are therefore at a point at which there have been some significant increases in the price of electricity but we have made significant inroads in getting to the point of having a user-pays system for electricity. I believe that has had some benefits in reducing the amount of money, or bailout, that the government is having to pay for Verve or any of the other utilities, and I would like to think that that will lessen the pain in future years. Hon Kate Doust : Excuse me, you didn’t answer the dividend question at all. Hon Peter Collier : I did answer the question. Hon Kate Doust : You didn’t. I asked you to justify why the government has increased the dividend. Hon Peter Collier : What rubbish! That’s a stupid question. Hon Kate Doust : I’ll come back to that next week. The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question. Hon Kate Doust : There was no notice. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am sorry? Hon Kate Doust : There was no notice. Hon PETER COLLIER : What? Hon Kate Doust : Don’t worry about it. Hon PETER COLLIER : I will make a succinct response so that we can get through question time pretty quickly today. Suffice to say, I fully understand and appreciate the community’s concerns with regard to raising electricity prices. I do. The simple fact of the matter is that we were faced with the possibility of either continuing to bail out Verve to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars—that is a mantra I will continue with—that could have been spent on schools, hospitals or any other raft of measures. What we have done is increase electricity charges to ideally get to the point of cost-reflective levels so that people actually pay for the amount it costs to produce their electricity. At the same time, we have also increased hardship allowances by $32.4 million to assist those who are least able to pay. We are therefore at a point at which there have been some significant increases in the price of electricity but we have made significant inroads in getting to the point of having a user-pays system for electricity. I believe that has had some benefits in reducing the amount of money, or bailout, that the government is having to pay for Verve or any of the other utilities, and I would like to think that that will lessen the pain in future years. Hon Kate Doust : Excuse me, you didn’t answer the dividend question at all. Hon Peter Collier : I did answer the question. Hon Kate Doust : You didn’t. I asked you to justify why the government has increased the dividend. Hon Peter Collier : What rubbish! That’s a stupid question. Hon Kate Doust : I’ll come back to that next week. The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
Hon Kate Doust : There was no notice. Hon PETER COLLIER : I am sorry? Hon Kate Doust : There was no notice. Hon PETER COLLIER : What? Hon Kate Doust : Don’t worry about it. Hon PETER COLLIER : I will make a succinct response so that we can get through question time pretty quickly today. Suffice to say, I fully understand and appreciate the community’s concerns with regard to raising electricity prices. I do. The simple fact of the matter is that we were faced with the possibility of either continuing to bail out Verve to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars—that is a mantra I will continue with—that could have been spent on schools, hospitals or any other raft of measures. What we have done is increase electricity charges to ideally get to the point of cost-reflective levels so that people actually pay for the amount it costs to produce their electricity. At the same time, we have also increased hardship allowances by $32.4 million to assist those who are least able to pay. We are therefore at a point at which there have been some significant increases in the price of electricity but we have made significant inroads in getting to the point of having a user-pays system for electricity. I believe that has had some benefits in reducing the amount of money, or bailout, that the government is having to pay for Verve or any of the other utilities, and I would like to think that that will lessen the pain in future years. Hon Kate Doust : Excuse me, you didn’t answer the dividend question at all. Hon Peter Collier : I did answer the question. Hon Kate Doust : You didn’t. I asked you to justify why the government has increased the dividend. Hon Peter Collier : What rubbish! That’s a stupid question. Hon Kate Doust : I’ll come back to that next week. The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
Hon PETER COLLIER : I am sorry? Hon Kate Doust : There was no notice. Hon PETER COLLIER : What? Hon Kate Doust : Don’t worry about it. Hon PETER COLLIER : I will make a succinct response so that we can get through question time pretty quickly today. Suffice to say, I fully understand and appreciate the community’s concerns with regard to raising electricity prices. I do. The simple fact of the matter is that we were faced with the possibility of either continuing to bail out Verve to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars—that is a mantra I will continue with—that could have been spent on schools, hospitals or any other raft of measures. What we have done is increase electricity charges to ideally get to the point of cost-reflective levels so that people actually pay for the amount it costs to produce their electricity. At the same time, we have also increased hardship allowances by $32.4 million to assist those who are least able to pay. We are therefore at a point at which there have been some significant increases in the price of electricity but we have made significant inroads in getting to the point of having a user-pays system for electricity. I believe that has had some benefits in reducing the amount of money, or bailout, that the government is having to pay for Verve or any of the other utilities, and I would like to think that that will lessen the pain in future years. Hon Kate Doust : Excuse me, you didn’t answer the dividend question at all. Hon Peter Collier : I did answer the question. Hon Kate Doust : You didn’t. I asked you to justify why the government has increased the dividend. Hon Peter Collier : What rubbish! That’s a stupid question. Hon Kate Doust : I’ll come back to that next week. The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
Hon Kate Doust : There was no notice. Hon PETER COLLIER : What? Hon Kate Doust : Don’t worry about it. Hon PETER COLLIER : I will make a succinct response so that we can get through question time pretty quickly today. Suffice to say, I fully understand and appreciate the community’s concerns with regard to raising electricity prices. I do. The simple fact of the matter is that we were faced with the possibility of either continuing to bail out Verve to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars—that is a mantra I will continue with—that could have been spent on schools, hospitals or any other raft of measures. What we have done is increase electricity charges to ideally get to the point of cost-reflective levels so that people actually pay for the amount it costs to produce their electricity. At the same time, we have also increased hardship allowances by $32.4 million to assist those who are least able to pay. We are therefore at a point at which there have been some significant increases in the price of electricity but we have made significant inroads in getting to the point of having a user-pays system for electricity. I believe that has had some benefits in reducing the amount of money, or bailout, that the government is having to pay for Verve or any of the other utilities, and I would like to think that that will lessen the pain in future years. Hon Kate Doust : Excuse me, you didn’t answer the dividend question at all. Hon Peter Collier : I did answer the question. Hon Kate Doust : You didn’t. I asked you to justify why the government has increased the dividend. Hon Peter Collier : What rubbish! That’s a stupid question. Hon Kate Doust : I’ll come back to that next week. The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
Hon PETER COLLIER : What? Hon Kate Doust : Don’t worry about it. Hon PETER COLLIER : I will make a succinct response so that we can get through question time pretty quickly today. Suffice to say, I fully understand and appreciate the community’s concerns with regard to raising electricity prices. I do. The simple fact of the matter is that we were faced with the possibility of either continuing to bail out Verve to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars—that is a mantra I will continue with—that could have been spent on schools, hospitals or any other raft of measures. What we have done is increase electricity charges to ideally get to the point of cost-reflective levels so that people actually pay for the amount it costs to produce their electricity. At the same time, we have also increased hardship allowances by $32.4 million to assist those who are least able to pay. We are therefore at a point at which there have been some significant increases in the price of electricity but we have made significant inroads in getting to the point of having a user-pays system for electricity. I believe that has had some benefits in reducing the amount of money, or bailout, that the government is having to pay for Verve or any of the other utilities, and I would like to think that that will lessen the pain in future years. Hon Kate Doust : Excuse me, you didn’t answer the dividend question at all. Hon Peter Collier : I did answer the question. Hon Kate Doust : You didn’t. I asked you to justify why the government has increased the dividend. Hon Peter Collier : What rubbish! That’s a stupid question. Hon Kate Doust : I’ll come back to that next week. The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
Hon Kate Doust : Don’t worry about it. Hon PETER COLLIER : I will make a succinct response so that we can get through question time pretty quickly today. Suffice to say, I fully understand and appreciate the community’s concerns with regard to raising electricity prices. I do. The simple fact of the matter is that we were faced with the possibility of either continuing to bail out Verve to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars—that is a mantra I will continue with—that could have been spent on schools, hospitals or any other raft of measures. What we have done is increase electricity charges to ideally get to the point of cost-reflective levels so that people actually pay for the amount it costs to produce their electricity. At the same time, we have also increased hardship allowances by $32.4 million to assist those who are least able to pay. We are therefore at a point at which there have been some significant increases in the price of electricity but we have made significant inroads in getting to the point of having a user-pays system for electricity. I believe that has had some benefits in reducing the amount of money, or bailout, that the government is having to pay for Verve or any of the other utilities, and I would like to think that that will lessen the pain in future years. Hon Kate Doust : Excuse me, you didn’t answer the dividend question at all. Hon Peter Collier : I did answer the question. Hon Kate Doust : You didn’t. I asked you to justify why the government has increased the dividend. Hon Peter Collier : What rubbish! That’s a stupid question. Hon Kate Doust : I’ll come back to that next week. The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
Hon PETER COLLIER : I will make a succinct response so that we can get through question time pretty quickly today. Suffice to say, I fully understand and appreciate the community’s concerns with regard to raising electricity prices. I do. The simple fact of the matter is that we were faced with the possibility of either continuing to bail out Verve to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars—that is a mantra I will continue with—that could have been spent on schools, hospitals or any other raft of measures. What we have done is increase electricity charges to ideally get to the point of cost-reflective levels so that people actually pay for the amount it costs to produce their electricity. At the same time, we have also increased hardship allowances by $32.4 million to assist those who are least able to pay. We are therefore at a point at which there have been some significant increases in the price of electricity but we have made significant inroads in getting to the point of having a user-pays system for electricity. I believe that has had some benefits in reducing the amount of money, or bailout, that the government is having to pay for Verve or any of the other utilities, and I would like to think that that will lessen the pain in future years. Hon Kate Doust : Excuse me, you didn’t answer the dividend question at all. Hon Peter Collier : I did answer the question. Hon Kate Doust : You didn’t. I asked you to justify why the government has increased the dividend. Hon Peter Collier : What rubbish! That’s a stupid question. Hon Kate Doust : I’ll come back to that next week. The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
Suffice to say, I fully understand and appreciate the community’s concerns with regard to raising electricity prices. I do. The simple fact of the matter is that we were faced with the possibility of either continuing to bail out Verve to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars—that is a mantra I will continue with—that could have been spent on schools, hospitals or any other raft of measures. What we have done is increase electricity charges to ideally get to the point of cost-reflective levels so that people actually pay for the amount it costs to produce their electricity. At the same time, we have also increased hardship allowances by $32.4 million to assist those who are least able to pay. We are therefore at a point at which there have been some significant increases in the price of electricity but we have made significant inroads in getting to the point of having a user-pays system for electricity. I believe that has had some benefits in reducing the amount of money, or bailout, that the government is having to pay for Verve or any of the other utilities, and I would like to think that that will lessen the pain in future years. Hon Kate Doust : Excuse me, you didn’t answer the dividend question at all. Hon Peter Collier : I did answer the question. Hon Kate Doust : You didn’t. I asked you to justify why the government has increased the dividend. Hon Peter Collier : What rubbish! That’s a stupid question. Hon Kate Doust : I’ll come back to that next week. The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
We are therefore at a point at which there have been some significant increases in the price of electricity but we have made significant inroads in getting to the point of having a user-pays system for electricity. I believe that has had some benefits in reducing the amount of money, or bailout, that the government is having to pay for Verve or any of the other utilities, and I would like to think that that will lessen the pain in future years. Hon Kate Doust : Excuse me, you didn’t answer the dividend question at all. Hon Peter Collier : I did answer the question. Hon Kate Doust : You didn’t. I asked you to justify why the government has increased the dividend. Hon Peter Collier : What rubbish! That’s a stupid question. Hon Kate Doust : I’ll come back to that next week. The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
Hon Kate Doust : Excuse me, you didn’t answer the dividend question at all. Hon Peter Collier : I did answer the question. Hon Kate Doust : You didn’t. I asked you to justify why the government has increased the dividend. Hon Peter Collier : What rubbish! That’s a stupid question. Hon Kate Doust : I’ll come back to that next week. The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
Hon Peter Collier : I did answer the question. Hon Kate Doust : You didn’t. I asked you to justify why the government has increased the dividend. Hon Peter Collier : What rubbish! That’s a stupid question. Hon Kate Doust : I’ll come back to that next week. The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
Hon Kate Doust : You didn’t. I asked you to justify why the government has increased the dividend. Hon Peter Collier : What rubbish! That’s a stupid question. Hon Kate Doust : I’ll come back to that next week. The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
Hon Peter Collier : What rubbish! That’s a stupid question. Hon Kate Doust : I’ll come back to that next week. The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
Hon Kate Doust : I’ll come back to that next week. The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
The PRESIDENT : Order members! There is an old adage in this place that it is question time and an answer is provided. Members do not have to believe that answer or like that answer, but it is the answer and members have an opportunity to follow it up if they wish.
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