❓ The WA government addresses electricity pricing disparities for caravan park and park home residents, ensuring they pay the same as other residents and receive applicable rebates. The answer also criticizes the previous government's energy policies.
AnsweredQoN 243Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the Government’s budget decision to ensure that residents of caravan parks and park homes pay the same price for power as everybody else and ask what it means, in particular, for my electorate? Mr E.S. RIPPER
AnswerView source ↗
One of the great injustices we inherited from the previous Government was the anomalous situation in which residents of caravan parks and park homes pay commercial rates for their electricity because they buy their power through park owners. About 5 000 people live in that type of accommodation; often they are seniors and often they are on low incomes. They have been denied not only the uniform tariff, but also access to normal concessions, such as the dependant child rebates that are available to Western Power customers. Seniors in caravan parks and park homes in the member for Eyre’s electorate have also been denied the seniors’ airconditioning rebate. If we factored in the domestic tariff daily supply charge of 25.57c a day and the State Government’s energy rebate, a residential customer’s annual power bill could come in, in that scenario, at $362.44. If we factored in some of the prices that caravan parks have been charging and the lack of access to rebates, the same caravan park resident could pay almost double - up to $715 - over the same year. Once again, we have delivered for the regions, and for the seniors in park homes and caravan parks in the hot parts of the State who did not have access to the airconditioning subsidy. I commend the role of the member for Joondalup, who chaired the committee that produced the recommendations. He played an important role in the consultations with industry and residents. We will now require caravan park owners to on-sell electricity to permanent residents at the uniform tariff, which, of course, could be almost half the price they have previously been charging. We will provide those rebates and concessions, including the seniors’ airconditioning rebate. Therefore, an eligible caravan park resident in Laverton, Leonora, Cue, Meekatharra, Mt Magnet, Wiluna or Yalgoo, for example, will be able to receive the seniors’ airconditioning rebate for part of the year. We have adopted that measure because we know it is fair, and because we believe that Western Australians should pay the same price for power no matter where they live. The uniform tariff principle is at the heart of our approach to this matter and that is why in 2001 we reversed the decision of the previous Minister for Energy to apply a higher tariff to around 60 commercial power customers in regional Western Australia. The Court Government was bitterly divided over that issue. The National Party put up a token struggle, but in the end it caved in and let the Minister for Energy, who was consumed by his grand passion for privatisation and who did not care a fig about regional customers, have his way. New information has come to light about the extent of the Leader of the Opposition’s antipathy to the bush when he was Minister for Energy. I will share with the National Party an excerpt from the minutes of a meeting between the former minister and the then managing director of Western Power on 28 January 1998. It states under the heading - Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Mr E.S. RIPPER: I notice that the Leader of the National Party is not interjecting. I think the National Party would like to have this information. It really needs to have it before it goes into coalition with the bandit on the other side of the House. It states - Minister wishes to tie Broome, Mid West and Esperance generation solutions with his regional pricing solution. The key words are - The uniform tariff mentality must be broken. He told the then managing director of Western Power that the uniform tariff mentality must be broken. That speaks volumes about the Leader of the Opposition’s attitude to the bush. I advise the Leader of the National Party to be very careful before he thinks about a coalition with that mob. I suggest he make uniform tariffs a condition of the coalition, otherwise he will be in deep trouble. Point of Order Mr R.F. JOHNSON: I ask the Deputy Premier to table the official papers from which he quoted and explain where he got them from. The SPEAKER: Order! The only documents that need to be tabled are official documents. I do not know what status the minister’s documents hold. Mr E.S. RIPPER: It is an official document. As Minister for Energy, I have access to the information held in Western Power. Is it not good that the public can have this information? [See paper No 2345.] Questions without Notice Resumed Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Nedlands has the call.
Mr E.S. RIPPER replied: One of the great injustices we inherited from the previous Government was the anomalous situation in which residents of caravan parks and park homes pay commercial rates for their electricity because they buy their power through park owners. About 5 000 people live in that type of accommodation; often they are seniors and often they are on low incomes. They have been denied not only the uniform tariff, but also access to normal concessions, such as the dependant child rebates that are available to Western Power customers. Seniors in caravan parks and park homes in the member for Eyre’s electorate have also been denied the seniors’ airconditioning rebate. If we factored in the domestic tariff daily supply charge of 25.57c a day and the State Government’s energy rebate, a residential customer’s annual power bill could come in, in that scenario, at $362.44. If we factored in some of the prices that caravan parks have been charging and the lack of access to rebates, the same caravan park resident could pay almost double - up to $715 - over the same year. Once again, we have delivered for the regions, and for the seniors in park homes and caravan parks in the hot parts of the State who did not have access to the airconditioning subsidy. I commend the role of the member for Joondalup, who chaired the committee that produced the recommendations. He played an important role in the consultations with industry and residents. We will now require caravan park owners to on-sell electricity to permanent residents at the uniform tariff, which, of course, could be almost half the price they have previously been charging. We will provide those rebates and concessions, including the seniors’ airconditioning rebate. Therefore, an eligible caravan park resident in Laverton, Leonora, Cue, Meekatharra, Mt Magnet, Wiluna or Yalgoo, for example, will be able to receive the seniors’ airconditioning rebate for part of the year. We have adopted that measure because we know it is fair, and because we believe that Western Australians should pay the same price for power no matter where they live. The uniform tariff principle is at the heart of our approach to this matter and that is why in 2001 we reversed the decision of the previous Minister for Energy to apply a higher tariff to around 60 commercial power customers in regional Western Australia. The Court Government was bitterly divided over that issue. The National Party put up a token struggle, but in the end it caved in and let the Minister for Energy, who was consumed by his grand passion for privatisation and who did not care a fig about regional customers, have his way. New information has come to light about the extent of the Leader of the Opposition’s antipathy to the bush when he was Minister for Energy. I will share with the National Party an excerpt from the minutes of a meeting between the former minister and the then managing director of Western Power on 28 January 1998. It states under the heading - Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Mr E.S. RIPPER: I notice that the Leader of the National Party is not interjecting. I think the National Party would like to have this information. It really needs to have it before it goes into coalition with the bandit on the other side of the House. It states - Minister wishes to tie Broome, Mid West and Esperance generation solutions with his regional pricing solution. The key words are - The uniform tariff mentality must be broken. He told the then managing director of Western Power that the uniform tariff mentality must be broken. That speaks volumes about the Leader of the Opposition’s attitude to the bush. I advise the Leader of the National Party to be very careful before he thinks about a coalition with that mob. I suggest he make uniform tariffs a condition of the coalition, otherwise he will be in deep trouble. Point of Order Mr R.F. JOHNSON: I ask the Deputy Premier to table the official papers from which he quoted and explain where he got them from. The SPEAKER: Order! The only documents that need to be tabled are official documents. I do not know what status the minister’s documents hold. Mr E.S. RIPPER: It is an official document. As Minister for Energy, I have access to the information held in Western Power. Is it not good that the public can have this information? [See paper No 2345.] Questions without Notice Resumed Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Nedlands has the call.
One of the great injustices we inherited from the previous Government was the anomalous situation in which residents of caravan parks and park homes pay commercial rates for their electricity because they buy their power through park owners. About 5 000 people live in that type of accommodation; often they are seniors and often they are on low incomes. They have been denied not only the uniform tariff, but also access to normal concessions, such as the dependant child rebates that are available to Western Power customers. Seniors in caravan parks and park homes in the member for Eyre’s electorate have also been denied the seniors’ airconditioning rebate. If we factored in the domestic tariff daily supply charge of 25.57c a day and the State Government’s energy rebate, a residential customer’s annual power bill could come in, in that scenario, at $362.44. If we factored in some of the prices that caravan parks have been charging and the lack of access to rebates, the same caravan park resident could pay almost double - up to $715 - over the same year. Once again, we have delivered for the regions, and for the seniors in park homes and caravan parks in the hot parts of the State who did not have access to the airconditioning subsidy. I commend the role of the member for Joondalup, who chaired the committee that produced the recommendations. He played an important role in the consultations with industry and residents. We will now require caravan park owners to on-sell electricity to permanent residents at the uniform tariff, which, of course, could be almost half the price they have previously been charging. We will provide those rebates and concessions, including the seniors’ airconditioning rebate. Therefore, an eligible caravan park resident in Laverton, Leonora, Cue, Meekatharra, Mt Magnet, Wiluna or Yalgoo, for example, will be able to receive the seniors’ airconditioning rebate for part of the year. We have adopted that measure because we know it is fair, and because we believe that Western Australians should pay the same price for power no matter where they live. The uniform tariff principle is at the heart of our approach to this matter and that is why in 2001 we reversed the decision of the previous Minister for Energy to apply a higher tariff to around 60 commercial power customers in regional Western Australia. The Court Government was bitterly divided over that issue. The National Party put up a token struggle, but in the end it caved in and let the Minister for Energy, who was consumed by his grand passion for privatisation and who did not care a fig about regional customers, have his way. New information has come to light about the extent of the Leader of the Opposition’s antipathy to the bush when he was Minister for Energy. I will share with the National Party an excerpt from the minutes of a meeting between the former minister and the then managing director of Western Power on 28 January 1998. It states under the heading - Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Mr E.S. RIPPER: I notice that the Leader of the National Party is not interjecting. I think the National Party would like to have this information. It really needs to have it before it goes into coalition with the bandit on the other side of the House. It states - Minister wishes to tie Broome, Mid West and Esperance generation solutions with his regional pricing solution. The key words are - The uniform tariff mentality must be broken. He told the then managing director of Western Power that the uniform tariff mentality must be broken. That speaks volumes about the Leader of the Opposition’s attitude to the bush. I advise the Leader of the National Party to be very careful before he thinks about a coalition with that mob. I suggest he make uniform tariffs a condition of the coalition, otherwise he will be in deep trouble. Point of Order Mr R.F. JOHNSON: I ask the Deputy Premier to table the official papers from which he quoted and explain where he got them from. The SPEAKER: Order! The only documents that need to be tabled are official documents. I do not know what status the minister’s documents hold. Mr E.S. RIPPER: It is an official document. As Minister for Energy, I have access to the information held in Western Power. Is it not good that the public can have this information? [See paper No 2345.] Questions without Notice Resumed Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Nedlands has the call.
Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Mr E.S. RIPPER: I notice that the Leader of the National Party is not interjecting. I think the National Party would like to have this information. It really needs to have it before it goes into coalition with the bandit on the other side of the House. It states - Minister wishes to tie Broome, Mid West and Esperance generation solutions with his regional pricing solution. The key words are - The uniform tariff mentality must be broken. He told the then managing director of Western Power that the uniform tariff mentality must be broken. That speaks volumes about the Leader of the Opposition’s attitude to the bush. I advise the Leader of the National Party to be very careful before he thinks about a coalition with that mob. I suggest he make uniform tariffs a condition of the coalition, otherwise he will be in deep trouble. Point of Order Mr R.F. JOHNSON: I ask the Deputy Premier to table the official papers from which he quoted and explain where he got them from. The SPEAKER: Order! The only documents that need to be tabled are official documents. I do not know what status the minister’s documents hold. Mr E.S. RIPPER: It is an official document. As Minister for Energy, I have access to the information held in Western Power. Is it not good that the public can have this information? [See paper No 2345.] Questions without Notice Resumed Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Nedlands has the call.
Mr E.S. RIPPER: I notice that the Leader of the National Party is not interjecting. I think the National Party would like to have this information. It really needs to have it before it goes into coalition with the bandit on the other side of the House. It states - Minister wishes to tie Broome, Mid West and Esperance generation solutions with his regional pricing solution. The key words are - The uniform tariff mentality must be broken. He told the then managing director of Western Power that the uniform tariff mentality must be broken. That speaks volumes about the Leader of the Opposition’s attitude to the bush. I advise the Leader of the National Party to be very careful before he thinks about a coalition with that mob. I suggest he make uniform tariffs a condition of the coalition, otherwise he will be in deep trouble. Point of Order Mr R.F. JOHNSON: I ask the Deputy Premier to table the official papers from which he quoted and explain where he got them from. The SPEAKER: Order! The only documents that need to be tabled are official documents. I do not know what status the minister’s documents hold. Mr E.S. RIPPER: It is an official document. As Minister for Energy, I have access to the information held in Western Power. Is it not good that the public can have this information? [See paper No 2345.] Questions without Notice Resumed Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Nedlands has the call.
The SPEAKER: Order! The only documents that need to be tabled are official documents. I do not know what status the minister’s documents hold. Mr E.S. RIPPER: It is an official document. As Minister for Energy, I have access to the information held in Western Power. Is it not good that the public can have this information? [See paper No 2345.] Questions without Notice Resumed Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Nedlands has the call.
Mr E.S. RIPPER: It is an official document. As Minister for Energy, I have access to the information held in Western Power. Is it not good that the public can have this information? [See paper No 2345.] Questions without Notice Resumed Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Nedlands has the call.
[See paper No 2345.] Questions without Notice Resumed Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Nedlands has the call.
The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Nedlands has the call.
Mr E.S. RIPPER replied: One of the great injustices we inherited from the previous Government was the anomalous situation in which residents of caravan parks and park homes pay commercial rates for their electricity because they buy their power through park owners. About 5 000 people live in that type of accommodation; often they are seniors and often they are on low incomes. They have been denied not only the uniform tariff, but also access to normal concessions, such as the dependant child rebates that are available to Western Power customers. Seniors in caravan parks and park homes in the member for Eyre’s electorate have also been denied the seniors’ airconditioning rebate. If we factored in the domestic tariff daily supply charge of 25.57c a day and the State Government’s energy rebate, a residential customer’s annual power bill could come in, in that scenario, at $362.44. If we factored in some of the prices that caravan parks have been charging and the lack of access to rebates, the same caravan park resident could pay almost double - up to $715 - over the same year. Once again, we have delivered for the regions, and for the seniors in park homes and caravan parks in the hot parts of the State who did not have access to the airconditioning subsidy. I commend the role of the member for Joondalup, who chaired the committee that produced the recommendations. He played an important role in the consultations with industry and residents. We will now require caravan park owners to on-sell electricity to permanent residents at the uniform tariff, which, of course, could be almost half the price they have previously been charging. We will provide those rebates and concessions, including the seniors’ airconditioning rebate. Therefore, an eligible caravan park resident in Laverton, Leonora, Cue, Meekatharra, Mt Magnet, Wiluna or Yalgoo, for example, will be able to receive the seniors’ airconditioning rebate for part of the year. We have adopted that measure because we know it is fair, and because we believe that Western Australians should pay the same price for power no matter where they live. The uniform tariff principle is at the heart of our approach to this matter and that is why in 2001 we reversed the decision of the previous Minister for Energy to apply a higher tariff to around 60 commercial power customers in regional Western Australia. The Court Government was bitterly divided over that issue. The National Party put up a token struggle, but in the end it caved in and let the Minister for Energy, who was consumed by his grand passion for privatisation and who did not care a fig about regional customers, have his way. New information has come to light about the extent of the Leader of the Opposition’s antipathy to the bush when he was Minister for Energy. I will share with the National Party an excerpt from the minutes of a meeting between the former minister and the then managing director of Western Power on 28 January 1998. It states under the heading - Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Mr E.S. RIPPER: I notice that the Leader of the National Party is not interjecting. I think the National Party would like to have this information. It really needs to have it before it goes into coalition with the bandit on the other side of the House. It states - Minister wishes to tie Broome, Mid West and Esperance generation solutions with his regional pricing solution. The key words are - The uniform tariff mentality must be broken. He told the then managing director of Western Power that the uniform tariff mentality must be broken. That speaks volumes about the Leader of the Opposition’s attitude to the bush. I advise the Leader of the National Party to be very careful before he thinks about a coalition with that mob. I suggest he make uniform tariffs a condition of the coalition, otherwise he will be in deep trouble. Point of Order Mr R.F. JOHNSON: I ask the Deputy Premier to table the official papers from which he quoted and explain where he got them from. The SPEAKER: Order! The only documents that need to be tabled are official documents. I do not know what status the minister’s documents hold. Mr E.S. RIPPER: It is an official document. As Minister for Energy, I have access to the information held in Western Power. Is it not good that the public can have this information? [See paper No 2345.] Questions without Notice Resumed Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Nedlands has the call.
One of the great injustices we inherited from the previous Government was the anomalous situation in which residents of caravan parks and park homes pay commercial rates for their electricity because they buy their power through park owners. About 5 000 people live in that type of accommodation; often they are seniors and often they are on low incomes. They have been denied not only the uniform tariff, but also access to normal concessions, such as the dependant child rebates that are available to Western Power customers. Seniors in caravan parks and park homes in the member for Eyre’s electorate have also been denied the seniors’ airconditioning rebate. If we factored in the domestic tariff daily supply charge of 25.57c a day and the State Government’s energy rebate, a residential customer’s annual power bill could come in, in that scenario, at $362.44. If we factored in some of the prices that caravan parks have been charging and the lack of access to rebates, the same caravan park resident could pay almost double - up to $715 - over the same year. Once again, we have delivered for the regions, and for the seniors in park homes and caravan parks in the hot parts of the State who did not have access to the airconditioning subsidy. I commend the role of the member for Joondalup, who chaired the committee that produced the recommendations. He played an important role in the consultations with industry and residents. We will now require caravan park owners to on-sell electricity to permanent residents at the uniform tariff, which, of course, could be almost half the price they have previously been charging. We will provide those rebates and concessions, including the seniors’ airconditioning rebate. Therefore, an eligible caravan park resident in Laverton, Leonora, Cue, Meekatharra, Mt Magnet, Wiluna or Yalgoo, for example, will be able to receive the seniors’ airconditioning rebate for part of the year. We have adopted that measure because we know it is fair, and because we believe that Western Australians should pay the same price for power no matter where they live. The uniform tariff principle is at the heart of our approach to this matter and that is why in 2001 we reversed the decision of the previous Minister for Energy to apply a higher tariff to around 60 commercial power customers in regional Western Australia. The Court Government was bitterly divided over that issue. The National Party put up a token struggle, but in the end it caved in and let the Minister for Energy, who was consumed by his grand passion for privatisation and who did not care a fig about regional customers, have his way. New information has come to light about the extent of the Leader of the Opposition’s antipathy to the bush when he was Minister for Energy. I will share with the National Party an excerpt from the minutes of a meeting between the former minister and the then managing director of Western Power on 28 January 1998. It states under the heading - Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Mr E.S. RIPPER: I notice that the Leader of the National Party is not interjecting. I think the National Party would like to have this information. It really needs to have it before it goes into coalition with the bandit on the other side of the House. It states - Minister wishes to tie Broome, Mid West and Esperance generation solutions with his regional pricing solution. The key words are - The uniform tariff mentality must be broken. He told the then managing director of Western Power that the uniform tariff mentality must be broken. That speaks volumes about the Leader of the Opposition’s attitude to the bush. I advise the Leader of the National Party to be very careful before he thinks about a coalition with that mob. I suggest he make uniform tariffs a condition of the coalition, otherwise he will be in deep trouble. Point of Order Mr R.F. JOHNSON: I ask the Deputy Premier to table the official papers from which he quoted and explain where he got them from. The SPEAKER: Order! The only documents that need to be tabled are official documents. I do not know what status the minister’s documents hold. Mr E.S. RIPPER: It is an official document. As Minister for Energy, I have access to the information held in Western Power. Is it not good that the public can have this information? [See paper No 2345.] Questions without Notice Resumed Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Nedlands has the call.
Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Mr E.S. RIPPER: I notice that the Leader of the National Party is not interjecting. I think the National Party would like to have this information. It really needs to have it before it goes into coalition with the bandit on the other side of the House. It states - Minister wishes to tie Broome, Mid West and Esperance generation solutions with his regional pricing solution. The key words are - The uniform tariff mentality must be broken. He told the then managing director of Western Power that the uniform tariff mentality must be broken. That speaks volumes about the Leader of the Opposition’s attitude to the bush. I advise the Leader of the National Party to be very careful before he thinks about a coalition with that mob. I suggest he make uniform tariffs a condition of the coalition, otherwise he will be in deep trouble. Point of Order Mr R.F. JOHNSON: I ask the Deputy Premier to table the official papers from which he quoted and explain where he got them from. The SPEAKER: Order! The only documents that need to be tabled are official documents. I do not know what status the minister’s documents hold. Mr E.S. RIPPER: It is an official document. As Minister for Energy, I have access to the information held in Western Power. Is it not good that the public can have this information? [See paper No 2345.] Questions without Notice Resumed Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Nedlands has the call.
Mr E.S. RIPPER: I notice that the Leader of the National Party is not interjecting. I think the National Party would like to have this information. It really needs to have it before it goes into coalition with the bandit on the other side of the House. It states - Minister wishes to tie Broome, Mid West and Esperance generation solutions with his regional pricing solution. The key words are - The uniform tariff mentality must be broken. He told the then managing director of Western Power that the uniform tariff mentality must be broken. That speaks volumes about the Leader of the Opposition’s attitude to the bush. I advise the Leader of the National Party to be very careful before he thinks about a coalition with that mob. I suggest he make uniform tariffs a condition of the coalition, otherwise he will be in deep trouble. Point of Order Mr R.F. JOHNSON: I ask the Deputy Premier to table the official papers from which he quoted and explain where he got them from. The SPEAKER: Order! The only documents that need to be tabled are official documents. I do not know what status the minister’s documents hold. Mr E.S. RIPPER: It is an official document. As Minister for Energy, I have access to the information held in Western Power. Is it not good that the public can have this information? [See paper No 2345.] Questions without Notice Resumed Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Nedlands has the call.
The SPEAKER: Order! The only documents that need to be tabled are official documents. I do not know what status the minister’s documents hold. Mr E.S. RIPPER: It is an official document. As Minister for Energy, I have access to the information held in Western Power. Is it not good that the public can have this information? [See paper No 2345.] Questions without Notice Resumed Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Nedlands has the call.
Mr E.S. RIPPER: It is an official document. As Minister for Energy, I have access to the information held in Western Power. Is it not good that the public can have this information? [See paper No 2345.] Questions without Notice Resumed Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Nedlands has the call.
[See paper No 2345.] Questions without Notice Resumed Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Nedlands has the call.
The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Nedlands has the call.
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