Mrs. Roberts questions Treasurer Porter on whether rising utility costs are driving financial hardship. Porter deflects by referencing Labor's past promises and claims WA's electricity costs are below the national average.

AnsweredQoN 809Legislative Assembly
Asked
22 November 2011
Portfolio
Treasurer

QuestionView source ↗

MORTGAGEE HOUSING STRESS — BANKRUPTCIES
I have a supplementary question. Is the Treasurer so far in denial that he will not acknowledge that cost-of-living pressures in Western Australia, such as his massive hikes in electricity, water and gas prices, are driving families, couples and single people to the wall? Will he do nothing about the pressures they are under? Mr C.C. PORTER

AnswerView source ↗

We had this debate the other day. Of course, what Labor promised the people of Western Australia they would get if Labor won the election was seven years of 10 per cent a year increases in electricity. Mrs M.H. Roberts : You promised lower taxes and charges and delivered the opposite. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland! Mr C.C. PORTER : There have been electricity price increases under this government, just as there would have been under the shadow Treasurer’s government, and her government promised them. Mrs M.H. Roberts : You said they would be lower under you. Mr C.C. PORTER : The contention, shadow Treasurer, that somehow or other what has been created in Western Australia is a high-cost jurisdiction is just not true. Mr P. Papalia : Bring out another chart. Mr C.C. PORTER : I will show members another chart that shows electricity price comparisons across the jurisdictions. Members can see there that, compared with all the other jurisdictions in Australia, Western Australia’s actual cost of electricity is well below the average. The contention in the shadow Treasurer’s question, which needed to be better researched, that somehow it is much harder to live here than it is in other jurisdictions, again, is just not true. But keep going back, you will get there.
Mr C.C. PORTER replied: We had this debate the other day. Of course, what Labor promised the people of Western Australia they would get if Labor won the election was seven years of 10 per cent a year increases in electricity. Mrs M.H. Roberts : You promised lower taxes and charges and delivered the opposite. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland! Mr C.C. PORTER : There have been electricity price increases under this government, just as there would have been under the shadow Treasurer’s government, and her government promised them. Mrs M.H. Roberts : You said they would be lower under you. Mr C.C. PORTER : The contention, shadow Treasurer, that somehow or other what has been created in Western Australia is a high-cost jurisdiction is just not true. Mr P. Papalia : Bring out another chart. Mr C.C. PORTER : I will show members another chart that shows electricity price comparisons across the jurisdictions. Members can see there that, compared with all the other jurisdictions in Australia, Western Australia’s actual cost of electricity is well below the average. The contention in the shadow Treasurer’s question, which needed to be better researched, that somehow it is much harder to live here than it is in other jurisdictions, again, is just not true. But keep going back, you will get there.
We had this debate the other day. Of course, what Labor promised the people of Western Australia they would get if Labor won the election was seven years of 10 per cent a year increases in electricity. Mrs M.H. Roberts : You promised lower taxes and charges and delivered the opposite. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland! Mr C.C. PORTER : There have been electricity price increases under this government, just as there would have been under the shadow Treasurer’s government, and her government promised them. Mrs M.H. Roberts : You said they would be lower under you. Mr C.C. PORTER : The contention, shadow Treasurer, that somehow or other what has been created in Western Australia is a high-cost jurisdiction is just not true. Mr P. Papalia : Bring out another chart. Mr C.C. PORTER : I will show members another chart that shows electricity price comparisons across the jurisdictions. Members can see there that, compared with all the other jurisdictions in Australia, Western Australia’s actual cost of electricity is well below the average. The contention in the shadow Treasurer’s question, which needed to be better researched, that somehow it is much harder to live here than it is in other jurisdictions, again, is just not true. But keep going back, you will get there.
Mrs M.H. Roberts : You promised lower taxes and charges and delivered the opposite. The SPEAKER : Member for Midland! Mr C.C. PORTER : There have been electricity price increases under this government, just as there would have been under the shadow Treasurer’s government, and her government promised them. Mrs M.H. Roberts : You said they would be lower under you. Mr C.C. PORTER : The contention, shadow Treasurer, that somehow or other what has been created in Western Australia is a high-cost jurisdiction is just not true. Mr P. Papalia : Bring out another chart. Mr C.C. PORTER : I will show members another chart that shows electricity price comparisons across the jurisdictions. Members can see there that, compared with all the other jurisdictions in Australia, Western Australia’s actual cost of electricity is well below the average. The contention in the shadow Treasurer’s question, which needed to be better researched, that somehow it is much harder to live here than it is in other jurisdictions, again, is just not true. But keep going back, you will get there.
The SPEAKER : Member for Midland! Mr C.C. PORTER : There have been electricity price increases under this government, just as there would have been under the shadow Treasurer’s government, and her government promised them. Mrs M.H. Roberts : You said they would be lower under you. Mr C.C. PORTER : The contention, shadow Treasurer, that somehow or other what has been created in Western Australia is a high-cost jurisdiction is just not true. Mr P. Papalia : Bring out another chart. Mr C.C. PORTER : I will show members another chart that shows electricity price comparisons across the jurisdictions. Members can see there that, compared with all the other jurisdictions in Australia, Western Australia’s actual cost of electricity is well below the average. The contention in the shadow Treasurer’s question, which needed to be better researched, that somehow it is much harder to live here than it is in other jurisdictions, again, is just not true. But keep going back, you will get there.
Mr C.C. PORTER : There have been electricity price increases under this government, just as there would have been under the shadow Treasurer’s government, and her government promised them. Mrs M.H. Roberts : You said they would be lower under you. Mr C.C. PORTER : The contention, shadow Treasurer, that somehow or other what has been created in Western Australia is a high-cost jurisdiction is just not true. Mr P. Papalia : Bring out another chart. Mr C.C. PORTER : I will show members another chart that shows electricity price comparisons across the jurisdictions. Members can see there that, compared with all the other jurisdictions in Australia, Western Australia’s actual cost of electricity is well below the average. The contention in the shadow Treasurer’s question, which needed to be better researched, that somehow it is much harder to live here than it is in other jurisdictions, again, is just not true. But keep going back, you will get there.
Mrs M.H. Roberts : You said they would be lower under you. Mr C.C. PORTER : The contention, shadow Treasurer, that somehow or other what has been created in Western Australia is a high-cost jurisdiction is just not true. Mr P. Papalia : Bring out another chart. Mr C.C. PORTER : I will show members another chart that shows electricity price comparisons across the jurisdictions. Members can see there that, compared with all the other jurisdictions in Australia, Western Australia’s actual cost of electricity is well below the average. The contention in the shadow Treasurer’s question, which needed to be better researched, that somehow it is much harder to live here than it is in other jurisdictions, again, is just not true. But keep going back, you will get there.
Mr C.C. PORTER : The contention, shadow Treasurer, that somehow or other what has been created in Western Australia is a high-cost jurisdiction is just not true. Mr P. Papalia : Bring out another chart. Mr C.C. PORTER : I will show members another chart that shows electricity price comparisons across the jurisdictions. Members can see there that, compared with all the other jurisdictions in Australia, Western Australia’s actual cost of electricity is well below the average. The contention in the shadow Treasurer’s question, which needed to be better researched, that somehow it is much harder to live here than it is in other jurisdictions, again, is just not true. But keep going back, you will get there.
Mr P. Papalia : Bring out another chart. Mr C.C. PORTER : I will show members another chart that shows electricity price comparisons across the jurisdictions. Members can see there that, compared with all the other jurisdictions in Australia, Western Australia’s actual cost of electricity is well below the average. The contention in the shadow Treasurer’s question, which needed to be better researched, that somehow it is much harder to live here than it is in other jurisdictions, again, is just not true. But keep going back, you will get there.
Mr C.C. PORTER : I will show members another chart that shows electricity price comparisons across the jurisdictions. Members can see there that, compared with all the other jurisdictions in Australia, Western Australia’s actual cost of electricity is well below the average. The contention in the shadow Treasurer’s question, which needed to be better researched, that somehow it is much harder to live here than it is in other jurisdictions, again, is just not true. But keep going back, you will get there.

Explore WA Government Data

Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.

Explore more