Opinion
In an early Pogues song, The Boys from the County Hell, Shane McGowan promises, “lend me ten pounds and I’ll buy you a drink”. But that “Irish logic”, as my grandmother used to call it, is a paragon of generosity compared to the Albanese government. After bleeding Australians dry at the electricity meter for the past two years, suddenly we’re expected to turn cartwheels of joy over Albo’s mite.
The bulk of Australian households and businesses will see electricity bills fall from July 1, the country’s energy regulator has proposed – a boost to efforts to ease a cost of living crisis that has left many buckling.
“Fall”, that is, from the towering heights Anthony Albanese and his dunderheaded Climate Change and Energy Minister have driven power bills to. In the past two years, average power bills have spiked by more than 20%. In turn, that has pushed up inflation, leading to the Reserve Bank repeatedly raising interest rates by record amounts.
The average Australian power bill is now $250 higher than it was when Albanese assumed office (after promising nearly one hundred times to cut them by $275).
So, excuse us if we’re not exactly hoopla about a $24 annual cut.
In a boost to household budgets, the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) proposed on Tuesday that the default market tariff fall for the majority of households by between 0.4 per cent and 7.1 per cent from July 1, depending on where they live.
However, the AER said other households will see price increases of between 0.9 per cent and 2.7 per cent.
And still, the bureaucrats and politicians avoid the great, green elephant in the room.
AER chair Claire Savage said the differential was due to varying costs across transmission companies.
“While wholesale markets have stabilised since their extreme peaks of 2022, this easing has been offset by the pressures we are observing in network prices. Poles and wires costs are a large component of retail prices, comprising around 40 per cent of the price,” Ms Savage said.
And why are “poles and wires” suddenly driving power bills sky-high? Because the demented drive for “renewables” means that Australia has to build tens of thousands of kilometres of new transmission lines. Conservative estimates put the cost of new transmission lines alone somewhere north of $60-80 billion.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen says voters at the next election will have a “real choice” when it comes to the source and cost of their energy.
The Australian
Yes: the choice between the Labor-Greens’ bunch of brainless loons and anyone else.