Liberals turn their backs on jobs and investment

20/11/03
Energy Minister Eric Ripper says the Liberal Party is turning its back on jobs in the South-West by refusing to give full support to the Government's electricity reform plans.
Mr Ripper said the reform plan aimed to drive down power costs, attract investment and create more jobs and opportunities throughout Western Australia.
It included tough new consumer protection, such as price caps backed by law, and would allow more investment in the regional electricity network to improve reliability of power supplies.
The Minister said Kemerton-based high grade silicon manufacturer Simcoa was just one South-West company that had suggested it could create 50 jobs if electricity costs were reduced (SW Times, September 4).
"It is astonishing that South-West Liberal MPs should disregard the interests of their electorates by opposing the Government's legislation," he said.
Mr Ripper said the reforms were strongly supported by business, mining and renewable energy groups and were critical to growing the economy.
The Minister said Mitchell MLA Dan Sullivan should take a leaf out of Kalgoorlie MLA Matt Birney's book and back the legislation in the interests of his electorate.
"Matt Birney put his electorate first, but in Dan Sullivan's case the people of the South-West come a poor second to political opportunism," he said.
"Even the Liberal Federal Minister for Industry, Ian Macfarlane, has backed the Government's reforms and urged State Liberals to follow suit."
Mr Ripper said the reform plan was a prudent and cautious strategy to introduce greater competition into the electricity market.
"WA's power prices are too high, particularly for industry, and more competition is needed to put downward pressure on prices," he said.
"There is enough future demand for energy to allow private power stations to be built in addition to those in Government ownership, introducing healthy competition.
"We must embrace a genuinely competitive, dynamic, robust electricity system, rather than settle for an electricity market that disadvantages consumers and strangles investment and job creation."
Mr Ripper said the reform plans took account of interstate and international experience and were tailored to suit local conditions.
"The WA solution is to achieve greater competition while retaining full public ownership of energy utilities," he said.
"Privatisation is not the answer."
Independent analysis has suggested the benefits of reform would be an average 8.5 per cent cut in electricity prices, an increase in Gross State Product of up to $300million a year by 2010, and the creation of 2,900 new jobs.
'.when you deregulate the electricity market and you split up Western Power into its respective entities, the fact is you create more competition, you create more generators, you get more generators into the market, and that can only have a downward effect on prices. And the mining industry have realised that, the Chamber of Minerals and Energy have realised that, and I've come to the same realisation.'
Kalgoorlie MLA Matt Birney, Radio 6PR, November 19.
Minister's office: 9222 8788