By ERWIN CHLANDA
As people in other states are facing soaring electricity costs or uncertainty, and the national Parliament is recalled to make decisions on Thursday, Territorians are smiling.
“Here in the Territory we are in a good position,” Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said after attending National Cabinet last week when power prices were “high on the agenda.
“We have government owned corporations. Our power prices will not go above CPI [Consumer price index],” she said in a media release.
“Assisting Territorians with the cost of living is the Territory Government’s main objective, this is why power is already subsided by $120 million.
“We are not facing the same power prices issues as other States and Territories because we have government owned corporations, which the CLP would have sold.”
However, when asked to comment about this sale claim, Shadow Minister for Essential Services Joshua Burgoyne said: “This is categorically untrue.”
PHOTO (supplied upon request): One of the 10 Austrian-built gas-powered Jenbacher generators at Brewer Estate, about 30 km south of Alice Springs.
Of course the CLP would have sold it to the private sector.
They sold our insurance company TIO and what a terrible mistake that was.
Soaring flood insurance based on secret flood maps a problem?
Only going up by CPI they say. What will it be this year? 6 to 7%?
Yes Ralph, and not to mention the long term lease on the port and the freebie water allocations.
I don’t know which side divvied up Power and Water, but what a disaster that’s been!
You once had an, albeit large, entity, where everyone was on a team heading in the same direction. Despite the size, you could always get to talk to the right person to deal with your issue.
Now you have three entities, who don’t talk to each other, who actually appear to despise each other, who keep blaming each other, and who don’t want to engage with the public.
This scenario has cost our business thousands of dollars, not to mention the tens and tens of hours on hold, and I still haven’t been able to talk to, or get and answer from, anyone higher than a call centre (“friendly helpful”) staff member, and they have no comprehension of what I’m talking about, because they are not trained to deal with issues that those above them want to stick there head in the sand about.
On top of that, you have a revolving door of meter reader contractors, with even faster revolving doors for staff, and no way to contact them, and they all think that biosecurity signs and rules don’t apply to them (when they actually see signs, which are as big as a fridge door).
What hope have we got?
The NT Government just do not get it.
The CLP are no alternative either. We need to get off GAS immediately. All our energy development needs to go straight to renewables.
Take climate change seriously, folks. Transition to renewables via gas is lunacy.
The Beetaloo Basin alone will kill our efforts toward targets that aim at zero emissions.
Solar gives the NT massive opportunities that are not being taken seriously.
Our role in the creation of a National Grid is being ignored.
Let’s get smart, clean and negative, below zero emissions.
Offsetting is maintaining the status quo toward disaster.