Media Release

22 June 2017

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A Foley Labor government would re-regulate the electricity market to help households and businesses struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living under the Berejiklian Government.

This initiative addresses a key theme central to NSW Opposition Leader Luke Foley’s Budget Reply speech delivered in NSW Parliament today – cost of living pressures.

Mr Foley’s attack on the power companies’ excessive profits comes as NSW households and businesses brace themselves for electricity bills that are set to increase annually by an average of $300 and $900 a year respectively.

Mr Foley said in his speech today that the Liberals had abjectly failed to honour the promise they made on the eve of the 2015 state election that power prices would go down; the promised benefits from the privatisation of the ‘poles and wires’ had failed to materialise.

Quotes attributable to NSW Opposition Leader Luke Foley:

“Families and small businesses are facing record power bills – because the Government did everything it could to drive the price up ahead of privatisation.

“This Government went to court to overturn the independent regulator’s price cuts.

“Labor will not stand by and let family budgets be crushed and businesses wrecked by power price hikes.

“Electricity privatisation and price de-regulation has not delivered what the Liberals and Nationals promised. Today, I put the electricity companies – and the Liberals and Nationals – on notice.

“We will re-regulate the electricity companies to ensure that consumers are treated fairly.”