Cathy O'Toole (Herbert, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise in this place to stand up for North Queensland and to speak out against ever-increasing electricity prices. I need to do this, because the LNP has completely failed and neglected Queensland—especially the north.

In North Queensland we are experiencing skyrocketing electricity prices, with not a sign of support from the Turnbull government to address this dire issue. The cost of electricity keeps rising, increasing pressure on families and pensioners—also including the fact that the cost of living is growing. Pensioners in my area cannot afford to turn on their air conditioner. This is simply unacceptable in such a hot climate.

In my electorate of Herbert I am constantly speaking with residents and businesses, particularly small businesses, which are struggling to make ends meet due to the high cost of electricity. Once a week I visit a locally owned and operated small business in the community. The main purpose of my visit is to promote the message of buy local and to touch base with the business owners—to listen to their successes but also to talk through their challenges. I am constantly hearing that the major concern for local small business in Herbert is the cost of electricity.

For example, Kellie Herring, the owner of Organic Pantry in Townsville recently phoned my office as she had just received an electricity bill for $8,000. That was a huge rise and one that she could not afford. Kelly employs three local staff, and a bill that high was simply unaffordable and unacceptable for her. I have spoken to a business owner who cannot afford to keep the air conditioning running throughout the day. He and his wife have developed some very creative ways to cool the warehouses and offices without using electricity. But as they both said, this is not acceptable because their business is so large that when they do turn the air conditioning on when people come in there is no time for it to cool down.

Let me say that when you live in the dry tropics of Townsville in North Queensland it is very hard to run a business without air conditioning. This situation is creating huge stress for these business owners. Sun Metals Corporation is one of Queensland's biggest electricity consumers, and a key Townsville employer. In the last two years their electricity bill has increased by over 72 per cent. Their electricity bill has increased from $50 million in 2015 to more than $70 million in 2016. And here is a challenging fact: electricity prices in Queensland have been more expensive than in South Australia in 2015-16, despite Queensland's coal fired power generation. The cost of wholesale electricity prices has doubled under the Abbott and Turnbull governments, and yet this year's Turnbull government budget delivered absolutely nothing for Townsville's water security and energy infrastructure, something that will not be forgotten by residents.

Labor leads in energy solutions, where the Turnbull government has failed Townsville and North Queensland. Bill Shorten met with local Townsville business leaders to discuss these issues and the impact that they are having on the north's economy and the negative impact on our community. Less than one month later, Townsville saw a real commitment from Labor. I was proud to stand with Bill Shorten, who committed $200 million for a hydro power station on the Burdekin Falls Dam and $100 million for water security infrastructure in a Shorten-led federal Labor government.

Townsville has sunshine on 300 days of the year, on average. We have so much sunshine in Townsville, in fact, that we are colloquially known as 'Browns-ville.' Our sunshine has the ability to create thousands of new jobs and bring investment to our region. Since January 2016 North Queensland has seen an unprecedented level of renewable energy investment activity, with over 780 megawatts of large-scale projects either commencing construction or securing financial support. The total of these projects will deliver over $1.6 billion of infrastructure spending to North Queensland and will create over 1,400 jobs during construction. These projects include one of Australia's largest solar farms built in Clare, creating over 200 jobs; the $225 million 148-megawatt Ross River Solar Farm, delivering around 200 jobs during construction; and Sun Metals' 125-megawatt solar farm, making them the largest single-site user of renewable energy, creating 210 jobs during construction. Private industry and companies are recognising and acting on the renewable energy opportunities that Townsville has to offer. If only the Turnbull government would join the party.

Addressing alternative energy sources for the north is critical, because our unemployment rate is at 11.3 per cent and our youth unemployment is 21.7 per cent. Jobs in this new sector would be great. (Time expired)

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