Monday 19 January 2015

PREMIER SHOULD KEEP 2012 PROMISES


Media Release



Opposition frontbencher Jackie Trad says the Premier has made more promises to cut the cost of living on top of ones he has never kept from the 2012 election.
The Premier today made a commitment to cut SEQ water bills by $1 a week which sounds similar to the one he made in 2012 to cut the water bills and give every household in the state ongoing savings of $80 a year,” Ms Trad said.
“But after winning office that promise was confined to the south-east corner and scaled back to a one-off $80 rebate, not an ongoing saving."  “And water bills in Brisbane have since increased by $218 a year on top of power bills increasing by a record $442 a year after the LNP promised to lower bills by $330 a year in 2012. You simply can’t trust a word this Premier says on the cost of living and on jobs."
“The Premier’s speech today has also raised the prospect of the LNP privatising Seqwater if it is re-elected."
“The only reason the LNP is paying off the debt of other government-owned businesses is to make them more attractive to sell."
“Is this the long-term plan he has for Seqwater too?"
“It would be typical of this mean and tricky LNP Government to promise to cut water bills but then sell of the government-owned business to private providers and stand by while prices go up and up under new owners."
“This is what is going to happen with electricity bills and water would be no different.”
Ms Trad said the commitment to pay down more than $2 billion in Seqwater’s debt meant the LNP was now planning to pay down less of the debt that directly affects taxpayers, known as general government debt.
“The new $2 billion debt pay-down for the government-owned business Seqwater means the LNP will pay now off only $5 billion of general government debt, not the $7 billion they promised."
“Of its claimed $25 billion debt pay-down the LNP previously earmarked $18 billion for erasing the debts of GOCs — whose customers pay off debt — to make them more attractive to sell and $7 billion for general government debt that taxpayers shoulder."
“Now it appears the split is $20 billion GOC debt and $5 billion for general government debt."
“In contrast Labor is paying down $5.4 billion of general government debt over six years."
“This chopping and changing is pure economic incompetence, and following its sudden decision to pluck an extra $10 billion in asset sale proceeds from thin air, reinforces the belief that the LNP is making it up as it goes along,” Ms Trad said.

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