“This Will Hurt Australians”

‍Mackay and Whitsunday Life

As energy continues to be a geopolitical battleground, an intervention on the energy industry passed through the House last week, with the Greens supporting a Federal Labor government’s decision to cap the price of coal and gas.

The temporary caps on the wholesale price of gas and coal of $12 per gigajoule and $125 per tonne respectively are meant to combat the skyrocketing cost of electricity, however Federal Member for Dawson Andrew Willcox warned of the detrimental effects of price caps in an address to the Parliament stating that they would drive business offshore and add pressure to the supply shortage.

Mr Willcox said Labor’s ineffective set of measures will only hurt Australians’ hip pocket.

“Price caps are receiving their rightful outcry across the community, from industry groups, to economists, to businesses and people trying to pay their bills,” Mr Willcox said.

“Some have labelled Labor’s response as a declaration of war on the gas and coal industry. They are more interested in demonising these groups who do so much to produce wealth for our nation. The caps do a lot to please activists, however they do not provide security to our energy supply.

“The root cause of the issue we face is supply. If there is an oversupply, the price goes down. If there is an undersupply, the price goes up. We have an undersupply, so bring on more coal and gas.

“We don’t want to end up in a situation where we are gas rationing because of the shortages that will occur when there is not enough gas being produced.”

Mr Willcox added that in our market-based economy, these price controls will drive away investment, reduce supply and send business overseas.

“That means our national profits will reduce dramatically, and the cost of living will increase for Australian households and businesses.

“Labor is about to get a major lesson in how markets work and unfortunately Australians will be collateral damage, paying the price for their ignorance.”