General News
16 December, 2023
Soaring energy costs resurrection hoax, Walsh says of new look SEC
THE State Government’s rebirth of the State Electricity Commission has been rebadged “soaring energy costs” by local MP Peter Walsh. Leader of The Nationals and member for Murray Plains, Mr Walsh says the proposed resurrection of the SEC is...
THE State Government’s rebirth of the State Electricity Commission has been rebadged “soaring energy costs” by local MP Peter Walsh.
Leader of The Nationals and member for Murray Plains, Mr Walsh says the proposed resurrection of the SEC is little more than a State Government hoax to try and distract attention from soaring energy costs.
“SEC actually stands for soaring energy costs – and that’s what the Allan government is already delivering,” Mr Walsh said.
“The tragedy is that massive part of the average family budget is only going one way – and that’s up.
“We have taken this argument to the floor of the Parliament, I have crisscrossed my electorate and the state to see and hear how hard this is hitting the ordinary family and I can tell you it is hitting the very hard.”
Mr Walsh said the SEC was “just a hoax for Victorian consumers” and they should not let a Labor government try and fool them again. He said there was “there’s no way known we’re going to see costs for electricity come down under the Allan Labor Government”.
“We’re going to call them out on it. Every chance we get.
“Just remember, as I said previously, the SEC stands for nothing but soaring energy costs these days,” Ms Benham says.
Mr Walsh travelled to Bridgewater recently to meet concerned regional and rural residents who have no access to all the much-hyped inner city suite of electric trains, electric cars (and recharge stations), bicycle lanes “and everything else the Greens driven Labor government bows down to”.
He says people realise everything has its price, but when you are caught in a cost-of-living squeeze as bad as the current one, “the last thing you need are charges for your basic services going through the roof”.
“People in rural and regional Victoria should not have to choose between air conditioning in our summer and putting food on the table,” Mr Walsh said.
“Instead of coming up with its gimmicks, the Allan Labor government should be coming down on the soaring energy costs it has created with its determination to shutdown gas and coal powered energy production and make some realistic decisions which will benefit all Victorians.”
The Government says it new SEC will investing in renewable energy and storage projects that accelerate the transition and deliver commercial returns, support households to go all-electric to reduce their energy bills and emissions and building the renewable energy workforce our energy transition requires.
“We’ll play an important role in helping Victorian households to reduce their energy bills and emissions by offering simple and practical solutions to help them switch to all-electric. The energy transformation will create thousands of jobs,” the SEC says.
The original SEC was established in It was set up in 1918, and by 1972 it was the sole agency in the state for electricity generation, transmission, distribution and supply until privatised in the 1990s.