Media Release

THE loss of another 500 jobs from Ergon Energy, coupled with the Productivity Commission’s call to sell off publicly-owned electricity networks ‘because they treat their employees too well’, does not auger well for keeping the lights on in Qld, KAP Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter has warned.

Mr Katter – who served as a former Qld Government energy minister some two decades ago, before privatisation of State’s electricity industry began – said Queensland was at risk of widespread power blackouts thanks to the corporatisation of essential services.

Mr Katter cited as an omen last month’s worst non-severe storm related emergency power outage in Far North Qld in memory, during which residents of Charters Towers, Pentland, Sellheim, Balfes Creek and surrounding areas suffered several days of rolling blackouts after an ageing massive transformer failed, also putting at risk the Charters Towers water supply.

“That transformer should have been maintained or replaced ages ago, but with the cost-cutting and price-gouging under what is effectively a monopoly, that has not happened,” he said.

“And what you see in Charters Towers will be repeated all over Queensland under a government even more determined to gouge out even more money from the consumer through the corporatisation of essential services.

“The downside is, the lights go out.

“Let it be known that essential services are not there for the enrichment of the cronies of the ALP-LNP ‘corporations’ – they’re there to provide the people with essential services!”