14th Feb 2018, 4:06 PM – Senate Motions - Energy - Return to public ownership

The majority voted against this motion, which means it failed.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) electricity prices have gone up 12.4 per cent from December 2016 to December 2017 and are too high,

(ii) the companies that own our electricity networks, including those registered in the Cayman Islands, have made $27.5 billion profit over the last 4 years, which is pushing up prices, and

(iii) the deregulation of electricity prices has seen them skyrocket, so that in Victoria up to 30 per cent of a household's bill is for retailers profits alone, according to the Grattan Institute;

(b) agrees with Victorian Premier Mr Daniel Andrews that electricity should never have been privatised; and

(c) calls on the Government to start bringing the electricity network back into public hands and to take all steps to reregulate electricity prices.