Your views: On energy bills and Cabinet secrecy
Today, readers comment on why complaints are increasing about rising energy bills and the Auditor-General being refused access to Cabinet documents.
Premier Peter Malinauskas with his first cabinet after ministers were sworn. Photo: Tony Lewis/InDaily
Commenting on the story: Energy bill complaints rise as SA households grapple with cost of living
Why is Canale urging customers to shop around for a better offer? In SA, 46 per cent of the electricity bill is attributable to fixed network charges. That’s right, remember the poles and wires the SA Government sold off to Hong Kong billionaire Mr Li Ka-shing’s Hutchison Whampoa group for $3.5 billion. Well, they are now 51 per cent owned by the Cheung Kong Group of companies and 49 per cent owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co, an American investment company.
So, from the average $1750 annual household electricity bill, $805 goes offshore. The generators costs vary but are typically around 28 per cent to 30 per cent of your bill, and again there is nothing you can do about that. The Government then takes around 11 per cent of your bill for “environmental” charges, giving the retailer 13 per cent of the total bill, for which some 11 per cent is used to operate their company, leaving 2 per cent (approximately $35 of your bill) to put in their pockets. – Martin Burns
Our electricity bill YOY is up 119 per cent. This is with solar feed in up 30 per cent, anytime use up only 25 per cent and controlled load up only 24 per cent for this 119 per cent cost increase. This is criminal. Thanks Labor. – Craig Davis
It’s not rocket science. All we hear is state and federal government saying they feel our pain. A good first step would be the removal of GST from our power bills. – Mike Lesiw
Commenting on the opinion piece: If the Premier won’t be transparent, the Auditor-General should take action
If the Premier won’t be open and transparent about how he and his government are spending taxpayers’ money then of course the Auditor-General should take immediate action. By refusing to reveal the full details of how he is spending taxpayers’ money the Premier immediately makes them think there is something underhand going on. – Robert S C McNeile McCormick
What a complete mockery of the democratic system. What does the Premier fear? Why should SA be one of the only jurisdictions where the Auditor-General cannot access cabinet documents. As the article reports, it’s SA taxpayers’ money and boy do they squander it. This stance is appalling from a Labor government. – James Baker
