Tony and Helen Marchant run the much-loved Dr Syntax Hotel in Sandy Bay and are among many Tasmanian business doing it hard with sky rocketing energy costs.
The Marchant's best-case scenario will see their pub's energy costs increase by $800 a month in future, which is nearly $10,000 a year.
Energy costs, on top of other increases, are making life tough for the Marchant's and other Tasmanian business owners.
Tasmanian Labor has a policy of capping power price increases at 2.5 per cent each year for the next three years which would ensure that Tasmanian households and businesses save significant amounts of money.
Households would be better off under our policy by around $500 a year and businesses would save thousands of dollars.
Tasmanian Labor introduced legislation twice during the parliamentary year to cap power prices but each time the state Liberal Government voted against the legislation.
The State Liberal party also took the policy of removing Tasmania from the National Electricity Market (see linked 2018 Liberal election video) to the 2018 election but have since abandoned that commitment, breaking a key election promise.
Tasmanians should not be paying huge power prices.
Parliament does not resume until the 28thof February in 2023, but there is no reason we cannot recall it to resume much sooner so we can deal with this energy crisis.
With all our cheap, renewable energy Tasmanians should be paying Tasmanian prices for Tasmanian power.
Dean Winter MP
Shadow Minister for Energy
