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Independent MP to oppose national electricity reforms

Electricity users throughout regional Victoria will be the ultimate losers from legislation currently before the Victorian Parliament.

By Craig Ingram - 18th March 2005 - Back to News

The Member for Gippsland East, Craig Ingram, has described the latest round of the national electricity reforms as a "damning inditement on the stupidity of all political parties", which will further escalate the cost of electricity to rural communities.

"The electricity privatisation has been and will continue to be a disaster to rural electricity users," Mr Ingram said.

"I call on the Labor, Liberal and National parties to look beyond the tram tracks for their often sprouted, but non-existent, benefits of electricity privatisation when imposing another level of Canberra bureaucracy and city-based economic rationalism directly on rural business and residents.

"I have made the decision to oppose the National Electricity (Victoria) Bill and will do all in my power to make the government acknowledge the key rural issues of availability, price, system maintenance and the quality of electricity supplies available to rural electricity users during the parliamentary debate."

Mr Ingram said it was essential that state and federal governments put in place legislative protection for rural electricity connections that will last well beyond the next three years when the current special power bonus expires.

"We are already seeing the impact of privatisation on supply, quality, availability and the ramping up of rural electricity costs.

"If this legislation is passed as it currently stands, future state governments will have almost no ability to guarantee the availability of reasonable cost power to small rural communities," Mr Ingram concluded.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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