7 years ago
RBA CONFIRMS TURNBULL ENERGY POLICY PARALYSIS CRIPPLING ECONOMY
THE HON MARK BUTLER MP
RBA Governor Phillip Lowe has handed the Prime Minister a devastating analysis of how his energy policy paralysis is impacting the broader economy.
Giving evidence to the House committee inquiry into the RBA Annual Report, RBA Governor, Philip Lowe confirmed Prime Minister Turnbull’s energy policy paralysis is affecting broader business investment, household consumption and impacting the most vulnerable Australians the most. The RBA Governor said:
“Uncertainty in the (energy) policy environment is delaying investment, that is not in dispute.”
And that uncertainty is, “affecting investment decisions in other parts of the economy.”
Governor Lowe described how the ongoing energy crisis is having a particularly severe impact on lower income households saying it is: “crippling their budgets and having effects on consumption.”
When asked by Labor’s Matt Thistlethwaite about the benefits of Australia adopting a Clean Energy Target as recommended by the Finkel Review and supported by Labor, the RBA Governor confirmed: “Providing some certainty about the future structure of electricity generation industry would be useful for the country; from investment and on prices, and on household budgets,”
The Prime Minister knows his inability to stand up to the extreme right in his own party is hurting the energy industry, the broader businesses sector and households. He knows the best way to immediately alleviate the crippling energy pressures being felt across the economy is by standing up to his party room and working with Labor on a Clean Energy Target.
The longer the Prime Minister and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg drag their feet on a Clean Energy Target, the longer consumers and the entire economy will be crippled by rising energy bills.