Prices rise in Queensland, while they fall in other states
A new report from the Australian Energy Market Operator has sounded alarm bells for Queenslanders.
The new report found in the first quarter of this year, Queensland’s wholesale energy prices have skyrocketed, while across the rest of the country energy prices fell.
The report found in the first three months of 2024:
• Queensland wholesale energy prices cost an average of $118 per megawatt hour – a massive 75% rise
• The rest of the country paid on average $76 per megawatt hour – a decrease of 8%
It means Queenslanders' power bills are soaring far above what the rest of the country is paying.
The report is a damning indictment of the Palaszczuk-Miles Labor Government’s handling of the Callide power station fiasco.
The major Callide power station has now been offline for 1065 days and Labor has failed to return it to service which has pushed energy prices up in Queensland.
Shadow Minister for Energy and the Cost of Living Deb Frecklington said Queenslanders were paying a very high price for Labor’s failures.
“Last year under Labor, Queenslanders suffered a 20% increase in power bills, the worst in the nation and triple the national average,” Ms Frecklington said.
“Alarmingly this report shows there is a lot more pain to come for Queenslanders.
“Queensland is the only state that’s had a major power station offline for more than a thousand days.
“It's clear Labor’s failures to maintain our power assets has resulted in Queenslanders paying more for their power bills.
“The LNP has committed to providing maintenance guarantees on our power stations to ensure Queenslanders have affordable, reliable and sustainable electricity.
“Labor’s chaos and crisis is costing Queenslanders in a cost of living crisis.
“This power price surge has not happened by accident.
“It is the result of Labor’s systemic failures to manage our electricity network.
“Only the LNP has the Right Priorities for Queensland’s Future, including saving you paying for Labor’s failures.”
Second humiliating back-down in two days
Labor is an embarrassment.
For the second time in just two days, legislation proposed by Labor has utterly collapsed under scrutiny.
It’s more chaos and crisis from a government with the wrong priorities and no plan.
Today, the Palaszczuk-Miles Government has been forced to cancel its own controversial planning laws on the floor of Parliament.
The laws, opposed by the LNP, would have given the State Government the overriding powers to create “Urban Investigation Zones”, without community consultation.
Labor never listened to the community nor properly consulted on these laws and has now been forced into another embarrassing back-down.
Yesterday, Labor was also forced to scrap its controversial education bill, also opposed by the LNP.
Labor hasn’t been listening to Queenslanders, this is a government with the wrong priorities which has completely lost the ability to perform basic functions of governance.
Under Steven Miles Labor just isn't up to it and Queenslanders no longer trust the Labor Party.
Only the LNP has the Right Priorities for Queensland's Future.
This latest legislative fail adds to the growing list of reasons Queenslanders should Show Labor the Door in '24.
Labor has been delivered a brutal lesson today, Queenslanders do not trust this Government with their children’s education.
In an extraordinary development, Labor has been forced to withdraw its controversial education legislation.
This is an embarrassing debacle for Labor.
Labor has descended into a government in chaos and crisis which utterly failed to consult and listen to Queenslanders on this issue and now has been forced to abandon its reckless plans.
Labor failed to listen to parents, principals, teachers and key sector organisations including the Queensland Teachers Union and the Teachers Professional Association of Queensland.
The lack of consultation with families and stakeholders prior to these proposed changes is just another example of a government that has stopped listening after a decade in power.
In stark contrast to Labor, the LNP actively engaged with all stakeholders and stared down Labor’s plans.
This is another extraordinary embarrassment for Minister Di Farmer who has mismanaged every portfolio she has ever had.
Labor is just not up to it and Queenslanders no longer trust them.
Mismanaging the futures of Queensland kids can now be added to the chaotic list of reasons Queenslanders should show Labor the door in ’24.
​Only the LNP has the Right Priorities for Queensland's Future.
Break-ins, theft and assaults on the rise in 2024
New Queensland Police Service statistics reveal crime continues to rise in Queensland, leaving more victims in its wake.
For the first quarter of 2024, crime is even higher than in the first quarter of 2023, including:
QPS numbers also reveal the number of victims of crime is 3% higher than the first quarter of last year.
Labor can’t fix the Youth Crime Crisis they created with weak laws and fewer police.
So instead, they decided to re-write the definition of hardcore youth offenders to make it look like the numbers were going down.
With Labor, it’s always about how things look, not how things are.
They don’t take crime seriously and they can’t be trusted to fix the Youth Crime Crisis.
Half of all stolen car crimes aren’t solved and therefore those offenders aren’t counted in official stats.
Three-quarters of all break-ins aren’t solved and therefore those offenders aren’t counted in official stats.
This isn’t the fault of our hardworking police on the beat, there simply isn’t enough of them.
This is the result of Labor’s failure to give our police the tools and resources they need to do their job.
The only way to end the Queensland Youth Crime Crisis is to change the Government.
Only the LNP has the Right Priorities for Queensland’s Future, including making our community safer.
If elected in October, the LNP will roll-out the Making Queensland Safer laws before the end of the year, including removing Detention as a Last Resort and putting victims’ rights front and centre.
Again, I ask how much will Labor’s Pioneer Burdekin pumped-hydro plan cost Queenslanders?
How much more will Queenslanders pay on their power bills to cover the cost of the multi-billion-dollar blowouts on this project under Labor?
Labor expects Queenslanders to sign up for one of the most expensive infrastructure projects in the State’s history, without knowing how much it will cost and how much more they will pay on their power bills.
Labor can’t be trusted, and is clearly trying to hide the cost ahead of an election.
Last year alone Queenslanders paid nearly 20% more in their power bills, triple the national average increase, because of Labor’s failures at Callide.
Now Labor wants to add even more onto Queenslanders’ power bills but won’t reveal the blowout costs for the Pioneer Burdekin project.
It’s more Labor chaos and crisis, from a government with the wrong priorities.
Queensland patients and paramedics wait nearly eight hours
Patients at some of Queensland’s biggest hospitals were forced to wait nearly eight hours before being offloaded, in another sign the Queensland Health Crisis has failed to improve under Labor Minister Shannon Fentiman.
Labor’s chaos and crisis saw patients and paramedics stuck on the ramp for extraordinary amounts of time during the last quarter of 2023.
New health data released by the State Government to the LNP via a Parliamentary Question on Notice revealed the longest wait times for patients included:
Shadow Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Ros Bates said Queenslanders can’t trust the Palaszczuk-Miles Labor Government to fix the Queensland Health Crisis.
“As a nurse and former hospital administrator, I know how stressful it is for patients who are forced to wait in the back of an ambulance or a hospital corridor for hours,” said Ms Bates.
“This is a sign of a broken system and a Labor Government in chaos and crisis.
“Shannon Fentiman lies about the state of our hospitals. She has created a culture of fear and cover-ups.
“Whistle-blowers are coming to the LNP because the Labor Government is no longer listening.
“The Queensland Health Crisis is real and Queensland has the worst ambulance ramping in the country.
“The Palaszczuk-Miles Government inherited an ambulance ramping rate of 15% in 2015, but since then it has blown out to 43%.
“I want to thank our hard working doctors, nurses, paramedics and allied health professionals who are working around the clock to keep the health system on the rails.
“Frontline staff are exhausted and feel disrespected and undervalued by Labor.
“My message to them is simple, things will change and improve under a future LNP Government.
“Patient care must always be the top priority, but Shannon Fentiman is more interested in trying to fix her shattered reputation as the worst Health Minister in Queensland’s history.
“The LNP has put solutions on the table to help heal the Queensland Health Crisis, including better resources, better triaging, sharing data in real-time and putting doctors and nurses back in charge to improve patient care.
“Queenslanders shouldn’t have to wait months to find out how their hospitals are performing and that’s why the LNP has committed to releasing data in real-time, within the first 100 days of government.
“Only the LNP has the right priorities for Queensland’s future.”
