Electricity bills will soar for decades

Carly Crawford
From: Herald Sun
September 20, 2011 12:00AM

VICTORIANS will be $1050 worse off under the looming carbon tax, according to the State Government’s controversial modelling.
In a report that was last night dismissed by the Federal Government, Victoria’s Coalition predicts electricity bills will soar for decades.
The state figures suggest the typical income in Victoria would be $60,504 by 2015 without a carbon tax and $59,445 with the tax.
There would be 35,000 fewer jobs and investment would be down 6 per cent according to the report, which does not include all federal compensation.
The numbers are contained in the final report by Deliotte Access Economics, which was commissioned by the Department of Premier and Cabinet to assess the impact of the carbon tax on Victoria.

The report provoked outrage inside the Gillard Government, which has previously attacked the integrity of Victoria’s modelling.
“Victorians know that the Liberals have repeatedly misrepresented the facts in the climate change debate, and it seems Mr Baillieu’s at it again here with this report by a paid consultancy firm,” federal Treasurer Wayne Swan said.

The State Government defended the report, which it will release today.
“The economic modelling assumptions underpinning the analysis in this report have been aligned, to the extent possible, to the recently-released modelling undertaken by the Commonwealth Treasury,” a Coalition spokesman said.

The Deloitte report names Melbourne, Gippsland and Barwon as the Victorian regions hardest hit by the tax and estimates electricity prices will rise 23 per cent by 2030.
Federal modelling predicts a short-term jump of just 10 per cent.

Mr Swan, who will release updated federal modelling this week, said Victoria’s modelling was out of step with other states and federal Treasury.
Mr Baillieu was criticised over preliminary Deloitte figures showing 23,000 fewer Victorian jobs in 2015.