Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member very much for her question. I am concerned about the 70 per cent price rise in electricity the people of New South Wales have suffered because of, largely, decisions made by the New South Wales government. I am concerned about that. The Leader of the Opposition says that that simply doesn't exist, that the 70 per cent price rises, before 1 July, somehow did not happen. I know that is the position of the Leader of the Opposition but I am surprised that an otherwise intelligent woman would fall for this nonsense. The member knows that she has just quoted a figure that is about electricity price rises from all sources. She knows that the people of New South Wales, and the businesses of New South Wales, have put up with a 70 per cent price increase over the last four years because of actions of the state government largely, because we have problems like dividend gouging, with dividends going to the state government of New South Wales going up by 60 per cent; a continual incentive to invest, and to keep investing, and over-investing, in the poles and wires, so those dividends just keep going up. The member who asked the question knows that. So if she is concerned—

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