HUNDREDS of primary producers – particularly dairyfarmers - and supply chain partners nationwide will confront a financial crisis unless renewable energy charges and the carbon tax are scrapped.
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That is the assessment of Queensland Senator Ron Boswell and his Coalition colleagues in Canberra, as the battle for votes heats up in a tightening election contest.
Despite the Federal Government’s defence that Queensland’s maintenance cost of the electricity network is to blame for the escalating prices, Senator Boswell is adamant that extra charges to meet the government’s renewable energy targets are the main culprit.
His attack has been backed by several commodity groups across the state that say they face declining profitability, job cuts and even closure due to the skyrocketing bills.
“According to the Queensland Competition Authority, the renewable energy targets (RET) and the Solar Bonus Scheme add $169 to the average domestic electricity bill,” Senator Boswell said.
“That is almost as much as the $190 added due to the carbon tax.
“As Queensland Energy Minister Mark McArdle has pointed out, the RET and the carbon tax now make up 18.9% of the average $1900 annual electricity bill.
“That’s for domestic power bills.
“It’s many times more expensive to operate a modern, mechanised farm and food-processing business.
“The more mechanised our primary industries become, the more they depend on electricity and the more those power prices impact on operations.
“Dairyfarmers are facing big increases and there are stories about irrigators around Bundaberg who can’t afford to turn on their pumps.
“This is serious.”
Federal Climate Change Minister Mark Butler said the RET was a small factor in the energy price hike.
“The real reason behind rising electricity prices in Queensland is the massive increase in the cost of upgrading and maintaining poles and wires in the State Government-owned network,” he said.
“Network prices in Queensland increased by 18% less than two weeks ago.”
Mr Butler said investment in renewable energy was an essential part of Australia’s action to address global warming, and that in the past 12 months, renewable energy generation had increased by 25%, with carbon pollution down by 7%.
He said global warming and the effects of climate change threatened the future of agriculture in Australia.
“For the vast majority of small businesses, the carbon price makes up less than 10% of their electricity bill and 0.2% or less of their sales revenue.”
Millmerran dairyfarmer Wes Judd said dairyfarmers in Queensland had been hit from every direction in the past couple of years - floods that had wiped out infrastructure and supermarket cut-throat pricing policies among them – but their biggest threat could still be to come.
Mr Judd is the former president of the Queensland Dairyfarmers Organisation and a respected producer in his field.
He said his organisation’s biggest issue was with the cost of electricity.
“We are fairly large consumers – we need compressors for milking, electricity for storage and refrigeration, plus irrigation,” he said.
“The changes in electricity prices are significant and impossible to pass on.”
Mr Judd is typical of many in his industry – his Riverton property suffered four floods well above record levels in two years, which he says “has given us some challenges”.
After suffering extreme infrastructure losses to his dairy, sheds, silos and machinery in December 2011, this year’s heavy storm rain tore away tonnes of topsoil and reduced his planting to a small oats crop planted out in March.
“We are struggling for feed now,” he said.
“Our feed at the moment is less than we’ve had through some droughts.”
He sees that is an obstacle that can be overcome, but he’s not sure how operators such as him can deal with rising energy prices and remain competitive, with a viable business.
“The (former) prime minister said she would compensate the community so that we could pass costs on – that’s just a nonsense,” he said.
“To not understand the impact on the market of something like that I find disturbing.” He described it as policy put together on the run, and found it insulting to be continually told to make savings.
“There have been a lot of changes in farming that have lessened inputs,” he said.
“We’ve changed our refrigeration system and made changes to our irrigation system.
“We’ve changed farming practices over the past 10 years, from a fuel point of view, but you can’t do it overnight and you can’t do it if the money you’ve put away for capital expenditure is being spent on taxes.”
Mr Judd said the Federal Government’s energy taxes had tried to bring about community change without giving them an understanding of it.
“If it’s just about being hit in the pocket, you don’t get any buy-in,” he said.
“If consumers wear the tax and don’t change their habits, it’s achieved nothing.”
DAIRY farmers in Queensland have been hit from every direction in the past couple of years - floods that have wiped out infrastructure and supermarket cut-throat pricing policies among them – but their biggest threat could still be to come, according to Millmerran operator Wes Judd (pictured).
Wes is the former president of the Queensland Dairyfarmers Organisation and a respected producer in his field.
He says his organisation’s biggest issue is with the cost of electricity.
“We are fairly large consumers – we need compressors for milking, electricity for storage and refrigeration, plus irrigation,” he said.
“The changes in electricity prices are significant and impossible to pass on.” Wes is typical of many in his industry – his Riverton property suffered four floods well above record levels in two years, which he says “has given us some challenges”.
After suffering extreme infrastructure losses to his dairy, sheds, silos and machinery in December 2011, this year’s heavy storm rain tore away tonnes of topsoil and reduced his planting to a small oats crop planted out in March.
“We are struggling for feed now,” he said.
“Our feed at the moment is less than we’ve had through some droughts.” He sees that is an obstacle that can be overcome, but he’s not sure how operators like him can deal with rising energy prices and remain competitive, with a viable business.
“The (former) prime minister said she would compensate the community so that we could pass costs on – that’s just a nonsense.
“To not understand the impact on the market of something like that I find disturbing.” He described it as policy put together on the run, and found it insulting to be continually told to make savings.
“There have been a lot of changes in farming that have lessened inputs,” he said.
“We’ve changed our refrigeration system and made changes to our irrigation system.
“We’ve changed farming practices over the past 10 years, from a fuel point of view, but you can’t do it overnight and you can’t do it if the money you’ve put away for capital expenditure is being spent on taxes.” Wes says the Federal Government’s energy taxes have tried to bring about community change without giving them an understanding of it.
“If it’s just about being hit in the pocket, you don’t get any buy-in,” he said.
“If consumers wear the tax and don’t change their habits, it’s achieved nothing.”
