Mr ANDREW STONER (Oxley—Leader of The Nationals) [5.54 p.m.]: Members may be aware that the electorate I represent has the lowest family income level of the 93 State electorates in New South Wales. Of great concern to me and to the people I represent are the planned electricity price increases that the Government is pursuing. It is a real worry to families who are struggling with the increased costs of groceries, interest rates, petrol, water charges et cetera. For many of my constituents the proposed increase prices for electricity are simply not affordable. Last year electricity prices increased by approximately 20 per cent. It is a matter of huge concern that there is a planned increase of approximately 42 per cent over the next three years. The reasons given by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal [IPART] for the proposed substantial increases include the Federal Government's proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme and network management requirements.

The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme effectively has been shelved by the current Federal Government, so the proposed increases should be reduced. There is a lot of injustice associated with the network management requirements because, over the past 15 years, the State Government has reaped approximately $12 billion in dividends and tax payments from State-owned electricity companies. Those funds should have been directed towards upgrading the electricity network and improving the reliability of the supply of power in the State. Effectively, electricity customers have already paid for network upgrades, yet the Government is happy to reap all of that money out of State-owned companies and expect electricity customers to pay increased prices.

The State budget that was presented two weeks ago shows that the Government plans to take another $4 billion in dividends and tax payments from the energy companies to prop up the State budget. It is the antithesis of the Robin Hood story: the State Government is robbing the poor and giving to the rich. The Government effectively is propping up the State budget by increasing electricity prices paid by consumers and pulling profits out of the system by paying increased dividends. That is a matter of great concern to the many aged and disabled pensioners, sole parents and unemployed people I represent. When the current Premier gave her first press conference she stated:

I also have a focus, and I cannot underemphasise this, that at the heart of my Government will sit a care for the most vulnerable in the community.

I have an answer to a question that was published today that shows a breakdown of the 4,145 pensioner residences within the Oxley electorate that receive electricity rebates: in the Kempsey shire, 3,085; in Port Macquarie-Hastings, in towns such as Wauchope, 1,846; in Bellingen, 917; and in greater Taree, 216. The Government has spun the line that the rebate will be increased and that all will be well. However, the Opposition's analysis shows that the pensioners who receive rebates will be $600 worse off after the increase. That will hurt disadvantaged groups in the community and small businesses.

The increases in electricity prices by Country Energy are greater than those charged by other electricity retailers, so the Oxley electorate's small businesses and farmers, who have large energy requirements to operate dairies and agriculture concerns, for example, also will be hurt. The Government can reject the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal's recommendations. I call on the Government to do so.

Mr PAUL LYNCH (Liverpool—Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Commerce, Minister for Energy, Minister for Public Sector Reform, and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs) [5.59 p.m.]: What the Leader of The Nationals has just said is entirely incorrect. The Government cannot reject the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal recommendations, as the Leader of The Nationals should well know. The legislation that prevents the Government from rejecting the tribunal's recommendations went through this House when the Leader of The Nationals was a member of this place. Indeed, he contributed to debate on the legislation and did not oppose it. He is entirely dishonest in what he has just said.