Media Release

Peter Gutwein MP
Shadow Treasurer

Monday 19th July 2010

Aurora Told Labor of Financial Difficulties

It has been reported today that Aurora told the Treasurer, Michael Aird, of pending financial difficulties, which further calls into question Labor's dubious price cap broken promise. We know that in January this year Aurora gave PricewaterhouseCoopers detailed financial projections that painted a troubling picture. Today we've heard from Aurora that at the January meeting the Treasurer was told that Aurora needed to improve its financial position.

Yet in spite of that, the Labor Party still made its hoax price cap promise.

The Treasurer would have understood that if Aurora said its financial position was a concern, then clearly all was not well with the company and burdening it with a $20 million election promise was unsustainable.

This is yet more evidence that Labor has misled Tasmanians and deliberately announced a policy to steal votes that it knew it had no chance of ever implementing.

Today's announcement by Aurora also confirms that Labor's energy policy over the past decade has well and truly failed and now it is up to the taxpayer-owned businesses to try and pick up the pieces to ensure they don't collapse completely.

We've already seen power prices rise by six percent this month, with another big rise likely in November. Today's announcement will do nothing to stop that.