Labor will soon release draft laws that would require any sale of Aurora Energy to be approved by both houses of parliament.
The bill will ensure the state-owned electricity retailer can’t be sold off or partially privatised without that sign-off, Labor leader Dean Winter said.
The move would amend the 2012 Labor legislation that currently governs Aurora.
“We want to make sure that there is parliamentary oversight over the sale of Aurora Energy … just like it is with other government businesses,” Winter said.
“We’ve had some initial conversations with the crossbench. Our conversations have been broadly around privatisation.”
“We moved a motion that generally said no to privatisation through the parliament last month successfully. That’s a really good sign.”
Pensioner Anne Cox joined Winter on Monday, sharing how rising costs are hitting hard.
“I’ve been having a lot of trouble with bills, balancing the budget and everything else,” said Cox, who has found limited help through government rebates.
“I decided to give up meat because that was a major cost in the food line… The bills seem to be going up all the time.”
Cox said power bills are a cost she simply can’t avoid. “The power bills are high, but it’s a necessity. You’ve got to have it, because we’re all electric.”
“I just can’t handle all the service fees they keep putting out. And if they privatise it, it’s going to be a lot worse.”
The state government has previously said all state-owned businesses, except Hydro Tasmania, are being considered for sale.
