Government criticised over unfair tactics

An opinion piece published in Queensland’s Courier Mail last week takes aim at government plans to put itself in direct competition with the state’s 10,000+ licensed electricians and 1200 registered solar installers.

The 2015 merger of energy providers Energex and Ergon was promoted as a move which would achieve $680 million in savings and was originally applauded by union groups, due to a policy of no-forced redundancies.

A more recent decision to establish a new entity from the merger, which will offer meter box maintenance and solar panel installation services, will now see private contractors “competing for business with their regulator”, according to the report.

The article suggest that the plan is an affront to free market economics and says that the government should only ever enter the fray in the event of a market failure, not as a player in possession of vast resources which will provide an unbeatable competitive advantage.