COSBOA Release: Bridges built for a better energy future

Announcement posted by COSBOA 22 Mar 2019

COSBOA communique from the “Small Business Energy Summit” held in Melbourne, 20 March 2019.

Media Release: 22 March 2019

The Summit was attended by small business people as well as stakeholders from the COSBOA membership, the Australian Energy Council, Energy Consumers Australia, the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman and experts from the sector. The summit was also addressed by the Federal Minister for Energy, the Hon. Angus Taylor MP; the Shadow Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Mr Pat Conroy MP, and the Deputy Leader of The Australian Greens, Mr Adam Bandt MP.

The main outcome of the day was agreement that we all have to work together to confront the energy crisis and that a piecemeal approach or antagonistic dialogue will not identify and resolve problems.

Peter Strong, CEO of COSBOA, stated, "The Summit was held to confront the issues of energy supply and costs and associated business and economic risks. We met, as members of the business community, to advance dialogue and find ways to work together and develop better futures. We needed to agree on what exactly are the problems and issues; and then, together, confront and resolve these problems.

"The agreement to work together may seem a trite or obvious outcome but given the failures of governments throughout the last 30 years in developing a good policy for energy, it is more important than ever that we in the business community work together. Business and energy producers arguing separately over who is at fault or what is the best solution is not productive. This Summit was the first time we have come together to confront the energy conundrum and it will not be the last. It is big and small businesses are leading the way on making sure our economy can continue to be world class; and access reliable, affordable energy with responsible environmental management - key issues for our future.”

Mr Strong added, “The event was made possible with sponsorship from the ASBFEO, Energy Consumers Australia and AGL and we appreciate that support. We have to work together even more than ever if we are to maintain our high standards of living. The extremes of left and right economic and environmental politics are the enemy of good management. While the major political parties grapple with their extremes we will grapple with reality.”

COSBOA Communique - Managing energy cost risk in small business

On 20 March, COSBOA held an Energy Summit in Melbourne to examine what could be done to address the problem of rising energy costs for Australia’s 2 million small businesses.

The Federal Minister for Energy, the Hon. Angus Taylor MP, opened the Summit and addresses were also received from the Shadow Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Mr Pat Conroy MP, and the Deputy Leader of The Australian Greens, Mr Adam Bandt MP.

The Summit was attended by small business owners and representatives from industry associations, consumer bodies, electricity supply companies and other stakeholders.

COSBOA members noted the following:

There is an urgent need for the Australian Parliament to develop a bipartisan approach to the future operation of the Australian energy market. The absence of such an approach is a substantial risk for further large increases in energy prices for both Australian households and small businesses.
There is substantial research providing evidence that the rise in energy prices experienced over the past two years has put a significant proportion of Australia’s 3.3 million small to medium businesses under considerable financial pressure which, if repeated in future years, threatens the economic viability of many of these businesses.
There are significant consumer challenges associated with the current operation of the Australian electricity market. These challenges include the need for improved market transparency and the establishment of ‘consistent pricing mechanisms’ to readily enable consumer comparison of energy costs. These recommendations are comprehensively discussed in the 2018 review of the Australian electricity market by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
Many of the recommendations of the ACCC’s report are inter-related, suggesting that they are best advanced as a total package. Care should be taken in the advancement of individual recommendations to ensure that such action does not result in unintended adverse consequences for all electricity consumers.
There is a significant opportunity for the small business community and energy retailers to work together (including collaboration between the Australian Energy Council, COSBOA and the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman) to better empower small business owners to take control of their energy use and future energy cost risks. This opportunity is further strengthened by the establishment of new programmes by the Australian Government in the areas of small business energy advice and capital grants for energy efficiency investments.
While much of the discussion in recent years has focussed on the operation of national electricity markets, there is an emerging concern about the near-term availability of natural gas in Australia and this issue should be addressed by Australian Governments as a priority.

Discussions will continue at the COSBOA National Small Business Summit, 29-30 August. Registrations are open, for more information visit: www.cosboansbs.com.au

-ends-

Notes to editors:

Interviews are available with Peter Strong, CEO, COSBOA upon request
For more information on COSBOA visit: www.cosboa.org.au

Media Contacts:
Further information, images, interviews please contact:
Jessica McLean, Senior Account Manager | 02 9212 7867 | jessica@zadroagency.com.au
Debbie Bradley, Group Account Director | 0420 761 189 | debbie@zadroagency.com.au

Image:

Peter Strong, CEO, COSBOA