The Council commends the level of consultation which has been undertaken by the Review Panel with industry, via a range means, including ongoing refinement. This is reflected in the strong consumer focus of the Report and its recommendations, including preventing significant over or under investment. As the Panel considers the full suite of recommendations, particularly to address short and medium term risks to users, consideration should be given as to whether these changes inadvertently pass costs to large industrial energy consumers, at a time when rising costs are already impacting the continued viability of a prosperous manufacturing sector in Australia.
