Speaking at the National Small Business Summit in Melbourne today, Mr O'Connor said too much attention had been paid to cost increases associated with the Federal Government's carbon tax without pressuring state governments for reimbursement for rising costs associated with a lack of infrastructure investment.
Treasury modelling suggested businesses would be hit by a 10 per cent increase in a 2 per cent cost, he said, or a rise of 0.2 per cent of total costs, when also faced by a 50 per cent rise in overall energy costs unconnected with the introduction of the carbon price.
"For too long people have focused on what will be less than a 10 per cent cost of energy, which has been compensated for, when there has been a fivefold increasing in the last 18 months to two years which has been a direct result of increases by state instrumentalities," he said.
"There has been no effort by state governments to respond to that and people should focus on where these decisions are being made.
"if people are unhappy about some of the carbon price decisions because of its impact on energy I think it's about time Ted Ballieu, Campbell Newman, Bernie O'Farrell and the other Premiers look at what they have done or not done.
"I am yet to see any effort by state governments to put in a compensation scheme or address the 50 per cent increase in energy costs. We would like to see some more done by state governments in that area."
Australian consumer electricity prices rose 10.7 per cent in the year to June while gas prices rose a modest 8 per cent, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
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