Flood levy and power rebate scrapped

Marissa Calligeros  |  brisbanetimes.com.au reporter

Queensland households will be spared a flood levy, but will not receive power bill rebates with next month’s state budget.

The state government was considering introducing a new tax in next month’s budget, with Premier Campbell Newman saying the state’s existing $80 million flood kitty would not be enough to replace infrastructure or shift it to higher ground.

The flood levy would have raised $1 billion over five years, although the government planned to hand money back through power bill rebates.

But plans for the rebates have been scrapped, leaving households to bear the full brunt of power price increases of about $253 from July 1.