"The first thing I ask, is what purpose has it been done for? As an academic exercise, it is nice and interesting, I look forward to having a look at it," he said. "But why has the ETU spent their members’ money on this? I'll answer the rhetorical question - we've already said we are not selling Ergon, Energex or Powerlink. We've said that and down in Redcliffe today and yesterday and the day before, the ETU continue to run this deceitful campaign. We are not selling the distribution and transmission entities, so what are they on about? Why do they waste their members’ money on this report?" Mr Newman focused his attack on Redcliffe, where a byelection will be held this Saturday and said it was time for the union to "pack up and go". "We have made a very clear commitment about asset sales, and yet the ETU down there in Redcliffe running a misinformation campaign," he said. "It is just not true.

"... It is time for the ETU to tell the truth. It is actually time for the ETU down in Redcliffe to pack up, stop harassing the people down there. "The feedback we are getting are people are sick and tired of the ETU people being in their face and telling them these falsehoods. They may as well pack up and go back to the various parts of Queensland they have come from, certainly most of them don't live in Redcliffe." ETU state secretary, Peter Simpson, said the premier had "sour grapes". "We are not harassing people, we have people in our ‘Not for sale’ campaign shirts, on the side of the road with street stalls," he said. "If that is harassment, well I think the LNP are a lot worse than that.

"We are not harassing anyone, the feedback we are getting in Redcliffe is fantastic and I suggest the Premier has a taste of sour grapes from what I am hearing." Mr Newman could not promise that power prices would go down if the government was given a mandate to sell the generating corporations, as it has planned. But he said if "crazy schemes" such as the carbon tax and the Renewable Energy Target were scrapped, he could guarantee prices would decrease. The federal government announced earlier this week it was reviewing the nation's RET, set by the previous Labor government at a fixed 41,000 gigawatt hours by 2020, with a report due to be delivered later this year. "If the RET goes, I can assure people their prices will come down," Mr Newman said.

"That's the trouble. We've had all these crazy schemes, but they actually haven't cut the nation's carbon emissions anywhere near what they would need to. In terms of the cost on the economy, we need to see these crazy Labor schemes going, we need to see people like Yvette D'Ath, call out to her federal colleagues and say 'well let's get rid of them' and then we will make a meaningful impact on people's cost of living. That's what I can promise people." The government will consider a win at the next general election, expected to be held early next year, as their mandate to sell assets.