Mrs PHILLIPS (Gilmore) (12:15): by leave—On behalf of the member for Chisholm, I move:
That this House:
(1) acknowledges the Government's number one priority is helping Australians with the cost of living;
(2) notes that on 1 July 2025, the following measures started rolling out:
(a) more energy bill relief for every household with $150 off energy bills; and
(b) a 30 per cent discount to home batteries to permanently cut power bills; and
(3) welcomes the Government delivering the better future Australians voted for.
When it comes to cutting their power bills and helping the environment, the people in my electorate on the New South Wales South Coast are really switched on—people like Michael at Dolphin Point, who I visited on Friday with the Minister for Climate Change and Energy.
A former banana farmer, Michael recently retired to the South Coast, bought a cute beach cottage and has just installed 40 solar panels and a solar battery. Michael said he was thrilled to have saved 30 per cent as part of the Albanese Labor government's new Cheaper Home Batteries Program, which kicked in on 1 July, and he is about to buy an electric vehicle which he will also charge using his home battery.
I am thrilled that, across Gilmore, there have been more than 33,000 rooftop solar panel installations, and I'm so proud to shout out that Gilmore is charging ahead and boasts the highest number of home solar battery installations in the state. How good is that?
We are giving all Australians a leg-up, saving them 30 per cent, or around $4,000, off the cost of a typical home battery. By installing a battery under our Cheaper Home Batteries Program, households with existing rooftop solar will save an extra $1,100 off their power bill every year, and those installing a new system could save $2,300 a year, which is around 90 per cent of their family electricity bill.
Switched-on Australians like the people in Gilmore are taking control of their own power bills while reducing their reliance on the grid. As more people install solar batteries, it's also helping to drive down power prices for everyone and slashing bills for good.
The Cheaper Home Batteries Program is part of our plan to create a fairer, cleaner and more reliable energy system. We're not forgetting social housing tenants, with 100,000 properties being upgraded with thermal shell improvements, efficient electric appliances, solar and batteries to reduce power costs. And we're making solar more accessible to apartments and renters through our solar bank scheme.
In Gilmore, and across New South Wales, eligible owners, corporations and strata managers can install shared rooftop solar systems thanks to our partnership with the Minns state Labor government. Whether people live in a house or an apartment, everyone should be able to take advantage of cleaner, cheaper solar to bust their bills.
I'm really proud of the way Gilmore residents and businesses have embraced solar. I know families and businesses are doing it tough. That's why from 1 July we've started rolling out another $150 in electricity bill relief. Building on that, we're switching on community batteries to drive down power bills and boost energy reliability for households in places like Maloneys Beach in my electorate.
Community batteries absorb excess rooftop solar during the day and feed it back to local homes during peak times. They can also avoid costly upgrades to the electricity networks, poles and wires, benefiting all consumers through reduced network tariffs. The Maloneys Beach Residents Association wanted a community battery, and I'm so pleased to have delivered it. It will help reduce power bills and, importantly, store clean, renewable energy from the sun for when it's needed most.
This government continues to help businesses cut their power costs by becoming more energy efficient. Caterina in Kangaroo Valley, Cupitt's Estate in Ulladulla and Dangerous Ales brewery in the iconic Milton Hotel are among 15 local businesses across Gilmore that have slashed energy costs and reduced their carbon footprint thanks to Commonwealth energy efficiency grants for small and medium-sized enterprises.
After being hit hard in the Black Summer bushfires, the grant has enabled Caterina catering to replace their old and second-hand kitchen equipment with new, energy efficient appliances.
I was pleased to deliver a grant to Cupitt's Estate, a champion for regional tourism and producers and a large local employer, for a new hot water system and an energy efficient beer chiller for their craft brewery.
The innovative boutique brewery Dangerous Ales has set up new digital tank-monitoring technology which will help reduce their energy costs by monitoring their glycol brewing system remotely using an app.
I'm extremely proud to be part of a government whose No. 1 priority is helping families, businesses, community organisations and all Australians with the cost of living, and that's what we're delivering.
