Fiona Phillips (Gilmore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to have the opportunity to speak today about what the Albanese government is doing to help provide energy price relief. As the member for Gilmore, I am already receiving thanks when I speak to families and small businesses on the New South Wales South Coast, because people know that we are doing everything possible and being responsible. Our energy price relief plan is helping. They know that the Albanese Labor government has their best interests at heart. But power prices are a major concern for many people, particularly those on low incomes or running small businesses. If we want evidence that our energy price relief plan is working, we can look no further than the default market offer, which confirms that the Albanese Labor government has limited the worst of the energy price hikes.

In New South Wales, where I live, due to the government's electricity price intervention in December last year the default market offer increase is up to 19 percentage points lower. These are the Australian Energy Regulator's numbers, too. You can't argue with that. It's 19 percentage points lower. That's a fair whack. But it's not just that. In the May budget you will have seen that we have provided targeted relief for power bills. All holders of the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card, as well as many other concession card holders, will be eligible for energy bill relief and will receive up to $500 per household. And $500 per year off an electricity bill will most certainly help mitigate the costs for many Australian families. That's the Albanese Labor government, though. We are working to provide real relief for people's power bills right when they need it.

It's not just the energy price relief plan and our targeted relief strategies, it's other initiatives, pro-active initiatives. We don't just want to shield people; we want to protect them in the future, which is why we're making record investments in renewable energy, because it remains the case that renewable energy is cheaper energy.

An example of this in my Gilmore electorate is a community battery we are providing at Maloneys Beach. After the devastating bushfires on the South Coast in 2019-20, the Maloneys Beach Residents Association did some research, and they found it would be cheaper and help with natural disaster resilience to have a community battery in their village. Now, just this month, I was able to announce the approval for the business case for the community battery for Maloneys Beach. Actions like this help mitigate the impact of rising energy prices for locals. Investing in renewable energy, providing community batteries—these are big wins for people on the South Coast. And even though it's impressive, that's just our energy policy.

If you want to talk about what the Albanese government is doing to help mitigate the impact of higher prices on people, well then, let's do it. One of the biggest pressures on people's hip pocket on the New South Wales South Coast is health care and, for that matter, the increase in difficulty accessing GPs and health services. I am hearing everyday how thrilled people are that, from 1 September, eligible people will be able to receive two months' worth of medicine on a single script. That's double the medicine for the same money. That's a big win. It will half visits to local GPs, freeing up appointments for those that need them the most. We are delivering Medicare Urgent Care Clinics, including one at Batemans Bay. We're also funding a Head to Health clinic in Moruya, with free mental health care for adults, but it is not just adults—we're well on the way to opening a headspace in Kiama. So that's free mental health care for adults and adolescents.

Health isn't the only winner for locals. We're providing 480,000 fee-free TAFE places in industry skills shortage areas, many of which are in my electorate. I visited Nowra TAFE a few weeks ago, and someone training to be a chef told me point-blank she would not be retraining if her TAFE place wasn't free. These TAFE places are in areas that communities need the most, like construction and commercial cookery.

We're also making childcare cheaper, in 30 days from today, benefiting around 4,800 families in Gilmore. We're getting on with the job, providing energy price relief and easing the cost of living, just like we were elected to do.

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