Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. How is the Albanese Labor government providing additional support to Australian households and small businesses with the cost of energy from 1 July? Have there been any obstacles in developing this plan?

Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank my honourable friend for his question. I'm very pleased to tell him that, on 1 July, just like in so many other policy areas, there will be real and material relief provided by the Albanese government when it comes to cost of living. In relation to energy, there will be more than five million houses right around Australia that receive energy bill relief. Mr Speaker, I'm very pleased to inform the honourable member for Blair and your good self, sir, that 1.1 million of those households will be in Queensland, and the average bill relief received—increase avoided—for Queensland families will be $819. That's for those families that receive the rebates—the impact of our coal and gas caps and our bill relief that was legislated last December and was opposed by those opposite. Those opposite opposed that relief for 1.1 million Queensland households. They opposed the bill relief right across Australia. That relief also applies to small businesses. There are around a million small businesses that will receive relief, and 205,000 of those businesses are in the great state of Queensland—205,000 businesses that will receive bill relief and reduced bills as a result of the action of the Albanese government in Queensland that was opposed by those opposite.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for O'Connor is warned.

Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

But, of course, we know there is more to do as well. In addition to that, we know that long-term bill relief, long-term steps to reduce energy bills, really comes through investing in energy efficiency and in renewable energy. Businesses around Australia know what the opposition does not know—that renewable energy is the cheapest form of energy available in Australia.

Opposition members interjecting—

It sends them off every time when you talk about renewable energy being the cheapest! In they come, with the old anti-renewable energy interjections! We had a serving Liberal National Party senator today say that climate change is a scam. Senator Rennick today claimed that climate change is a scam. They didn't get the memo from the Australian people last May!

Businesses know that they need to invest—and they are investing—in renewable energy and energy efficiency. But they need support to do so, so the tax concession announced by the Treasurer on budget night, the 20 per cent tax concession for those investments, is vital and will apply to up to 3.8 million businesses across our country. Three point eight million small businesses will have that relief available, delivered by the Albanese government. That's part of our $1.7 billion energy relief program for energy efficiency and renewable energy, which will apply to households, will apply to businesses and, as announced last week, will apply to local governments as well, to help them reduce their rates bills, by converting to renewable energy and energy efficiency. That's what this government does, and 1 July will be a good day, because that relief will begin to flow. It will apply to energy bills after that day, and that's a very good thing.