Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd like to bring to the attention of the House and any businesses in Boothby listening at home that round 2 of the energy efficiency grants for small and medium businesses are now open to help businesses reduce their electricity costs.

When I talk to small businesses in my electorate of Boothby, they tell me that a big part of their operating costs is power bills. Having run businesses myself, I know that every dollar counts and can make a difference to the sustainability and profitability of the business. Modest investments in new equipment can make for really significant ongoing savings, and that's what these grants are about.

The grants are for up to $25,000 and can be used to upgrade, for instance, equipment like an air conditioner or a chiller—anything that will help the business with their energy efficiency. These small-equipment upgrades can make a long-term, really substantial saving to the cost of energy bills and of course reduce emissions at the same time. Round 1 was very popular, so I would encourage any businesses that are interested to get their skates on straight away and get an application in. Please contact my office for any details on how to apply. But I can't stress enough that we expect these grants to be very, very popular. So I encourage businesses to gets their applications in quickly.