Nick Xenophon (SA, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Climate Change, Energy Efficiency and Water, Senator Wong. It has been reported that pensioners who have installed solar panels or other forms of renewable energy generators into their homes and who are returning power to the grid will have these amounts treated as income by Centrelink and have their pensions reduced accordingly. Given that the government is committing $652.5 million saved from the deferral of the CPRS to the new renewable energy fund, as outlined in yesterday’s budget, doesn’t this move act as a disincentive for pensioners in particular to use renewable forms of energy and contradict the government’s ethos on reducing greenhouse gases?