Tim Storer (SA, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

Congratulations to the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee on this important report. It is particularly timely that I will be presenting my private senator's bill shortly after the tabling of this report on the impact of climate change on housing, buildings and infrastructure. It is also appropriate that I will be presenting my bill just as negotiations advance on the National Energy Guarantee.

Moderating electricity prices on the supply side is important, to be sure, but reducing energy bills through demand-side initiatives must also play a key role in a holistic approach to energy policy. There are estimates that the NEG will cut energy bills by $150 a year. The other side of the equation is that improved energy efficiency would mean another $150 saving to low-income earners, as well as reduced electricity consumption. That is precisely the point being made by the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council.

Just as the NEG is supposed to address certainty of electricity supply, my bill is designed to make a small but significant contribution to the other side of the equation—making rental accommodation more energy efficient and, therefore, cheaper to heat and cool. Importantly, energy efficiency measures are able to give direct relief to people who are acutely vulnerable to energy poverty. As the report says, upgrading thermal building performance can prevent mortality and morbidity consequences that would otherwise occur from extremes in temperature.

The report highlights an example of an extreme heatwave, in which those in low-energy-efficiency homes can be exposed to heat stress for 14 hours more than those in homes with high energy efficiency. It is also estimated that, in Melbourne during a heatwave, 374 lives would be saved if people were not occupying low-energy-rated homes, due to extreme heat stress. The figure for people who live in high-energy-rated homes is estimated to be 37. Additionally, in this heatwave, there would be about a thousand presentations to emergency departments from those in low-rated homes compared to 280 from those in high-rated homes.

Thirty per cent of Australian homes are rental properties, a high proportion of which are low-income households. As mentioned in the report, low-income rental households are the most vulnerable to risks of climate change because those homes are typically much lower quality. A submission included in the report by the Climate and Health Alliance highlighted that rental housing is poorly adapted and most vulnerable to climate change. Unfortunately, those households typically lack the means to upgrade the energy efficiency of their property, even when benefits of doing so would often be substantial. Also, people that rent have difficulty influencing their landlord to improve the efficiency of their building. Submissions by the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility and Sustainable Business Australia call for new, innovative financial incentives to encourage retrofitting and energy auditing of private housing.

The Treasury Laws Amendment (Improving Energy Efficiency of Rental Properties) Bill 2018 that I am proposing to our federal parliament is designed to do just that, at the same time as having the broader purpose of shining a spotlight on the considerable benefits that would result from more ambitious energy efficiency policies. Meaningful long-term outcomes to lift people out of energy poverty will only be achieved by a holistic approach to energy policy that assesses not only the supply side but also the demand side through energy-efficient measures.