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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 765 asked in the Legislative Assembly on 16 November 2021 by Ms M.J. Hammat

Parliament: 41 Session: 1

HOUSEHOLD ENERGY EFFICIENCY SCHEME

765. Ms M.J. HAMMAT to the Minister for Energy:

I refer to McGowan Labor government's commitment to supporting those Western Australian households facing hardship. Can the minister update the house on how the government is helping WA's most vulnerable households reduce their power bills and become more energy efficient, and can the minister advise the house whether he is aware of anyone who opposes this government's support for those households that are doing it tough?

Mr W.J. JOHNSTON replied:

I am very pleased to answer the question for the member for Mirrabooka. I know that everyone is well aware of her keen support for people who are doing it tough in society, including in her career prior to entering Parliament.

I am very pleased that last week, in company with the Minister for Community Services, we announced the household energy efficiency scheme in Western Australia that builds on a program that was run in the past under a former Labor government here in Western Australia. This scheme is based on global research that shows how these types of schemes make a huge difference to people in hardship because they assist them to understand what is driving their energy costs, they help them live with lower energy consumption but with the same level of outcome, and, in certain circumstances, they can replace inefficient household appliances. For example, they might have a very old fridge that uses a lot of energy. People cannot turn off the fridge, so providing an energy efficient fridge makes a huge difference to people's lives.

I was very pleased to see the Western Australian Council of Social Service put out a media release announcing that it was supporting us in this. It states —

The Western Australian Council of Social Service today welcomed the announcement of a four-year, $13 million scheme to assist low-income households with large bills to reduce their energy consumption.

I am very pleased that WACOSS did that. Of course, we were not universally supported. The member for Cottesloe tweeted about this scheme. He said —

Their scheme is just expensive bureaucratic PR with little tangible benefits for those affected.

Again, I reflect on what WACOSS said —

''Access to good advice on energy use, together with financial support to replace old fridges and lightbulbs can make a huge difference to families struggling to make ends meet.''

Western Australia was once a leader in this area, and WACOSS worked with community services and the WA Government to implement one of the first hardship energy efficiency programs in Australia back in 2008. The program assisted thousands of WA families before it was cut by —

The Liberal Party.

The member for Cottesloe rejected a scheme that is internationally recognised as delivering benefits not only as a one-off but also for the long term for families here in Western Australia. He continued —

For the same cost, we would give these struggling families $1,300 each.

That is interesting, because the McGowan government gave those families $1 210 each last financial year because we doubled the energy assistance payment and gave them all a $600 credit. We did exactly what the member wanted to do. We have gone further and adopted what every researcher in the world in the energy policy space knows is a very good program. We should remember that the average person in energy hardship uses 49 per cent more energy than the average constituent. They are in energy hardship because they are using more power than they need to. We want to work with those families to reduce their costs—not a one-off benefit from pocketing $1 300 in a one-off project, but an ongoing benefit in discounted electricity for the rest of their life.