QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
Mr BOWEN (McMahon—Minister for Climate Change and Energy) (15:11): I'm very grateful for the call and for the question from my honourable friend—and what a wonderful job she does representing the people of northern New South Wales in this House. I'm asked what policies we have to help people with the costs of fuel and energy, and of course we have several. We have the cheaper home battery policy, which tomorrow turns one year old.
It was introduced on 1 July last year, and I'm pleased to tell the House that 456,320 Australian households have introduced cheaper home batteries. That equates now to 13 gigawatt-hours of storage. Now, the House might ask, 'What's 13 gigawatt-hours?' Well, some honourable members might remember the Hornsdale battery, which was at the time the biggest battery in the world.
We thought it was a great national achievement at the time. Australian households have now installed 100 times the capacity of the Hornsdale battery just in the last year alone. These are Australians reducing their bills, in many cases, to zero but also putting downward pressure on bills for everyone, because they are storing that cheap renewable energy from the middle of the day and using it at night, which means we are using less of the more expensive energy.
What we are seeing is Australians in the suburbs and the regions taking up this policy with great enthusiasm. I told the House last week that there are four electorates that have more than 10 per cent of the households with cheaper home batteries: Greenway, Mitchell, Mayo and Wright. They are people who are taking up the cheaper home battery policy with great enthusiasm.
But I can tell the House that, since last week, there has been a development. There is now another electorate in which more than 10 per cent of the houses in that community have put in cheaper home batteries. 'What inner-city, woke electorate is it?' I can feel the House asking. Would it be a member who supports the cheaper home battery policy or one who opposes it?
Well, the electorate in question is the electorate of Hume. More than 10 per cent of the good people of Hume have now put in a cheaper home battery. Is the local member pleased with this development?
Has he said, 'Fantastic! Well done, Hume!' or is he against the policy? Well, I'm sorry to tell the House he has called for the abolition of the cheaper home battery policy.
He doesn't want those 5,405 households in Hume to be able to reduce their bills to nothing. He doesn't want them helping reducing bills for everyone. When the members opposite have a chance to help Australians reduce their fuel bill or reduce their energy bill, they say no.
They're against cheaper home batteries. They're against the EV tax cut. They're against the new vehicle efficiency standard.
They're against any policy which helps Australians reduce their bills, because of their prejudice and their anticlimate action. They don't want to stand with the people of the suburbs and regions of Australia, including the people of Hume. Well, we do.
Mr Albanese: Mr Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.