Country electricity bills set to soar

The Brumby Government has seen fit to talk up its axing of a scheme to provide country Victorians with a rebate on their electricity bills in Parliament.

Leader of The Nationals, Peter Ryan, said country Victorians had a right to feel ripped off by the Brumby Government.

“In response to my question in Parliament today Energy and Resources Minister, Peter Batchelor confirmed the Network Tariff Rebate scheme had been scrapped,” Mr Ryan said.
“This $130 million scheme has been in existence for years and has helped countless country families by ensuring their electricity bills were on par with those received by their city counterparts.

“However the Brumby Government has now seen fit to take the razor to the program and ceased to provide rebates as of March 31 this year.”

Mr Ryan said Mr Batchelor had tried to justify the cut on the basis that it was providing additional solar hot water rebates in rural areas.

“Mr Batchelor has told Parliament today that the rebate scheme was cut to fund a program to give country Victorians access to rebates if they install a solar hot water system,” said Mr Ryan.
“However this solar hot water scheme has been in existence since July 2000. The only change is that the rebate will now be made available to households that replace electric hot water systems with solar technology.

“In the past the rebate was only available to houses that replaced gas hot water systems with solar, a limitation that made no sense environmentally.

“This change is something we’ve been calling for years and it’s commonsense, however it by no means justifies the axing of a program that provided country Victorians with real assistance to pay their electricity bills.

“The Brumby Government is trying to pretend that a one-off payment that can only be taken up by some is as good as a regular rebate that helps country families cope with the higher costs of electricity in regional areas.

“And of course those who’ve already converted to solar hot water systems will receive nothing.
“At a time when the cost of living is spiralling higher for all Australians this will increase the hardship for country Victorians.

“The Energy Minister should reinstate the Network Tariff Scheme and ensure country Victorians aren’t hit with higher electricity bills this winter.”