❓ Ms Brewer questions the Minister about broken election promises regarding residential battery rebates. Ms Sanderson defends the government's approach, highlighting its focus on equitable access for low-and-middle-income households and collaboration with the federal government.
AnsweredQoN 199Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Residential battery rebates199.Ms Sandra Brewerto
theMinister for Energy and Decarbonisation:I have a
supplementary question.What other broken election policies
can we expect from the Minister for Energy?
theMinister for Energy and Decarbonisation:I have a
supplementary question.What other broken election policies
can we expect from the Minister for Energy?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
17 June 2025
Response time
0 days
Ms Amber-Jade Sanderson replied:When
the federal government was elected, the Albanese government was re-elected. During
its election campaign, the Albanese government made a very broad announcement
around a battery rebate. The rebate for WA was that around 100,000 households
would get $360. Ultimately, we had a choice to make. We could not work with the
Commonwealth government, which is a hallmark of Liberal–National
governments—they refuse to work with Canberra—or we could sit
down with the federal government and make sure that the schemes were integrated
and benefited more people. We had a choice to make, shadow Treasurer. We had a
choice to make. We could allow 20,000 people to stack rebates and get a lot of
rebate, and 80,000 people would get a much smaller rebate and a small number of
people would access our no-interest loan scheme—particularly low-and-medium-income
households; or we could maintain our commitment to equity and access for low-and-middle-income
households and we could let 100,000 people access a rebate—100,000
people. Importantly, our scheme provides a no-interest loan scheme for
low-and-middle-income families. This is technology that has never been
available to them before.Several
members interjected.The Speaker:Members.Several members
interjected.The Speaker:Ministers.Ms Amber-Jade Sanderson:I understand
why the Liberal Party, and the shadow Treasurer in particular, would think it
is a good idea to give a small number of people a lot of money, and to make
sure that most people do not get much money at all, because that is the
principle that the Liberal Party is built on: that a small number of people—Several
members interjected.The Speaker:Members of the
opposition.Several
members interjected.The Speaker:Members of the
government. The minister has the call. Carry on, minister.Ms Amber-Jade Sanderson:That is the
principle that the Liberal Party is built on: that a small number of people
benefit. That is not what the people on this side believe in. The Cook government
is supporting 100,000 households to access a technology that they would not
have been able to access before. There will be a fundamental shift in their
household bills. These are the people who are struggling with their household
bills. This is targeted support, targeted relief across 100,000 households, and
it will stabilise the grid and enable more people—Several
members interjected.Ms Amber-Jade Sanderson:The
government side is the listening side, Mr Speaker. I say to my children, "You
learn the most when you are not talking"—just a tip.We
had a choice to make and we chose to maintain our commitment of $5,000 to those
households. We spread it to five times more people across 100,000 households,
supporting low-and-middle-income households to access a loan that will enable
them to access technology that they have never been able to before.
Residential battery rebates
the federal government was elected, the Albanese government was re-elected. During
its election campaign, the Albanese government made a very broad announcement
around a battery rebate. The rebate for WA was that around 100,000 households
would get $360. Ultimately, we had a choice to make. We could not work with the
Commonwealth government, which is a hallmark of Liberal–National
governments—they refuse to work with Canberra—or we could sit
down with the federal government and make sure that the schemes were integrated
and benefited more people. We had a choice to make, shadow Treasurer. We had a
choice to make. We could allow 20,000 people to stack rebates and get a lot of
rebate, and 80,000 people would get a much smaller rebate and a small number of
people would access our no-interest loan scheme—particularly low-and-medium-income
households; or we could maintain our commitment to equity and access for low-and-middle-income
households and we could let 100,000 people access a rebate—100,000
people. Importantly, our scheme provides a no-interest loan scheme for
low-and-middle-income families. This is technology that has never been
available to them before.Several
members interjected.The Speaker:Members.Several members
interjected.The Speaker:Ministers.Ms Amber-Jade Sanderson:I understand
why the Liberal Party, and the shadow Treasurer in particular, would think it
is a good idea to give a small number of people a lot of money, and to make
sure that most people do not get much money at all, because that is the
principle that the Liberal Party is built on: that a small number of people—Several
members interjected.The Speaker:Members of the
opposition.Several
members interjected.The Speaker:Members of the
government. The minister has the call. Carry on, minister.Ms Amber-Jade Sanderson:That is the
principle that the Liberal Party is built on: that a small number of people
benefit. That is not what the people on this side believe in. The Cook government
is supporting 100,000 households to access a technology that they would not
have been able to access before. There will be a fundamental shift in their
household bills. These are the people who are struggling with their household
bills. This is targeted support, targeted relief across 100,000 households, and
it will stabilise the grid and enable more people—Several
members interjected.Ms Amber-Jade Sanderson:The
government side is the listening side, Mr Speaker. I say to my children, "You
learn the most when you are not talking"—just a tip.We
had a choice to make and we chose to maintain our commitment of $5,000 to those
households. We spread it to five times more people across 100,000 households,
supporting low-and-middle-income households to access a loan that will enable
them to access technology that they have never been able to before.
Residential battery rebates
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