Candidates clash on government's battery boost

INDI election candidates have shared split views on the federal government’s plan to subsidise home batteries in a campaign pitch to cut costs and take climate action. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese released Labor’s $2.3 billion plan on Sunday to provide incentives for small scale batteries to reduce power bills for households, small business and community groups like sporting clubs as one if its signature policies for the forthcoming election. Included in the incentives, the federal government pledged to slash 30 per cent on the cost of a new household battery, with Labor expecting to see over one million new batteries by 2030. According to analysis by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, a household installing a new solar and a battery system could save up to $2300 a year – around 90 per cent of a typical family electricity bill. Incumbent Independent MP for Indi Helen Haines has been campaigning for cheaper access to home batteries since she introduced her own legislation in 2022, and welcomed the incentives. “I listened to local people in my electorate, brought forward a solution and campaigned on it, and now we see the major parties acting,” she said. “This is the same mechanism that helps Australians benefit from rooftop solar, and it makes sense to do the same for home batteries.” The federal government say through the scheme, households could save up around $4000 on a typical battery. Dr Haines said the government’s adoption of her policy will be welcomed by households who have installed rooftop solar, who could save up to $1100 through the scheme according to the federal government. “The cost of energy is causing significant stress on households in Indi – and home batteries have been out of reach for most Australian households,” she said. “Helping people access home batteries is the missing piece of the puzzle, storing excess power from during the day to use during peak periods instead of buying it back from the grid. “The government has now promised to implement what I’ve been proposing for over three years, and that’s the need to turbocharge home batteries, just like we did for rooftop solar over a decade ago.” Dr Haines called on the Coalition to match the commitment, but Liberal candidate for Indi, James Trenery, indicated he would be campaigning for a “more balanced” energy mix. Mr Trenery said not everyone could afford a battery and the ‘renewables only’ energy policy developed by Dr Haines and Labor would continue to drive-up power prices. “Some 29,000 businesses have collapsed under the weight of soaring power prices, and households are paying up to $1300 more than promised under the current government,” he said. “Last month, at a climate change conference in Bright, Helen Haines reconfirmed her ‘renewables only’ energy policy, which is costing us all more. “This is another example of Helen Haines continuing to support the industrial scale renewables only rollout that is destroying prime agricultural land across our region.” According to renewable energy educator SolarMarket, the current solar panel battery price Australians pay was approximately $1390 per kWh of storage. Mr Trenery said the opposition would take a balanced energy approach to drive prices down, which includes zero-emissions nuclear energy. “The Liberals believe in a responsible growth of renewables which avoids massive overbuild across pristine landscapes and agricultural land, which so many communities across Indi are concerned about,” he said. The federal government plans to roll out their Cheaper Home Batteries Program by 1 July.

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