
By Andrew Brown and Kat Wong in Canberra
The $300 of energy relief offered to Australians in the federal budget could be spent elsewhere to better help those in need, critics say.
Anthony Albanese on Wednesday took to the press gallery to defend his government’s third budget, which includes a $300 energy rebate for all households, as well as a price cap on medicines, a boost to rent assistance and cuts for taxpayers that will kick in from July.
Asked if billionaire mining magnate Gina Rinehart needed help with her power bills, he stood by the budget proposal.
“This is the most effective way to deliver support across the board,” he said.
“Gina – if she pays income tax – will get a tax cut, as well as every Australian.
“That is because, right throughout the income scales, there are pressures on that as well.”
More than 10 million households will receive the $300 energy bill rebate, to be paid as a $75 credit on each quarterly bill, while small businesses will get $325.
But the government has come under scrutiny for the proposal.
Australian Council of Social Service chief executive Cassandra Goldie said the billions of dollars spent offering an energy rebate should have been used to increase income support payments.
“Somebody who is on $200,000 plus, who owns their own home, who possibly has an investment property … they will be getting $300 extra when we’ve got somebody in poverty who is unable to feed themselves more than once a day,” she told reporters in Canberra.
Master Electricians Australia executive Kate Raymond says the government could have delivered better bang for its buck if it used the funds on targeted relief for low-income households and incentives for solar and battery systems that could offer long-term relief.
“There’s no doubt that the cost of living is causing a lot of pain right now, but investing in household energy storage would be the gift that keeps on giving, if it’s invested wisely,” she said.
“This would lead to lower wholesale power prices, which would benefit all electricity customers now and into the future.”
Commonwealth rent assistance has also been bolstered by 10 per cent, with those on the payments to receive an extra $19 on average per fortnight.
The cost of medicines will be frozen, with prescriptions for medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme to be capped at $31.60, as well as limits of $7.70 for concessions and pensioners.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has said the coalition will support measures that provide relief but he was still worried about the budget’s impact on inflation.
“This is a smoke and mirrors game going on here and giving $300 to people … is just not going to cut it for the average family,” he told ABC radio.
He accused the government of using the budget to prepare for a federal election.
“They’re trying to buy themselves an interest rate cut before the election and pretend that everything’s okay,” he said.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the primary motivation behind the budget was to help those doing it tough.
Asked why more assistance wasn’t more targeted, he said middle Australia was also feeling hip-pocket pain and noted means testing energy help would be less efficient.
“This relief is delivered via the (energy) retailers – they don’t have information about people’s incomes and so you would have to take a long time and spend a lot of money and effort to design a system … that doesn’t exist right now,” he told the ABC.
Greens leader Adam Bandt said the budget was a betrayal of renters, women, students and mortgage holders.
He said the government was posting an expected $9.3 billion surplus for 2023/24 at the expense of many of those hit by high prices.
“Labor has found billions for the bad guys in this budget, while you are left doing it tough,” he told ABC.
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