Council
9 July, 2025
Ministers clash on energy policies
SHADOW Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction and Federal Member for Wannon Dan Tehan has hit out at the Federal Government for rising energy costs which he fears is impacting families.
Mr Tehan slammed Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen, stating power bills will spike thanks to his “ideologically driven renewables only agenda”.
“Millions of Australians will be paying more for their electricity, with some customers handing over an extra $300 through higher prices,” he said.
“Labor’s promise that electricity prices would be $275 cheaper this year was a lie and Minister Bowen should apologise.
“Instead, since Labor was elected, electricity prices across the National Energy Market increased by up to $1058 in New South Wales, $684 in Queensland and $747 in South Australia.
“Prices are up to $1300 more than what Labor promised they would be.
“Minister Bowen’s ideological renewables only approach is disrupting the energy system and leading to higher electricity prices for Australian families.”
Mr Tehan said more Australians are being forced onto hardship programs because they can’t pay their power bill, with the proportion of customers with an energy debt increasing and the average debt of customers also up over the last 12 months.
“There is no transparency about the true costs to consumers of Labor’s renewables only approach and underwriting renewable energy projects using taxpayer money,” he said.
“The energy market regulator AEMO says costs for transmission line projects are up 25-55 per cent and that costs for electricity transmission network development would impact bills for electricity consumers.
“According to the government’s own Australian Energy Market Commission, new generating plants do not earn enough money in energy sales to compensate for the investment costs, which means taxpayers or customers will be paying more to deliver Minister Bowen’s ideologically driven renewables only agenda.
“Australians want action to reduce carbon emissions but not at any cost.”
In a statement pertaining to a gas market review from June 30, Mr Bowen said gas does have a place in Australia’s energy system.
“Gas has an important role to play in our energy system as we transition towards 82 per cent renewables,” he said.
“Unlike coal, gas power generators can be turned on and off in a couple of minutes – providing the ultimate backstop in our energy grid.
“It’s critical that we use this review to get the settings right in our gas market, ensuring we are securing affordable Australian gas for Australian use, while remaining a reliable energy exporter and delivering lasting energy security in our region.”
In response to questions from Western District Newspapers, Mr Bowen said he was more focussed on working to keep energy costs low for Australian consumers.
“Given the Australian people so comprehensively rejected the Liberal National Party’s energy policy a couple of months ago, Mr Tehan might be better served on working up a sensible policy rather than telling lies about ours,” he said.
“We’ll just keep focussed on the job the Australian people asked us to do.”
The government continues to encourage households to check the Energy Made Easy website or energy.gov.au for the cheapest plans in their area in order to make the most of their money and keep costs low.
In a recent release, the Albanese Labor Government also announced a new set of rules for electricity and gas retailers with the intention of making energy plans fairer for all Australians.
These rules will prevent retailers from increasing prices more than once a year, prevent customers from being charged more than the standing offer price, will ban excessive retailer charges like late payment fees and ensure all consumers will be entitled to a fee-free payment method.
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