Australians are paying far too much for electricity and gas because big energy companies are profiteering at our expense. We need cheap, reliable energy for everyone.
Australians are paying far too much for electricity and gas – not because of supply shortages, but because big energy companies are profiteering at our expense.
- The average electricity consumer is paying enormous margins on an essential household utility, contributing to record energy company profits.
- Gas companies are marking record profits – despite having some of the cheapest gas in the world, energy companies export it at record prices and profits while making Australians, who own the gas, pay global prices or higher.
- All the while, fossil fuel companies still benefit from billions in subsidies - over $65 billion over the forward estimates, or 6.5x what the government has allocated to the Housing Australia Future Fund.
The major parties are captured by energy and resource companies, who use political donations and lobbying so politicians act in their interests rather than the public interest. This has stunted energy policy for decades.
We need cheap, reliable energy
Install tens of thousands of home batteries
Energy storage is the missing link in Australia’s clean energy transition. Without it, excess solar power is wasted, and households remain at the whim of gas and electricity giants for peak-hour grid electricity at inflated prices. To seize the advantages of our natural solar assets - we need to invest in giving households and businesses true energy independence.
- 20.7% of rooftop solar installations in early 2024 included a battery, showing strong demand for storage.
- South Australia’s Home Battery Scheme led to the highest uptake of residential batteries in the world, proving that targeted incentives drive consumer adoption.
Based on successful state schemes, a National Home Battery Program would:
- Cut household bills by $1,100–$1,500 per year through smarter energy use.
- Reduce payback periods for batteries, making them more affordable for more homes.
- Flatten the load curve, lowering wholesale electricity prices for all consumers.
Implement a National Domestic Gas Reserve
Australians shouldn’t pay exorbitant prices for a natural asset like gas when we are one of the world’s largest exporters. Gas that is extracted in Australia belongs first and foremost to Australians - and if we aren’t getting the benefits from functional resource rent taxes, we should at least ensure a ready supply of available and affordable gas for households.
This isn’t a controversial idea - and we know it works. Western Australia already has a gas reservation policy, which keeps prices 50% lower than the eastern states.
Introduce a permanent national gas reserve and windfall profit taxes ensuring:
- A portion of Australia’s gas is reserved for domestic use, preventing companies from exporting abundant gas while charging Australians inflated global rates.
- Price caps on domestic gas sales so consumers aren’t gouged by false scarcity.
- A windfall profits tax on excessive LNG exports, to ensure all Australians share in the benefit of one-off extraction of non-renewable resources.
Electrify our homes
Burning fossil gas for cooking, water, and space heating is expensive and a major trigger for asthma and respiratory illnesses. It keeps us dependent on gas companies and vulnerable to price volatility. The Australian Energy Market Commission found that home electrification will cut household energy bills by $1000 over the next decade. And with states like Victoria already mandating all-electric new homes, we’re poised to create national standards that will keep prices lower and people healthier.
- Require all new-build homes to be fully electric to break our dependence on gas.
- Support the installation of efficient appliances, including heat pumps, to immediately cut energy use and help store solar energy.
- Work with state governments to allow vehicle-to-grid charging so we can unlock the fullest benefit of EVs, including as “batteries on wheels.”
- Introduce energy labelling for both rental and for-sale properties so buyers and tenants have full transparency on running costs.
- Accelerate the roll-out of the Home Energy Upgrades program and other relevant government initiatives to prioritise social, community, and rental housing where the need is greatest.
Crack down on energy price-gouging
Strengthen ACCC oversight and impose penalties for price gouging, ensuring:
- Retail energy companies are prevented from charging excessive mark-ups on essential utilities like gas and electricity, especially for customers on multi-year market offer contracts.
- Transparent wholesale pricing, so customers know how much retailers are inflating their costs – regardless of whether they are on a fixed price or demand-charge contract.
- Regulation of network charges, preventing power companies from overcharging households to subsidise business discounts.
We don’t have an energy shortage – we have a leadership shortage. It’s time for strong, independent voices to fight for lower prices and a fairer energy system.
Labor and the Coalition have taken millions in donations from big energy companies, making them reluctant to impose stronger regulations. Fossil fuel subsidies have increased under successive governments, with $65 billion in subsidies over the forward estimates for the same companies that are taking households for a ride.
As your independent, I’ll fight for a national gas reservation to guarantee low-cost energy, expanding home battery programs to put control back in the hands of consumers, and ending fossil fuel subsidies to invest in cheaper, cleaner power.
How we deliver it:
- Expand the small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme to include batteries, offering up-front incentives that scale per kWh installed.
- Provide additional incentives for grid-orchestrated batteries, ensuring that storage not only benefits individual homes but also stabilises the national grid.
- Adopt a tax break or accelerated depreciation for battery systems, making installation more financially viable.