OPINION
Dai Le
Today the Albanese government will launch its Cheaper Home Batteries Program, a $2.3bn plan to give homeowners a 30 per cent discount on the upfront cost of installing home batteries. On paper, it sounds like good news. The cost of a typical 10 kilowatt per hour battery system could fall from $11,000 to around $7400. Families who already have solar panels might see annual savings of up to $2300.
But who exactly is this scheme helping? Because when you look closer, it’s clear: this isn’t a solution for many working Australians. Even after the rebate, $7400 is still well out of reach for many families who are already struggling with rising power bills and the broader cost-of-living crisis. The reality is most people can’t afford to put thousands into a home battery system, rebate or not.
And for renters, who make up about one in three households, this rebate offers nothing, leaving millions of renters, many of them young families or low-income earners, locked out of meaningful relief. On top of that, there’s no means test. Which means that wealthier households, those who can already afford to install solar and batteries, are just as entitled to claim taxpayer funded discounts as anyone else.
How is that fair? Some might point to Victoria’s Solar for Apartments program as a way to address these gaps, but we need to be upfront: It’s a limited scheme that’s reached only a fraction of apartment dwellers. Securing approvals from owners’ corporations has proved difficult, and uptake has been patchy. This is not yet the model of success that some would like us to believe.
The barriers for renters and apartment residents are significant. If the government truly wants to help all Australians lower their power bills, it needs to look at solutions that go beyond the homeowner market. There are simple, practical measures that could deliver real relief: government-backed retrofitting for insulation and efficient appliances, support for community solar projects that renters can access, or portable battery options for apartments.
Neither can we ignore the risk of price inflation. History has shown that when large subsidies enter the market, prices often rise as suppliers adjust to capture the rebate. Without proper oversight, families could see the supposed “discount” eaten up by higher installation costs, while taxpayers foot the bill. The transition to renewable energy is important. But if we’re serious about making it fair and affordable, we must ensure no one is left behind.
Labor’s battery rebate risks becoming another policy that rewards those who are already better off, while leaving many ordinary Australians to keep struggling with soaring power prices and no real support. We need a national energy policy that puts working Australians first, not one that deepens the divide between those who can afford new technologies and those who simply can’t.
Dai Le is the independent MP for Fowler
Source: Battery scheme is just more welfare for the well-to-do | The Daily Telegraph