Kat THEOPHANOUS (Northcote): My adjournment is to the Minister for Energy and Resources, and I ask the minister to meet with me to discuss how the government can make it easier for renters and low-income earners to access the benefits of more energy efficient homes. It has been four years since we introduced the Solar Homes program, and since then we have expanded and refined it to make sure more and more Victorians can transition their homes to be low cost, low emissions. Solar Homes, alongside the Victorian energy upgrades program, has enabled us to transform domestic energy use at a scale never before seen.
I am proud to say that Northcote has embraced this change, with 18.9 per cent of households now with solar on their roofs, many also taking up home battery options as well as many making use of the Victorian energy upgrades program. Across our suburbs businesses, organisations and homes are tapping into these programs to reduce emissions and lower their power bills, yet for some households too many barriers still remain that prevent them from taking up these exciting opportunities. That is why I have made it a priority to meet with residents living across public and social housing as well as private rentals and strata apartments. Every one of them deserves the same opportunities to cut down their emissions and their power bills, yet many have told me that it is still too difficult to access the existing supports. I remain committed to helping renters and low-income earners in my community to access the benefits from both the VEU and Solar Homes programs. Last term I advocated for our VEU program to better incentivise the uptake of electric systems to reduce our overall gas usage. I also successfully worked to ensure that several social housing projects in my electorate will now be delivered completely gas free.
Our work under both Victoria’s Climate Change Strategy and the gas substitution road map cannot lose momentum now, and that means accelerating our work to reduce domestic gas usage by giving more Victorians more choice when it comes to making the switch to renewable energy, something which will be propelled even further with the SEC. The Andrews Labor government is working towards a net zero future with an affordable, reliable and renewable energy network, but as those on this side of the house understand so well, we will not achieve climate justice for anyone unless we achieve it for all.
