Allegra Spender urges 'permanent' power bill relief, with electricity and fuel subsidies due to expire

Independent Allegra Spender is pitching a scheme to help "permanently" cut the power bills of owners and renters through zero-interest loans for home batteries and other appliances, saying the major parties are only offering temporary relief that will expire within months.

Ms Spender has also warned the Coalition she is "concerned" over the lack of detail on its plan to divert gas that would otherwise be sold overseas to the domestic market, saying that would influence her thinking in a hung parliament scenario.

The Wentworth independent, who could become critical to the fortunes of the major parties if the May 3 vote does not deliver a majority of seats to Labor or the Coalition, says both are offering short-term cost-of-living relief that will soon disappear.

"We have had so much temporary energy bill relief, but the truth is what we need is some permanent support for households, so that they can really make a difference to their energy bills long term," Ms Spender told the ABC.

Labor has committed to a one-off $150 power bill rebate for households that will be paid over six months, while the Coalition has promised a 12-month, 25 cent cut to the fuel tax that would temporarily cheapen petrol prices.

Ms Spender's 'Permanent Energy Bill Relief Plan' would introduce 10-year, zero-interest loans up to $25,000 for home energy upgrades like batteries, efficient electric appliances and insulation.

It would also offer tax incentives to encourage landlords to install solar and efficiency upgrades by allowing them to claim the full cost on their tax returns up-front, similar to the instant-asset write-off scheme for small businesses.

And it would directly fund upgrades to 70,000 social housing properties by expanding a Commonwealth scheme delivering upgrades to those residents.

Ms Spender says it could permanently reduce the power bills of 800,000 households, including 276,000 rentals, at a cost to the budget of $3.7 billion over five years — "a fraction" of what is spent on fossil fuel subsidies.

The policy was costed by the Parliamentary Budget Office.

Renters 'neglected' under current appliance schemes

A Rewiring Australia report released last month said installing reverse-cycle air conditioners could save $530 a year on average compared with gas, and efficient hot water heat pumps could save between $250 and $400 a year on average — meaning savings of thousands of dollars over their lifetime.

Ms Spender said tax incentives for landlords would ensure renters were also not left out.

"It gives landlords that incentive when the stove breaks, when the hot water system needs an upgrade, to reach for the one that is most energy efficient, because that gives them a benefit and it gives a sustained year in, year out benefit to the renters," she said.

"I think that is super important because renters are currently locked out of opportunities to lower their power bill permanently.

"I really hope that they get on board with this. I think the concern about the cost of living is sincere, but unfortunately the incentives at the moment in politics seem to give this really short-term support, but they will be forgotten in six months," Ms Spender said.

There are a number of state and territory loan schemes already operating, including in the ACT, the Northern Territory, as well as solar battery schemes in Victoria and New South Wales.

But Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia do not offer those incentives, and Ms Spender says a nationally consistent scheme could lift efficiency across the country — which could also cut pressure on the power grid.

The Sydney Morning Herald has reported Labor could introduce its own scheme to help households buy home batteries, though the ABC has not been able to confirm that report.

Ms Spender holds the seat of Wentworth on a 6.8 per cent margin, with more than a third of voters in the eastern Sydney seat putting her first on the ticket — but she faces a tough campaign from the Liberal Party's candidate, Ro Knox.

Wentworth has never been held by Labor — and besides a brief interlude where it was won by independent Kerryn Phelps after former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull's retirement from politics, it has been safely in the hands of the Liberal Party since the 1940s.

'Credible' energy plan key in hung parliament negotiations

The independent, who was swept into parliament on a groundswell of support for stronger climate action, also issued a warning to the Coalition.

"I'll be honest, I am concerned that the Coalition's current plan still doesn't have a lot of detail. We have heard about a gas reservation, we don't really know what that would look like," Ms Spender said.

"I am very concerned the Coalition does seem to be committing to two billion more tonnes of emissions in the next period, rather than focus on lowering emissions."

Asked whether she would be prepared to withhold her support for the Coalition in a hung parliament, Ms Spender responded: "Let's see where we get to."

"For me, I first need to get elected and then we really are not sure what the parliament is going to look like. I certainly will be looking for a credible commitment to climate action before the election, or if not before the election, if it comes to it, in any negotiations," Ms Spender said.

Ms Spender noted that regardless of who formed government, she would not lock herself into any deal that prevented her from considering each bill on its merits, in consultation with her community.

The major parties have diverged greatly in their energy policies.

Labor celebrated the "end of the climate wars" when it won office at the 2022 election — with both major parties signed onto a net zero by 2050 commitment, there was a short-lived prospect that the government and opposition might find common ground on climate change.

But each is heading into the election proposing a different future for Australia, with Labor promising 82 per cent of Australia's grid powered by renewables by the decade's end, and the Coalition committed to building seven nuclear plants and forcing the gas giants to divert more of their supply to Australia.

Having trouble seeing this form? Try this link.