Yahoo Finance Albanese, Chalmers defend $300 energy rebate to billionaires as Aussies rage it's not enough
Every Aussie household will receive a discount from their energy bill after July 1.
The government has been under pressure to explain why every single Australian household will get a $300 energy rebate. The $3.5 billion cost-of-living relief measure contained in the 2024 Federal Budget will be available to more than 10 million homes and around one million small businesses.
Aussies won't receive the rebate in the form of cash, but it will be discounted from their energy bills from July 1 this year. The rebate will also be given to small businesses, however, they'll get $325 off their bills.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was asked on Today why billionaires like Gina Rinehart would need a few hundred dollars to help with their energy costs.
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"Well, Gina Rinehart is close to some people in politics of course in this building as you know, I haven't met Gina but what we have done is make sure that every single Australian gets support," he said.
Albanese also defended giving the mining magnate and other high-income earners a tax cut.
"Gina, if she pays income tax, will also get a tax cut, as will every Australian, every single one of your viewers will get a tax cut on July 1," he added. "And that is because, right throughout the income scales, there are pressures."
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Treasurer Jim Chalmers was grilled on Sunrise about the $300 energy rebate and why it wasn't just targeted to struggling Aussies.
Host Natalie Barr asked why people earning $1 million a year would need it.
"Because cost-of-living pressures are being felt right around our country," Chalmers said.
Barr replied: "The million-dollar people are under pressure?"
He said: "Yes, so once you go beyond providing this energy bill rebate, like we did in the last budget, for people who are on pensions and payments, once you go beyond that, you have to design a whole new system because the energy retailers that we use to provide this help, they don't have income information for people.
"So the easiest, most efficient way is to provide this energy bill relief for every household. We're pleased and proud we're able to do that. It's part of a cost-of-living package which is substantial, but responsible."
The $300 rebate hasn't gone down well with many Aussies
Albanese and Chalmers have copped a spray from Senator Jacqui Lambie, who said the rebate wasn't properly thought through.
“We don’t need $300. I can assure you. That should have been passed forward. I find it bizarre,” she said on the ABC. “Are we back in Covid days? We’re just chucking money, left, right and centre. [The Albanese government is] too lazy to do some means testing.”
Australian Council of Social Service chief executive Cassandra Goldie was also disappointed the government wanted to give every household a handout rather than increase the JobSeeker rate.
“We’ve spent $3.5 billion providing $300 to people who don’t need it at the same time as we’ve got a gaping hole in this budget now where the government has not fixed the adequacy of the unemployment payment,” she told Today.
“It should have been properly targeted to people who are struggling the most and we didn’t get that.”
Aussies have flocked to social media to vent that the energy bill relief won't make an impact on the rest of their household pressures.
"Short term fix to a long term issue isn't it? Once the $300 has been used it will be back to the grind for most households with energy bills on the rise!! The cost of living is still biting Australians under your Government!!" wrote one person.
"$300……Yup, that’ll go far. You realise how much power bills have gone up since you came to office?!" said another.
A third added: "Clive Palmer, Twiggy Forest and Mike Canon-Brooks, all billionaires, all get the $300 energy price rebate…..insane."
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