Interview with Jess Naunton, ABC North Queensland

JESS NAUNTON: Whilst it may already feel like it, summer is just around the corner, which may be exciting news if you think about your holidays, but it may also give you some anxiety when you think about your power bills. With electricity bills expected to rise a further 30 per cent, the Federal Government is considering ways to help your household pocket. But your voice is needed, and the Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Senator Jenny McAllister, is here to tell you more. Good morning, Senator,

JENNY McALLISTER: Good morning, Jess. How are you?

JESS NAUNTON: Really well thank you. Now, can you tell me about this National Energy Performance Strategy and what it’s aiming to achieve?

JENNY McALLISTER: Well, as you said, households are under pressure and we want to empower Australians to take control over their own energy use. We want to make every watt that people purchase count because the sad truth is that a lot of energy purchased by Australian consumers is literally leaking out of their homes and businesses, and that’s a consequence of inefficient appliances, or maybe living in an older home that doesn’t perform like it should. We want to make sure that there is a nationally coordinated strategy to help Australian homes and businesses deal with this problem. Over the last decade, we’ve really fallen behind a lot of our peer nations. A lot of other countries have really clear strategies in place to deal with this, but, unfortunately, there’s been very little work done at the national level by the last government, and that’s something we want to fix.

JESS NAUNTON: How do you want us to help, though?

JENNY McALLISTER: Great question! We’ve released a consultation paper today with a series of questions and we’re looking for input from all sorts of people across the country about their ideas about how to improve the situation. We know that there are opportunities for small businesses who might supply energy-efficient appliances or work on home renovations to actually make a real contribution to solving this problem. We know too that for some families they will be worried about the cost implications and investment they might need to make. We’re just looking for all good ideas from people about how we can best improve the situation for Australian homes and businesses in the medium term.

JESS NAUNTON: What are the types of things you’re looking to hear from people? Are there specific areas that you’re trying to focus in on?

JENNY McALLISTER: We’re asking people about different areas where people use energy. We want to know what would make a difference in businesses. We want to know what would make a difference in homes and we particularly want to find out what renters think would make a difference for them. We know if you live in a rental house, you often don’t have quite as much control over your own property as you might do if you owned your own home. What would make it easier for tenants and landlords to cooperate to improve energy performance in those homes?

JESS NAUNTON: How do you envision the strategy to help us address the rising energy bills that we are expected to see?

JENNY McALLISTER: This is a long-term project. Very little work has been done on this over the last decade. What we need is a long-term plan to improve the performance of Australian homes and businesses. So, we know that in the short term there are some other things government is going to have to do to deal with some of the pressures that are being brought on by the crisis in Ukraine. However, we do think that making an investment can make a difference. We’ve already taken some important steps. We’ve changed the National Construction Code to mean that new houses that are built from next year will need to have a seven-star rating, rather than a six-star rating. That will make a real difference to houses that are significantly more comfortable and a lot more affordable to run.

JESS NAUNTON: Queensland is known as the sunshine state, as you’re aware, Senator. How do you think North Queensland can play a role in this longer-term strategy?

JENNY McALLISTER: I’d be really interested to hear from people in North Queensland about how they’re thinking about this. As you say, it’s a really particular climate and the way that we design homes and use energy has some really particular characteristics in North Queensland. I’d love to hear from some of your listeners about their ideas about how we can help them make improvements in their homes and businesses.

JESS NAUNTON: How long will you be running the consultation process for, and are you planning to visit communities as part of the rollout?

JENNY McALLISTER: We’d be hoping to hear from people by the 3rd of February, but we’ll also be going around and talking to people in communities in the early part of next year.

JESS NAUNTON: And if we want to make a submission, Senator Jenny McAllister, where do we go? Where do we go to help you?

JENNY McALLISTER: Check out the website for the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water and you’ll find the consultation paper up there.

JESS NAUNTON: Senator Jenny McAllister, Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy, thank you so much for your time this morning.

JENNY McALLISTER: It’s a pleasure, Jess. Thanks for having me on.