The Labor party of New South Wales (NSW) is pushing the state government to recall parliament to pass bills to help households pay their soaring electricity bills as social services groups renew their call for immediate relief for families.
State Opposition Leader Chris Minns says parliament should legislate “reasonable and practical measures to ease the most severe cost of living crisis in NSW in living memory”.
“Electricity prices have surged by over 25 per cent in just the last three months and are set to rise another 47 percent in the next two years, even with the newly announced price caps,” he says in an opinion piece published in the Daily Telegraph on Tuesday.
He blamed the government’s zeal for privatisation for driving up power bills, which was compounded by inflation running at more than seven percent.
“It’s the highest-taxing government in Australia, and they’re about to introduce a new one,” Minns said.
“Their addiction to privatisation—especially of our energy assets and toll roads—has left us vulnerable to price shocks.”
Federal parliament will sit on Thursday to debate the laws which provide for a 12-month price cap of $12 per gigajoule through a “gas market emergency price order,” applying to uncontracted gas offered on the wholesale market.
The federal government will work with NSW and Queensland on a temporary coal price cap of $125 a tonne.
While energy companies and governments lock horns on the right approach to tackle energy prices, the NSW Council of Social Service (NCOSS) says too many NSW families are swamped by bills.
NCOSS CEO Joanna Quilty wants a permanent increase to the cap for the NSW Service-run Energy Accounts Payment Assistance (EAPA) vouchers to $1600 a year.
She is also demanding an overhaul to the bureaucratic application process for EAPA vouchers, saying it’s “stressful, time-consuming and humiliating”.
“What we need right now is immediate energy price relief for those really struggling,” she said.
“We are also calling on the NSW government to overhaul the application process, which ... is invasive and overly complex.
“Being unable to pay your electricity bill is not enough. Applicants have to demonstrate an exceptional event like a family death and be prepared to have their financial circumstances interrogated before being granted the voucher.”
The council’s 2022 Cost of Living Survey found there was extremely low awareness and uptake of the EAPA scheme, with 11 percent of respondents aware of it, and only 1.7 per cent accessing it.
“Even though EAPA vouchers are supposed to be there to help with emergency situations, it can take up to six weeks to process the application to obtain one $50 voucher, which seems to defeat the purpose.
“Families are already feeling the financial strain of the festive season, and the next massive power bill could push some over the edge.”
