Anthony Albanese has been grilled on how fair the government’s $300 energy bill rebate really is.
Every household will get credits on their power bills in the next financial year, but the Prime Minister refused to answer whether it would mean of Australians who own multiple homes would benefit from multiple rebates.
Today show host Karl Stefanovic questioned how that was fair when the Prime Minister appeared on the show on Wednesday, saying Australia’s richest person Gina Rinehart and her cohort “don’t need support”.
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Mr Albanese said the government wanted to deliver support across the board, just as it had done in its stage 3 tax cut revamp.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Tuesday night revealed all Australian households would get a $300 power bill rebate, despite their income level, while unveiling a $3.9bn surplus.
The extent of the rebate was the big surprise in the budget, which included the previously announced revamped stage 3 tax cuts for all taxpayers and a slight increase in the rent assistance scheme.
“How do you explain how Jenny from the block in Yorkeys Knob gets the same power rebate as Gina from Noosa?” Stefanovic asked.
“Well, I’m not aware of who Jenny and Gina are, but I’m sure they’re fine Australians. And you know what? They deserve support,” Mr Albanese replied.
Stefanovic did not accept his answer and pressed him further.
“So let me spell it out for you, Gina, as Gina Rinehart, does she need help with the power bill?
“PM, the reality is that there are a bunch of Australians who just don’t need the 300 bucks.”
“This is the most effective way to deliver support across the board,” Mr Albanese said.
“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 1st. And that is, because, right, throughout the income scales, there are pressures on.”
Stefanovic then asked if someone who has multiple homes will get multiple discounts if they’re with multiple power companies.
“Well, this is household bill relief of $300 for every household, every household gets it,” Mr Albanese said.
“So if you’ve got a if you’ve got a holiday house or you’ve got a rental, you get it at each household?” he asked.
Mr Albanese did not give a clear answer, responding saying: “Well, what that will do is put downward pressure on inflation. It’s expected that our cost of living measures will reduce inflation by one half a per cent in the coming year, three quarters of a per cent in this current year.”
Mr Chalmers later appeared on the Today show, where he clarified that it would depend on whose name was on the bill.
If an investor has tenants, the tenants get the rebate. If someone has a holiday home they don’t rent out, they get assistance for that too, he said.
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