Constituency questions
Eastern Victoria Region
Tom McINTOSH (Eastern Victoria) (12:51): My question is to the Minister for Energy and Resources in the other place. Minister, with the cost of living being front of mind for Victorians – unlike for the state Liberals, who are providing misleading information and are more interested in doing that in the Parliament rather than providing Victorians with an actual energy policy – what is the Labor state government doing to ensure that Victorians, including my constituents in Eastern Victoria, can power their homes with affordable, reliable electricity. Last week the Essential Services Commission released its draft decision for the 2025–26 Victorian default market offer. Their proposed rates vary between our state’s five electricity zones, but on average residential customers would see a rise of less than 1 per cent on last year. This compares to an increase of between 5.1 and 8.8 per cent expected for households in New South Wales, south-east Queensland and South Australia that rely on their default offer. According to this draft decision, households on the default offer will pay on average $448.90 per year or 21 per cent less than those in other states.