Lisa Chesters
Bendigo · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“As I said, they are unique and quite often can fall through the cracks of the very large organisation that is known as the CFA, but in my meeting with them I was impressed by their dedication to what they do. They get together. They train.”
“I'd also like to pay tribute and honour to the late Don Drummond. Don and I first met many, many years ago, before I was the federal member for Bendigo, back when Woodend was in the Bendigo electorate. Don passed away recently. Even though Woodend hasn't been in Bendigo for a long time, he had kept in touch.”
“I rise to give a special shout-out to Oscar 1 CFA. The Oscar 1 CFA is quite a unique CFA volunteer unit in Bendigo. Its focus is on mine rescue. Like many old mining regions, Bendigo is littered with empty mine shafts. When people start to renovate, one may open up out in the Whipstick Forest or many of our other forests.”
“Before it was a thing in Labor, he always started branch meetings with a welcome to country and a value statement—the commitment to the burning light, as he said. Someone of great intellect and always a great ear, he was someone who was a true believer. Vale, Don. You will be missed.”
“On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, I present the committee's R eport 233 : agreement on the social security between Australia and the Oriental Public of Uruguay . Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e). I ask leave of the House to make a short statement in connection with the report.”
“And while we'd all been to the War Memorial prior to that particular event, during that visit we heard why they wanted to build purpose built galleries. They wanted to recognise the contribution of our peacekeepers, to help tell the story of our soldiers and our ADF personnel who were deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq.”
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“Before it was a thing in Labor, he always started branch meetings with a welcome to country and a value statement—the commitment to the burning light, as he said. Someone of great intellect and always a great ear, he was someone who was a true believer. Vale, Don. You will be missed.”
“I'd also like to pay tribute and honour to the late Don Drummond. Don and I first met many, many years ago, before I was the federal member for Bendigo, back when Woodend was in the Bendigo electorate. Don passed away recently. Even though Woodend hasn't been in Bendigo for a long time, he had kept in touch. Don would always remind me of the time when he stood for Ballarat, back in the dark days of Labor. He was one of those warriors, those true believers, who would put on the shirt and fly the flag even when we knew it was impossible. Don and his late wife, Sheila, were known throughout Bendigo for their passion for the arts, particularly literature. They had well-established careers in publishing. Don will be missed.”
“As I said, they are unique and quite often can fall through the cracks of the very large organisation that is known as the CFA, but in my meeting with them I was impressed by their dedication to what they do. They get together. They train. They work in a really collaborative way—so collaborative that they actually took out first place in the Victorian Mine Rescue Competition hosted earlier this year by the MCA Vic branch at La Trobe University—volunteers beating companies across Victoria and New South Wales with their specialist approach and skills. Congratulations, Oscar 1, and thank you for what you do: making sure that all of us are safe when it comes to our local community and local environment and in the unfortunate situation that would arise if any of us or our pets were to fall down a disused mine shaft.”
“I rise to give a special shout-out to Oscar 1 CFA. The Oscar 1 CFA is quite a unique CFA volunteer unit in Bendigo. Its focus is on mine rescue. Like many old mining regions, Bendigo is littered with empty mine shafts. When people start to renovate, one may open up out in the Whipstick Forest or many of our other forests. They are everywhere and quite often weren't filled in properly, so there is a need for a unit like Oscar 1. They are made up of volunteers, many of whom work in the mining industry currently or are volunteers of other CFA brigades. They come together on Wednesdays to make sure that they are best at their speciality, mine rescue.”
“My question is to the Minister for Social Services. How is the Albanese Labor government delivering on its commitment to strengthen paid parental leave and its support for Australian families? What are the risks to this?”
“On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, I present the committee's R eport 233 : agreement on the social security between Australia and the Oriental Public of Uruguay . Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e). I ask leave of the House to make a short statement in connection with the report.”
“I know that all the men and women in Bendigo that work at Thales and their families are overjoyed to know that work at the site will continue, and we'll continue to welcome amazing veterans like Matt back to Bendigo so they can share with us their stories as well.”
“We are proud that Bendigo built Bushmasters are credited with saving Australian soldiers lives, and we are really proud that our government has seen the merit in continuing to manufacture Bushmasters and committing to investing a further $750 million into Bendigo to build more Bushmasters—a pipeline to upgrade the fleet. This continues the 20 years of production of this world-leading capability that saves Australian lives. Designed in Australia, built in Australia for Australian men and women serving in the armed forces. These are the kinds of things that we can do together. It's the modernisation of our defence procurement strategy that will continue to see good jobs in the region.”
“To be there and to see Matt tell the story in front of Debbie was a very special moment, and I want to thank him for the privilege and honour of being there to see him when he walked into the new gallery spaces at the War Memorial to see Debbie in her new home. The damage to the vehicle is profound, and it is truly a credit to Matt's driving and to the entire crew that they were able to get out safely. But it's also a credit to Debbie, the vehicle that save their lives. Defence manufacturing is important. It's important that we have that sovereign capability in our country, and it is what we continue to do in Bendigo.”
“Two people were seriously injured when the driver of the Bushmaster hit an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan in 2012 but, thanks to the unique shape of the Bushmaster hull which deflects the force of the explosion, all six soldiers survived the blast. The driver, Private Matthew Clarke, sustained significant leg injuries. Last night he was in Canberra. I'd met Matt previously. Matt, who is now retired and living in the Hunter region, visited Bendigo last year to see the Bushmasters being made, to speak to the men and women who build them and to share his story of resilience, his story of survival. He thanked them for their work and what they do.”
“And while we'd all been to the War Memorial prior to that particular event, during that visit we heard why they wanted to build purpose built galleries. They wanted to recognise the contribution of our peacekeepers, to help tell the story of our soldiers and our ADF personnel who were deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. So last night was special. It was a moment where we could join with the Australian defence community—with veterans and with current serving soldiers, but also with the many people who work in the Australian War Memorial—to recognise and to officially open these new spaces. One of the additions in these new spaces was the Bendigo built Bushmaster Debbie. Many in this place may not know the story of Debbie, but she and her crew, six Australian soldiers, were damaged whilst on deployment in Afghanistan.”
“Yesterday was an unusual day, but a special day, for this parliament. The parliament was adjourned early so that we could all attend the opening of the new additions at the Australian War Memorial, the Anzac Atrium and Anzac Hall. For me, this was particularly momentous as I was on the public works committee at the time the project was approved. It was not without its controversy, and those who were in this place at that time would remember the very public campaign that was being run to stop the project. Labor was in opposition, but I and the other Labor MPs on the public works committee took the time to meet with the team at the Australian War Memorial and to learn from them why they believed the project was necessary.”
“It has opened since we came to government and invested in Medicare. It is at the Bendigo Marketplace. It is in the CBD of Bendigo supporting and servicing people in my electorate. A cautionary warning to those opposite in the Liberal, National and One Nation parties: every single one of those GPs servicing that clinic was born overseas, like so many of our doctors working in regional areas keeping our communities healthy. This is a good example of good migration policy at work.”
“The most recent bulk-billing data is in, and it is really clear and obvious to all of us that Labor's reforms—our tripling of the Medicare bulk-billing incentive and the way in which we've invested in Medicare—are delivering. They are delivering for regional electorates, for outer metro electorates and for Australians. In my own electorate, because of the investment that Labor has made, we have reversed the trend of what was happening. Bulk-billing in my electorate of Bendigo is now back up to 89.2 per cent, and that is because of the investment of our government. We have gone from having two bulk-billing clinics when those left office to 37 bulk-billing clinics. That is what we have done. I recently visited a clinic in my electorate which did not exist when those were last in government.”
“But this contract is more than just building vehicles that the Australian Army need; this contract also secures the workforce at the site for at least the next seven years, as well as the jobs that are in the supply chain. The contract to build 268 new Bushmasters at the Bendigo facility will allow the site the opportunity for the first time in decades to invest in the next generation. There are already plans to recruit and train the next generation of apprenticeships at this site. This is what Labor governments do. We invest in jobs, we invest in people and we invest in defence manufacturing, not just in Bendigo but throughout Australia.”
“A division having been called in the House of Representatives— Sitting suspended from 16:16 to 16:29 On 27 April I was proud to stand alongside the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Defence Industry, the honourable Pat Conroy, to announce that the Albanese Labor government will be investing a further $750 million into building more Bushmasters in Bendigo for the Australian Defence Force. Built in Bendigo by Thales Australia, Bushmasters are an iconic Australian vehicle that deliver world-leading protection for the Australian Defence Force. We've all heard the stories from returned soldiers and Australian veterans that speak volumes to the importance of this vehicle, its unique design and how it saves lives.”
“We are seeing our bulk-billing incentives encouraging doctors. The numbers stack up for them to open on Saturdays and Sundays, taking the pressure off our ED department and our urgent care centre. What also makes this clinic unique is, four years ago, it did not exist. Four years ago, before Labor was elected and formed government and changed the rules and invested in Medicare, this clinic, which is delivering bulk-billing services seven days a week, did not exist.”
“There are now thirty-seven 100 per cent bulk-billing clinics in the electorate of Bendigo. It is a huge achievement and something that I'm very proud that our government has delivered. To put that into context, prior to the 2022 election and Labor forming government, there was just one in the entire electorate of Bendigo that was still bulk-billing. As I stand here today, there are now 37, with the majority of people in the Bendigo electorate being able to access bulk-billing. One of the clinics that I recently visited is the Bendigo Doctors medical centre. It is conveniently located at the Bendigo Marketplace, which is our main shopping centre in Bendigo and in the region. It too is a 100 per cent bulk-billing medical practice. It's unique for two reasons. First, it is open seven days a week.”
“These measures that are before us, as I have said, are about restoring fairness to our tax system. They're about correcting or giving opportunity to a next generation of first home buyers. These reforms are about helping workers, first home buyers and businesses so more Australians can earn more and keep more of what they earn. They can get into the housing market. They might have the opportunity to live in the neighbourhood where they grew up or a new neighbourhood that they now call home, but it's about giving hope to the next generation and recognising that the income that they earn as a worker is taxed and valued the same as income that their landlord or the investor earns.”
“It could go towards swimming lessons. It knocks out one of those bills that they're struggling to pay. $250 can go a long way for a family on a small income. This will benefit 13.3 million Australians and disproportionately more women, because women earn lower incomes, and people living in regional areas who are also on low incomes. This is on top of the other tax cuts that we've already legislated. Combined, the average worker will be just under $3,000 a year better off by 2028, because of our Labor government and the changes. That $3,000 by 2028—it should be noted—has been opposed by the Liberals and Nationals every step of the way. This is real money back into the pockets of working Australians to help them pay bills. This is real cost-of-living relief to those who need it most.”
“They're about encouraging investment. They're about encouraging investors to look at where we can be the most productive and grow our economy. The distortion that's happened with the coinciding of house prices increasing at a much faster rate than wages is a long story that started back in the late eighties, as I have suggested, which was super-turbocharged in 1999 to where we're at today. I encourage those opposite to rethink their opposition to this and to join Labor in correcting the problem that was created by a previous generation of politicians. I encourage them to support the introduction of the $250 working Australian tax offset and to support our lowest income earners to receive a little bit of offset. For those who dismiss it, for someone in my electorate, that's their kid's school fees for a primary school.”
“That is why this announcement that has been made has been welcomed by the small businesses involved in construction in my electorate. They see any way to encourage people to invest in new builds as welcome. The government is grandfathering the change. So if you're already negative gearing or own an investment property, you can continue to do so. The changes are also affixed to the tax treatment on capital gains so that the system operates as it was originally intended and helps direct investment to where it is most productive. And I think that's what disappoints me the most about those opposite. Acknowledge a mistake was made. Go back to the original intent of the discount. It was about making sure that we directed investment towards investment that was the most productive. The changes that are before us are about the future.”
“These are ways that we are helping workers, particularly those on the lowest income, earn more and keep more of what they earn. The proposal that's before us today is about correcting the impact of a legacy of Howard and Costello that they made in 1999. It's about restoring hope to a younger generation so that they may be able to one day own a home, to have that same opportunity that their grandparents had and that their parents may have had. We hope that they will have that. The changes before us limit negative gearing to residential properties that are new builds. That is incredibly important for electorates like my electorate, where we do have the opportunity to build more homes in town through infill and more towns in our growing suburbs.”
“So if you owned a property before budget night, it won't change for you. This is about future gains and future properties. The reason why this is important to raise is that there is a lot of mis- and disinformation out there. These aren't the only changes that are being put forward in this bill. The government's reform package before us today is also about building a better, fairer, simpler tax system by reducing the burden for income tax workers; 13 million across Australia will receive a further tax reduction. We are delivering to them the worker bonus, the working Australia tax offset, which is a new tax cut. We're delivering a $1,000 instant tax deduction, saving time and money for millions of workers when it comes to their tax time.”
“What we're proposing in this change means that, from 1 July 2027, we'll see future gains taxed adjusting for inflation—rather than a flat discount. This means that investors will only get taxed on the profits above the adjusted amount, going back to the system that existed from 1985 to 1999. The additional 30 per cent minimum tax rate will be applied to the real capital gain. This is the same as the marginal tax rate that most Australians pay on their wages. That is the crux of this reform. Your gain—whether it be investment, property or wages that you've earned through your labour—should be taxed the same. That's what we're proposing here. I should note—and this is a conversation that I've had with a lot of people in my electorate—that there is grandfathering involved in these changes.”
“In 1999, under Howard and Costello, the government replaced the inflation indexation with a 50 per cent discount, arguing it would be simpler to calculate. At the time, they thought that this would spur investment in shares and productive investments, but this was not true. As history now tells us, it encouraged more people to get into property. Shares declined and more people invested in property. And now we've seen the situation that we're in today. The examples that I shared are examples that all of us have. What we're proposing is to level the playing field, to encourage and to support first home buyers. People will still have the opportunity, in regard to negative gearing, if they contribute to our property portfolio as a nation by investing in new builds.”
“We're changing it—except for the examples that I've established—to demonstrate that we need broad tax reform to make our tax system fairer. We need to look at how we can readdress the balance that income earned on investments is disproportionately seen more generously with tax concessions than the income you earn through your labour and hard work. Currently, if you sell an asset you've owned for more than 12 months, like shares or an investment property, you pay the tax at the marginal tax rate on half of that profit. It's known as the 50 per cent capital gains tax. The discount is meant to compensate investors for inflation so that they only pay tax on real gains. Up until 1999 the indexation was applied to capital gains so that people only paid tax on their real gain, the part of the gain over and above inflation.”
“How does somebody in Bendigo on an average income afford a home on an average street in a suburb in Bendigo? How does a first home buyer compete with a self-funded retiree for that home? It's a beautiful home. It's been renovated. The previous owners did a glorious job. But even they were surprised at the price tag and the windfall that they got. We're not saying that we're going to crash the prices back. That's not what we're saying at all. We're saying that we have to address the system that has enabled this to be, to create a fairer playing field for first home buyers. These reforms before us are about helping workers, first home buyers and businesses so that more Australians can earn more, keep more of what they earn, get into the housing market and have the opportunity of the Australian dream and get ahead.”
“But to the ones who want to do what their parents did, here's a cautionary warning: it was a once off. Your family home that was $45,000 or that was $70,000 that your parents built and then sold for $1.2 million or thereabouts, if you bought that home for $1.2 million, you're not selling it for the same mark-up. That has happened in one generation. It's a once-off opportunity where people have made some money and have done quite well, but we need to talk about nation-building policy that helps everybody. I have another example of a more recent time in Bendigo. In my time since being the federal member, this particular home on Sternberg Street in Bendigo was sold in 2013 for $285,000. That's reasonable a decade ago. Ten years later, in 2023, it sold for $1.1 million. That is a property market on steroids.”
“These aren't just houses in Melaleuca Avenue, North Buderim, or any other house in North Buderim. This is the story of so many houses that were built in the late eighties and early nineties as Australia expanded. It is true of the story of homes in my electorate of Bendigo and all throughout regional Victoria and the outer metros. For example, a home on Honeysuckle Street, Bendigo, in 1982 was $6,200. That was the price back then to enter the market. In 1999, with some of the changes we're debating today, it was $79,900. Today it's valued at just under $700,000. That has been the progression of our housing market in a generation. That is why we need to step back and think about where it all went wrong. I acknowledge that some have made a lot of money—and good on them.”
“I can remember planting the trees in the front yard and the garden that we had, with the two sheds out the back because my father was a mechanic and he liked to repair his own cars. That home today is valued at $1.2 million. My sisters and our friends at school could not afford to buy their family home. That is a property market on steroids. In less than 35 years, our property prices are at a level we never would have imagined when we were kids. We are here today debating these reforms because the Australian dream for so many in our younger generation has been broken. At no time when we were kids, or when we finished high school or when we went to university, did we ever think that homeownership would not happen. If you worked hard and you saved, you could still live in the suburb where you grew up or another suburb.”
“No. 3 Melaleuca Avenue, North Bendigo—North Buderim. I'll say that again: No. 3 Melaleuca Avenue—m-e-l-a-l-e-u-c-a—North Buderim, for the benefit of Hansard . Why I know that so fluently as it rolls off my tongue is that that was my family home. That was what my parents built back when Bob Hawke was prime minister. Every home in that street was built about the same time. For $45,000, my family built a home in North Buderim, a suburb on the Sunshine Coast. When I look at photos online, it's still quite similar to what my family had. The pool is still there. It's still a three-bedroom. We turned the carport into a rumpus room for us kids because we didn't want to watch news every minute of the day, much to my father's disappointment. The garden's the same.”
“My question is to the Minister for Defence Industry. How is the Albanese Labor government delivering the defence capability needed to keep Australia safe while creating jobs and building a defence future made in Australia? How does this compare to other approaches?”
“My question is to the Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories. How is the Albanese Labor government working with local government to help our regions thrive? How does this compare to other approaches?”
“My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. How does the budget strengthen Australia's fuel security and resilience and protect Australians from future energy shocks? What policies would weaken resilience?”
“The good news is: we did win the election, and, with the dedication of this government, we've secured the jobs and secured contracts now and into the future. I want to pay tribute to the workers and their union, for hanging in there and for committing to the site, and to this government, for backing in these workers and this future manufacturing that will continue at the site, locked into our budget, now and into the future.”
“One of the line items in last night's budget, I am proud to stand here and say, was our government's commitment to building more Bushmasters in Bendigo, with an extra $750 million to deliver extra Bushmasters to the Australian Defence Force—268 in total—which will secure work at the site for the next seven years, securing the jobs of 300 locals and encouraging Thales to bring on that next generation of tradies. They are already talking to local schools about the opportunities that could exist at Thales once they leave school. This is an exciting moment for Bendigo—locking in these jobs and securing the site. I just want to remind the House where the site was at, prior to the 2022 election. Thales had reached out to say that they had no work secured by those opposite. The site would close if Labor did not win the election.”
“This is great news for all our South Australian colleagues, this is great news for the health of the Murray, and this is really great news for my electorate because we will not lose our water through leakages, through seepage and through evaporation. This is what a Labor government does for regional Australia. We are delivering for Bendigo, we are delivering for regional Australia, and we are delivering the health of the Murray. Those opposite just freak out—trigger warning.”
“Before I begin, I just want to give those in the National Party a trigger warning: I am talking about the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, because we have really good news about what we've announced in government to deliver for the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. The Minister for the Environment and Water visited Bendigo in the break, and we announced $120 million to upgrade the Coliban rural water supply network in Bendigo. It dates back to the 1870s. It's inefficient, and we lose about 80 per cent of the water to evaporation, leakage and other means. What is really good about this investment by our government is it will also contribute to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. We will return 4.6 gigalitres of water to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan's 450-gigalitre water-recovery target.”
“We have finally realised and achieved the vision of so many in our town. The original plan for this to be a bulk-billing clinic has now been achieved thanks to the investment of the Albanese Labor government. I'm so pleased to stand here today, and I really want to thank the doctors who've come on board to agree to bulk-bill all their patients and thank them for their patience and for working with us.”
“I'm really proud to stand here in the House today and say that Bendigo's largest GP clinic today will become a Medicare bulk-billing practice. The Bendigo Primary Care Centre is our largest. It has 39,000 patient records. It has 23 doctors. It has nurses and allied health. It is a big clinic, and from today it will be a 100 per cent bulk-billing clinic because of our government and our investment in Medicare. The centre is co-located with another great Labor legacy. It is co-located with the Bendigo Medicare urgent care centre, which is already bulk-billing patients. This centre is known to people in Bendigo. It was built with the former Labor government's GP super clinic funding. It is on the health precinct, co-located with our Bendigo hospital. That is what is so profound and exciting about today.”
“The committee would like to thank the Department of Defence and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for their engagement throughout this inquiry. I'd also like to thank my fellow committee members for their contributions and the secretariat for compiling this report in quick time. The committee supports the Pukpuk Treaty and recommends that binding treaty action be taken. On behalf of the committee, I recommend this report to the House.”
“It also enables both countries to contribute expertise and capacity and ensure we grow stronger together. The treaty is well aligned with Australia's strategic focus on building stronger relationships in the Pacific and strengthening regional stability, sovereign capability and prosperity. During the inquiry process, the committee found that the treaty supports Australia's objectives of regional security in the Pacific and opens up new avenues for dialogue and cooperation. By ratifying this agreement, Australia will demonstrate its continued reliability and trustworthiness as a partner of choice in the Pacific. The treaty, further, is important to Australia's national interests by contributing towards a more stable regional security environment and providing a stable, sovereign, prosperous Pacific.”
“PNG is one of Australia's most important partners and closest neighbours, and we are proud to call them our ally. The treaty establishes obligations to consult on security related developments and provide mutual assistance in the event of an armed attack and creates a framework for conducting joint defence cooperation activities. The Pukpuk Treaty builds on Australia's and PNG's existing defence engagement and develops a clear framework to enable more joint activities, such as combined training and personnel exchanges. It enables a two-way exchange, with Papua New Guinea's defence personnel attending Australian training institutions, and provides Australia with an opportunity to gain specialist expertise in areas such as jungle warfare.”
“On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, I present the committee's report entitled Report 232: Papua New Guinea-Australia Mutual Defence Treaty (the Pukpuk Treaty) . Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e). by leave—I rise today to make a statement on the report of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties regarding the Papua New Guinea-Australia Mutual Defence Treaty, also known as the Pukpuk Treaty. The Pukpuk Treaty marks a significant achievement in Australia's relationship with Papua New Guinea. The treaty binds our two countries together in a formal alliance, tying us closer together and enabling greater diplomatic and defence collaboration. This new alliance is our first for over 70 years and only our third overall, after New Zealand and the United States of America.”
“We don't know if increasing taxes on gas that we export will lift the price of gas in our country. Will it destabilise the gas markets globally in a time when we already have these challenges?”
“I do acknowledge the work the Allan government have done to try and help these communities, including through the subsidies they're offering. These communities have really been led up the garden path by bad policy from a previous government and are now living with the consequences because of a change in the market. I say this to demonstrate why we can't just have these blunt instruments, these ideas that may be good today but could, in the long term, deliver damage. I've had a lot of people reach out to me about the proposal, the simple idea of a 25 per cent tax on companies that take Australian gas overseas. I have to be really honest with people that it's a blunt instrument, and we don't know the impact this idea of taxing companies 25 per cent could have on our own gas market.”
“At the time, gas prices were a lot cheaper. We saw households installing gas equipment and gas burners because they thought they would be, in the long term, better off. Fast forward over a decade, and we've seen that government lose. We've now got a Labor government in place, trying to deal with the mess that was left. Because of the spike in gas prices, the energy provider that was delivering gas—literally on trucks—to mini gas stations in these communities has announced that it is going to stop supplying gas to these 10 regional Victorian towns. This is a disaster, a demonstration of what happens when you don't have long-term thinking around energy and gas policy. These communities are devastated, and I really feel for them. They are now trying to electrify. They are now trying to do what they can.”
“We simply can't just cut them off. I say this worried about what's going to happen to three communities in my electorate. Because of jumping-around policy by the former Liberal-National government in the state of Victoria that promised something they could not deliver, we have now got homes in Victoria that are literally being cut off gas. Those who are from Victoria might remember the Baillieu-Napthine government promised to connect towns like Marong, Maldon and Heathcote to gas, and they outsourced to Solstice Energy the ability to connect to gas. But they didn't build gas lines. What they did was install infrastructure. It was like having a portable gas station built just outside the town. They encouraged people in these towns to spend the money to connect to gas. Some of those residents invested a lot.”
“I say 'gas customers' because we cannot ignore the simple fact in Australia that there are still over five million homes connected to gas that can't electrify any time soon. It is in the walls. It is in the floors. It is how people heat their homes. It is how they cook their food. The cost to electrify is just out of reach for many households. Some households also can't sustain or support, because of the age of their roofs, solar panels. Whilst it is working for some being able to put solar on their roofs and connect to batteries, it's not a solution for everybody at this time. So that is why our government is approaching the energy transition that's going on in our country in a methodical and considered way. We are looking at the fact that we need to have a level of gas in this country to help service existing customers.”