Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) | Link to this | Hansard source

There has been much debate in this House regarding the cost of living and, in particular, the cost of energy. I've spoken on these matters on so many occasions in this place, relaying the pain, frustration and desperation of those in my electorate who can no longer afford the basics of life such as household heating. There is a mismatch between government statements around electricity becoming cheaper and the reality faced by every Australian household. I am utterly sad that people just can't afford to keep the lights on. When did this become Australia?

Just last week, a constituent forwarded a notice from his energy company advising of yet more price increases. The 65-year-old gentleman is a frugal user of energy but, despite this, the notice forecast his energy costs to rise by $331 per year. This is completely at odds with the government's commitment of reducing electricity bills by $275. A breakdown of the bill finds the supply charge increasing by around 30 per cent and the summer and winter kilowatt hour usage charges increasing by 14 per cent. It is no wonder that a number of South Australian households are forced onto hardship plans due to their inability to pay these energy bills. They've risen by 44 per cent since the last federal election. We now have 127,000 households across the country on hardship plans, with a staggering 19,000 of them in my state of South Australia. In percentage terms, this represents around 14 per cent of the total number of hardship plans, compared to South Australia's population percentage of less than eight per cent.

We have serious and systemic problems in our country, at the moment, and the government is failing us on energy prices and the cost-of-living crisis. The government's energy relief payments are simply inadequate against the tide of ever-increasing prices. Australians shouldn't have to go without heating and cooling in their homes. People are going to bed at 5.30 or six o'clock at night simply because they can't afford to run the heater, and they certainly can't afford to buy wood. Neither should people have to address complex energy contracts after each bill in an endless attempt to find a better deal.

At what point will the government recognise the extent of this problem? How many more families must go into hardship before we look for a solution to this? Families, households and small businesses are all suffering terribly with the runaway increasing prices. I just can't believe that this is the nation that we have become, where people can't afford to turn the lights on, can't afford to keep their families warm. I implore the government to make it a priority to fix this mess today.