My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. How has the take-up of the Albanese government's Cheaper Home Batteries Program helped cut wholesale energy costs for everyone?

I thank my Western Sydney friend and partner, the member for Werriwa, for the question. I can tell the member for Werriwa and the House that 589,313 Australian households have installed a cheaper home battery, and I have some good news for the member for Werriwa. We know that this take-up has been a very strong Western Sydney story, with the seats of Mitchell, Hume, Greenway, Chifley and Macquarie having more than 10 per cent of their houses put in cheaper home batteries, and now Werriwa has joined the club. More than 10 per cent of houses in Werriwa have installed a cheaper home battery.

But it's not exclusively a Western Sydney story. It's also a Western Australian story. I congratulate the member for Hasluck, who now has more than 10 per cent of her electorate with cheaper home batteries. On a bipartisan note, I congratulate my honourable friend the member for Berowra, who now has more than 10 per cent of his electorate with a cheaper home battery as well. In fact, there are now 12 electorates where more than 10 per cent of the houses have taken up an Albanese government cheaper home battery. That is helping those houses. We know, from the ACCC, that their household energy bills come down anywhere from $300 to more than $900 a year, but it is also helping all Australians reduce prices, as the member for Werriwa indicated in her question.

We know that, in relation to the report released last week, year on year, wholesale energy prices are down in Australia 27 per cent as they're rising everywhere else in the world. We also know that Australia now, in 2026, has lower wholesale energy prices than Germany, than France, than Ireland, than the United Kingdom, than Portugal, than Spain or than Japan. That's a good thing. That wholesale prices are lower in Australia than in all those countries is a good thing, and that is because we are rolling out renewables at utility scale and at household scale. That is very good for those households, and it's very good for all Australians, as we're seeing gas use in Australia fall to its lowest level in 27 years. Those batteries are storing that cheap renewable energy from the middle of the day and putting it to use at night.

It's also a small-business story. I can tell the House that the number of registered and accredited installers of batteries has doubled now to 9,000 across Australia. These are tradies and small-business people going around our suburbs and our regions, working hard and reducing the energy bills for their customers and for all Australians. We back those small businesses. We back those great tradies who are doing such good work in helping those Australians, giving them good advice about how to make the most of the government's support and the government programs and installing those batteries professionally and safely, for which Australia thanks them, because tradies are so important to our economy, and tradies are big beneficiaries of our cheaper home batteries policy, and we will continue to support that policy while others have promised to abolish it.

Manager of Opposition Business?

I seek leave to table the 'Solar battery inspection results report', which shows that more than 60 per cent of inspected batteries are substandard as of 20 October 2026.

Leave not granted.