Almost half the households in Western Sydney will have their $250 electricity rebates cut under a Chris Minns Labor government, according to analysis of new data from the Commonwealth Department of Social Services (DSS).
Chris Minns last week announced that any households not receiving specific forms of Commonwealth income support – or almost 1.5 million households statewide – will be ineligible for $250 in energy bill relief under a Labor Government.
This would leave almost half the families in Western Sydney high and dry, with analysis of the DSS data estimating around 46 per cent of households in the area do not receive Family Tax Benefit or other forms of Commonwealth income support used to determine eligibility for NSW energy rebates.
Treasurer and Minister for Energy Matt Kean said Labor’s energy cuts are a kick in the guts for Western Sydney families at a time they can least afford it.
“Families right across Western Sydney are struggling with the rising cost of living and with pressure on their electricity bills driven by Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine,” Mr Kean said.
“That’s why the Coalition’s plan is to provide $250 off the energy bills of each and every household in our state, as long as they go online to shop around for a better energy deal – a simple exercise that could save them hundreds of dollars more.”
“Come election day, families should remember that Chris Minns’ big energy policy is to cut bill relief and pour the funding into a government energy bureaucracy that, by his own admission, won’t deliver any savings for seven years.
“Chris Minns’ own constituents will be among the hardest hit by Labor’s cuts, with an estimated 57 per cent of Bayside households among those with their rebates on Labor’s chopping block.
Households in Western Sydney LGAs that won’t be eligible for any bill relief under Labor
Western Sydney LGA | Percentage of households cut | Number of households cut |
Blacktown | 49% | 59,434 |
Blue Mountains | 50% | 15,325 |
Burwood | 61% | 8,566 |
Camden | 63% | 23,493 |
Campbelltown | 39% | 22,350 |
Canterbury-Bankstown | 35% | 41,201 |
Cumberland | 39% | 28,305 |
Fairfield | 11% | 6,915 |
Hawkesbury | 52% | 12,022 |
Liverpool | 34% | 23,785 |
Parramatta | 62% | 57,037 |
Penrith | 48% | 35,406 |
Strathfield | 67% | 10,491 |
The Hills | 67% | 39,819 |
Wollondilly | 50% | 8,648 |