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Email your MP

Tell your MP you want the government to commit to an ambitious yet achievable scheme that will help all Australian housholds afford to create their solar electric home.

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I write to you as I want you to address the dual cost of living and climate crises with an ambitious yet achievable goal: give all Australian households access to finance, regardless of their income, which would enable them to create a solar electric home and lock in ongoing savings.

We need a universal financing scheme to help all homeowners with the capital costs of installing household batteries, rooftop solar and electric appliances. While government rebates and subsidies programs can be a great start, they don’t go far enough for most homes, and credit-based schemes are inaccessible for low-income homes who may not be able to afford ongoing repayments. One option is for households to receive a government-backed loan that is secured on the property and which doesn’t need to be repaid until the house is sold. This idea has been modelled by the research and advocacy organisation Rewiring Australia.

This ensures that all households have the financial barrier to solar and electrification removed, regardless of income. Households could receive the funds today to install solar, batteries, smart EV charging, water heating, induction cooking, split system air-con, and home efficiency upgrades. The loan would be indexed to inflation and households would pay it back when they can afford to, choosing to make repayments or simply wait until they next sell their house.

Electrification financing is a win for households.
A typical household today will pay $5517 every year using their gas appliances and petrol car. Rewiring Australia modelling shows that once a home is fully electric, complete with rooftop solar, efficient electric appliances, a battery and EV, homeowners will spend just $559 a year on energy costs. Not only are low energy prices locked in for years to come, households can enjoy healthier homes with cleaner air.

A universal financing model for household electrification would help every dwelling-owner, including occupiers and landlords unlock savings on their energy bills. That’s around 67% of Australian households, spread evenly across incomes (in the bottom 20% of income brackets, 62% are homeowners). Retired homeowners on government pensions, low-income homes, and strata owners who face the challenge of sharing costs could all install solar panels, a battery or an electric heat pump without the burden of paying for it upfront.

Landlords could also access finance to upgrade rental properties without paying upfront, and complementary policies that further support renters, such as mandatory energy disclosure on bills and minimum efficiency standards should also be introduced.

A large-scale investment in creating solar electric homes would also kickstart huge manufacturing and employment opportunities as thousands of jobs would be created to rewire homes nationwide. It would also secure Australia's energy future by creating more flexible, distributed energy resources.

If Australia ambitiously electrifies homes and vehicles now by providing access to finance, consumers will save $1.7 trillion by 2050, and if funded by flexible finance, the real cost to the budget will be just 1/20th of the consumer savings. In other words, this is a modest government investment to unlock a lifetime of savings and national benefits.

I’m calling on you to take action. To support a flexible, fair finance model that ensures that no Australian homeowner is left behind on spiralling gas prices.

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