The Nationals, Melina Bath, Member for Eastern Victoria Region has taken the Andrews Labor Government to task in state parliament today over the recently announced Solar Homes program.
Melina Bath said that this week Victorians saw Daniel Andrews pledge a billion taxpayer dollars on a poorly planned solar scheme that neglects the needs of tenants, low-income earners and pensioners across the state.
“Labor’s solar scheme is a desperate bid to buy Green votes in the lead into the November State Election and when you break down the detail you quickly see it completely misses the mark”, said Ms Bath.
“The scheme is designed to cater only for owner occupied houses valued up to $3 million, while struggling renters and pensioners in flats will miss out on the assistance. It simply does not help the people who need it the most.
“The need to drive down costs for individuals and families in need cannot be ignored. Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data states that the percentage of tenants in Victoria has jumped from 27.2% in 2011 to 30% in 2016 and there are an additional 82,000 Victorians on the waitlist for public housing after being pushed out of private rentals.
“The rising cost of living created under the Andrews Labor Government cannot be ignored and most certainly will not be solved through a poorly thought out solar scheme that does nothing more than cater to radical Green policies.
“Latrobe-Gippsland has an unemployment rate of 7.7%, the highest in regional Victoria, second highest in the state and our average income is significantly lower than our city counterparts.
“Daniel Andrew’s scheme does absolutely nothing to help Gippsland’s unemployed, our renters and our elderly who are struggling to put food on the table and pay their energy bills.
“Instead Labor are more interested in bribing people with homes valued up to $3 million in value rather than looking after ordinary Gippslanders who are struggling with skyrocketing costs of living.
