E&OE
DOORSTOP INTERVIEW
GWELUP, WA
MONDAY 12 JANUARY 2026
Subjects: Cheaper Home Batteries, early convening of parliament, social media ban, travel expenses, Royal Commission into Antisemitism and social cohesion, vaping control, Adelaide Writer’s Festival
TOM FRENCH, MEMBER FOR MOORE: Thank you everyone for being here. I’d just like to thank Troy, Jeneen and Oceana for having us in their home today. I’m Tom French. I’m the Federal Member for Moore and it’s really great to be here. So, in Moore there’s been over 1,200 batteries taken up just locally and what that really shows us is two things – that families really want control of their power bills and secondly that when good policy is executed well it’s taken up really quickly by the general public. And as a former electrician, we like practical infrastructure. I want to see how policy works. And when you come into a home, you see a battery. You see what batteries actually look like. You can physically see what this policy looks like on the ground. So, I’ll just hand over to Josh to have a broader chat about the national policy battery program.
JOSH WILSON: Thanks, Tom, and good morning, everyone. It’s great to be here at the house of the Melbin family in Gwelup, on the lands of the Whadjuk Noongar people. And it’s great in the early part of 2026 to reflect on the progress that we’re making in the energy transition that Australia has to be part of, and that the Albanese Government has set this nation towards. We need to make an energy transition that delivers the cheapest energy system in the future and a cleaner energy system as we participate in that global cooperative effort to tackle dangerous climate change. And we’re making really significant progress. We’ve done it in lots of different ways, and the most recent, significant program has been Cheaper Home Batteries, and it’s a good opportunity as we cross the six-month mark, and as we cross the 20,000 installed battery mark here in Western Australia, just to reflect on how significant that change has been. It’s been an enormously successful program, and not surprisingly, it’s been really welcomed by Western Australians. Western Australia is the leading jurisdiction when it comes to the deployment of large grid scale batteries, and Western Australian households and businesses have shown a similar appetite when it comes to distributed, smaller scale storage. We are taking up batteries in the household and small businesses at a rate that’s faster than our population proportion would suggest. As I say, we’ve gone past the 20,000-battery mark already. That’s more than 400 megawatt hours of battery capacity. That’s basically double the size of the first phase of the Kwinana Big Battery Project. Six of the 20 leading postcodes in Australia are here in Western Australia, and they are generally outer metro suburbs where people want to reduce their energy prices and reduce emissions by adding to the remarkable progress we’ve made in rooftop solar with the addition of distributed battery storage. Until recently, the leading postcode in WA was in my electorate of Fremantle, 6164, in Cockburn – it has just been knocked off the top position by a postcode in Trish Cook’s seat of Bullwinkel. I hope that the good people of Cockburn can reclaim top spot before long. But it’s really significant that six of the top 20 postcodes are here in Western Australia. And it’s important that people remember that not only each and every of those small businesses and households see immediate cost reductions when they add battery to solar storage, but it’s delivering systemic benefits as well. The Australian Energy Market Commission has made it clear that the progress we’ve seen under the Cheaper Home Batteries program, nearly three gigawatt hours now delivered nationwide, is already helping our energy system, bringing down peak demand and putting downward pressure on those systemic costs, which is something we really want to see. Australians should have confidence in the energy transition that we have to make, and that we are making thanks to the policy and program clarity of the Albanese Labor Government. We set some clear targets when we were first elected, net zero by 2050, 82% renewable energy by 2030, and we’re on track to meet those targets. We have made remarkable progress after a decade of waste and neglect and a decade in which the coalition saw power generation actually exit the system, while they let ageing, unreliable and expensive coal-fired power limp closer to the end with no solution for our energy system. We were never going to allow that to be the case. We’ve put Australia on a really significant path, and we’re starting to see those benefits in no uncertain terms. Last year, in September and then October in consecutive months, for the first time, we saw more than 50% of renewable energy in the national grid. And here in WA in one of those months, it was more than 55% renewable energy. Renewable energy out-generated coal for the first time for an entire month in consecutive months. That’s a really significant milestone. And of course, in the most recent reporting period, we saw the largest decrease in annual greenhouse gas emissions that Australia has ever achieved outside of a COVID lockdown. That is progress. That is what Australia should seek to achieve, and is on the path to achieve – our destiny to be a renewable energy superpower and a clean industry powerhouse taking advantage of the best solar and wind resources in the world, taking advantage of our investment, stability, our technological know-how and that appetite in our communities, in our streets and suburbs around the country, particularly in outer metro suburbs, where Australians are taking up not just rooftop solar, but now distributed battery storage, home batteries, so that we can be the leader in distributed energy and storage the world over, and we can continue to be a leader when it comes to both clean energy and emissions reduction. I’ll now hand over to Charlie from the Smart Energy Council to add a few words.
CHARLIE CARUSO: Thanks, Josh. Charlie Caruso from the Smart Energy Council. The Cheaper Home Battery program has been a phenomenal success, partly through the right policy, but also the hard work of our installers who are on the roofs, on the forefront of this energy transformation. In WA under half of households are already solar soakers, and this battery, both rebates here in WA enable households to be able to basically use the phenomenal sun [inaudible] to power those hard working air conditioning systems, particularly in our summer. And so households, as we’ve already heard, over 20,000 in WA have already taken up the opportunity to get batteries installed in their house at a discounted rate, and it’s as we’re seeing, such a phenomenal success.
WILSON: I’m happy to take questions on the program and then do questions of the day.
REPORTER: Was it the decline in the cost, or the continuing climb of the cost of the battery key, or was it the subsidy that came in and just made it even cheaper for people that was the key?
WILSON: Well, it’s a combination of those things, and the subsidy from the first of July has really kicked off a home storage revolution, just as the decisive policy action of the Rudd Gillard Government kicked off the home solar revolution. If you go back to 2007 before the Rudd Gillard Government was elected, one in 1,000 households had rooftop solar through those smart subsidy programs, which decreased over time as scale improved and solar prices came down. We’ve now got to the point where it’s one in three households that have solar, and in jurisdictions like WA, it’s two in five. The principle is the same. You know, we’ve made a significant decrease in the upfront cost of batteries, about 30% in some jurisdictions like WA, there’s also an additional state-based rebate program, and that has driven this really, significant uptake of home batteries.
REPORTER: You’re obviously finding a lot more interest from homeowners to get these things in. Is there a wait now?
ROHAN MCGLEW, WEST STATE ELECTRICS: Yeah, we’ve got a four-to-six-week lead time, depending on the size of jobs, and obviously people are attracted by the by the cost coming down all the time.
REPORTER: Do you sell as well? You retail, as well? How low do you expect the cost to come down without the rebate?
MCGLEW: So West State Electric sells and installs solar and battery systems. In terms of the cost of the batteries, yeah, look, we’re always seeing tech become cheaper. That’s a given. We’ll see it get smaller and cheaper over time.
REPORTER: And are homeowners generally, obviously they’d be pleased with if they’re saving money.
MCGLEW: Yeah, absolutely, But with the combination of the rebates the pricing of batteries, it used to be a future decision for people that they just couldn’t invest in, and now that the reality is here – that they can make a really well informed decision – because there’s not pressure on them to make the decision, the policy that’s been being rolled out with Cheaper Home Batteries enables consumers to make a really good decision, and it gives us installers [inaudible] to invest in our people and our systems for a longer term.
REPORTER: There was, I think this is going back with my memory. There was concern amongst installers that there was a delay, I think, in the rebates coming into effect, and so they were concerned that people were cancelling their orders. Did that happen? Was there much disruption of the industry because of those concerns?
MCGLEW: There was a little bit of disruption in the beginning, but like any scheme coming through it takes a little bit time to get through it, but it’s rolling beautifully. The Federal scheme is, without a doubt, the best scheme of a rebate that I’ve seen in 20 years.
REPORTER: Oceana, if you don’t mind, can you just explain your situation here with your bills and the decision? Why did you go ahead with the decision on battery power?
OCEANA PETTIMENT (HOUSEHOLDER): So before the battery got put in, bills were coming around $1,600 and now they’re around $200 and that’s when we’ve got the aircon running on, like in summer. So come winter, it will probably be nothing, which is great, especially when the pool’s always running. The kids have always got the light switches on, and they don’t turn anything off. It’s really good for reducing your bills with the app as well. It tells you all the environmental contributions that you’re doing. So that’s great. So yeah, all around it just makes it really easy. It’s good to see that you save money as well every single day.
REPORTER: Is it important to know the sorts of savings that you are making and how the system is actually working? Does that govern how you use electricity?
PETTIMENT: It doesn’t govern how the kids do but, yeah, it does. On the app, you can actually see what’s actually happening, which is really cool for a visualisation, but yeah, it’s just good at the end of the day, you know that something’s working for you. And then, you can go on a holiday now because you save this much money, and it’s renewable.
REPORTER: And how big of a family are you guys?
PETTIMENT: Six. Yeah, six of us in one household.
REPORTER: So that’s two adults and four kids?
PETTIMENT: Yeah. It’s really good. I just can’t believe how much money we’ve saved, really, like $1,600 down to $200. That’s huge.
REPORTER: Why did you get it in the beginning? Was it the rebate that enticed you, or what was the change to solar for?
PETTIMENT: Well, one, it’s renewable. And also, why wouldn’t you want to save money. If it’s good for the environment and it’s good for your pocket, why wouldn’t you? So that’s why we did it. Now, yeah, that money saved can be better spent on family. Now we can go to Rotto a bit more, the family can go to Bali.
REPORTER: Are you more relaxed when the kids leave the air conditioner on?
PETTIMENT: Absolutely, absolutely. We’d always say, turn the air con off. No one’s in the house. You’re not using it. But now we can live in a bit more luxury, I would say. Now we can have the air con running and, yeah, not really feel too bad about it, because, yeah, it’s all run from the solar panels and the battery.
REPORTER: And you’ve got a pool. What are some of the things that normally would churn up the bills.
PETTIMENT: Running a pool is quite costly, especially when you’ve got filters running, the cleaner running. If you’re in a house of teenagers as well, you always want to make sure that that pool is clean, because they’ve always got their friends over. So yeah, it is quite costly with the pool, but also with teenagers, they’ve always got everything turned on or got their friends over. You’re spending extra time cleaning, you know. So, it just helps with that way, like helps with that too. So pretty much everyday life, it just minimises your costs, and it’s renewable, and it’s good for the planet, so I love it because of that as well.
REPORTER: And your system cost you? What was your cost to install? That’s a new system on old solar panels isn’t it, so what did this one cost you?
MCGLEW: Around $10,000.
REPORTER: And that’s pretty normal now for a battery this size?
MCGLEW: Yes.
PETTIMENT: I think it will save us around, just roughly already about over three grand a year, than what we would usually spend.
REPORTER: You got the rebate as well on that? So, did that come off the 10 grand? So, what was the total?
MCGLEW: No, no that is the total. With the rebate, yeah.
WILSON: This is a large-ish battery.
MCGLEW: Yes, this is a very large battery. So, this has state and federal rebate attached to it, as well as being part of the VPP.
REPORTER: Is there a need for federal parliament earlier than scheduled?
WILSON: Well, that’ll depend on the progress that’s being made with respect to legislation that’s under consideration. Obviously, we want to make sure we get that right, and that’s for the Attorney General and Home Affairs to be responsible for, and then the timing of when it would be considered by the parliament will be dictated by that.
REPORTER: Are you working on the legislation with some haste?
WILSON: Well, you know, I’m not going to stand here and speak on behalf of the Attorney General, but clearly, yes. I mean, we understand it in responding to the unbelievably horrific events in Bondi, that we want to respond as quickly as we can, but in a considered way, because you want the response to be effective, and these are complex matters, but you know, I think, as people will have seen from the Prime Minister and the Attorney General and the Minister for Home Affairs, they have not wasted a day or skipped a beat. They have been on this day in, day out, since that terrible day in December.
REPORTER: One month in, is the social media ban working? And does it need a rethink?
WILSON: I’d be surprised if it needs a rethink at this relatively early stage. All of the evidence that I’ve seen indicates that it’s been a good change, a welcome change in the community. I certainly get a lot of feedback from my constituents, particularly from parents who welcome it, who say that it gives them the ability to protect their kids from harm. And we do see now other countries, the world over, looking at Australia’s leading action on this issue, with some interest, and some of them appearing to move in that same direction. I mean, any change like this will take a while to settle in, and some of the benefits of the change are particularly for young kids who now will be told by their parents that you know they’re not able to access social media with all of the potential harm that that involves, until they’re at an age when they can safely and responsibly be part of that.
REPORTER: As the member for Fremantle, do you have concerns about vaping in your area of responsibility? Does the government, the state government, need to move faster cracking down on vapes and the illegal distribution or the illegal sale?
WILSON: Well, vaping is a scourge, and tobacco control is super important because it protects people from the harm that comes in the first instance, from tobacco, and that also comes from vaping in a different way. Unfortunately, there was a relaxation, I think, of rigour, in relation to vaping under the previous government. That meant it got a bit of a foothold here in Australia. We need to maintain that effort all of the time. The control of the sale, of whether it’s legal or illegal, sale or distribution of those things is a matter for the states. I know that the West Australian government has some legislative change in progress, and my understanding is that in the most recent annual reporting period, they had more infringements and issued more fines than had been in the previous period. That seems to be sensible to me. It is a matter of community concern. Quite rightly, the community wants to see both laws and rules and other compliance arrangements be effective in protecting the community, particularly young people from vapes and from tobacco.
REPORTER: Have you spoken with your federal colleagues from WA and they have any concerns about the new rules politicians travel and knowing the circumstances you know WA, tyranny of distance. Will they be unduly affected here so they have the effects that it won’t perhaps affect MPs from closer to Canberra?
WILSON: Well, look, I think that some reasonable support for family travel for parliamentarians is a good thing because it supports a greater diversity of participation in our parliament. We’ve actually seen that change in Western Australia, I think in lots of ways, it has been at the forefront of that and I think of my colleagues who’ve entered the parliament in recent times, including Tom French here but others, we’re seeing both diversity in terms of age and family circumstances and also multicultural background, we’re starting to see the Australian Parliament look like the Australian community, and that’s good and some reasonable family support, I think, does enable that. The evidence shows that at the same time, there’s always room for improvement, and the Prime Minister has written to the Remuneration Tribunal with some suggestions as to how that could be changed, further noting that the decisions on the changes and the rules and the way that they’re administered will always be independent of government, and that’s how it should be. But you’re right to observe that if you come from Western Australia, I mean, sometimes they produce the sort of the tables that show the relative expenses – they could just be for us personally, don’t worry about our family traveling with us – the costs to travel from Western Australia to Canberra are greater for me than they would be for a parliamentarian who comes from Sydney, because the airfare costs more from WA. So sometimes those tables probably feature more Western Australians than is really fair. I reckon most people you know, reading the West Australian newspaper or getting that information from other sources of media are smart enough to understand that, and to respect that that travel burden for some parts of the country, whether it’s WA or probably Tasmania or farther North Queensland, is really quite considerable.
REPORTER: Bondi, should the decision have been made sooner on calling the Royal Commission, and what lessons have been learned from it?
WILSON: Well, I think Australians expect the government to respond to something as awful and grave and serious and momentous as Bondi in an effective and timely way, but both of those things are important, and for it to be effective, it has to be considered. So I think the proposition that the government hasn’t moved quickly enough in relation to a terrible event that occurred in December by initiating a Royal Commission in the early part of January is a bit hard to sustain, particularly when you consider that there are a whole series of other things that the Prime Minister committed to from the very beginning, in relation to promoting social cohesion and harmony, combating prejudice and bigotry, particularly antisemitism, and looking at the proliferation of guns in Australian society.
REPORTER: Some of the decisions that have been made around the Adelaide Writer’s Festival – did cancel culture sort of come into this and it’s just gone too far?
WILSON: That’s a very big and complex question, and I don’t want to launch into that in a superficial way. I guess I just observe that in relation to any particular cultural event it is for that state and that organisation to consider the circumstances and come to the best decisions that that decision making body can come to. I will just say, in the main to pick up something that I think the Prime Minister has rightly emphasised throughout, we can all make a contribution to taking the temperature down. We can all make a contribution to promoting harmony and compassion and sympathy for one another and civility and respect in the way that we conduct ourselves and in the way that we participate in the public square when we talk about issues. And some issues are very difficult. Some issues will always have a potential for sort of heat and conflict around them, and we need to be able to discuss those things. That’s a vital part of our democracy, but the more that each of us can come to those conversations by bringing sympathy for one another, a focus on the ability to disagree respectfully and to show compassion and understanding for different points of view, the better we will all be and I think that that’s something we need to hold on to as an aspect of our of our best character as Australia at Its best in a difficult, difficult time like this.
ENDS
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