E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC HOBART BREAKFAST WITH RYK GODDARD
29 APRIL 2026
Subjects: Social Housing Energy Performance Initiative, federal budget, gas tax, intergenerational inequity
RYK GODDARD (HOST): So social housing around Tasmania, one of the things it’s notorious for is terrible energy efficiency. Josh Wilson is Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy and is part of this big announcement throughout the Albanese Government today of cash for the Social Housing Energy Performance Initiative, the SHEPI. Hello, Josh.
JOSH WILSON: Hi Ryk. How are you?
GODDARD: Yeah, very well, thank you. What’s the idea behind this scheme?
WILSON: Well, we want to make sure that the energy transition that we’re helping to lead benefits to all Australians. We know there’s a lot to be gained by improving the energy performance of households at the same time as we give them access to solar and battery storage and all those kinds of things. And there’s a challenge when it comes to social housing tenants. A lot of that housing stock around the country, including here in Tasmania, is pretty old, and it performs pretty badly in terms of energy efficiency. So the SHEPI, as you mentioned, is designed to upgrade 100,000 households Australia wide, making sure that those tenants have homes that are naturally more liveable, like warmer in cold weather and cooler in hot weather, but also have the kinds of technological efficiency improvements that reduce costs, which, of course, affect social housing tenants more than they do other Australians.
GODDARD: Has this got anything to do with the new building code that Tasmanian builders are so concerned about putting energy efficiency bars too high for them to meet affordably?
WILSON: It’s got absolutely nothing to do with that, per se. I mean, it really is just about saying that it’s not good enough for social housing tenants to be in in houses that cost them more than it should, and nor is it good enough for them to be in houses that are unreasonably cold or hot.
GODDARD: And why has it taken so long to do this? Because that housing stock, and there are suburbs that can come to mind, and I’m sure lots of us can picture them with those brick houses with those aluminium windows that are colder than a tent, that they’ve been left to exist like that for so long?
WILSON: Well, we’ve got a challenge around Australia. We have a housing crisis. We’re certainly making the largest investment in new affordable and social housing since the post World War Two housing boom. At the same time, we’ve got a challenge to upgrade existing housing. We want to step in and work with the states and territories to do that. The SHEPI, in the first instance, was a co funded program, so $600 million with 300 from the Albanese Government and 300 from the states and territories. And it was working so well that we came along with an additional $800 million just of our own. And that’s this second part of the program that I’m announcing here today. It’s $14.6 million for Tasmania and an additional 1,200 social housing dwellings that will benefit from those upgrades.
GODDARD: Josh Wilson, Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy in Tasmania with this announcement. So how does it work if I’m in social housing? Am I just going to get told one day, oh, the tradies are coming and it’s going to get done. Do I have to put my hand up for it?
WILSON: Well, as you imagine, the social housing is managed by the departments in states and territories. So they will identify the housing stock that is prioritised for that kind of work. And of course, they do it in a consultative way. I mean, these two can be [interrupted]
GODDARD: Yeah, we’ve outsourced it, like a lot of this housing, to various charity groups and other interests and organizations. Are they part of it as well? Or is there only government departments?
WILSON: Well, it depends. From state to state. In South Australia, it’s the Social Housing Trust, in Western Australia, it’s the Department of Communities. You know, Tasmania has its own arrangements. But, I’m aware of those sort of high level numbers in terms of 1,700 houses in the first round and now 1,200 houses. And I was hoping to visit a household, a single parent household in Lutana today. I can’t go there because Sammie-Jo, the mum, and her two daughters, Aaliyah and Hannah, are unfortunately unwell, but I know that they’ve benefited from new insulated underlay and some energy efficient appliances, a heatwater pump and so on. And Sammie-Jo was saying that it’s made a noticeable difference just to the kind of temperature control in the house, but it has also already significantly brought down her bills, and that’s what we want to see.
GODDARD: Underfloor insulation is incredible. I was listening to an expert the other day who said that the last time we had really affordable housing in Australia, the government built something like 20% or 30% of our homes. Are you doing enough?
WILSON: The Commonwealth obviously hasn’t tended to be in the game of actually building that housing stock. As I mentioned before, we recognise that the Commonwealth Federal Governments of all flavours in the past couple of decades, haven’t done enough to work with states and territories, and that’s why we’re making a $43 billion investment to turn that around. It’s not going to change things from one day to the next. That’s the nature of housing. But that investment is the largest investment of any federal government since the post-World War Two boom, and we want to see that result in significant more supply of specifically affordable housing.
GODDARD: Josh Wilson, Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy, big budget coming up in May. Are we expecting to see changes to capital gains tax. Are we expecting to see other things to address intergenerational affordability?
WILSON: Well, we certainly will be seeing more work to address intergenerational inequity. The Treasurer has been clear about that. We’ve undertaken that kind of work since we were first elected in 2022 – we’ve cut 20% off HECS, we’ve seen the minimum wage rise three times. Real wages rise, fee-free TAFE, the investment in housing.
GODDARD: I’ve just got, like, 30 seconds before I have to go to the news, Josh, can I ask you just quickly disappointed that Albanese has killed off the idea of a 25% tax on gas?
WILSON: The Prime Minister has done what all responsible ministers will do, which is to say that people need to wait for budget night. But he’s also been clear in saying, we will continue with the work that we’ve done to keep making positive reform to address intergenerational inequity.
GODDARD: I hope you have a good time in Tasmania today.
WILSON: Thanks, Ryk.
ENDS
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