Queenslanders will get a $1,000 rebate on their energy bills, with Premier Steven Miles and Treasurer Cameron Dick announcing the state government would spend $2.5 billion on the popular measure.
The initial cash payment per household will apply from July 1, and the Prime Minister says it means the Government will cover the electricity bill for the first three months of the financial year.
“We are delivering the largest cost of living support package in Queensland history to support Queenslanders in the fight against inflation,” Mr Miles said.
While the measure will ease bills for households and small businesses in the short term, economists have argued that such rebates only reduce pressure on electricity retailers to reduce their prices.
The Queensland government paid a $550 energy bill rebate this financial year, plus $325 bill rebates for small businesses, and the federal government introduced electricity price rebates in 2023, and that had caused prices to continue rising.
Queenslanders to receive a $1,000 rebate on their energy bill, paid for by coal royalties (file image)
The cash down payment per household will apply from July 1, and the Prime Minister says it means people will not pay a penny for electricity for the first three months of the financial year (file image)
Under Queensland’s announcement on Thursday, eligible seniors, pensioners and concession card holders will receive $1,372 off their energy bills.
Inflation, rising mortgage, rent and food payments were Queenslanders’ biggest concerns, the Premier said.
A payment of $1,000 would cut most households’ annual electricity bill in half, he said.
“I said we would use the budget to alleviate the cost of living, but I have decided it is too urgent to wait that long,” Miles said.
Last year, the Queensland government posted a $14 billion surplus thanks to a coal royalty scheme that left miners threatening to leave the state.
The Treasurer said the $2.5 billion energy bill payment came from that surplus.
“Our investment in the people of this state is only possible because the Miles Labor government is collecting its fair share of Queensland coal royalties from multinational mining companies,” Mr Dick said.
State Premier Steven Miles (pictured) said homeowners will not have to pay a cent for electricity for the first three months of the financial year.
The move comes shortly before the start of campaigning for the state election scheduled for October, and polls indicate the Labor Party is in trouble.
is coming up in October. Last month, Dick revealed that total public debt would reach $188 billion by 2027/28, according to preliminary Treasury forecasts.
However, the Treasurer foreshadowed that the election could not be an “unsustainable spending spree” as the state’s total debt was forecast to reach $188 billion by 2027/28.
A special appropriation bill will be introduced to advance the $1,000 payment.