Energy bill fears mount amid transmission cost blowout
A blowout in costs to build poles and wires could trigger an increase in household power bills, according to The Australian.
Australia's Energy Market Operator reports overhead transmission line costs have surged by 55 per cent and substations by 35 per cent.
The rises are attributed, in part, to the decision to avoid 'particularly complex areas' as the Labor government attempts to win over rural communities in the transmission rollout.
A final price hike for 2025 to 2026 will be signed off by the energy regulator today.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
SBS Australia
an hour ago
- SBS Australia
Anthony Albanese announces new move to tackle Australia's productivity problem
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced that Treasurer Jim Chalmers will convene a 'roundtable' at Parliament House later this year to help shape the government's agenda on economic growth and productivity. In his first National Press Club address since being re-elected, Albanese said leaders from the business community, union movement and civil society would be brought together in August to discuss "a targeted set of issues" to help build "the broadest possible base of support for further economic reform". The aim of such reform would be "to drive growth, boost productivity, strengthen the budget and secure the resilience of our economy in a time of global uncertainty," Albanese said. "What we want is a focused dialogue and constructive debate that leads to concrete and tangible actions." Albanese said his government's plan for economic growth and productivity was about Australians "earning more and keeping more of what they earn", and that it wanted to build an economy where "growth, wages and productivity all rise together". Labour productivity is a measure of how much output is produced per worker or per hour worked. Productivity growth occurs when workers are able to get more out of the same or shorter amount of time — such as though access to technologies that make their processes more efficient. Productivity is a long-term driver of a stronger economy and improved living standards overall. In Australia, however, productivity growth has been declining. In the year to March, productivity fell 1 per cent, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Economists have expressed concern about Australia's lagging productivity rate, and Chalmers has identified improving it as one of his key priorities, having called it the most significant structural problem facing the economy. Yes. In September 2022, during Albanese's first term as prime minister, the government similarly held a two-day Jobs and Skills Summit that brought together business and union leaders and other key stakeholders. Albanese lauded the outcomes of the summit during his Press Club address, saying that without it, Australia would have a greater skills shortages, no free TAFE program, and no financial incentives for workers in the construction and energy fields. "We wouldn't have those issues being addressed and a more rational discussion as well about the role that migration plays in that," Albanese said. However, Albanese said that the roundtable would be a "more streamlined dialogue" than the summit. Press Club president Tom Connell said to Albanese that in the wake of the Jobs and Skills Summit, some business leaders felt outcomes were slanted towards the priorities of unions. "We're a Labor government. We support unions existing," Albanese replied. "But we will always respect both the role of business and the role of unions. And one of the things that I say is that there are common interests ... you don't get union members unless you've got successful employers. It's the private sector that drives an economy. "What the public sector should do is facilitate private sector activity and private sector investment, and that's what my government is focused on." Albanese said he supports penalty rates and real wages increasing, and said the government would not "abandon" workers "getting a fair crack for their contribution". "What we do support is companies being successful. We support proper negotiation between workers and businesses to achieve productivity improvements. And we support living standards not going backwards." Chalmers is set to give his own National Press Club address next week. Albanese said the Treasurer would give more details about the roundtable during that speech. — With additional reporting by the Australian Associated Press
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
F1 Australian Grand Prix confirmed as first race of the 2026 championship
Formula 1's new era will begin in Melbourne after the Australian Grand Prix was confirmed as the first race of the 2026 season. F1 will go through a massive change in 2026, with the introduction of Cadillac as the 11th team on the grid, as well as an overhaul of the sport's technical regulations. Audi will also make their debut in F1, taking over Sauber at the end of 2025. The 2026 Australian Grand Prix weekend will be held at Albert Park from Thursday, March 5 to Sunday, March 8. Melbourne's Albert Park circuit hosted the opening round of the 2025 season, with the estimated weekend attendance of 465,498 becoming a new record at the venue. "The Formula 1 calendar announcement is always an exciting moment, and in the coming weeks we will be sharing on-sale dates for tickets to the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix 2026, which we know will be eagerly anticipated," Australian Grand Prix Corporation CEO Travis Auld said. "There is something special about being the first race of the season, and we're looking forward to sharing that with hundreds of thousands of fans once again in 2026." F1 released the full 24 weekend calendar on Tuesday, with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to be the season finale on December 6. Madrid is the newest addition to the circuit list, with Italy's famed Imola circuit, home of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, falling off the calendar. F1 has had 10 teams on the grid since the 2013 season. The introduction of Cadillac and Audi as teams highlights the popularity F1 has enjoyed over the past decade. American auto giant Ford will also rejoin F1 for the first time since 2004, partnering with Red Bull on their powertrains. McLaren driver Lando Norris won this year's Australian Grand Prix, ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Mercedes driver George Russell. Hometown hope Oscar Piastri, who leads the F1 championship heading into this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix, spun late and finished ninth in Melbourne.
The Age
an hour ago
- The Age
Average Australian home value passes record $1 million
The value of an average Australian home has soared through the $1 million mark for the first time despite a slowdown in growth as the Albanese government fights to contain the housing affordability crisis. Fresh figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday showed the average Australian home was worth $1,002,500 in the March quarter, up $6900 from the last three months of 2024. The total value of the country's $11.4 trillion residential housing market climbed $131 billion – or 1.2 per cent – in the first three months of the year. All states and territories recorded growth in the March quarter, but the annual growth rate slowed to 5.9 per cent, down from 9.5 per cent at the same time last year. It came as the number of residential homes grew to 11.3 million, up 53,400 from the December quarter. The Albanese government, which swept into its second term on an overwhelming majority, has promised to improve housing affordability. However, its own independent adviser, the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council, warned that the Labor government's National Housing Accord was set to fall 262,000 short of its 1.2 million target for new homes by the end of the decade. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, speaking at the National Press Club on Tuesday, said a key barrier to affordable housing was red tape. 'One of the things that we have to do is to make it easier,' he said. 'Developers say that it's just too complex [and it] adds to costs as well.'
