The NSW families who have just had a $65 hit to their electricity bills
The energy rebate for low-income families with concession cards has been slashed from $350 per year to $285 this financial year. The medical energy rebate, which helps those with certain medical conditions that require extra energy use for treatment, was cut from $350 to $200.
The family energy rebate, which applies to Family Tax Benefit recipients, was cut from $250 per year to $180. The seniors energy rebate has also been reduced from $250 to $180.
The gas rebate remains unchanged at $110 per household.
The rebates were increased last year following a $100 million budget injection, which the state government has chosen not to continue. This year's budget papers show cutting the benefit to low-income families will save $55 million alone.
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The NSW opposition has seized on the cuts as evidence the state government isn't doing enough to combat the cost of living.
'When the cost of everything is going up, cutting cost-of-living relief isn't just out of touch, it's the wrong priority. Chris Minns should be making life easier, not harder,' opposition leader Mark Speakman said.
A spokesperson for Energy Minister Penny Sharpe said the rebates were returning to previous levels.

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ABC News
10 hours ago
- ABC News
NSW government kills debate on protesters paying for police presence after exceeding cap
A renewed push to limit activists to staging three protests a year with taxpayer-funded crowd control has been shut down by the NSW government. After the weekend's pro-Palestinian march over Sydney Harbour Bridge, Shadow Attorney-General Alister Henskens attempted to bring on debate for a bill — first introduced in February — that proposed a 'user pays' system for protest organisers after reaching a cap. "This bill is not taking any side on the issues that were subject of the protest on Sunday," Mr Henskens told parliament. "The current legislation does not give any guidance to courts as to how they are to determine the public interest. "What we've seen is millions of dollars being spent on policing instead of on health, education and public transport. There's been a huge drain on our policing resources." But the government voted against debating the proposal on Tuesday, effectively killing the bill. The proposal could have forced protest organisers to pay or contribute to the cost of policing after three annual protests. Premier Chris Minns said the "strong view" of senior government counsel was that it could be "unconstitutional". However, he has not ruled out legislation to prevent regular protests that disrupt "critical infrastructure" like the harbour bridge, following the Supreme Court decision on Saturday for the march to go ahead. "We can't have open season on the bridge. We need to have some kind of orderly process where we balance people's rights to have a protest in Sydney — it's a big international city — without closing down critical infrastructure," Mr Minns told radio station 2GB. "I want to make sure my ducks are in a row ... I'm not ruling out legislation. "I realise that will be controversial, but I think even a lot of people that were at the protest on Sunday would appreciate that you can't knock the bridge out every weekend." NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said it was a fair demand that, after three free demonstrations, the right to protest was balanced against cost to taxpayers and diversion of police resources. "We offered the government a way to strike a fair balance when it comes to protest law," Mr Speakman said. "The right to protest is fundamental in a liberal democracy, but it's not an absolute right. "It has to be balanced against public safety, against the diversion of police resources, against the cost to the taxpayer and against the right of other citizens to use their public infrastructure and go about their daily business." In the lead-up to the protest, Mr Minns faced internal criticism from Labor MPs who suggested political overreach after he stated the bridge march should not go ahead. Two of his ministers, Penny Sharpe and Jihad Dib, joined the protest on Sunday, as did several MPs including Julia Finn, Lynda Voltz, Stephen Lawrence and Anthony D'Adam. While the government is reviewing the Supreme Court's judgement, legal expert Simon Rice from Sydney Law School described the decision as "unremarkable". Professor Rice said Justice Belinda Rigg ultimately decided freedom of expression in this case outweighed NSW Police's public safety concerns. "It's another in a string of decisions the Supreme Court makes from time-to-time when police are concerned about safety and it weighs up competing considerations," he said. "It's not a special decision except that it was on the harbour bridge. "A future protest could be on the harbour bridge, but that depends on the factors the court weighs up next time."

News.com.au
12 hours ago
- News.com.au
‘Short sighted': Unions concerned about flood resilience after latest NSW job cuts
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News.com.au
12 hours ago
- News.com.au
NSW Premier Chris Minns praises Port Arthur response amid pressure over Shooters' reform bill
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