Victorian Labor MPs and three crossbenchers have prevented an inquiry into the Solar Homes PV rebate fiasco occurring; giving the Andrews Labor Government breathing space it shouldn’t have.
Just to very briefly recap the Solar Homes saga to date as it has been going on for months:
- Victoria’s residential solar power industry was doing well prior to the rebate.
- When the rebate – which the sector didn’t ask for – was launched in August last year, demand for solar panels skyrocketed.
- Businesses grew and new businesses were established in the state.
- The scheme was suddenly paused in April and new solar power system sales plummeted.
- The rebate didn’t restart until July – and with a quota set not much higher than the level of installations that occurred in pre-rebate July 2018.
- July’s rebates were snapped up in 3 days.
- August’s rebate allocation was boosted by around 10%, but was gone in under two hours.
- Many Victorians are holding off on going solar until they can get a rebate.
- Some are also giving up due to the “click frenzy” approach and issues with the application process.
- Solar workers are losing their jobs and businesses are going broke.
The situation could be properly fixed, but the Andrews Labor Government has chosen not to at this point.
Opposition Pushes For Parliamentary Inquiry
As promised by Victorian Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien at the July solar rallyorganised by the Smart Energy Council, the Liberal Nationals attempted to establish a parliamentary inquiry into the management of the scheme. The move was defeated on Wednesday.
The crossbench MPs to vote against the inquiry were:
- Andy Meddick (Animal Justice Party)
- Fiona Patten (Reason Party)
- Catherine Cumming (Independent)
MPs that supported an inquiry were from the following parties:
- Justice Party
- Greens
- SFF Party
- Liberal Democrats
- Sustainable Australia
- Transport Matters
Continue reading at: https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/solar-homes-inquiry-mb1176/