To protect the climate and our health, we need to get off gas.
Gas is a polluting fossil fuel, just like coal, and is a leading cause of the climate crisis. Gas isn’t just fuelling climate change, it’s also expensive and bad for our health. Research shows using gas in our homes causes up to 12% of childhood asthma.[1] Around 450,000 South Australian homes are currently locked into this expensive and dangerous fossil fuel.[2]
Providing rebates to support homeowners and landlords to replace old gas appliances with new efficient electric ones will help ease the cost of living while also tackling climate change. These rebates and loans should cover some of the replacement cost of gas heating, cooking, hot water, and rewiring for items such as reverse cycle air-conditioners, solar/heat pump hot water heating, induction cooktops, and rewiring costs. Studies have shown that going gas-free could save South Australian households up to $5000 on energy bills over ten years.[3]
Cities and countries around the world, including the Netherlands, Norway, New York City, Quebec and a new suburb in the ACT, are going gas-free. In July 2022 the Victorian Government committed to removing requirements forcing all new homes to connect to gas by 2025.
Fixing our homes and making them all-electric by removing gas will save households money, help our health, and make a big dent in South Australia’s emissions. The Greens will introduce a bill to ban gas connections to new homes from 2025 so owners aren’t locked into using a polluting fossil fuel.
The South Australian Government should be doing all it can to support consumers to transition away from gas, but instead the Malinauskas Government has axed both the Switch for Solar program and Home Battery Scheme in the 2022 State Budget. The Greens are calling on the State Government to:
- Back the Greens’ bill to ban gas connections to new homes from 2025
- Provide rebates to support homeowners, including landlords, to replace old gas appliances with new efficient electric ones
- Restore the Switch for Solar program and Home Battery Scheme to support homeowners to transition away from gas
[1] Climate Council, ‘Kicking the Gas Habit: How Gas is Harming our Health’, https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/gas-habit-how-gas-harming-health/#mr
[2] Energy Networks Australia, https://www.energynetworks.com.au/resources/fact-sheets/reliable-and-clean-gas-for-australian-homes-2/
[3] Grattan Institute, ‘Flame out: the future of natural gas’, https://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Flame-out-Grattan-report.pdf