‘Hopeless’: Kean fires back at Minister over heat pump fiasco

Matt Kean has launched into Analouk Chanthivong after a spokesman for the NSW Fair Trading Minister accused Mr Kean of making an “utter mess” of a government scheme which allowed heat pumps to be installed for free.

The Minns government has blamed former energy minister Matt Kean (left) for the ‘mess’ in the heat pump industry.

Matt Kean has ripped into Analouk Chanthivong after a spokesman for the NSW Fair Trading Minister accused Mr Kean of making an “utter mess” of a government incentive created to provide people with cheap access to hot water systems.

Responding to the major criticism, Mr Kean told this masthead: “apparently we have reached peak Minns Government - they can’t get the trains to run on time (if at all), they’re failing to deliver any housing, they’re forced to open a series of Coalition projects, they’ve blown the budget, they’re raising taxes, workers across the state are striking and the union is in charge.”

“So they send out a hapless and hopeless Fair Trading Minister to attack the previous government’s cost of living measures. I suppose I should congratulate Minister Chanthivong for his first act as Minister after more than two years in charge, but it’s hard to when he evidently lacks the conviction to launch the attack himself and is, true to form, hiding behind a spokesperson” Mr Kean said.

It comes after the Minns Government announced a compliance blitz and vowed to protect consumers from the sale of dodgy heat pumps, blaming the former Liberal Energy Minister for the fiasco.

A major investigation by The Telegraph has uncovered shocking examples of dangerous installations, poor-quality hot water systems and false advertising, a situation one expert described as “pink batts 2.0”.

Lucrative NSW discounts introduced by Mr Kean and the Coalition in early 2022 allowed a brand new heat pump unit - generally worth at least $1,500 - to be provided to a commercial business for free and sold in households for just $33.

The scheme, which encouraged people to replace their electric or gas hot water systems with an “energy-efficient” product, resulted in 120,000 heat pumps installed in just two years.

The NSW IPART issued a concerns notice about rorting and aggressive sales techniques in March 2023, a few weeks before Mr Kean and the Coalition were defeated at the state election.

The scheme wasn’t scaled back by the Minns Government until June 2024 when a mandatory co-payment of $200 was placed on all heat pump sales, while businesses were only required to prove their tradespeople license details from November last year.

Some of the horror stories highlighted by The Telegraph included a factory in the Southern Highlands gifted two heat free heat pumps, only for one to stop working almost immediately.

Another system in Prestons, which was installed without an invoice, was producing scalding-hot water of 60 degrees from the bathroom basin.

How The Daily Telegraph first reported on the heat pump fiasco on May 22.

Hot water running directly onto a powerpoint at a heat pump installed in Mona Vale.

In Mona Vale, resident Perry Walker said his new system was sold to them via a letterbox drop and had been “roaring” with noise, while failing to deliver the energy savings promised.

Responding to the multiple reports by this masthead over the past fortnight, NSW Energy Minister Penny Sharpe said she was concerned by the “unethical practices and poor-quality work”, revealing she would move to ban door-knocking from pesky salespeople and also introduce a five-year warranty on heat pumps.

A spokesman for NSW Fair Trading and Building Minister Anoulack Chanthivong added: “These examples of dodgy heat pumps are a hangover from the utter mess of a scheme that we inherited from Matt Kean.

“In light of recent media reports and updated briefings … Minister Chanthivong has urgently directed Building Commission NSW to launch a targeted compliance blitz on the installation of heat pumps” the spokesman said.

The inspections will focus on premises where the watchdog has “intelligence that potentially high-risk products have been installed.”

The Minns government will also review the current penalty regime and also consider dictating the heat pumps which are allowed to be sold.

A heat pump unit where the user controls are installed inside the unit next to live wires. Experts have warned this could lead to electrocution. Picture: Supplied

A heat pump installed inside a cupboard, - which technicians say offers very little energy savings due to the lack of open space. Picture: Supplied

Random audits from the Building Commission have already uncovered hot water compliance levels of between 9 and 37 per cent, while in March it issued a warning that some units had been installed “lacking the required Residual Current Devices (RCDs) ... mandatory for all electric circuits to mitigate electric shock risk”.

“Without RCDs, the safety of users is severely compromised” the Commission said.

Responding to the crackdown, the Australia and New Zealand Water Heating Association said it “applauded the government’s announcement”.

“We have been calling for reforms of this nature for some time, and congratulate the Minister’s on their decision.”

Mr Kean, who is now chair of the Commonwealth Climate Change Authority, continued his criticism via social media on Saturday afternoon, stating: “today after more than half a term in office, Labor MP Analouk Chanthivong bravely admitted to The Daily Telegraph that the Minns Government had done nothing in more than two years to change an energy rebate policy he considers a mess.

“This is triply brave because Mr Chanthivong is essentially criticising himself as the relevant Fair Trading Minister who allegedly sat on his hands for the past couple of years...” Mr Kean said.

Mr Chanthivong declined to respond to Mr Kean’s comments.

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Originally published as ‘Hopeless’: Kean fires back at Minister over heat pump fiasco