South Australian pensioners to be $200 worse off when paying power bills unless state government covers gap

SA pensioners will be $200 worse off when they go to pay their power bills next year unless the state government steps in.

South Australian pensioners will be $200 worse off when they go to pay their power bills next year unless the state government steps in to fill a gap left by the federal budget.

Advocacy groups and pensioners are now pleading with the state government to provide further relief when the state budget is delivered next month.

The federal budget, delivered on Tuesday, included $300 in power bill relief for every Australian household next financial year.

But a scheme announced in last year’s state budget, jointly funded by the state and federal governments, had provided annual power bill reductions of $500 for an estimated 420,000 households in 2023-24.

Concession card holders and those who received family tax benefits in SA had been eligible to claim the rebate.

On Wednesday, Treasurer Stephen Mullighan would not commit to topping up the $300 subsidy to meet the $500 provided last year.

“How the state government chooses to provide its cost-of-living relief you’ll see in only three weeks time when I hand down the state budget,” he said.

He disagreed households would potentially be worse off if the state’s portion of the scheme does not roll over, pointing to other cost-of-living relief measures such as tax cuts.

But Council on the Ageing (COTA) SA CEO Miranda Starke said it was crucial that the state government step in.

“Many older South Australians, but particularly those on low and fixed incomes, are struggling to make ends meet and rising energy bills are major causes of this stress,” she said.

“While any energy bill discount is welcome, many older South Australians will be looking to the state budget to provide additional relief so they don’t have to make hard decisions about whether they heat or cool their home, put food on their table or fuel in their car.”

Single pensioner Susan Eldridge believed the energy the federal rebate didn’t go far enough given the price of groceries, petrol and other bills continued to increase.

“They (federal government) expect the money they give us is OK, but everything is going up and I’ve even got a small mortgage,” the 68-year-old said.

Ms Eldridge had hoped there would be a further increase to pension payments, which jumped by $20 a fortnight for singles in March.

“I worked my whole life to get the pension but I don’t think it’s very balanced,” Ms Eldridge, of Davoren Park, said. “It went up $20 last time but that doesn’t even cover my petrol – the cost of which has doubled – taking the grandkids to school.”

South Australian Treasurer Stephen Mullighan. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Mariuz

The federal budget did not include any extra funding for the stalled Tarrkarri Aboriginal cultural centre, fuelling doubt over the future of the project.

Mr Mullighan said discussions with the federal government and private financiers over funding arrangements had not concluded, and he was unsurprised it had been excluded.

“I’m not going to provide a running commentary on those discussions, I think they’re being held in good faith,” he said.

Construction on the centre began in December 2021 under the former Liberal government but was frozen in 2022 and reviewed – with the true cost of delivery found to be closer to $600m.

The budget reinstated $120m in funding for interchange upgrades at Verdun and Mount Barker, after they were cut in a 2023 federal government infrastructure spending review.

Kavel MP Dan Cregan said the funding would expand the Verdun interchange from its current single-direction to dual-directions.

The current interchange means trucks and cars travelling through the Adelaide Hills heading towards Murray Bridge need to go through Hahndorf or Littlehampton in order to get on the South Eastern Freeway.

Mr Cregan said plans for the Mount Barker interchange upgrade were “very advanced”.

“It is a reasonably good solution and I look forward to further detail being released publicly,” he said.

“The state can now have confidence in continuing that work.”