Federal Budget: Struggling Aussies to get $125 for power bills

Almost a million Victorian battlers will receive cash handouts in Tuesday’s federal Budget to help struggling families cover the cost of soaring power bills.

Almost a million Victorians will receive cash handouts in Tuesday’s Budget to help struggling families cover the cost of soaring power bills.

The Sunday Herald Sun can reveal the one-off Energy Assistance Payment of $75 for singles and $125 for couples will be deposited into the bank accounts of veterans, carers, single parents, aged pensioners and people receiving the disability support pension, before July.

About 3.9 million of Australia’s most vulnerable people will receive the cash boost, including 585,359 Victorians receiving the age pension, more than 50,000 single parents across the state and 69,445 carers.

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As the Coalition looks to shore up support from older voters, government sources confirmed the Budget would also include thousands of in-home care packages to keep the elderly in their homes longer.

Struggling households will bet a cash handout of up to $125 to help with energy bills.

The Sunday Herald Sun has confirmed the power bills handout was first put to Cabinet in August under former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull as a way of easing cost-of-living pressures on vulnerable Australians who might miss out on income tax cuts.

Under Mr Turnbull’s proposal, which was rejected by Cabinet, pensioners would receive a one-off payment of $75 for singles and $125 for couples alongside new powers for the competition watchdog to cap default power prices.

Several ministers confirmed to the Sunday Herald Sun that the government had also considered pushing energy giants to match the handout and had begun consultations with the industry.

It is believed then-treasurer Scott Morrison voted against the proposal because he thought it would be better to wait until closer to the election.

“There was so much noise about leadership, everyone thought it’d be lost,” one Cabinet minister said.

It is estimated about a quarter of all voters will receive the payment, which will cost the Budget $285 million. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the “hip-pocket boost” will help cover the next energy bill and ease cost-of-living pressures.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government will hand down the federal Budget next week. Picture: AAP

“It will particularly support older Victorians, with the payments to be provided to more than 580,000 Victorians on the age pension,” he said.

“We understand that the cost-of-living pressures are a very real challenge for many Victorians. This is why we have worked hard to deliver a strong economy and a balanced budget so we can deliver this assistance.”

The cash handout comes a year after the government banked savings in its last Budget by removing the energy supplement, worth up to $366 a year, despite it never passing the Senate. The Coalition spent more than two years trying to remove the payment, which was designed to help new welfare recipients pay power bills, before abandoning the plan in the final days of the Turnbull government.

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Originally published as Federal Budget: Struggling Aussies to get $125 for power bills