Lily D’Ambrosio keeps mum on gas upgrades at her six investment properties
On January 1, gas connections to new buildings requiring a permit became illegal in Victoria, but the minister responsible has avoided revealing arrangements at her six investment properties.
Victoria’s Energy Minister has refused to say if she has replaced gas appliances with electrical ones at any of the six investment properties in which she has an interest, claiming they are managed by trustees, not by her.
In response to questions from The Australian, in light of the Allan government’s gas policy – which banned gas connections to new buildings requiring a planning permit from January 1 – a spokeswoman confirmed Lily D’Ambrosio’s Brunswick residence, in Melbourne’s inner north, runs entirely on electricity, but said her “other registered properties” were “held and controlled by trustees”.
Ms D’Ambrosio’s parliamentary register of members’ interests entry shows her Brunswick home and six investment properties are all owned by the “CLS Family Trust”, which “holds and manages assets for (the) D’Ambrosio family”.
The government spokeswoman did not confirm whether or not the trustees who control the properties are family members, or explain how the properties being “held and controlled by trustees” would exempt the minister from knowing about or having influence over any appliance upgrades.
The investment properties include a second address in Brunswick, two in Fawkner and one in Carlton – all in Melbourne’s north – one in the Melbourne CBD and one in McCrae, on the Mornington Peninsula.
Opposition energy spokesman David Davis said it was important to note subsidies being provided under the Allan government’s gas substitution road map to help homeowners upgrade from gas to electrical appliances were being paid for through the electricity bills of everyone else, “including the most vulnerable, concession card holders and renters”.
“Many of these same people will find it difficult to fund a move to an all-electric house, but will still be required to pay for others to do so,” Mr Davis said.
“Ms D’Ambrosio needs to come clean on her plans for her six rental properties. When will she be converting them? And will there be any rise in the rents charged to defray the tens of thousands in appliance fees?
“Will she commit to only installing Australian products in these rental homes, noting that only 2-4 per cent of electrical home appliances are Australian-made, compared with roughly 50 per cent of gas.”
The government spokeswoman confirmed Premier Jacinta Allan – who does not own investment properties but maintains a primary residence at Sedgwick, in her Bendigo East electorate, and a secondary residence in the Melbourne CBD – runs an “all-electric home”.
“Our gas substitution road map encourages Victorians to transition to electricity over time – through subsidies, grants and support to replace outdated appliances at the end of their lives. We’re making it easier for Victorian households to come off gas,” she said.
Acting Premier Ben Carroll said he had recently bought an electric heat pump for his swimming pool, “and it has been the best investment we made in terms of being able to run a pool”.
“We are going through that process at the moment on what we can switch to electric. I would like to switch as much of our house to electric (as possible),” Mr Carroll said.
Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said her primary residence in Kyneton, in her central Victorian seat of Macedon, was a “relatively old house which has not been renovated for some time”.
“However, we did put in a much more efficient electrical heating and cooling system, though I still do have a gas heater, which is not unusual in very cold places like Kyneton,” she said.
“Looking to the future, I’m committed to transitioning to electricity when it’s appropriate to do so, when our appliances run their life course.”
Mr Carroll and Ms Thomas avoided commenting on arrangements at their second homes and investment properties, which in Mr Carroll’s case includes two investment properties in Moonee Ponds, and in Ms Thomas’s case includes a second home in Carlton North and investment properties in Northcote and North Melbourne.
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