Anthony Albanese delivers $100m energy boost for community centres

The federal government will spend $100m on delivering energy upgrades and bill savings for vital community organisations.

The federal government has announced a major new grants program that will spend $100m on energy upgrades to help bring down power costs for community facilities.

The Community Energy Upgrades Fund will co-fund the improvements alongside local councils to help facilities save on bills over the medium and long term.

Council pools, sporting clubs and community centres are among the facilities that will be eligible to receive an upgrade under the fund, which will begin to roll out before the end of the year.

“Our government is determined to seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity and transform Australia into a renewable energy superpower,” Mr Albanese said. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

They will only be available to facilities owned by local councils, which are used by eight million Australians.

They could include upgrades including replacing energy-intensive heating in council pools with heat pumps and energy efficient lighting and battery storage at sporting fields, libraries and community centres.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will on Friday address the Australian Council of Local Government, outlining the new funding and the relationship between the federal and local level of government.

“From addressing skills shortages, to being better prepared for natural disasters, delivering essential services, driving the transformation to clean energy and delivering secure and affordable housing for all, these are national priorities,” he will tell the conference.

“And local government has critical responsibilities in all of them.”

He says the new fund would help councils reduce their communities’ carbon footprints.

“This investment will help local councils save on their power bills while upgrading facilities that serve their communities,” he said.

“The Albanese government is committed to supporting local communities and this includes helping them save on energy and save on power bills.”

More than eight million Australians use community sport venues. Picture Glenn Campbell/Bagala Aboriginal Corp/Via NCA NewsWire

Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the upgrades would allow for more savings in the future.

“We want facilities that Australians know and love, like cricket grounds and local pools, to be able to save on their energy bills and spend more on the things they do best,” he said.

Where the money ends up is expected to be scrutinised following accusations of pork-barrelling by at he former Morrison government over community grant programs.

A report by the Australian National Audit Office into the community health and hospitals program found the Department of Health’s administration of the program was “ineffective and fell short of ethical requirements”.

Announced just five months before the 2019 election, the $1.24bn program was distributed to primary health networks and state governments to help ease pressure on health services.

High-impact energy upgrades will be made to pool heating systems, lighting for sports grounds and courts, new storage technology at community centres and libraries. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe

However, the auditor-general report found that grants were awarded inconsistently with the rules for awarding Commonwealth funds.

Just two of the projects were “highly suitable” for the funding according to the report.

Nearly half (45 per cent) were in marginal seats and more than 50 per cent of successful grant came from applications made outside the official expression of interest period.

Senator Michaelia Cash – the shadow Attorney-General – denied the scheme was a method of pork-barrelling in the lead-up to the 2019 election.

“That program itself was actually developed to deliver local health and hospital services in every state and territory,” she told ABC radio.

Originally published as Anthony Albanese delivers $100m energy boost for community centres