SENATOR DEAN SMITH
ACTING SHADOW MINISTER FOR ENERGY AND EMISSIONS REDUCTION
SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE
LIBERAL SENATOR FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA
NO CHRISTMAS BILL RELIEF, JUST ONGOING ENERGY HARDSHIP FROM LABOR IN 2026
Christmas passed without the Albanese Government delivering the $275 power bill reduction it promised.
Instead, in a further demonstration of the negative impact Labor’s bungled energy policy is having on households and businesses, many Australians are entering the New Year paying higher prices and carrying more debt.
ABS inflation data released today reveals electricity prices surged by 19.7 percent in the year to November 2025, with an increase of nearly 7 percent between October and November alone.
The ACCC’s Inquiry into the National Energy Market report, launched at the end of last year, also confirmed electricity costs increased between 2024 and 2025.
Unsurprisingly, it has led to already struggling Australians falling deeper into debt.
Data released by the Australian Energy Regulator shows the confronting scale of growing debt being experienced by East Coast energy consumers.
The average residential energy debt for 2024-2025 was $1,367 – an increase of $381, or 38.6 percent, since 2022-23 when the Albanese Government came to power.
Small businesses are similarly impacted, with the average energy debt sitting at $2,516, up from $2,458.
Contrasted with the average under the previous Coalition Government in 2020-2021, small businesses are now carrying an additional $388 in debt – an 18 percent rise in five years.
These figures do not capture those Australians on hardship plans.
Data from across the East Coast shows that 205,000 households were utilising hardship arrangements at the end of June 2025.
The AER reports that average residential electricity hardship debt for 2024-2025 is $2,102.
That represents a $415, or 19.3 percent, increase compared to 2022-2023.
In the last year, it jumped by nearly 25 percent.
The average residential gas energy debt for those on hardship programs was $947 for 2024-2025, up nearly 11 percent since 2022-23 and 16.6 percent in the past year.
Not only has the Albanese Government broken its promise, but this data is evidence that its failed, ideologically driven energy policy has pushed prices to crippling new heights and – unless significant changes are made – will continue to do so in 2026.
Comments attributable to Senator Dean Smith:
“This is not the beginning to the New Year Australian energy consumers deserved – or the one they were promised.”
“Labor has broken its commitment to deliver energy bill relief to Australians, while overseeing increases in both prices and debt that are pushing them to the edge.
“It is no coincidence that these increases have occurred since the Albanese came to Government in 2022 and began rolling out its misguided energy and emissions reduction policy.
“Until Labor adopts a sensible and responsible plan that puts Australian households and businesses first, this is what 2026 will look like for energy users.”
