2022-06-21
The Victorian Greens will today introduce a bill that would stop Victoria's planning laws from forcing new homes to connect to gas.
The Planning and Environment Amendment (Transition From Gas) Bill 2022 would also completely ban new gas connections from 2025.
Our state’s current planning laws still require all new homes where gas is available to be hooked up to the polluting fossil fuel.
This means that new housing developments that could be ‘all electric’ are forced to install gas, even if they don’t want to.
Cities and countries around the world including the Netherlands, Norway, New York, Quebec and a new suburb in the ACT, are going gas-free. This reform is well overdue in Victoria.
Recent reports have suggested the gas industry is gearing up for a fight to entrench more gas use in the state while household energy bills continue to skyrocket.
The Victorian Labor Government should be doing all it can to transition away from the polluting fossil fuel, yet instead Labor has shelved a gas substitution roadmap until after the election.
Victorian Greens acting climate spokesperson, Dr Tim Read, said burning gas wasn’t just a major cause of the climate crisis, but also extremely expensive and affecting the health of Victorians.
He said that by stopping new homes being forced to connect to the fossil fuel, it would help protect our climate and drive down household energy bills.
Quotes attributable to Victorian Greens acting climate spokesperson, Dr Tim Read:
“It’s ridiculous that Victorian laws are forcing new homes to connect to gas when we know how expensive, polluting and unhealthy it is.
“Cities and countries around the world are going gas free, yet Victoria is a laggard, forcing homes to be hooked up to gas.
“At a time when the gas industry is fighting tooth and nail to keep its foothold in Victoria, the Government should be doing all it can to transition away from the polluting fossil fuel.
“Our bill would update the planning laws so new homes are no longer forced to connect to gas, and would ban new gas connections entirely from 2025.
“This would help protect our climate and save Victorians households on their energy bills. It’s a win-win.