Terang residents discuss rising energy costs with Angus Taylor

Ray and Mary Worland spoke about the rising cost of their bill during former energy minister Angus Taylor and Member for Wannon Dan Tehan's visit to the Terang RSL on Tuesday, August 29.

About 30 people attended the community meeting with a number of residents saying their gas bills had risen.

With the only option for gas in Terang being Tas Gas, some residents have turned to alternatives, including solar panels or having gas bottles delivered from elsewhere to keep their costs down.

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Mr Worland said their gas bill was about $460 in July, jumping to about $860 in August.

"We've always had the gas heating but it's gone up a lot since we've gone to Tas Gas (in 2014), it's more than doubled," he said.

"I was happy with the price but it's gone up in big steps and we haven't done anything different."

Mr Worland said they used gas for cooking and heating, with the cost rising over the past three months.

"We've just been shocked these last couple of months," he said.

The retirees said gas was one of the bigger bills they paid when it came to the cost of living.

"It's sort of hard because with COVID and everything, it's just one thing on top of another now, isn't it?" Mrs Worland said.

"We just don't shop as much, we used to do a big shop whereas now I've cut back our shopping for just our groceries and everything."

Mr Taylor said small businesses and residents were concerned about the rising cost of energy.

Mr Tehan said it was important for Mr Taylor to understand the enormous pressures residents felt in the region, from the cost of running a business to the impact felt around the kitchen table.

He said the state and federal governments had to work on sorting the issue.

"With our economy slowing, Australians now losing jobs, productivity falling, flatlining gross domestic product growth and a year of real wage decline, it is timely Angus visited some of our businesses in Wannon and heard from them directly," Mr Tehan said.

A spokesperson for Climate and Energy minister Chris Bowen responded to the claims saying they understood the rising energy prices was one of the big challenges Australian families and businesses faced.

"That's why we took immediate action to cap the prices of coal and gas and to deliver energy rebates which have started to flow to five million households and one million small businesses from July," the spokesman said.

"This is relief the opposition have vowed to repeal to this day - and would result in hundreds of dollars extra families would have to pay on their bills.

"Because of the government's Energy Price Relief Plan, retail electricity prices are around 25 percentage points less than was expected before our intervention - and for those eligible for rebates in many jurisdictions, rises will be completely offset with direct bill rebates."

The Standard also reached out to treasurer Jim Chalmers.

During his visit to the region, Mr Taylor also visited Timboon Railway Shed Distillery to discuss the 2.2 per cent 'beer tax' hike that came into effect on August 1, with owner and distiller Josh Walker.

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