Tuesday, 16 June 2026

 Lily D’AMBROSIO (Mill Park – Minister for Climate Action, Minister for Energy and Resources, Minister for the State Electricity Commission) (14:29): I have some very good news. Victorians who work from home will soon have 3 hours of free power, saving them money on their electricity bills each and every day. We know that working from home works for families, which is why we are backing workers and protecting their right to work from home. Take one of my constituents. Felicity is a Mill Park mum with three young kids, and it was being able to work from home, as the Premier quite well knows, that got her back into the workforce. She got a job in admin for a small business and has worked her way to managing a team. Her husband Sam is a truck driver and is often away for long periods. It is families like these that our laws will protect. Felicity and Sam both support our laws because we are backing their right to work from home and balance life and work commitments and saving them money and time. Our new midday power saver will provide real cost relief for families just like Felicity’s. From 11 am to 2 pm, if they have opted in, any electricity they use will be free. That is up to $1102 per year in savings by shifting their power use into the free period.

What does that mean if you are working from home? Free power to heat and cool your home while you work, free power to run those online meetings and do your computer work and free power to run a load of laundry or the dishwasher during your lunchbreak. This is what they hate over there. The opposition hate this because we are putting at the front and centre of everything we do the cost of living for Victorian families. Only the Allan Labor government will back the right to work from home, keep power bills low and make life easier and more affordable for hardworking Victorian families like Felicity and Sam’s.