{"id":814128,"date":"2026-07-21T10:07:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T10:07:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/814128\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T10:07:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T10:07:23","slug":"australians-sick-and-tired-of-bill-increases-as-they-abandon-support-for-net-zero-affordable-energy-australia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/814128\/","title":{"rendered":"Australians ‘sick and tired’ of bill increases as they abandon support for net zero: Affordable Energy Australia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Australians are “sick and tired” of rising bills, as new polling has exposed growing concerns over the cost of the energy transition.<\/p>\n

According to new polling, the majority of Australians are unwilling to pay anything extra to achieve net zero amid a nationwide cost of living crisis.<\/p>\n

More than half of Australians said they would not be prepared to pay $1 more to support the transition to net zero, according to the Affordable Energy Australia (AEA) poll.<\/p>\n

The Compass Polling research found 51.7 per cent of Australians were unwilling to pay anything extra for net zero, while 73.8 per cent said they would not pay more than $50.<\/p>\n

Among Australians who paid electricity bills, the average amount respondents said they were willing to contribute was equivalent to around 5 per cent of their annual power bill.<\/p>\n

This was despite the CSIRO predicting in its 2025-26 GenCost report that achieving net zero in the electricity system alone would increase costs by 13 to 29 per cent.<\/p>\n

AEA spokesperson Zoe Hilton told Sky News host Peta Credlin Australians are “sick and tired” of bill increases under Labor.<\/p>\n

“Governments across Australia have been pushing net zero for so long, and they’ve been promising people ‘this will make your bills cheaper’,” she said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

“The CSIRO has said this seven years straight: Renewables are the cheapest form of energy.<\/p>\n

“We’ve had bill increase after bill increase. They are not delivering cheaper bills for Australians, and Australians are sick and tired of it.<\/p>\n

“We need affordability first in our energy system. We don’t want ideology. We want economics.”<\/p>\n

The polling also found just 27.6 per cent of Australians trusted the CSIRO to accurately estimate the cost of reaching net zero.<\/p>\n

Forty-two per cent said they did not trust the organisation\u2019s estimates and 30.8 per cent were undecided.<\/p>\n

The CSIRO has faced criticism for its reporting methodologies, which have not always considered the total system cost of electricity<\/a> and the renewable transition.<\/p>\n

The results come amid an intensifying political battle over the cost and reliability of Australia\u2019s energy transition.<\/p>\n

The Albanese government has legislated net zero emissions targets by 2050 through the Climate Change Act 2022, betting the country\u2019s future on renewables.<\/p>\n

Labor argues renewable energy, backed by storage and firming technologies, will deliver a more reliable and affordable electricity system over time.<\/p>\n

By contrast, the Coalition has argued Australia needs to prioritise affordability, reliability and traditional baseload power over the renewables transition.<\/p>\n

The Coalition has said it will take an \u201cenergy agnostic\u201d approach to the grid, and has promised to remove the moratorium on nuclear energy.<\/p>\n

One Nation has called for the expansion of coal-fired power and the end of subsidies for wind and solar projects.<\/p>\n

\"Chris<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Affordable Energy Australia has warned that one in five households are experiencing energy hardship or are on the brink of it.<\/p>\n

AEA says the average household energy debt has reached $1,367, while electricity prices have increased by 220 per cent since 2004.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything, manufacturing, it all comes down to the cost of energy, the cost of energy is the cost of everything,\u201d Ms Hilton said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to bring back affordability, not ideology\u2026 We need engineering, we need economics, we need affordability.\u201d<\/p>\n

The polling comes after the release of the CSIRO\u2019s latest GenCost report, which examined the future cost of the electricity system under different emissions scenarios.<\/p>\n

AEA criticised the report\u2019s findings and presentation, arguing Australians had not been given a full picture of the costs associated with achieving net zero.<\/p>\n

\u201cCSIRO should serve every Australian, but has now betrayed their trust by conforming their analysis to government policy,\u201d Ms Hilton said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s shocking that our foremost scientific agency could try to hide the truth from everyday Australians when energy prices are cutting so deep.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAustralia needs an energy plan that puts affordability first, restores trust, and keeps every option on the table.\u201d<\/p>\n

The AEA is calling on Australians to sign a\u00a0national petition<\/a>\u00a0demanding the nation’s leaders prioritise affordable, reliable energy.<\/p>\n

Electricity generation costs are forecast to increase sharply after 2030 as Australia replaces coal-fired power stations,\u00a0according to new modelling from the CSIRO<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The latest report from the science agency and the Australian Energy Market Operator projects generation costs will sit between $80 and $90 per megawatt hour this decade.<\/p>\n

However, they will climb to an average of $125 per megawatt hour by 2050 under a net zero pathway.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Australians are “sick and tired” of rising bills, as new polling has exposed growing concerns over the 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