Open up your wallets Victorians, Premier Daniel Andrews has a little gift for you all. Every household is getting a pretty sweet $250 cost of living payment to help them get by. It’s a bloody good time to be in Victoria, I’ll tell you what.
The $250 payment from the Victorian Government was introduced by Dan Andrews on Monday. It’s a one-off handout that’s been titled the “Power Saving Bonus”, as it’s here to, you guessed it, help folks save on power.
With petrol, grocery and electricity prices growing at an astronomical rate, I’ll happily pocket this $250. Shit’s getting expensive all over the shop.
The Power Saving Bonus will kick off on July 1 and will run until June 30, 2023. It’s predicted to cost the Victorian Government around $250m.
To access your payment all you need to do is register on the Energy Compare website, which will encourage you to look at cheaper electricity prices and swap over to the one that saves you the most money.
According to the Vic government, switching to an energy deal that’s cheaper will save households an average of $330 a year. So in a way, you’re really getting $580. Not too shabby.
During a press conference on Monday Dan Andrews said that energy companies take advantage of households far too often, calling them “greedy”.
“I could describe them in other terms but I won’t,” said Andrews.
“But they do, I think, often trade off the fact that people are very busy and don’t have the time to shop around.
“This is practical action to put money in your pocket rather than that money being in the pockets of very big, you might say greedy, energy companies.”
If you’re wondering if you can get each member of your family of five to claim the bonus for a $1250 payday, the answer is no. The money is limited to a single house. It’s also encouraged that the money goes towards electricity bills. No faux mink coat for you, I’m sorry.
“The payment’s attached to the household, it would be highly unlikely that anyone would be able to claim it multiple times,” said Andrews.
Despite openly supporting the payout, Victorian Opposition Leader Matthew Guy came out of the woodworks to throw shade at Andrews. I guess it’s in his job title though, hey?
“Two hundred and fifty dollars … is a dollar for every day we’ve spent in lockdown,” Guy said.
“With Daniel Andrews, he gives with one hand and takes from the other, so who’d trust him not to up taxes to the take the money back?”
Financial support for people getting slammed by bills? We bloody love to see it.
