Barnett referring low income Tasmanians to loan scheme despite empty pot

• Tasmanian Energy Efficient Loans Scheme not for low income families
• No Interest Loans Scheme ran dry a month ago
• Barnett can’t explain why he is referring Tasmanians to program that is fully subscribed
Energy Minister Guy Barnett is continuing to direct low income households to an energy efficiency loans scheme despite the fact funds are not currently available.
Shadow Resources Minister Shane Broad said despite admitting to Estimates today that the No Interest Loans Scheme (NILS) was fully subscribed, Mr Barnett had as recently as last week encouraged Tasmanians to apply as the peak winter season approached.
Dr Broad said NILS – which the government has promoted as a scheme to fund 50 per cent of the purchase costs of energy efficiency appliances up to $3,000 – was also a lower cost program than the Tasmanian Energy Efficiency Loans Scheme (TEELS) which funded products up to $10,000 for higher income households.
“When I wrote to Minister Barnett recently enquiring about TEELS, he confirmed it was not designed for low income Tasmanians and suggested I refer low income houses to NILS,” Dr Broad said.
“Today, Minister Barnett has confirmed that NILS is fully subscribed and has been for over a month and will not be topped up until next year.
“It’s not good enough that the Liberal Government and Minister Barnett would tell low income families facing winter that they should apply for a heating loans scheme that they cannot access.
“Minister Barnett needs to explain why he would so willingly disappoint Tasmanians by allowing them to believe they can access loans which are not available and have not been available for some time now.”
Shane Broad MP Shadow Resources Minister