The Australian Federal Government formally announced a couple of hours ago a decision to not proceed with the insulation component of the Renewable Energy Bonus Scheme (REBS).
The insulation component of the scheme was due to restart on 1 June 2010. However, the Government has stated the Solar Hot Water Rebate component will proceed as previously announced.
Under the new Renewable Energy Bonus scheme, $1000 rebates are now available for eligible solar hot water systems and $600 rebates for heat pump systems. Current additional state government solar hot water rebates will also still apply.
A report by Dr Allan Hawke into the Home Insulation Program (HIP) played a key role Government’s decision to not proceed with the insulation aspect of the Renewable Energy Bonus Scheme.
Dr. Hawke expressed grave concerns that the safety and quality risks “cannot be fully abated”. Dr Hawke’s report will be tabled in the Parliament today and made available publicly.
In addressing the problems of the previous scheme, the Government will continue its Home Insulation Safety Program (HISP) and the Foil Insulation Safety Program (FISP). Uder the HISP, safety inspections of a minimum of 150,000 homes that had non-foil insulation installed will be performed. Umder the FISP, the 50,000 homes with foil insulation installed will have the choice of having the foil insulation removed, or based on the advice of a licensed electrician, having safety switches installed.
