Joe Hockey says bills drop 10.7% from 1 July
joe hockey is on the agenda as Chris Bowen said household electricity bills will drop from 1 July under new default market offer rules for 2026-27. He said some east coast households will see cuts of up to 10.7%, while some small businesses will get relief of up to 20%.
Chris Bowen and 2026-27
Bowen fronted the media on the latest default market offer for 2026-27 and tied the lower bills to changes taking effect from 1 July. He said increased renewable energy and batteries in the system have led to the bill relief.
“We’ve always said renewable energy is the cheapest form of energy, it’s the fastest to deploy. It’s more reliable. Coal breaks down every day and when coal breaks down bills go up.” Bowen said.
The minister also said he had made his expectations on emissions reductions with emitters “crystal clear both publicly and privately.” Asked about a leaked internal BHP memo, he said BHP must abide by the government's safeguard mechanism.
East Coast Households
The most immediate change for households is the 1 July start date. Bowen said the new default market offer rules will take effect then, and that is when the bill reductions begin to show up for customers on the east coast.
The figures he gave set the scale of the change. Some households will see bills fall by up to 10.7%, while some small businesses will see relief of up to 20%.
North Sydney Pool
North Sydney mayor Zoë Baker also addressed a separate council milestone after the formal handover of keys from the contractor to the council. She said, “The keys are with council staff. It is a significant milestone and it represents the transition from construction to operational readiness ahead of reopening to the community.”
Baker said the pool first opened in 1936 and will reopen to the public on Friday 7 August 2026 during its 90th anniversary year. The reopening follows a major refurbishment that began in 2021, after the pool was due to reopen in 2022 and its delays and ballooning costs reached $122m.
For households watching power bills, the next fixed date is 1 July. For council users in North Sydney, the reopening date is Friday 7 August 2026, when the pool is set to return to public use after years of delay.
