Victoria’s planned gas phase-out is becoming a key election issue, with the Coalition and One Nation pledging to wind back plans to stop new homes being connected to the gas pipeline.

But research and local examples show switching from gas to efficient electric appliances can cut household energy bills.

Introduced in 2022, the Victorian government’s Gas Substitution Roadmap, will require new homes to be all-electric from January 1 2027.

From March 1 2027, if an existing household gas hot water system fails and cannot be repaired, it must be replaced with an efficient electric alternative.

If you own a rental property, that extends to heating as well, should the system break and cannot be repaired.

Canterbury resident Julie Mulhauser said her family electrified their 1977 home in 2020, adding insulation and rooftop solar alongside electric appliances and hot water.

“We reduced our energy consumption by 80 percent, and half of that remaining 20 percent we produced from our panels,” she said.

The founder of electrification support company Powrhouse, Tim Johnston, replaced the gas hot water heater at his family’s Balwyn home in February 2025 with an electric heat pump system.

After looking at 12 months of energy bills before and after the installation, he estimated the change had saved his household $580 a year.

Johnston said there was “definitely” an increase in the interest from homeowners and renters in replacing gas water heaters with electric heat pumps.

“Everyone is interested in cheaper running costs … and reducing their bills,” he told the Eastern Melburnian.

Grattan Institute energy and climate change program director, Alison Reeve, said its 2023 research found Victorian households could save between $1,200 and $1,400 a year by replacing gas cooktops, water heaters and heating with efficient electric alternatives.

“The result of unwinding the gas roadmap for Victorians will be a higher cost of living for more households, particularly renters,” she said.

Environment Victoria senior climate and energy advisor, Kat Lucas-Healey said research showed replacing an old gas appliance with a new one “locks in high bills for another 15 to 20 years”.

The Victorian Liberals have promised to abandon the requirement for households to replace broken gas hot water systems with an electric alternative.

The Coalition’s spokesperson on energy and emissions reduction, David Davis, said “Labor’s gas ban will cost many families tens of thousands of dollars”.

The Eastern Melburnian contacted Davis to seek clarification on the basis of these claims, but his office did not respond before publication.

One Nation has also pledged to scrap restrictions on gas connections in new homes, but has not detailed its position on existing gas systems.

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Knox City Council has approved a $2.18 million, 650-metre footpath in The Basin that will total costs as much as 10 times more than normal urban pavement – but part of the project is banking on a $509,000 federal grant.

During a council meeting on Monday September 28, councillors passed a motion to lock in $400,000 in the 2026/27 budget and $1.1 million in the 2027/28 budget to extend the footpath near Wicks Road to the bus stop outside 1405 Mountain Highway.

The second stage of the development, from the bus stop to the intersection of Mountain Highway and Claremont Avenue, was allocated $171,000 in the 2027/28 budget.

This leaves a shortfall of $509,000 to complete the entire project – money the council must ask the federal government for.

Works on connecting The Basin to properties north began in 2018, when the council built a $365,000 footpath link along Mountain Highway.

In the 2024/25 budget, the council allocated a further $300,000 towards designing the extra $2.18 million extension.

According to the council report, the project would cost about eight to 10 times more than a typical urban footpath, due to the site’s steep terrain requiring additional works such as retaining walls and planned tree removals and relocations.

The first stage would support 240 properties, while the second stage would connect about 40 to 50 additional dwellings.

The council pushed a number of footpath projects further down the line to create the funding for the Mountain Highway project, including sections along Dorset Road in Boronia and Bayswater and Alfred Street and William Street in Upper Ferntree Gully.

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What would you do with a long abandoned netball court? For a group of Mooroolbark locals, the answer seems obvious. But for the local council, things aren’t so simple.

McDermott Avenue Reserve is a 1.726-hectare site, including 10 deteriorating netball courts which have sat vacant for the past 11 years.

Yarra Ranges Shire Council endorsed a $7.5 million master plan in July, including ripping up the netball courts and retaining it as parkland, but the full delivery is not expected until June 2041 and relies on securing state and federal grants.

Mooroolbark community advocate James Carpenter said he wanted the site rehabilitated sooner.

“By the time this is finished, my kids will be adults,” he told the Eastern Melburnian. “In the short term, it'd just be nice to see the council at a minimum rip up all the bitumen, put in natural surfaces and plant some trees.”

The Lilydale and Yarra Valley Netball Association relocated to Kilsyth in 2015, leaving the McDermott Avenue Reserve courts vacant and prompting council to consider selling it for housing.

Community advocacy later sparked a 2025 feasibility study, which found the area was still needed for local open space.

The council has invested $140,000 in the 2025/26 financial year towards early works, including the demolition of the pavilion.

In the council’s 2026/27 budget, it has allocated a further $775,000 for detailed design and contract documents for the first stage of works, which include initial ground works.

Stage 1 is estimated to cost about $2.7 million and would require at least $1.7 million in state grant funding. The council has applied for $250,000 in the latest round of the state government’s Pick My Park program.

Even if it receives this funding, the first stage won't be delivered in full before mid-to-late 2027.

The remaining stages are estimated to cost $4.8 million and will also depend on future advocacy and funding requests.

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Question 1: The Brisbane Lions won the 2026 Grand Final on Saturday. Which Victorian team merged with the Brisbane Bears to create the team in July 1996?

A: The Fitzroy Football Club

Question 2: Which iconic tea house in the Hills is for sale?

A: Miss Marple’s Tearoom in Sassafras

Question 3: Which suburb hosted Australia’s first 7-11 store, opening in August 1977?

A: Oakleigh

Question 4: Which Hollywood movie star attended Heathmont College?

A: Chris Hemsworth (as well as brothers Liam and Luke)

Question 5: Which claymotion film from 2009 was set in Mount Waverley?

A: Mary and Max