NSW households with feed-in tariffs on their rooftop solar power can expect no help with bill shock from the Baird or Turnbull governments

State of Play for NSW domestic solar power…….

REneweconomy, 1 September 2015:

The New South Wales pricing regulator has slashed the value of solar feed-in tariffs in the state in what appears to be a deliberate move to push consumers to adopt battery storage, and to lock in long-term deals with major retailers.

The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) on Monday announced in a draft determination that the recommended average tariff – which is voluntary anyway for electricity retailers  in NSW – had been cut by 14 per cent to an average 4.8c/kWh, the lowest in Australia.

The move will affect the more than 3,000 homes that add rooftop solar in NSW each month, and gives some indication of the tariffs awaiting the 160,000 homes on premium feed-in tariffs when those tariffs come to an end at the end of 2016.

IPART justified the cut – from an average 5.6c/kWh in the past year – on the basis that wholesale electricity prices had fallen because of a decline in expensive peak pricing events.

One of the principal reasons for this fall in wholesale prices is the proliferation of rooftop solar PV. IPART says solar PV has helped reduce the number of daytime peak pricing events in NSW and helped lower the average level of peak demand by 8 per cent….

But while solar households are having their tariffs cut because of falling wholesale prices, there is no sign that lower wholesale prices have been passed on to the general consumer. Retailers simply increase their margins on the “retail” component of the business to offset the lower revenue they get from their coal plant and other generators. All major retailers have increased their margins significantly in the past year.

ABC News, 19 July 2016:

Thousands of Australians will be hit by electricity bill shock of about $1,500 when generous solar feed-in tariffs are rolled back in coming months, consumer advocates have warned.

The tariffs were introduced for a set period to kickstart Australia's uptake of rooftop solar by offering money to solar users who fed energy back into the grid.

More than 275,000 households will be affected when the tariffs are unwound from September to January in New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria.

A new report that crunches the numbers on the financial impact shows 146,000 NSW customers will be the hardest hit…..

In NSW, the tariff will be wound back from 60 cents for all solar generation to 5.5-7.2 cents per kilowatt hour.

In Victoria, consumers who were paid 25 cents per kilowatt hour for excess solar fed into the grid will have that reduced to five cents and in South Australia the 16 cent tariff will fall to 6.8 cents.

The current NSW 60 cents tariff for all solar generation - 20 cents feed-in tariff (FiT) - gives a discount of est. 7 per cent on domestic electricity costs.

Current solar FiTs are ending for 275,902 households in New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria.

The change occurs for households with FiT contracts which commenced in :

2011 (standard tariff) South Australia the change occurs on 30 September 2016 – new minimum tariff 6.8 cents per kWh;

2010 (“Solar Scheme Tariff”) New South Wales the change occurs on 31 December 2016 – up to retailer to decide the offer which is unlikely to exceed 5 cents kWh ; and

2011 (transitional tariff) & 2012 (standard tariff) Victoria the change occurs on 31 December 2016  - new tariff 5 cents per kWh. “Premium FiT” contracts do not expire until 2024.

According to the Independent Pricing And Regulatory Tribunal an average two-person household in NSW uses approximately 1,400 kWh of electricity per quarter (90 days) or 15.55kWh per day.

If a North Coast residence is lucky enough to receive a full 6 hours of sunlight daily on its rooftop solar panel and has installed a 3.0kw or 4.0 kw model it could produce between 11.7 to 16.8kWh of electricity per day.

Even the most basic maths indicates that from 1 January 2017 for many of these coastal households the dollar margin between output and consumption will fall and at the end of each billing period there will be less income to compensate for their actual energy use plus the usual energy retailer’s service fees and charges.

As both the Baird and Turnbull governments appear to be captives of the coal and gas industries, 2017 is going to be a year of unexpected adjustment for many of those older residents in the Northern Rivers who fondly imagined that they were future proofing their retirement by entering solar feed-in tariff schemes in 2010.

The Total Environment Centre explains Life after FiTs.

Remedial Maintenance of Yamba Breakwater Wall from end July to Christmas 2016

NSW Dept. of Industry - Lands, fact sheet, July 2016:

Remedial Maintenance: Yamba Breakwater

NSW Department of Industry- Lands

The NSW Department of Industry - Lands (DoI Lands) is responsible for maritime assets along the NSW coast including 21 river entrance breakwaters.

The Yamba (Clarence South) Breakwater

The Yamba Breakwater situated on the Southern side of the Clarence River entrance was constructed between 1950 and 1971.The structure was built to protect the Clarence river entrance (largest river entrance in NSW) from the effects of waves and sand transport to allow safe navigability of the Clarence River channel extensively used for commercial fishing and recreational boating.

Purpose of the Works

The Yamba Breakwater undergoes routine condition assessments to identify the state of the asset. DoI Lands have identified the Breakwater as an at-risk structure due to the dilapidated state of the head section, a result of significant storm damage. In its current state, the structure is at risk of failure during a major coastal storm and poses threat to the public.

The proposed repair work will ensure the integrity of the structure remains, maintaining the navigability of the Clarence River channel. The work will also improve access along the crest for the general public after completion.

Description of the Works

The upgrade works are being undertaken by Haslin Constructions, who specialise in construction projects of all manners and size. The specifics of the works are:

1. Total estimated quantity of rock armour used for the repair is in excess of 50,000 tonnes.

2. Repair works cover the eastern most 750m of the Breakwater, addressing in particular the damaged areas of eastern most 100m of the Breakwater including the head.

3. All works will be undertaken from land, with the rock delivered by truck and placed by an excavator.

Timing of Works and Access

The offsite manufacturing of rock armour began in mid-July. Establishment on site is set to begin at the end of July.

The works on site including the preparation of breakwater access and laying of rock armour are proposed to begin in August with a completion date before Christmas 2016, weather permitting.

During construction works, various parts of the breakwater will be closed to public access. Outside of construction hours some sections of the breakwater may be open to the public unless there is safety or other issues requiring closure.

More Information

For more information contact Andy Hartley, DoI Lands Coastal Engineer, on 0417 639 305 or visit: www.crownland.nsw.gov.au

Queensland may be to blame for installing this particular senator but the rest of Australia appears very ready to take Hanson to task

This was Pauline Hanson after the 2 July 2016 Australian federal election......

News.com.au, 6 July 2016:

LOOK out newshounds, Pauline Hanson has put the media on notice.

The One Nation leader and soon-to-be Senator is fed up with how her return to parliament has been reported by the nation’s newspapers, and is threatening to withhold interviews throughout her senate term.

“Up to their old tricks again, I can’t believe it,” the straight talking politician said in a video shared with her Facebook fans.

“It’s like (the media) use me as a punching bag. Let’s have a swipe at her, let’s have a go, let’s sensationalise a story, use Pauline Hanson.

“Well guys, I’ll tell you something: not interested. And neither is the public.”

Ms Hanson said it was “no wonder” newspaper sales and TV ratings were declining.

“Because no one wants to know what you have to say because you can’t tell the truth. People are over it,” she said.

She warned her 130,000 followers on the social networking site not to believe what was written about her in newspapers, “unless you see me live on TV or hear me live on radio”.

Ms Hanson did not mention online news publications in her rant.

She recommended citizen journalism app Newzulu, which she claimed threatened the future of the media.

“It might be another way to go, then you won’t need media at all. You guys will all be out of a job,” she laughed.

“So what I’m saying is, get your act together. I could be in parliament for up to six years. I wouldn’t mind a working relationship with you. But if you’re not going to give me a fair go, don’t come knocking on my door, cause you ain’t going to get an interview out of me.”

And this was the rest of Australia......

Queensland Senator-elect Pauline Hanson has her policies dissected by Fact Check One Nation, registered by lawyer and writer Zaahir Edries on or about 16 July 2016:

You’re entitled to your opinion, unless it’s not based on facts. Senator-elect Pauline Hanson, leader of the far-right 'One Nation' party secured the required votes in Queensland and therefore has a legitimate right to represent her party in the Senate.

In a free and open democracy people are entitled to their opinions, however, politicians who occupy positions of power and responsibility must rise above divisive, inflammatory, baseless and unconstitutional rhetoric.

FactCheckOneNation is about moving past the political rhetoric and divisiveness. The website seeks to illuminate the substance and veracity of One Nation's policies and position statements.

We have sought to fact check each and every one of One Nation’s policy statements on Islam and Muslims to see how they stack up. You can find the responses here.

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party has a host of policy positions on Islam and Muslims – in fact she has dedicated a whole section to it on her website. We will shortly begin fact checking our way through the rest of One Nation's policies.

If you are interested in assisting us and holding One Nation to account, please contact us at admin@factcheckonenation.com.au …..

http://www.factcheckonenation.com.au/
Click on image to enlarge

ABC TV Q&A audience question 18 July 2016:

ISLAMOPHOBIA & MY SON
KHALED ELOMAR asked: Senator Hanson, my 11yr old son, who is watching this program right now, recently asked me “what is Islamophobia?”
Rather than explaining it to him with my own words, he and I sat side by side and watched a few of your past and current videos.
Then I asked him what do you think Islamophobia is? His response was “someone that hates us?”…. I said Islamophobia is one or a combination of the 3 things HATE, FEAR or IGNORANCE.
I promised him that I will ask you this question so he can hear your answer directly. So, with all due respect, what is the basis of your islamophobic feelings? Hate, Fear or Ignorance?

ABC News, 18 July 2016:

Up to six people were arrested when hundreds of rival protesters gathered ahead of an appearance by One Nation leader Pauline Hanson on ABC's Q&A program.

About 60 officers, some on horseback, separated about 200 anti-Hanson protesters from up to 60 of her supporters outside the main entrance to the ABC building in Ultimo on Monday night.

Counting the coins as we wait for the 45th Parliament to commence

Before Malcolm Turnbull (as prime minister of a government in the third and final year of its first term in office) called a double dissolution election, the last Dept. of Finance Australian Government General Government Sector Monthly Financial Statement due was for May 2016 and, this revealed an underlying cash balance for the 2015-16 financial year to 31 May 2016 which was in deficit to the tune of $34,860 million.

With Income, Expenses & Debt Year to Date May 2016 coming in at:

total government revenue - $360,209 million of which $340,866 million was taxation revenue

total expenses - $388,061 million leaving a shortfall of $27,852 million

public debt interest - $14,101 million

net government debt - $284,657 million.

The June figures are yet to be published and it will be a case of track the Dept. of Finance website for the next three years as the Liberal-Nationals Coalition fails yet again to reign in its own discretionary spending.

Meanwhile Prime Minister-elect Turnbull - in an election so close that by 18 July 2016 only 13 of 150 House of Representatives seats have been officially declared - held an evening of champagne and canapés with a who’s who of Liberal and National MPs and senators at The Lodge in Canberra on 17 July.

The food included Pialligo ­Estate’ smoked salmon on rye toasties with horseradish cream, Moroccan lamb rissoles with harissa yoghurt, vegetable samosa with mint relish, roast beef en croute with stilton cream and tomato chutney, Vietnamese prawns with chilli jam and chicken satays.

I sincerely hope that Mr. Turnbull personally paid for use of The Lodge that night and for all catering and security at this event, as he didn’t become the official tenant again until after the Governor-General swore him in on 19 July 2016.

Mr. Turnbull's reportedly in excess of $1 million donation to the Liberal election campaign may possibly have brought him government but it could never buy the allocation of taxpayer funds for his private victory party.

As Night Follows Day: increased unconventional gas mining led to higher domestic gas prices

MacroBusiness acting shocked on 18 July 2016 that the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) and gas industry, with the connivance of government, delivered the unfair domestic gas pricing scheme that the anti-coal seam gas movement repeatedly stated that it would:

Another shocker of a week for gas users with MB’s east coast average price still at an astonishing $10.86Gj for spot markets while in Japan the same Australian gas can be purchased for $5.75Gj:

…….

To sum up:

$80 billion dollars has been burned on three LNG plants in QLD that make no money;

but, they are a part of an east coast gas cartel that can charge whatever they like at home given their exports have generated a shortage;

that is, locals are subsidising the export losses of Banana Republican gas titans who mis-allocated this much capital piled upon pallets:

and, to boot, we’ve given ourselves epic Dutch disease because our manufacturing is driven out of business owing to cheap gas in Japan (and everywhere else but here).

This rates as one of the most singularly stupid and rapacious examples of the “resources curse” anywhere in the Third World which, frankly, is where our policy-makers seem to have learned their craft…..

Turnbull Government in 2016: stupid is as stupid does

In the financial year ending June 2015 the Australian Government processed  a total of 192.25 million PBS concessional prescriptions (including Safety Net prescriptions) for a population of over 23 million – a 2.6 per cent volume increase representing a -3.9 per cent cost-to-government decrease on the previous financial year.

So it is hard to imagine why Malcolm Turnbull & Co or the government appointed Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee thought this additional cost cutting measure which would be well-received.

The Sydney Morning Herald reporting on 16 July 2016:

Hospitals faced a surge of type two diabetes patients over the past three years, alarming health insurance companies about their growing medical bills.

NSW recorded the biggest increase, with 20 per cent more patients admitted to hospital due to type two diabetes in 2015 compared to 2013, according to statistics collected by Medibank on its members.

The growth in admissions was as high as 42 per cent in Sydney's central suburbs, compared to a national average increase of 15 per cent.

Medibank chief medical officer Linda Swan said the figures sent a clear signal to the health fund that it needed to staunch the spiralling cost of type two diabetes.

"We've been hearing about the epidemic of diabetes for years, but it's not until you see the stark reality that you see this is growing at an extraordinary rate and clearly we're not doing enough," Dr Swan said.

One day later in The Age:

Diabetics will pay 50 times more for strips that help them monitor their blood sugar levels after the government removed the subsidy, raising concerns about more health complications as the condition of those patients spins out of control.

The federal government removed the subsidy on blood glucose test strips for people with type two diabetes who are not insulin dependent effective July 1, though there will be a six-month transition period…..

About 900,000 people with type two diabetes are registered with the National Diabetes Services Scheme and more than two-thirds of them are not insulin dependent.

Turnbull Government Second Ministry: and the stupid it continues.....

Well here you have it.

The Turnbull Government Ministry for the 45th Australian Parliament was announced on 18 July 2016 and, added to the list of usual suspects, there is now a climate change denier heading the resources portfolio, an individual heading the environment portfolio who thinks nuclear energy, coal seam gas and coal are the greatest things since white bread, a person mentioned in a 2015 NSW ICAC investigation becoming the minister dealing with urban infrastructure and, a former ministry reject recalled to the assistant ministry to join Barnaby Joyce's secondary circus.

Party	Minister	Portfolio
Liberal	Malcolm Turnbull MP	Prime Minister Leader of the Liberal Party
National	Barnaby Joyce MP	Deputy Prime Minister Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources Leader of the National Party
Liberal	Julie Bishop MP	Minister for Foreign Affairs Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party
National	Senator Fiona Nash	Minister for Regional Development Minister for Regional Communications Minister for Rural Health Minister for Local Government and Territories Deputy Leader of the National Party
Liberal	Senator George Brandis QC	Attorney-General Leader of the Government in the Senate Vice-President of the Executive Council
Liberal	Scott Morrison MP	Treasurer
Liberal	Senator Mathias Cormann	Minister for Finance Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate
Liberal	Christopher Pyne MP	Minister for Defence Industry Leader of the House
CLP	Senator Nigel Scullion	Minister for Indigenous Affairs Leader of the Nationals in the Senate
LNP	Peter Dutton MP	Minister for Immigration and Border Protection
Liberal	Greg Hunt MP	Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science
Liberal	Sussan Ley MP	Minister for Health Minister for Aged Care Minister for Sport
Liberal	Senator Marise Payne	Minister for Defence
Liberal	Senator Mitch Fifield	Minister for Communications Minister for the Arts
Liberal	Senator Michaelia Cash	Minister for Employment Minister for Women Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on the Public Service
Liberal	Christian Porter MP	Minister for Social Services
Liberal	Senator Simon Birmingham	Minister for Education and Training
Liberal	Senator Arthur Sinodinos AO	Cabinet Secretary
LNP	Steven Ciobo MP	Minister for Trade and Investment
National	Darren Chester MP	Minister for Infrastructure and Transport
Liberal	Kelly O'Dwyer MP	Minister for Revenue and Financial Services
Liberal	Josh Frydenberg MP	Minister for Environment and Energy
LNP	Senator Matthew Canavan	Minister for Resources and Northern Australia

Liberal	Paul Fletcher MP	·         Minister for Urban Infrastructure
Liberal	Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells	·         Minister for International Development and the Pacific
Liberal	Richard Colbeck not reappointed due to undecided Senate vote	·         Minister for Tourism and International Education ·         Minister Assisting the Minister for Trade and Investment
Liberal	Michael Keenan MP	·         Minister for Justice ·         Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Counter-Terrorism
National	Michael McCormack MP	·         Minister for Small Business
Liberal	Dan Tehan MP	·         Minister for Veterans' Affairs ·         Minister for Defence Personnel
Liberal	Alan Tudge MP	·         Minister for Human Services
Liberal	Senator Scott Ryan	·         Special Minister of State

Based on Wikipedia, 18 July 2016

Malcolm Turnbull press conference, 18 July 2016:

Parliamentary Secretaries, who will continue to be known as Assistant Ministers.

Karen Andrews will become the Assistant Minister for Vocational Education and Skills.

Alex Hawke will become the Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection.

Keith Pitt will become the Assistant Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment.

And Craig Laundy will become the Assistant Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science.

There are three new appointments as Assistant Ministers.

Luke Hartsuyker will be appointed Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister.

Senator Zed Seselja will be appointed Assistant Minister for Social Services and Multicultural Affairs.

And Dr David Gillespie will be appointed Assistant Minister for Rural Health, a responsibility previously held directly, as you know, by Senator Nash.