(Some of) The views expressed in this forum reinforce my belief that democracy without an effective fourth estate is in practice a really, really bad idea.
~c
Yes but who could we rightfully trust to give that mantel too
Hey Bo, do you like paying a fortune for electricity mate?
No, like the rest of us, I will pay for what I use. Sorry if my first post is a bit insensitive and I apologise if you took offence.
Quote:
Originally Posted by brian nordstrom
I hear you Bo , but people have had enough of this price gouging thats starting to become an every day occurance ..On every thing ..
Brian.
I agree Brian. Everyone seem to have a theory on it, so here is mine: our insatiable demand for middle class welfare (of which my family is a recipient of).
It goes like this: pollies dont give a $h!t about rusted on labor or liberal voters, middle class swinging voters in marginal seats holds keys to power. Howard realised this and won many elections on it, Rudd and Gillard the same. So whoever is in power gives money to bribe whoever will vote to keep them in power. Result: middle class welfare on everything from health insurance (we, that is you and I, fork out $3 billion a year on the 30% rebate on private health insurance ) to child care rebates (not means tested).
Therefore the pollies has the find the money somewhere (read some other parts of the population) to fund it all. So the usual whipping boys cop the lot: pensioners, single income families, people in high income brackets and other rusted on voters.
To be fair, both Lib and ALP govts have done some good stuff, the latest being raising the tax free threshold and introducing more generic medicines (the less said about the carbon tax bribe the better ).
Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth. To quote Mencke, for every complex problem there is a solution thats simple, and wrong. I hope I am wrong, but the signs tell me otherwise.
Bo
Interestingly, in the mid 90s, the average NSW household used 4000KWh per year, now it averages 7500KWh per year, so I reckon we could all cut back a bit.
My power bill for the last 12 months was just over 3000KWh, and I could still trim that by 10% or more if I was a bit more vigilant.
The Garnaut report from last year makes some interesting points on real pricing compared to 1980s levels.
Anyway...at some point we are going to have to accept the folly of a lifestyle based on fossil fuels, we can either use our intelligence to manage a transition to an alternative lifestyle in the least painful way, or accept the natural consequences of ignoring the problems facing us.
Cost of energy derived from carbon intensive sources trending at +20% per year
Cost of energy derived from clean renewables trending at -30% per year...
Yep, the people who ***** loudest are the ones who leave their computers running 24/7, their tv's all day, and their lights on all night. They probably also get the government subsidies.
Before anyone posts these types of threads, they should list who they voted for at a state and federal level the last four elections.
hmmm.... anyways the best solution to power bills is?
vote for a particular political party? cant see that working, there is only so much fossil fuel on this planet
turn everything off? not really an option, I need light, I need a fridge, I have one tv it still costs me more than id like
solar? thinking about it but to have zero cost is it possible? what size system do I need?
Before anyone posts these types of threads, they should list who they voted for at a state and federal level the last four elections.
Cheers,
Jason.
Not for the 'Milky Bar Kid' or his ranga Narre Warren bogan accent succubus replacement that's for damn sure. Both of these disgusting alien creatures (and their state-level minions) have single handedly destroyed this country and our quality of life.
Last edited by pgc hunter; 19-06-2012 at 01:58 AM.
Enough of the red-head bashing guys, my daughters cop it enough at school, it really, really hurts them to read it here from people they consider scientists.
(Anyway, I think most of the privatisation happened before The Rudd/Gillard government came to power, and the current NSW sell off is happening under the Liberal State Gvt, so it doesn't seem to matter which party is in power. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-1...dalism/3664156)
Just out of interest, what is everyones KWh usage per year?
I just double-glazed some of our windows this week, it gets down to below -10 at night in Mudgee and I sleep in a sleep-out (walled-in verandah) and the temps were basically the same inside as outside so I had to sleep with a beanie on!
I did the job myself, and it made a huge difference. I used thin polycarbonate sheeting so it came to about $15 per window.
It was an interesting point about the lack of insulation and housing design in this country. Houses are so much bigger now and have no eaves, single glazing and thin walls and no yards. We would be so much better off with houses 25% smaller that were insulated properly, and the houses would still be twice the size of the ones being built when I was a kid.
Not for the 'Milky Bar Kid' or his ranga Narre Warren bogan accent succubus replacement that's for damn sure. Both of these disgusting alien creatures (and their state-level minions) have single handedly destroyed this country and our quality of life.
Really, they did all that in just five years?
I didn't vote for them, but I can't quite see that all of these problems began in 2007.
Getting back to electricity prices, the only decent thing done has been the introduction of 'smart meters' here. My bills went down 25% leading me to think I was being ripped off long ago...any one else had that experience?
Matt
I've been pretty shocked at the poor insulation in houses here, since I move from the UK last year. The winters in Melbourne are really mild compared to what I'm used to, but, my energy bills are much, much higher in winter. Why? Insulation, or total lack of. The house I live in leaks like a sieve, has single-glazed windows and clearly has had very little thought at all put into keeping the warm in and the cold out, or in summer, the cold in and the warm out.
Every time I put the heating on (as little as reasonably possible) I'm wasting energy, CO2 and money, not even using it to successfully warm my house. That kind of waste, multiplied over a city, is absolutely enormous, and can be measured, in Australia, in coal plants. Being in a rented place, there's little I can do about it now except plug the obvious gaps, like the stupid slatted window in the toilet. Should I buy a place here, the first thing I'll be doing is getting the insulation and glazing up to scratch. Then I'll watch my energy bills plummet. Then I'll add some solar, and be in business . There's no reason in Australia to waste vast amounts of (largely non-renewable and polluting) energy on wasteful heating and cooling just because houses haven't been built properly.
Australian home designs have not stayed conducive to weather but changed due to cost and profits.
Cheaper to build a 28 course ceilings than 32
Cheaper to have no eaves than verandahs with open eaves for circulation
Cheaper to have single glazing than double
Cheaper to have no fireplace
Cheaper to have no insulation
a lot of basic principles where removed from housing designs in Oz to reduce cost and increase profit and speed up construction time
Why do you think I am now working and living here in OZ , even tho its getting worse here , its nowhere as bad as NZ is , I put up with it for years and when I had a chance to bail , there was no question , NZ's stuffed .
The average person ( worker ) is struggling at every turn over there and the powers that be squeeze even harder for the extra $$$'s out of us . GRRRR! ..
So yes , I agree .
Brian.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BPO
I don't know about Australian electricity market players, because I have no experience with them, but I can say that NZ generators and distributors have an enormous margin. Simply vast. That's not supposition, or heresay, or rumour. It's based on my years of working with and for them. They make a lot of money. They can afford to trim their profits. But they won't.
Everyone is jumping on the solar panel bandwagon trying to get their bills down to zero or less. But the electricity company still has to supply the service to everyone, and cover costs, whilst receiving revenue from an ever decreasing number of paying customers.
Then there's the ridiculously high feedback tarriffs that the first group to install panels were promised. These promised rates are honoured as far as I know, although new installations don't attract anything like the same rates. So having realised that was a major cock-up, they now need to cover that cost too. So some of your rise goes to pay for your neighbours' excessive feedback tarriff, - doesn't seem quite right imo.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gts055
I wonder if minimising power consumption has a catch 22 effect in that if most users substantially cut their demand, the suppliers could increase the cost to compensate for the revenue loss. Mark
Get over it folks 'the user pays!'. We who are in charge will simply pay each other a few million for our brilliant management. You twits who let your Government sell your assetts to us are the problem. We rewarded these idividuals suitably. We will now gouge out a full return on our investment irregardless of the long term consequences. Our technique is to blame everyone but ourselves and confuse things by blaming the carbon tax. By the time you morons work out how you have been robbed we will be long dead! So long and thanks for all the millions.
I hear you Bo , but people have had enough of this price gouging thats starting to become an every day occurance 
..On every thing .. 
) to child care rebates (not means tested). 
).
it still costs me more than id like
. There's no reason in Australia to waste vast amounts of (largely non-renewable and polluting) energy on wasteful heating and cooling just because houses haven't been built properly.
Why do you think I am now working and living here in OZ , even tho its getting worse here , its nowhere as bad as NZ is , I put up with it for years and when I had a chance to bail , there was no question , NZ's stuffed . 
