Beloved school crossing guard banned from high-fiving students after parent complaint

An Australian school community has been left outraged after a cherished crossing guard was banned from high-fiving student following a parent complaint about the innocent gesture.

Students of Mount Dandenong Primary School in Greater Melbourne will no longer receive high fives from their beloved crossing supervisor, John Goulden, during drop off and pick up after he was reprimanded by Yarra Ranges Council.

Goulden, who was recently crowned one of Victoria’s top crossing supervisors, has been warned by the council against “initiating unnecessary physical contact” with the children.

Outraged parents have rallied behind the cherished lollipop man, with one beginning a petition to have the ban removed.

Parent and petition organizer Rohan Bradley said Goulden has an “infectious joy that leaves a lasting impression on students and parents.”

“His high fives in the morning and afternoon have become a tradition that many children look forward to, a small gesture that symbolizes the warmth and friendliness of our unique community,” he said.

“Sadly, this tradition is under threat. With our children’s happiness and wellbeing hanging in the balance, we need to take action.”

Bradley said it was not just about a simple high five but about “preserving our unique community’s spirit.”

“We implore those in charge to let John continue to high-five his students, preserving an act that sparks joy and promotes a more positive learning environment,” he said.

The petition has already gained more than 500 signatures as parents and students stand with the “community’s morale booster.”

In a statement, Yarra Ranges Council confirmed they had received a complaint from a parent at the school about the crossing supervisor dishing out high fives as students were being driven past him on Farndons Rd.

“Council’s internal policies and the Victorian Standards clearly states that unacceptable behaviors includes: Exhibiting behaviors with children and young people which may be construed as unnecessarily physical,” they told 9News.

“Council has reminded the contractor who is currently supervising children at the Mount Dandenong Primary School of expectations of the role regarding interactions with children.”

In July the council named Goulden the Region Four Crossing Supervisor of the Year for his “outstanding contributions to community safety”.

https://nypost.com/2024/08/14/lifestyle/beloved-school-crossing-guard-banned-from-high-fiving-students-after-parent-complaint/

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Energy transition powered by wishful thinking

Changing an energy system is challenging. Governments have to ensure a reliable supply of electricity all day, every day. Ideally, in an orderly transition there would be like for like capacity replacement. The Albanese government has failed to balance the objectives of affordability and reliability as it embarked on its decarbonisation strategy. It legislated a 43 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030 that needs renewable energy to reach the 82 per cent target.

The government’s focus has centred on meeting these targets regardless of costs to households, the economy and our national interest. Legitimate concerns are described as the actions of “bad-faith actors” using “mistruths and outright misinformation”. Such comments may find favour in a speech to a sympathetic audience but do nothing to advance an important debate about our country’s future.

Any serious analysis of the energy transition should be grounded in fact, not wishful thinking. Let the facts speak for themselves.

Anticipating the loss of 90 per cent of our coal-fired generation in the next decade and with looming gas shortages, we need to ensure reliable baseload power into the future. The evidence shows the unreliability of intermittent, weather-dependent renewables. In July, the penetration of renewables in the grid fell to a low 10.2 per cent. It would be folly to believe you could rely on a predominantly renewables grid to power the economy.

Neither can there be any certainty about power prices with weather-dependent renewables. Across the past few months increased demand for heating has driven huge price volatility. Together with the lack of wind generation and a small number of unplanned forced outages, spot prices spiked to record levels.

On July 29 all the national electricity market regions registered simultaneous spot prices hikes at 18:00. The figures, expressed in megawatt hours, ranged from $3500 in Tasmania to $4092 in South Australia. The next evening at that time, prices rose between $15,600 in Tasmania and $17,377 in Victoria. At 20:15 the SA price reached $17,499.94 a megawatt hour. SA, with the highest penetration of renewables, took the prize for the highest prices.

So much for Energy Minister Chris Bowen trumpeting that wholesale power prices were falling. In the June quarter wholesale prices averaged $133 a megawatt hour, 23 per cent higher than the corresponding quarter last year. Far from receiving a cut of $275, prices have risen by 22 per cent, up to $1000, and will continue on this upward trajectory. Our power prices are among the world’s highest.

Energy poverty will continue growing as the costs of 10,000km of new transmission are still to be passed on in our power bills.

Last year, with falling investment in renewables, calls for greater government support grew louder. Bowen came to the rescue with yet another subsidy. His capacity investment scheme is based on taxpayers underwriting a vast expansion of 32 gigawatts of renewable energy.

Future risk will be transferred from investors in renewables to the taxpayer in secret contracts for difference. If revenues fall below the floor, taxpayers will fund the difference. Gas critical for firming and the viability of manufacturing was excluded from the scheme. We’re still in the dark about the total system costs of the transition, with estimates ranging from hundreds of billions into the trillions.

What are the aggregate costs from the public purse? Labor’s promise of transparency and accountability is undermined by non-disclosure and secrecy. Hopefully the Senate can pursue the public’s right to know.

There’s little progress to date in meeting the 2030 emissions and renewables targets. In Labor’s first year emissions grew by four million tonnes, a 0.8 per cent increase to June last year. Emissions across last year fell by a mere 0.5 per cent, registering a 29 per cent reduction below the 2005 base level. The Climate Change Authority’s 2023 report said the government “was not yet on track to meet its 2030 targets” and its policy agenda had “not yet translated into the emissions reductions we need”. Any claim the government is on track to reach a 42 per cent reduction, just falling short of target, is not based on fact, just wishful thinking.

Renewables have reached the halfway point at 40 per cent, with six years left to meet the target. The minister previously advised the 82 per cent target required installing 40 7MW wind turbines every month and 22,000 solar panels every day to 2030 as well as the transmission links. That won’t happen. Opposition in the regions is growing, even in Labor’s heartland seats, while social licence declines. Every transmission project is well over time, storage capacity is inadequate, Snowy 2.0 is delayed for years and battery storage limited to two to four hours.

There’s a lot at stake in this energy transition, so it’s necessary to see through the spin. According to reputable experts, the 2030 targets won’t be met. Despite this, the government is considering raising the 2035 emissions target to between 65 per cent and 75 per cent.

If we’re to avoid the pathway to economic calamity it’s surely time for a plan B informed by independent energy experts. The country needs an orderly energy transition plan that’s grounded in reality, not wishful thinking.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/energy-transition-powered-by-wishful-thinking/news-story/0a72a42ad0d894e4eab0949b0e6e5488

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Outrage as Aussies are slugged with hidden tax: 'It's not fair'

A hidden 'sun' tax slugging Aussies who have made the switch to solar has been slammed by energy advocates as 'madness' and a 'rip-off', accusing energy companies of 'wanting to charge people' making energy from sunlight.

Distributors in some Australian states have moved in the sneaky tariff, known colloquially as a sun or solar tax, as households begin to embrace the shift to renewables in the hopes of power bill relief.

But the new measures will result in those households being slugged for sending the solar energy they generate back to the electricity grid during peak times - something providers hope will encourage households to store their self-generated power and use it, rather than hoping for a credit if it is exported back to the grid.

Renewable energy advocate Heidi Lee Douglas has been highly critical of the plan, saying it was 'not a bright idea' to penalise people for 'taking control of their power bills with cheaper, cleaner solar' during a cost of living crisis.

'Energy companies want to charge people with solar panels to make energy from sunlight, and that's simply not fair,' Ms Douglas, the chief executive of renewable advocacy organisation Solar Citizens, said.

'The new two-way tariff is a blunt instrument that charges people with solar panels for feeding their energy into the grid during the day, rather than supporting them to store their energy or feed it back into the grid at another time.

'Rather than stick people with penalties for not having batteries they can't afford in a cost of living crisis, households need more support to access the benefits of battery storage.

'People in NSW were absolutely furious, and Queenslanders will be livid when they find out more about the big tariff rip-off planned for households with solar panels.'

A sun tax refers to a new export tariff for customers using solar, part of a two-way pricing structure where users are effectively penalised for exporting solar-generated energy when the network is overloaded - such as in the middle of the day.

According to Canstar, the tariff also rewards people who export the energy produced by their solar panels back to the electricity grid during times of high demand.

Energy providers mostly pay households for electricity fed back into the grid in the form of rates called solar feed-in tariffs (FiTs).

Canstar states the tax is designed to prevent gridlock on electricity networks, encouraging households to use their own solar energy first, rather than sending it back to the grid.

Ms Douglas said one of the biggest impact of the sun tax was the message it sent to households thinking about installing solar.

She explained it would discourage them from doing so, saying: 'It's madness to charge people for sunlight.'

'What we really need to do in a cost of living crisis is accelerate the rate of rooftop solar installations by providing access to solar for those who have so far missed out - like renters, social housing, and apartments,' Ms Douglas said.

While the tariffs came into place in mid-2022, most households and businesses won't see any major change until next year.

This is due to distributors needing to submit a price proposal to the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) to demonstrate why they need it.

Some distributors in NSW and the ACT have already outlined the changes and how the costs would look for the average household or small business.

Ausgrid, the largest energy provider on Australia's east coast, revealed they were imposing such a two-way tariff in July - charging customers 1.2c/kWh for the electricity they produce during the peak export period of 10am-3pm.

The company said customers would receive a payment of 2.3c/kWh for electricity exported to the grid during peak demand hours between 4pm-9pm each day.

In a statement, Ausgrid said they wanted to encourage customers to use their self-generated electricity while providing a 'safe, reliable supply' to everyone.

Solar batteries are widely viewed as a way to store the unused energy generated from solar panels - so it can be used at another time.

But the measure is costly, setting households back anywhere from $8750 to more than $20,000 depending on the scale of the battery and the provider.

The NSW State Government has said it will introduce a rebate starting at $1600 for battery storage systems from November 1.

Queenslanders will not be slugged with a sun tax until 2025 but the state government rolled out a rebate on home solar battery systems allowing people to offset the cost of purchase and installation.

However, it closed in May.

'The Queensland government must find ways of getting more households powered by solar and create the incentives to shift people into having solar and batteries,' Ms Douglas said.

'About 60 per cent of the community is currently locked out of the benefits of solar, including renters and people living in apartments or social housing, and they have among the most to gain from reduced energy bills.

It comes as data from the clean energy regulator reveals many of Sydney's outer suburbs are embracing solar and battery storage.

In Marsden Park, in Sydney's west, households are 87 per cent more likely to have these systems in place, followed by Tumbulgum and Tweed Heads at an uptake rate of 71 per cent.

But in more established suburbs across the state, those rates were far lower.

Only 2.9 per cent of dwellings in Elizabeth Bay, Potts Point, Rushcutters Bay and Woolloomooloo had solar energy and battery storage in place.

In Ultimo, only 4.8 per cent of households had embraced the new technology while Darlinghurst and Surry Hills had 5.3 per cent of dwellings taking up solar.

David Sedighi, chief operating officer of power solutions provider VoltX Energy, said these figures could be put down to government mandates for new home constructions.

'Energy savings aside, solar has made these new homes more energy efficient, enabling people to meet compliance for a Building Sustainability Index (BASIX) certificate,' he said.

'We know having solar makes a new home more attractive to prospective buyers in the future too, as the cost of energy increases.

'The so-called sun-tax where energy providers charge customers a tariff for rooftop solar exported to its network will also drive demand for batteries.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13753959/Sun-tax-solar-panel-green-energy.html

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Women’s rights rally sparks pro-trans counter protest in Melbourne

It's not a protest. It's just the usual Leftist activism

One woman has been arrested for allegedly assaulting a police officer and several members of a pro-trans counter rally have thrown eggs and water balloons at speakers at a women’s rights demonstration in Melbourne on Saturday.

Activist organisation Women’s Action Group planned a ‘Women Will Speak’ event to take place at Victoria’s state parliament on the weekend, which was met with a pro-trans protest.

A police barricade was formed to separate the Women’s Action Group event and the pro-trans demonstration organised by Trans Queer Solidarity.

A large police presence, included mounted officers, was stationed at Spring St and Bourke St.

“Around 20 participants initially attended the event about 11am. About 150 protesters from another group also attended the rally, throwing eggs and water balloons at the speakers involved,” a Victoria Police spokeswoman said.

“A 36-year-old Brunswick woman was arrested at the scene for allegedly assaulting police. She has been released pending further inquiries.

“Victoria Police is disappointed with the actions of the group and while it supports peaceful protests it has a zero-tolerance policy for violence or disruptive acts which impact the broader community.”

Details of the Women’s Action Group were shared online, and in response a ‘Trans Liberation’ rally was scheduled to take place at the same location.

The group was formed in 2019 and the organisation state their motivation is to fight against “the ongoing erosion of women’s rights in Victoria and in all of Australia”.

“Humans cannot change sex. Men can never be women,” a speaker said at the Women’s Action Group event told the crowd on Saturday.

“It is our inherent right to exercise freedom of expression … and policy and legislation must reflect reality not ideology.”

Most of the speeches were barely audible as members of the Trans Liberation gathering blared loud music, banged drums and shouted cries such as “f*ck off fascist”.

Women’s Action Group co-founder Michelle Uriarau said the purpose of the counter rally was to intimidate women.

“We are there to to facilitate a platform for ordinary woman to come and speak, to listen and to be heard, and as seen yesterday, that is currently not allowed.” Ms Uriarau told The Australian.

“Some of the signs that they that they brought along with them, more or less was threatening us with death.

“Men who pretend to be women hate woman ... and they prove us right time and time and time again.”

Ms Uriarau said that everyone should be able to exercise their right to freedom of expression.

“They absolutely have a right to protest us. What they do not have a right to do is be violent and behave aggressive towards us,” she said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/womens-rights-rally-sparks-protrans-counter-protest-in-melbourne/news-story/0498445e7d80d6e52a0dff1c230fba43

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