Qld picks fossil fuel over energy storage

Is there no such thing as an intelligent journalist left? OF COURSE nobody much is investing in energy storage. Either it is useful only for a few hours (batteries) or its costs are astronomical (pumped hydro). Coal, gas and nuclear are the only reliable power sources. All the rest is fantasy

The Queensland government has prioritised coal and gas-fired generation over energy storage

Twice as many taxpayer dollars will be spent on Queensland coal and gas-fired plants this year as they will on installing new renewable energy storage in the state.

Queensland already has the nation's highest wholesale electricity prices, which experts say is mostly due to its reliance on fossil fuel and lack of energy storage.

Household electricity bills will rise by 10 per cent, while power bills for businesses will soar 20 per cent from July.

Treasurer Cameron Dick will partly offset that by wiping $14.58 off household monthly bills for the next 12 months.

However, businesses won't get any support and will likely pass on their extra costs to consumers.

Over the long term, the state government will need to transition to renewable energy sooner if it wants to spare consumers further price pain.

Vast renewable generation projects are under construction, but the state needs about 6.5 gigawatts of energy storage as well.

Mr Dick promised $35 million in funding for a feasibility study on a 5-7GW pumped hydropower storage project in Tuesday's budget.

Another $13 million will be spent on finalising a study for a proposed 1GW pumped hydro project near Gympie.

However, the three public electricity generators will also spend $480 million with the majority of that propping up ageing coal and gas generation, rather than storage.

Stanwell Corporation, CS Energy and CleanCo will spend about $232.7 million on maintenance, upgrades and spare parts for coal and gas plants in 2022/23.

Stanwell will pour $21 million into the Meandu coal mine and CS Energy will invest $1.2 million on the Kogan Creek coal mine.

CleanCo - originally set up to be a renewable energy firm - will spend $13.6 million on the Kogan North Gas Field, which it jointly owns with Arrow Energy.

The big investment in fossil fuel generation comes with the government expecting to bank dividends from the generators in 2022/23, and for those to rise in 2023/24.

"This trend reflects earnings growth of these businesses, with the current wholesale market environment supporting returns in the next couple of years, and a return to more stable levels over the forward estimates," the budget said.

Meanwhile, the three generators will invest less than half the amount they spend on fossil fuel generation than they will on increasing renewable energy storage capacity.

About $122.5 million will be spent on two batteries at Chinchilla and on the Darling Downs, which will eventually be able to store about 500MW, in 2022/23.

Queensland will need about 14 times more storage than that to transition to renewable energy and phase out coal generation.

The three generators are also investing about $85.1 million in the Wambo and Karara wind farms, which will eventually generate 353MW of electricity.

In total, the state government will invest $281.8 million on renewable energy and $232.7 million on fossil fuel generation in 2022/23.

https://7news.com.au/politics/qld-picks-fossil-fuel-over-energy-storage-c-7258943

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Queensland government to scrap gendered language like 'maternity leave' and 'she' as part of major shake up to industrial laws

The terms 'she' and 'maternity' are set to be replaced in a series of changes to Queensland's industrial relations laws proposed by the state government.

The changes were put forward by Queensland's Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace on Thursday, reports The Courier Mail.

It comes after the government's five-year independent review into state workplace laws was released by Premier Anastasia Palaszczuk and Miss Grace in February.

The review resulted in 40 recommendations to Queensland's industrial relations laws to 'better reflect evolving community standards for the workplace'.

Among the changes, gendered language will be removed and replaced with gender-neutral terms.

The word 'she' will be scrapped and replaced with the term 'the employee'.

'Maternity leave' will also be cut and changed to 'birth-related leave'.

In another clause in the recommendations, 'maternity leave' was swapped with the term 'pregnancy-related'.

It was explained in the Bill that these changes were being made to 'remove language implying gendered divisions of parental leave'.

Other recommendations not related to the removal of gendered language included strengthening protections of employees subject to sexual harassment and gender pay equity changes.

There was also improvements to adoption leave entitlements and unpaid leave entitlements for a parent whose child was stillborn.

Queensland's Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace said: 'The Palaszczuk Government is committed to doing all we can to prevent sexual harassment and gender inequity.'

'That's why I am proud that the Palaszczuk Government is introducing nation-leading reforms which provide workers subject to this type of abhorrent conduct a variety of remedies available through the QIRC.'

Miss Grace noted that the government had taken action because a 'lack of regulation' can 'create safety risks' and affects the 'financial security' of employees.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10945675/Queensland-government-scrap-gendered-language-like-industrial-relations-laws.html

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Alarming warning over new Omicron sub-variants on the rise across the country with fears infections will rise - and no one is safe

Health authorities have issued a warning over a new Omicron subvariants on the rise across the country as experts expect they will soon become the dominant strains.

Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 have been both detected in Queensland and NSW, with cases rising in recent months.

On Thursday, authorities from both states on issued an alert amid concerns the variants could result in a wave of new Covid cases.

'It is expected the Covid-19 sub-lineages BA.4 and BA.5 will become the dominant strains in coming weeks,' NSW Health tweeted.

'This is likely to result in an increase in infections, including in people who have previously had Covid-19.'

In a similar warning, QLD Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard estimated the variants would become the main strain within 'two weeks'.

However, he stressed that intensive care admissions remains low for all strains of the virus, which was a testament to the efficacy of vaccines.

'We must stress that all Covid-19 variants can cause severe illness, especially in vulnerable people,' Dr Gerrard said.

'We strongly encourage Queenslanders to remain up to date with their boosters, particularly those over 65 years of age and those with impaired immunity,' he said.

'This virus will continue to mutate so we all need to remain vigilant and responsive by staying home when sick, washing your hands regularly, keeping your distance from others where possible and wearing a face mask when you can’t.'

Queensland recorded 4970 new Covid cases overnight and five deaths, with 512 people in hospital, including six in ICU.

In NSW, there were 9203 positive tests, 26 deaths, and 1500 hospitalisations, with 53 ICU patients.

The alert comes as Australia's chief medical officer warns older Australians and people vulnerable to Covid should have a plan to combat the virus before they test positive.

Like asthma and other respiratory illnesses, people should have a treatment plan in place if they're more at risk of severe disease from the coronavirus, Professor Paul Kelly said.

Two oral antiviral treatments - Lagevrio and Paxlovid - are available for people vulnerable to severe effects of Covid.

Since the treatments were added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme there has been increased use, but more people are eligible, Prof Kelly said.

'Now is the time if you're in those vulnerable groups to have that conversation ... (so you) know exactly where you can access those medications and know exactly how to use them,' he said.

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/covid-australia-warning-over-new-omicron-sub-variants-on-the-rise-across-the-country/ar-AAYMdml?ocid=uxbndlbing

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Australia Post parcel's 'laughable' 9000km journey: 'Been more places than us'

This sort of bungling is why I rarely buy anything online

“Your birthday present is in the mail,” is an excuse many Aussies may be familiar with.

But for one Gold Coast man it’s a line he’s been forced to give his wife for the last 20 days as his parcel makes an astonishing 9,000 kilometre journey across the country.

“It’s gotten to the stage where it’s laughable,” Nick Goodrick told Channel Nine.

“It’s like a guessing game of where it will be each day.”

The 58-year-old bought the birthday present online from Western Australia at the end of May.

Since then, it has passed through three states with no end in sight.

According to A Current Affair, Mr Goodrick’s tracking number showed the parcel left Geraldton, a country town about 400 kilometres north of Perth, on May 31. Six days later, it was processed at a facility in Sydney’s west, and less than an hour later it was on its way to Brisbane.

By June 7, it was bound for its final destination, the Gold Coast, but somehow ended up back in Sydney.

Within a minute, reportedly, it was sent back to Brisbane where it arrived a day later.

Hopes were high in the Goodrick household but they were quickly dashed when the parcel was spotted en route back to Sydney.

Then, like clockwork, the parcel was redirected back to Brisbane, ACA said.

“It’s been more places than we’ve been during the last couple of years,” Mr Goodrick’s wife, Kirsten, added as she awaits her much delayed birthday gift.

Unfortunately, they aren't the only Aussies waiting by the mailbox.

Bruce Greenaway, also from the Gold Coast, said his package made 24 stops before it reached his home.

After leaving Yamba on the NSW North Coast on May 20, the 68-year-old's parcel passed through Sydney, the NSW Central West, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane on repeat for 18 days.

“According to Australia Post’s tracking, it travelled somewhere around 18,000 kilometres,” Mr Greenaway told Channel Nine.

Even more straightforward journeys seem to be causing headaches for Australia Post customers.

Andrew Lindsey had been waiting for a package from Rochedale in Brisbane to arrive in Jimboomba, just south of the city.

It’s only a 30 minute journey by car.

But for Australia Post, the parcel went interstate, travelling to Chullora in NSW and Fyshwick in the ACT before reaching its final destination back in Queensland.

“They are so full of excuses,” Mr Lindsey wrote on Facebook, “no one knew where my parcel was.”

His story was slammed as ‘typical’ by other social media users.

“It would have been quicker to drive to Rochdale to pick it up,” one person said.

In a statement to Yahoo News Australia, Australia Post says it processes and delivers up to 14 million parcels each week, with the majority arriving safely and on time.

“Sometimes issues such as incorrect address details, smudged or ineligible writing or an incorrect postcode can create challenges for us, and occasionally our sorting machines can get it wrong,” it said.

"When we were alerted to the issue, Australia Post located both customers packages. One of these packages has now been delivered and we are working to get the remaining package delivered as an urgent priority."

https://au.news.yahoo.com/australia-post-parcel-9000-km-journey-gold-coast-024906873.html

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Qld kids failing to meet basic literacy, numeracy targets

Queensland children are failing to meet basic literacy and numeracy targets, with new data showing the alarming levels state school students are falling behind.

This week’s state government budget papers have revealed in every instance, Queensland state school students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 missed the department’s targets on the percentage of students meeting the national minimum standard in reading, writing and numeracy.

The 2021-2022 statistics showed older students were falling behind the furthest, with less than 90 per cent of year 7 students meeting the minimum standard for numeracy, well below the 96 per cent target. Just 82.9 per cent of year 9 students met the standard for reading, compared with a target of 90 per cent.

Writing also proved to be an area of concern with just 72 per cent of year 9 students achieving the minimum standard – compared with a target of 86 per cent – and 83.4 per cent of year 7 students, against a target of 92 per cent.

Indigenous student levels were also below the department’s targets of students hitting the national minimum standards in key numeracy and literacy areas.

Less than half of all year 9 Indigenous students met the national minimum standard for writing, well short of the target of 69 per cent. Just two thirds of year 9 Indigenous students met the national minimum standard for reading, against a target of 78 per cent.

LNP education spokesman Christian Rowan said the results were “extremely concerning”.

“More worrying still, there is no comprehensive plan from the state government to address this steady decline,” Dr Rowan said. “Queensland’s students, parents, teachers and school staff deserve a world-class education system that exceeds targets.”

But Education Minister Grace Grace commended students and staff for grappling with the “incredibly challenging circumstances” during the Covid-19 pandemic, and insisted NAPLAN results proved there had been “significant improvements”.

“Online learning, staying home when sick, and isolating as close contacts have all had an impact,” she said.

“We make no apologies for setting ambitious and stretching targets, many of which we are very close to achieving after consistent improvements over a number of years.”

The state government also missed its employment and training targets with thousands of students failing to complete apprenticeships or traineeships.

About 3400 fewer students completed their studies than expected, and just 79 per cent of graduates were able to gain employment or continue studies – well below the targeted 87 per cent. Only 73 per cent of employers were happy with apprentices and trainees – below the targeted 83 per cent.

The proportion of Queenslanders with higher qualifications reached 64.9 per cent, above the 62 per cent target.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/education-queensland/qld-kids-failing-to-meet-basic-literacy-numeracy-targets/news-story/5be2d9dfed95829b4ba26a2af9cdc3d4

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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)

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Adam Bandt slammed as ‘idiotic’ for divisive anti-Aussie flag stunt

Bandt has wormed his way to the top of the Greens but it looks like he is still the nasty old Trot he always was

A racially divisive publicity stunt by Adam Bandt which saw the Greens leader hold a press conference with the Australian flag pushed off to the side of the room with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders flags front and centre has been labelled “idiotic”.

The event occurred Monday afternoon in Sydney shortly before Bandt was to hold a press conference with Deputy Greens leader Mehreen Faruqi at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Offices in the CBD.

Shortly before Bandt and Faruqi appeared a staffer moved the Australian flag to the side.

When asked why the flag was moved from behind the speakers, Mr Bandt said the symbol was “hurtful” to many Aboriginal Australians, a charge that was rejected by Indigenous leader Warren Mundine.

“It’s idiotic,” Mundine said. “Are the Greens actually in the Australian Federal Parliament? Seriously? Do they actually hate Australians that much,” he asked. “Aboriginals call themselves Australians all the time. “The Greens are just a fringe university type group trying to run down the country.”

Dr Bella d’Abrera, Director of the Foundations of Western Civilisation Program at the Institute of Public Affairs said the actions were “completely out of touch with real Australians who are proud of their country, and proud of their history”.

“As an elected member of the Commonwealth parliament, Adam Bandt has shown he is unfit to be a member of parliament when he demonstrates contempt for one of Australia’s most unifying symbols.”

“This is exactly the type of empty virtue signalling we have come to expect from the Greens Party.”

“The Australian flag is a unifying symbol that is a pillar of our history and the Australian way of life,” she said.

Dr d’Abrera pointed to polling by her organisation which in January found that 84 per cent of Australians agreed they were “proud to be Australian”, with only five per cent disagreeing.

Nationals Senator Matt Canavan likewise called the move a “disgrace.”

“If the Greens are not proud of our Commonwealth they should not be using taxpayer funded Commonwealth offices for their press conferences,” he said.

The Greens’ actions come after NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet pledged $25 million to fly an Aboriginal flag permanently from the Harbour Bridge, despite not knowing why it would cost so much to add an extra flagpole to the structure.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s office declined to comment on the Greens leader’s actions, however one Coalition source said that Bandt’s behaviour “spoke for itself”.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/national/adam-bandt-slammed-as-idiotic-for-divisive-antiaussie-flag-stunt/news-story/e4632a3c419c88a466fda7d83395141f

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How Australia's biggest state is spending $633MILLION on electric cars when fewer than one per cent of Aussies own one

Australia's most populated state is spending more than $630million on its electric car strategy even though just 0.6 per cent of Aussies own one, NSW budget figures reveal.

State Treasurer Matt Kean - known for climate change campaigning - announced on Tuesday that his government will spend an extra $38million on its electric car strategy, taking total investment to more than half a billion dollars.

The cash will be spent on rolling out more charging points in streets, apartment buildings and designated charging stations.

Australia lags the rest of the world when it comes to the take-up of electric vehicles, which account for less than one per cent of the million new cars sold every year. Across Australia, fully electric vehicles have a minuscule 0.6 per cent market share.

The NSW government wants to drive that figure to more than 50 per cent by 2030-31 under its Electric Vehicle Strategy.

Critics say the policies only help the rich because electric cars - which start at $44,000 - are too expensive for average income earners.

But supporters insist investment needs to be made now in preparation for when electric cars are cheaper and more popular.

Software billionaire and clean energy investor Mike Cannon-Brookes is among those who support electric car take-up.

Earlier this month he shared his surprise that the Moss Services Club in the southern highlands had a charging point.

'Kudos to the Moss Vale Services Club for having an @NRMA double EV charger in the car park,' he wrote.

'Charging my car while getting a schnitzel at the RSL with the kids felt like a new future for Australia… one that was nicely connected with our past.'

NSW Treasurer Matt Kean said rolling out more charges will 'allow more EV drivers to benefit from their cheaper running costs and a cleaner, quieter and more sustainable road network.'

He added: 'You'll never be far from a charger on our major highways, in regional destinations, apartment buildings and on kerbsides in metropolitan areas with limited off-street parking.'

The NSW government's strategy involves offering stamp duty exemptions for new and used electric vehicles worth up to $78,000.

Buyers are also spared paying up to $3,000 in charges that buyers of petrol and diesel cars still have to pay.

With a stamp duty exemption of $2,537.50 and that $3,000 rebate, they are getting back up to $5,540 from the taxpayers.

One Nation's NSW leader Mark Latham noted there was a a larger uptake for the subsidy in wealthier areas of Sydney's north shore and north-west.

'This shows how delusional NSW Treasurer Matt Kean has become in thinking he can save the planet with schemes like this,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'Even from these early numbers, the inequity of the scheme is clear.

'This was always going to be a cross-subsidy from the poorer parts of NSW to the wealthier suburbs.'

As more people use electric cars, less fuel will be bought and governments will lose fuel duty revenue.

To make up for this the NSW government will introduce a road user charge of 2.5 cents per km (indexed to CPI) to electric cars from 1 July 2027 or when EVs make up 30 per cent of all new vehicle sales, whichever comes first.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10936305/How-Australias-biggest-state-spending-633MILLION-electric-vehicles.html

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Premier introduces a LAW instructing schools to teach students about the 'trauma' of white colonisation

Schools will teach kids about the 'significant trauma' of white colonisation, commemorate 'Sorry Day' and fly the Aboriginal flag under new laws in Victoria.

Premier Dan Andrews said he expected every school to adopt the reconciliation initiatives and that every year level would take part.

'Being reconciled is just that. You can't be reconciled if you're not prepared to acknowledge some pretty awful stuff that happened in the past,' Mr Andrews said on Tuesday.

'It's about making sure that everybody feels equal, everybody feels included and everybody feels safe.' 'I think it might be the whole school and I don't see anything wrong with that.'

Victorian Opposition leader Matthew Guy said it was important for kids to learn about history but it must be done carefully not to create division in children. 'It is important that they do learn lessons of fact from the past, but that is done respectfully,' he said. 'When it involves kids, we've got to make sure that we're not pitting one against the other.'

The new legal standards require that from next term all educational facilities including universities and high schools but also primary schools, kindergartens and childcare centres provide a 'culturally inclusive' environment.

This includes a recognition that will affect teaching frameworks that 'Australia's colonial history has caused significant trauma and hurt that individuals, families and communities still feel'.

Days marking significant reconciliation steps will also be commemorated including Close the Gap Day on March 18, Mabo Day on June 3, and Sorry Day on May 26.

National Close the Gap day, held annually since 2009, is part of a social justice campaign advocating for equality and the health of First Nations people.

Mabo Day marks the concept of 'terra nullius' or land belonging to noone being overturned in a legal case which gave Indigenous Australians land rights.

While Sorry Day notes the apology issued by former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to the 'stolen generations' who were removed from their families and communities and raised in colonial settings.

In addition to the national days, schools will be encouraged to display plaques noting traditional ownership and take steps to respect Indigenous culture and stamp out racism.

The standards will also apply to government departments, hospitals, councils and also to businesses where children attend such as play gyms and party venues.

The new laws are part of revised Child Safe Standards overseen by the Victorian Commission for Children and Young People.

Principal commissioner Liana Buchanan said compliance would be achieved by working with and supporting educational facilities as well as sanctions for those lagging behind.

New laws to create an independent authority to oversee Victoria's treaty negotiations are also set to pass with bipartisan support.

The Victorian coalition initially reserved backing the Treaty Authority Bill after the Andrews government introduced it in state parliament a fortnight ago. But Opposition Leader Matthew Guy confirmed the Liberals and Nationals would vote for the bill without amendment after a joint partyroom meeting on Tuesday morning. 'We'll be supporting the legislation when it comes to parliament tomorrow,' he told reporters.

'Reconciliation is a topic that should be around uniting Australians ... that's why this is an important step.'

The Victorian coalition announced its support for treaty negotiations in May after Mr Guy suggested a federal process would 'make more sense' before the 2018 state election.

Liberal MP Tim Smith, who will not recontest his seat in November after a drink-driving crash, said he does not support 'illiberal and divisive tokenism' and will vote against the legislation. 'I will be crossing the floor,' he tweeted.

Shadow Aboriginal affairs minister Peter Walsh would not say if Mr Smith or others spoke out against the bill in the partyroom. 'Tim, as an individual, is entitled to his opinions,' he said.

If the legislation passes, as expected, the treaty authority will have legal powers to oversee treaty talks and resolve any disputes between the state government and the First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria.

It will be led by Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander people elected by an independent panel and be grounded in culture, lore and law.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10936571/Daniel-Andrews-introduces-LAW-schools-teach-students-white-colonisation.html

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Sordid timeline shows dysfunctional building watchdog must be abolished

The QBCC is a dysfunctional rabble, and on the evidence presented to The Courier-Mail, it must be blown up and totally reformed.

No amount of cheesy TV ads telling us how good it is can camouflage a body that is in crisis, scarred by scandal after scandal.

Once the Varghese report is handed down, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk must strip the responsible Minister, Mick de Brenni, of the portfolio and give it to a person who won’t use it as his or her personal plaything.

Mr De Brenni is arguably the most incompetent minister within Cabinet.

The real test for Mr Varghese lies in a case known as the Kirra Vista controversy, where the building company Groupline was singled out for special QBCC treatment.

The drama began in June, 2019 when Groupline – a boutique Gold Coast building company – began work on an eight-level, 16 unit project at Kirra, known as Maya.

A month later, during retention piling of Maya, movement was detected in the 50-year old building next door, Kirra Vista.

A month later, Kirra Vista body corporate outlined concerns, and Groupline said its insurance would cover any remedies required at Kirra Vista. Soon after, Groupline installed monitoring equipment.

On September 6, 2019, Kirra Vista body corporate chairwoman Toni Bowler – who has strong Labor ties – met Public Works Minister Mick de Brenni.

On the same day as the meeting between Ms Bowler and Mr De Brenni, then QBCC Commissioner Brett Bassett wrote to a senior employee - after receiving a call from the MO (Minister’s office) - ordering a briefing.

A day later, a senior QBCC employee did a report into the dispute, and two days later Mr Bassett issued a show cause notice saying Groupline had undertaken building work in contravention of the building code. On September 19, 2019, the QBCC issued a stop work notice to Groupline

Two days later, Commissioner Bassett wrote to two senior Ministerial staffers, Ravi Chandra and Melissa Hallam, “re an update on the status of Kirra Vista stop work’’.

On November 13, 2019, Groupline’s building licence was cancelled. On December 18, 2019, the Supreme Court rules QBCC acted unlawfully in cancelling the licence.

In early 2020, the QBCC appealed the decision and a week later the Court of Appeal dismissed the QBCC appeal and says it acted outside its jurisdictional control.

On August 10, 2021 Minister de Brenni told an estimates committee hearing, when asked had he or his office intervened in any operational QBCC decisions, that “in respect of individual cases, there is no role for anybody on the boards of the QBCC or myself or my office in any circumstance’’.

Groupline now wants a Commission of Inquiry into the matter to determine “why the Minister and Board members were involved in the operational matter that eventually the actions of the QBCC proved to be unlawful’’.

“Further, Groupline requests that the inquiry to put forward a process and recommendations by which the QBCC pay to Groupline damages for the unlawful suspension of its licence,’’ a Groupline spokesman said.

“Despite Minister De Brenni denying in parliament that he had not been involved in this matter as an operational matter it is quite clear that he had a significant involvement in arranging for Groupline’s licence to be unlawfully suspended.

“We also can see that (QBCC chair) Dick Williams was involved in the meeting which the QBCC board members (and) he should not involve themselves with operational matters.

“At this meeting there was an agenda for the meeting in which it quite clearly shows that the decisions that were made in this matter came from the meeting with the Minister and the Board member present.’’

Both Mr de Brenni and Mr Williams have always maintained they do not get involved in individual QBCC cases.

For Mr Varghese, cleaning up the QBCC will be a big challenge. His recommendations must address alleged board and Ministerial interference in matters such as the Kirra Vista affair.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/peter-gleeson/opinion-sordid-timeline-shows-dysfunctional-qbcc-must-be-blown-up/news-story/841482d9bafa8e8179fd433781c9d6d4

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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)

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Brisbane to charge Airbnb hosts higher council rates to tackle housing availability

A brilliant idea: Solve the shortage of rental acomodation by penalizing those who provide it! Short-term lets are an important source of accomodation but they are bad somehow. Property owners concerned may withdraw from the market entirely if they are penalized for it. Attempts to make people do what they do not want to do will always be met with evasion in some form

Brisbane homeowners who list their properties as short-term accommodation on sites like Airbnb will be slugged with a 50% rates hike amid a chronic shortage of rental properties.

Handing down the city’s $4bn budget on Wednesday, the LNP lord mayor, Adrian Schrinner, said a new “transitory accommodation” category will help tackle housing availability and affordability in Australia’s fastest growing capital city.

Schrinner said the 50% rate increase would mean a property on Brisbane’s minimum rating category would pay $600 extra a year, providing an incentive to landlords to rent their property to longer term tenants.

Brisbane’s rental vacancy rate was 0.7% in May, according to SQM Research.

Related: Short-term rentals, long-term anguish for Australian towns struggling to find homes for locals

“There’s a serious housing affordability issue and we need to be looking at new ways to increase housing supply,” Schrinner said.

“It’s about getting more accommodation for renters to be available in that long-term rental market. Every single property that switches from short-term to long-term rental is a win for the community.”

It comes as Schrinner said residential rates would increase by 4.93% – the city’s highest rates increase in more than a decade – as Brisbane grapples with the aftermath of February’s floods.

From 1 July, property owners who list their homes on Airbnb, Booking.com and Stayz will be asked to self-identify and be charged higher rates. The charges will only apply to entire properties, not single rooms or granny flats, and only to those rented out on short-term leases for more than 60 days a year.

Schrinner said council would use online resources to identify properties listed as short-term accommodation, and also allow people to report their neighbours.

He said there had been almost 300 complaints from the community about short-term rentals in the past three years across Darra, Wavell Heights, Rochedale and Paddington.

“Think about how you would feel as a resident if your nextdoor neighbour kept on changing every second night, [and] every weekend [there were] parties happening in the house,” he said.

“This is what’s being reported to us. And so that’s just one of many ways that we can identify this problem.”

Schrinner said the city needs more housing supply and criticised the Greens for opposing new developments.

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/brisbane-to-charge-airbnb-hosts-higher-council-rates-to-tackle-housing-availability/ar-AAYtp3w

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Submarine realism at last

Australia will prioritise the purchase of nuclear-powered submarines able to hit the water the fastest, under an Albanese Government pledge to deliver a “fit for purpose” defence force to meet modern threats.

Reaffirming Labor’s commitment to the AUKUS partnership, Defence Minister Richard Marles has revealed he wants to close the 20-year “capability gap” between when new submarines were first promised by the Coalition, and the expected delivery of a nuclear-powered fleet in the 2040s.

“We really need to be doing everything we can in terms of the timing of the next generation of submarines to close that gap as much as possible,” he said.

Australia is yet to decide between pursuing UK or US designed submarines, with Mr Marles indicating the government’s preferred option would consider the time frame to deliver.

“We’re looking at having that capability delivered as soon as possible,” he said.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/national/defence-minister-richard-marles-wants-more-military-collaboration-with-us-india-and-japan/news-story/7698dc846c2744b4d766ff23afe8faef

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Right masks boost virus protection: study

Healthcare departments across Australia need to more selectively procure respirator masks to encourage stronger compliance among frontline workers, researchers say.

The finding follows the federal government signing off on an extra $760 million to help states and territories in the ongoing fight against COVID-19.

Existing commonwealth-state funding arrangements were set to expire in September but were extended on Friday by three months.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the pandemic “clearly isn’t over yet and it would be very brave to suggest that you can make that projection”.

Study author Irene Ng, a consultant anaesthetist at Royal Melbourne Hospital, said healthcare workers often do not comply with recommendations for using respirators, particularly N95 respirators.

“Explanations for non-compliance include the lack of standardisation of donning and doffing techniques, and design features of respirators that reduce comfort and usability,” Dr Ng said.

Some 378 health workers completed a comfort and usability survey, which formed the basis for the study.

The overall fit test pass rates were 65 per cent for semi-rigid cup respirators, 32 per cent for the flat-fold models, 59 per cent for the duckbill respirators and 96 per cent for three-panel flat-fold designs.

The latter was therefore the obvious choice for administrators and state and federal health departments when considering how to maximise respiratory protection.

Australia’s coronavirus-related death toll continues to rise, with more than 100 fatalities announced over the weekend including 48 in Victoria.

https://www.pharmacytimes.com.au/right-masks-boost-virus-protection-study/

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Renewable or reliable? Energy cannot be both

Australia’s new ALP government has gigantic green energy plans to be funded by electricity consumers and taxpayers.

They promise (with a straight face) that Australia’s electricity will be 82 per cent renewable by 2030.

They predict a 43 per cent reduction in emissions and being ‘on track for Net Zero by 2050’.

They threaten to litter the landscape with 400 community batteries, 85 solar banks, and a $20B expansion of the electricity grid.

This gigantic ‘green’ electricity plan will need at least 150 million Chinese solar panels covering outback kingdoms of land, plus thousands of bird-slicing metal-hungry wind turbines, plus never-ending roads and powerlines – not friendly to grass or trees and with no room for native birds, bees, bats or marsupials – not green at all.

The ALP has also revived the hoary plan to run an extension cord to Tasmania.

Naturally, some greedy green Tasmanians want to keep all that wind, solar, and hydro energy for themselves. Others dream of sending Northern Territory sunshine up a long cable from Darwin to Singapore.

With enthusiastic support from the new Parliament full of Climatists, Net Zeros, Teals, and Greens (but very few engineers) we can expect a disorderly rush to plaster a mess of electrical machinery and appliances all over the face of Australia.

They will also promote more demand for electricity for electric cars, many seeking overnight charging (despite having zero solar power and intermittent wind power at night). So we will need giant fire-prone batteries to recharge small fire-prone batteries.

When there is no sun on a single solar panel for 12 hours, no one notices; when all wind turbines sit idle for days under a slow-moving winter high, no one cares; but when one aging under-maintained coal plant falters, we notice; when three coal generators fail, we have a power crisis.

Yet we have green millionaires urging quicker closure of our few remaining 24/7 coal-powered generators.

The ALP/Green/Teal plan will clutter the countryside with solar panels, wind turbines, transmission lines, access roads (some bitumen), giant batteries, and fire-prone National Parks.

Eastern Australia recently had several very windy days, which caused many blackouts as trees and powerlines were blown down. Imagine the outages and repair costs after a cyclone slices thru this continent-wide spider-web of fragile power lines connecting millions of wind/solar generators, fire-prone batteries, and diverse markets. Picture the green energy network after the next big flood or bushfire.

Europeans can pretend to run a modern society with intermittent energy from windmills and sunbeams because they can call on reliable energy from French nuclear, Scandinavian hydro, Polish and German coal, Iceland geothermal, North Sea natural gas, and (sometimes) Russian gas, oil, and coal.

Australia has no extension cord to neighbours with reliable energy – we are on our own.

We can have Renewable Energy, or Reliable Energy, but not both.

https://www.spectator.com.au/2022/06/renewable-or-reliable-energy-cannot-be-both/

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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)

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Youth crime Qld: Why minimum age of detention could be raised from 10 to 14

The main driver for this change is to exculpate young Aborigines, who are commonly expert sneak thieves from an early age. The change would give them licence to offend repeatedly. But Leftists just see their age and want them exonerated on that ground alone -- with the usual Leftist blindness to consequences

Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman says she will look at the minimum age of detention in Queensland following Tasmania’s move to increase it from 10 to 14.

Ms Fentiman described the recently announced decision by the Tasmanian Liberal government as an “interesting reform” as she spoke before the Queensland Media Club on Tuesday.

Under 14s will no longer be admitted to detention under the flagged changes in Tasmania, which are set to come into effect from 2024 – but they will still be held criminally responsible.

“Here in Queensland, very few young people – particularly aged ten to 12 – actually are in detention,” Ms Fentiman said. “But I think it is an interesting reform to look at. “Very happy to look at Tasmania’s approach, which is looking at detention, not (criminal) responsibility.”

Ms Fentiman acknowledged every jurisdiction across the country was meanwhile pushing for the minimum age of criminal responsibility to be raised from ten to 12.

She suggested each jurisdiction would want to make the move together to ensure consistency – with work underway in each state and territory to determine how it could be done.

“We haven’t had a Meeting of Attorneys-General yet with the new (federal) Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, but I know he is very interested in this,” she said.

“And perhaps we will get some leadership from the federal government on this issue as well which would help.”

Meanwhile, it can be revealed the government is now considering the Bob Atkinson-led review into its youth justice reforms – but it is yet to publicly release the report to the community.

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli said if the government valued transparency and wanted to take meaningful action on youth crime, it would release the report “immediately”.

“Is the government keeping this report secret because the Premier doesn’t want the negative publicity when it’s released,” he asked.

In response to questions put to Youth Justice Minister Leanne Linard, a spokeswoman would only say the report would be released “soon” – with recommendations being considered by the government.

She also wouldn’t say if electronic monitoring devices as a condition of bail for accused youth offenders would be made a permanent measure beyond the trial period.

As of January, only three electronic monitoring devices had been fitted on 16 and 17-year-olds as a condition of bail following the introduction of the government’s laws.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts-qld/youth-crime-qld-why-minimum-age-of-detention-could-be-raised-from-10-to-14/news-story/8c86c1c09ece735ceecc934003f08420

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"Dark Emu" rebuttal added to school reading list

"Dark Emu" is a monstrous work of fiction parading as history. But the Left love it. They routinely ignore the facts. That's what they do

A critique of Bruce Pascoe’s Dark Emu has been included by Victoria’s curriculum authority on a resource list for the state’s Australian history teachers to use in the classroom.

In the latest challenge to Professor Pascoe’s work, a book by anthropologist Peter Sutton and archaeologist Keryn Walshe – which says Dark Emu relies on colonial accounts as sources – has been endorsed by the state’s curriculum chiefs.

Professor Pascoe says before European conquest, Indigenous Australians engaged in sophisticated agricultural and farming techniques. He contends that precolonial Aboriginal people sometimes lived in houses and villages and employed technology to harvest food.

Professor Sutton and Dr ­Walshe challenge this, claiming Indigenous Australians were “complex hunter-gatherers”.

Their work, Farmers or ­hunter-gatherers? The Dark Emu debate, was published last year and has been added to a list of optional resources, alongside Dark Emu, for teachers and now thousands of year 11 and 12 students across the state to use in the study of Australian history.

Professor Sutton, from the University of Adelaide and the South Australian museum, said if students were being given Dark Emu without a critical analysis of the work, they were being “misled”.

“I think that’s quite shameful. Let’s say the Dalai Lama tells you that two and two makes five. You say, look, with all due respect, your spiritual highness, two and two does not make five,” he told The Australian.

“So this issue is not really about Bruce … It’s about whether students are being guided … in terms of reliable sources of factual information.”

Professor Pascoe’s 2014 work, Dark Emu Black Seeds: agriculture or accident?, has been included on the same list since at least 2015 according to a VCAA resource list dated that year.

It argues that the economy and culture of Indigenous Australians before European conquest has been undervalued, and that journals and diaries of explorers revealed “a much more complicated Aboriginal economy than the primitive hunter-gatherer lifestyle we had been told was the simple lot of Australia’s First People.”

Professor Sutton and Dr ­Walshe “contend that Pascoe is broadly wrong” and say Indigenous Australians were “hunter-gatherers-plus” whose “hunting, fishing and gathering economy was far more complex than might be imagined from the word ‘mere’.”

Dark Emu is listed as an optional resource in two NSW high school subject “sample programs” – they include stage 6 Investigating science and Stage 4 Technology Mandatory – but it is not a prescribed text. Nor is Professor Sutton’s work.

Queensland and Western Australia recommend neither book as a prescribed or recommended resource.

Professor Sutton, an anthropologist since 1969, said students should have the opportunity to review both pieces of work, not Dark Emu alone. “(Dark Emu should) either be excluded on the basis that it’s been disproved by the heavy weight of Aboriginal evidence in our expert opinion or you present both that book and its answer and you get the students to compare the pair,” he said.

“I often say to people ‘Don‘t read our book first. Go and buy a copy of Dark Emu, have a good read, then read ours,’ ”

Professor Pascoe did not respond to a request for comment.

A spokesman from Victoria’s Department of Education said books were selected by individual schools to support teachers in delivering the state’s curriculum.

“Texts to support the implementation of the Victorian curriculum are determined by individual schools, consistent with advice provided by the Department of Education and Training on the selection of suitable teaching resources,” he said.

“Farmers or hunter-gatherers: The Dark Emu debate" by Peter Sutton and Keryn Walshe is not on any of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority’s prescribed text lists for senior secondary VCE studies. However, the book is on a list of optional resources that teachers may use to explore a range of different interpretations of the past in the study of VCE Australian History Units 3 and 4.”

Professor Sutton described his work as a “forensic examination” of Professor Pascoe’s, whom he said omitted evidence that did not suit his theory and relied too heavily on the work of European explorers.

Professor Sutton’s work is included in the optional reading list for the VCE subject area “from custodianship to the Anthropocene (60,000 BCE-1901)”.

A spokeswoman for the ­national curriculum authority, the Australian Curriculum and Assessment Reporting Authority, said it did not recommend books for students to read.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/dark-emu-rebuttal-added-to-school-reading-list/news-story/9bfab1364a39acbb4e5062b25ebea666

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Cook cancelled: when will we call this out as racism?

Peaceful explorer, cartographer, and navigator Captain James Cook has been removed from the Australia versus England Test match crystal Cook Cup.

After a quarter of a century, one of the greatest men in history will be replaced by the ‘Ella-Mobbs Trophy’ due to be unveiled in Perth this July.

The hyphenated name is for two people, an English winger and casualty of the first world war on the Western Front Edgar Mobbs, and the Indigenous Australian Mark Ella who served as the first Indigenous captain.

Ultra-Woke Rugby Australia is believed to have led the move to rename the cup.

Bowing to the ridiculous cancel culture of the foreign Marxist-driven social movement set on committing acts of cultural vandalism in the West, Rugby Australia and the Rugby Football Union said that this change would ‘better represent’ the history of both nations.

‘The majority of Indigenous people wouldn’t want that [Cook’s name] on the cup,’ said Glen Ella, Mark’s twin, in a comment that would be deemed highly offensive and inappropriate if it were said about an Indigenous person.

‘I don’t have a problem, personally, it doesn’t really worry me. But to do the right thing by Aboriginal people, yeah, I understand why they’ve made that call. There is still a lot of angst about that among the elders, so they’re doing the right thing and making an effort to change the name to something more to do with rugby, and not carry those connotations.’

Considering Cook discovered Australia, no one would be playing rugby and certainly not an Australia-England Test match if it weren’t for Captain Cook.

‘The Wallabies’ England Test series will see a new trophy introduced for all future series between the nations. Australia and England first played against each other in a Test match in 1909 in London. With such a vast history between them, Rugby Australia and the Rugby Football Union made the decision that the trophy should better represent the proud rugby history of both nations,’ said an RFU spokesperson.

The claim is that Cook is a divisive figure in Australia – except that he isn’t – or at least he wasn’t until the Black Lives Matter mob latched onto the navigator and tried to tear down his achievements to elevate their race-driven revenge activism.

It has become Woke and ‘cool’ to hate the people who contributed the most to the founding of Australia, even when they were decent human beings.

Captain Cook quite literally put Australia on the map. By all accounts, his morality, ethics, courage, and leadership stand in better stead than most activists screeching at the nearest microphone. He was revered and honoured across Australian culture because he deserved it. He is also the link between England and Australia, hence his significance for the Test match trophy.

Despite being a good and peaceful man, he was killed and cooked in 1779 by Hawaiian natives.

The only criticism activists can level at Cook is that he ‘enabled Colonialism’ but if activists were being honest with history and themselves, every culture on Earth went out and explored lands. The Indigenous people of Australia are themselves explorers from Asia who came down in successive waves with today’s people having warred with, intermarried, and in many cases killed existing tribes.

As far as anyone can tell, Cook never killed anyone. At one point, he fired three non-lethal loads toward antagonistic Aboriginal warriors with the intention of scaring them away. One shot slightly injured a warrior in the leg after the warrior had thrown stones and other projectiles at Cook’s men. The object was to keep his crew safe after cultural misunderstandings arose during otherwise peaceful trade negotiations which the Aboriginal people had previously been engaged in. What is often left out of the story is that at the time of the shots being fired, the Aboriginal warriors were throwing poisoned darts with the intent of killing. Cook was merely trying to hold them back without causing harm while his men retreated.

This trade exchange between two peoples who were unable to communicate except through the most crude of hand signals and offerings is exaggerated by activists into an act of imperialism or aggression. It is a complete nonsense and fabrication of history designed to re-paint the world as a ‘struggle’ between victims and oppressors instead of human beings trying to navigate the world and its challenges.

Cook was an adventurer that greatly expanded our scientific knowledge of nature and geography – something that the Left proclaim to value and yet refuse to praise or acknowledge the individuals who actually did it because they don’t like the colour of their skin.

Cancelling people because of their heritage, culture, or skin colour is a racist trend imported from jealous, hateful Marxists looking to tear down their ideological betters and replace Australia’s truly equal political system with a race-based society of victimhood and division which can be easily extorted for money and power.

The Left love to go on about ‘offense’ well, it is offensive to attack, malign, and paint an historical figure like Captain James Cook with fabricated hatred. It shows a complete lack of respect to Australia, its history, and the story of how we all came to be here together in peace.

Shame on Rugby Australia and RFU for cancelling one of the greatest men in Australian history – especially considering they chase balls around for a living. Perspective…

https://spectator.com.au/2022/06/cook-cancelled-when-will-we-call-this-out-as-racism/

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Coal, gas payments for reliable power fix

Coal and gas power stations would receive payments to secure reliable supply and keep Australia’s ailing electricity system operating, as the government faces pressure to avoid blackouts and fix the ­national energy crisis.

The Energy Security Board has rejected demands for the fossil fuels to be cut from its draft ­capacity mechanism, saying it was essential coal and gas plants did not exit the power grid before replacement renewables and storage generation were in place.

The mechanism would allow generators to be paid for guaranteeing standby supply to meet ­demand, helping to avoid a repeat of the current grid suspension and incentivise companies to invest in new energy capacity.

But the states will retain the final say over whether to include coal and gas in the mechanism amid calls for it to be focused on storage technologies to support more renewables.

“From an investor’s point of view, a capacity mechanism would reduce reliance on wholesale market outcomes that are ­becoming increasingly difficult to predict. It would provide an alternative revenue source that would be potentially more predictable and secure, rewarding the ­capacity service that the market needs,” the ESB said.

After a horror week which saw the entire national electricity market suspended, repeat warnings of blackouts and allegations from Anthony Albanese that generators were gaming the system, the ESB said offering incentives only to new clean energy and storage suppliers would hand them an unfair advantage over existing generators, including coal and gas.

“Providing payments to only new capacity would, all else being equal, give them a competitive ­advantage while at the same time reduce revenues for all capacity providers – through increased competition, which will drive prices down – and potentially make some uneconomic, thereby ­increasing the risk of a disorderly transition to net zero,” the ESB said.

The loss of a quarter of coal supply in recent weeks has contributed to soaring wholesale prices and the threat of power blackouts, underlining the need for the fossil fuel to remain in the electricity mix during the transition to a renewables-dominated energy system.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/coal-gas-payments-for-reliable-power-fix/news-story/ef718b9232b44685dc574ed5a4a1b919

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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)

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Rent crisis: 87,000 properties ‘empty’, water’s on, no-one’s home

Only a minority of these homes will be actually unused but some will be -- particularly homes owned by people living overseas. Some owners are so wary of the unrecoverable damage that tenants can and do sometimes inflict that they regard protecting their investment as a higher priority than renting it out for income.

And given the extremely pro-tenant laws, who could be blamed for not wanting to tangle with tenants? Landlord protection laws would put most of the properties into the rental market but there is no prospect of such laws emerging. Government meddling in the market is once again producing perverse behaviour. Legislation designed to help tenants in fact hurts them. At the very least, it pushes up their costs

I in fact have a rental property that I do not rent out even though it is little used. I prefer to keep it available for occasional use by family rather than bother with tenants and all the "protections" that come with them. I am not even allowed to bar pets these days. Awful of me but if you smell what some pets do to carpet you will understand. I have been a landlord. I know.

If tenants want more choice of housing, they should be telling governments to back off -- which is exactly the opposite of what is proposed below. The proposals below would undoubtedly take even more housing out of the rental market. You can only push people so far. And guess what? Landlords are people too!

Despite the worst rental crisis on record, about 87,000 ‘empty’ homes are not being put to work prompting calls for penalties against owners who don’t rent them out.

Shock analysis of the latest housing data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows around 87,000 Qld residential properties that aren’t the main home of their owners were not being rented out, a figure which stretches out to 577,000 nationally.

An ABS spokeswoman said “the data includes properties used for other purposes, such as holiday homes, second residences, dwellings occupied rent-free by family members etc”.

Veteran property expert Michael Matusik said new tax measures were necessary to incentivise or penalise owners to release the homes for rent given how tight the market was.

“Around 29 per cent of investment properties are not rented out. They are sitting there vacant.,” he said.

Exclusive data from Qld’s biggest water provider, Urban Utilities, revealed 19,500 homes across lower SEQ had their water connection on, but noone seemed to be home for months.

Spokeswoman Michelle Cull said the firm provided water and sewage for around 590,000 residential properties in Brisbane, Ipswich, Somerset, Scenic Rim and Lockyer Valley – with new data finding about 3.3 per cent had low or no water consumption over a three-month period.

“According to our water usage data, around 19,500 properties in our service region had a water usage of between zero and two kilolitres during the last quarter of 2021 (October to December),” Ms Cull said.

“Properties may have no or low water usage for a range of reasons including the use of water tanks instead of town water supply, residents could be away from home, or the property could be vacant or uninhabitable.”

Unitywater executive manager customer and community Katherine Gee said their numbers showed 2,104 houses that used 1,000 litres or less water over a 90 day period – of which 96 were in Noosa, 1,020 on the Sunshine Coast and 988 in Moreton Bay.

“It is important to note that it cannot be categorically stated that these properties are ‘vacant’. We operate in a desirable region and some of these properties may be holiday homes or homes that are occupied for only parts of the year,” she said.

Mackay Regional Council confirmed it too had zero/low consumption segments “however, this is not a definite indication that the property is vacant” given “the property owner may be away for an extended period, it could be a holiday home or estate or the owner may have another water source (rainwater/bore)”.

The figures for ‘empty’ apartments are harder to get given “there are a significant number of residential units/complexes that feed off a single meter and it will depend if each unit/complex are separate parcels of land (lot and plan),” a Mackay spokeswoman said.

The rental crisis spurred Brisbane Mayor Adrian Schrinner to open the floodgates over under-utilised rental properties, announcing “significantly higher rates” for landlords who “turned homes into mini hotels”.

“If owners have these properties in the market for a short term, that is their choice, but what they’ll be facing now is a 50 per cent increase in their rates. We’re excluding (those that rent out) individual rooms. This is about people who rent out the whole house.”

The city saw house rent surge 22 per cent in the past year to $610 a week, with units up 11.2 per cent to $430 a week, latest SQM Research data found. It put Brisbane’s vacancy rate at 0.7 per cent – its tightest level in history – with listings almost halving in one year (-46 per cent) to 2,200.

There are now calls for the Qld Government to step up, with Strata Community Association Qld president Kristi Kinast repeating calls for legislation to allow bodies corporate to ban short-term letting.

“This is currently impossible for 99 per cent of Queensland’s strata communities,” she said. “SCA Qld believes this is a good policy that will help alleviate rental shortages and discourage short-term letting in strata schemes that were not intended for that purpose.”

The Federal Government’s whip has been a vacancy fee penalty – enforced against international buyers who leave their real estate investments empty.

Australian Taxation Office figures show it collected $2.3m in penalties in 2021, $3.7m in 2019/20 and $1.8m in its first year of collection (2018/19).

Prosper Australia director of advocacy Karl Fitzgerald said foreign investors were not solely to blame for empty or under-utilised homes, with “speculative vacancies” by Australian investors curbing supply and pushing prices higher.

He said governments needed to reduce incentives for short-term profiteering from housing.

“Higher land taxes, more effective vacancy taxes and even curbing interest-only loans could all help. Switching away from stamp duties and towards land taxes – the ultimate vacancy tax – is a vital step forward.”

The best form of vacancy tax locally, Mr Fitzgerald said, would be to replace stamp duty with a land tax set at a significant rate of about 1.5 per cent of site values.

He said the ATO should also consider denying depreciation as a tax write-off if a property owner did not put it up for rent at a competitive rate. “Further investigation is needed of an incremental land tax for sites that refuse to be put to work.”

https://www.couriermail.com.au/property/rent-crisis-87000-properties-empty-waters-on-noones-home/news-story/3ca0caf5850f074335aac1999085f45c

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A welfare explosion

It is one of life’s sad realities that, as soon as there is an attempt to improve the population’s welfare, unscrupulous individuals take advantage of the best of intentions.

Our welfare system could be said to discourage work and self-reliance, it also tests the ability to pay for it.

Over the years, we have seen solo parent support encourage more pregnancies for financial gain, without financial input from fathers. The unemployment benefit was established as temporary support for those out of work, for some it has become a permanent and sometimes multi-generational way of life; while jobs in agriculture and hospitality are unfilled, we have an unemployment rate which, although temporarily improved, is high by OECD comparison.

Accident Compensation is another scheme that has become blighted by ‘permanent invalids’, who seem capable of mowing the lawn whilst incapable of work. The cost of aged care continues to rise, whilst their children expect the government to pay the bills – and complain when they consider care to be substandard. Welfare demands are still higher in the Aboriginal population, with average benefits at $40,000 per capita, compared with $20,000 for non-Aboriginals.

The cost of these good intentions has risen rapidly, from $160 billion in 2017, to currently $200 billion, with an increasing proportion funded by the federal government.

The latest addition to the welfare bill is the NDIS, a scheme introduced by the Gillard government designed to support those under 65 with significant, permanent disability.

The scheme was initially trialled in 2013, in Tasmania for young adults, in South Australia for children, in Victoria for general groups, and in New South Wales for older adults. It was formally launched in July 2016 and, by year’s end, covered 30,000. West Australia joined in 2020.

The initial cost was estimated at $4 billion for the year 2016-17, with funding provided by an increase of half a per cent in the Medicare levy. It was planned to cover Musculoskeletal conditions, cancer, visual and hearing impairment, and neurological conditions such as stroke, Parkinson’s disease, and spinal cord injury.

In August 2017 mental health disorders, including anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, and autism, became eligible; by November that year, the number of enrolments had increased to 120,000.

At the completion of enrolment, it was estimated that 400,000 would be supported at a cost of $14 billion. By 2019-20, the first full year of operation, the cost had ballooned to $22 billion (1.1 per cent of GDP). By June 2021 there were 463,000 claimants, now 480,000, with an average individual cost increasing to $71,000.

Forward estimates now suggest a spiralling increase to $42 billion by 2024-25 (1.5 per cent of GDP), and $46 by the following year; future figures up to $60 billion have been suggested, with as many as 860,000 supported. The government is rightly concerned as to why this has occurred, and what can be done to control costs.

One aspect of the increase is the increasing inclusion of behavioural disorders, once considered the result of bad parenting, now reclassified into the psychiatric domain as new conditions are invented. Autism is a clear-cut diagnosis, autism spectrum diagnosis in Australia increased from 30,000 cases in 2003, to 60,000 by 2009 and 120,000 by 2012; as diagnostic boundaries expand, the latest estimate is 230,000 cases (approximately 1 per cent of the population), with around half being children.

The same increase has been noted in other countries: in Canada, it expanded from 4 per 10,000 in 2003, to 20 per 10,000 and by 2020 to 1 per cent (100 per 10,000). In the UK, the incidence was 5 per 10,000 in 1990, now increased to 1 per cent of children and 2 per cent of the general population. The estimated incidence in India remains low at 3 per 10,000 (0.03 per cent), and worldwide 60 per 10,000 (0.6 per cent). A recent Japanese study suggests this increase in incidence may be a consequence of exposing children to excess screen time at a young age; the study also revealed that 90 per cent of 1-year-olds were exposed to between 1 and 4 hours daily. The WHO has advised total bans on use in the very young.

Projections are the total number here will continue to rise, to 1.5 per cent, 350,000 cases, as diagnostic criteria are refined and milder degrees are included. With no specific test the diagnosis is subjective and, as milder degrees are added, the autism spectrum becomes a major cost. The proportion claiming NDIS support because of mental or behavioural problems has progressively increased, reaching 66,000 by the end of 2021 and predicted 90,000 by 2030; other, new psychological disorders have the potential to add further to the numbers.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCDC) is now estimated at 3 per cent of the Australian population, around 500,000; attention deficit disorder (ADHD) is now found in 5 per cent, and Asperger’s syndrome has now been reclassified as part of the autism spectrum. The latest behavioural problems to add to the diagnostic alphabet are oppositional defiance disorder (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD).

It seems that bad behaviour, as well as being a problem in the classroom, is becoming a cost to the taxpayer and a source of income for some parents and psychologists.

The latest conditions are not, as yet, included in the NDIS list, but parents of children with ADHD are being encouraged to explore the additional diagnosis of the autism spectrum to qualify for payment. As of June 2019, one-third of those funded by NDIS for psychological disorders had autism spectrum as their primary diagnosis; evidence is accumulating that the explosion in numbers is due to young children having excess screen time exposure, instead of parental input. Care now involves psychology, counselling, and even art and music therapy.

Since the Covid pandemic disability diagnoses have soared with up to one in five now eligible for assistance. Claims relate to ‘social-emotional’ disability (7 per cent), cognitive disability conditions (12 per cent), and physical disability (3 per cent). Since the start of the pandemic, an extra 43,000 children have been added, a 12 per cent increase; the increase in ‘lockdown’ Victoria was even more pronounced at 17 per cent.

Another explanation for the cost blowout is the increasing severity of disability classification, with individual payments increasing by an average 12.5 per cent annually.

After an increase of 23 per cent in 2 years, the federal government has become concerned about spiralling costs: attempts to rein in costs have reduced per capita spending from $71,200 in 2020 to $68,500 in 2021.

The states, (who had historically been responsible for the disabled) had initially been responsible for 50 per cent; their contribution had been limited to a 4 per cent annual increase, meaning the federal proportion is rising to 60 per cent of the total.

Following a revue this year, it wanted to introduce an independent assessment of both diagnosis and severity of both current and future eligibility. This review and subsequent planned legislation, has inevitably produced an outcry from the welfare lobby groups, as well as the left of politics who are always happy to spend other people’s money. A simple (but unlikely) solution would be to revert to the original premise and exclude psychiatric disorders.

Welfare and disability advocates demand yet more support for the NDIS, and even suggest it saves money! Currently, the Australian government spends around 40 per cent of GDP gross domestic product, with around half that amount spent on welfare. The leaders in welfare are the Swedes at around 25 per cent, now overtaken by the French who spend 30 per cent of their GDP on welfare. Not only has the proportion spent on welfare increased, but the total spending is now increasingly supported by borrowing and accumulated debt; this has increased from about 40 per cent of GDP to nearly 100 per cent since the Covid lockdowns.

Future projections of NDIS costs are heading toward $60 billion, with a new Labor government the problem remains the same- how to pay for it. They need to grasp the nettle and assess the worth of this and other welfare schemes – ultimately, we must accept what we can afford, rather than what we want.

https://www.spectator.com.au/2022/06/ndis-used-or-abused/ ?

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ABC boss Ita Buttrose criticised by hyphenated lady for using the term ‘Aborigines’ in speech

ABC chair Ita Buttrose has been accused of failing to comply with the broadcaster’s own editorial style guide in a major speech where she referred to First Nations people as “Aborigines”.

Ms Buttrose used the term in Sydney on Friday night as she delivered an annual media lecture in honour of distinguished journalist Andrew Olle, who died in 1995 at age 48.

While speaking about Mr Olle’s work, she said “he’d tell the stories of Aborigines, the mentally ill, the poor and the powerless … stories, at that time, with no assured place on the mainstream media’s agenda”.

Former ABC, SBS and NITV journalist Jennetta Quinn-Bates took offence at use of the term “Aborigines” and she took to Twitter to highlight it was not in-line with the ABC style guide.

“She’s still calling us Aborigines and basically reminding First Nations people we’re lucky for any airtime at all,” Ms Quinn-Bates wrote.

“Message received loud and clear. Sincerest apologies to my former ABC indigenous colleagues.”

After her initial comments, Ms Quinn-Bates posted screenshots of the ABC editorial style guide, which directs staff to “avoid Aborigine outside of quotes”.

Ms Quinn-Bates said while Ms Buttrose could argue it was “only a guide”, she called for “some respect please”.

“You would think one would be familiar with the policies and standards of the organisation they chair,” Ms Quinn-Bates posted.

https://www.news.com.au/national/abc-boss-ita-buttrose-criticised-for-using-the-term-aborigines-in-speech/news-story/4de08fa951dba47d82e4aff8741332f9

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NSW will need Narrabri gas resources minister in Federal Leftist government says

Resources Minister Madeleine King has warned of a bigger energy crisis in future years if new gas fields like the Narrabri project in northern NSW do not go ahead, declaring that critics of the project should accept the need for gas as part of the transition from coal to renewable energy.

Warning of gas shortfalls that could hurt industry and households, the new federal minister said Narrabri should proceed if it met environmental safeguards and all the gas should flow to the domestic market.

Santos wants to produce the first gas from the controversial project in 2026 and says it could sell the gas “two or three times over” on the domestic market because demand is so strong, but the company must gain state and federal approvals for gas production and a pipeline to Sydney.

The gas field is opposed by the Australian Conservation Foundation, Greenpeace, the Climate Council, the Gomeroi traditional owners and others, while Greens leader Adam Bandt wants federal Labor to halt all new gas and coal projects.

King said she hoped the project would go ahead but understood it had to pass further regulatory checks, including challenges under native title legislation.

“If Narrabri meets all the environmental standards, and by all accounts it does, then it makes sense for it to go ahead,” King said in her first interview with the Herald and The Age since taking office.

“It is an important gas reserve that will help the population of NSW address a future power crisis. It avoids a crisis, is what it does, because it means more gas closer to your systems.”

While the NSW government has backed the Santos plan in principle, the project is subject to independent environmental approvals while the government also examines a separate plan to build an import terminal in Port Kembla to supply gas that has been shipped from Western Australia.

King emphasised that she wanted to “decarbonise” the economy by shifting to renewables but had to deal with household and industry demand “and accept some of the realities of our current energy mix”.

She said demand for gas would fall over time and she wanted Australia to reach net zero emissions by 2050 with Labor policies to shift to renewables and invest in the electricity grid, but she said gas was part of the transition because it would replace dirtier emissions from coal-fired power.

“I understand people’s concerns about there being a lack of determination around meeting net zero emissions and a lack of an energy plan and that has been because of the climate wars in this country in the last 10 or 15 years,” she said.

“I have a lot of sympathy for it and I’m as angry as anyone about the inaction that has allowed the current crisis to be upon us.

“But everyone needs to understand, especially I think in some of the southern states, that right now when you flick on your light switch or have your dishwasher running or turn on your telly, for the most part, that moves a turbine in a coal-fired generator ... you’re using more coal, which is high in emissions.

“While the government is now bringing in an energy plan which will get working on renewables, and that’s our very determined ambition, gas is the transition fuel that is able to bring down emissions in the short term.

“So it’s not a perfect answer. We’d all love to switch straight from coal to renewables. But it’s simply not possible,” she said.

“So I guess for the good people of NSW, they need to consider what they really want. And I imagine they still want to be able to turn on their television and keep their fridge running.

“What is the current means to be able to do it and be on a downward trajectory with emissions? Well, it’s via gas on the way to a proper, solid, reliable transmission system that allows renewables and the storage of renewables to operate into the long term.

“We’ve got a long way to go, actually, because of the lack of investment over the last 10 or 15 years and you can’t switch on investment like we switch on lights.

“And for those people that will get angry at me for what I’ve said, I just want to let them know that I want to clean and decarbonised world as well. And that’s what we’re working towards. It might not be on the same timeline as others. But we are all going through the same goal.”

Santos has promised in the past that all the gas from Narrabri would serve the domestic market if the project gained approval, making this part of its formal submission to the Independent Planning Commission.

“Santos has committed to providing all this gas to the domestic market and agreed to accept a condition to this effect on any petroleum production lease granted for the project under the Petroleum (Onshore) Act 1991,” the company wrote.

Santos chief executive Kevin Gallagher confirmed the pledge in an interview on Sky News on June 8.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/nsw-will-need-narrabri-gas-resources-minister-20220614-p5atlb.html

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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)

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One Nation's Pauline Hanson wins Queensland Senate seat

My vote counted

It means Liberal National Party Senator Amanda Stoker has lost her seat.

The 68-year-old Senator Hanson has been elected for a second six-year term, after entering the Senate as a One Nation Candidate in 2016.

Senator Stoker exits after being placed in the Senate by the LNP in 2018 when George Brandis resigned.

Ms Hanson, who has previously represented the Lower House seat of Oxley, west of Brisbane, garnered 191,156 first-preference votes.

As a party, One Nation polled just over half the amount required for a quota in Queensland.

With Ms Stoker losing her seat, Queensland's traditional Senate split of three right and three left senators has been restored.

The Brisbane solicitor worked in corporate law before she first joined the Senate in 2018, where she became a vocal supporter of her government’s Religious Discrimination Bill.

The mother-of-three served tenures as Assistant Minister for Women, Industrial Relations and to the Attorney-General while in office.

While the AEC officially declared the Queensland winners today, the ABC's election calculator had already called five of the six spots.

In a statement Pauline Hanson thanked supporters.

"I thank Queenslanders for entrusting me to continue to represent them in Canberra and I thank all those Australians who supported our party and lifted our national vote," she said.

"I congratulate Mr Albanese on Labor's win. I've said in the past he probably wouldn't make a good Prime Minister, however I sincerely hope he proves me wrong.

"Australians need representation which puts them and their country first more than ever," she said.

"The costs of living are skyrocketing. We have an energy crisis created by the major parties that One Nation has been warning about for many years.

"We're in the middle of a housing crisis. We have significant security challenges.

"We have a new government seemingly all too ready and willing to sacrifice the Australian economy and countless Australian jobs on the altar of climate change."

Labor's Murray Watt and Anthony Chisholm have been re-elected, along with the LNP's James McGrath and Matt Canavan.

The Greens' Penny Allman-Payne also won a seat.

There are six Senate seats up for grabs in each state at every federal election

The AEC's official declaration of the result today confirms the United Australia Party's Clive Palmer failed to win a seat.

Despite Senator Hanson's win, the ABC's chief election analyst Antony Green told ABC Radio Brisbane this election was a "step back" for One Nation.

"One Nation did not poll as well as I thought they would – only got 7 per cent, I thought they would do better," he said.

"One Nation has elected a Senator, but other than that, it's not been as successful as it was in the last election."

Mr Green said preferences from parties who were not elected helped Senator Hanson get across the line.

"Under the current Senate electoral system at the last two elections, Pauline Hanson will attract more preferences from excluded parties than anybody else on the ballot paper," he said.

Mr Green said Labor's Senator Chisholm and the Greens' incoming Senator, Penny Allman-Payne also relied on preferences to win their seats.

The LNP's two successful candidates and Labor's Senator Watt were returned to the upper house on full quotas, which means they reached 14.4 per cent of the vote.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-17/qld-stoker-vs-hanson-senate-race-queensland-federal-senate-seat/101162456

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Bondi school parents slam decision to ban outdoor play before class

Power-mad bureaucrats at work

Frustrated parents have lashed a decision by Bondi Beach Public School to prohibit outdoor play before school, warning that children are missing out on vital exercise and interaction after months of disruption.

In a letter sent to a parent who raised concerns about limiting outdoor play on school grounds, Paul Owens, from the Bondi Principals Network, said the principal and school executive was “evaluating a focus on quieter and semi-active social interaction prior to morning classes”.

“This initiative responds to playground observations, incidents that may arise, and students’ preparedness for learning once they’ve entered classrooms,” the letter said.

But parents said restricting students from using the playground before school started was causing consternation, with many worried that limiting outdoor play would cut back on critical exercise and interaction with other classes and year groups.

“There has been little discussion between the school principal about the restrictions or changes to when children can play in the school playground,” a parent said, who has a child in a senior primary year and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

“None of the parents I have come across at the school thinks no play outdoors before school is a good idea,” he said.

A spokesperson for the Department of Education said the “initiative has been implemented on a short-term basis in response to school leadership and teacher observations of playground interactions and students’ preparedness for learning once they entered classrooms”.

The Herald understands Bondi Beach Public is the only school in the area trialling a routine to limit before school outdoor play.

“The trial is one of a number of strategies Bondi Beach Public School has implemented to support positive classroom behaviour and learning. Other examples include having two breaks in the day of a similar length where children can engage in active play if they wish,” the spokesperson said.

“Wellbeing data, student comments, and teacher observations, show the trial is having a positive impact.”

Another parent, who has had three children attend the school over 10 years, said there was concern that children were being “forced to sit quietly in classrooms before the school day starts”.

Annie Robin, a parent whose son is in year 4, said after months of COVID-19 disruptions students need to “socialise with other year groups”.

“My main frustration is the kids aren’t learning to put out fires themselves and deal with conflict in the school playground – they need to be around other kids. They need to be running around burning energy,” she said. “Parents are really upset about this.”

Under the latest COVID-19 advice, schools are not required to keep students in their class or year group cohorts and there is no need to stagger start and finish times. Schools can also run activities and assemblies with mixed year groups.

Another parent, with two children in different years at Bondi Beach Public, said many restrictions introduced during the pandemic have stayed in place.

“There is indignation in the community. Before COVID-19 kids could show up at school from 8.30am and play in the school yard before the bell went,” the parent said. “All stages mixed and it was very sociable. But many of the COVID-19 rules have been kept and it’s just hindering kids interaction which is so important while they are preparing for high school.”

In a letter to a parent the Bondi Principals Network said the “positive impact of the current routine will be seen over time and therefore, [principal] Ms O’Neill explained the evaluation will not be finalised until the end of the year”.

“Ms O’Neill will provide an update to parents once feedback has allowed for appropriate conclusions to be drawn,” the letter said.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/bondi-school-parents-slam-decision-to-ban-outdoor-play-before-class-20220615-p5atv1.html

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New 'sticky' Omicron variants will take over in NSW, concerns about reinfection

Two new Omicron variants are set to become the most dominant in NSW as a result of their "growth advantage" over previous strains, according to a new report.

The new variants— BA.4 and BA.5 — are set to overtake the previously prevalent BA.2 variant in coming weeks, the NSW Health respiratory surveillance report said.

"It is anticipated that in coming weeks the BA.4 and BA.5 sub-lineages, first identified in early April, will become the dominant strains," a NSW Health spokesperson said.

"And will likely be associated with an increase in infections."

Virologist Stuart Turville from the University of NSW's Kirby Institute said BA. 5 was "stickier" than its predecessors because of differences in its spike glycoprotein, which influences how the virus engages with cells.

"BA.5 doesn't look to be a big seismic shift like we saw with BA.1 and BA.2 in comparison to Delta," Professor Turville said.

"[But] the thing we're keeping an eye on with BA.5 is that it's starting to like tissue that pre-Omicron variants like ... it likes proteins on the lung.

"What we want to know now is does it like it as much as Delta and pre-Omicron variants or is it just a bit of a shift from BA.2?"

Infectious disease experts say there is evidence the Omicron sub-variants are effective at reinfecting people with previous infections from BA.1 or other lineages.

There is also concern these sub-variants may infect people who have been vaccinated.

However, there hasn't been a link to an increase in disease severity just yet, although this is being closely monitored, according to the NSW Health report.

Hospital and lab surveillance noted an early start to influenza season this year as well as a rapid increase in reported cases, raising concerns for strains on essential services.

University of Sydney Faculty of Medicine and Health Professor Elizabeth Elliott said there was no doubt "chaos" would be caused by the emergence of new variants in the winter flu season.

"Hospitals are already struggling with the load. And kids are not exempt. We recommend flu and COVID vaccines for all eligible," she said.

However, Professor Turville is more optimistic that precautionary measures can help ease the pressure.

"I would say if you haven't already, go and get your third dose. Although it may not stop you getting infected, it will definitely help with disease severity," he said.

"If you've had a third dose a while ago and ATAGI (Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation) recommends a fourth dose, just do it. Don't get complacent.

"The other thing is, although people don't like restrictions, it's important to be considerate and wear a mask. We don't know who has or doesn't have a good vaccine response."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-17/new-covid-omicron-variants-become-dominant-in-nsw/101162684

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Green lunacy

He mentions storage but shows no awareness of its monstrous cost if it were to replace much generating

Chris Bowen has furiously dismissed suggestions that prolonging coal-fired power is the solution to Australia's energy crisis

The Energy Minister Minister fired-up in a press conference when he was challenged by a journalist about the unreliability of renewable energy.

One of the reasons given for the National Electricity Market suspension on Wednesday was a lack of wind and solar power.

The journalist asked: 'Isn't part of the supply problem the fact that you cannot direct wind into the market?

'The only thing you can do is to keep the coal-fired generators going to their end of life and to fix the ones that you have got now and include them in the capacity market, isn't that the short-term fix?'

Minister Bowen said the solution is to rapidly invest in renewable energy and storage - not more unreliable coal power.

'The problem is there is not enough investment in renewable energy. There hasn't been enough investment in storage,' he said.

'Yes, you can say the wind doesn't always blow and the sun doesn't always shine. The rain doesn't always fall either but we can store the water and we can store renewable energy if we have the investment.

'That investment has been lacking for the last decade. That is the problem.'

Mr Bowen said the current crisis has 'largely' been caused by unexpected outages at coal-fired power stations which are nearing the end of their lifespans.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton cautioned Labor against moving into renewables too quickly, risking further power shortages down the track.

'Labor is rushing toward a new system when it's not at a sensible pace,' he told 2GB.

'They went into the election promising electricity bills would be cheaper and that is not going to happen.'

Last night hospitals were ordered to reduce electricity use and millions of people urged not to use basic appliances.

The potential for mass blackouts has increased with about 1800MW of coal-fired power not operating in Queensland and 1200MW of capacity offline in the states of NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania.

The Tomago aluminium smelter in NSW, the country's biggest electricity user, was also forced to cut production to reduce the chance of a blackout.

NSW Treasurer Matt Kean on Wednesday evening begged residents not to run dishwashers until late at night, and Sydney hospital staff were ordered to conserve power in all non-clinical settings.

'This is the result of two-and-a-half decades of policy failures by all sides of politics,' Victorian state Liberal MP Tim Smith said on Wednesday night. 'Like a third world country, we are rationing power in the two first weeks of winter.'

Former Victorian Liberal Party President Michael Kroger said Australia had become 'an international laughing stock' over the crisis.

'We've got more uranium, oil, gas, gold, diamonds, whatever. We are the most energy rich country on the globe,' he told Sky News on Wednesday night. 'We're exploding with natural resources, yet we have an energy crisis. What a farce.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10921777/Energy-minister-Chris-Bowen-loses-journalist-energy-crisis.html

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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)

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