Some households will save more than $800 a year on their power bills, the Federal Government says, as part of measures to protect consumers and businesses from rising energy costs.

Key points:

• Federal Government to introduce default energy price for all customers
• Change was recommended by ACCC after scathing report into energy market
• Part of four-part package to fix energy market and save consumers hundreds of dollars a year, PM says

 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Coalition was prepared to use "a big stick" to stop energy companies gouging Australians.

Earlier this year the consumer watchdog said electricity prices were too high and it made a series of recommendations on how to reduce costs.

The biggest suggested change was the introduction of a base or "default" price for power in each jurisdiction.

Doing this would ensure customers were not being exploited for staying with a standing offer from their supplier, rather than shopping around for a better deal.

And that is what the Government is intending to do as part of a four-part package to fix the energy market and save consumers hundreds of dollars a year, Mr Morrison said.

 

Read more:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-23/federal-govt-energy-policy-save-households-hundreds-of-dollars/

 

 

Does this "big stick" fit into socialism, communism, opportunism, interventionism or democratic shittosphericism? Trust this guy who still believes that Noah saved all the animals in pairs (male and female), except the dinosaurs because they did not fit on his boat? Did the plant kingdom look after itself, or did Noah carry little seedlings as well? Is Scummo the reincarnation of an idiotic bully who still wants his mates to create more coal power stations (probably with subsidies from the Scummo government) with the hope they will come clean one day? Did he forget to mention the guilty poles and wires that were part of a grid reconstruction a while back? Is business going to kick him in the arse as he deserves for hindering profit making (the basis of capitalism) and basically claiming they cheat (gouge)? 

Is Scummo a big stick idiot?

 

What a wretched Crass is this wicked Age come to,

When Morrison and his reindeers won't go down with 'em,

As Uncle Rupe recommends big Baubles for 'em,

With nothing more than Farces and Grimaces to do.

In short, Mr Leonisk' may save himself the troubled pen
Of writing against the Government as, if lewd Practices
Are not laid aside, and Sense and Wit come in play again,
A man may easily foretell, without pretending to the Avis 
Of Prophesie, that the Government will be short-liv'd by ten.


Based on Tom Brown (1633-1704) writings about dumb theatre audiences being led by "critics"... Here, voters are more astute.

The shadow climate change minister, Mark Butler, has issued a clear warning to Australia’s energy sector that Labor does not support the government indemnifying new coal plants against the future risk of a carbon price – noting the cost to taxpayers could run into billions.

While the ALP federally has a policy of not repudiating contracts, Butler told Guardian Australia on Wednesday: “Investors need to understand very clearly that we do not support that. That would be an extraordinary waste of taxpayers’ money.”

Butler’s comments follow a signal from the energy minister, Angus Taylor, that the government could provide an indemnity for private projects as part of “absorbing” the risks currently stopping companies investing in new “reliable” power generation.

 

Read more:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/24/labor-opposes-plan-t...

 

CRAP = Coal Ridiculous Absorbing Price.

 

See also:

reminiscing about the Koal Koalition Krap on election day...

Morrison the fireman who arrived late

Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull will both be condemned for squandering the mandate given to the Coalition in 2013 — Mr Abbott by breaking promises and bad decisions, Mr Turnbull by his flawed 2016 campaign.

Scott Morrison, unless his prayers for a political miracle are answered, will go down as the fireman who arrived late armed only with leaky buckets to confront a building ablaze and collapsing.

Even after all that's happened and regardless of Mr Morrison's own pragmatism, the Government remains in thrall to revenge and ideology, seemingly unable to rise above either. This is despite the obvious point that the only way of improving its fortunes is to do so.

Wentworth lessons not being heeded

Saturday's Liberal disaster in Wentworth brought messages that are not being heeded. If anything, the by-election result has reinforced the old schisms.

 

Read more:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-26/scott-morrison-fights-political-f...

 

Scummo isn't a fireman who arrived too late... He is a small backyard dumb bozo bogan who threw another "Embassy to Jerusalem" on the barbie, like an idiot adds more lighting fluid, once the BBQ fire is already going. The only thing that's going to happen is WHOOSH!... and a few burnt fingers at best. 

 

Scary. Read from top.

 

https://iview.abc.net.au/show/sammy-j

(watch: episode of 25 October 2018)

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

Some people think that Scott Morrison has been so hopeless already – in his first 60 or so days − he could soon be rolled in yet another Liberal coup — perhaps to Julie Bishop.

As hilarious as this might be, it seems unlikely. So far, the Liberals have only equalled the levels of instability they crowed incessantly about during the “Rudd-Gillard-Rudd” years. Yet another prime minister would totally destroy any of their remaining shreds of credibility and almost certainly cause total electoral annihilation.

Then again, the Libs are not great strategists… so who knows? Still, it seems unlikely.

No, more likely, shouty Scott Morrison will continue trying to crab walk away from all the poisonous policies he previously espoused. He will keep disgorging stupidity – such as moving the Israeli embassy and on expelling gay kids from schools – before running away from these statements the very next day. The Coalition infighting will become more outfighting. The polls will slip even further – and they are already behind in every state in Newspoll – and voters will hammer nails into their baseball bats while they wait expectantly.

So much for the Tories, but what about Labor? What will they do before the next election?

The answer to this is not much. They will release a few policies. Chase after the endless incompetence and controversies of the Coalition – and just the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, Stuart Robert and Melissa Price would enough to keep them busy for years – but mostly will keep a low profile and watch on contentedly as the Coalition burns itself down to ashes.

As Napoleon famously said:

“Never interfere with your enemy when he is making a mistake.”

At this stage, Bill Shorten could be filmed kicking cute little puppies and Labor would still win the next election.

But there is a more interesting question. Namely, what will the Murdoch media do now it realises a Labor victory in inevitable?

 

Read more:

https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/editorial-mur...

 

Gus: ...Good question: what will the Murdoch media do now it realises a Labor victory in inevitable?

Answer: publish more CRAP articles like the hatchet job the Daily Turdograph did today (26/10/2018) on Dr Kerryn Phelps... 

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/...the...kerryn-phelps.../026cda10669f65d7087c227...

23 hours ago - How the member for Wentworth Kerryn Phelps made her fortune. John Rolfe, News Corp Australia Network. October 25, 2018 4:00am.

 

The understated idea of The Turdocrap is to tell us that Dr Phelp is a rich woman compared to our ordinary average honest bogan of the Shire, Scott Morrison... AND publish EXACTLY WHERE SHE LIVES... At the latest news, following this overt "publication", The Phelps household had to request police protection... 

 

Come on merde-och sewer pump! Dr Phelps is an INTELLIGENT person. She is possibly one of the most intelligent member of the Australian Parliament ever to come on the scene — albeit "accidentally"... while Scummo still believes in Noah's Ark! 

 

Read from top.

Failed advertising executive and current Liberal Party Leader, Scott Morrison, is the "ad-Lib" Prime Minister.

Before the Wentworth by-election, he ad-Libbed about accepting New Zealand’s offer to take some of the asylum seekers and refugees on Nauru, with a ban on any of them, then, ever coming to Australia. Labor was prepared to agree to it.

After the by-election, with the defeat of the Liberals in their blue-ribbon seat, Morrison rejected doing anything about the potential deal. He prefers, instead, to leave the children on the concentration camp that is Nauru, despite calls from 6,000 doctors to get them off the island for their own health and safety.  

Morrison was ad-Libbing about the children on Nauru because he thought it might help his candidate in the Wentworth by-election. Interestingly, the overwhelming majority of Australians support the New Zealand offer. It makes electoral, as well as some sort of warped moral sense, to pursue this and deliver an outcome the majority support. Morrison backing away from that solution shows how out of touch he is — and what a liar he is.

For the same reason, the Prime Minister also ad-Libbed about the Government considering moving the Australian Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Few in his Government or the bureaucracy knew of the proposed change in Government policy on Jerusalem. My guess is it will quietly die now that the by-election is over.

After the by-election, Morrison has indulged in more thought bubbles. He wants to "repurpose" National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) funding to the Drought Future Fund to help farmers with the drought. In English, this means he wants to shift $3.9 billion from the already underfunded NDIS to the drought fund, worth $5 billion, but only starting in 2020. The results will be disastrous for disabled people. 

It is not as if farmers don’t need assistance now, caught as they are in the worst drought in Australia in 100 years. And it is not as if disabled people don’t need more funding to help all of them – not just some as currently happens under the NDIS – to lead fulfilling lives. It says much about the Morrison Government that they are prepared to sacrifice disabled people for farmers.

 Meanwhile, defence spending rises inexorably year in year out to meet an artificial goal of two per cent of GDP. On top of that, this Government is spending $17 billion on dud jet fighters and $50 billion (over time) on submarines. That could alleviate poverty, improve the health and public education systems and help disabled people. With the money left over, we could even think about implementing a plan to turn Australian into a totally renewable energy society in ten years.

The Prime Minister has consistently refused to discuss the cause of the drought — climate change. He did not ad-Lib during the by-election about climate change, despite this being, along with refugees, a major issue for voters in Wentworth. This is because capitalism is built on greenhouse gas emissions and the mining industry has major sway within the Coalition and sections of the population. That is why Morrison’s mantra is about lower prices and reliability — both of which are achievable not with coal but renewable energy, batteries and spending to modernise electricity supply networks.

After all, five years ago the Coalition came to power arguing they would lower electricity prices. In the ten years to 2017, according to the ACCC, electricity prices have risen 44 per cent in real terms. Neither of the major parties is going to address the systemic issues which have caused this — issues such as privatisation, network costs, the increase in wholesale (generation) prices and the super profits retail power companies make.

When Morrison and the rest of his Government tell us that they are going to drive prices down, be very sceptical. Interestingly, the Coalition is proposing to reduce retail electricity prices by heavy-handed Government intervention. For example, there will be a price safety net, including a default price set by the Australian Energy Regulator. Is this price simply control by another name? The Government will also force energy companies to sign contracts to guarantee supply.

These measures seem to contradict everything the Liberals stand for. But if we are going down that route, why not nationalise the power supply industry or, given the constitutional impediments to doing that, set up a state-owned corporation in competition with the others and return the profits to the people at the same time as delivering lower prices?

The reality is that the ad-Libbers think they have found a popular target — namely, electricity producers and retailers. They hope that giving the impression of doing something to reduce power prices will be popular with voters.

Again, the elephant in the room remains climate change. One of the proposals includes establishing the Underwriting New Generation Investments program, designed, I suspect, to prop up or encourage coal-fired power stations. Giving government money to support inefficient industries for ideological reasons is sure to be a winner!  It is yet another example of the Coalition abandoning its long-held opposition to market interference, driven by the panic now that it realises it will in all likelihood lose the next election.

Assuming the Morrison Government doesn’t fall apart completely or lose a major vote in the House, it looks as if the next election will be in May 2019. This will ensure synchronicity between the House and the Senate. So, basically, we have six months until the election is called in April.

Imagine what this Government will do in that six months. It will be Wentworth writ large with promises and thought bubbles galore. Of course, once the election is over and if (a big "if") they are re-elected, does anyone seriously think they will deliver on their electoral bribes? If Wentworth isn’t a guide, then Tony Abbott’s words on the eve of the election in 2013 should be: no cuts to the ABC, SBS, health or education, the soon to be PM told us. And after the election? Cuts to the ABC, SBS, health and education. You cannot trust the ad-Libbers. They will say anything to get elected.

Meanwhile, there are over 100,000 homeless people in Australia, three million Australians live in poverty (including almost 700,000 kids), many Aboriginal people live in third world conditions with third world diseases, kids are imprisoned on Nauru, wages have stalled and underemployment is growing. On top of all that, climate change poses an existential threat to the planet.

And what do the ad-Libbers do? They ignore these issues and promise us trinkets. It is time for some serious political debate and discussion in Australia — just don’t imagine we will get that from the ad-Libbers.

 

Read more:

https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/scott-morriso...

 

could scomo be as bad or worse than tony abbott?

 

Is Scummo worse than Tony Abbott?... Different style, same crap... possibly more of it and less sphinctered — off-the-cuff bombastic religiously tainted "positivism" that smells like a bad case of diarrhoea...

 

Read from top.

The majority of the crossbench and Labor joined forces in the House of Representatives to pass amendments to give doctors a greater say on refugee medical evacuations.

But Prime Minister Scott Morrison has so far refused to buckle to calls for an early election and insists the Coalition retains the ability to govern.

"Votes will come and they will go, they do not trouble me," he said.

 

 

Read more:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-12/federal-government-loses-a-histor...

 

 

Read from top. Please see also:

http://yourdemocracy.net.au/drupal/node/35439

Politicians and their courtiers have so many bad habits: deception, pork-barrelling, promise-breaking, taking out the trash. All are commonly understood but the last – Friday night, maybe Saturday, and there’s a press release from a department or agency revealing bad news. Might just be a one pager, might just be one sentence. But news outlets have deadlines and late Friday is past bedtime.

Normal weekends are bad enough, but last Friday clashed with COVID Christmas Eve, so there was a good chance shameful announcements would be missed in the avalanche of everything else. And so it was last Friday when hundreds of Australians got some very bad news.

 

Once again, universities have suffered at the hands of political interference, this time from the acting Minister for Education Stuart Robert who decided to reject six approved research projects. The rejected grants, he said, “do not demonstrate value for taxpayers’ money nor contribute to the national interest”. All were in the humanities: two on climate, two on China, two more on literature.

This is not the first time the minister has tried to take out the trash. Who could forget the time Robert was forced to refund $721 million to victims of Robodebt? That too was dropped late on a Friday. Here’s what happened this time.

 

Every year, thousands of Australian researchers apply for funding through the Australian Research Council (ARC), about the only organisation in Australia which gives money for all kinds of projects. Applications are Herculean labours and there is so little money only about 20 per cent of grants ever get funded. You have to be smart, skillful and cunning to get through the 200-strong College of Experts. Jobs rely on these grants but, much more importantly, the future of Australia relies on the outcomes of these grants.

 

READ MORE:

https://www.smh.com.au/national/under-cover-of-christmas-education-minister-stuart-robert-overruled-the-experts-20211226-p59k8b.html

 

READ FROM TOP

 

 

FREE JULIAN ASSANGE NOWWWWWW!!!!!

A group of the country’s most eminent researchers have condemned the Australian government’s research funding as “becoming political and short-sighted” after the acting Education Minister blocked grants for six projects that had been recommended by an independent panel.

Backlash has mounted over Minister Stuart Robert’s decision to veto Australian Research Council (ARC) funding to six humanities projects for 2022: two were about modern China, two about English literature, one about student climate protests and democracy, and one about religion in science fiction and fantasy novels.

“Whether it be the test of ‘national interest’ or an excessive focus on a sector like manufacturing, research funding in Australia is becoming political and short-sighted. The best return comes from letting researchers focus on curiosity driven research. This has given us mRNA vaccines, the laser, and many other inventions that have lifted the quality of our lives.”

The letter asked for a clear outcome date to be set for future funding announcements, an explanation for why this year’s announcement was late, and for no future announcements to be made on occasions such as Christmas Eve.

It also called on the Minister to approve all grant applications that “pass through the tried, tested and rigorous peer review process” and for the ARC to be free from political interference.

A spokesperson for Mr Robert did not address the researcher’s requests but said he had approved 98.8 per cent of projects recommended to him.

“The Minister believes those rejected do not demonstrate value for taxpayers’ money nor contribute to the national interest,” the spokesman said.

 

“After going through a peer review process, it is clear to the Minister the application of the National Interest Test is not working in every case. This test should ensure taxpayer-funded Australian government research funding is directed to areas of national importance and delivers public value.”

The spokesman did not respond to questions about whether Mr Robert would explain why the announcement was late or commit to approving future grants that had been recommended by the peer review process.

However, he said Mr Robert had asked the ARC to strengthen its national interest test.

A separate online petition signed by more than 1400 academics including Nobel Laureate John Coetzee has described the veto of four literary studies grants as “an attack on literary studies and literary culture in Australia”.

“Nor is this an isolated occurrence. Four years ago, the former education minister Simon Birmingham rejected 11 ARC projects recommended to him, all in the humanities, including four from literary studies,” the petition said.

 

“The actions of the government reveal that it is committed to defunding Australia’s literary culture by overriding academic autonomy and determining what kinds of knowledge can and cannot be pursued.

 

Read more:

https://www.smh.com.au/national/eminent-researchers-condemn-government-s-political-and-short-sighted-funding-20220110-p59n2i.html

 

READ FROM TOP.

 

FREE JULIAN ASSANGE NOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!