By Jo Nova
In a brave election promise, the Australian Labor Party want poor people to help pay for batteries for rich Australians.
The discount battery deals will only be suitable for people wealthy enough to own a home with solar panels, and who happen to have ten thousand dollars sitting around that they don’t want to use or expect any return on for nearly a decade. There can’t be too many of those.
The true cost of home batteries is about $13,000, so the $4,000 discount still leaves a big bill. And the savings for electricity bills are estimated to be around $1,100 per household each year. So no one comes out ahead for nine or ten years, and that’s assuming their battery is still useful at age ten or eleven, and their house hasn’t caught fire.
This policy isn’t a winner for the rich or the poor. Because batteries are essentially uneconomic, the policy screws the whole country. The only beneficiaries are the solar and battery installers and Chinese industrialists. Them, and the politicians who got us into this mess. To avoid admitting they were wrong, they’d probably like to trick Australians into buying the batteries that a renewables grid “has to have” but no one can afford.
We only got into this mess because the government forced poor people to subsidize solar panel installations for rich people, and then hid it deep inside electricity bills. Ultimately this time too, the poor will end up paying — even though the wealthy pay the most tax, this scheme will be done on borrowed money, or buried in electricity bills.
Throwing bad money after terrible money
For anyone connected to a large networked grid — the only possible benefit of a battery is to make surplus solar panels slightly less useless.
Right now Australia is so overinstalled with solar panels that 1 in 3 homes has them, and the surge of power at lunchtime has become like a toxic waste. It threatens grid stability, costs money to dispose of, and forces large generators to switch off or operate inefficiently. Even large scale solar and wind power have to shut down.
With four million rooftop panels, the situation is such a problem most states are demanding new panels have remote control switches, not so they can be turned on, but so they can be turned off. In Sydney, new charges are starting to apply to solar panel owners who dump their unneeded electricity on the grid. In the Northern Territory, they’re just leaving solar plants permanently disconnected, baking in the sun, to avoid the risk they’ll knock out Darwin’s grid, like they did in Alice Springs.
The solar boom at noon distorts the market so wildly, it pushes reliable generators out of business, or forces them to raise their prices for the rest of the day, so they cover their costs. Industry chiefs admit investors don’t want to build many new generators anymore because of the midday glut.
Go Labor Go, fight for those Green-Teal seats
The Labor Party are fighting for the Green vote, but thankfully, the opposition are not. As long as conservatives keep pointing out the pain to the working class, and the unfairness of this, it will suck the moralistic fun out of buying a few Green voters.
Next, if the conservatives could admit renewables are a dead-end, and weather control is a fantasy, they could start explaining why wind and solar power are guaranteed to make system wide electricity more expensive. Then they will really fire up the voters…
This smells like Rudd’s pink bats scheme.
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This stinks a lot more than kruddy ruddys pink bats!
So your Tesla sits in the sun all day at work, you drive it home and plug it in to your freshly charged home battery and settle down to get informed with a bit of ABC 7.30 Report while the wife starts dinner. Your poorer neighbors (who generously chipped in for your solar & battery) who haven’t saved enough for a battery yet (because they bought a “cheap” BYD on special from the local CCP dealer), they all plug in also.
Your local power supplier says Oh SHITZER! and tries but the suns down and winds dropped, but luckily the local power supplier gets a boost from a gas plant and burps it down the line – but the supply lies have not been upgraded yet so they get fried!
Clever local supplier then reverses your smart meter and drains all your battery to the give the neighbors a 5% charge, fresh for tomorrow. Then you all sit in the dark!
Sound like a LABOR plan comrade!!??
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That’s a very cynical attitude and evaluation.
Congratulations! Spot on.
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Even more fires than Rudd’s Pinko Batts.
So far there’s been three fires in the big Lithium battery storage sites … that’s just Australia. Battery fire in 2021 in Victoria, then another in 2021 Bohle Plains Queensland, and another fire in 2023 Queensland.
There’s been many more overseas.
And these are the fully professionally installed and operated storage plants, with real engineering teams. It’s going to be a disaster with a whole bunch of batteries jammed into people’s houses, and wired up by contractors who have done the two-week installation course.
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If the occasional electric scooter battery can take out a house, as often happens, imagine a few thousand home batteries could do. Lots of negative comments in The Australian yesterday about this – over three thousand.
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Our daughter in Bondi has an old, but very nice, wooden house with solar panels, a battery and an electric Mercedes (!) that sits hard against the battery at night while charging. I have suggested she checks with her fire insurance company to ensure she is covered for the potential disaster. She confirmed she had and all was OK. That might be the case but not so sure about the family that lives in that house. It does worry me!
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I note some people think that insurance is the answer to everything, if there was a fire, she would have no home, no car and the home next door might have burned down too.
Huge fire on the coast , firies are looking at the EV under the house.
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A “big” laundromat burned down this week.
Haven’t heard the cause yet, but wonder if somebody left a phone in a pocket.
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Where are these batteries going when their use by days are up?
Land fill Fire Risk from Tipped Lithium Batteries
Kimbriki Resource Recovery Centre has experienced several fires and smouldering events caused by lithium batteries being crushed or punctured in the landfill cell.
In 2020, a fire was ignited by a battery left in a discarded power tool, affecting over 50 tonnes of waste and sending a plume of smoke over neighbouring suburbs.
Kimbriki CEO Peter Davis emphasized that these battery cells are extremely volatile and can start fires when punctured or crushed during compaction for landfill.
Lithium-ion batteries are particularly dangerous due to their potential for thermal runaway, which can lead to violent bursting of battery cells, release of toxic and flammable gases, and intense, self-sustaining fires.
Residential Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are increasingly being used in combination with solar panel systems. This technology commonly contains lithium-ion batteries.
Lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) are energy-dense and contain material that is highly flammable. The risks and hazards associated with LiBs include fire and explosion, radiation, heat, chemical and electrical.
When LiBs fail, they can undergo thermal runaway. This involves violent bursting of one or multiple battery cells, hissing and release of toxic, flammable and explosive gases, and an intense, self-sustaining fire.
There are several situations that can lead to lithium-ion batteries catching fire, including:
– overcharging or use of non-compliant charging equipment
– overheating or exposure to heat or extreme temperatures
– physical abuse (e.g., dropping, crushing, piercing, and/or vibrations)
– short-circuiting, battery cell malfunctions or system faults
– defects or contamination introduced during manufacture.
LG Home Battery Recall
LG Energy Solution Australia is recalling certain home battery packs due to safety concerns. The recalled batteries, including LG-branded RESU models and those installed in non-LG branded systems such as SolaX Power Station, Redback SH5000, and VARTA Pulse Neo, may overheat, catch fire, and cause injury or death, as well as property damage.
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The Australian Editorial – Poor to subsidise rich on household battery scheme
But government subsidies, funded by taxpayers at the expense of the national balance sheet, without corresponding savings, cannot be the solution to every policy challenge.
Anthony Albanese’s pitch to voters that his “No.1 priority is delivering cost-of-living relief’’ is starkly at odds with the economics of his $2.3bn household battery installation plan.
The Prime Minister unveiled the plan in Kevin Rudd’s former seat, Griffith, on Brisbane’s southside, currently held by the Greens. Under the policy, taxpayers would contribute $4000 for an average household battery, to subsidise households with the money to pay about $9300 to cover the full cost.
Taking $4000 from lower-income households to pay for their richer neighbours or cashed-up businesses to go green is an interesting twist on Labor’s traditional concern for working-class battlers. As Peter Dutton said on Sunday: “I just don’t know that the next-door neighbour, who can’t afford to pay for that battery, is going to subsidise the battery for me or for you on higher incomes.”
After shelling out almost $10,000 to install a battery, a household with existing solar panels could save up to $1100 off their power bills every year, according to analysis by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. On that basis, such an investment for households or small businesses buying batteries would pay for itself over nine years – depending on how long the batteries last.
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That’s not a bad description of Labor – the pinko batties!
/lol
/communist joke
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A great post that has the potential to move a lot of voters.
How can more readers be enticed to read it?
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The Liberal party executive needs to read it. Then they have to understand it. Then they need to an act on it.
I am very unimpressed by the Liberal party advertising so far. Labor are offering free kicks all over the field but the Libs keep dropping the ball.
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The biggest obstacle is that they have to care …
They don’t care a jot about the lives of other people, so long as they’re alright they’ll go along with whatever lines their pockets fastest and deepest.
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Federal Libs are like the Libs in Victoriastan.
They are not particularly interested in getting into power but just want to keep their existing seats. They don’t need to do much work, they get invited to lots of cocktail parties and other social functions, they have plenty of fringe benefits and excellent superannuation (retirement plan). Besides, they are lazy, stupid and incompetent.
And why would they think they even need to get in power when they have so much commonality with Labor and they don’t believe in anything much in any case?
After politics, they all get those lucrative high paid “consultancies”, no matter how clueless they are.
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Judging by the huge response in The Australian yesterday, a lot of folks did read and comprehend the stupidity of the offer.
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The people who are aware of the scam should stop calling batteries and windmills ‘renewables’. This is a propaganda word. Personally I prefer “replaceables” or even “unreliables” or “junkables”.
In Australia coal and gas are free too and totally reliable, at least for a few hundred years.
And you should have to pay big money for the correct and safe environmental disposal of junkables as really toxic waste, not dump them on the general public and creating a gigantic environmental disaster. Plus the irony of the government subsidies for windmills and solar panels is that the reason your electricity bill is so high is that you pay twice.
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I agree “renewable” is an extremely deceptive word. While sunlight and wind won’t run out, the technology we use to harness them (copious amounts of lithium, cobalt, rare earths, plastic, glass, steel etc) are not renewable at all. In fact a fully “renewable” grid in all western countries, including electric cars, would probably not even be possible due to the amount of resources needed.
So essentially coal and gas are much more sustainable than “renewables”.
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Did anyone see the expose last night on 7Spotlight, Liam Bartlett goes undercover in Indonesia to expose the horrific Chines backed nickel mine and refinery, pumping waste water into the ocean untreated and bulldozing tailings into waters where Indonesian families make a living fishing.
It looked like a scene from Dantes Inferno.
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Yes. See comments in the Monday thread.
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Yes it was very harrowing. The workers are treated like dirt. Injuries happen daily and deaths are regular at the Morowali plant. Rainforests have been razed in order to supply Westerners with cheap EVs.
Big Wind Bowen was like a deer in the headlights when questioned at an EV show by Bartlett about the environmental damage and loss of human lives. He also baulked a question about how dirty nickel has decimated Australian mining projects and caused mass job losses.
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Averaging eight accidents a day. Not good.
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Clip relating to that story. It’s not the whole thing, likely you would need to go to 7 plus to view entire video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UokhfaYm8AY
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And a fact to make your Monday.. “President Donald Trump’s job approval rating rose four points during Tariff Week, from 49 percent to 53 percent. Yes, you read that correctly.”
Meanwhile anti Trump protests were organized across the country on the weekend. You have to think these are the people who want to be paid for doing nothing. Hopefully to be joined soon by a few impeached Federal district judges who have decided they should control foreign policy.
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This morning my wife tells me that her Super has gone backwards. Donald Trump is the culprit according to sources. Also it appears that some Super funds have been hacked and people are reading zero in their accounts. Unbelievable.
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When government in NSW “privatized” the management of property ownership verification it failed all of us.
I shiver every time that I’m reminded of the pure digitality of the NSW property ownership certification.
The fact that Superannuation Accounts and property Title Deeds do not require face to face confirmation of ownership before transfer is an abuse beyond belief.
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The correction has bottomed out at 4%. And that’s all the short termers and profit takers in a fully expected response, even if there was nothing fundamentally wrong anywhere. The super people have not reacted because there is no need. The fundamentals are unchanged.
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Stocks are capital gains speculation and predictable income. And the income is unchanged with a drop in share value.
The people who jumped out have already jumped back in, buying the same stocks 4% cheaper.
This used to happen with $A every time there was an election because it was predictable. Some could make 25% in a day. Paul Keating floated the dollar instead of defending it and the game was over. So it didn’t happen.
It’s not Trump’s fault. There is no Tariff war. Or if there was, it was on the US. Trump’s new tariffs are at most equal and often half of those being charged on importing US goods. It’s a ripoff which has been going on since WWII.
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The majority of the tariffs are at 50% of those being charged on the US. The only ones equal are those at 10% with the US matching that tariff. I just do not understand why the world is having conniptions, but then, I am not a highly skilled economist like Grim Jim.
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“Geofenced Every Event”: Democrats Caught Staging Another ‘Inorganic’ Color Revolution Operation Against Trump
Monday, Apr 07, 2025 – 03:11 AM
Far-left, billionaire-funded NGOs—closely aligned with the rudderless and imploding Democratic Party—have been waging a psychological warfare operation against the American people. Framed as “grassroots,” the party of hate and violence—evident in their “Tesla Takedown” color revolution aimed at killing Tesla to pressure Elon Musk on DOGE—has been building momentum in recent weeks to segue into anti-Trump protests this weekend.
The goal is to manufacture the illusion that Trump is wildly unpopular, leveraging a vast network of dark money-funded NGOs that supply rent-a-protesters to rallies nationwide.
Ahead of anti-Trump protests, we uncovered the Democratic Party’s NGO war machine, totaling 186 NGOs, unions, and other radical leftist groups that supported Saturday’s mass mobilization efforts of rent-a-protesters and, of course, a grassroots component of the protests (mainly old white angry liberals).
Late Friday, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow openly boasted about the Democratic Party’s color revolution operation, even giving airtime to Ezra Levin of the NGO Indivisible Project, who attempted to convince the audience that the anti-Musk and anti-Trump protests are organic.
Listen to this Dem warrior speak.
Watch as an anti-Trump “protester” struggles to explain the meaning behind his sign, then pulls out a paper with anti-Trump talking points that were handed to him along with the sign by protest organizers.
but as data analyst Tony Seruga revealed,
the protest in Chicago drew only 7,500 attendees, with “92% having attended five or more Kamala Harris rallies, Antifa/BLM events, or pro-Hamas, pro-Palestinian protests.” He noted that CBS News attempted to claim “thousands” were present while organizers inflated the number to 30,000.
Here’s more about Seruga’s data:
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Another issue to point out to Australian voters is that – the canadian left no longer consider “the planets future” as paramount. They (carney) have “turned off” the carbon tax for the election…..
Honestly – who could possibly still believe this rubbish?!
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“Honestly – who could possibly still believe this rubbish?!”……..
Unfortunately we still have an “equal number” of Oz sheep…who for some reason cant analyse or engage their brains !!!
I am in awe though, of many younger generations who “get it”…..There is hope ahead!
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There’s a clip that the Liberals frequently show of Carney supposedly signing away the carbon tax. What they don’t show is that the document had nothing to do with the carbon tax, it was merely a routine document that required the PMs signature.
That clip is played every day and the MSM is silent about it, that’s how corrupt Canadian journalism has become.
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There may be an interesting “sting in the tail”, or two.
IF we are talking the usual Lithium Ion “batteries”; they of the lowest bidder and of self-immolation propensity, who, in their right mind is going to have then in their HOUSE?
EVERY serious solar rig I have seen has a couple of common features.
Solar panels mounted on steel posts with a gimbal at the top to allow for regular adjustment for solar tracking. The further away from the Equator, the more necessary this feature becomes.
A battery bank located in a small “out-building” near but not TOO close, to the residence.(Deep-cycle lead-acid or Lithium Ion; different technology, different risks.
A SERIOUS inverter to feed the residence, without over-stressing and shutting down, (or FAILING) at awkward times.
The insurance industry probably has its actuaries (number-crunchers) on this as we sit here. They are NOT running a charity.
Are we just looking at yet another manifestation of the traditional “Money-Go-Round”?
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The house batteries now are comprised of Lithium Iron Phosphate, not Lithium ion.
They are much less prone to self destruction by fire. The majority of these batteries use large brick shaped batteries, only 16 to a pack. Compare this to the ion type units which typically used cylindrical cells, hundreds of them.
Having only 16 cells in a nominal 51.2V pack is much safer than having hundreds in a pack. And that is just considering the quality control aspect. The chemical changes are the big issue. LiFePO cells are inherently safer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH5Y_gJXOsI
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Is that this Lithium? https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-04/mining-town-residents-fight-major-lithium-company-greenbushes/105139114
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Eng_Ian,
Are you sure about that? AFAIK, the Tesla_Powerwall is still based on lithium-ion cells.
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The Tesla Powerwall 3 uses LFP cells.
https://electrek.co/2024/04/11/tesla-details-powerwall-3-cheaper-stack/
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>who, in their right mind is going to have then in their HOUSE?
Almost everyone I know has Lithium Ion batteries in their house.
Apart from their cellphones, their Macbooks, in fact virtually all laptops made in the last decade by major brands (Apple, Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc.), are using Li-ion or Li-Po.
I have Makita cordless power tools in the house with a heap of batteries. I’ve dropped the batteries onto concrete and they’ve split apart but never caught fire.
Lithium batteries in the home are in everything from electric toothbrushes, digital cameras, vacuum cleaners, smart watches, kindles and Kobos, portable speakers, headphones, earbuds, fitness trackers, the list goes on.
We’ve found it easy to be complacent, but fires from all these devices have been rare.
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I think that some folks purchase dodgy batteries or battery products directly from overseas. We have certainly lost a number of houses around Perth due to lithium battery fires.
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I suspect the house fires from battery devices are due to two things. One is a lack of voltage controls in cheap Chinese replacement batteries. The second is the habit people have of leaving devices on perpetual charge.
Each cell has a voltage control and if the cell fails, the cell must be turned off and the battery will not work or charge. This circuit can be missing in cheap Chinese copies and so the cell voltage vanishes, dropping the voltage and the device never stops charging and this boils the battery in time. A commenter here had this observation as he pulled such a battery apart and saw the individual cell management safety circuits were missing.
A particular culprit are devices like stick vacuum cleaners which are parked in the charger. A neighbour lost his house to a Dyson stick vacuum on the wall at night. I do not know if it had the original battery. I think it wise not to have any devices permanently charging and of course unnecessarily. This alone would dramatically lower the risk and even the cost. At the same time safe battery chargers could be smart enough to see the voltage is say 1.5volts lower than expected and switch off.
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There’s been plenty of mobile phone and battery fires. You can find videos of them, and reports all over the place.
Thing is, with a small item like a phone, you get the opportunity to throw it on the tiles in the shower, or into the kitchen sink, or any place where the fire can be brought under control. That’s why this small fires don’t usually destroy the whole house.
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Home battery fires may not spread so easily when all the trees around the houses have been chopped down to increase the availability of sunlight to the panels.
Remember the big cost of suburban solar is your relationship with your previously friendly now vexatious neighbour.
Constant harping about usage data can lead to problems within the household as well. A relative’s neighbour suddenly died of what was apparently a broken spinal cord having slipped and hit his head during the night. Some suspect the wife as there had been a few weeks of cloudy days and tensions were running high in the household. Suspicions are she may have used a hair dryer or waffle iron without permission.
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Houses built in Australia today commonly have a large attached garage as the main ‘feature’ right at the front of the building. They have an internal access door leading to the house, and obviously shared walls with living spaces and even bedrooms. This is where your battery is installed. I would not fancy sleeping with my head perhaps one foot away from such a potentially explosive or flammable device as a solar system battery.
I know there are regulations governing siting of these devices, but they could not be far enough away for me.
p.s. – L.G. have been running t.v. ads for at least a year now regarding the recall of batteries which they state may cause fire, injury or death.
The final solution indeed.
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The LG home storage batteries use “pouch” type Lithium ion cells …..which have subsequently been confirmed to hva defectsthat were missed by all quality tests.
Similar LG cells were also ised in the GM Bolt which also became famouse for self ignition.
LG have lost their reputation and probably their busness viability over that QC error.
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When I have looked at photos of large-scale solar systems in Australia, I haven’t seen any sign of tilt motors. Would be interesting to know the percentage that have tilting.
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I’ve read or been told that tracking structures are more costly and difficult, especially in high wind areas. I live near Ellensburg in central Washington State. Winds commonly hit 30 mph and less commonly 50. The 47°N Parallel of Latitude pass along a street on the north side of town. So a solar panel would benefit from tilt and tracking – I have not seen any. A few are on non-moving racks rather than on roof tops; same for the few commercial grid scale ones.
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Tracking solar system was installed over the back of our previous house. It seemed to need repair, inevitably expensive, far too often, and would spend a lot of time pointing in various sub-optimum directions while waiting for the technician.
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Not in Australia Bruce !.. remoote pole mounted systems are much more expensive than simple fixed roof mounted set ups…and avoid any local planning/ installation regulations etc.
Domestic installations are invariably roof mounted, fixed axis , systems.
Current approach is to avoid the cost of adjustable mounting, just fix the panels to suit latitude and uses extra panels biased East and West to extend the production hours.
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I would have thought that a twice a year change in the angle (pointed north in OZ) would be a straightforward engineering problem with well attached pins to ensure no unintended movement.
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Michael, at #1, points to the perhaps, maybe, misallocation of our tax dollars.
Other great sleights of hand were the thousands of school “sun shelters” and the little used “desalination plants”: great money spinners and influence buyers.
But, big Pharma is not complaining because the thousands of unburnt kiddies now need vitamin D supplements.
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Hey KK, Victoria’s desal plant is just about to start up again. Justification for this is Melbournes water supply has dropped to 78% of capacity. So, coming into winter when traditionally water consumption drops and with winter rains storage capacities increase the Vic government is going to fire up the plant. According to wiki this plant is totally capable of running on renewable energy, but, owing to renewables intermittent supply concerns the plant actually is powered by coal . The plant simply buys carbon credits to off set any concerns regarding emissions . How any of this convoluted crap improves anything is beyond me, but somehow, somewhere, some one makes truck loads of money for certain groups and possibly individuals.
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“…this plant is totally capable of running on renewable energy, but, owing to renewables intermittent supply…”
You couldn’t make this up.
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The battery would have no purpose in a properly engineered electrical grid as Australia used to have.
It’s only needed because the grid has been massively degraded with intermittent solar and wind.
Even without solar systems, such as people in apartments, the battery might still be useful and likely necessary because:
1) It will charge when electricity is available and can be used during load shedding or other rationing events which I expect to become common in future as our remaining power stations are destroyed by the Government.
2) If electricity is priced according to demand, you will be able to charge it when electricity is (relatively) cheap and use it at more expensive times. You might even be able to sell some to neighbours or back to the grid. That’s what owners of grid scale batteries do in any case.
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correct David, when I bought my 3 KWh battery, they desperately tried to upsell to 5 Kwh- which would rarely get fully discharged – but the scam would be for the powers that be to “Socialise” the use – as you hint using it to smooth over the potential brownouts. Like the control of airconditioners, the Govt can feel justified controlling when the battery gets charged (ideally around midday instead of dawn) and discharged. ATM I export 80% of my generated electricity and make $40 month credit.
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ATM I export 80% of my generated electricity and make $40 month credit.
Remember to add in the savings for not having to pay for grid supplied power.
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Maybe so for a battery, but any large grid system will benefit from some “storage” capacity to smooth out the supply vs demand fluctuations.
Particularly useful on Nuclear supplied grids, but even coal / gas powered grids can also realise efficiency gains.
Pumped Hydro is the generally preferred method.
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Correct. I was referring to the electrochemical storage battery under discussion. Pumped hydro as in the original Snowy Hydro was an important element of Australia’s coal powered grid back in the day.
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A leaflet from liberal Ted O’Brien in my seat in Fairfax, Sunshine State, outlines their policies. Thankfully excludes “welcome to country” which only appears on-line.
One is cheaper energy prices where he states “we will ensure a balanced mix, including more renewables, more gas in seven locations……..” Talk about sitting on the fence. I guess in his up and coming debate on Sky News he will be trying to woo those who will never vote conservative anyway. Gutless.
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The trouble is Labor is still looking to be the govt after the 3rd of May and they’ll completely destroy our economy and environment by 2028.
All those unreliable domestic solar panels and thousands of klms of toxic wind and solar over eastern Australia will soon cost billions and then trillions of $ and the poor taxpayers will suffer the cost plus the regular replacements forever.
But I’m sure Russia and China etc will be very pleased and laugh out loudly at our stupidity.
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If the Liberal party had any gumption (spoiler alert: they don’t) they could win the election on this issue alone. Can you just imagine it though, pensioners and renters who are sitting in their dark and gloomy houses and apartments this winter deciding whether to turn the heater on or buy some food to eat (as they can’t afford both), all the while being comforted by the fact that they will be paying the electricity bills of the residents of Toorak, Yarra, Mosman and other well-to-do suburbs around Australia.
We await with interest to see where the Liberals will fall on this.
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As we come close to winter in Australia, the election is at an almost ideal time to highlight how high electricity prices and energy poverty bring cold and misery to many Australians.
But the Liberals are fence sitters, just going with the flow, and don’t believe in anything.
As every day goes by during this election campaign, I become less convinced that Liberals have a chance of winning.
Even some Dutton true believers I know no longer think he can win.
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Me too David! See my contribution approx 9AM
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Not that I vote Liberal but they need a “Stop the boats and no new taxes” message. Even though the Libs (and the Nationals these days) disgust me they are preferrable to the incumbent.
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“We await with interest to see where the Liberals will fall on this.”
It seems they are bereft of any good ideas.
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Why not repeal the two gigantic CO2 ‘taxes’? The Renewable Energy(Electricity) Act 2001 and the Safeguard Mechanism(2023), the latter which means you will be charged 35% on any flying. That’s the CO2 tax on Carbon Dioxide, the major cost in flying. But also on every truck, manufacturer, transport, superphosphate manufacture, plastics, mining,… Even the Trans Tasman Ferry. The MMBW Sewage. Glass, steel, lead, aluminium. This year 10% and in 2030 35%. These hundreds of billions in cash to buy Gillard Carbon Credits. Where the cash will go, no one knows, but NOT to the Government.
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the latter which means you will be charged 35% on any flying.
All the more reason to take a short flight to SE Asia and then find the long haul flight (if you really need to travel).
The serious frequent flyers discovered this a LONG time ago (where the employer was not buying the tickets)
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So holidays and business travel in Australia will be much more expensive. And holidays and business travel outside Australia will exclude Qantas and Virgin?
Far worse, the CO2 tax is only on Australia’s 250 nominated Australian ‘biggest polluters’ like Qantas. So Emirates and United and Qatar and .. do not have to pay as they are not nominated. That’s the end of both.
International flights will stop at Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Brisbane and take the inter city traffic as well. Only Australian airlines will be shut down to reduce CO2?
It’s all quite insane. And the tax jumps to 10% on June 30th. 15% next year. You have to pay, not the ‘big polluters’. They just go broke.
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This tax is going to hurt everyone in the country. Who does not buy from the 250 ‘biggest (CO2) polluters’. 62% of Australia’s income is from iron, gas and oil. And the companies who produce them are going to be paying 35% CO2 tax. Plus all the smelters of Iron, Lead, Zinc, Aluminium,.. And the glass makers (the largest just closed) and the plastics manufacturers (the largest just closed) and the superphosphate manufacturers,… The price of food alone will rocket. And we will ALL pay the 35% tax. On breathing.
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I paid $3500 for my battery and am happy to bank my credits. I am covering my bases as the cost of electricity is likely to sky rocket- and I have 0 income thanks to the regulators that want everyone GMO. I was talking to my neighbor, another Quack (A/Prof Medicine), who tried to assure me the JibJabs were Ok back in the day- Oops he has had some lung out from a lung cancer that was found incidentally in a trauma CT scan…. hmmmm.
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Sorry to hear that Simon.
But I think it’s better to be alive and healthy not having had the JibJab than keeping your job and possibly getting a “turbo cancer” from the “vaccine”.
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Correct again David, coming up to the 2nd anniversary of my 60 yo Brother Paul’s Death of TWO turbocancers within 4 months – My Neighbors explanation was “I am not a young man!”- I guess 68 is definitely in the older range. I hope he is Ok but ordinarily he should live to 80-85
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” ordinarily he should live to 80-85 ”
Or not.
In 2022, the 60 to 69 cohort male deaths in Australia were 21,438.
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Turbo cancers – climate change has a lot to answer for…
But nowhere as much as the pollies and medicos who pushed the fakevax and simultaneously guaranteed their own demise by taking their own poison…
/what goes around comes around
100
If the idea of using BEV batteries to supplement the grid is worthwhile, why would the green luvvies not want to use the solar batteries for the same reason?
When there are few if any fossil-fuel generators, as appears to be the ultimate aim, how will the grid be fed on a windless night?
All that stored energy in home batteries will be too attractive for the green blob to not want to use it.
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All that stored energy in home batteries will be too attractive for the green blob to not want to use it.
There are main switch circuit breakers in every electrical meter cabinet which isolate the property from the grid (in both directions)
10
“The spread of smart meters has opened the door to complex, and sometimes punishing, power prices. (ABC News: Brant Cumming)
An energy watchdog has sounded the alarm over the rollout of smart meters in Australia’s most populous state, saying too many consumers are being hit with poor service and left worse off.”
This farcical roadshow just keeps on rolling, ripping off all and sundry, just wait and see what happens when they have total control over your energy use.
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Pretty sure a heck of a lot of people said this was exactly what was coming … when the first smart meter rolled out.
Now, the ABC belatedly “sounds the alarm” by telling us what everyone already knows.
220
If the people where to use there cut off solar electricity to power a little electrolysis plant to make the likes of perchlorates or a little ” Birkeland–Eyde” process reactor there is going to be a good demand for these products in the current political climate.
Bet they would stop pushing home solar real fast
20
Peter Dutton better switch on to switch off solar/wind alternatives to coal and probably nuclear. Just spoiling my vote is not an option! Unless and until there is a clear and irrevocable distinction between Labor/Green/Teal and Libs my votes will go elsewhere! Dutton, et al needs to accept Trumps Liberation Day announcement because it will change the world economically for the better. We can’t sell rice to Japan either!
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Pardon me for intruding on a private matter, but who do you intend to preference?
20
Agreed Penguinite.
The Libs are dangerously close to Labor and barely an alternative, although slightly less bad than Greens, Teals and Labor.
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Penguinite,
Why not? Think of John Howard’s outlook on elections: “The people get it right”. If you honestly don’t favour any candidate, go with the majority by voting informal.
50
The Libs are in front by half a head, both in the primary and preferences, so my vote is going to an independent and my preference to other independents, not a major.
32
That’s the only option. Preference the freedom minor parties and independents (depending on who is running in your electorate) and put Lib Nats, Labor, Teals and Greens last.
Won’t get a government but will get more seats for the deplorable-alikes. That’s what Reform did in UK and they are now closer to getting a chance at government next time. It seems almost hopeless but it isn’t.
I do like One Nation: they have ALL the policies I want.
30
The only silver lining from this rort is that hopefully Australians will be forced to buy Tesla batteries. At the very least we can prop up Tesla stocks and help out Elon.
117
Hidden regressive taxes. Inflation is probably the most regressive form of taxation.
110
Another Albanese boondoggle where the middle class mortgage their kid’s future to subsidise the rich, bubble dwelling elites. No doubt they will blindly vote in Greens and Teals to keep the whole rotten mess going for a few more years of blithe comfortable lifestyle ignorant of the real cost of living for the middle class.
70
Driving through Melbourne on Saturday and heard a couple of Labor election radio ads. Free TAFE, free Child Care!! It reminded me of the Vic state Labor elections where the free stuff was accentuated in their ads. All on prime time media. I think somewhere behind the scenes, Daniel Andrews is advising. It’s a model that has been used successfully and do you know what – I think the Australian population are dumb enough to fall for it. Which is where we are with these batteries- more free stuff. The whole power price scare campaign just doesn’t seem to be getting any traction. I’m sure there are lots of people economising on their power bills (eg elderly pensioners etc) but there’s not real angst out there. There’s certainly no mobs with pitchforks and most people seem to be able to afford their power and gas bills. The main problem is that those in power ( sic ) don’t have any skin in the game. All the politicians don’t pay power bills and the feds get subsidised housing when they have to attend parliament anyway. Their renumeration (along with the public service) adequately covers their bills- they don’t really feel any pain. The LNP aren’t going to do much, they’re just as complicit in the whole energy transition as the ALP/Greens/Teals/Pocock blob. In fact they’e still pushing for more intermittents in the energy mix. No saviours there.
160
Petrol lasts way longer than a month or less if sored sensibly. Refined product from overseas would be at least a month old by the time it ever gets into a service stations tanks.
00
Albanese has made a 2.3 billion dollar pledge to Australian home owners to subsidise 30% of the cost of a new household battery. Too bad if you don’t have a home . .
140
Every home owner with existing solar and looking for a good investment would be enticed to install a battery. The government contribution takes the payback from around 9 years down to 5 years. Too late for me though, I have already bought a battery.
This is a slight twist on the RET because the government has taken the role of the bagman; taking from the poor to give to the not so poor. This regressive tax is in the same style as Blackout’s capacity contracts through AEMO. Funding now coming from general revenue rather than direct transfer from consumer to producer
90
From the over three thousand comments in The Australian over the weekend, it was very clear that most folks with solar systems are NOT planning to install a battery, even if the subsidy is provided. Most of them had already worked out that by the time the savings pay off the system, the battery would need to be replaced. Smart people.
It’s worthwhile noting that only 1 in 40 solar system owners currently also have a battery.
90
Look on the bright side, we might get a surprise when the budget is balanced next time due to low uptake of batteries
40
Because the atmospheric gas CO2 is colourless, odourless and tasteless, few are aware that the CO2 changes with the seasons. In fact there are hundreds of data files on the web site for the World Data Centre for Greenhouse Gases all showing that CO2 levels change with the seasons proving beyond doubt that it is climate change that determines changes in the atmospheric CO2 concentration with CO2 concentration moving in the opposite direction to temperature. Life forms adsorb CO2 as they multiply during a warming climate and decay during a cooling climate with the release of CO2.
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Incredible, one reader gives the thumbs down. Does the writer think that CO2 causes the seasons ?
Then all the comments about batteries, renewable energy, reliability and party policies, all absolutely pointless. The claims that CO2 causes global warming and climate change necessitating Net Zero are all a monstrous hoax promulgated by the World Economic Forum and the UN to give them “One World Government” that is, no Nations, no freedom, no individuality or free speech, the end of web sites such as this one by Jo Nova.
As Klaus Schwab, Founder and Chairman, stated recently at the World Economic Forum 2025 in Davos: “The future doesn’t just unfold, the future is shaped by us and especially by us in this room… “
20
Climate is a 30-year average for sets of environment data, that is, an abstract human construct.
Perhaps the claim should be re-stated to say that air-temperatures which change by season cause matching changes in CO2 levels.
00
The root of the problem is that intermittent energy is given first priority access to the grid. Fix that and most of the problems simply disappear.
In plain English, the government has chosen an entirely inappropriate model for the nation’s electricity supply. The only word to properly describe wind and solar power is intermittent. It simply doesn’t work unless usage is similarly intermittent and can be synchronized to the available power. Think of windmills pumping water into a dam. That’s about it.
And for residential users batteries do nothing more than time shift from middle of the day when solar power is available to the evenings when it is most useful. Hopefully with enough left over for overnight and morning use before the solar power is available again. It’s small scale arbitrage.
From a personal point of view, I probably should feel conflicted. I’m one of those “rich” people who has solar panels and a battery. After subtracting its daily connection fee, AGL pays me about $40 per month for the electricity my system generates.
In a word of warning to potential solar and battery owners I offer my own experience. Over the last fortnight when cloud and rain have dominated on the Sunshine Coast Hinterland there have been five (5) days when my system has barely been able to recharge the battery let alone produce enough electricity to export to the grid. So my system supplies between 0 and about 45kWh each day.
Try basing a national grid on that and play fair.
My advice? If you are going to install solar, install the biggest system you can afford. Similarly if you are going to install a battery, install the biggest one you can afford. The financial benefit is probably close to zero and may well be negative. The real benefit is protection against power outages. I can’t imagine the grid becoming more reliable over time so to me this is number one.
As for policy, I repeat my opening remark. The only sensible public policy is one which DOES NOT give instantaneous first priority to intermittent power generation. The grid MUST be for dispatchable power only.
120
Forrest,
did you consider Diesel/Petrol/Gas Generators?
https://www.scintex.com.au/collections/generators/products/diesel-generator-silenced – Current Price$2,499.00 Paddock Diesel Generator 6.5kw / ~7 kVA – Silenced
https://genworks.com.au/collections/home-backup-power-generators
Generac 20kVA Three Phase Gas Standby Generator – TYPE A APPROVED
$9,999
plus
45A Three Phase Generac Automatic Transfer Switch – $1,369
Although the generator creates the power, the transfer switch is really the core of your generator system. It is an electrical panel that allows you to safely connect a generator to your home’s electrical circuits and is permanently installed near your main circuit breaker panel. It constantly monitors incoming utility power and determines when a true power outage is occurring, switching from utility power to emergency generator power and back again when utility power returns.
120
Yes and the house is wired to plug one in.
If power outages increase from two or three per year, and if the current system can’t cope then it’s off to the hardware shop.
60
You nee to run petrol generator regularly as petrol “goes off” left sitting. (about 1 a month or less).
Diesel is better.
If you could get a bottled gas (propane/butane) one it can be used anytime (unless there is some mechanical fault).
Unfortunately being in a Retirement home I don’t have anywhere to put one.
40
What are the single phase prices?
The WA distribution system does not encourage 3 phase power connections outside of built up areas.
30
Another brain fart from Albo and Blackout Bowen.
50
The Centre of Independent Studies has summarised the costs based on CSIRO figures.
Taking just the cost of storage and transmission: hydro storage, transmission lines, and batteries together, they calculated an eye-watering total of $301.8 billion. That doesn’t include tens of thousands of hectares of solar panels and wind turbines (the part that generates the electricity).
Who’s going to pay for that? You, the consumer – through higher taxes and higher electricity bills.
With 1 in 4 households already struggling to pay their electricity bills, how will a bill increase – think of a 50% – 200% increase, along with the proportional increase in goods and services – impact people?
https://www.akosbalogh.com/blog/the-3-disturbing-lies-of-net-zero-renewable-energy
Sky news report:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YbxpieEQ7bc
The global economic decline continues with the EU and China hardest hit.
The bottom, corresponding with economic depression, is mid 2028, just 3 years away.
There’s that year again! Heh…
No, NONE of the vying parties will turn things around, and if current and past incumbents were competent to start with, no-one would need to.
More of the same coming, politician wise, as the slide continues.
As I’ve said, your best bet is to retire early and go off grid and be as self sufficient as possible, you’ve got a few weeks left.
70
The modern politic left, don’t think $10,000 is a lot of money, and they don’t associate with anyone who does.
100
Most of the leadership of the modern Left think everyone’s a millionaire or billionaire like they are.
90
The number of high voltage (ie able to be connected to modern solar converters) EU certified LiFePO4 battery systems shown online from China is “interesting”. Perhaps twice the capacity and half the cost of current options.
Why can these systems not get AU standards certification so that a licensed electrician can add one as after market?
20
On line from China … yeah I fell for that, about 10years ago – lesson learned.
00
Most of the stuff from china does not meet Aus standards or if it actually does its almost impossible to ascertain if it does so it cant be imported here.
10
Probably because the cost of the Australian standards testing is prohibitive considering the potential sales volume.
And just enough different from the European standards requirements to be painful.
00
Jo Stated
This is a true statement however at least 50% of the population don’t believe you or believe it is a small price to pay if you want to “Save the planet” in addition the million people imported over the past 12 months probably don’t even understand what you just said.
This would be a good idea but it wont happen, I have the “priorities of a Dutton Government” PDF and their solution to our energy problems is to build 7 nuclear power plants and continue with renewables albeit at a reduced rate of construction.
Besides building 7 plants they want to open up more gas to sell to the people/manufacturing (good idea to reduce bills) but the Liberals do not mention using gas for more power generation, it all hinges on those 7 plants. The problem is Dutton wont build the 7 plants, he wont be able to the NIMBY’s/Greens/Teals/Labor/Independants/Jackie Lambe etc wont let him so when that plan falls on its face where does that leave us?
Another problem is every voter in the country knows Dutton wont be able to build 7 plants.
Thus is a joke of a policy. This is not a policy based on logic and reason, its just a smoke screen in some vain attempt to get voted into power.
For all of labors faults the Liberals are just as bad if not worse, sadly we have no opposition and therefore no one to vote for.
110
All Dutton had to say was, ‘we were wrong about net zero, it’s not working for Australians.’
Apparently the LNP also had a major policy about public servants working at home. You know, the important stuff.
We are doomed.
110
Yes I agree Uber but they cant because they will lose the fence sitting lefties but what they don’t understand is they will lose their conservative base vote in the process.
They say once Dutton announced he would cut 41K public service jobs he lost 3% in the polls, this is a very short election cycle with Easter jammed in between and mail in voting starting soon so one false move, one misspoken statement could end in tears for a party.
Despite the fact everyone knew we would have an election this year the Libs seems to have been caught out and basically have no policy beyond nuclear power and made up stuff on the fly.
50
Fence sitting lefties would never vote for the Libs, no matter what they say.
20
you may be right but apart from building a nuclear power station which is nothing but a vote grabbing red herring what Liberal policies would you consider to be “conservative”.
00
All Dutton needs to say is HELE YEAHHH!
But it’s unlikely. You need a clear and resounding energy policy that will pierce through all the MSM and the climate change narrative.
40
“Labor wants the working class to help rich people buy batteries”
Quite so, and here in Britain the Labour government has just relaxed some regulations so that small top-end British car maufacturers such as Aston Martin and MacLaren can continue to produce petrol-powered cars after the 2030 deadline. I must just go out and buy several…
60