This imbecile-level tax proposal is at the expense of Australia’s booming solar energy industry, and homeowners. This dazzling level of utter stupidity comes after years of massive price hikes for energy up to 117% from the original cost. Businesses have been screaming, but our governmental Energizer Bunnies haven’t heard a word.
The sheer scale of price inefficiency is astonishing. Business overheads have gone through the roof, pun intended.
Consider this spectacularly unimpressive scenario:
People on public salaries have spent years privatizing public energy assets which could have generated enormous government revenue on the original price base.
Most cash cows are privatized in conservative mythology. Then conservative governments wonder where the money went and introduce austerity measures. “We can’t pay ourselves more than we earn”, said Thatcher. Know a politician or lobbyist who’s ever earned more than utter disgust?
The energy sector gets a massive price increase handout from a review despite apparently being perfectly solvent, with the endless “great numbers” the private sector always produces out of thin air.
Australia made a commitment to reduce emissions at the Paris summit. We’ve been dragging the chain ever since. Solar is one of the few bright spots in this Flintstones-like situation.
The fossil fuel sector did nothing but fight tooth and nail against solar. Have they or their inefficient antiques ever been penalized with a tax? Or even mild disapproval from nanny? Of course not.
To manage solar, upgrades to the old pedal-power Australian grid are required. The net amount of the cost to the sector of upgrades, which should have been projected by anyone with a brain, is about $14 per year. It’s peanuts and could easily be absorbed by the sector, which is also getting extra power from rooftop solar. A tax is required so all these great numbers aren’t inconvenienced?
Like hell.
Pay for it yourselves, you smug useless bastards.
Meanwhile back in that unfashionable thing called reality:
What about an efficiency standard for the energy sector, backed up by statutes? Would the dear little diddums like a map and perhaps some milk and cookies?
The point is that any such upgrades should have been projected and properly costed without the theory of a tax, let alone the fact. Any competent system manager would know that and certainly wouldn’t need to have their hands held to plan. Doesn’t get any simpler, or more obvious.
Taxes also tend to create precedents for more taxes. What if water were taxed on this basis? Anyone with a rainwater tank or a tap has to pay a tax?
Block this tax. Block it and make sure nothing like it happens. Meanwhile, get those smarmy little bludgers to upgrade our energy escapees from the Smithsonian, which they need to do anyway.
