Peter Feeney Resident of Maroondah

My Experiences with Solar Power

2010-04-24T14:48:00.004+10:00

I thought I should tell everyone about my experiences with connecting solar power. It is a wonderful object lesson in how in our society big business always wins.

I thought it would be an environmentally responsible thing to do, install solar power panels on my roof and while economically it didn't really make sense government subsidies on installation meant that I should eventually break even. So I selected a supplier, ordered a system and paid my deposit. About 6 months later it was finally installed and the final step to turning it on was to sign the forms requesting a new meter which would measure my input into the grid. The installation people told me that Ausnet would contact me and arrange an appointment to come and change the meeting and left with paper work to give to Ausnet when they arrived. When nothing happened I then rang Ausnet and was told they hadn't received an authorisation from Origin, So I rang Origin and they told me I needed to mail them the paperwork and fill in another form. So I did all that and waited for them to come and change the meter.

Then about a month later, I received a letter saying that because I had a new meter my charges had been changed. (Sure enough when I looked in the meter box there was a nice new meter installed on some occasion when we were out). At the time (this was last year) my rate was a flat 15.75c/kWh. Now my new rates would be an off peak (from 11pm to 7am) rate of 11.57c/kWh and a peak rate (from 7:00am to 11pm) of 18.47c/kWh . When my next bill arrived it showed a charge of $131 for installing the new meter and electricity at the new dual charges and while my electricity usage was down the charge for what I had used was higher and the bill was close to normal. The account showed no electriciy fed into the grid.

Three months later my next account showed electricity being fed back into the grid and a credit for 23.5c/kWh. I thought that's strange because I had received advertising leaflets with the account saying if I installed Solar Power Origin would pay me 66c/kWh for my electricity. So I tried ringing them and after being on hold for almost an hour I gave up lodged a question online via their web site. Three weeks later I received an email informing me that to receive the 66c/kWh rate I had to complete an "opt in agreement" and that they were sending me another form to fill in. There had been no mention of this in any of their previous communications nor is it mentioned in any of their advertising material. A week later when no form had arrived I sent back a nasty email and I received the form by email.

The Form includes a 10 page legal agreement which I do not understand but I asume it includes signing over to Origin all of the carbon credits etc connected with this electricity.

So there it is! To get maximum advantage from your solar power you have to ask for a form which you won't know about unless you ask and wait on the phone for an hour and by the letterbox for weeks in order to ensure that Origin or someone else can sell the solar power you have created to someone else as Green Energy thus enabling them to generate even more coal fired power.

NSA Chairman Wrong on Bill of Rights

2009-08-08T11:49:00.002+10:00

In the June/July Edition of 50 Something the NSA Chairman attacked moves to create an Australian Bill of Rights claiming instead that we need a Bill of Responsibilities. I didn't blog my disagreement at the time but chose to write a letter to the same magazine. Now however, when they have not published my letter but have published those that agree with the chairman I feel I must comment. Following is the letter that I sent

I normally try to avoid arguments with our dear Chairman, but in his comment "A Bill of Wrongs" Everald Crompton took a position which I consider not only wrong but dangerous. On the surface his premise that "the rights of of the community will always transcend the rights of the individual" appears to be self-evident and with similar statements such as "the greater good" seem perfectly logical. This is the inherent danger of this attitude and it is not until you look at who share this view that you begin to appreciate the problem. Hitler, Stalin and the Communist Leaders who perpetrated the Tiananmen Square Massacre all believed that the rights of the individual should be subjugated to the needs of the State. What makes societies like America and Australia free is not that the government reflects the wishes of the majority (the current Chinese government could not survive without the approval of the majority of it's vast population) but rather that they respect the rights of the individual to dissent and free speech.

Everald goes on to say we must restrain individuals from charging Medicare for treating trivial complaints. Would you trust the government to decide what medical treatment was trivial and unnecessary. How long before extreme measures to prolong terminally ill patients become "not in the interest of the greater community", and then extreme measure to save premature babies and then we are on the downward slippery slope to euthanizing the handicapped and infirm.

Everald also misses the point that no community is perfect, all communities can develop and grow. Such change comes not from the silent majority but from the individuals who dare to be different and to dissent. A little over a hundred years ago women were not allowed to vote and a small group of dissidents and activists staged public protests and disrupted their societies in order to effect change. With the possible exception of Everald, most of us now would applaud that change. A bill of rights simply protects those individual rights that we currently cherish in our free societies; rights that enable dissent, free speech and change but rights which are fragile and which history has shown can be easily lost.

I am sorry Everald, but when it comes to rights you are wrong!

Lost Again - The End of Politics

2008-12-01T20:15:00.004+11:00

Well I just found out that I didn't get elected and I was beated by a candidate who not only doesn't have a blog; she doesn't even have an e-mail address or a computer so I guess all this was probably a waste of time anyway.

However, in the unlikely event that anyone actually reads this I would like to thank all those people who helped me by distributing my leaflets, taking photographs, and generally supporting my campaign.

For any of you out there who like to denigrate politicians; I say try it some time! Even running for council isa stressful soul destroying process. Over the last couple of months I have been publicly attacked, threatened with legal action, anguished over the wording of leaflets most of which were probably thrown out without being read and have spent hours talking to people who demanded to know my religious beliefs, where I went to school, how I feel about compulsory voting, abortion, telephone towers, migration, women's health, reconciliation, council conformity to open source standards, and every imaginable issue some of which were actually relevant to local government.

So I have renewed respect for those who devote their lives to politics and I now know I won't be one of them.

Climate Change

2008-11-13T17:06:00.003+11:00

I received a phone call today accusing me of being a climate change sceptic. This is absurd. The science has reached a stage where it is irrefutable and worldwide global climate changes are now openly visible.

I agree with the Australian Greens "Climate change is the most serious environmental problem facing the world. Leading international scientists agree that human activity is disrupting the planet's climate systems. Fossil fuels, used for energy and transport, are major contributors to the problem. Without significant action to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels we will cause catastrophic damage to Earth’s ecosystems, triggering social and economic upheaval."

Australia needs to become a world leader in reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. It is not only self preservation, it is a moral obligation and it also makes good economic sense. We are uniquely placed to develop alternate energy sources and become a source a clean energy technology. It is absurd that we are the driest sunniest continent and yet Europe leads us in the development of solar energy. We have an enormous coastline with huge tides in some areas yet England leads us in developing tidal energy.

These changes will need a high degree of motivation and determination from governments and big business but they also need an attitute change which starts at the grass roots and that means local council level. Councils need to lead by example and they also need to setup education and demonstration programs.

I am the first to admit that I do not know enough about this subject but I do see the enormity of the problem and I look forward to learning more about the options for tackling it and in participating in a council dedicated to sustainability.

Is the New Hard Waste Collection Working?

2008-10-31T15:29:00.002+11:00

As I get out talking to people about the election I am hearing a lot of people complain about the new "On Call Hard Waste Collection". The general consensus appears to be that instead of having untidy streets for a few weeks each year we are going to have untidy streets all year long. There does appear driving around to be some grounds for this and the cause is easy to find. We used to be instructed to put out the hard rubbish the week-end before it was due to be picked up NOW after booking a pickup you are told when to put out the rubbish and then collection "may occur in two runs, usually within a fortnight" This means all over Maroondah there will be piles of rubbish waiting two weeks to be picked up. It is starting to look like this is a cost cutting measure rather than a service improvement.

So what do you think? Is the new system working or should we campaign to have the old system reinstated as soon as possible?

In Defence of The Transit City

2008-10-29T21:32:00.002+11:00

In this weeks Maroondah Journal there is a scathing attack on the Ringwood Transit City by RMIT Planning Lecturer Dr Paul Mees. I believe when Dr Mees branded the Ringwood Transit City Project “a load of nonsense” he completely missed the point.

I am not about to defend the State Government’s appalling record on public transport, and I do not believe that they have progressed fast enough on the transit city development, but it is not a project aimed primarily at improving public transport.

The aim of the project is to create a sustainable, balanced higher density community; with a complete range of services and job opportunities and ready access to public transport. In short to make Ringwood a more attractive place, for more people to live and work, without having to commute to the City.

Dr Mees is stuck in the old model of a sprawling metropolis with increasing volumes of people being moved back forth to the centre every day. If we are going to deal with global warming and climate change we need the vision of new models like the Transit City. We need to develop safe vital local communities with jobs, and a full range of facilities that reduce the need for transport.

You can learn more about the Ringwood Transit City Project at

http://www.maroondah.vic.gov.au/TransitCityProject.aspx

North Ringwood Community House

2008-10-27T16:04:00.002+11:00

You only need to read the council's excellent "Community Guide" to see that Maroondah is blessed by a plethora of community groups and organisations. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, not all of these groups are equally supported by either the community or by council.
Community Houses perform an invaluable role in developing and supporting our communities. They provide low cost training in a wide variety of subjects and provide facilities for a large variety of special interest and self-help groups which would not be able to function otherwise. In doing so they increase the vibrancy and well being of our communities and provide inclusion to many people and groups who otherwise be isolated.

North Ringwood Community House is an excellent example of this. It runs accredited training courses for people; wishing to care & work with the aged or people with disabilities, or needing to understand dementia and associated conditions. It also runs training courses in languages, computer subjects, health and fitness and a range of special interests from mosaic art to growing organic vegetables.

However, because it is not on council owned land it is ineligible for capital works funding. In addition, the current programs have outgrown the rapidly aging building which can not be expanded further with the land kindly allocated by Holy Spirit Parish. I strongly support the current search for a new location for the Community House and the moves by Cr Makin to locate a new Community House on council owned land. I agree with him that it is unacceptable that the residents of North Ringwood not have access to the same standard of facilities as are available at the Yarrunga and Arrabri Community Houses.

New Bus Interchange Same Old Station

2008-09-25T16:59:00.004+10:00

Today I attended the Premier's announcement of funding for the next stage of the redevelopment of the Ringwood Station precinct. Mr Brumby announced a $39 million upgrade to the station forecourt and bus interchange. This is a good outcome for Maroondah and will deliver a far more pedestrian friendly environment and vastly improved bus access. It will also line up the station with the planned new city square and create a new open and aestheically pleasing centre for Ringwood.

Unfortunately what he did not announce was an upgrade to the station itself and at this stage there is no plan to change the ramps and steps which make Ringwood Station inaccessible to many older people and people with disabilities.

When I am elected to council I will continue the fight to have this situation addressed. The cosmetic improvements to the station forecourt must not be allowed to mask the fact that the station itself has not been upgraded and that it is still inadequate.

More Work For Sporting Club Volunteers

2008-09-16T20:36:00.003+10:00

One of the most valuable resources we have in Maroondah are our sporting clubs and the army of volunteers that keep them running. Unfortunately it often seems that the harder a group of volunteers work and the better the job they do, the less they are appreciated and the more they are taken for granted.

At this weeks council meeting a decision was made to change the rules relating to signage on council reserves. This decision will give the council more planning control over advertising and other signage at council owned sporting venues with an emphasis on the preferred option of match day signage which would be erected on the day of a match and removed immediately after.

This decision appears to make perfect sense to the existing councillors as there have been some complaints about signs at some ovals and this imposes better controls and stronger rules and regulations.

However no-one appears to worry about the volunteer run sporting groups. Who will get the job of putting up and taking down these signs each match? I am fairly sure it won't be the council. Who will also do all the paper work involved in getting council permits for the signs and at what cost? My guess is that Sporting Clubs will now end up joining the long queue of people constantly frustrated by planning delays in Maroondah?

What do you think? Do you have any suggestions how council can do more to help sporting clubs. Please add a comment below and let me know.

The Missing Footpaths

2008-09-15T22:10:00.005+10:00

One of the complaints I hear most at National Seniors meetings is about the lack of footpaths in some of the older parts of Maroondah. The parts where our senior citizens are most likely to live. As you get older a fall is one of the things you fear most and good safe footpaths are very important to you. Yet in Maroondah, 34% of the roads i.e. 185km have no footpath on either side.

Tonight I asked council how much NEW footpath they constructed in the past two financial years. The answer was 1.98km at a cost of $220,000. Over the next two years they have committed $150,000 which will probably create another 1.5km. Even if they increase it to the previous level this is less than 1km a year. At that rate it will take 185 years for every street in Maroondah to have a footpath on at least one side. If we just concentrate on the footpaths that the council has identified as being Principal Pedestrian Paths it will still take 40 years.

This is happening in a community which is acknowledged to be aging faster than other councils and which claims to be in a better financial position. Where are their priorities?

What we need to guard against

2008-09-15T21:51:00.006+10:00

I have just spent a week in NSW which included the lead up to and their council elections. Council elections are run much differently with all voting being by attendance at polling booths instead of the postal ballots which are used in Maroondah. However the most significant difference was the overwhelming involvement of all political parties and the volume of advertising and campaign expenditure that this brought with it. In country areas the television and radio were totally dominated by political advertising; in the suburbs it was local radio and all of the print media. This makes it extremely difficult for independent or community based candidates to compete and makes it easy for big business interests to virtually purchase control of councils.

We need to guard against this happening here in Maroondah. It is unlikely that you will see direct public involvement by the political parties but there is already involvement in the background. What you will see is indirect funding and promotion of candidates and the running of dummy candidates all allocating preferences to a particular candidate. I have already heard of representatives of political parties offering financial support to community groups in return for support of their candidates.

You need to ask each candidate if they belong to or are receiving support from a political party and we can stamp this out BEFORE we end up like NSW.

Beginning the Journey

2008-08-19T19:07:00.000+10:00

I have done it! I have started a blog and I have also decided I will run for council again. I will use this blog to highlight issues and communicate with the people of Maroondah but I will also use it to help them know more about me by documenting the things I am doing an what I feel strongly about.

This will all start slowly; I may know a lot about logistics and records management software but I have never tried blogging before .. but it will happen so watch this space!