Solar price gouging
South Hobart car spill
IT is not only local traders worried about State Government proposals to deal with traffic congestion on the Southern Outlet ( Mercury, June 2). The South Hobart Progress Association is strongly opposed to any changes to traffic arrangements which significantly increase the number of vehicles using the residential streets of the suburb. We have become a parking lot for Hobart commuters, the landing strip for the thousands of cars associated with the pie-in-the-sky cable car, and now we have the Government’s latest thought bubble pushing more traffic into our streets and shopping areas.
In each case who is the last to find out? The community who lives here. And we are a most unreasonable bunch; we love the peace and quiet, our built and natural heritage, our village atmosphere and sense of community. The association has been reassured that it is early days and that consultation on the Southern Outlet proposal will begin in earnest shortly. This is to be welcomed. So why create community angst and anger by floating the thought
Shared heritage
IS it possible to build a consensus on dual naming? One in which a clear distinction can be made between the natural world where Aboriginal people lived and the built environments of European arrivals. Most Tasmanians, including our indigenous, have ancestors who helped establish and contributed to these settlements. These names are an important part of our shared heritage and should be preserved. TASMANIANS who installed solar systems of less than 10 kilowatts after August 2013 are paid 8.929c per kilowatt hour for electricity they feed into the state grid. When that electricity leaves the house, it does not go back to a power station, it goes to the nearest house drawing electricity from the grid, often right next door. The house receiving the power gets charged 28c per kilowatt hour, over three times the house that generated the power was paid for it. This is price gouging at its worst. This outrageous practice is authorised and protected by our state and federal governments who are urging us to install solar systems to minimise the use of fossil fuels.