Chris. You're asking, win at all costs politicians, to base decisions on sound common sense/sane decisions? When all that prevails is whatever it takes to win and hold power?

That said, we regularly waste literally tons of waste! Which could be processed onsite in Aussie backyards, in smell free, buried digesters, namely the Aussie invented smell free, two tank, closed cycle system, that sanitizes all the end products, and in the process, creates enough recoverable, bladder stored biogas, to power the average Aussie home 24/7, creating endless free hot water in the process.

And millions of jobs, countless modest enterprises and a completely resuscitated steel industry, as the first consequence!

Moreover, using this gas as scrubbed methane, in Aussie invented ceramic fuel cells literally doubles the energy provision, creating a significant salable surplus! The exhaust product, mostly recoverable pristine water vapor! The, also salable, byproducts include a thoroughly sanitizes high (permanently sequestered) carbon soil improver and nutrient loaded reusable sanitized water!

Given all the recoverable, [at today's prices,] costs are almost all up front, producing cheap as chips energy!

Tanks ought to be mandatory and used at the owner's discretion. Toilets, showers and washing? With membrane filters/reverse osmosis, making it completely safe as drinking water!

The problem, I believe, would be the sovereign risk for our political masters? Foreign, highly leveraged investors! Who would be left holding the bag with coal mines and power stations! TBC.
Alan B.

Chris:
If I were to step outside my door and fill a one cubic metre box with dirt. Then using simple gravity separation costing about $100.00? I'd recover around 8 grams of thorium, the most energy dense material on the planet! And enough to power my house and car for the next 100 years!

Do the sums, that's around $1.00 year! [And enough unwelcome news for the fossil fuel industry and big nuclear to flood the insane asylums of the world!] Hence the quite massive misinformation missive!

Many green advocates will quite fatuously claim, using it in walk away safe, molten salt thorium reactors. Which to date, have an exemplary safety record! Present various problems, as applicable solely to uranium or uranium oxide reactors. Thorium being fertile and enriched uranium being fissile!

Simply put, those claims pertaining to fertile thorium, are both disingenuous and mendacious in the extreme! And manifestly serve the interests of massively over leveraged foreign investors ,with coal and coal fired privatized investments?

The same fluoride/lithium/thorium salt used in molten salt thorium reactors, and decried by alleged Green activists, are welcomed with open arms by them in the heat retaining towers of solar thermal project, where they confer base load power features!

Bad in walk away safe tried and not found wanting, molten salt thorium reactors, but good in solar thermal applications!?

It's not just Victorian labor politicians needing a (operational) brain transplant? And a sane energy policy!

But around a half dozen very high profile, verbose, vociferous, "green" (coal company) advocates as well?

You can always tell a Victorian, but you can't tell them very much. Go figure?
Alan B.

Alan, I agree we need to be innovative and consider all energy options.

And politicians should not merely serve the interests of powerful vested groups.

It is unbelievable that Australians face 10-20% energy price rises per year. Both parties have been inept with regard to energy prices and options.

Other possible reasons for extraordinary policy decisions:

I wonder how much energy companies and gas hot water system manufacturers are donating to Federal and State political parties?

And perhaps benefitting individual politicians, currently or for politicians' future jobs?

The ludicrousness of the situation described in the article is why the ABC show "Utopia" is so on target.

It'll be fantastic to see what solution, if any, will be found that does not heap dumb on top of stupid.

One thing is sure, it'll involve many meetings with many stakeholders (flown in from everywhere), and many lunches, muffins and order-in coffee. Maybe they'll make a week-long seminar out of it, with a bespoke lanyard for all attendees and all the social media hashtags and trimmings.

Of course, nothing can happen without first a welcome-to-country smoke ceremony.

Sorry, it's just getting to me today. Just had a development application knocked back on the basis of input from these publicly funded think-tank-fests.

Oh well, onto the appeal process.

One of those ludicrous claims is, we're short of gas, even as millions of tons of wasted waste is routinely flushed daily into already, hugely polluted oceans! When instead it could be turned into a permanent source of very cheap biogas, that could last as long as we do!

Not likely to run out of human excrement any time soon!

And turning it into biogas in the described smell free manner, also produces sanitized nutrient loaded water, eminently suitable for a variety of agriculture pursuits. Where this permanent and ultra-reliable source of water can very safely be introduced to virtually any tree/vine food or fibre crop as taped underground irrigation.

The Aussie invented two tank closed cycle system utilizes both aerobic (oxygen and 32 C) an anaerobic (nitrogen and 55 C) digestion. Thus when any of the byproducts are again exposed to sunlight and oxygen the remaining anaerobic organisms are effectively neutralized in seconds or minutes!

Meaning this (permanently sequestered) high carbon, soil improving medium, can be safely applied almost anywhere! But particularly after aeration.

While it's absolutely safe, I'd want to restrict treated paddocks to cereal and legume crops only for around three years before planting root crops. To be sure, to be sure, to be sure!

Other nations invest in their best people and their better ideas. We just allow ours to both wither on the vine, forcing both them and their better ideas, to seek foreign backers offshore. Then insanely import stuff we could and should export to the rest of the world! Instead of buying it back from them as manufactured goods!

An outcome that underlines, as nothing else can, the absolute paucity of thinking in Australian political ranks! Where common sense is anything but common, but one of the rarest commodities in existence!?
Alan B.

I agree with this article about these pump hot Water systems.

I needed a new system a few months ago when my electric hot water system I'd had for many years packed it in. I got online and had a look at what systems were available. Bunnings had these pump systems and the old type electric hot water systems.

I saw the pump systems, and wondered what they were, and I did read they weren't much good in cold places. Which begs the question why are they allowed to keep selling them in cold places.

However I live in the tropical north so. I thought, maybe they would be ok here.
It just so happened I had to get an electrician out to fix a couple of lights, and I asked him about my hot water system. It turned out, he had installed water systems for years, until the government bought in some different regulations he didn't like.

I asked him what these pump hot water systems were and should I get one. He straight away said, "don't go anywhere near them" they are no good.

I also think we are being ripped off with all this expensive solar panelling. I saw a bloke
helping out in a poor ramshackle, slum area, overseas, and he rigged up a simple
V- shaped, long piece of tin, connected to a water pump, and when the tin heated up in the sun he just turned on the pump and let the water run down the tin into the makeshift
house and it provided hot water for cooking and somehow also powered a single bulb that lit the slum house when it got dark.

I live alone so my need for hot water isn't that great. Surely there must be a more simple rustic way to provide me with a bit of hot water
I feel as though business and the government are making solar too expensive. Older people don't have the years left to recoup the cost.

I will bet quids they do not take into account all the CO2 produced
in replacing the dud heating systems.
I have had OFF peak electric hot water systems for years & years.
I had a ceiling mounted gravity fed copper tank for a very long time
that sprang a leak and I replaced it with an electric vertical tank
of the type you see in the off side passage of most homes.
No problems, go like clocks for decades.
Take control of the energy system away from politicians and give
control to the engineers.

Gas solar hot water systems are clearly problematic in frost-prone areas. If they break down in Wodonga/Albury, they would be totally impractical in places like Canberra that frequently have sub-zero overnight temperatures.
Chris - a copy of your article to your local politicians would be a good move.

Another matter I have wondered about re solar panels: are they damaged when hit by large hailstones - like golf ball size or larger? Such hail is not common, but when it does occur in built-up areas millions of dollars of damage can be caused to cars, roofs, etc.

Thanks for interesting comments.

I did provide a version to local Border Mail paper.
http://www.bordermail.com.au/story/4798922/policy-push-burning-a-hole-in-our-pockets/

I am not sure whether Canberra home owners get more choice with new houses, but would like to find out.