Country Gal,

Yes, I rather suspected something like that was the case. After all, getting a sparky to drive for hours to do a trivial job is probably rather difficult, and it's hardly likely that an electrical inspector is going want to visit far away farmhouses on the off-chance that he'll find concrete evidence of an unauthorised switch replacement.

Using a professional for more complex tasks makes practical sense quite apart from the legality. It's easy to discover that some necessary piece hasn't been purchased, or that some essential tool isn't to hand. The professional is much more likely to know exactly what will be required or have the required item in his van, and of course, he'll have all the obscure tools needed for the job (such as three foot long drill bits). I've installed LAN and coaxial video cabling in my home (which I can lawfully do), and the task is always more difficult and time consuming than one might expect.

Free Diver, I'm not proposing any bureaucracy. A householder could simply book themselves into an approved short TAFE course, and be given a certificate entitling them to do some limited work. If the question of whether a piece of work was authorised ever arises, they produce the certificate - that's all.

So these certificates and 'approved' courses would not result in any added bureacracy?

WHAT a stupid suggestion - imagine everybody doing their own electric wiring, safety-switch installations.. ad infinitum ? For the price of your life, you are going to forego a few bucks ? Golly, some people will stoop so low to risk all for a couple of measly bucks. What damn good is your fat Bank account, or credit card going to do for your widow and siblings ? Why take the risk ? Boy, some dudes are really on another planet.

Some time ago, TAFE was advertising courses for just about every Trade under the sun. People flocked. On graduation, these 30 day wonders descended on suburbs with their newly found genius as ' handy-men 'Unsuspecting Poms, pensioners and residents wanting to save quids employed these dodos.

Result, they stuffed-upped every thing they tried, hurt themselves while performing tasks way beyond their capabilities, had NO worker's compensation or insurance and gave proper Tradesmen a bad name. Needless to say, the State Authorities put a stop to this dispora, and instituted licensing for all tradesman to stop this hazardous folly and exercised some common sense. They brought in ABN registrationing, and Trade certificate varifications to curb this silly amateurish practice which not only endangers lives, it is a practice abhored by all.
Let's put some sense back into this purile nonsense. It has gone on beyond a joke !
Life is precious mister ! Yours and mine.

"WHAT a stupid suggestion"

is the start of a posting that deserves no reply. Check "ad hominem".

That's not an ad hominem. It's the suggestion that was being derided as stupid, not the person. The rest of the post also criticises the idea itself.

http://www.ozpolitic.com/articles/logical-fallacies.html#ad%20hominem

Freediver,

A comment to the effect that a suggestion made by a poster is stupid is a criticism of the poster, whatever the form of the comment. Suggestions are not capable of being "stupid", because the word relates to a mental attribute. The comment is really a shortened form of "you must be stupid to have made the suggestion."

It is possible to criticise a suggestion without resorting to such tactics.

The comment "that's a stupid suggestion" is also a pre-emptive attack on those who might otherwise be inclined to support the suggestion.

About now we should see a claim addressed to me along the lines of "you're only refusing to respond because you cannot address the argument."

Sylvia.