Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition's List of Lies

[a_unique_person]

Today, the Carbon Tax once again is lied about, and a pensioner's anguish is abused for political gain. A doubling of her power bill was obviously distressing. Her mind could have been set at ease when it was presented by her for inspection to her local member instead of exploiting her anguish for political gain.

The simple and obvious, even sceptical course of action to take would be to first of all acquaint oneself with the evidence. The bill had a message advising here that the Carbon Tax would result in a nine percent increase in her bill. So obviously one would inspect the bill more closely for more information. It turns out her consumption of electricity had roughly doubled.

You can just imagine them rubbing their hands with glee at her distress.

TONY ABBOTT: My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer to this electricity bill from Mrs Hetty Verolme, a pensioner from Perth, who says that she nearly had a heart attack when her latest bill increase from $736 to $1564.

JULIA GILLARD: Thank you very much. And to the Leader of the Opposition, here we are back to the same old siren song of negativity and distorting the facts.

ANNA BURKE: The Leader of the House.

ANOTHONY ALBANESE: Yes, I'd ask the Leader of the Opposition to table the bill that he's referring to.

TONY ABBOTT: Happy to table it. It shows an $800 increase.

ANNA BURKE: Leave has been granted.

TONY ABBOTT: Are you saying that Hetty Verolme is fibbing?

ANNA BURKE: Time has expired.

JULIA GILLARD: The Leader of the Opposition should have looked at this bill and he should have quoted in this Parliament what it says about carbon pricing and what it says about carbon pricing is this - and I quote - 'this represents an estimated increase of 9.13 per cent for an average daily usage'.

SAMANTHA HAWLEY: Hetty Verolme is a prominent Holocaust survivor living in Perth. Her bill does show a dramatic cost increase but it also shows her electricity usage almost doubled since her previous account was issued.

BRENDAN TREMBATH: Samantha Hawley with that report.

 

[Akhenaten]

Tony's not having a very good day, is he?

 

[Puppycow]

Her bill does show a dramatic cost increase but it also shows her electricity usage almost doubled since her previous account was issued.

Important context!

ETA: NM, I see there's a different thread on that.

 

[Akhenaten]

Important context!

ETA: NM, I see there's a different thread on that.

You should've left it, mate. Good news bears repeating.

 

[Puppycow]

Exactly how much electricity did she use then? And how many months does it cover?

It seems like you would have to use a lot more than a typical household uses to get such a large electricity bill.

 

[Akhenaten]

Exactly how much electricity did she use then? And how many months does it cover?

It seems like you would have to use a lot more than a typical household uses to get such a large electricity bill.

It's hard to answer any of those questions without knowing more details.

If it's a quartely bill and she's an older lady living alone then she must have stuff in her house that would make Nikola Tesla envious.

If it's a yearly bill then it's reasonable, but a bit on the high side.

I live alone and use electricity like it's going out of style and my quarterly bill averages $400-$500.

 

[Puppycow]

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8546006/tactics-turn-on-electricity-bills

"With an $800 increase in just one bill, of which 70 per cent is due to the carbon tax, how can the prime minister possibly say that Hetty Verolme's compensation is in any way adequate?" he asked.

He appeared surprised when Leader of the House Anthony Albanese asked him to table the bill.

Ms Gillard scrutinised it before gleefully telling the house it showed carbon pricing had added only 9.13 per cent.

Are these bills that were tabled now public information?

It would be interesting to actually see them.

On a separate note, how popular is solar in OZ these days? Seems like it would be a good climate for that.

 

[a_unique_person]

People tend to use more power in winter, especially if they are using electric heating.

 

[Akhenaten]

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8546006/tactics-turn-on-electricity-bills


Are these bills that were tabled now public information?

It would be interesting to actually see them.

Yeah, it'll be in Hansard, but the latest transcripts aren't available yet. I'll post them when they are.

On a separate note, how popular is solar in OZ these days? Seems like it would be a good climate for that.

Anecdotally, it seems to be taking off in a big way. Where I am (out in the sticks) it seems like every second house has a roof covered in solar cells.

I'll do a bit of research and give you a better answer as time permits.

 

[rjh01]

Check also the address. I predict it is not a small house. I agree with Akhenaten, it is far too much for a pensioner living alone or even as a couple. Maybe she runs a bed and breakfast?

My link below contains a photo of a part of the bill. It implies that it is a quarterly bill.


http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-10-10/abbott-caught-out-on-use-of-pensioner27s-power-bill/4305908

 

[rjh01]

I wonder if the person who received the bill is this person http://www.fremantlepress.com.au/authors/324/Hetty+Verolme The organisation has its main office in Fremantle which is a suburb of Perth

 

[Magenta]

Abbott is flogging a dead horse by continuing with his "great big tax" scaremongering. And seriously, he can't read a power bill but he wants to run the country. Unbelievable.

On a separate note, how popular is solar in OZ these days? Seems like it would be a good climate for that.

Recent data here:

The latest data from the Australian Clean Energy Regulator (ACER) shows that more than 858 000 homes in Australia are now equipped with solar photovoltaic panels totalling almost 2GW of installed capacity in solar PV, reports the Sustainable Energy Association of Australia (SEA).

Australian homes also now have more than 600 000 solar hot water systems installed.

 

[a_unique_person]

If Abbott had been given the numbers in the hung parliament, he would have gone straight to an early election, according to Bronwyn Bishop. Another Abbott lie.

Ms Bishop had been claiming the Gillard government was illegitimate because it did not secure a majority in it own right.
Dr Emerson disputed this and challenged Ms Bishop to say what Mr Abbott would have done had he been successful in negotiating a minority government after the August 2010 election.
''We would have gone to another election,'' she said.
''Of course we would have gone to another election.''
Ms Bishop added that Mr Abbott would not have gone ''straightaway''.
When Mr Oakeshott and Mr Windsor announced their decision to side with Labor following the 17-day, post-election negotiating period in 2010, they said part of their decision was based on a distrust of Mr Abbott's assurances that the Parliament would run the full term.
Julia Gillard had made the same commitment but had little choice, given the momentum was against Labor and another election would have resulted in a majority Coalition government.
It would have been in Mr Abbott's interest to call another election once he had secured the support of the independents and they would have either lost their seats or their relevance in Parliament.
During the negotiation period, Mr Abbott rejected a claim by the Greens that he would call a quick election as ''a complete fantasy''.


Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/nat...ll-election-20121026-28b3r.html#ixzz2AVDkq4Tm