A POX ON ORIGIN ENERGY AND UNITED ENERGY!

As you know, our new house has been delivered, ready to go, to our beach house block. Only one problem….no electricity and no gas!!!!  So no Christmas, or perhaps even New Year, for us or our friends, who were scheduled to come from all over Australia, as they usually do for the Christmas period.  Why? 

It seems you can’t notify Origin Energy or United Energy about a date for connecting gas or electricity until the house is on the ground.  Not helpful, when the whole house arrives on one day!!

Further, these wonderful companies take 15-20 working days to turn up to connect your house.  And they won’t tell you when they are coming. Or if they have been.  And you have to contact one company when the other company does the work.  In fact, they have had more than their 20 days.   They promised it would be in by last Friday.  Then last Saturday.  Then last Sunday.  Then Monday.  Then Tuesday.  Then…no more promises.  Great customer service, guys! 

Actually, Origin did send someone.  But he only handled underground electricity connections, so he couldn’t connect our overhead power.   Don’t they even read their own notes??  They are the ones who disconnected the old house!  And you can’t connect the gas meter unless the gas line is in place.  Apparently it is not possible for one person/crew to do both jobs.

So our Christmas gathering is ruined.  A pox on both your houses.

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GREEN ARMY WAS WASTED MONEY. VOLUNTEER GROUPS CAN DO IT BETTER.

As president of an environmental organisation, you would think I would be sad or outraged that the federal government’s Green Army program is destined for the scrap heap.  Especially as my organisation received significant benefits from the program.

Nothing could be further from the truth.  Green Army is an enormous waste of Australian taxpayer money.  Environmental groups and local government organisations can do it much better.  Here’s why.Read More »

GOLF: A DULL, BEAUTIFUL GAME THAT NEEDS SPEEDING UP

Vegging out, I watched a bit of the World Cup of Golf over the weekend and cheered yet another 2016 underdog – Denmark!! – to an upset win over…China and …France.  Who would have thought?  But what I really noticed is that, unlike most other sports games, golf has not only not speeded up but it is actually slowing down.  Which is a pity, because it is a difficult game played in beautiful locations, with great possibilities for luck to be involved in the result.  So I wondered – in the long gaps of time between shots – what could be done to speed up golf and make it interesting?Read More »