Is Mr Fluffy planning variation worth a Backyard Bonus?

Maya123 said :

No, why do we need farm land and nature parks! You are absolutely right. Lets build houses on it. I’m sure when it’s all built out we can import our food from China. Spoken like a true city slicker!

Do u really think that the “farm land” being taken up by roads and suburbs in Canberra is that important to growing produce ? It is not. It is generally low productivity – or non productive land.

If u are concerned about the loss of produce/food, why not turn your attention and comments to the loss of Australian productive farmland (and potentially, the produce/food it produces) to overseas business interests, overseas governments and overseas superannuation funds ?

The potential loss of control of (or actual loss), of that produce/food to the Australian market is of far, far greater future impact than the loss of farmland in Canberra to a few roads and suburbs !

I also see that the ACT Greens are proposing that nature strips on Canberra suburban blocks can be used to grow produce/vegies. So, maybe that low yield farmland that is taken up by suburbs can become more productive after all !

justin heywood said :

rubaiyat said :

The people who used Mr Fluffy’s services thought they were getting a “cheap” solution and they were right, but cheap in the wrong sense and coming back to bite them, as bad, short sighted uninformed thinking has a habit of doing.

…The owners should be grateful they are not having to pay to solve the problem themselves, especially if they created the mess.

Perhaps a moment’s thought would be advisable before launching another tirade against all those who aren’t….well aren’t you.

Mr Fluffy was around in the 60s and 70s. Many (perhaps most) of the people living in Mr Fluffy houses didn’t actually have it installed it themselves.

I never said they did, hence the word “if”.

“If’ they were not the original installers, did they do a building inspection when they in turn acquired the home? Or did they, as seems usual, pretend it didn’t exist, would go away and they’d get the house cheaper?

This very same thinking, ignore it and it isn’t there, is why Canberra has such poor housing stock, all in the same time frame, badly built and oriented for our climate, ever further out, destroying ever more open land, that again will be very costly if not impossible to fix.

And going on recent conversations, still don’t get it.

rubaiyat said :

The people who used Mr Fluffy’s services thought they were getting a “cheap” solution and they were right, but cheap in the wrong sense and coming back to bite them, as bad, short sighted uninformed thinking has a habit of doing.

…The owners should be grateful they are not having to pay to solve the problem themselves, especially if they created the mess.

Perhaps a moment’s thought would be advisable before launching another tirade against all those who aren’t….well aren’t you.

Mr Fluffy was around in the 60s and 70s. Many (perhaps most) of the people living in Mr Fluffy houses didn’t actually have it installed it themselves.

JC said :

rommeldog56 said :

dungfungus said :

It would be excusable if the government was going to apply the BYB dual occupancy windfall to something tangible that would benefit our society but with unfunded liabilities of almost $4 billion dollars and another $1.5 billion for the “light fail” they will soak us ratepayers for all they can squeeze out of us.
Not that anyone in this town seems to care.

Agree with u about Ratepayers in the ACT no caring (or being far too well paid ?) about the continual financial squeezing by the ACT Labor/Greens Govt, though this is strictly speaking not the ACT Gov’t I suppose – today I got my ACTEWAGL electricity bill. Its been slightly redesigned – nice.

However, there was an accompanying advice that payment of electricity & gas bills by credit card (as so many people do over the internet) will from 1/1/16, be subject to a now be subject to a .55% (GST exclusive !) “credit card processing fee”.

Huh ?

I thought payment by credit card over the Internet was very efficient for the receiver. I can spend $10 on my credit card at my local shop without incurring any such additional fee.

Just another financial gouge of ACT Ratepayers – but will they care ???

I think not.

Looked at in isolation, its not much. Looked at as part of the rapidly increasing rates and charges for living in the ACT, it is.

As I recall, the privitised ACTEWAGL pays a dividend to the ACT Gov’t ?

Happy new year to ACTEWAGL customers !

Firstly not making excuses here because think all these fees and the like for paying your bill is a load of cr$p, the costs should, like at the shop be factored into the price.

But the reason utility companies they have them on credit card transactions is because they want to guide you towards direct debit. Not because it is any cheaper for them, but because there is less chance of late payments and the like.

One of the worst offenders is Optus. I tried to pay my old mums bill the other day for her and there was not one way except for direct debit that didn’t incur a fee for payment. Even paying over the counter at Aus Post they would whack another dollar or two on the next bill.

The silly thing is that with credit card some of us pay our bills the day (or day after) it arrives, but now we have direct debit they must wait a month for payment.

gooterz said :

Would be nice if they at least built the back property with an underground level. such that around half wasn’t visible.

Its it a matter of land why not release more rather than trying to squeeze the current blocks. Surely you’d make more in rates.

Or is this just an excuse to charge those with standard block sizes a premium?

Land isn’t as limited in the ACT as decent governance.

No, why do we need farm land and nature parks! You are absolutely right. Lets build houses on it. I’m sure when it’s all built out we can import our food from China. Spoken like a true city slicker!

gooterz said :

Would be nice if they at least built the back property with an underground level. such that around half wasn’t visible.

Its it a matter of land why not release more rather than trying to squeeze the current blocks. Surely you’d make more in rates.

Or is this just an excuse to charge those with standard block sizes a premium?

Land isn’t as limited in the ACT as decent governance.

Yes they should excavate, especially for garaging, but excavation and the waterproofing of the underground structure is very expensive.

As is developing more and more land, further and further out requiring more infrastructure, waste and pollution whilst stuffing up what remains of our environment and forcing people to spend ridiculous amounts of their lives commuting.

I gather the last two are really not a concern of yours, but like the Mr Fluffy thoughtlessness it will come back and bite us, BIG time!

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2016/01/01/temperatures-spike-almost-50-degrees-in-north-pole.html

I quoted Fox News because I assume you will just ignore it if it comes from anyone else more rational.

rubaiyat said :

You are paying, it is in the bill, but apparently prefer not to be told.

“….but apparently prefer not to be told.” ? Once again you assume what others think

Of course business overheads are reflected in the price charged – its not a matterr of preferring not to be told at all. Is ACTEWAGL going to tell customers what they pay the ACT Gov’t in Annual Rates ? What dividend they pay to the ACT Gov’t, etc. Of course not.

ACTEWAGL have saved megabucks by accepting payment by credit card – especially when its automated over the Internet eg. no cash handling or receipt points, fewer staff, etc.

Now this additional gouge on customers.

Would be nice if they at least built the back property with an underground level. such that around half wasn’t visible.

Its it a matter of land why not release more rather than trying to squeeze the current blocks. Surely you’d make more in rates.

Or is this just an excuse to charge those with standard block sizes a premium?

Land isn’t as limited in the ACT as decent governance.

rommeldog56 said :

dungfungus said :

It would be excusable if the government was going to apply the BYB dual occupancy windfall to something tangible that would benefit our society but with unfunded liabilities of almost $4 billion dollars and another $1.5 billion for the “light fail” they will soak us ratepayers for all they can squeeze out of us.
Not that anyone in this town seems to care.

Agree with u about Ratepayers in the ACT no caring (or being far too well paid ?) about the continual financial squeezing by the ACT Labor/Greens Govt, though this is strictly speaking not the ACT Gov’t I suppose – today I got my ACTEWAGL electricity bill. Its been slightly redesigned – nice.

However, there was an accompanying advice that payment of electricity & gas bills by credit card (as so many people do over the internet) will from 1/1/16, be subject to a now be subject to a .55% (GST exclusive !) “credit card processing fee”.

Huh ?

I thought payment by credit card over the Internet was very efficient for the receiver. I can spend $10 on my credit card at my local shop without incurring any such additional fee.

Just another financial gouge of ACT Ratepayers – but will they care ???

I think not.

Looked at in isolation, its not much. Looked at as part of the rapidly increasing rates and charges for living in the ACT, it is.

As I recall, the privitised ACTEWAGL pays a dividend to the ACT Gov’t ?

Happy new year to ACTEWAGL customers !

Firstly not making excuses here because think all these fees and the like for paying your bill is a load of cr$p, the costs should, like at the shop be factored into the price.

But the reason utility companies they have them on credit card transactions is because they want to guide you towards direct debit. Not because it is any cheaper for them, but because there is less chance of late payments and the like.

One of the worst offenders is Optus. I tried to pay my old mums bill the other day for her and there was not one way except for direct debit that didn’t incur a fee for payment. Even paying over the counter at Aus Post they would whack another dollar or two on the next bill.

rommeldog56 said :

dungfungus said :

It would be excusable if the government was going to apply the BYB dual occupancy windfall to something tangible that would benefit our society but with unfunded liabilities of almost $4 billion dollars and another $1.5 billion for the “light fail” they will soak us ratepayers for all they can squeeze out of us.
Not that anyone in this town seems to care.

Agree with u about Ratepayers in the ACT no caring (or being far too well paid ?) about the continual financial squeezing by the ACT Labor/Greens Govt, though this is strictly speaking not the ACT Gov’t I suppose – today I got my ACTEWAGL electricity bill. Its been slightly redesigned – nice.

However, there was an accompanying advice that payment of electricity & gas bills by credit card (as so many people do over the internet) will from 1/1/16, be subject to a now be subject to a .55% (GST exclusive !) “credit card processing fee”.

Huh ?

I thought payment by credit card over the Internet was very efficient for the receiver. I can spend $10 on my credit card at my local shop without incurring any such additional fee.

Just another financial gouge of ACT Ratepayers – but will they care ???

I think not.

Looked at in isolation, its not much. Looked at as part of the rapidly increasing rates and charges for living in the ACT, it is.

As I recall, the privitised ACTEWAGL pays a dividend to the ACT Gov’t ?

Happy new year to ACTEWAGL customers !

There is some relief in sight.
The CT reported today that the basket-baller Lauren Jackson they were part sponsoring (ACT government is one of the other part sponsors) has been “released from her contract”.
I think that means she has been sacked.
This is hopefully the last high profile multi-million dollar sponsorship deal that ActewAGL and the ACT government get involved in.