Alternative Technology Assn Forums

1. 

   gazgc
   Member

   It's time to schedule a day of action, organize meetings in all the major cities, and invite the media along, including TV cameras. Monday March 1st 12 noon to 1pm.

   The Green Loans program is beseiged with problems but nobody can get an answer out of DEWHA, ABSA or Peter Garrett. So it's time we made our voice heard.

   The protest must be media-focussed: Peter Garrett is in an awful mess over the insulation scheme and the last thing he wants is this Green Loans debacle taking over the front pages. If that looks like happening, I think the government might be encouraged to throw a lot of money at the problem and make it go away. Otherwise I think they will be happy to let us all rot, let the program wind down, and then announce some new Gee Whizz election promises in their own good time.

   So who's up for it? We don't need 10,000 people: if we can just get a few groups of people in simultaneous meetings around the country, that makes it newsworthy and sends a clear message. Each group just needs to organise their own venue (maybe outside your local member's office?) then invite the TV cameras and the local media. I will be happy to organise something on the Gold Coast.

   We also need to be clear about the message: this is a good program but it's not being run properly! We want the problems resolved ASAP, we want the cowboys OUT, and we want the program extended to secure our incomes.

   I have posted this message on the Facebook page (search for "Household Sustainability Assessor Network" and click "Join group") and I've also started a thread on the alternative Assessors forum at the following URL:

   http://www.activeboard.com/forum.spark?aBID=134904&p=3&topicID=34136528

   Anyone interested in joining a protest on the Gold Coast please email me: garylord@gmail.com. Anyone else who supports this protest, please let as many assessors as you can find know about it, pick a place to meet on Monday 1st March at 12 noon, and invite the media along.

   Posted Thursday 18 Feb 2010 @ 12:42:44 am from IP #
2. 

   cool at home
   Member

   I'm really interested... can't say (as a taxpayer) that I want the program extended in anything like its current form - having no co-payment seems to have fueled the greed in the industry that has preyed so well on the awful mismanagement of the entire program. I have tried to join the group mentioned above, but am still waiting for a reply....

   Susan

   Posted Thursday 18 Feb 2010 @ 8:47:22 am from IP #
3. 

   gazgc
   Member

   Thanks Susan. The response so far has been muted (to say the least) but I hope people will give this idea due consideration.

   I should say that this is entirely non-political, in that I am not a member of any political party or trying to pressure Labor for Liberals gain, etc. Nor am I trying to take any leadership role - I want people to organise their own local protests. I just think we need to stand up for ourselves and make our voices heard if we really want to see any action here.

   Yes I know there is an enquiry underway, but it could go on forever and will no doubt be as favourable as possible to the government. We need to influence public opinion ourselves.

   Posted Thursday 18 Feb 2010 @ 10:25:42 am from IP #
4. 

   cool at home
   Member

   Letters and emails to the Minister and the Dept of Environment have so far not got a single reply... but still we must do what we can. Here are the email addresses of the PM, Peter Garrett and the Commonwealth Ombudsman - and the more who complain, well... I don't know what, but we HAVE to make our voices heard separately and collectively! And I'm not political either...

   Kevin Rudd: http://www.pm.gov.au/PM_Connect/contact_your_pm_form

   All others:
   Peter.Garrett.MP@aph.gov.au;
   jmacklin.mp@aph.gov.au;
   Julia.Gillard.MP@aph.gov.au;
   Wayne.Swan.MP@aph.gov.au;
   senator.evans@aph.gov.au;
   senator.wong@aph.gov.au;
   senator.faulkner@aph.gov.au;
   Stephen.Smith.MP@aph.gov.au;
   Nicola.Roxon.MP@aph.gov.au;
   lindsay.tanner.mp@aph.gov.au;
   S.Crean.MP@aph.gov.au;
   A.Albanese.MP@aph.gov.au;
   senator.conroy@aph.gov.au;
   senator.carr@aph.gov.au;
   R.McClelland.MP@aph.gov.au;
   senator.ludwig@aph.gov.au;
   Tony.Burke.MP@aph.gov.au;
   martin.ferguson.mp@aph.gov.au;
   chris.bowen.mp@aph.gov.au

   Commonwealth ombudsman: ombudsman@ombudsman.gov.au

   Locate your local member's email address too...

   Posted Thursday 18 Feb 2010 @ 2:09:30 pm from IP #
5. 

   gazgc
   Member

   Thanks again Susan. SMH today says the Libs are going to start pressuring Garrett about this next week:

   "With Parliament to resume next week, the opposition is preparing to step up the assault on the minister by targeting the troubled Greens Loans program...

   "...The Green Loans program was designed to provide low-interest loans of up to $10,000 to enable households to install energy and water friendly measures such as tanks and solar heating.

   "The scheme aimed to train 2000 assessors who would visit homes and be paid $200 for each assessment they made. But more than 7000 people have trained themselves and the program is hopelessly bogged down and sclerotic. The scheme's call centre is choked.

   "The Liberal senator Simon Birmingham, collating material for the parliamentary attack, said people complained they never hear back from assessors. He said assessors are complaining about bottlenecks throughout the program that issued just over 1000 loans. The aim was for 75,000 loans over four years."

   http://www.smh.com.au/national/garrett-shielded-as-libs-score-own-goal-20100218-oiyx.html

   Hopefully Garrett will have some answers ready, and not just hide behind the ongoing enquiry.

   It's sad, I quite like Peter Garrett as a minister and I cannot believe I am organising a protest against him (he made a living out of protesting!). But governments have to be accountable and we have a right to some answers ASAP!

   Posted Thursday 18 Feb 2010 @ 5:57:04 pm from IP #
6. 

   cool at home
   Member

   Gazgc, I know where you are coming from, but what else can we do? Sitting patiently does nothing, and - as a professional and a taxpayer - this MUST be stopped. PG would - as you say - be using all the means his high media profile gave him in his previous life to stop this if he was on the other side of the fence.

   Now where is this Day of Protect going to be on 1st March. I'm in Sydney.

   Maxine McKew is my member - and she too appreciates a media storm as a means to an end.
   Susan

   Posted Friday 19 Feb 2010 @ 12:56:19 am from IP #
7. 

   Assessor Probs
   Member

   I believe a lot of the existing problems have to be sheeted back to ABSA
   I am seriously thinking about taking my complaint to the ombudsman because I had no satisfaction in a complaint I made to ABSA regarding the lack of management of existing H S Assessor Trainers in the industy.
   I, like a lot of others, have spent a lot of money only to be told that there is little likelihood that any registration with ABSA and DEWHA will come through to allow us to recoup any of our money prior the Green Loans Program being withdrawn.
   Sure, ABSA realised that the numbers of Assessors were becoming unmanageable and set a 'cut off' date as the 24 December 09 but what did that do. It only encouraged the training organisations to herd as many gullible people into courses before that date.
   My gripe with ABSA is that they should have insisted that each training organisation not only mention the 'cut off' date (which had the effect of increasing the number of course participants) but that ALL forms of advertising for such courses should have Prominently spelt out the position which brought about their need to bring about a 'cut off' date.
   I am not particularly blaming the course provider who I did my course with (the course was the last course and was apparently double the normal size...more than 50) they are going to grab whatever they can out of it. All of the newspaper ads I saw had the same message (the cut off date) in large ads but nothing about the program being likely to finish before registration had been completed.
   The only word I got back from ABSA to a detailed complaint letter was to ask whether I had any copies of newspaper advertisements - they need them for an upcoming enquiry or something.
   As for Mr Garrett, well I really dont have any sympathy. Governments have their day in the sun and grab all of the kudos from an idea or program and after that they expect to be able to just shut it down without any disaffected persons lodging any form of protest. I am an 'older' worker and was looking forward to re entering the workforce through this program. I spent a lot of money in attempting to do so, money which I really could not afford.

   Posted Friday 19 Feb 2010 @ 3:23:00 am from IP #
8. 

   gazgc
   Member

   I think there were good training programs and bad ones. The excellent people I trained with (Environment Australia in Brisbane) were very up-front, and made it quite clear that ABSA were barely capable of running a BBQ even back then. But nobody had any idea before Christmas exactly how many new assessors were coming on board. Of course, ABSA and/or DEWHA should have known, and should have informed people, but that's another story.

   I even rang ABSA before I booked my training, because I'd heard the program was having issues. A receptionist told me they couldn't guarantee full-time work, because it depended on our own ability to do marketing, but there was never any suggestion that we wouldn't even get a chance to even get our money back from the program.

   I figured I would go hard with the marketing and be OK. I still have hundreds of flyers and business cards sitting around waiting to be used - I can hardly offer my services as an assessor when I still don't have an ABSA rego, can I?

   Four weeks ago, they said I would have it in three weeks. In fact, they have been saying "about three weeks" since forever...

   So now I see that Garrett has stopped the insulation scheme with immediate effect (never mind the people with jobs booked and bills to pay) and I'm thinking this is likely what will happen with us. Is that a good thing? And what about the looming double dissolution election?

   Posted Friday 19 Feb 2010 @ 5:10:50 am from IP #
9. 

   CNCandy
   Member

   http://www.environment.gov.au/minister/garrett/2010/mr20100219.html

   Posted Friday 19 Feb 2010 @ 7:05:20 am from IP #
10. 

    mirboo magic
    Member

    At current rates of take-up, the Green Loans program will reach it's target of 360000 assessments by March 31st if not sooner.The cowboys will have made all the money, most assessors will have lost money, the assessed will be disillusioned or still waiting for a superficial, worthless generic style report,there will be very little investment in green infrastructure and the whole sustainability movement will have lost credibility.

    To extend the existing program is not a practical option, 10,000 assessors could easily complete 3-5 million assessments per year - the system would never cope, the cowboys would still be there and even more tax payer money would be wasted on useless reports for no apreciable reduction in CO2 emmissions.

    What we need is an exit strategy so that those that have lost money can be compensated and those that wish to continue can have a sane sensible scheme to work with.A scheme that focuses on outcomes not burecratic processes that enrich those who have the inside running. I agree we need to publisise the shambles that the whole Green loans program has become because if we don't it will be buried and forgotten.

    A day of action might work or perhaps a direct approach to a current affairs program or perhaps an email campaign directed to all opposition shadow ministers.

    What do you think?

    Posted Friday 19 Feb 2010 @ 7:11:59 am from IP #
11. 

    gazgc
    Member

    Given the latest changes announced today, the protest action is postponed indefinitely. Thanks to the thousands who expressed an interest. I will start another thread with the latest press details f anyone wants to discuss it.

    Posted Friday 19 Feb 2010 @ 7:27:24 am from IP #
12. 

    cool at home
    Member

    Wow to those changes. Am I reading the media release correctly - that assessors will only be able to do a max of 3 assessments per day (great!) and a max of 5 assessments per week (not so great)???

    Susan

    Posted Friday 19 Feb 2010 @ 7:42:33 am from IP #
13. 

    questionman
    Member

    what is the use of having an assessment if you never received any report? my assessment was done in August/September 2009 and until now I have not received any report.

    Posted Saturday 20 Feb 2010 @ 8:41:44 pm from IP #
14. 

    cool at home
    Member

    Questionman - You must get on to the assessor who did your assessment. He or she CAN email you a copy of your report by saving it from the 'view report' section of the calculator. Sure it is not GL policy, but they will not give any reason why it is inappropriate (I've asked Chris Mobbs direct to his face and he just stared at me blankly). Be aware that if there is a software upgrade between the time you get a report from the assessor and from the GL program it may cause some variation, but this is likely to be to your benefit not detriment, as problems with the calculator are being (very slowly) worked through. From a compliance perspective this is really only likely to be a problem with the GL Eligible Items Certificate, and as that is going soon it is mute point anyway.

    It is the only professional thing for an assessor to do - the GL program are behaving anything but professionally. I couldn't in good conscience take the money for the job if I hadn't completed it.

    Posted Saturday 20 Feb 2010 @ 10:42:03 pm from IP #

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