CHOC tops, a treat enjoyed by generations of movie-goers, have been killed off at a regional theatre by huge power price rises.
And it isn’t just the frozen treats that will melt away, as the owners of the Silver City Cinema in Broken Hill battle to survive a $4200 price jump brought about by rising electricity prices.
The effects of the carbon tax and higher power consumption, as the owners tried to keep patrons warm this winter, have combined to force father and son owners John and Ashton Rehn to slash movie sessions by half each week.
As well as cutting 30 movie sessions to 15 a week, they say they will need to turn the heating down in winter and the cooling up in summer in a bid to cut their bill.
That is even after they abandoned their provider Country Energy this week which had a price rise of 19.7 per cent for a 15 per cent discount from AGL.
While they sell their remaining supplies of choc tops they have blankets on the freezers in a bid to prevent energy escaping.
“It’s not just the choc tops, we are going to have to have a complete overhaul at the cinema,” Ashton Rehn said yesterday.
“When the carbon tax means no choc tops at the movies, you know you have the ultimate in stupidity for policies. (Julia Gillard) should stop blaming the states and apologise to cinema goers of Broken Hill and scrap the carbon tax.”
(Source. HT: Jon)
Since when did Broken Hill become so PC? Brothels with A/C for the punters and no choc-tops at the movies? The world has turned 9/6 (or thereabout).
mareeS
10 Aug 12 at 1:59 am
In the old days Broken Hill was a literal river of gold for the Liar’s party. Just shows how things have changed there when a local business man can openly vent about the Prime Liar and clearly feel secure in doing so.
Keith
10 Aug 12 at 8:04 am
Yes pedants I shouldn’t have put “literal” in there.
Keith
10 Aug 12 at 8:05 am
Yes, but think about how the Broken Hillites are contributing to saving the planet.
Each choc-top forgone, each shiver in the winter evening sessions, each drop of sweat in the summer matinees, is reducing man-made carbon dioxide emissions by 0.00000000 … 001%!!
C’mon Australia!! We’re leading the world!!
Dandy Warhol
10 Aug 12 at 8:06 am
It has been 20 years since I ended my nine years living in Broken Hill and knew John Rehn well. He is the classic country town entrepreneur and not just some person who has had an easy business for years and now is getting the headlines because it suits the carbon tax political scene. John was one of the driving forces in “having a go”, from motels to tours and took over a failing country theatre when I was there and I am amazed that he has kept it running all this time. This was a time when Broken Hill lost major miners CRA and Pasminco, three-generation BHJ people left and the unions were broken by modern mining realities. I might add that people who are just anti-union on philosophical grounds need to know that Broken Hill unions were the best I have ever seen and, in spite of their militant history (which even Bill Hartley didn’t realise had finished 70 years before), they were a model for modern industrial agreements, shop stewards had no power and the old leader of the Barrier Industrial Council Joe Keenan used to always say “you must never kill the goose that laid the golden egg”.
For John Rehn to be in trouble means that this WAS the last straw
M Ryutin
10 Aug 12 at 8:13 am
Anyone who wants great (and sometimes funny) political and union BH stories just let me know.
M Ryutin
10 Aug 12 at 8:18 am
The big polluters are paying; who knew that choc tops were the source of so much environmental devastation.
Brett
10 Aug 12 at 8:50 am
What a bummer. I mostly go to the movies for the choc tops.
Rafe
10 Aug 12 at 8:57 am
I”d be wary of listening to anyone who thinks you need to worry about energy ‘escaping’ from a freezer.
cratou
10 Aug 12 at 8:58 am
The figures and stated consequences are, of course, rather suss.
But don’t let me interfere with your gullibility.
steve from brisbane
10 Aug 12 at 8:58 am
By the way, I would have thought Broken Hill would be a pretty good place for a few thousand dollars worth of solar panels on the roof.
steve from brisbane
10 Aug 12 at 9:03 am
Yes, I’m always wary of journalists.
Keith
10 Aug 12 at 9:04 am
Then it is pretty obvious that you are not aware of glass topped display freezers?? You know the ones that you used to see in corner stores that kept all the ice-creams frozen.
Well in case through sheer ignorance you didn’t know, glass topped freezers gain significant amounts of heat through (strange I know) the glass tops, who would have guessed??
So a simple layer of insulation in the form of a blanket or similar can help reduce this heat transfer.
Gee I wasn’t aware that everyone had a spare “few thou” lying around, cause sure as shit I ain’t…
Old Fridgie
10 Aug 12 at 9:18 am
SFB has never met an honest businessman.
pete m
10 Aug 12 at 9:40 am
Which are just grand for keeping a freezer running 24 hours a day.
brc
10 Aug 12 at 9:52 am
brc: you need me to to point out that you don’t actually need the solar power to be available all hours of the day to make a saving on your power bill?
steve from brisbane
10 Aug 12 at 9:59 am
Another solution is to abolish the carbon tax.
.
10 Aug 12 at 10:09 am
On Topic and relevant to the current NT election;
Stuart Blanch an independent here for Nightcliff has announced a good policy on subsidies for solar power installation, in partnership with some small business people up here. Now if only PAWA NT would get the feed in tarrifs organised more Territory houses would be encouraged to go solar.
Xevram
10 Aug 12 at 10:10 am
Another solution is to abolish the carbon tax.
Boring and oft repeated.
Xevram
10 Aug 12 at 10:11 am
“You’re boring me”
Wanker. Let’s see what happens at the 2013 election.
.
10 Aug 12 at 10:22 am
Is this another great idea of yours like shutting down the fishing industry and irrigation?
Wow. What a thinker.
.
10 Aug 12 at 10:23 am
Now, why don’t you just go around with a gun and take $50 notes from everyone on the street, and stuff them in your pocket? It’s a lot less complicated than stealing it from them via putting solar panels on your roof, but the result is the same.
You never know, if you tell them it’s for ‘saving the planet’, some might even give you the $50 voluntarily.
brc
10 Aug 12 at 10:29 am
Solar panels are not cost efficient when compared to large scale grid systems.
Solar subsidies make them revenue positive, but only if you think shaking down pensioners for their spare cash is a morally superior way of confirming your sainthood to the high priests of global warming.
brc
10 Aug 12 at 10:31 am
Wow. What a thinker.
Praise indeed, thanks Dot.
I wish I did have great ideas Dot, I am just posting up stuff I find interesting and relevant to the thread topic.
Do you think that feed in tarriffs are a bad idea?
Xevram
10 Aug 12 at 10:37 am
You said you were off to work on another thread. Why are you still here?
Gab
10 Aug 12 at 10:40 am
Pickles
10 Aug 12 at 10:46 am
I’ll answer for dot.
They are a shocking idea. A terrible idea. A morally wrong idea.
I’ll give you an example, of a new policy which I would like to impose on every Australian:
Anyone who purchases an new efficient diesel passenger vehicle will be entitled to a fuel rebate of $2 / litre for each litre of diesel purchased. The revenue for the diesel fuel rebate will be financed by an increase in the fuel excise on the standard ULP fuel price of 10c per litre.
If I go and buy a new BMW 520d, you’ll be paying me to drive around in it by overpaying for my fuel. In fact, it will be profitable for me to drive around.
Would you agree with such a policy?
Does that sound like a good policy?
It’s exactly the same as solar Feed-in-tariffs. It would probably even have a better environmental impact than the solar panels, lowering the amount of car use and increasing the number of efficient diesels on the road.
The result would be an explosion the number of expensive European diesel cars being driven around, and an increase in the cost of fuel for ordinary people who couldn’t afford the purchase price of an expensive new car.
So, for all the solar FIT supporters out there – do you support my new diesel FIT policy?
brc
10 Aug 12 at 10:53 am
brc if you give me a 50% rebate on the purchase price of a new Ford Territory diesel AND the fuel subsidy I’m in and I reckon a lot of small business owners (mostly Ford dealers) would support the policy too. Imagine the multiplier effect!
Pickles
10 Aug 12 at 11:05 am
@pickles : indeed, the whole country will become rich just from the flow-on effects of Territory sales!
Not sure what happens when everyone starts driving a diesel and there’s no-one left to pay for the ULP excise, though. But as long as the planet is being saved, what does it matter?
brc
10 Aug 12 at 11:09 am
Xervam the idiot thinks feed in tariffs are such a good idea saying no to them is a “gotcha” moment.
What a brain damaged fuckwit.
.
10 Aug 12 at 11:10 am
brc: of course governments can “over do” it with feed in tariffs. However, they can play a part in the move towards renewables and be adjusted as other policies kick in. Isn’t that just what happened in Queensland?
But let’s face it: you don’t think there is a problem to be addressed at all, so your outrage at the inequity of feed in tariffs is always going to be overblown.
steve from brisbane
10 Aug 12 at 11:16 am
The poor (they’ll always be with us) won’t be able to afford a diesel Territory even at half price. They can pay! It’s a win win, meaning I win twice. Bwha bwha.
Pickles
10 Aug 12 at 11:19 am
There’s isn’t Steve.
The feed in tariffs are an industry rort. Anyone who is serious about fossil fuel use and doesn’t support nuclear is a deep green aiming to subvert us to a lower GDP economy.
.
10 Aug 12 at 11:27 am
Kill off small business in order to “save the planet”. Yeah, makes sense but only if you believe Australia’s paltry 1.4% of global emissions is a major threat to da planet.
Gab
10 Aug 12 at 11:27 am
brc – most (the ACT is an exception) FiT are net, not gross, so you won’t get paid for driving yourself around, only for driving other people around
But weirdly enough there are tax rebates for using diesel, introduced for environmental reasons.
FiTs are on the way out now – many are below the retail cost of electricity and they’ll eventually drop to the average wholesale market price. Though I’m sure there’s plenty of residential solar PV owners who would love to get the market spot price in summer
But retail electricity prices are getting to the point where its cheaper to install solar PV than it is to buy electricity from the grid (passed parity in SA earlier this year).
I think this is with the federal government capital subsidy, but solar PV panel prices are dropping so fast it won’t be long before even that won’t be necessary.
Chris
10 Aug 12 at 11:34 am
No.
.
10 Aug 12 at 11:38 am
So you agree in-principle with my diesel FIT but are just haggling over the price?
You are happy, in principle, for ordinary people to subsidise my new BMW by paying extra for their fuel?
No, the principle of the government paying excess prices to the priveleged few by levying an extra tax on the many is morally wrong, regardless of which particular religion the priveleged few support.
brc
10 Aug 12 at 11:44 am
I am beginning to suspect that the reason some people want to see the government’s carbon pricing scheme to be scrapped ASAP is because they fear it will not take long before it be shown to be working effectively (encouraging further take up of renewables, etc.)
steve from brisbane
10 Aug 12 at 11:48 am
Answer the question.
brc
10 Aug 12 at 11:49 am
brc – you can argue about the “morality” of government spending in many ways. Labor people do it regularly about whether something or other should be means tested or not.
Equity smequity. There is more than one way of looking at things like this.
steve from brisbane
10 Aug 12 at 11:54 am
dot – you do realise that saying “no” doesn’t actually change the facts?
A 1.5kW system will set you back anywhere from $1000 to $2000 depending on quality and will generate you about 2190kWh of electricity per year. Rates are higher in summer, but even in winter electricity in Adelaide will cost you about 30c/kWh. So if you consume that 2190kWh and get no FiT, its worth about $650/year. That’s more than enough to pay interest+capital on a loan of $2000 with some profit as well.
Chris
10 Aug 12 at 12:00 pm
Answer the question.
You can’t because you’d have to admit that you only agree with solar FIT because they align with your religion, and you couldn’t possibly support my desire for a new BMW at your expense.
brc
10 Aug 12 at 12:02 pm
Is anyone denying that the carbon tax will be effective (i.e. will meet its stated objectives)? I don’t think so. I think the concern is that the cost of meeting those objectives outweighs the benefits and so the policy is inefficient. What are the benefits to the community of the carbon tax in dollar terms Steve?
Rebel with cause
10 Aug 12 at 12:03 pm
Here’s a novel idea: why dont they tax and spend less, and run up a surplus instead of a huge deficit?
blogstrop
10 Aug 12 at 12:05 pm
The government should bail out the choc tops by giving handouts, subsidies to stimulate the economy
Ken
10 Aug 12 at 12:06 pm
You smug c**t, grid parity is not acheived by doling out taxpayer funds to consumers and producers who cannot make a quid themselves.
It’s just cost shifting, dumbarse.
.
10 Aug 12 at 12:06 pm
You said you were off to work on another thread. Why are you still here?
Gab, I am at work, hows about you, busy working day for yuou as well?
On Solar feed in tarrifs, yep I reckon it is a great idea, any technology that empowers the user to control their own power usage and rewards them for generating power to share with everyone else on the grid has got to be good.
SO brc are you saying that being able to generate a resource yourself, having an excess that you can share with others is a bad idea?
Xevram
10 Aug 12 at 12:09 pm
You fucking moron, even if plastic and windmills other costs associated with maintaining them would cost 3 times the price of coal fired energy. Do you even understand what economic scaling means and conversely why costs divisibility is important.
Go do some ironing Stepford and stick you tongue on the plate to see when it’s hot.
JC
10 Aug 12 at 12:12 pm
You smug c**t,
dumbarse.
What a brain damaged fuckwit.
Wanker
Constructive and respectful criticism from the wordsmith Dot.
More on other threads.
Contempt felt.
con·tempt
the feeling with which a person regards anything considered mean, vile, or worthless; disdain; scorn.
Xevram
10 Aug 12 at 12:15 pm
If it’s inefficient, yes of course it’s a bad idea. I can cut firewood with an axe and warm the house that way as well. Are you going levy a tax and pay me to do that? I can also grow my own food. Can I charge you a tomato tax so you pay me extra for any tomatoes that I grow?
Do you support my policy for diesel FIT? I want a new BMW, and I want you to pay for it.
brc
10 Aug 12 at 12:15 pm
does your “employer” know you are bludging?
Gab
10 Aug 12 at 12:16 pm
does your “employer” know you are bludging?
They know I am on my break.
Xevram
10 Aug 12 at 12:27 pm
We all see through your anti free speech, tax eating bullshit. Fuck off.
I’m also more educated than you. Don’t talk down to your betters.
.
10 Aug 12 at 12:27 pm
Ah so you “work” in the ps where the breaks come often. Good for you.
Gab
10 Aug 12 at 12:28 pm
You’re not getting a BMW. You can have a Ford or a Toyota. Buy Australian.
Pickles
10 Aug 12 at 12:31 pm
Do you support my policy for diesel FIT? I want a new BMW, and I want you to pay for it.
Sorry brc, missed that one.
No, buy your own BMW.
That being said I know a bloke up here that is collecting old frytol oil and filtering it for his landcruiser, seems to go OK.
Xevram
10 Aug 12 at 12:33 pm
@pickles sorry, can’t do that. BMW takes more care with environmental programs and recycling than Ford or Toyota in Australia, plus their engines produce 0.005% less co2/km.
I’m trying to save the planet here, your token nationalism is none of my concern. The children and grandchildren are at stake, mere principles and practicalities do not matter.
brc
10 Aug 12 at 12:34 pm
Ah so you “work” in the ps where the breaks come often. Good for you.
Yes indeed I work in the Private Sector and breaks are dependent on work done, hours worked and of course the other staff, we have a good and flexible work place.
Xevram
10 Aug 12 at 12:35 pm
Well then buy your own solar panels, hypocrite. I’m trying to save the planet by getting a new BMW, and you won’t support me, denier.
As long as he isn’t asking for me to pay more for my fish and chips to fund his hobby, more power to him.
brc
10 Aug 12 at 12:36 pm
So you’re stealing from the private sector instead of the pa. Good for you.
Gab
10 Aug 12 at 12:36 pm
As we can see, you haven’t stopped commenting all morning and now in the early ‘noon. Some “job” you have there.
Gab
10 Aug 12 at 12:38 pm
You also are on Government contracts.
.
10 Aug 12 at 12:38 pm
It should be pretty obvious that the article is incorrect to talk of a blanket preventing energy escaping the freezer.
cratou
10 Aug 12 at 2:00 pm
As we can see, you haven’t stopped commenting all morning and now in the early ‘noon. Some “job” you have there.
Back at you Gab.
You also are on Government contracts.
Am I dot, really I dont know about that, we do have a number of sponsors and we do get some grants from the NT government. Is that the same as ‘contracts’?
Well then buy your own solar panels, hypocrite. I’m trying to save the planet by getting a new BMW, and you won’t support me, denier.
BRC,very happy to buy my own solar panels, where have I said I wouldnt, but if I am going to be offered a subsidy to do so, well of course I am going to use that.
You know like you would be stupid to not “minimise” your taxes.
Xevram
10 Aug 12 at 2:12 pm
I’m also more educated than you. Don’t talk down to your betters.
Dot, it is just a matter of record, I dont talk down to you, I feel contempt for you.
Xevram
10 Aug 12 at 2:15 pm
SFB can you honestly show anyone a single policy of this disastrous “government” that can ‘be shown to be working effectively’. I think you are having a lend of the rest of the class aren’t you?
Rebellion
10 Aug 12 at 2:16 pm
How?
Fuck you have incredible powers of comprehension, to able to read that article and make that conclusion.
You are plainly fucking stupid.
Old Fridgie
10 Aug 12 at 2:47 pm
So let’s be absolutely clear on this…
Are you being a complete smartarse by being critical of the person who wrote the article claiming “energy escapes”, when in fact heat goes in…
or
Are you being a complete fuckwit by somehow believing that a blanket or similar placed on a glass topped freezer won’t improve its efficiency?
Old Fridgie
10 Aug 12 at 2:54 pm
Xervam,
You are beneath contempt you transparent, lying, jumped up fool.
.
10 Aug 12 at 2:57 pm
the funniest part is this will in no way come close to being the stupidest thing he posts today.
Mike
10 Aug 12 at 3:21 pm
You bedwetters are very slippery. It’s all support for the solar FIT until someone corners you on the issue, then it’s either ‘arrooga arrooga, abandon thread!’ or it’s ‘oh, I’d be happy to pay my own way, but if the government is going to give me money, I’ll take it’.
It’s because of green idiots like you screaming the end of the world that the government adopts these stupid FIT policies, so don’t try and pretend you’re innocent.
You started out trying to point out how the FIT is a good idea. Don’t walk away from it now.
brc
10 Aug 12 at 4:36 pm
You may take my choc top – but you will never take my freedom.
You will have to take my choctop from my cold dead hands.
Carpe Jugulum
10 Aug 12 at 5:02 pm
Have we witnesed “ Peak Electric Car “???
The evidence;
The remedy;
Jumpnmcar
10 Aug 12 at 5:49 pm
@jump : don’t get me started on electric car subsidies.
Either the tech is there and people want to buy it, or they don’t.
At least the greenies can stop their ‘who killed the electric car’ whining now. Technology failings and subsequent lack of demand killed the car.
Notice the only bright spot of electric car sales in the world is in California – not only are there knee-deep subsidies, the main attraction is that you can drive one in the carpool lanes in LA and San Francisco.
Greenies getting their very own freeway lane for being true believers. How very Politburo-Zil-lane.
brc
10 Aug 12 at 6:08 pm
Wouldn’t dream of it . lol, but ,do go on.
Jumpnmcar
10 Aug 12 at 6:27 pm
For the benefit of Xeroxam above, of course.
Jumpnmcar
10 Aug 12 at 6:29 pm
Xeroscam?
blogstrop
10 Aug 12 at 8:09 pm
nah I’ve lost enthusiasm for trying to educate feeble brained socialists for today, so going to wind down my ranting. Besides, the lefties have all fleed the thread, which is what happens when they start losing arguments.
But I will leave with this : the Leaf – much vaunted on it’s debut – seems to be having trouble selling them even when the Government pays you to have one.
The ultimate definition in non-existent demand is when someone will pay you cash to drive one off the lot, but you still say – no, pass.
I knew someone who got excited and pre-ordered a Leaf. They went on and on about it. Then, the specs started to dribble out. The sums were done. A decent 350Z could be had for the same money, less if you chose a used one.
The Leaf ‘spot in the queue’ went for sale on eBay. A couple of enthusiastic bidders. Nissan tried to shut it down. In the end they did the deal offline and both went into the dealership, signed the paperwork and then immediately transferred the car.
Upon reflection, the person feels like they escaped a bullet. With anaemic demand and very real questions over the battery life and replacement cost, the resale value will be brutal. Glass’s Guide is predicting a 90% 5 year depreciation rate for the Leaf.
You can buy a crapload of petrol for $30,000 worth of depreciation. And 5 years of fun, instead of 5 years of constant heartburn from wondering whether you will grind to a halt or not.
But yeah, they’re totally worth subsidising. Let’s tax low income earners so rich greens can buy electric cars! What a grand idea!
brc
10 Aug 12 at 8:47 pm
whaaaaaaaa?? This man is making no sense at all…
Alice
10 Aug 12 at 8:50 pm
Fled the thread scans better, brc. But really “Leaf”? WTF?.
The government is mad for supporting all this wanky alternative energy stuff that doesn’t work properly and costs a bomb. I’m at least given a warmer feeling by regular car workers being subsidised, whatever the economists might say against it.
blogstrop
10 Aug 12 at 8:56 pm
yeah it was supposed to be fled, not fleed. What can you do when you type fast and don’t proofread.
Electric car subsidies haven’t taken off in Australia like they did in the USA. I’m guessing that’s because cars are so overpriced in Australia you’d have to offer massive 20-30k subsidies for them to matter, and not even the greenies have figured out a way to get the public to swallow that one without choking. But in the USA it’s commonplace to get $10k in subsidies combining federal and state credits.
But like I said – it’s still not enough to get people to buy.
“Leaf” – well, I guess they thought ‘tree hugger’ was a bit too obvious for the target market. So Leaf it was and is.
I disagree with regular car workers being subsidised, but that’s a topic for another thread.
brc
10 Aug 12 at 9:01 pm