‘price capping’: Stronger action needed to stop soaring electricity costs

ON BEHALF OF BOB KATTER

FEDERAL MEMBER FOR KENNEDY

“PRICE caps, but better” – Katter’s Australian Party MP Bob Katter is urging the Albanese government to make its resource price caps more effective by immediately introducing a Reserve Resource Policy (RRP) which provides a fixed price and supply for coal and gas.

Mr Katter said every time the energy regulator or market operator warned of electricity price increases, the Treasurer had been quick to remind Australians “it could have been much worse” but for his government’s price caps on coal and gas. 1

“Statements made by the Treasurer that it ‘could be much worse’ are a slap in the face for everyday families struggling to afford the astronomical increases in electricity price,” he said.

“I for one can see no reason to celebrate a price increase of 21 per cent which the Australian Energy Regulator is forecasting. Yet we have the Treasurer boasting about the price caps government has introduced has kept the bills lower than what they would have been.”

“If price caps have been so useful then - Why are prices not being capped further? Why aren’t these measures being instated permanently? Why isn’t government simply fixing a price that is fair and reasonable?”

Responding to the Australian Energy

Regulator’s statement on Thursday that electricity prices would rise by at least 21 per cent from July, the Treasurer again told media that market intervention “had kept bills lower than they otherwise would have been.”

“Australia is a resource rich country. Many multinational companies, and the federal and state governments make significant incomes from our coal and gas reserves. We need, rather, we demand a Reserve Resource Policy that provides everyday families with affordable and reliable electricity, from resources that belong to this nation.”

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Public Notices

Contact

Conroy Markets

10th

Funeral Notice

A GLIMPSE OF WHAT HAPPENS AT CARDWELL RSL LIFE CAN BE FUN - CHOOSE A GROUP TO JOIN AND LAUGH WITH

TUESDAY A.M: THE BINGO PLAYERS

Numbers are called alternate Tuesday mornings 9am to 11.30am. Book of 5 $10, Jackpot Sheet $2 each = $12 per session. 2 sessions usual. Lucky Door, monthly raffle. $4 per person includes morning tea. Contacts: Toni Farrell 0433675318 and Tookie Baker 0457860087

TUESDAY P.M: CARDWELL CARDS & MAH JONG

12.30 to 4.00pm. Bolivia, mah jong or game of choice. New comers welcome. Doesn't matter if you don't know how to play, learning is part of the fun. $4 includes a'fternoon tea. Contacts: Kate Boyle 0408575573 and Gwenda Kingston 0408183833

WEDNESDAY: CRAFT GROUP 9.00am to 11.30am Cross Stitch, Knitting, Crocheting, Embroidery, Card Making plus. $4 to share in this creative group. Contact: Janet Schmid 0431920852

SATURDAY: CARDWELL PATCHWORKERS

9am to 11.00am. Hand Sewing, QuUts, Special Projects plus. $4 includes morning tea Contact: Pattie Papworth 0420812080 SO MUCH TO SEW, SO MUCH TO DO, SO MUCH TO SHARE. AND THEN THERE'S SUNDAY - OUR SPLENDID BBQ LUNCH DAY. OPEN FROM 10.00AM. $10 PER PERSON. THOSE WHO HAVE TRIED IT SAY "AWESOME"

Church times across the region

AOG / ACC / Churches of Christ Baptist Family Centre Innisfail, 9:30am, Sun, 12 Tierney St, Innisfail Estate

6:30pm, Sun, Ladies Church Tully Baptist Church, 10am, Sun, 6 Plumb Street, Tully Cardwell Baptist Church, 11am, Sun, Bruce Highway, Cardwell Sugar Reef Baptist Church, 9:30am, S, “The Knightclub” 38 Herbert St, Ingham Baptist Independent, 11am, Sun, 77 Halifax Rd, Ingham

Uniting

Catholic Churches

St Rita’s Babinda, 7am, Sun, 15 Church St, Babinda

Mother of Good Counsel, 6:30pm Sat Vigil, 9am, Sun, 90 Rankin St, Innisfail

Our Lady of Fatima, 10am, Sun, 32 Glasgow Street, El Arish, St John the Evangelist, 6pm, Sat, 4 Harold Street, Silkwood, St Rita’s South Johnstone, 7am, 1st, 3rd & 5th/month, 5 Green Street, South Johnstone

Christ the King, 7am, 2nd & 4th/month, 10 Harbour Road, Mourilyan Holy Spirit, Mission Beach 7am Sun, 12 Webb Rd, Wongaling Beach

St Clare of Montefalco

Church, 6pm Vigil Mass, Sat 9am, Sun, 13 Mars St, Tully

Our Lady Star of the Sea, 5pm Sun (except 1st Sunday), 121 Victoria St, Cardwell Ingham Region Catholic

Parishes:

St Patrick’s, 8:30am, Sunday, 18 Abbott Street, Ingham

St Peter’s, 7am, Sunday, 10 Scott Street, Halifax, Canossa Chapel, 10am, Sunday, St Teresa’s College / 3819 Abergowrie Rd

St Teresa’s, Trebonne, 10am

Seventh Day Adventist

Seventh Day Adventist Innisfail, 10:30am, Sat ,Bible Study, 11am, Sat, 114 Lawrence Road, Bamboo Creek Tully Seventh Day Adventist Church, Sat 9:30am Sabbath School, Sat 11am, 1 Edward St, Tully

Cassowary Coast Uniting Churchs: Innisfail, 10.30am, Sun, 8 Scullen Ave, Mighell, Innisfail Mission Beach, 8am, Sun, 2224 Tully-Mission Beach Rd, Mission Beach, Tully Tongan Uniting, 9am, Sun, 16 Mcquillan st,Tully, Ingham District Uniting Churches: Ingham, 10am, Sun 16 Herbert St, Ingham Halifax, 8am, Sun 12 Anderssen St, Halifax Blue Haven Lodge, Ingham, 11am (2nd & 4th Tues)

Lutheran

St Marks Lutheran Church, 9am, Sun, 34 Townsville Road, Ingham Non-denominational

Empower Church Innisfail, 10am, Sun, 191-193 Mourilyan Rd, South Innisfail

Anglican Churches

St Albans Anglican Church, 9am, Sun, 83 Rankin Street, Innisfail St John Anglican Church, 5pm, Sat, 2 Black Street, Tully John Oliver Feetham Pioneer Memorial 11am, Sun, 45 Bruce Highway, Cardwell St John Anglican Church, 3pm, 3rd Sun of month, Motel Chapel, Kurrimine Beach Holy Trinity (Ingham) 6pm Saturday Service. 9am, Sunday. 37 McIlwraith Street, Ingham All Souls, 7.30am, Sun, 10 Four Mile Road, Victoria Estate

Greg Shannon

WELL season 2023 is underway and while only around 50 000 tonne s has been crushed by Tully Mill at the time of writing this article, it is a promising start for sure.

The very good starting CCS which kicked off around 11.7 on day one and rose very quickly to 12.3 after 4 days is due mainly to several key factors:

1. We now have at least 4 early CCS varieties to choose from, with KQ228, Q240, Q250, and Q253 all of which can be harvested 1st round. Then there are several newer varieties that mature naturally by the second harvest round like SRA 26 and SRA 37.

2. This year we have had less lodging then last year so less tops going through the mill early in the season .

3. Over the last few weeks some cooler weather has certainly helped.

4. Finally the use of crop ripeners which has been a fully commercial and widespread tool used in by the Tully industry for at least the last 4 years has once again proven to be great asset. The crop ripener we use slows down the crop growth so we have to have healthy, good growing crops to start with and one of the keys to the success of ripeners in Tully is that fact that we often have good soil moisture.

Most years we can rely on the crop ripeners to work for harvest rounds 1 and 2 and plough out but for the rest of the harvest it really depends on soil moisture and how the crop is growing i.e. how many suckers it is producing.

Crop ripener’s certainty don’t work all the time but by sticking to some key principles we can maximize the benefits of the product

These principles are:

• The crop needs to be healthy with minimal diseases like RSD, Pachymetra, and no moisture stress. Really anything that makes the crop unhealthy will reduce the ripener effectiveness. We also tend to aim for crops that have at least 75t/ha.

• We use it to improve early CCS above Mill average in early varieties.

• High organic carbon soils and good soil moisture (constant showery rain) can reduce ripener impact on some varieties, but if suckers occur, the ripener can still work by reducing the impact of these suckers which are usually very low in CCS.