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Catriona Rowntree unleashes over controversial new plan

Catriona Rowntree has slammed the Victorian Labor government's plans to cover land at Mount Rothwell under solar panels The Getaway star shared her call to action in an <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFlVylRTfYG/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram video</a> shared on Monday. “Welcome to beautiful Mount Rothwell in Little River,” Rowntree began in her video. "This is actually the number one film location in Victoria. This has been the scene of so many incredible movies and productions, bringing in a fortune for the local government. "This incredible area Vic Labor is now considering covering this whole area with a solar farm in its rush for renewables. "They are considering all these completely wrong locations." She previously opposed the state government's plans to build a huge lithium battery farm next to her family property near Little River, and mentioned it again in her most recent video. Rowntree branded the planned lithium battery farm as a fire hazard, saying: “So how can you help? Some of you may know that we have been battling as well, they want to put a lithium facility in a firezone in Little River. “What did Little River ever do to the Labor government? I don’t know why you keep picking on us," she continued. "No one will talk to us, it’s been nearly seven months, we’ve heard nothing.” In her caption for the video, Rowntree said she had no choice but to "get political" and vote for Liberal candidate Steve Murphy in the upcoming Werribee state by-election, saying: "He actually took the time to visit us and see how wrong this area is for their renewables”. "Has it come to this?" she wrote. "Do I have to get political to get someone to notice the region that VIC Labor wants to destroy?" She also issued a direct plea to the premier, tagging Jacinta Allen and asking: “Where are you? Why do you want to ruin what is the Number 1 film location in Victoria? Why won’t anyone from Victorian Labor stop this?” "You should be ashamed,” she told the state government. Images: Instagram

Legal

Grandmother mistakes $50m Powerball win for solar panel sales call

A quiet Thursday evening turned into an unforgettable moment for one Central Queensland grandmother, who was expecting yet another pesky solar panel sales pitch but instead received news that would blow the roof off any house – solar panels or not. The elderly couple held one of two division one winning entries in Thursday night’s $100 million Powerball jackpot, pocketing a life-altering $50 million. While most of us might faint, dance or immediately Google "how to buy a private island", the grandmother’s first reaction was a calm, “You’re joking.” “I expected you to ask if we have solar panels, not to tell us we’ve just won $50 million," she told the Lott official, still recovering from the whiplash of going from potential sales target to multi-millionaire. “There’s going to be a few more prezzies under the tree on Christmas day.” The grandmother confessed that their winning ticket wasn’t even the result of her usual superstitious number-picking strategy. “I’ve been playing for a long time now – since the game first started. I had always used the same numbers, but this ticket was just a QuickPick. I’m in a total state of shock." The couple, long-time residents of Rockhampton, said the windfall would primarily benefit their family. Of course, that family might now include second cousins they've never met and a few random people claiming they once smiled at them in Woolies. Meanwhile, the second winner – hailing from Melbourne’s City of Darebin – remains blissfully unaware they’re sitting on $50 million at the time of writing. The unregistered ticket holder has yet to come forward, sparking a local hunt. Lott officials have urged residents to check every ticket – even the crumpled one in your car’s cupholder. So, next time your phone rings and you brace yourself for a sales pitch, remember: it might just be the universe handing you $50 million. Or, you know, another pitch for that unlimited mobile plan. Image: Shutterstock

Money & Banking

"It was beautiful": Rare rainbow cloud stuns small farming town

The locals of a small farming town in Western Australia have been delighted with the sighting of a rare rainbow cloud. The colourful weather phenomenon appeared above the town of Goomalling, about 130km northwest of Perth in Western Australia, on Tuesday morning. Jenni Shaw was at her family-owned business when she got a text from a friend instructing her to look up at the sky. "We all went out the front and had a look and there was some bright, rainbow-type clouds in the sky that we hadn't seen before," she told <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-24/rainbow-cloud-iridescence-irisation-delights-wheatbelt-community/103016928" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ABC</a>. “It was beautiful,” she said. “But we were a bit like ‘why is that like that? Should we still be outside looking or not?’” <iframe style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Flang.lefroy.7%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02h2HTyVYSVda8NkewrireTWPS4P6wKTnuJxhBWfkNhbxGn3QzHweELRNFQczM8GsPl&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="645" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Ms Shaw said the rainbow-coloured cloud was visible for just a few minutes. "It was not there long, just long enough for us all to get some photos," she said. <p class="paragraph_paragraph__3Hrfa" style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-family: abcsans, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif;">Jessica Lingard from the Bureau of Meteorology said rainbow clouds, known as cloud iridescence, form in the same way as rainbows - when sunlight diffracts off water or ice crystals in the sky. "It's quite a rare phenomenon to catch in person," she said. "It's the perfect storm of conditions: the sun's at the right angle, the clouds are not too thin and not too thick that they're being blocked out, and the sunlight has just created this spectacle of coloured light." <div data-component="EmphasisedText"> "It's an absolutely stunning photo." </div> Lucky local residents said it wasn’t the first time they’d seen the special clouds in the area. “I have seen clouds like this a few times in my travels, mostly in the Wheatbelt,” Jill Lefroy wrote on Facebook. “Pretty awesome seeing a rainbow with no rain!” Image credits: Facebook

Domestic Travel

Microwaving solar panels makes them easier to recycle

<div> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/news/solar-cells-essential-for-brighter-future/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Solar cell</a> manufacturing and recycling should be easier with a surprising new discovery by Macquarie University scientists – that uses a commercial microwave. While they’re being made, the silicon in solar panels goes through a process called “annealing”, which involves heating the materials to temperatures well above 500°C. Annealing is usually done with ovens. But a study <a href="https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0127896" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published</a> in Applied Physics Letters shows that microwaves are not only faster and more energy efficient for the job, but make the panels much easier to disassemble, and thus recycle, at the end of life. This is because microwave radiation heats individual substances – like the water in food, or silicon. “It just heats the very thin layer of silicon rather than heating the bulk of the materials around, and it’s really fast,” says lead author Dr Binesh Puthen Veettil, a researcher at Macquarie University’s School of Engineering. This also makes the process easier, because the microwave doesn’t have to be as carefully cleaned. “In most of the high temperature processes, lots of contaminants come out of the walls of the oven. But in this case, the heat is flowing from the silicon outwards, while everything else is at room temperature, it’s kind of a pseudo room temperature process where the contaminants don’t get diffused from outside,” says Veettil. “But the thing we are most excited about is the benefit to recycling.” Currently, solar cell recycling is a very <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/sustainability/solar-panel-recycling/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">energy intense process</a> which involves crushing up the panels and heating them to temperatures of at least 1000°C, so that all of the expensive elements can be extracted. This method destroys some of the reusable solar cell components: particularly, the toughened glass on the top of the panel. “This glass contains most of the weight of the solar panel,” explains Veettil. That glass is stuck to a layer of plastic, usually ethylene vinyl acetate, which keeps the silicon plate underneath dry. This plastic is too hard to remove, so the whole thing is smashed up, with the glass sold as scrap. But microwaving the silicon specifically softens the plastic, making it easy to peel. “You can just peel off the silicon cell, without destroying the glass, and you can reuse that expensive glass,” says Veettil. “If you can reuse the glass, the recycling will pay for itself.” Plus, it doesn’t need the same high temperatures, or extra chemicals needed to wash and dissolve the plastic. For now, the process is lab-based – and only for solar panels that fit in a commercial microwave. “Initially, when we started the research, we used a laboratory microwave that we purchased from a US company,” says Veettil. “And we after that, we purchased some kitchen microwaves locally, and modified it to suit our purposes.” This modification involved heat-proofing the microwave so that it could handle the annealing temperatures. “It goes from room temperature to 500° Celsius in just two seconds,” says Veettil. (Depending on the size of the sample: bigger things take longer.) But the researchers have a patent pending for the recycling process, and are now investigating how to improve and commercialise it. “We are hoping that with some industry collaboration and funding, we can scale it up,” says Veettil. “Recycling needs to be meet two conditions: it should be environmentally friendly, and second, it should pay for itself. “I’m pretty sure, with the numbers I have in mind, it will it will be profitable and then the market will take care of itself and it organically grow recycling centres. That’s my hope.” </div> <div id="contributors"> This article was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/microwaving-solar-panels-recycling/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Ellen Phiddian. Images: Getty </div>

Technology

"I sobbed in the paddock”: Sam Armytage's home life challenges

Sam Armytage has revealed why she "sobbed in a paddock" recently, as she shared the trials and tribulations of life in the country. After the former Sunrise presenter quit the Channel 7 breakfast show, she moved to the NSW Southern Highlands with her horse-breeding farmer husband, Richard Lavender. The quaint town of Berrima boasts a different way of life to bustling Sydney and comes with its own unique hurdles, as Armytage told <a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/celebrity/sam-armytage-reveals-why-she-sobbed-in-a-paddock-recently/news-story/21e80ca290d80db23f808e7f4c8453b5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Telegraph</a>. “We had to put down one of our most promising and sweet-natured racehorses last week, after he broke his leg in an accident. I sobbed in the paddock,” Armytage told the publication. Elsewhere in the interview, she also revealed the advice she’d give her 10-year-old self. “That the people who are mean to you throughout life are usually jealous of who you are – and what you have,” Armytage said. Just weeks ago, Armytage was announced as the <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/entertainment/tv/sam-armytage-s-major-new-role" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new host</a> of Farmer Wants a Wife: a role previously held by Natalie Gruzlewski, who has hosted the series on-and-off ever since its debut in 2007. Her return to hosting duties comes after Armytage admitted she would never return to Sunrise. “I’d never go back. You don’t go backwards in life. You’ve got to keep going forward,” she said. She went on to say she senses “fear” in the media landscape these days, saying, “When I do listen to radio and TV, no-one’s actually saying what they mean.” “Everybody’s walking this tightrope because they fear they’ll say the wrong thing and the mob will descend on them, and that’s not journalism, and it’s not what I was paid to do back in the old days." Image credits: Instagram

Family & Pets

Breeder faces the consequences for “squalid” puppy farm

A 60-year-old man from Western Australia has been dealt over $100,000 in penalties, an animal cruelty charge, and a 40 year animal ownership ban in the wake of RSPCA inspectors seizing 39 dogs from him. The horrific conditions in which the dogs were living were brought to their attention after a customer came by to purchase a dog from the man’s Bridgetown property in January 2022. He was asking for $5000 a puppy, despite the filth the dogs were being forced to live in - reportedly facing everything from infection to drinking from sewage pipes. In a post to RSPCA WA’s Facebook account, it was revealed that the man “has been given what amounts to a lifetime ban from breeding animals after RSPCA inspectors seized 39 labradoodles from his Bridgetown home in January. “The offender was banned from owning any animal for 40 years, with one notable exception; the Magistrate ruled he could have up to three sterilised dogs. The offender, who pleaded guilty to 28 charges of animal cruelty, has also been fined $112,000, $64,000 of which was suspended for two years.” It went on to outline the conditions the inspector had encountered, and that - importantly - the “The dogs continue to recover in the care of RSPCA WA.” <iframe style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FRSPCAWA%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02kdjk1JMbPpBanhpEFJGKd2wB9sCzuhHi4EivkDEckADnUFNgJb24Wmdgt8MuLDaRl&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="708" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Kylie Green, Inspector Manager for RSPCA WA, explained that the dogs were examined by a veterinarian after they were removed from the property, and discovered that they were suffering from a whole host of conditions - with everything from ear infections to matted fur, dental disease, and conjunctivitis. “A lot of the dogs and puppies were also suffering from significant psychological harm, as determined by a veterinary behaviourist,” she added. “Some of them just stood in their kennels for weeks after they first came here, staring at the wall and refusing to interact. “It’s a credit to our expert staff and network of dedicated foster carers that they’ve come as far as they have, but this is what people need to stop and consider when they are looking to buy a ‘cute’ puppy.” Kyle went on to stress the importance of evaluating the conditions any puppy is being raised in before buying, whether “you buy from an unregistered breeder, if you buy off the internet or social media”. As without “clean, safe conditions” and a “happy and healthy” mother, “there’s a chance you are supporting this kind of cruelty.” Images: RSPCA WA / Facebook

Family & Pets

“You won’t believe it”: An a-moo-sing new addition for one Victorian farm

Megan and Barry Coster, two dairy farmers from Victoria’s West Gippsland region, were given the smiling surprise of a lifetime during their latest round of calving. “My husband was collecting calves to bring in for the day,” Megan told ABC’s rural reporter Annie Brown. “And I think I was off with the kids at sport, and I just got this text message of this calf, and he’s [Barry] like ‘you won’t believe it’. “Originally when he got the calf up he didn’t notice, and then he turned around and looked on the other side, and couldn’t believe it.” The calf, affectionately named ‘Happy’ by the family, had been born with an award-winning grin - just not where one would expect. On his side was a very unique marking - two eyes, a nose, and a big smile. When asked how old Happy was, Megan explained that he had only been born three or four days prior to the discovery, and went on to add that they had a lot of calving going on, so it was a busy time for them, and likely why they hadn’t immediately noticed what made Happy so special. “We’ve seen some number sevens, or love hearts on the head, and a few strange markings but we’ve never seen anything that resembles a smiley face before … we’ve had thousands over the years, and we’ve never had anything like it,” Megan said. “I couldn’t believe it,” she went on, before admitting she’d checked to ensure none of their staff had added any of the lines to the young cow. “And then I was pretty quickly sharing it with some of my friends - none of them could believe it either.” Megan went on to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1591950161115622/permalink/3523334507977168/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post to Facebook</a>, sharing a photo of their spectacular latest addition with the caption “the funniest marking we’ve had for a while”, to the delight of fellow dairy fans around the world. “They look fake! How awesome,” wrote one individual, who seemed to share Megan’s initial disbelief, “best marking I’ve seen.” “I guess that's his good side,” joked another. “Love it. That's got to be a keeper as a pet,” said one, unaware that the family had every intention of keeping Happy on a pet - though he might also have to pull his weight as a lawn mower. “One very happy calf,” came one declaration. One person hit the nail on the head when they said “this one will always put a smile on your face every time u c [you see] it.” Although not everyone was quite so onboard with the lovefest, with one woman admitting that she found it to be “a little bit clown-creepy”. Images: Facebook

Family & Pets

Alan Jones offloads farm home for less than expected

After a seven-month campaign, Alan Jones’ farm in the NSW Southern Highlands has finally sold, and is believed to have resulted in a smaller profit than initial hopes. The home was sold for an undisclosed price by Liam Griffiths of Inglis Rural Property to a buyer on a walk-in, walk-out basis, meaning that extras such as furniture are included in the sale. However, it is understood that the property sold for less than the initial desired price of $16-$17.5 million, per <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/news/alan-jones-sells-southern-highlands-farm-discounted-from-17-5m-high-hopes-2-1186063/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Domain</a>. First listed in April this year, Griffiths took over the listing in October with a price range of $15 to $16 million. Jones has owned the property, known as Elizabeth Farm and Charleville in honour of his parents, since 2003 and has commissioned a major redesign that saw the two main residences link up with a mutual courtyard, creating a ten-bedroom home. Out of a total of 25 bedrooms, Jones has resided in a two-bedroom wing with a formal and informal living and dining room, a central living room and a home office, while his niece Tonia Taylor and her family have lived in a wing with eight bedrooms, a rumpus room, and central living and dining room. While the home was recently marketed based on its equestrian facilities, it also boasts a tennis court and pavilion built for Taylor and her tennis coach husband, as well as a separate two-bedroom caretaker’s cottage, and a “hootenanny” shed. The property also features landscaped gardens, a private natural forest called Wombat Woods, life-sized elephant and giraffe sculptures, and an ornamental lake and island with dyed water. With the sale of the Fitzroy Falls farm, Jones’ portfolio consists of his Circular Quay apartment purchased for $10.5 million in 2017, as well as his riverfront home in Southport, which he paid $12.25 million for in 2021. Images: Getty Images, Inglis Rural Property

Real Estate

Farm shooter had gun ban revoked

The farmer who allegedly shot at four family members killing three of them actually had his gun ban revoked. Darryl Young is accused of murdering three of his neighbours following a dispute of boundary lines on their land in Bogie, near Collinsville in Queensland. However, court documents have revealed that the 59-year-old had his gun ban revoked almost a decade ago after a successful appeal saying he needed it for his “business”. According to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal, Young was granted his gun licence in 1992, <a href="https://www.news.com.au/national/queensland/news/for-my-business-alleged-farm-massacre-culprit-darryl-youngs-prior-police-stoush-over-gun-licence-revealed/news-story/5d29e6d9f1922a2d4009f8d17eb60ea1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news.com.au</a> reported. Young was allowed to hold four rifles and two shotguns with his licence. Then in 2010, Young went to renew his licence but Queensland Police refused on the basis that it was “not in the public interest”. In his response to the refusal, Young explained that he needed the licence to control the feral animals on his farm. “There is no were (sic) in the laws of the gun laws that I have broken to stop me having a gun licence,” his application read. “I need my gun licence for my business. I hope the Tribunal over turns (sic) the decision so I can have my licence.” The tribunal accepted Young’s explanation which saw him get his licence again. Last week, in matters unrelated, Young was <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/man-accused-of-shooting-family-of-four-identified" target="_blank" rel="noopener">charged with the murder</a> of his neighbours Mervyn, 71, Maree Schwarz, 59, and their son Graham Tighe, 35, following a dispute of boundary lines on their land in Bogie near Collinsville in Queensland. He was also charged with one count of attempted murder after Mervyn and Maree’s other son Ross Tighe survived following a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Police will allege Young invited the three members to the edge of his property on August 4 before shooting them “execution style”. Young allegedly shot at Ross who managed to escape the farm in a ute and alert police to the horrific attack against his family. Police charged Young with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder and he appeared briefly at Proserpine Magistrates Court on Monday with his lawyer asking for the case to be transferred. Young was reprimanded in custody and will reappear in court on November 1. Acting Superintendent Tom Armitt said it was incredible Ross was able to survive due to the properties being so far apart. “It’s actually a 45-minute drive between the neighbours,” he said. “At the crime scene, which is at the front gate of one of the premises, it is a 3km drive between the gate and the house at that location.” Images: 7News

Legal

Travelling around the globe might not have to cost the Earth

The last time you booked a flight online, you may have been offered the chance to ‘offset’ the carbon produced by your travel. This is due in part to recognition that the aviation industry is responsible for around 5% of human-made emissions resulting in climate change. The efforts by this sector to respond to its environmental impact can range from switching fuels (from coal to biomass, for instance), more efficient combustion processes (by improving aircraft engines, for example), protecting forests or promoting sustainable development in local communities. Now, in a potentially ground-breaking innovation for long-haul flights, a team of researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zürisch (ETH Zurich) have developed an all-in-one solar-powered tower that’s able to use energy from the Sun’s rays to convert water and carbon dioxide into synthetic fuels. Think: water + carbon dioxide = energy. Sound familiar? Well, it should. It’s what many plants do to make energy for themselves. The ETH Zurich process has a lot in common, really, explains Dr Jessica Allen, a chemical engineer and renewable energy technologies expert at the University of Newcastle. Although in this case, “industrial photosynthesis might be a better term as this particular process doesn’t involve any physiological mechanisms like plants and living material”, says Allen. The proof-of-concept solar tower consists of 169 Sun-tracking panels that reflect and concentrate sunlight into a tower-top solar reactor. Here, energy from the Sun’s rays meets a combination of water, carbon dioxide and a special structure made of ceria (cerium oxide), which is porous and “acts like a filter network, undergoing many reduction-oxidation (also known as redox) reactions”, says Allen. These reaction cycles produce syngas (synthesis gas), which is then converted to liquid fuels such as diesel and kerosene (which is used as jet fuel for long-haul flights) via a well-established process known as the Fischer-Tropsch reaction, which typically occurs in the presence of metal catalysts, temperatures of 150–300°C and pressures of several tens of atmospheres. Much work remains to translate the process to industrial scale. Currently, the energy efficiency of the process is only at 4%, meaning that out of 100 parts of energy available, only four parts are captured in the process. This is something the researchers are keen to push up towards around 15%. According to Allen, that’s still at the low end of the energy efficiency of current solar-to-electricity and solar-to-thermal energy generation. She says that efficiency is crucial when it comes to systems that use land area for solar collection (such as solar panels and the ETH Zurich tower’s reflectors): “A low efficiency will mean a large land area to generate the required fuel.” Where the CO2 comes from is also very important. At present, it’s injected into the system, but the next obvious step is to start capturing it directly from the air. At that point the fuel production process might be considered carbon neutral, as the amount of CO2 captured from the air is the same as the amount released during fuel combustion. Direct-from-air carbon dioxide capture comes at a cost, though. “There is a fairly major energy penalty for doing direct air capture, because it’s quite hard to filter out carbon dioxide from the rest of the gasses,” says Allen. Then there’s the carbon footprint related to the manufacture and production of equipment and materials, but Allen urges a long-term outlook: “In the system that we’re in at the moment there will be an emission penalty for the materials, however, in the long term, we’ll eventually be manufacturing these things using zero emission approaches.” This will make the whole process – and not just the fuel itself – carbon neutral. The average fuel consumption of a Boeing 747 (which are still used as long-haul cargo transport today) is around 4L per second. For a flight of 10 hours, this equates to 144,000L of fuel. In the future, EHT Zurich researchers will work to increase the system’s energy efficiency to 15%, capture more heat in the process and improve the ceria structures in the reactor in addition to capturing CO2 directly from the air. Their long-term aim is to scale the process to an industrial size – in which enough fuel can be produced to truly fly us into a carbon-neutral aviation future. This article originally appeared on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/carbon-neutral-travel-wont-cost-earth/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Clare Kenyon. Image: Shutterstock

Travel Trouble

How to choose the best solar panels for your home

The solar industry has seen a rapid growth over the past decade and become the cleanest, greenest and cheapest source of electricity. As electricity bills continue to rise at an exponential level, switching to solar makes sense. With many solar providers out there offering different services for widely differing costs, it's easy to get lost in the semantics of switching to solar. Luckily, Beau Savage, Co-Founder of <a href="https://smartenergy.co/au/">Smart Energy</a>, has shared his top tips to consider when finding the right solar provider for your home. Evaluate your home The first step is to figure out if solar power is right for you. There are a few reasons why solar might not suit, including renters, apartment-dwellers, and anyone who lives in a shady spot might not be the ideal candidate for solar power. Luckily there are other ways to reduce your carbon footprint. “If conditions don’t suit, it might be better to invest in a 100 per cent carbon neutral energy plan,” says Beau. Do your research Shopping for solar is no different to buying new furniture. It’s important to shop around for the best deal by looking at user reviews, comparing prices and services, and talking to experts before locking down a provider. Beau says, “The only negative reviews you want to see appearing on a good company should be from those who delayed getting and wished they’d done it sooner.” Find the right company While there’s nothing wrong with prioritising affordability and cost comparison, be aware that low costs can occasionally translate to poor customer service and unreliable installers. According to Beau, “For the best long term results, choose a solar company who uses local installers so that if there is a problem, there will always be someone ready to immediately fix the issue.” Find the right spot When it comes to solar power, location is key. The last thing you want is to discover that your installer has placed the panels in a bad spot, which only leads to more costs to correct the error. “When having an initial consultation it is essential to ask whether or not the company you are talking to sends trained engineers who can look at your roof, its shading and sunlight levels. This will ensure that you will get the most out of your solar system.” In order to get the most of your solar power, make sure there are no obstructions to your panels, and be sure to monitor the system’s performance to make sure you’re getting the very best green energy. Image credits: Getty Images

Home & Garden

‘Neighbours’ star Ryan Moloney lists sprawling farm for sale

Australian TV star Ryan Moloney, known for his role as Jarrod “Toadie” Rebecchi on Neighbours, has put his luxurious acreage on the market with hopes of selling for $7.5-$8 million. The actor and his wife Alison are selling their four-bedroom home that sits on a 4.33-hectare block in Merricks on the Mornington Peninsula in southeastern Melbourne. Highlights of the property include a pool, gym, half basketball court, barn, riding arena and stables. According to CoreLogic records, the Moloneys have owned the property since 2015. The couple said they had loved “watching the storms roll in from the south or (the) sunrises in the east” through the home’s expansive windows. “The house is designed to create a connection with the outdoors, and the quietness and seclusion is perfect for our lifestyles to relax and unwind,” the couple <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.realestate.com.au/news/ryan-moloney-toadie-neighbours-actor-lists-luxe-merricks-property/?rsf=syn:news:nca:news:spa" target="_blank">said</a>. Though Moloney has starred in the Aussie soap opera since 1995, he also spends his time operating a beekeeping and honey business, Beach Box Honey, with Alison from their farm. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BWug4cpA3DT/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BWug4cpA3DT/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Neighbours (@neighbours)</a> </div> </blockquote> The property is also quite close to the beach, which Homes and Acreage director Grant Perry said was a rare thing for acreages in the area. “It will really appeal to someone with horses,” he said. “You can ride straight out from the property down to Balnarring Beach, where you are allowed to ride on the beach.” The sprawling property also scores points for eco-friendliness, with solar panels, its own dam, orchard, chook pen, and 280,000 litres of water storage. The “virtually off-grid” home would also suit a buyer looking for a “walk-in” property, Mr Perry said, since it doesn’t require any renovations. Mr Perry said Merricks was becoming one of the Mornington Peninsula’s standout suburbs, due to its quieter coastal lifestyle and shorter commute to Melbourne than hotspots such as Portsea or Sorrento. Images: Getty Images, Realestate.com

Real Estate

From Love Actually to Christmas On The Farm: how rom-coms became a festive season staple

It is a visual language with which we are almost all familiar. It’s cold and snowing outside, but inside, next to a crackling fire, it’s warm and cosy. The tree is a deep green, festooned with fairy lights, glinting off the wrapping of the presents below. There is hot chocolate and sugar cookies and eggnog and candy canes, and the only things that can be heard are carols and the joyous laughter of our nearest and dearest. This image of Christmas is, of course, vastly different to what we usually experience in Australia – extreme heat, seafood platters, <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCNvZqpa-7Q" target="_blank">white wine in the sun</a> – but it is still one with which we are very familiar. It’s present in all our retail settings, with their fake snow and holly and Santas sweating in their suits. And of course, it’s all over our media, in the increasingly ubiquitous Christmas romantic comedy film. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436574/original/file-20211209-138695-5pacow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C17%2C5982%2C3970&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436574/original/file-20211209-138695-5pacow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C17%2C5982%2C3970&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> In The Knight Before Christmas (2019), a medieval knight is transported to the present day, where he falls for a high school science teacher who’s lost her belief in love. Brooke Palmer/ Netflix Counting down to Christmas Christmas movies have a long history, dating back to the <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc3ei1tseeM" target="_blank">1898 short film Santa Claus</a>, but the Christmas rom-com really hit its stride in the 21st century. Love Actually (2003), an ensemble film featuring multiple intertwined stories, is perhaps the best-known example. However, in terms of sheer quantity, it is difficult to look past the company that has made Christmas their core business: Hallmark. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437057/original/file-20211212-17-9ikar9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437057/original/file-20211212-17-9ikar9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> Love Actually (2003) is one of the most popular examples of the Christmas rom-com. IMDB Since 2009, the Hallmark Channel have run a seasonal block of programming called Countdown to Christmas, central to which are their Hallmark Christmas movies. Countdown to Christmas has become increasingly extravagant: <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/hallmark-christmas-movies-2021/" target="_blank">in 2021</a>, it began on October 22, and will feature a total of forty new movies, along with a (very) large number from previous years. While Hallmark Christmas movies have been a cultural touchstone for many years in North America, that hasn’t been the case to the same extent in Australia, because we haven’t had widespread access to the flood of programming. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437059/original/file-20211212-23-16hf6i3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437059/original/file-20211212-23-16hf6i3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> In Write Before Christmas (2020), a Hallmark Channel original movie, recently single Jessica sends Christmas cards to five people that have impacted her life. As each person receives Jessica’s card, they are sparked to act in their own lives to make them better. Hallmark However, the advent and popularity of Netflix’s Hallmark-style Christmas movies, beginning with A Christmas Prince and Christmas Inheritance in 2017, have led to a growing familiarity and engagement with the Christmas romance genre from local audiences. As a result, after many years with <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/a-very-aussie-christmas-70647" target="_blank">a dearth of local Christmas programming</a>, Stan released A Sunburnt Christmas last year, their first Australian Christmas original film. This year, they have another original Australian Christmas offering in rom-com <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_oEqfyLpMQ" target="_blank">Christmas on the Farm</a>, which premiered on December 1. <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/r_oEqfyLpMQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> Christmas on the Farm is missing a key ingredient of the Hallmark Christmas romance: snow (in the Hallmark universe, the characters <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/12/14/16752012/hallmark-christmas-movies-explained" target="_blank">“can’t be waiting for the snow, there has to be snow”</a>). However, it boasts a screenwriter with Hallmark credentials in Jennifer Notas Shapiro, and draws on plenty of other tropes of the Christmas rom-com. What makes a Christmas rom-com? Hallmark has a reputation for conservatism, and we cannot fail to note that for many years, their movies featured exclusively <a rel="noopener" href="https://thewalrus.ca/the-unwatchable-whiteness-of-holiday-movies/" target="_blank">straight, white, middle-class characters</a> <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.vulture.com/2021/11/gac-family-christmas-movies-cable-tv.html?utm_campaign=nym&utm_medium=s1&utm_source=tw" target="_blank">falling in love</a> (although they are slowly beginning to diversity their casts). It is perhaps surprising, then, that Christmas rom-coms do not tend to be particularly religious. Instead, <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/what-makes-christmas-movies-so-popular-127972" target="_blank">as S Brent Rodriguez-Plate argues</a>, there’s a more secular reason for the season underpinning these films – “the power of family, true love, the meaning of home or the reconciliation of relationships”. Christmas rom-coms thus have a particular aesthetic (snow, mistletoe, ugly-but-snuggly jumpers), and a particular set of core values: family, community, selflessness, kindness, love. They’re rarely overtly supernatural, but the Christmas setting often gives rise to a little bit of “Christmas magic” or a “Christmas miracle”, which pushes our protagonists towards embracing these values. As a result, there are some very common plots, settings, and themes in the Christmas rom-com. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437069/original/file-20211212-23-d89k1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437069/original/file-20211212-23-d89k1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> In Happiest Season (2020), Abby, a lesbian, plans to propose to her girlfriend, Harper, in front of Harper’s family members. But she is in for a shock when she learns that Harper is yet to come out to her parents. Netflix Home for the holidays This plot is Hallmark’s bread and butter. One of our protagonists – usually the heroine – returns home for the holidays. This is often against her will: she’s usually a city-dwelling career woman, leaving behind a similarly career-driven boyfriend. But going home for Christmas reveals to her that although she might be successful, she hasn’t been happy. With the help of family and/or community and almost always a handsome hometown hunk (usually dressed in flannel), she learns to slow down and embrace what really matters to her. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437060/original/file-20211212-13-i6giq0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437060/original/file-20211212-13-i6giq0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> Time For Them To Come Home For Christmas (2021). During the holidays, a woman with amnesia catches a ride with her handsome nurse to investigate the only clue to her identity. IMDB. Small towns Our heroine is almost exclusively returning home to a small town, often with a Christmassy name and one or more struggling local businesses – a bakery, an inn, a Christmas tree farm. She must learn that work does not bring her joy, and that she needs to slow down and take stock. However, she nearly always finds herself using her corporate skills to re-energise and revive these businesses. For films which make it clear that we should not dream of labour, a surprising amount of attention is paid to stimulating the economy of small towns. Christmas kingdoms If our heroine is not going home for the holidays, she might find herself in a small, ambiguously European and unambiguously Christmassy kingdom. There, she’ll have a run-in with some local royalty, with whom she’ll swiftly fall in love. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437055/original/file-20211212-13-ln91xn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437055/original/file-20211212-13-ln91xn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> In A Christmas Prince (2017), a young journalist is sent abroad to go undercover to get the scoop on a playboy prince who is destined to be king, all in the lead up to Christmas. Netflix Netflix has leaned into this plot extensively in their Christmas rom-coms – it’s the foundation of both the Christmas Prince (2017-19) and Princess Switch (2018-21) trilogies. No Grinches allowed This is arguably the defining characteristic of Christmas rom-coms: they are sincere. Any cynicism towards the season is swiftly quashed. It is only by embracing the genre’s key values that the happy ending of the rom-com can be reached. Our protagonists must fall in love not only with each other, but also with Christmas. A happy ending Christmas rom-coms always end happily, with our central couple in love and everyone having a very merry Christmas. There is a familiar pattern to them - one does not watch these films to be surprised. Like many of the trappings of Christmas, watching these movies is a holiday ritual for many people, as comforting as putting on a Christmas jumper. They’re films to snuggle into, secure in the notion that for now, all’s right in the world.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171819/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jodi-mcalister-135765" target="_blank">Jodi McAlister</a>, Lecturer in Writing, Literature and Culture, <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757" target="_blank">Deakin University</a> This article is republished from <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/from-love-actually-to-christmas-on-the-farm-how-rom-coms-became-a-festive-season-staple-171819" target="_blank">original article</a>. Image: Netflix

Movies

From Love Actually to Christmas On The Farm: how rom-coms became a festive season staple

It is a visual language with which we are almost all familiar. It’s cold and snowing outside, but inside, next to a crackling fire, it’s warm and cosy. The tree is a deep green, festooned with fairy lights, glinting off the wrapping of the presents below. There is hot chocolate and sugar cookies and eggnog and candy canes, and the only things that can be heard are carols and the joyous laughter of our nearest and dearest. This image of Christmas is, of course, vastly different to what we usually experience in Australia – extreme heat, seafood platters, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCNvZqpa-7Q">white wine in the sun</a> – but it is still one with which we are very familiar. It’s present in all our retail settings, with their fake snow and holly and Santas sweating in their suits. And of course, it’s all over our media, in the increasingly ubiquitous Christmas romantic comedy film. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436574/original/file-20211209-138695-5pacow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C17%2C5982%2C3970&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436574/original/file-20211209-138695-5pacow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C17%2C5982%2C3970&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> In The Knight Before Christmas (2019), a medieval knight is transported to the present day, where he falls for a high school science teacher who’s lost her belief in love. Brooke Palmer/ Netflix <h2>Counting down to Christmas</h2> Christmas movies have a long history, dating back to the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc3ei1tseeM">1898 short film Santa Claus</a>, but the Christmas rom-com really hit its stride in the 21st century. Love Actually (2003), an ensemble film featuring multiple intertwined stories, is perhaps the best-known example. However, in terms of sheer quantity, it is difficult to look past the company that has made Christmas their core business: Hallmark. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437057/original/file-20211212-17-9ikar9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437057/original/file-20211212-17-9ikar9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> Love Actually (2003) is one of the most popular examples of the Christmas rom-com. IMDB Since 2009, the Hallmark Channel have run a seasonal block of programming called Countdown to Christmas, central to which are their Hallmark Christmas movies. Countdown to Christmas has become increasingly extravagant: <a href="https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/hallmark-christmas-movies-2021/">in 2021</a>, it began on October 22, and will feature a total of forty new movies, along with a (very) large number from previous years. While Hallmark Christmas movies have been a cultural touchstone for many years in North America, that hasn’t been the case to the same extent in Australia, because we haven’t had widespread access to the flood of programming. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437059/original/file-20211212-23-16hf6i3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437059/original/file-20211212-23-16hf6i3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> In Write Before Christmas (2020), a Hallmark Channel original movie, recently single Jessica sends Christmas cards to five people that have impacted her life. As each person receives Jessica’s card, they are sparked to act in their own lives to make them better. Hallmark However, the advent and popularity of Netflix’s Hallmark-style Christmas movies, beginning with A Christmas Prince and Christmas Inheritance in 2017, have led to a growing familiarity and engagement with the Christmas romance genre from local audiences. As a result, after many years with <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-very-aussie-christmas-70647">a dearth of local Christmas programming</a>, Stan released A Sunburnt Christmas last year, their first Australian Christmas original film. This year, they have another original Australian Christmas offering in rom-com <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_oEqfyLpMQ">Christmas on the Farm</a>, which premiered on December 1. <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/r_oEqfyLpMQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> Christmas on the Farm is missing a key ingredient of the Hallmark Christmas romance: snow (in the Hallmark universe, the characters <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/12/14/16752012/hallmark-christmas-movies-explained">“can’t be waiting for the snow, there has to be snow”</a>). However, it boasts a screenwriter with Hallmark credentials in Jennifer Notas Shapiro, and draws on plenty of other tropes of the Christmas rom-com. <h2>What makes a Christmas rom-com?</h2> Hallmark has a reputation for conservatism, and we cannot fail to note that for many years, their movies featured exclusively <a href="https://thewalrus.ca/the-unwatchable-whiteness-of-holiday-movies/">straight, white, middle-class characters</a> <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2021/11/gac-family-christmas-movies-cable-tv.html?utm_campaign=nym&utm_medium=s1&utm_source=tw">falling in love</a> (although they are slowly beginning to diversity their casts). It is perhaps surprising, then, that Christmas rom-coms do not tend to be particularly religious. Instead, <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-makes-christmas-movies-so-popular-127972">as S Brent Rodriguez-Plate argues</a>, there’s a more secular reason for the season underpinning these films – “the power of family, true love, the meaning of home or the reconciliation of relationships”. Christmas rom-coms thus have a particular aesthetic (snow, mistletoe, ugly-but-snuggly jumpers), and a particular set of core values: family, community, selflessness, kindness, love. They’re rarely overtly supernatural, but the Christmas setting often gives rise to a little bit of “Christmas magic” or a “Christmas miracle”, which pushes our protagonists towards embracing these values. As a result, there are some very common plots, settings, and themes in the Christmas rom-com. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437069/original/file-20211212-23-d89k1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437069/original/file-20211212-23-d89k1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> In Happiest Season (2020), Abby, a lesbian, plans to propose to her girlfriend, Harper, in front of Harper’s family members. But she is in for a shock when she learns that Harper is yet to come out to her parents. Netflix Home for the holidays This plot is Hallmark’s bread and butter. One of our protagonists – usually the heroine – returns home for the holidays. This is often against her will: she’s usually a city-dwelling career woman, leaving behind a similarly career-driven boyfriend. But going home for Christmas reveals to her that although she might be successful, she hasn’t been happy. With the help of family and/or community and almost always a handsome hometown hunk (usually dressed in flannel), she learns to slow down and embrace what really matters to her. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437060/original/file-20211212-13-i6giq0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437060/original/file-20211212-13-i6giq0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> Time For Them To Come Home For Christmas (2021). During the holidays, a woman with amnesia catches a ride with her handsome nurse to investigate the only clue to her identity. IMDB. Small towns Our heroine is almost exclusively returning home to a small town, often with a Christmassy name and one or more struggling local businesses – a bakery, an inn, a Christmas tree farm. She must learn that work does not bring her joy, and that she needs to slow down and take stock. However, she nearly always finds herself using her corporate skills to re-energise and revive these businesses. For films which make it clear that we should not dream of labour, a surprising amount of attention is paid to stimulating the economy of small towns. Christmas kingdoms If our heroine is not going home for the holidays, she might find herself in a small, ambiguously European and unambiguously Christmassy kingdom. There, she’ll have a run-in with some local royalty, with whom she’ll swiftly fall in love. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437055/original/file-20211212-13-ln91xn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437055/original/file-20211212-13-ln91xn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> In A Christmas Prince (2017), a young journalist is sent abroad to go undercover to get the scoop on a playboy prince who is destined to be king, all in the lead up to Christmas. Netflix Netflix has leaned into this plot extensively in their Christmas rom-coms – it’s the foundation of both the Christmas Prince (2017-19) and Princess Switch (2018-21) trilogies. No Grinches allowed This is arguably the defining characteristic of Christmas rom-coms: they are sincere. Any cynicism towards the season is swiftly quashed. It is only by embracing the genre’s key values that the happy ending of the rom-com can be reached. Our protagonists must fall in love not only with each other, but also with Christmas. A happy ending Christmas rom-coms always end happily, with our central couple in love and everyone having a very merry Christmas. There is a familiar pattern to them - one does not watch these films to be surprised. Like many of the trappings of Christmas, watching these movies is a holiday ritual for many people, as comforting as putting on a Christmas jumper. They’re films to snuggle into, secure in the notion that for now, all’s right in the world.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171819/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jodi-mcalister-135765">Jodi McAlister</a>, Lecturer in Writing, Literature and Culture, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757">Deakin University</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-love-actually-to-christmas-on-the-farm-how-rom-coms-became-a-festive-season-staple-171819">original article</a>. Image: Netflix

Movies

Solar curtailment is emerging as a new challenge to overcome as Australia dashes for rooftop solar

Almost <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/australia-reaches-3-million-households-with-rooftop-solar-20211108-p59721.html">a third</a> of Australia’s estimated <a href="https://www.ibisworld.com/au/bed/number-of-households/31/">ten million households</a> now have solar on the roof. But as the nation moving fastest to produce energy on our homes, we are also encountering teething problems, such as “curtailment” of output. This issue will be one we have to overcome as ever more Australians install solar. Our grids were designed primarily for large fossil fuel power stations transmitting electricity in one direction, while solar households both consume and export power. That means in some conditions, household solar may contribute to spikes in voltage levels outside of the acceptable range, especially as voltage levels are typically already high. To counter this, your solar system can stop exporting to the grid or even shut down temporarily if voltage levels are too high. This is called “curtailment”. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436513/original/file-20211209-21-qfm0ve.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436513/original/file-20211209-21-qfm0ve.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="Solar technicians installing panels" /></a> The rush for solar shows no signs of slowing – but curtailment could be a stumbling block. Shutterstock <h2>So what’s the issue?</h2> The average solar household lose less than 1% of its power production to curtailment – and even less for those with home batteries. While that sounds minor, an unlucky few households are losing as much as 20%. Why the drastic difference? It depends on factors like the house’s location, the local electricity network equipment, home wiring, the number of solar systems in the area, and the size of a solar system and inverter settings, which can vary depending on the date of installation. These findings are from <a href="https://www.racefor2030.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/CANVAS-Succinct-Final-Report_11.11.21.pdf">our scoping study</a> in South Australia, conducted in partnership with AGL, SA Power Networks and Solar Analytics as part of the <a href="https://www.racefor2030.com.au/">RACE for 2030</a> research centre. We analysed two out of three modes of automatic curtailment, with further research underway to assess the third mode, which may account for greater overall curtailment. This issue is set to get bigger, as more and more solar systems are installed and export to the grid at the same time. Given the different ways solar households experience curtailment, this research also raises issues of fairness. Our research interviewed and ran focus groups with South Australians who have solar. We found most participants didn’t know about curtailment and hadn’t experienced it or noticed it. But when we described curtailment, most people found it off-putting and questioned whether rooftop solar owners should be made to absorb any losses, given the contribution of rooftop solar to the renewable energy transition. Not only that, our participants told us they believed the issue could slow down the adoption of solar and potentially undermine faith in the system. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436514/original/file-20211209-19-azcfvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436514/original/file-20211209-19-azcfvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="Power pylons" /></a> Australia’s rapid renewable transition means challenges to overcome for the grid. Shutterstock <h2>Is this a problem for solar uptake?</h2> The issue of curtailment means people may not get everything they expect out of their solar system. But this may not be a deal breaker, given <a href="https://ecss.energyconsumersaustralia.com.au/behaviour-survey-oct-2021/purchase-intentions/">earlier research</a> and our study both show that people hope to benefit in many different ways from installing a solar system. For instance, some want to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels and contribute to a cleaner grid. Others want to be less reliant on electricity providers and enjoy producing and using their own energy. And some just want cheaper electricity, and don’t mind whether they get these savings through selling their power or just buying less of what they need from the grid. The good news is that as the solar sector matures, new ways are emerging of maximising value from our solar, including: <ul> <li>home energy management systems letting us time the use of appliances such as <a href="https://www.pv-magazine-australia.com/2021/09/06/unsw-study-channelling-rooftop-pv-into-water-heating-is-a-residential-super-saver/">hot water tanks</a> for daytime periods, when solar generates most power</li> <li>batteries letting us store power for use in the home when it is needed, such as in the evening</li> <li><a href="https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2017/09/virtual-power-plant/">virtual power plants</a> enabling households to be paid for allowing their solar and battery systems to help stabilise the electricity grid.</li> </ul> While attractive in their own right, these options can also reduce how much your solar system is curtailed, and have the potential to help tackle challenges at a grid scale. Other changes to electricity and grid access and pricing could also help us better manage curtailment. <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-15/sa-power-networks-to-control-solar-exports-in-adelaide-trial/100070068">Flexible export limits</a> being trialled in South Australia and elsewhere would mean households could export electricity to the grid when it is needed, while occasionally being prevented from doing so when the network does not have capacity. Flexible export limits also mean households can install larger solar systems regardless of their location within the network. They could stop curtailment affecting solar households in unexpected and uneven ways. Other responses include <a href="https://discover.agl.com.au/solar/helping-to-maximise-your-solar-savings/">programs to reward households</a> for having their export curtailed, recognising it as a service to the market and the network. There is no single solution to the issue of curtailment. But the different solutions described above may contribute to the successful integration of more rooftop solar energy and pave the way for a more renewable grid. Now is the time to talk about the future of solar in Australia, and the ways we can value it, use it and manage it when abundant.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172152/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/sophie-adams-1203744">Sophie Adams</a>, Research Fellow, School of Humanities and Languages, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-1414">UNSW</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/baran-yildiz-1259582">Baran Yildiz</a>, Senior Research Associate, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-1414">UNSW</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/naomi-stringer-1296976">Naomi Stringer</a>, Research Associate, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-1414">UNSW</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/shanil-samarakoon-1295900">Shanil Samarakoon</a>, Lecturer, Centre for Social Impact, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-1414">UNSW</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/solar-curtailment-is-emerging-as-a-new-challenge-to-overcome-as-australia-dashes-for-rooftop-solar-172152">original article</a>. Image: Shutterstock

Home Hints & Tips

Australia has a heritage conservation problem. Can farming and Aboriginal heritage protection co-exist?

Rio Tinto’s destruction of the 46,000 year old Juukan Gorge rock shelters has led to recommendations by the Parliamentary Inquiry on <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportjnt/024757/toc_pdf/AWayForward.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf">how Australia can better conserve Aboriginal heritage sites</a>. Around the time the recommendations were made, Queensland’s Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act faced an important test when a pastoralist who cleared 500 hectares of bushland at Kingvale Station in Cape York <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/qld-country-hour/scott-harris-cleared-of-breaching-cultural-heritage-act/13592850">was charged</a> with failing to protect Aboriginal cultural heritage. The charges were eventually <a href="https://www.northqueenslandregister.com.au/story/7474626/cultural-heritage-charges-against-scott-harris-dismissed/">dismissed</a> but the prosecution, the first of its kind in Queensland, highlights weaknesses in the law. Like related legislation in other Australian states and territories, Queensland’s law requires landholders to conserve Aboriginal heritage sites or risk prosecution. But the law has been criticised by many Aboriginal people and heritage specialists for allowing destructive development by removing any ability for government to independently assess how proposed clearing would affect Aboriginal heritage. Under the “duty of care” provisions in the Act, Aboriginal heritage must be protected even if it is not known to landholders. However, as the Kingvale clearing case heard, if Aboriginal heritage is not known, how can it be shown to have been lost? <h2>What we learned from the Kingvale clearing case</h2> In 2013, the former Newman government in Queensland removed protection for the environment by introducing the Vegetation Management Act which enabled clearing of what they deemed as “high value agricultural projects” in Cape York. The World Wildlife Foundation argued this would see large areas of forest and bushland destroyed. Advocates for the new Act <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2013-05-22/veg-law-pass/4705890">argued</a> primary producers are “acutely aware of their responsibility to care for the environment”. In opening up new areas of Cape York to clearing, this legislation posed new threats to heritage sites. In this context the landholder of Kingvale decided he did not need to assess cultural heritage when clearing 500 hectares. At the conclusion of the hearing into this case, Judge Julie Dick of the Cairns District Court instructed the jury to return <a href="https://www.cairnspost.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=CPWEB_WRE170_a_GGL&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cairnspost.com.au%2Fnews%2Fcairns%2Fcape-york-grazier-cleared-of-criminal-land-clearing-charges%2Fnews-story%2F1d124158e58936a302f1ee5d159ad841&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium">a not-guilty verdict</a>, exonerating the landholder, as the offence could not be proved beyond reasonable doubt. The landholder’s legal team noted in the media if their defendant had been found guilty, every landholder (including freeholders) who had cleared land, built a fence or firebreak, ploughed a paddock, or built a road or airstrip since 2003 would potentially be guilty of a criminal offence. The defendant argued the ramifications of the legal case were significant <blockquote> for the rest of Queensland […] anyone who mowed a lawn or cut down a tree since 2003 would be automatically liable. </blockquote> In our view, this is hyperbole. <a href="https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/pdf/inforce/2016-09-27/act-2003-079">Section 21 of the Act</a> makes explicit a person’s right to enjoy the normal and allowed use of their land to the extent they don’t harm Aboriginal heritage. Further, a person doesn’t commit an offence if they take into account the nature of the activity and the likelihood of it causing harm. Mowing the lawn is quite different to clearing 500 hectares of native vegetation. The setting of this activity is also important. Kingvale Station is located 100 kilometres west of the national heritage listed Quinkan Country. Heritage studies in similar landscapes across Cape York have identified scarred trees, artefact scatters, stone arrangements and cultural burial places. Based on our heritage experience across Queensland, it would be surprising not to find Aboriginal heritage sites at Kingvale. To reduce heritage risks, we assess the potential impacts of an activity, and talk with relevant Aboriginal groups about their sites and heritage values. Archaeologists and anthropologists also develop models to predict where unknown sites are likely to be found. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431020/original/file-20211109-23-aylfq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /> Recorded archaeological sites across Cape York. The distribution pattern reflects several key heritage surveys. It is expected that cultural sites would be found across the cape, including within the 500 hectares cleared at Kingvale. Image by Kelsey M. Lowe. <h2>Can farming and the conservation of Aboriginal heritage co-exist?</h2> The best way to conserve heritage is for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians to work together to identify, document, and protect places. An important example is the discovery of human remains from a mortuary tree west of St George, southern Queensland. The site was discovered during fence clearing by the landholder, who contacted the police. We worked with the landholder who has supported the Kooma nations people to conserve the mortuary tree and enable it to remain on country. <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qKJs23hwLXA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> Courtesy of Tony Miscamble, NGH Consulting. A further example from Mithaka Country saw a spectacular stone arrangement discovered by a pastoral station manager, who notified the native title holders. All are now engaging with researchers to <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=TAWEB_WRE170_a_GGL&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theaustralian.com.au%2Fnation%2Fstones-point-way-to-indigenous-silk-road%2Fnews-story%2F8318b531d82263beab4afd089fd8d559&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium">investigate the site’s history</a>. Dozens of other examples around the state illustrate collaborative approaches to heritage conservation. But more effective legislation is urgently needed in response to Kingvale’s failed prosecution. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430631/original/file-20211107-10010-f752su.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /> A spectacular stone arrangement from Mithaka country. Image courtesy of Lyndon Mechielsen <h2>How can we improve cultural heritage protection?</h2> The Juukan Gorge case highlighted how Australia has a problem protecting its Aboriginal cultural heritage. The final report of the parliamentary inquiry into the disaster made several <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportjnt/024757/toc_pdf/AWayForward.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf">recommendations</a> that could help pave a way forward. Instances like Kingvale emphasise more work needs to be done. The Queensland government needs to act now to address the glaring problem with its heritage legislation. Heritage management investment will also help. Victoria provides an example of how to improve Aboriginal heritage management. A standout action is the roll-out of a Certificate IV in Aboriginal cultural heritage management, with over 500 Aboriginal graduates to date. This program is decentralising heritage management and empowering Aboriginal people across Victoria, building a level of professionalism rarely seen in other states. Establishing treaties and agreements similar to those in Canada and New Zealand could go a long way to enable First Nations people in Australia to authoritatively protect their respective cultural heritage sites. Heritage conservation will remain challenging, particularly in resource-rich states like Queensland. But we can do better. Judge Dick’s ruling, while frustrating for the effort to conserve heritage, is crucial as it highlights weaknesses in the law. This trial, along with the Juukan Gorge incident, may represent a critical tipping point in the struggle to protect Aboriginal cultural heritage in Queensland and across Australia.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170956/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/michael-westaway-118240">Michael Westaway</a>, Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Archaeology, School of Social Science, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/joshua-gorringe-1237694">Joshua Gorringe</a>, General Manager Mithaka Aboriginal Corporation, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/indigenous-knowledge-4846">Indigenous Knowledge</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kelsey-m-lowe-1287335">Kelsey M. Lowe</a>, Senior Research Fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/richard-martin-595866">Richard Martin</a>, Senior lecturer, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ross-mitchell-1288513">Ross Mitchell</a>, Common Law holder and director of Kooma Aboriginal Corporation Native Title PBC, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/indigenous-knowledge-4846">Indigenous Knowledge</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-a-heritage-conservation-problem-can-farming-and-aboriginal-heritage-protection-co-exist-170956">original article</a>. Image: Dave Hunt/AAP Image

Domestic Travel

Beware the lure of unethical solar power

<div> <div class="copy"> Solar energy may be the future. But only if it lets go of the past. International NGO the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/09/to-lead-the-green-energy-future-solar-must-clean-up-its-supply-chains/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a> has issued a damning report card on the state of the world’s solar panel manufacturing. It may be experiencing rapid growth. It may be one of the cheapest sources of power. But its climate credentials face intense scrutiny. Forced labour, coal-fuelled production processes and a lack of transparency around the source of crucial components combine, the WEF says, into a cause for concern. “The solar industry is currently grappling with supply chain issues that could significantly impact its future,” the authors, professors Morgan Bazilian and Dustin Mulvaney, write. Much of their concern is concentrated on the production of polysilicon and the drive to make it cheap. Some 45% of global production of this component is sourced from Xinjiang province in China. And much of the labour force used to produce it is supplied by “re-education camps” detaining ethnic Kazakhs and Kyrgyz. On top of that, the remote desert region relies heavily on locally sourced coal for its power supply. “This attracted polysilicon manufacturers to this region of China in the first place because electricity is a major cost in the production process,” the report reads. Read more: <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/solar-and-wind-cheapest-energy-source-in-australia/" target="_blank">Solar and wind cheapest energy source in Australia</a> This, they say, undermines any climate and environmental benefits offered by solar panels further down the supply chain. “Solar panels are cheaper to build and install today in many places than alternative sources of electricity like coal and natural gas, translating to lower levels of greenhouse gases and air pollution,” they write. But Professor Alistair Sproul of the ANU’s School of Photovoltaic & Renewable Energy Engineering says photovoltaic power has more than enough wiggle room in its pricing to clean up its act. Much of the price drop in photovoltaic (PV) production in recent years has been driven by advances in technology, particularly crystalline silicon, he says. “Even if the price stayed where it is now or went up a little – PV is very cost-competitive.” Under current life-cycle <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.nrel.gov/analysis/life-cycle-assessment.html" target="_blank">calculations</a>, crystalline silicon PV cells produce about 50g of CO2 for every kilowatt-hour of electricity. Black coal, in comparison, comes in at 1000g of CO2 per kWh. “The PV industry is growing each decade or so by a factor of 10 – this next decade is crucial – but as scale increases, costs will come down anyway – and the industry is not reliant on forced labour,” says Sproul. “Low-cost energy is really key here – so that there is a virtuous cycle – that as PV itself becomes cheaper it should be possible to lower the cost of producing PV further by utilising increasing amounts of PV electricity in manufacturing.” Sproul says materials that need coal for processing – especially steel – are all seeking alternatives. “Hydrogen is definitely an avenue worth exploring as an alternative to coal to reduce iron oxide (for steel) and silicon dioxide ( for silicon). [And] all supply chains need to be clear, transparent and free from forced labour.” Image credit: Shutterstock  <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=167605&title=Beware+the+lure+of+unethical+solar+power" alt="" width="1" height="1" />  </div> <div id="contributors"> This article was originally published on <a rel="noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/energy/beware-the-lure-of-unethical-solar-power/" target="_blank">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Jamie Seidel. </div> </div>

Technology

Shocking discovery: Headless skeletons found on a farm

Archaeologists have found an “exceptionally high” number of decapitated bodies at three Roman cemeteries in Cambridgeshire, England, which experts believe were the result of judicial executions. The Cambridge Archaeological Unit (CAU) were excavating Knobb’s Farm in Somersham when they found 52 burials, 13 of which were prone burials where the bodies were face down. Many of the decapitated bodies had their heads placed at their feet and some were kneeling when they died, according to the research paper published in the Britannia journal earlier this month. Though the Roman Empire hasn't ruled Britain since 410 AD, some towns still have medieval walls partially built from Roman fortifications. Many of the remains found on the farm were in poor condition, with some no more than shadows in the sand. With no evidence of defensive injuries and a general “lack of trauma” before death - aside from the decapitation - experts see it as evidence that the deaths were organised. According to the researchers, the number of bodies found was “exceptionally high” in comparison to other Roman cemeteries in Britain. They added that 33 percent of the bodies were beheaded, a much higher proportion than the 2.5-6.1 percent found in other cases. Though the reason why some of the burials were prone is unclear, the researchers argue “the practice cannot have been a mistake” as 13 people were buried in that manner. <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.53846153846155px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7841616/719f8d4c9f4e185e2009713b88559075350652fe.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/c74a81b528c54592b9dd59e014277c7d" /> “These settlements were extensive rural settlements that provided grain and meat to the Roman army,” said Isabel Lisboa, archaeological consultant on the project. Lisboa also said the most likely reason for the large number of decapitated bodies could be as a form of execution for crimes, though ritual practice is another potential explanation. In the latter part of Rome’s occupation of Britain, the number of crimes punishable by death increased from 14 to 60. “Roman laws seem to have been applied particularly harshly at Knobb’s Farm because it was associated with supplying the Roman army, so there were many decapitations,” said Lisboa. “Crimes normally would have been let go, but there were probably tensions with the Roman army.” Mysterious identities “DNA shows there were nine different types of groups that had come from various places,” said Lisboa. According to the research, most of the skeletons are believed to be from adults over the age of 25, with some also showing signs of anaemia and tooth decay. Archaeologists found pots and miniature pottery goods dating from the third and fourth century A.D., as well as a comb that may have been in a woman’s hair when she was beheaded. Image credit: Dave Webb / Cambridge Archaeological Unit

International Travel

Man sent to prison for defrauding desperate farmers

In the midst of the crippling drought affecting many parts of the nation, scammers have been preying on the vulnerability of who are desperate to feed their livestock. And recently, a man from Parkes was sent to prison for his unscrupulous act of <a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/criminal/offences/fraud-charges/fraud-s192e/">dishonestly obtaining a financial gain by deception.</a> The story so far Stephen John Swindle (his real name) from Parkes had a business masquerading the sale of hay and grain to farmers, but simply did not deliver it after receiving payment. Mr Swindle was imprisoned last week for defrauding New South Wales farmers of more than $80,000 in a scam that lasted more than two years, after being found guilty of 10 counts of <a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/criminal/legislation/crimes-act/fraud/">fraud under section 192E of the Crimes Act 1900</a>. During Mr Swindle’s sentencing hearing, the presiding magistrate described his actions as reprehensible, in light of the tough drought affecting our farmers, and labelled the defendant as “lying, dishonest and violent”. According to police papers, several vulnerable farmers purchased food for their livestock through Mr Swindle’s business. Some of the orders were partially delivered, while others were not delivered at all. Mr Swindle lied to his customers about the whereabouts of the delivery trucks, and spent his ill-gotten gains on trips to theme parks, accommodation on the NSW South Coast, sports betting, groceries and liquor. Mr Swindle has been sentenced to a total of three years and six months behind bars and will be eligible for parole in November 2020. Not the first case Earlier this year, a Villawood man was also charged 13 fraud charges arising from a social media scam which allegedly advertised feed for livestock, which according to police was never delivered. The man allegedly targeted farmers in the Hunter Valley region, fleecing them to the tune of $40,000. Police say that, unfortunately, fraudulent schemes of this type are on the rise, and everyone needs to be vigilant. The offence of fraud in NSW Fraud is a general term used to describe a dishonest act which deceives another for financial gain, or another’s financial loss. The general offence of fraud carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison where the charge comes before the District Court, or two years for each count up to a maximum of five years where the case remains in the Local Court. The severity of the sentence for a person who is found guilty, or pleads guilty, depends on a number of factors, including the value of the funds or property involved, the length of time it was conducted, the sophistication of the enterprise as well as the personal characteristics of the defendant, including whether he or she has previous convictions, whether a guilty plea was entered, whether the money was repaid, whether any underlying issues have been addressed (such as gambling or drug addiction) and any demonstrated remorse. Section 192E of the Crimes Act provides that: (1) A person who, by any deception, dishonestly– (a) obtains property belonging to another, or (b) obtains any financial advantage or causes any financial disadvantage, is guilty of the offence of fraud. Maximum penalty–Imprisonment for 10 years. (2) A person’s obtaining of property belonging to another may be dishonest even if the person is willing to pay for the property. (3) A person may be convicted of the offence of fraud involving all or any part of a general deficiency in money or other property even though the deficiency is made up of any number of particular sums of money or items of other property that were obtained over a period of time. (4) A conviction for the offence of fraud is an alternative verdict to a charge for the offence of <a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/criminal/offences/larceny-stealing-theft/">larceny</a>, or any offence that includes larceny, and a conviction for the offence of larceny, or any offence that includes larceny, is an alternative verdict to a charge for the offence of fraud. Written by Sonia Hickey and Ugur Nedim. Republished with permission of <a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/man-sent-to-prison-for-defrauding-desperate-farmers/">Sydney Criminal Lawyers.</a>

Legal

Mum's urgent warning against exploding Christmas lights

A mum has raised concerns after a set of solar-powered lights from Kmart exploded in the sun and severely burnt a wall outside her home. The woman from Queensland recently took to Facebook to warn others in case the same thing happens to them, as she shared multiple photos revealing the damage caused by the explosion. She reassured that no one was hurt and thanks to quick-thinking neighbours, embers were extinguished before dry glass was set alight. “Thank God for neighbours or things could have been a lot worse,” she captioned her post. “Solar panel on Xmas lights exploded. Bought them from Kmart approx. (sic) 3 weeks ago. “Will be notifying the store I brought them from tomorrow.” Kmart is currently selling Anko branded solar-powered LED multi-coloured string lights for $34 for a pack of 500. <img style="width: 480px; height: 480px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7833577/1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/b920f6ca3e2c41d0a3cd1f2f79a337ee" /> According to information on the store’s website, the lights are suitable for outdoor use. “Set the mood for the Christmas season with our festive LED string lights that will look stunning in your backyard!” reads the product description. Since sharing her warning, the post has received over 1800 reactions and hundreds of comments from concerned people. “My husband’s just gone to take ours down,” wrote one person. “I don’t know if it’s the same type but they are from Kmart so not risking it.” While another added: “This is so concerning! Glad I don’t have any of them, but not so good for the thousands of people that do!” A spokesperson from Kmart said the retailer had reached out to the customer to offer support as part of a commitment to ensuring all products are “fully compliant with regulations and safety standards”. “At Kmart Australia safety is our number one priority and we are committed to ensuring the products we sell are fully compliant with regulations and safety standards,” said the spokesperson. “We have reached out to the customer to offer support and conduct a review of their case.”

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Catriona Rowntree unleashes over controversial new plan

Grandmother mistakes $50m Powerball win for solar panel sales call

"It was beautiful": Rare rainbow cloud stuns small farming town

Microwaving solar panels makes them easier to recycle

"I sobbed in the paddock”: Sam Armytage's home life challenges

Breeder faces the consequences for “squalid” puppy farm

“You won’t believe it”: An a-moo-sing new addition for one Victorian farm

Alan Jones offloads farm home for less than expected

Farm shooter had gun ban revoked

Travelling around the globe might not have to cost the Earth

How to choose the best solar panels for your home

‘Neighbours’ star Ryan Moloney lists sprawling farm for sale

From Love Actually to Christmas On The Farm: how rom-coms became a festive season staple

From Love Actually to Christmas On The Farm: how rom-coms became a festive season staple

Solar curtailment is emerging as a new challenge to overcome as Australia dashes for rooftop solar

Australia has a heritage conservation problem. Can farming and Aboriginal heritage protection co-exist?

Beware the lure of unethical solar power

Shocking discovery: Headless skeletons found on a farm

Man sent to prison for defrauding desperate farmers

Mum's urgent warning against exploding Christmas lights

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