My NBN now won’t be installed til Feb 29? But I was supposed to propose that day!

Yes, the internet connection saga continues.

A brief recap.

Found out we were moving here early December and called TPG to arrange the move on November 22. Initially I was a little disappointed that I’d only get NBN 25 here, but when I was on the phone the guy said, s’all good, aftr the move you’ll be contacted by NBN to upgrade to fibre to the premises within a couple of months. Cool, I can deal with that.

We do the major move on December 5, and I get a text saying install will be on Friday. Well, at least I read it as the 8th of December, because that was the same week, and not the date actually in the text, 08/01/2024.

So I realise that my internet won’t be connected for another month and I give TPG a call on the Friday, assuming that it was a mistake and I could get it that year.

No, apparently I couldn’t and the 8th was the first available appointment from NBNco. Lack of technicians and high demand, apparently. I cried, yeah. Classy, hey? The woman on the phone consoles me and says best she can do is the 5th, would I take that. I do of course.

And then I wait. And Christmas comes and goes. The kids have moved out, New Years is done, ad I’m home on January 5, awaiting the technician. After watching videos about the install and getting half a dozen texts confirming that install on the 5th and that someone would be home.

Oh and they debit the usual $75 that morning for the slow plan.

I get to 10, and I get the text that they’ll be calling me about the install. then a few minutes later one rescheduling the install til the 17th. Yeah, no happy.

 

Talked to them and cried. And they agree to credit my account and see about a cash refund but couldn’t guarantee that.

Then I get the text telling me it’ll be between 8 and 12 the Saturday.

11ish Saturday the tech calls me to tell me he’s on a job that’s taking forever 45 minutes away on the other side of the lake, and he’ll text to let me know when he’s on his way.

I see him about 3.45pm.

He does his thing, installs the necessary hardware in the house. But he can’t complete the job, since there’s no a connection to the house he can use, and the pit has asbestos, and he doesn’t have the tickets for that but someone should be out within the week.

I get the refund credited back to my bank. That’s nice.

Time passes and late last week, early this week techies work in the pit and connect fibre from two houses down to ours and then presumably to our house when they’re digging right outside my wall.

And then I wait.

Two more texts. Identical.

Noone calls in the first 24 hours period, nor the second. I’m at group lamenting my lack on connectivity because all I really wanna do is go rabbit and deer hunting in Red Dead Online, but I take a breath and say I’ll call this afternoon if I don’t hear anything.

And then I get the text at the start of the post, saying my install date in Feb 29. First of all I look at Bruce and ask if there’s a Feb 29th this year. Yeah, there is. So, I finish sorting my pills and call TPG.

Maybe my mistake is I didn’t cry, but they couldn’t offer me anything better, citing message from NBN saying that’s the best that they can do due to staffing and demand.

I don’t really know what happened to just getting NBN 25 in the mean time either, I asked and was told no this is what we’re doing with the fibre since the fibre’s ready to go.

So, I’m relived I stuck with my big Aldi mobile plan that’s I’ve accumulated data on. That recharged overnight for $95 (I was going to go down to the $55 plan with just me and Bruce with the kids doing their own thing). So at least I didn’t chance going to the smaller plan this week. So, We’ve got plenty of data to use tethering our phones to our PCs, but I can’t get back to doing a bunch of the online stuff that require more reliable service – for example I can watch streams but they cut out or slow regularly, no chance I could upstream or play online games.

I can still talk shit on Twitter, and NBN co has just contacted me there to follow up on this saga, so let’s see how that goes?

Ahh nothing hopeful

In the meantime, any ladies out there planning to propose to their men on February 29, since that’s apparently the only day we should do it?

 

 

How Labor Ensured the Death of Universal Bulk Billing

Yes yes, the LNP froze the Medicare rebates for years, pushing GPs away from being able to bulk bill all their patients, but many still chose to bulk bill, or offered bulk billing to kids and concession card holders. Others moved to private billing entirely, with some offering a slightly lower upfront cost if you’re a cardholder, but not all.

In all the cases where the GP is choosing to bulk bill or take a lower upfront payment they are effectively having to absorb that cost into the practice and have to covered by full fee paying patients.

But the changed to have a different bulk billing incentive for those that have a concession card and those that don’t has certainly stopped some bulk billing non-eligible patients, as they would then be worth $13 less per consultation, and where is the sense of obligation to bulk bill regular patients if they are worth less on the books than those with concessions and kids?

The RACGPs recommends a level B consult fee of just over $100. So, when they bulk-bill a patient, they are accepting a lower payment than if they charged them privately. If they private bill though, the patient will only get the regular rebate back, and that $20 is lost to the empty promises.

Who does the bulk billing incentive apply to? This incentive only applies to the following vulnerable patient groups, and only if they are bulk billed: Children under 16 years Commonwealth concession card holders (Centrelink or DVA cards): Pensioner Concession Card Health Care Card Commonwealth Seniors Health Card How much is the bulk billing incentive? The bulk billing incentive applies to eligible patients as per the following locations: Metro (MMM1): $20.65 Regional centres (MMM2): $30.15 Large-medium rural towns (MMM3-4): $31.95 Small rural towns (MMM5): $34.05 Remote communities (MMM6): $35.80 Very remote communities (MMM7): $39.65

So, when Labor defend the stage three tax cuts with the bulk billing incentives and the chance they make a difference to people’s ability to access the medical care they need, I laugh and cry.

If you’re on $45k, you’re unlikely to have a health care card (you might if you have a family member with a disability) so your 43c a week isn’t exactly going to cover the $90 upfront my GP charges, or the $70 with concession. You might be able to buy some of that “summer sports gear” for a certain upcoming long weekend, but you won’t be able to cover the “$30” meds that went up to $31.60 on Jan 1.

So, while the LNP starved Medicare, by creating a three-tier system, Labor are killing the last of the will for universal bulk-billing. So every time they tout the tripled bulk billing incentive, remember that it only applies to kids under 16, concession card holders and some eligible Indigenous Australians, and so leaves out the precious middle Australia that I thought they were trying to win over? No?

Who even is the Labor target market these days?

First week back on EveryPlate

Aaaaand it’s good to be back with some sort of order, this time in the form of getting the ingredients for 6 meals a week delivered by EveryPlate and me not having to think too much after 5pm. Started Monday with chicken penne since Bruce’s son was over and the pasta usually goes a long way.

Bruce picked the nachos for Wednesday night. Crisped up the tortillas just right in the oven.

I thought I’d try getting a fish since there was one on the regular menu – they’re usually only on the upgrade ones that end up being $10 more for the meal for us two so I don’t. This was butter and garlicky yums.

Yeah, this was good.

Stretched this one by using oven fries that we’ve been trying to clear from the fridge since the kids moved out.

Tatery cottage pie!

And this week:

Get a free box of food with my referral link.

25 degrees at 8am

What do you mean it was hot last night? I mean it was warm though the day, but it just didn’t cook down. And here’s the proof from the Govee tracker I have set up in my bedroom to report back to Better Renting’s summer tracking.

And this was after Bruce put the aircon back on in the living room around 3am to hopefully push some relief down the hallway to us. We had our ceiling fan and Bunnings fan going all night, window was open, closed it when the aircon went back on, but no luck. No wonder I had to strip off and woke up feeling dehydrated and grumpy.

The news keep talking about the humidity and the high dew point, and yeah, while the temp’s only been a tad over thirty you start dripping when you leave your car or and other aircon. Even had the fogging up glasses going in one transition this morning!

So I don’t know the best approach. Our new home has an air con in the living room, where we spend our days so we use that. But we’d gotten used to having the aircon in the sleeping area from sleeping in the living room at the last place after the kids and bub moved in. We have a spare queen mattress from the bed that’s not assembled so we could drag that to the living room for the next month or so for spells sleeping out here. The mattress is okay but not ideal like that.

Decisions decisions.

a frozen fruit

In the mean time, it’s snacks of Frozen Poppers and Zooper Doopers to keep the sugar and the spirits up. At least Zooper Doopers were half price when I was at woolies yesterday!

Greens candidate faces court following Port Blockade arrest

Greens Candidate for Lake Macquarie City Council North Ward Bryce Ham was among members of the Rising Tide 109 facing court today following last year’s blockade of the Port of Newcastle.

Greens leader Adam Bandt with Lake Mac candidate Bryce Ham at the blockade in Novermber

Bryce Ham was announced as the Greens’ candidate for Lake Macquarie City Council North Ward last month ahead of the election in September this year.

NSW Greens spokesperson for Climate Change and Member of the NSW Legislative Council Sue Higginson said:

“The actions of the 109 community members that were arrested during the Rising Tide Blockade last year stand as a testament to the determination and courage of people resisting the fossil fuel industry.

“Bryce has proudly taken a principled position on the need to end our reliance on fossil fuels and to call out the corporations and Governments that are driven by short term profit motives. I will stand today, and everyday, shoulder to shoulder with Bryce and others as we work to combat climate change in this world.”

Bryce on his commitment to climate action: “I’ve been on the frontlines of the climate action movement since I was a high school student. I’ve petitioned, penned letters, rallied, met with politicians, and helped educate our community. I have called out governments at all levels for not acting quickly enough to spare us the massive costs of climate change, from the Black Summer bushfires to the floods of 2022-23.”

Bryce on the People’s Blockade: “I proudly joined the People’s Blockade, the largest civil disobedience action for climate justice in Australia’s history. We blocked coal trade at the Port of Newcastle for 32 hours. We had received an unprecedented permission from Police to occupy the shipping channel for 30 hours. But we are in a crisis, and we have to keep pushing the boundaries.”

Bryce on the federal government’s actions: “Anthony Albanese’s Labor government continues to approve new coal projects. Despite the clear and present danger posed by climate change, they have chosen to prioritise short-term economic gains over long-term sustainability. This is not the leadership we need.”

Bryce on his arrest: “Being arrested was not an act of rebellion, but an act of commitment and resolve to send a clear message to our governments: We cannot afford to be complacent in the face of the climate emergency. Being arrested is a small price to pay in comparison to the disasters already occurring due to climate change. We will continue to fight for our planet and for climate justice.”

Bryce on his Council candidacy: “As a Greens’ candidate for Lake Macquarie City Council, I am running to safeguard our shared future. If elected, I promise to bring the same resolve to Council that prompted me to paddle out in the Port of Newcastle in front of coal loaders and container ships. I will challenge Council to adopt policies in the long-term best interests of Lake Macquarie residents, and ensure our community’s voice is heard. Because when it comes to the future of our planet and our community, we cannot afford to be silent.”