Green Loans in limbo Article
I came across this article this morning, it is worth a read. http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=10095&page=1.
I find it interesting that there are so many different interpretations of the numbers within the program and the recent press release. The article I have listed states “DEWHA proposes to restrict the number of HSAs under contract to 5,000, give or take 1,200”. While this may be correct my own interpretation is that whilst there are over 5,000 assessors accredited to ABSA, with 6,000 + applications pending, there are currently approximately 3,800 assessors contracted to DEWHA, leaving 1,200 contracts remaining under the new rules.
It would be great to be able to get some accurate answers from DEWHA, however I think that will be difficult in the current climate.
PS, there are some interesting comments on this article that are worth checking out, particularly from Stan.
I received an 'invitation' via snail-mail to join, posted it off and here I am for now.
Frankly, I'm more than a tad wary about the intent of GP (Green Professionals) or any other such 'organisation' given the number of such to invite membership and do little to nothing for it ... to having to be a member of ABSA (and have them make announcements like 'the Green Loan itself should be dropped and assessments numbers increased' past the 360,000) ... and now this one ...
What connections or accreditation does GP have with DEWHA or Green Loans or ear of relative politician or senior bureaucrat pertaining to the current debacle ? Is this just a income stream for the person that came up with this organisation ?
The last posting was 3+ days ago and activity is light ...
Its difficult in these times to get traction because there are so many bottom-feeders - skilled in milking money through various government hand-outs - putting on a show of success or respectability ... what makes GP different and make it grow or be still-born ?
I have a background in environmental interests going back many years; I designed and built my first energy efficient house in 1984 and have later versions covered by media (TV and local newspapers); I have studied the science of energy for the last 12 years, but to date, its all been for nought .... apathy is alive and well.
So I am really keen on hearing other people's opinions, criticisms ... whatever
Thanks for the comments Dan, you have raised some valid concerns. With respect to the Intent of Green Professionals, you are correct in that as an organisation we need to make money. However we are not a flash in the pan organisation geared solely towards making a quick buck. If we were, we would be charging for membership from the get go rather than offering substantial trial memberships at no cost. It is important to remind members they are under no obligation to continue membership at the end of their trial period if they don’t see enough value in it. The onus is now on us to demonstrate to members that our services are worth paying for.
Secondly, Green Professionals is part of a larger group of companies, our sister organisations include Green Plumbers, Sustainable Footprint and NextGen Energy Solutions. Representing sustainable plumbing service and advice, detailed environmental assessments and Australia’s largest trader of RECS respectively. This should demonstrate to you that as a group, we are deeply involved with Australia's journey towards a more sustainable economy.
In relation to whether we have the ear of prominent politicians or senior stakeholders, we don't. What we have done however is involve ourselves with representatives from DEHWA, ABSA and CSIRO in order to be proactive in addressing issues related to our members when they become public. We are working at maintaining these relationships to the benefit of Green Professionals and our members, through the development of new submissions, tenders and advisory groups.
In relationship to the lack of posts, I am glad you have posted, as you are contributing to the solution to the issue you identified! We did have some technical issues over the last 10 days which prevented some users from being able to comment, this is now rectified.
Finally I understand your growing level of apathy, we have all rested our hopes on leadership and action from our political leaders, but all we have received is mismanagement and skepticism. It is our hope that as a strong group of like-minded Green Professionals, we are able to positively affect decision makers and the community toward a sustainable future.
It was interesting reading the article posted by HSA Man. I was particularly interested in the comments about rushed assessments. I am also one of the waiting in the wings assessors to get a contract assessors and was concerned when I did my GL training that some of my fellow class mates were just in it for the easy government money. The general lack of knowledge about what is right and wrong, environmentally speaking was astounding. Don't get me wrong there were many in the class who had far superior knowledge than the instructor, but when it comes to doing the assessments (if we ever get to do them?) where is the quality control. I think of my self as a knowledgeable person when it comes to all things green and feel that I would do a good job of the assessments and helping householders, but I may not get a chance and I'm sure that I am not alone. I'm also sure than people have obtained accreditation and contracts who do not show the same level of knowledge that I and many other potential assessors have. This is something that bothers me greatly and I hope that the future will provide ways to prevent it from happening. I feel there is no point in having an assessment done if it lacks the right information or was done by an assessor who is only after the money!
I'm in the same boat as Sustain Assist, got approved by ABSA early Feb, rushed my contract off to DEHWA & havent heard from ABSA or DEHWA since. Have been on ABSA forums,etc., but cant get any answers from anyone as to what's going to happen. Have written to every pollie under the sun; no response from Garrett, Wong, Rudd or Shorten [my local member] Only ones responding or helping have been Greens or Libs. I invested over $3000 in my training, insurance & registration. I have a chronic [but manageable] medical condition, the credit card interest is stacking up now as I havent been able to get 1 cent back, so the stress in my life is not good!It'll probably just come down to luck as to who gets in the 'precious 5000.'
I'm a teacher interested in this area, & first heard of it all in November. I did all my homework before committing.I calculated I would have to complete about 15 assessments in 2010 to break even, and that any assessments after this would provide a small income for me. I did not expect this scheme to provide a new job for me, just a part-time income which I could possibly increase over time with extra training in the area. There is no way I thought it possible that I would be looking at losing my $3000 investment entirely, which is where I stand at the moment.
I was aware that the government had funded only 360 000 assessments, so I carefully checked the figures in November on the ABSA website as to how many assessors had been registered. According to their website, 1500 assessors were registered at this time, and there weren't many assessors registered in the Essendon/Niddrie/Moonee Ponds area, an area where I wanted to work. So I decided to continue with the process, believing I'd be able to recoup my expenses in 2010 and also make some money.
There were no statistics from the DEWHA available at this time as to how many assessments had been completed. I assumed, along with many others I guess, that if this scheme was running out, they would have let the general public and ABSA know.
I was happy with the professionalism of Warwick Lake & Sustainable Footprint who delivered all aspects of the training fairly thoroughly. There were cowboys in our group too, though. One guy openly admitted he wanted to book in all his mates for a series of 'no-shows' just to pick up the cash. Cant believe also that some people are saying they left full-time jobs to start Home Sustainability Assessing businesses. If the numbers had stayed at 2000 & 360000 assessments that makes an average of 180 assessments each. $36000 total income stream to support a business over a number of years??? You'd have to have rocks in your head. That's a bad business decision simply made worse by the government stuff-ups. All I thought in November when I enrolled in training was that I'd perhaps get a part-time income stream for the better part of a year & get my foot in the door in this industry. At least some people have got some money from it.
Anyway, Ive just about given up hope of ever working in this industry which is really disappointing. I'm forced now to simply act to try and get some money back so I can pay some bills. I'm joining a possible class action suit organised against DEHWA by an assessor called Ian Turnbull from Tasmania. If anyones interested post back here & I'll leave the details.
Marc
Hi all
The terms of reference for the Senate enquiry into Green Loans have been released and can be found here.
The results of the enquiry will not be known until the 21st of June 2010. Lets hope the findings shed some light on where it all went wrong, and can provide some useful learnings for future large-scale environmental initiatives!
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Green Professional Team Member