Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

The question to my lips is that if the government wants us to save our dough for a sunny day with solar electricity why don't do it Aquaponics. The reason I mention this is that you are saving rubbish from landing up into land fills and you are produce healthy organic food for your family that you grow in you own backyard.

Why don't the government give a rebate to people who are helping to produce their own food and not harming the environment by using an Aquaponics system.

Because I look at it this way you grow your edible fish and growing your veggies all at the same time only that you don't have to go to the local waterways and taking the fish that is swimming in those waters so they are restocked in the creeks, rivers and oceans.

What do you think of the ideas?

It might be that the solar manufacturing LLCs have paid some lobbyiest to do pay off few of the politicians to create subsidies for them and also give the users some incentives to use them.
But we as Aquaponics supporters do not have the money to hire a lobbyist to go and pay off few of the politicians!!

Politicians are there only for themselves!

This might make me seem like some kind of conspiracy excited loon, but I suspect the solar thing is there because it's a really sensible matter of national security.

I cant believe I just said that out loud

Anyway...

Decentralising the power grid should be a matter of national importance, even if it isn't already. It must really suck if you trash a country with weapons of mass naughtyness, only to discover there are still a stack of fridges and radios and TVs working.

Perhaps even a backyard aquaponics system or two.

It almost makes it pointless to take out the nations power grid if large bits of it are going to keep operating no matter what you do. You only need a kilowatt or two to maintain your surface to air missile defence.

That's a guess.

I have no idea what I'm talking about, but I still think you should elect me to whatever office it is I'm running for.

I think I agree that things like food supply should be a matter of national interest, and that steps should be taken to decentralise food production. We only need a tiny portion of the food we actually consume to stay alive (see Burma railway) and a small amount of decent fresh produce goes a long, long way in a crisis.

Personally I'm a big fan of luxury, and eating really interesting and delicious things. But it would be nice if the kids I know got to have some kind of national security when it comes to food.

And perhaps some drinks.

I think we should decentralise the production of beer, wine, and spirits as well...

Just to be sure.

bullwinklell you have a point. instead of the government spending our money on weapons of mass destructions how about them teaching the world how to solve a food criss by teaching the third world aquaponics maybe they can stop world hunger and stop this bloody fighting to save their own hide.

Like for example Korea we tried to put a stop to them for fighting that they starting back up again it will be like having MASH reruns back on the TV with new characters like Dr Porkeye or Dr Snapper.

I have seen these aquaponics system working to solve a problem yet the government is not going to support a system that can save them money.

Sorry BW but if the grid goes down so does 99% of the solar systems in Australia.

The only thing we can expect from the government is a licence request which will cost us heaps.

Gees, could you imagine all the dodgy kit sellers that would jump on the bandwagon then??

True words EB

You mean like some form of aquaponics version of true value solar? I dont think i could handle more scam ads on TV, Them and the insurance companies are enough, Thank you.

The Solar rebate was a failure, that's probably why they aren't doing it for anything else. I should probably say that it wasn't a failure for the people who got solar panels out of it, just for everyone else in Australia.

The people with a spare $3-7K sitting around to spend on solar panels really do not need any other taxpayer's money from the government to motivate them. All that it has done is push the prices up for all the people who couldn't afford the solar panels, the less well of and the renters. Even with our 3KW of solar panels we are only just breaking even and that is with the electricty company buying it back off us at 50c/kwh. We wanted to put in solar hot water but the salesman advised us against it as we wouldn't get government money for it, we got it anyway, free hot water is free hot water.

Water tanks?! $1000 for a giant plastic bucket, seriously? I notice they have come down in price now that the taxpayer is not buying them.

I think that the government stealing off one group of people and giving it to another group who are perfectly capable of looking out for themselves is a recipe for disaster. I have never been to another country where taxpayers money is given to individuals to buy houses or have babies or put in a water tank. Some of them have incentives such as double glazing in the UK but that is because it takes about 35 years to pay for itself otherwise, but solar panels so people can make money?! houses that are turned into investments?!

I want an aquaponics system but I am prepared to pay for it out of my own pocket, I don't expect other people to fund my hobbies.

The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money ~ Margaret Thatcher

Well said Jislizard I agree completely!

In some ways Jis, in other ways they should have gone much further, they should have taken the incentive money and the insulation money and probably some of the NBN moeny and installed a 1kw system in every house in the country, over how ever many years it takes, with ownership going to the house owner.

That would help free people from the grip of the power companies and send a message to them that they can be pretty much made nothing more than a "middleman" if they dont smarten thier act up.

Perhaps you could help me out here Jislizard. Please tell me what the failure was. Start by giving the aims of the solar rebate and then why the solar rebate did not meet them.

As to rebates for AP systems though I am fully in agreement with you. This is something that the government should have nothing (apart from ensuring the publics' safety) to do with. Additionally as EB says - think of all the dodgy characters that would get into selling the systems.

I agree, as someone who got Solar 18 months ago and about to install it on my new place, please advise how its failed?

I think I'll start working some form of realy dodgey supply and installation business myself, just in case.

I have little experience, education or relevent training so I should do well. I may even start running training sessions for anyone silly enough to sign up and pay for them.

Perhaps in commercial AP systems, that seems to be a popular money grabbing scam around the place these days.

There's this thing that when an individual gets a tax cut, it seems reasonable.

When the same individual is forced to pay extra tax it seems unfair.

The reality is, any government needs a certain supply of funds.

As governments, we tweak a bit here, add a bit there, give back a bit there.

Thats our jobs. We try to make the most people like us.

All governments, no matter where they lie on the political spectrum, try to appeal to the majority.

What we get from our elected representatives, is a bunch of people who think they can make policy that WE think is about right.

Read that last line again. It's really important.

It's the majority of US that makes each and every government.

WE chose what things get subsidised, WE choose what gets taxed. WE decide everything.

Anyone who thinks the government isn't doing what it should is really saying...


"Everyone who isn't me is wrong".


I feel that all the time, but the government is what MOST people think.

You have to respect that.



The end.



We had the solar rebate scheme because WE, and I mean WE, thought it was the best thing for the challenge at hand.

If you don't like it, you get to have your say and put a stop to it, as long as everyone else agrees with you. If they don't, then what kind of a democracy would we be where we just do what YOU want us to do.

You get what you vote for, and you either agree with the decision of the majority, or not.

If you don't agree with the majority, just go somewhere else, or get used to it.

There are plenty of places, and they all have slightly different political climates.

In this day and age, it's easy to simply go somewhere else.

Personally, I think in general, Australia get's their shit right. That's why I live here.

If we did something that, on average, I didn't agree with, I'd just bugger off and live somewhere else.

So...

Change the system with your political power if you can get the majority to agree with you, or just live somewhere else.

Either you respect the majority decision as resolved by a popular mandate, or shoot these that do in the face regardless of what they think.

Those are your options.

Personally I think popular consensus is better than just forcing my will on others.

The reality is that MOST people think we should have a solar subsidy.

The end.

The majority rules, or we don't have a democracy.

What I think only matters if everyone else agrees.

Otherwise I'm just someone who wants MOST people to change their minds.

If you think what most people do, you are in the majority, and the Australian world runs the way you want it to.

Seems fair to me.



Even if I totally disagree on any given point..



Love it.