Australia`s energy minister has urged households in New South Wales - a state that includes the country`s biggest city Sydney - to switch off their lights in the face of an energy crisis.
Chris Bowen says people should not use electricity for two hours every evening if they `have a choice`.
However, he added he was `confident` that blackouts could be avoided.
It comes after Australia`s main wholesale electricity market was suspended because of a surge in prices.
Mr Bowen asked people living in New South Wales to conserve as much power as possible.
`If you have a choice about when to run certain items, don`t run them from 6 to 8 [in the evening],` he said during a televised media conference in Canberra.
Why is there a crisis?
Australia is one of the world`s biggest exporters of coal and liquefied natural gas but has been struggling with a power crisis since last month. Three quarters of the country`s electricity is still generated using coal. It has long been accused of not doing enough to cut its emissions by investing in renewables.
In recent weeks, Australia has felt the impact of disruptions to coal supplies, outages at several coal-fired power plants and soaring global energy prices.
Flooding earlier this year hit some coal mines in New South Wales and Queensland, while technical issues have cut production at two mines that supply the market`s biggest coal-fired station in New South Wales.
Around a quarter of Australia`s coal-fired electricity generating capacity is currently out of service due to unexpected outages and scheduled maintenance.
Some electricity producers have seen their costs soar as global coal and gas prices have jumped due to sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, demand for energy has jumped amid a cold snap and as Australia`s economy opens up after Covid-19 restrictions were eased.
All of this has helped drive up power prices on the wholesale market to above the A$300 (£173; $210) per megawatt hour price cap set by the market`s regulator, the Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo).
However, that cap was below the cost of production for several generators, who decided to withhold capacity.
On Wednesday, Aemo took the unprecedented step of suspending the market and said it would set prices directly and compensate generators for the shortfall.
It also asked consumers in New South Wales to `temporarily reduce their energy usage`.
What happens next?
Aemo has not given a timeline on when the suspension would be lifted. It said in a statement, `The price cap will remain until cumulative wholesale electricity prices fall below the cumulative price threshold.`
`Aemo, as the national power system operator, will continue to monitor the situation and provide further updates should conditions change,` it added.
On Thursday, Australia`s biggest electricity producer AGL Energy said it expected to be able to supply more power to businesses and consumers in the coming days.
It has three units that have been out of service at its coal-fired plant in Bayswater, New South Wales.
They are among several planned and unplanned outages that have helped cause the power crisis.
AGL said that one of the units should return to service on Thursday, while another will come back online by Saturday.
Meanwhile, Australia`s new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the crisis would be raised at a meeting with state premiers which starts on Thursday.
Lynne Chester, an energy expert from the University of Sydney, told the BBC that policymakers have been aware of the risks of ageing generators for decades.
`The sector`s regulators and policy makers have ignored the escalating capacity constraints of aging generation assets, fired by fossil fuels, that dominate the sector,` Prof Chester said
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‘Assaulted’ by staff and robbed in the queue — another day in the life of Home Affairs clients
Daily Maverick – 30 Jun 2022
As part of our ongoing coverage of Home Affairs issues across the country, Daily Maverick has been visiting branches and asking readers to engage with us about their personal experiences of Home Affairs service. We are also monitoring reported incidents across the country. Below are two cases that go beyond the regular offline and long queue woes.
Since April Daily Maverick has been investigating service delivery at Home Affairs branches. Many of the reported stories to date emphasise the dysfunctionality of the department at offices across the country, to say the least.
We have since been alerted to two alarming alleged incidents, which we sought response from Home Affairs about.
‘I was assaulted at the Home Affairs national office in Pretoria for asking for service’
On 3 June, 2022, Mtheza Gengele, an Eastern Cape-based pastor, flew from East London to Gauteng to enquire about a long-awaited BI-1663 — a notification of death for his late sister at the Home Affairs national office in Pretoria. Gengele said his family had long since applied for the BI-1663 and paid for it on 12 January 2021.
Gengele told Daily Maverick he was met with great hostility from staffers at the Home Affairs office, who assaulted him.
Gengele alleges he sustained injuries to his back, the rib areas and sides after several staffers kicked him, grabbed him by the neck and dragged him to a dark passage. He claimed further that they threatened to kill him for asking for service.
“For 18 months I had been waiting to get the BI-1663 form in East London but still nothing. I have been to local, district, regional and provincial offices and there was no response. Hence I took the matter up with the national office of Home Affairs via email … They said in 10 working days I will have the form. But after those 10 days, I still didn’t have the form and there was no longer a response from the national office. So my wife and I flew down to Gauteng and went straight to the national office on the 3rd of June 2022 to enquire and try to get assistance in person there.
“A Home Affairs official attended to us… Not only was I trying to get the BI-1663 form but I also wanted to apply to be a marriage officer and to enquire about opening a funeral parlour. Then she asked where are you from? When I said I’m from Eastern Cape, she started telling me that this is a national key point. I showed her the email correspondences between myself and the national office echoing that I couldn’t get help in East London.
“She wouldn’t listen to me. She said they don’t attend to such matters and I should go to a public office. I disputed that and emphasised that this was a public office and their job was to render the service because, after all, they are public servants. But she said and made sure I am not serviced while continuing to chat with her colleagues.
“I then decided to check in the near passage if there was nobody else who could help. She came towards me and grabbed me by my t-shirt and suddenly there were a lot of them. I couldn’t even count how many they were and I was dragged down the passage and out of the offices and they locked me out… Luckily my wife managed to take a video while I was being dragged. They had noticed that so while I was locked outside they forced my wife to delete the video. She was clever enough to send it elsewhere before deleting it.
“When the doors opened again I went back inside the offices now looking for my wife so we could just leave. I found myself on the floor and being kicked by so many people then dragged again through a very dark passage in the opposite direction of the entrance into an isolated place where they kept me for two hours and kicked me everywhere. Two more guys approached and one female police came. They kicked me as well until they saw my GEMS medical aid card fall off my wallet.”
Gengele claims once the assailants saw his medical aid and noticed he was a government employee they stopped.
“The chief director of the department came with some staff members and he said it was wrong of us to go to the national office. So they’re supposed to open a case… Then I told him that it’s fine because I’m also going to open a case against the Minister of Home Affairs. So I took my wife and headed to the nearest police station.”
Gengele said he went to the Pretoria Central police station to open an assault case, but he was not successful. So he and his wife headed back to East London the following day without the form or having made a successful application to be a marriage officer or enquired about the funeral parlour.
The police station was not able to assist Daily Maverick without a case number, which Gengele did not have as his attempt to lodge a case was unsuccessful.
Gengele said he has since received the BI-1663 form. He claims the national office couriered it to local Home Affairs in East London. However, he says the department has been quiet about the assault.
Gengele says he has communicated the case to various commissions, associations and government officials including the Minister of Home Affairs and the Presidency as well as human rights advocates but no one has responded.
“As it is, no one is trying to attend to the situation… Even the human rights advocate I had found to represent me withdrew. I see this as more of spiritual warfare,” told Gengele said.
Department of Home Affairs’ response
In response to the incident, the Department of Home Affairs has said they are unaware of the assault of a reverend Mtheza Gengele.“However, we are aware that he was forcibly dragged out of a building.”
Siyabulela Qoza, spokesperson for the Minister of Home Affairs, said an investigation into the matter was instituted and a preliminary report was duly completed.
“The preliminary report, flowing from the investigation that we conducted, showed that this was a clear case of trespassing and infringement of established security arrangements, rules and protocols by which the National Key Points are governed. It was unfortunate that an adult man like Mr Mtheza Gengele had to be dragged out in the manner that it happened. We do not condone such acts. We hope that the pregnant security officer who alleges was assaulted by Gengele did not incur serious injuries.”
‘We were robbed in the queue’
On the 28th of October 2021, Luis Dias, a resident and senior citizen of Klerksdorp was robbed while queuing with her granddaughter to apply for her granddaughter’s passport and her ID card at Klerksdorp Home Affairs. This is her story.
“While standing in line outside I saw that several youngsters with expensive Adidas and Nike T-shirts and windcheaters were also standing in line.
“I was sure they were there to rob people of their possessions so I told my granddaughter to watch out for them, but in the meantime somebody phoned me.
“I told my granddaughter to answer and I would keep an eye on things. But they were so fast — they grabbed the phone out of her hand and ran away. I ran after him and that’s when three other guys tackled me and tried to steal my wallet out of my jeans.
“I am 77 years old but luckily fit, so they came away with a few bruises and without a wallet. SAPS was not on-site… One does not report these incidents because it’s even more dangerous around the police station than anywhere else in Klerksdorp.
“But then again safe Home Affairs is wishful thinking — they could not care less. We reported it to the security guy in charge but he just stared at us and told us to wait in the queue.
“No one offered us protection. My granddaughter was afraid and wanted to go home but I was adamant to finish what we went for, because in no way did I want to come back some other day and stand in the queue again for more than an hour.
“So my granddaughter phoned a friend and he came to stand with us in the queue because we were unsure if the attackers would come back for the wallet they failed to steal from me, so we went in and waited inside for another half an hour and applied for our ID cards.”
Daily Maverick reached out to Klerksdorp Home Affairs to enquire further on the above incident and how it happened outside their offices.
It took about four days for Klerksdorp Home Affairs to respond with claims that ‘systems were offline’ — a normal excuse at Home Affairs which Home Affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi has blamed on power supply issues, cable theft and vandalism as well as ageing equipment and an unstable network that led to infrastructure issues, as reported by Businesstech.
Klerksdorp Home Affairs’ response
“I don’t remember this incident but can acknowledge that such incidents are happening around Klerksdorp CBD even in front of the office.”
This was the response of Ellen Dontso, the acting director of Klerksdorp Home Affairs in the Kenneth Kaunda district when asked about the above incident.
She said the following measures are in place to ensure safety and effective service to security for clients:
- Members of SAPS and private security companies are patrolling around the offices;
- A waiting space inside the offices has been created for clients, who will only queue outside when all spaces are full;
- Services are being sped up by deploying managers to the front desk to assist the client as speedily as possible;
- Any client who requests to be escorted to the vehicle is done by the security;
- All elderly persons are given service preference and do not need to queue;
- Queue marshalling is conducted in and outside the office;
- When queues are long the office always opens early at 07h30 instead of 08h00 and closes “late” to deal with customers; and
- Officials are always committed to assisting all clients as fast as they can.
Donsto further says that the department’s newly introduced booking system allows clients to book specific appointment time slots before visiting the Home Affairs branch for service. She says the booking system will prevent any inefficiencies and inconvenience at branches, including long queues, as it affords an option not to queue at all.
High Demand For STEM Teachers In Education Sector
Career portal - 30 June 2022
Teachers play an important role in society as they help learners gain knowledge and skills that prepare them for life post-school or in their respective career paths.
More and more young people are choosing teaching as a career of choice.
According to the Education Department, the output has increased from 23 000 to 31 000 new education graduates coming out of universities between 2016 and 2020.
The Education Department has admitted that it has had challenges of whether the teachers that are currently employed are closing the gaps that exist in terms of meeting the needs of the education sector.
According to the Department of Education, there is high demand for Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects, indigenous languages, and foundation phase teachers.
Stellenbosch University associate professor Nic Spaull released a report that stated about 45% of all public school teachers will retire in the next 10 years.
In an interview , Education spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga clarified:
We lose about 11 000 to 12 000 teachers every year and this happens due to different reasons, one of them is retirement the other is the change in careers and you also have others who unfortunately pass away.
However, Mhlanga shared that the statistics that were projected in the academic report are not consistent with what is on their system.
The department has confirmed that it has budgetary constraints that make it difficult to absorb each and every education graduate.
“Fortunately, through the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative implemented in the Basic Education sector, we have recruited some qualified educators who, after participating in the program, get to be absorbed in schools,” said Mhlanga.
Unemployed education graduates have been advised to approach schools near them to establish if they are able to employ them using the School Governing-Body (SGB) appointments employment avenue.
Cut visa processing times, Home Affairs told, business complains of shortage of workers
Sydney Morning Herald – 30 June 2022
Federal officials have been told to act on an “extraordinary” backlog in visa applications for thousands of skilled workers at a time when employers claim they will have to shut down if they cannot find a solution to chronic labour shortages.
With experts warning of “gridlock” in the visa system, incoming federal ministers have put the backlog at the top of their agenda in a bid to speed up decisions when the number of skilled foreign workers in Australia has slumped to half the number seen a decade ago.
People are waiting months for their visa applications to be processed.
Official figures show the number of skilled foreign workers leaving Australia exceeded the number coming into the country in April, highlighting the pressure on the labour market when employers say they are waiting too long to have new visas approved.
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles has asked the Department of Home Affairs to act on the problem as a priority given the concerns put to him by the community before he was sworn into office last week.
But the scale of the backlog is difficult to measure because the previous government did not release figures on the number of applications for the 482 visa for skilled foreign workers or most other visa classes, although other measures have hinted at the growing wait for visa decisions.
“It’s just absolutely jammed and complaints are coming from every direction,” he said.
“Migration agents are tearing their hair out. Because of the way Home Affairs deals with issues, you can’t actually speak to a human being to find out what’s happening. Without more resources, it will remain gummed up.”
Rizvi said 8970 skilled foreign workers arrived in Australia in April but 9230 departed, resulting in a net outflow of 260 workers on the 482 visa category at a time when the country is meant to be opening up and filling labour shortages.
Australia had more than 195,000 skilled temporary visa holders in Australia in June 2014 but only 96,000 in March 2022, an outcome Rizvi blamed on changes under the former government that made visa applications more bureaucratic despite public claims about attracting people to Australia after the pandemic.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese acknowledged the problem in his public remarks in Jakarta on Monday when he said he believed Australia should be “more welcoming” to visa applicants from Indonesia and other countries.
But the problem is more widespread. Officials are yet to confirm the scale of the backlog and the incoming government is yet to determine whether the solution will require a change to the design of the system, the administration of the rules or the resourcing of the department.
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief Andrew McKellar said employers were reporting significant barriers to finding skilled workers including “excessive” costs for visas and “protracted” processing times.
“Greater resourcing is needed to reduce protracted visa processing wait times. The current delays just aren’t good enough when so many businesses are left without staff and therefore can’t afford to stay open,” he said.
“To make the skilled migration system more accessible and responsible, we need to open employer sponsored migration up to all skilled occupations.”
Australian Industry Group chief Innes Willox said employers could pay up to $25,000 for a 482 visa for a skilled worker, making it an expensive process when they could not find enough local workers. He said the previous 457 visa cost about $10,000.
“That might mean hiring fewer workers and missing out on contracts or losing opportunities to grow,” he said.
ACTU secretary Sally McManus said the priority should be to train local workers.
“Under the previous government the visa system prioritised the needs of employers above all else and facilitated the wide-spread exploitation and abuse of temporary migrant workers including systemic undercutting of minimum wages in many sectors,” she said.
“The visa system should prioritise permanent migration aimed at filling genuine skill gaps, paired with a renewed commitment to skills training and ensuring that where local workers can fill a job or be trained to do so, that is always the first option.”
Can an abandoned child get a birth certificate?
Groundup – 30 June 2022
"Home Affairs also says that you must be a South African citizen or permanent residence permit holder with a valid South African ID." Photo: Getty Images
The following question is a reader who wants to know if an abandoned child can get a birth certificate from Home Affairs.
The short answer
Yes, but you may need help to get Home Affairs to comply.
The whole question
My child's friend was abandoned by her mother - we do not know where she is. I am now looking after her, but she does not have any documents to apply for a birth certificate. She is 15 years old.
The long answer
All birth registration is regulated by the Births and Deaths Registration Act of 1992. Late birth registration is split into three categories:
1. After 30 days but before one year
2. After one year but before 15 years
3. After 15 years.
These are the documents that Home
Affairs says are needed to register a birth after 15 years:
Application for an ID (Form B1-9)
Completed Forms DHA-24, DHA-24/A x 2 and DHA-288 for the registration of birth
Supporting documentation and written reasons why the birth was not registered within 30 days of birth.
Home Affairs also says that you must be a South African citizen or permanent residence permit holder with a valid South African ID.
Under Level 3 lockdown regulations, which we are in again (June 2021), a person had to make an appointment with Home Affairs to apply for late birth registration, so this is probably the case now.
Even though Section 28 of our Constitution says that every child has the right to a name and nationality from birth, many undocumented children struggle to be issued a birth certificate by Home Affairs.
In 2018 Lawyers for Human Rights took Home Affairs to court to force them to issue a birth certificate to an abandoned child, which they had been refusing to do.
The Pretoria High Court ordered Home Affairs to issue a birth certificate to the child.
One of the problems with Home Affairs, though, is that officials are not always aware of court rulings and may not always comply with them. Because of Covid-19, Home Affairs has also got a significant backlog, and it may take even longer than usual.
If you have difficulties dealing with Home Affairs, the following organisations have had much experience with them and may be able to assist you: