Peter Garrett to scrap means test for solar panel rebate

MORE households will qualify for up to $7,500 to install solar panels under changes to a federal government rebate.

The government yesterday announced it would scrap an unpopular means test, which restricted the rebate to households earning less than $100,000.

The means-tested rebate was worth up to $8,000.

Under the new system, to come into force in July next year, the rebate will be smaller but everyone - households, businesses and community groups - can access it, regardless of income.

The maximum rebate, for an average-sized 1.5 kilowatt system, will be about $7,500.

A smaller-sized 1.0 kilowatt system will attract a rebate of about $5,000.

The value of the rebate will fluctuate and it will decline from 2012.

The government came under attack from environmentalists, some solar industry chiefs and the federal opposition for introducing the means test in this year's budget.

It was seen as discouraging some people from going green, and a step backwards for the solar industry which had been championed by the Howard Government..

Environment Minister Peter Garrett, in announcing the changes, said people loved solar power.

"Australians want to do their bit to take action on climate change," he said.

"This (new system) will provide more Australian households with the opportunity to go solar, and the industry with a strong footing for long-term growth."

The current system will stay in place until July, when the new system will take over.

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After eight years in exile, Pixie Skase returns from Spain

PIXIE Skase is heading home to Melbourne for good, 17 years after fleeing to Spain with her fugitive husband.

Mrs Skase, 67, says the time is right to settle back in Toorak, Melbourne, after years of luxurious exile.

"I am so excited to come back home," she said during a Christmas visit to catch up with family ahead of a permament move in February.

"I walk in Toorak Village and I see old friends and I have to think hard who they are," she said.

"And strangers come up to me in the street and say, 'You don't know me Pixie, but I'm glad you're back. How long are you staying, are you staying for good?'

"People are so kind. I'm getting flowers from friends and strangers, welcoming me back.

"I'm overcome with the generosity of spirit from everyone, many complete strangers.

"I'm happy, so extraordinarly happy to able to have daily contact with my three daughters - Amanda, Kate and Felicity. We're all so happy to be together again.

"The last time we spent Christmas together was in Spain eight years ago before my husband Christopher died.

"We can't wait for the clock to tick over when we'll all be together again."

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Mrs Skase fled the city where she was born in 1991 with her husband, who had personal debts of $170million and corporate debts of $1.7billion.

She stayed on in Spain after he died in 2001.

The Australian Government spent years and almost $3million pursuing Christopher Skase before being advised in 2003 that the family fortune was all but gone.

But speculation over Skase's real wealth continues to this day.

Skase's taste for comfort and style was surpassed only by Pixie's at their $3million villa, La Noria, on the Mediterranean island of Majorca.

Mrs Skase won her passport back in 2004 after disowning her Australian heritage to become a citizen of Dominica in the West Indies to avoid extradition while her husband was alive.

After flitting between Majorca and a Mt Macedon hideaway for a few years, she now longs for the "beautiful, leafy and familiar streets" of Melbourne.

"I've wanted to come back for many years, but I was responsible for six large dogs that I loved, and it wasn't viable to bring them to Australia," she said. "Now, only a lovely white husky remains, so we'll head back together.

"The final project is to find a small home or apartment with courtyard for the dog.

"Arrangements in Spain are almost complete and I expect to be here, at home, in February."

Mrs Skase has a fourth daughter, Alex, who is visiting from England for the family Christmas.

Mrs Skase said she would miss Spain.

"I have lived there for a longer period consecutively than I have lived anywhere," she said.

"I have loved the feeling of living in the midst of the pages of history, the wonderful courtesy and loyalty of the people and so much more.

"However, Australia is my home."

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Rents go through the roof

RENTERS won¿t be surprised by new figures that confirm Sydney is the most expensive place to rent in Australia.

The Rocks topped the list as the most expensive suburb to rent an apartment, with the average shoebox there setting you back $1100 each week, said RPData.

MX reports that the same money could almost rent two apartments in Docklands, Melbourne’s most expensive suburb at $600 a week.

Brisbane and Perth lagged well behind, with the highest average rents for apartments at $500 and $450 respectively.

Canberra’s most expensive suburb, Forrest ($750), would not have made Sydney’s top five.

Point Piper ($950), Millers Point ($850), Warrawee ($795) and Cabarita ($770) all had higher average rental prices.

September quarter figures revealed rents for Sydney apartments rose on average by $113 a week over the past three years.

Not surprisingly, suburbs from the North Shore and eastern suburbs dominated the list when it came to renting a house.

Clontarf on the northern beaches was named the most expensive suburb to rent a house with a medium rent of $1600 per week.

At the other end of the price spectrum, Carramar has the cheapest rent with an average weekly rental of $200.

Bradbury in Campbelltown was cheapest for apartments at a mere $195 a week.

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Federal Government to halve number of homeless people

THE Federal Government will spend $1.2 billion over four years to halve the number of homeless people in Australia.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will today launch a white paper on homelessness - The Road To Home - outlining measures to help the 16,000 Australians who sleep on the streets each night.

By 2020, the Government is promising to build 50,000 affordable rental homes for low- and moderate-income earners, 2700 homes for people who are at risk of homelessness, and about 9000 homes in indigenous communities.

Helping the homeless has been flagged by Mr Rudd as a key priority - it was one of the Prime Minister's three new year's resolutions last year.

The $1.2 billion in funding over the next four years represents a 55 per cent increase in current government investment in homelessness.

The white paper will identify interim targets by 2013.

Mr Rudd said in a country as prosperous as Australia, no one should be homeless.

"Domestic violence, a shortage of affordable housing, unemployment, mental illness, family breakdown and drug and alcohol abuse all contribute to the level of homelessness in Australia," he said.

"The white paper sets an ambitious target to halve homelessness by 2020 and offer supported accommodation to all rough sleepers who need it."

Data shows there are 2250 Australian families at risk of becoming homeless, the effect of years of escalating interest rates and the rising cost of living.

The federal Government will initially focus its resources on these families by providing them with early intervention services.

Under the Government's strategy, about 9000 12- to 18-year-olds, who have been alienated from their families, will be given access to education, training and employment.

Mr Rudd will hold the states to account by monitoring improvements in homelessness level against high-level performance indicators.

The federal Government will also turn its attention to state and territory tenancy laws by encouraging the introduction of compulsory Centrelink rent payments for tenants in public housing to remove the threat of eviction from not paying the rent.

Centrelink will introduce a "flag" system to identify and provide assistance to people at risk of homelessness.

The Government will also regulate tenancy databases by June, 2010 to ensure people are not being excluded and review the impact of state tenancy laws on the homelessness rate.

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Rights hit landlords

LANDLORDS may no longer be able to evict their tenants without good reason under possible Rudd Government laws designed to address homelessness.

The Government is also considering funding security items including deadlocks and house alarms, to better protect women and children from abusive husbands and fathers.

The Government's white paper on homelessness, The Road Home, pledged $1.2billion from state, territory and federal governments over four years to build new housing and increase prevention services. Launching the report yesterday, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said it was time for a ``decent solution'' to homelessness.

``There are currently 105,000 homeless people in Australia, of whom around 16,000 sleep rough,'' Mr Rudd said. ``As a nation we can do a lot better.''

Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull, who pledged to work with the Government to tackle the problem, said yesterday keeping Australians in work was the best defence to homelessness.

One way the Government will address homelessness is by reviewing the impact of some state and territory laws that allow landlords to terminate tenancy agreements ``without grounds''.

``As a result, a tenant may be legally given notice and forced to leave their rented home through no fault of their own,'' the report says. ``In such a circumstance, people become homeless if they are unable to find other housing that is suitable or affordable.''

To prevent them from being forced on to the street, women and children domestic violence victims will receive more support to remain safely at home.

The report said funds could be set aside ``to stabilise housing or increase home security for women and children, for example by installing deadlocks, screen doors, security lighting and home alarms, or by providing short-term rental subsidies or mortgage top-ups''.

The Government, through Centrelink, will also make weekly payments available to those who have trouble budgeting their fortnightly income support payments. This includes homeless people.

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