To mitigate the announcement that the Victorian Energy Efficient Target will be scrapped, the Victorian government assured the affected parties that there will be another substantive energy efficient scheme that will replace it.
The legislation to scrap the VEET is scheduled for voting on the lower house very soon. An update on the commitment of the Victorian Government for new measures was followed up recently by Climate Spectator, a website committed to the business of climate change.
Through a spokesperson, the Victorian government issued the following statements:
“For the first time in Victoria the Victorian Government will pilot a government-approved 10 star scorecard to inform Victorians of the current energy efficiency status of their homes and empower them to improve their energy performance with incremental measures.”
“The star scorecard will deliver a valid 10 star energy rating which estimates the average cost of energy for key features of a house, including a rating of performance in hot weather. The star scorecard will include suggestions for a range of improvements that householders can undertake to increase their home’s star energy rating.”
The spokesperson stated that this new energy efficient scheme is superior to VEET because it is entirely voluntary on the part of all concerned. He also said that landlords and householders will try to get these ratings so that they can increase the rental or sales price when it is time to sell their properties.
But some are wary of this government’s move. Rightly so because of what happened in 2004. Examining the events that happened at that time will help the public understand whether this voluntary labelling scheme will deliver the Coalition’s election commitment.
What happened in 2004 is that the real estate agents killed the scheme. The real estate lobby thought (at that time) that this voluntary scheme would be a major obstacle and deterrent to people wanting to sell or rent their homes.
Although it may seem to be complete lunacy on the part of the real estate agents, the public is warned of the stupidity of the real estate industry lobby in trying to justify its membership fees, or an ideology driven leadership.
Some say that there are more subtle underlying reasons for this kind of resistance shown by real estate agents. These reasons may include landlords who might receive ridiculous 1-star rating for their properties might pull out their property off the market to address its problems, thus depressing the real estate market.
Multiplied many times over, it is easy to see how the real estate industry will be adversely affected. But though it may have slowed the market a little bit at that time, the overall result was positive.
Some observers say energy rating labels will work, not so much because consumers will seek excellence, but because suppliers will try to get away from mediocrity.
But since the energy ratings will be voluntary, consumers will only learn about a very small percentage of properties that will perform real well.
