Cr Stuart James

Recently I reflected on my time as Mayor when COVID hit, and the crazy world we were all living in. Huge thanks to @Raf_Epstein for the way he presents these; still brings a tear to my eye listening to it.   abc.net.au/listen/program…

Train arrives at Caulfield Platform 4. Alight and wait 2 minutes for a Cranbourne service. Well mapped out, although this is the last shuttle so may as well have run it to Dandenong.

The trip home is better planed. Shuttles Richmond to Caulfield.

First real test of catching a train to footy with MM1. 10 min wait at Oakleigh. Arrive at Caulfield. Have to swap from Platform 3 to 1. Should run city bound Frankston trains on P2 given it’s off peak. Swap to Platform 1 and there’s a 12 min wait Not a good start @metrotrains

“This train isn’t moving until you get off. You know what you’ve gone. Black shirt, Nike cap, off you get, go on” Brilliant. Train packing up. Love our train drivers. (Tried to break in to drivers cabin at rear of train).

@WAppleyard You seem to be consistent in taking things out of context. I again encourage you to reread my text, particularly the second sentence which qualifies the first.

@CrStuartJames What do you mean 'I can't disagree with you'? What an extraordinary statement from an elected official. Hate to have to deal with you in a council meeting. Commiserations to those that do.

Gov spokesperson: “Victoria’s 79 councils generated collective operating surplus of $1.75 billion last year” This is a distortion of the truth. When you remove financial assistance grants (Fed+State) most Councils are posting deficits Grants often paid before expended #SpringSt

You can’t disagree with me. My tweet isn’t an opinion, it’s a statement of fact. The true financial position of Councils doesn’t include Federal and State *discretionary* grants which are paid before they are expended. They are not revenue streams, they are tied to whatever project the State tells Council it will fund, often projects that aren’t even in Council’s forward planning. It’s like saying I know you wanted to buy a house in Melbourne, but I’ll give you $1M towards a $5M house in China, but you can’t buy the house for another 5 years. Oh, and look, you made $1M this year so you’re a high income earner and we’re going to tax you in the highest tax bracket.

@CrStuartJames Why do people always say that when you disagree with them. It's not a distortion

@WAppleyard @peter_tulip This is rubbish. There are more than 120,000 applications that Councils have approved across the state where construction hasn’t started. You can approve 5 million applications, but if no-one build anything, what’s the point?

@peter_tulip Council planning rules are the biggest obstruction to housing development. This policy sends a message that they are prepared to change the whole of Melbourne to protect the interests of a number of councils who are causing obstruction

The Victorian Liberal party proposes high density in an expanded Capital City Zone. (Good). But abandoning Labor's Activity Zones. (Bad). Overall, less housing and higher prices than the government's plan. theguardian.com/australia-news… 1/2

@WAppleyard I encourage you to read my tweet again.

@CrStuartJames It's actually a true statement and it comes from the Victorian Auditor General's office. I checked

@mentallyworld @hamhammer27 A common misunderstanding 👍

@CrStuartJames @hamhammer27 I've been misinformed, thanks

it turns out when you introduce compulsory austerity for a decade and below CPI rate caps on local government you will eventually send councils bankrupt

@mentallyworld @hamhammer27 Yeah, nah. That’s not how the rating system works. Rates = Total budget divided by tot properties times land value. Annual budget is rate capped. More properties means the total revenue pool is averaged across more properties, thus rates go down. localgovernment.vic.gov.au/council-innova…

@hamhammer27 Perhaps they shouldn’t be such NIMBYs. More residents = more rates.

@AlMacca84 693

@CrStuartJames Which bus route ?

I just boarded a Bus and within a few stops was checked for my Myki card by PTV staff. Let there be more of that. Data gathered from Myki’s help justify increased services, which is better for everyone. Touch on. Always.

@CrStuartJames I agree with that at least, it's important enough to do, but is it the highest priority transport project in Melbourne, well not really. Even bus/tram projects would be worthy to look into before an Airport rail link.

Two years later and not much has changed 👇👇👇

South Australia Q4 2025: 84% of electricity from solar + wind, wholesale prices down 30% YoY, prices negative 48% of the time, and a record 157% of demand met by renewables in one interval. High renewables. Lower prices. System stability. Cost curves win. ⚡ #Bettrification #LFP This isn’t a microgrid experiment. It’s a modern state economy running on variable renewables backed by batteries, interconnectors and smart grid management. Hospitals, industry and households are all operating inside this system — not outside it. Seven grid-scale mega-batteries are now operating, displacing expensive gas peakers and smoothing volatility. Two more large wind farms are locked in to push toward 100% net renewables by end-2026. Negative pricing 48% of the time doesn’t signal failure — it signals abundance. When supply exceeds demand, prices collapse. That’s what cheap marginal energy looks like in a high-renewables system. For years the claim was: “More renewables = higher prices.” South Australia just ran the live test. The opposite happened. This is flexibility economics replacing baseload economics. Storage, demand response and transmission now matter more than fuel stockpiles. If 84% solar + wind can coincide with a 30% price drop in a year, the idea that renewables are inherently inflationary is structurally broken. Cost curves win. Every time.

@mcdonellaussie It’s AI generated. You’ve missed the point entirely 🤦‍♂️

@CrStuartJames Sign does look non compliant but could just be the angle of a 2D picture. Appears to be pointed at right angle towards the house. Not sure why you would not park legally just past the post as arrow point in one direction. That area is vacant!

PSA: Putting your hazard lights on doesn’t make it legal to park illegally. Red signs generally exist for safety reasons. Don’t break the law and put others at risk.

"The bike lane is empty."

This is quite the post from 9News. They’re normally criticising the Government for a lack of infrastructure investment. Proper planning is building infrastructure first, then inviting people to move there. Just like all those railway stations opened in the 1800’s, like Oakleigh!