Why your electricity bill is too high

Editor's note

Imagine you have a choice between occasional blackouts, or soaring electricity bills. Since the mid-2000s, state governments have opted to avoid messy, vote-losing blackouts, overbuilding our national electricity grid infrastructure by about $20 billion.

This cost has been passed on to households and businesses in New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania, according to a report from the Grattan Institute, inflating bills to the tune of $100 to $400 a year.

Madeleine De Gabriele

Deputy Editor: Energy + Environment

Top story

Politician’s energy priorities do not necessarily align with those of ordinary Australians. DAN HIMBRECHTS/AAP

You're paying too much for electricity, but here's what the states can do about it

Kate Griffiths, Grattan Institute

A new report has found that Tasmanians, Queenslanders and New South Welshmen are paying $100-$400 a year for unnecessary infrastructure.

Environment + Energy

Curious Kids: Is it true that male seahorses give birth?

Camilla Whittington, University of Sydney

The seahorse dads carry the babies in a pouch.
Not getting a social licence to operate can be a costly mistake, as coal seam gas firms have found

Hanabeth Luke, Southern Cross University

'Social licence to operate' is a term describing how much community support a project or company has. As the Northern Rivers CSG experience shows, failing to get it can have costly impacts for firms.
Native forest protections are deeply flawed, yet may be in place for another 20 years

David Lindenmayer, Australian National University

Agreements between the Commonwealth and state governments that protect native forests are based on hopelessly out-of-date information. It's a huge mistake to renew them without assessment.

Politics + Society

Sexual harassment is too much – and not enough – about sex

Karen O'Connell, University of Technology Sydney

#MeToo drew attention to sexual harassment in the workplace. But we are still overlooking other forms of discrimination and the insidious impact of sexual harassment on women's identities.
VIDEO: Michelle Grattan on musical chairs in the Senate

Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra; Deep Saini, University of Canberra

Michelle Grattan speaks with Deep Saini about the week in Australian politics.
Post-truth politics and why the antidote isn't simply 'fact-checking' and truth

John Keane, University of Sydney

The best defence against post-truth politics is not 'the truth'. Democracy should resist the political tyranny of claims to some immutable truth as a basis for governing the lives of others.
How lowering the voting age to 16 could save democracy

Bronwyn E Wood, Victoria University of Wellington; Nick Munn, University of Waikato

Lowering the voting age to 16 would bring the age of political responsibility more in line with the age of criminal responsibility and the age of informed consent for medical procedures.

Business + Economy

Is it a surprise women aren't keen on investing when the stock market language is so male oriented?

Jose Sanders, Radboud University; Henriëtte Prast, Tilburg University

The stock market is littered with metaphors made by and for men, so it's no wonder women don't feel as comfortable in investing.
Google and Facebook cosy up to media companies in response to the threat of regulation

Merja Myllylahti

It's surprising that news publishers seem to hand more power to Google because now more than ever there's an urgency to have clear barriers between news companies, social media platforms and search engines.
The way banks are organised makes it hard to hold directors and executives criminally responsible

Andrew Linden, RMIT University; Warren Staples, RMIT University

The way corporations are structured makes it hard to establish criminal culpability even if directors and executives control processes and are paid bonuses based on performance.

Health + Medicine

Your asthma puffer is probably contributing to climate change, but there's a better alternative

Brett Montgomery, University of Western Australia

As if having asthma wasn't bad enough news, your health condition is probably contributing to climate change.
Beauty is skin-deep: why our complexion is so important to us

Rodney Sinclair, University of Melbourne

Despite skin conditions such as acne having no negative health effects, they can take a huge toll on the confidence and mental health of the person.

Cities
The Commonwealth Games of exclusion: what are authorities so afraid of? Colin Tatz, Australian National University Preparations for next month’s Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast are pushing homeless people out of town, and out of the state. Sadly, that's not unusual for events of this sort.

Arts + Culture

Vikings exhibit hangs up the sword, and gives us a welcome insight into domestic life

Tom Clark, Victoria University

The Vikings have become synonymous with voyages and violence, but a new exhibition at the Melbourne Museum demonstrates their domestic and spiritual side.
My Favourite Album: Dead Letter Circus’s Aesthesis

Mandy Stefanakis, Deakin University

Brisbane alternative rock musicians Dead Letter Circus make affective and powerful music, epitomised by their album Aesthesis.

Science + Technology
Some 'bloody' rocket science gives Pacific Rim Uprising an extra lift Michael Milford, Queensland University of Technology; James Mount, Queensland University of Technology They're back! Pacific Rim Uprising sees more giant robots with humans inside, fighting giant monsters. But does the rocket science add up in this action-packed blockbuster sequel?

Education
Low attendance in Year 7 may mean you're less likely to finish school Nicholas Biddle, Australian National University This study confirms that a student’s background matters, and that targeting students early is vital.