http://peterlyndonjames.com.au/

Peter Lyndon-James - Page, Herne Hill (2026)

03/10/2026

SEMINARS ON ADDICTION — COMING TO YOUR TOWN IN 2027

In 2027 I’ll be running seminars across Australia and New Zealand on addiction, rehabilitation, reintegration, socialisation and incarceration, and I’m now starting to lock in towns and dates.

These seminars aren’t just for families affected by addiction.

They’re also for counsellors, psychologists, social workers, rehabilitation workers, support workers, pastors, chaplains, teachers, community organisations, frontline workers and anyone working with people caught in addiction.

For the past 16 years I’ve run Shalom House in Perth, working directly with men, women and families whose lives have been turned upside down by drugs and alcohol.

Over those years I’ve developed my A–E3 Methodology — a practical framework for identifying where someone is at in the addiction journey and understanding what response is appropriate at that particular stage.

Because you cannot deal with everyone caught in addiction the same way.

What may be appropriate for someone at one stage can be completely ineffective for someone at another. Families and professionals need to understand where the person is at before deciding what to do next.

The seminar runs in two parts of approximately 1½ hours each, with time for questions. I’ll unpack the A–E3 Methodology, how addiction progresses, helping versus enabling, boundaries and consequences, rehabilitation, prison, recovery and what we have learnt through years of working directly with addiction.

For families, I want to provide a practical map for what to do and what not to do.

For professionals, I want to explain the methodology, the thinking behind it and how it can help them better understand and work with people at different stages of addiction.

I don’t charge for my time.

Local organisers cover my travel, accommodation, meals and local transport, organise a suitable venue, promote the seminar locally and provide basic refreshments.

I’m allocating different months to different states and building each state run around the seminars that are booked.

If your town, church, workplace, counselling service, rehabilitation service or community organisation would like to host one, email:

[email protected]

Include your town, state, organisation and how you’d like to be involved. We can then discuss a date and get your town locked into the 2027 calendar.

While I’m in each area, I’m also happy to speak at schools, churches, workplaces, community organisations and other services.

Let’s get some dates locked in.

Stay safe and have a great weekend.

Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺

03/10/2026

DRIVEN BY PAIN — CHANGED BY GRACE

This is my story.

Not the polished version. Not the version where the difficult chapters are removed because they are uncomfortable.

Driven by Pain, Changed by Grace is the story of where I came from, the choices I made, the consequences I lived through and ultimately how my life changed.

For 26 years I lived in active addiction. Drugs, crime and prison became part of my life. I hurt people who loved me, destroyed relationships and repeatedly found myself back in places I swore I would never return to.

There were plenty of times when, looking at my life from the outside, there wasn’t much reason to believe anything would ever change.

But it did.

This book is about the pain that drove so much of my behaviour, but more importantly, it is about the grace that eventually changed the direction of my life.

I don’t share my past because I’m proud of it.

I share it because somebody sitting where I once sat needs to know that their past does not have to become their future.

Today my life looks nothing like the life represented by those old photographs on the cover.

That transformation didn’t happen overnight. There were consequences to face, relationships to rebuild, thinking that had to change and a completely different life that had to be learnt.

But change was possible.

No matter how far down the road you’ve travelled, your story doesn’t have to finish where you are today.

Driven by Pain, Changed by Grace
Peter Lyndon-James

peterlyndonjames.com.au

03/10/2026

A FAMILY GUIDE TO ADDICTION — THE MAP NOBODY GAVE YOU

When someone you love starts heading down the road of addiction, most families have absolutely no idea what to do.

So they do what comes naturally.

They rescue. They pay debts. They make excuses. They give another chance. They protect them from consequences. They threaten, plead, argue and eventually try almost anything because they desperately want the person they love back.

The problem is, what feels like helping isn’t always helping.

A Family Guide to Addiction: The Map Nobody Gave You is exactly that — a map for families.

It follows the journey from the early stages of addiction right through to the point where a person is deeply entrenched, explaining what families are dealing with and how their response needs to change along the way. My work with families centres on boundaries, tough love and understanding how to love someone without enabling their addiction.

This isn’t about telling families what they want to hear.

It’s about telling them what they may need to do.

Sometimes helping means stepping in. Sometimes it means stepping back. Sometimes love means saying yes, and sometimes the most loving thing you can do is finally say no.

Families shouldn’t have to navigate addiction blind.

You cannot make someone change. But you can stop allowing their addiction to dictate how the entire family lives.

That is why I wrote this book.

A Family Guide to Addiction: The Map Nobody Gave You
Peter Lyndon-James

peterlyndonjames.com.au

03/10/2026

3/8 — THE REGULATOR SOFTENED ITS OWN RULES, THEN ADDED $154 MILLION AFTER THE COMPANY PUSHED BACK.

The Australian Energy Regulator exists to stand between you and the companies that build the poles and wires. Here is what it did on Marinus Link, in its own words.

Marinus Link asked for $3,534 million.

The AER's draft cut that to $3,317 million. It cut the "risk allowance", the contingency pot, to $198.7 million, and said why: "lack of evidence and artefacts" and an estimate that was "upwardly biased".

The company pushed back.

Final decision, 9 February 2026: $3,470.6 million. Risk allowance $354.2 million. The AER's words: "we have significantly increased the risk allowance", with reference to "financeability".

That's $154 million added to the regulator's own draft, in the company's favour, on the same evidence it had called inadequate three months earlier. The final number landed $28 million under what the company asked for.

Now the overrun rules.

Under the AER's standard scheme, if a network overspends, the company wears 30 cents of every dollar and customers wear 70. For Marinus the AER kept that split only up to a 10% overrun. Beyond that, the company wears 10 cents and customers wear 90. The AER's own worked example: on a 20% overrun the penalty to the company falls from 6% to 4%. Again, "financeability".

Pass-through events were widened.

Insurance costs, insurer credit, natural disaster, terrorism: approved for pass-through to customers. The AER drew the line at biodiversity costs, contract variations, contractor insolvency and force majeure. Credit where due.

One more thing from the Senate.

The AER chair told estimates Marinus was the largest "contingent project application" since 2022, at $5.035 billion. The written answer tabled later lists eight contingent applications. Marinus isn't on it. A footnote explains Marinus "is not a contingent project" at all. It went through a different pathway, one designed for a company that isn't yet a network business.

The regulator's chair got the project's category wrong under questioning and fixed it in a footnote.

And the loan terms that decide the bill?

The AER's decision required Marinus to hand over the CEFC agreement within 40 business days. That deadline passed around October 2025. In May 2026 the AER told the Senate it couldn't say what households will pay until it knew the financing arrangement.

Nothing here is unlawful. The regulator has discretion. It used it.

Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation.

What's your thoughts…?

Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺

Sources:
AER Final Decision, Marinus Link stage 1, 9 Feb 2026 (capex, risk allowance, CESS, pass-throughs, cl.2.1.1); AER Supplementary Draft Decision, Nov 2025; Senate E&C estimates, 26 May 2026, Hansard p.113; Answer to QoN SQ26-000395.

03/10/2026

2/8 — TASMANIA WAS PROMISED 15%. IT'S PAYING 27.6% PLUS THE LOT.

October 2022. The Prime Minister and the Tasmanian Premier announce the deal on Marinus Link. Tasmania's share of the cost: 15%.

September 2023. The costs have blown out.

A new joint release from Bowen and Rockliff. One cable instead of two, "with negotiations to continue on a second". Commonwealth share up to 49%. Tasmania down to 17.7%, putting in $106 to $117 million. And one more line: "increasing concessionality of Commonwealth debt financing via the CEFC, subject to CEFC independent decision making." The cheaper loan was promised two years before the lender made its "independent" decision.

Here is where Tasmania sits now, according to its own Treasury's Whole-of-State Business Case. Tasmanian customers carry 27.6% of the cable. They also carry 100% of the North West Transmission Developments, the onshore lines that make the cable useful. The regulator has approved $921.3 million for those.

The 15% promise became 27.6% of one bill and all of another.

What did Treasury say about whether this is a good deal? No recommendation. No benefit-cost ratio. Household impact about $70 a year. And one sentence every Tasmanian should read: "any cost increases will be met by customers."

The Commonwealth underwriting, the safety net sold in 2022, was described by Treasury as "falling away once Notices-to-Proceed are made."

The notices have been made.

The cost: $1.3 to $1.7 billion in 2019. $5.5 billion for two cables by 2023. Drop a cable: $3.0 to $3.3 billion. Regulator's final: $3.47 billion plus $921 million onshore.

Before a metre is in the water.

The parliamentary committee put it politely. Finding 87: the cost allocation was "not clearly explained."

On 26 May 2026 Senator Henderson asked the regulator what Marinus will cost households from 2030. The AER chair: "I don't think I have that figure here, I'm sorry." Then: "There isn't a sharing arrangement between Victoria and Tasmania on Marinus Link. That's being done through their common ownership of the project." And: "Until we know what that concessional financing arrangement is, we don't know what the bill impact will be."

Tasmania's ownership tells the same story.

17.7% on paper. The company's evidence to the committee in February: it "stands at 14.5 per cent at this stage" and will dilute to "anywhere between 10 to 11 per cent after the equity calls." Less ownership, more cost.

No law was broken. A promise was.

Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation.

What's your thoughts…?

Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺

Sources:
Joint media releases, Oct 2022 and Sept 2023 (minister.dcceew.gov.au); Tasmanian Treasury, Marinus Link Whole-of-State Business Case; AER Final Decisions, Marinus Link stage 1 and NWTD stage 1; Tasmanian Joint Select Committee report, finding 87; Marinus Link evidence to JSC, 24 Feb 2026; Senate E&C estimates, 26 May 2026, Hansard p.113.

03/10/2026

1/8 — THE CEO TOLD THE SENATE THE RATE HADN'T BEEN RELEASED. IT WAS ON HIS OWN WEBSITE.

On 26 May 2026 the head of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation was asked at Senate estimates what interest rate the taxpayer is getting on the Marinus Link loan.

His answer: "We haven't publicly released."

Pushed for an example: "one or two per cent below market rates, for example. I'm just picking that as an example."

Here is the CEFC's own Quarterly Investment Report, on its compliance page, quarter ended 30 September 2025. Entry dated 27 August 2025:

"Debt finance toward funding the construction and operation costs of transmission infrastructure." $3,775.6 million. 44 years. Expected rate of return: 3.3%. Tasmania and Victoria.

Next line: "Additional conditional debt finance in respect of the above." $938 million. 44 years. 3.3%.

The entry doesn't say Marinus. The CEFC's annual report dates the Marinus commitment to 26 August 2025 at about $3.8 billion. Same week, same amount, same states. Public for months. The CEO said it wasn't.

The Australian Energy Regulator allows Marinus Link a return of 5.36% on that same asset. The Commonwealth lends at 3.3%. Two points, 44 years, $3.8 billion.

What's that worth? The CEFC's 2024-25 annual report says the Marinus commitment is "expected to result in a concessional loan charge of approximately $2.8 billion" and will turn its retained surplus into "an accumulated loss".

That's the subsidy. $2.8 billion, booked on day one, because the accounting rules make a lender write down a loan priced below market. The CEFC's own release says the discount delivers "$900 million in benefits" to consumers over five years. $900 million of benefit. $2.8 billion of cost. Both figures theirs.

It doesn't stop there. In May 2026 the CEFC lent another $1.2 billion to TasNetworks for the onshore lines that connect the cable. Its June quarter report prints that one too: $1,068 million. 47 years. 1.2%.

About $5 billion into one project at 3.3% and 1.2%, for most of a lifetime, plus $938 million on standby.

The contract rates sit in letters of intent between the federal energy minister and his state counterparts. The CEFC told the Senate those letters "prescribe interest rates". Nobody outside government has seen one.

The regulator told the same hearing it cannot say what households will pay "until we know what that concessional financing arrangement is."

The regulator sets your bill. The minister holds the document that changes it. The lender published the numbers and then said it hadn't.

Every bit of this is legal.

Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation.

What's your thoughts…?

Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺

Sources:
CEFC Quarterly Investment Reports, Sep 2025 and Jun 2026 quarters (cefc.com.au compliance page); CEFC Annual Report 2024-25, Note 1.5A; CEFC media releases 3 Sep 2025 and 8 May 2026; Senate Environment and Communications estimates, 26 May 2026, Hansard pp.113, 125-126; AER Final Decision, Marinus Link stage 1, 9 Feb 2026.

02/10/2026

A WELL DESERVED GIFT

Congratulations to Karl!!!

Today he has been blessed a new car and he is so deserving of this gift.

Karl is a Stage 3 resident in our men’s program and a new Property Leader in one of our men’s houses. This wonderful gift will open many doors for him as he continues on his journey at Shalom House.

He works at our Lexia property heading the cleaning crew and arrived this morning so excited that today he had reached his 12 month milestone in his program not knowing that he was going to be rewarded with his own car.

We are so thrilled for you Karl and wish you many kilometres if safe and happy travels making new and exciting memories. Well done!

Shalom House, “Leading the way in Australia Holistic Rehabilitation, Reintegration & Re-Socialisation”

01/10/2026

SEMINARS ON ADDICTION, COMING TO YOUR TOWN 2027

Over the coming months I'll be travelling around Australia running seminars for families affected by addiction, and I'd like to hear from people who would like to host one in their town.

For the past 16 years I've run Shalom House in Perth, working with men, women and families whose lives have been turned upside down by drugs and alcohol. Most families are doing everything they can to help someone they love, but a lot of what they're doing keeps the addiction going without them realising. Nobody has told them what actually works.

The seminar runs in two parts of about an hour and a half each, with time for questions after both. We cover how addiction works, what families should and shouldn't do, rehab, prison and recovery, setting boundaries and letting consequences do their job. I also take people through my A–E3 methodology, which we use at Shalom House every day.

I don't charge for my time. The local organisers would need to cover costs, transport, airfare, accommodation and meals, a venue, some advertising, and tea and coffee on the day.

That can easily be shared between a few people, a church, a local business or a service club.
While I'm in town I'm also happy to speak at schools, churches, community groups and other organisations.

If you'd like to bring a seminar to your town, drop me an email [email protected] with your town, State and your organisation if you have one, and how you'd like to help. We'll plan the trips around the towns that get in touch.

Stay safe and have a great weekend.
�Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺

01/10/2026

6/6 — THERE IS NO CORRUPTION IN GOVERNMENT. IT'S ALL LEGAL.

PART SIX: A ROYAL COMMISSION CALLED IT A CONFLICT OF INTEREST. THE MONEY KEPT FLOWING FOR A DECADE.

In 2015 a Royal Commission found that the CFMEU's NSW branch had written a clause into its standard enterprise agreements requiring employers to buy income protection insurance for workers from a scheme the union had an interest in, and that the broker paid the union for it.

The Commission's figures: over $230,000 a year from 2003 to 2009. Over $680,000 a year from 2010 to mid-2013. Then in 2013 the union and the broker, Coverforce, formed a joint company, U-Plus. Shares: 5,000 to the union, 5,001 to the broker.

Profits split half and half.

The finding, verbatim: the union "does not routinely, if at all, disclose that financial benefit to employees on whose behalf it acts in enterprise negotiations", and the clause "has created an environment in which there are inherent conflicts of interest between union officials and the workers they represent and a substantial systemic risk of breaches of fiduciary duty."

That was December 2015, in a published final report.

Here is what the AEC register shows happened next.

Coverforce entities are payers to unions on 228 lines from 2004-05 to 2024-25, totalling $18,098,692. To CFMEU entities: $11,468,621. In the years after the Royal Commission published that finding, CFMEU entities recorded a further $7.7 million from Coverforce, peaking at $1,727,970 in 2017-18. The AWU Victorian branch: $3.6 million. The AMWU: $1.3 million. The ETU NSW branch: $886,023, all in 2024-25.

Of the $18.1 million, $25,000 is classified as a donation. The other $18,073,692 is "Other Receipt". It appears in no donation total anyone has published.

Now the legal audit.

Was the clause legal? Yes. Agreements can require insurance, and the tribunal approved them.

Was the commission legal? Yes. A commercial arrangement between a broker and a union. The broker was accused of nothing.

Was not telling the workers legal? Yes. The Royal Commission called it a conflict of interest and a systemic risk of breaching fiduciary duty. It did not, and could not, call it a crime.

Did anything change? The Commission reported.

The money kept flowing, on the unions' own returns, lodged with the AEC, for most of another decade, until the construction division went into administration in August 2024.

The workers the insurance was bought for were not told. That is the finding, and it is lawful.

Same standard: the CFMEU is not alone on this list. The AWU, AMWU, ETU and Mining and Energy Union are on the same register, under the same law. And the Queensland inquiry has the same model in evidence with a different broker.

Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation.

What's your thoughts…?

Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺

Sources:
Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption, Final Report, Dec 2015, ch 7.6 (CFMEU NSW / Coverforce / U-Plus); AEC Transparency Register, Detailed Receipts 1998-99 to 2024-25, payer name contains "Coverforce", 228 lines, run 28 Sep 2026.

01/10/2026

SCHOOL HOLIDAYS HAVE BEGUN

The rain hasn’t stopped the kids from making the most of the first few days of their school holidays!

We’ve ventured out to a beautiful park, made the most of the fresh air and then headed to the new Gravity Adventure Centre in Midland, where the kids had an absolute blast! So many laughs, smiles and plenty of energy burned off.

It’s the simple moments like these that remind us just how lucky we are to be able to do life and do it sober, present and alongside our children. Creating memories, having fun, being silly and giving our kids the childhood experiences we once may have missed.

These are the moments that make it all worth it. Here’s to many more school holiday adventures, whatever the weather!

Shalom House, “Leading the way in Australia Holistic Rehabilitation, Reintegration & Re-Socialisation”

Peter Lyndon-James - Page

03/10/2026

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