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“I told him not to open it": Flight attendant forced to hold plane door shut

A flight attendant was forced to hold an emergency exit door shut after an allegedly drunk passenger tried to open it shortly after takeoff. Footage shows a female flight attendant with one hand on the plane’s roof and another holding the lever of the emergency exit, after a man allegedly tried to pull it open during their flight from Qingdao, China on Saturday, according to the New York Post. “I told him not to open it,” the flight attendant said to another colleague in Chinese, according to JAM Press. Her colleague then asks the passenger: “Sir, did you open this?” The male passenger looked confused as he started gesturing at the lever. “Why did you open it? Didn’t you know it is prohibited to open this kind of thing?” the flight attendant asked again. But the passenger ignored him and looked down at his phone, as the male flight attendant continued to question him. The passenger eventually admitted that he had been drinking before he tried to grab the lever, and the man eventually had to change seats with another passenger sitting in the same row. He was allowed to remain on the flight, which managed to land safely at Harbin, China without incident. Images: New York Post

Travel Trouble

Climate change is forcing Australians to weigh up relocating. How do they make that difficult decision?

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/justine-dandy-121273">Justine Dandy</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/edith-cowan-university-720">Edith Cowan University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/zoe-leviston-823">Zoe Leviston</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-national-university-877">Australian National University</a> <a href="https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/climate-whiplash-wild-swings-between-weather-extremes/">Big environmental changes</a> mean ever more Australians will confront the tough choice of whether to move home or risk staying put. Communities in the tropical north are <a href="https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/climate-change/three-aussie-towns-set-to-become-unliveable-due-to-extreme-heat/news-story/a96b36d1be5054d9fe3282ebf18c3431">losing residents</a> as these regions <a href="https://theconversation.com/study-finds-2-billion-people-will-struggle-to-survive-in-a-warming-world-and-these-parts-of-australia-are-most-vulnerable-205927">become hotter and more humid</a>. <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/weather-is-growing-more-extreme-the-pressure-is-on-the-bureau-of-meteorology-to-keep-up-20240111-p5ewms.html">Repeated floods</a> have communities along the east coast questioning their future. Others face <a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-climate-change-is-bringing-bushfires-more-often-but-some-ecosystems-in-australia-are-suffering-the-most-211683">rising bushfire risks</a> that force them to weigh up the <a href="http://www.ohscareer.com.au/archived-news/bushfire-risk-for-those-who-move">difficult decision</a> to move home. However, the decision-making process and relocation opportunities are not the same for everyone. Factors such as socio-economic disadvantage and how we are attached to a place influence decisions to move or stay, where people go and how they experience their new location. Our research, working with other researchers at Edith Cowan University’s <a href="https://www.ecu.edu.au/schools/science/research/strategic-centres/centre-for-people-place-and-planet/overview">Centre for People, Place & Planet</a> and Curtin University, seeks to document when and why people stay or go, and what this means for places and communities. In particular, our research suggests who is more likely to go may leave those who remain even more vulnerable. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oCeYJPwUaTg?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption>Darwin is already losing residents because of rising heat and humidity.</figcaption></figure> <h2>We’ve been slow to adapt to increasing impacts</h2> Climate change is global in scale and <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/">has compounding effects</a>. It is increasing the frequency and intensity of disasters and extreme weather events such as heatwaves, fires, storms and floods. It is also accelerating environmental changes such as soil erosion, salinisation of waterways, loss of biodiversity, and land and water degradation. Both sudden disruptions and gradual pervasive decline <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10113-019-01463-1">have impacts</a> on the places where we live, work and play. So far, there has been <a href="https://thefifthestate.com.au/urbanism/climate-change-news/ahuri-rips-into-federal-government-inaction-on-helping-cities-adapt-to-climate-change/">little effective government action</a> to improve <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/411">climate change adaptation in Australia</a>. As we have seen in recent times in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/apr/09/land-swaps-relocations-or-rebuilds-lismore-community-grapples-with-its-future">Lismore</a>, New South Wales, and <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-17/mooroopna-shepparton-flood-residents-consider-staying-or-leaving/103324882">northern Victoria</a>, for example, living in some flood-prone locations will become <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-23/flood-insurance-costing-30000-dollars-where-not-to-build/13268966">unaffordable due to insurance costs</a> or simply uninsurable. In other locations, different reasons will force residents to leave. It might be because environmental change threatens their livelihoods, or they can’t tolerate new conditions such as more long heatwaves or less reliable freshwater supplies. Others might not be able to endure the threat of another disaster. In sum, living in the place they called home will not be sustainable. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eqafq5UV5Iw?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption>Repeated floods are forcing people in towns like Rochester in Victoria to contemplate whether they can afford to stay.</figcaption></figure> <h2>What factors affect the decision to stay or go?</h2> Not everyone can relocate to cooler or safer places. Systemic inequalities mean some people are more at risk from environmental change and have <a href="https://wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/wcc.565">less capacity</a> to respond than others. These vulnerable people include children (both <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2024-01-25/climate-change-threatens-health-of-babies-in-utero/103362510">before and after birth</a>), women, older people, people on low incomes and/or with disability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other cultural and/or linguistic minorities. In addition, housing is more affordable in areas that are hotter or flood-prone. This makes it more likely to be owned or rented by people with fewer financial resources, compounding their disadvantage. For First Nations peoples and communities, connections to and responsibilities for places (Country) are intimately intertwined with identity. For them, the <a href="https://www.cell.com/one-earth/pdf/S2590-3322(20)30250-5.pdf">impacts of climate change</a>, colonisation and resettlement interact, further complicating the question of relocation. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10113-019-01463-1">Place attachment</a> – the emotional bond between people and their environment – might suppress the urge to move. But environmental change might fundamentally alter the characteristics that make a place unique. What we once loved and enjoyed <a href="https://wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/wcc.476">has then disappeared</a>. This sort of change <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277953612003255">impacts human health</a> and results in feelings of <a href="https://www.cell.com/one-earth/pdf/S2590-3322(20)30250-5.pdf">loss and grief</a>. It can prompt people to decide to leave. <h2>So who stays and who leaves?</h2> In our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666623523000028#sec0014">research</a>, we found that when residents imagined the loss of what they valued about Perth’s environment this significantly increased their intentions to move away and significantly decreased place attachment. They nominated bushland, beaches, fauna and flora, and the climate/weather as characteristics they valued and feared changing or losing as climate change progressed. One study participant wrote: "It would be hotter and much more unpleasant in summer. I would miss the trees, plants and birds. I would hate living in a concrete jungle without the green spaces we have here. I would miss being able to cycle or walk to the local lakes to connect to nature and feel peaceful." But social factors matter too. We found people who valued characteristics of Perth such as social relationships and lifestyle were more likely to stay as they tended to have less reduction in their place attachment. We also found place attachment was associated with people acting to protect that place, such as protesting environmentally destructive policies. Yet people who were more likely to take such actions were also <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10113-019-01463-1">more likely to leave</a>. This could make the remaining community more vulnerable to further unwanted change. That’s because those who can afford to relocate are usually the ones with the resources – psychological, social, political and financial – to take action to protect their homes, neighbourhoods and cities. <h2>Proper planning for adaptation is long overdue</h2> Climate change impacts everyone. It causes significant economic and non-economic losses for both individuals and communities. Many locations are becoming unliveable. A changing climate and <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-21/dark-roofs-raising-the-heat-in-australian-new-suburbs/102990304">inappropriately built or located housing</a> interact to create conditions where some people can or should no longer stay. Some will be prompted or forced to move, but not everyone has that capacity. Furthermore, relocation pressures have environmental, infrastructure and social <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/">consequences for the places to which they move</a>. The housing crisis in Australia adds to resource constraints and their impacts for individuals and communities. Relocating can also disrupt psychological, emotional, social and cultural connections that are crucial for people’s wellbeing. We need co-ordinated, well-governed, long-term planning for people to move in the face of environmental change to ensure equitable and positive transitions for individuals and communities. <hr /> The authors wish to acknowledge the following contributors to this research: Professor Pierre Horwitz and Dr Naomi Godden (Centre for People, Place & Planet, ECU), Dr Deirdre Drake (School of Arts and Humanities, ECU) and Dr Francesca Perugia (School of Design and the Built Environment, Curtin University).<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221971/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/justine-dandy-121273">Justine Dandy</a>, Associate Professor, Centre for People, Place & Planet, and School of Arts and Humanities, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/edith-cowan-university-720">Edith Cowan University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/zoe-leviston-823">Zoe Leviston</a>, Research Fellow, College of Health and Medicine, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-national-university-877">Australian National University</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-forcing-australians-to-weigh-up-relocating-how-do-they-make-that-difficult-decision-221971">original article</a>.

Domestic Travel

Tenants forced to pay landlord after fleeing their “uninhabitable” rental

A family has been ordered to pay their former landlords $3,000 after they “abandoned” they “uninhabitable” rental property. Bechara Rizk and Ariye Atayi Juma claimed that the Sydney home was unlivable, given the unrelenting infestation of cockroaches and other bugs. When the couple moved into the home with their young daughter on April 29th 2023, they immediately noticed “tiny insects and small cockroaches” in the linen cupboard, living area, master bedroom, second bedroom and main bathroom. They said the house was completely inundated with insects, as they found them on the walls, doors, skirting boards, carpets and in the toilets. Rizk emailed the real estate agency saying he did not consider the property habitable — especially for his young daughter. “(We) went to the property an hour ago for the first time since we received the keys yesterday and there were tiny insects and cockroaches alive and dead in every room,” the email said. “I have taken some videos if you need to see evidence but, most importantly, we are not comfortable bringing a small baby who is crawling to live in this apartment.” “I am writing to formally pull out of the lease and wanting to understand what the repercussions are for us.” The real estate offered to arrange a pest control service, to which the couple turned down as they believed the problem was too far gone to be fixed easily. After returning the keys on May 1st, Rizk sent an email the next day requesting their bond and deposit be returned. A pest controller treated the home on May 3rd, recording that a “small amount of (insect) activity” had been located and treated. In a letter to Rizk and Juma the next day, the real estate agency said the pest controller had found “no evidence of a pest infestation in the property” and the couple’s claim the property was uninhabitable was without merit. Rizk replied, “We have pulled out of our lease not due to a change of mind, it is uninhabitable and simply not what we signed up for. “We cannot live in an insect-infested apartment with a young baby.” “As any parent should understand, our child is our first priority and at the very least it would be irresponsible and the most could potentially put her in harm.” The matter between the family and the landlord ended up in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, with the couple seeking repayment of their bond while the landlords asked for compensation for the couple’s “abandonment” of the lease. Tribunal member Ross Glover found that the couple did in fact abandon the property, and were ordered to pay their former landlord $3,000 in compensation. The amount was deducted from the couple's bond which left no remaining balance to be refunded to them. Image credits: Shutterstock

Money & Banking

"Tone deaf": Jetstar forced to apologise over "racist" joke

Jetstar has been forced to apologise after posting a "racist joke" on their Facebook page, in which they poke fun at the Vietnamese currency. The Aussie airline mocked the currency of the Southeast Asian country in a post, saying, "Sorry but Vietnamese money being called Dong is objectively funny." "And a million Dong is $65 and I basically have $65 which means I'm a millionaire," it wrote. The post was flooded with comments from many of their 782,000 followers, resulting in the post being deleted. One person wrote, "No more Vietnamese will fly with Jetstar. Racial hatred." "I'll never choose Jetstar until they issue an official apology to the Vietnamese people," another declared. A third comment read, "A tone deaf joke. Just a reminder — racial hatred is illegal in Australia. Just because you delete the post doesn't mean it's OK." One commenter slammed the joke for being "unprofessional, disrespectful, and unacceptable". "Ensure understanding of cultural respect and sensitivity before making culturally disrespectful joke on such a formal airline page." Jetstar responded to some of the comments made about the post, with one response saying, "You are totally right, and that's why we've deleted the post. We're really sorry for any offence caused." Another apology added, "We agree the post was inappropriate and as a result it was removed earlier today." One flyer shared a personal apology message she received after contacting the airline through its official Facebook page to complain about the post. "We agree the post was inappropriate and as a result it has been removed. We're really sorry for any offence caused," the Jetstar spokesperson wrote." 'Please be assured that this incident was in no way related to Vietnamese nationality or race." "You have my absolute assurance that Jetstar will not tolerate discrimination on ethnicity, race or any other unlawful grounds." Image credits: Getty Images

Travel Trouble

Women forced to do shocking act for $100 rent reduction

Two women in Queensland have claimed that they were forced to use a makeshift "temporary shower" outdoors, while renovations are being carried out in the property's only bathroom. The pair, who were expecting a porta-loo style shower to use during the four-to-six weeks renovation, were horrified when they found out the makeshift shower was just a blue tarpaulin attached to the side of the house. Electrical cords and plumbing pipes can be spotted hanging down in front of the open cubicle, and has no curtain for privacy or a lock, raising questions for their privacy and safety. To make matters worse, the women revealed on Facebook that they initially tried negotiating for a rental discount of $200 per week during the renovations, but their landlord said "no way" offering only a $50 discount, "then $100 as final offer". Dr Chris Martin, Senior Research Fellow in the University of NSW's City Futures Research Centre, slammed the landlord for "a bunch of possible breaches". "There is a big question about whether the temporary arrangement meets the minimum standards that apply to rented premises in Queensland under the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act," he told Yahoo News. "Those minimum standards include that the bathroom and toilet facilities must provide privacy and that a premise must be weatherproof and structurally sound, and there's a standard about security," he added. He also claimed that "there's a bunch of possible breaches of the minimum standards of this temporary arrangement," as intruders could also potentially get in. The Senior Research Fellow also slammed the $100-a-week reduction in rent, calling it "grossly insufficient". "What a professional landlord who takes a bit of pride in themselves as a reputable housing provider would have done, is hire one of those portable bathrooms that come on a little trailer with a little heater and hook it up, and also do a rent reduction for the hassle of having to trot out to the trailer to shower," he said. "That would be the appropriate response." He encouraged the tenants to speak to Tenants Queensland or a local tenants advice service about what to do, adding that they could say that the current temporary arrangements could be deemed "unlivable or uninhabitable". "I suggest they should also be telling the landlord that this arrangement may place the landlord in a further breach of the agreement and for the liability for an even bigger rent reduction and the prospect of compensation if they don't do this better," Dr Martin told the publication. Images: Facebook

Money & Banking

Manu Feildel forced to pull out of major event after health emergency

Manu Feildel has explained a recent health scare, after he was forced to pull out of appearing at a major event. The celebrity chef and My Kitchen Rules judge was set to make a guest appearance at Sydney’s Tour de Cure Spring Lunch at Doltone House on Friday, but was hospitalised before he was expected to arrive. Feildel took to Instagram to explain his mysterious absence from the event, which was a charity luncheon to raise money for cancer research. “I wish I could be there celebrating with you, but unfortunately I have to go for surgery tomorrow,” he said in a video message. Whilst the cook did not say what his condition was, he later posted a video showing his leg in a heavy brace. Manu’s knee looked especially red and swollen, with dressing across the kneecap. “I’ve had some surgery done and I can’t cook for myself as I usually do,” he said in the clip. Fans flocked to the comments section to wish Manu well. “Look after your leg mon ami!” wrote fellow chef Luca Ciano. “Hope you’re ok.” “Manu, oh no. What happened?” wondered another follower, while one person quipped, “Too much sauce, and u slipped on it?” Another concerned fan asked: “What have you done to yourself now? Wishing you a speedy recovery,” while others posted a simple, “Get well soon.” Image credits: Instagram

Caring

Couple misses their own wedding after cruise ship forced to turn back

A couple has missed their own dream destination wedding after their cruise ship was denied entry into New Zealand. Janine Sherriff and Kyle Risk dreamed of exchanging rings at the popular Lord of the Rings filming location, Hobbiton, located on the north island of New Zealand. The couple were meant to meet up with some close friends and family in New Zealand, as they travelled across from Australia on a P&O cruise ship, but were turned back from docking over an unclean hull. The “Kiwi Adventure” cruise, which was meant to be a 13-day journey, turned into more of a Tasmanian adventure after the ship was told to head to Australia’s southernmost state instead. New Zealand’s biosecurity laws were triggered over just three juvenile mussels and one single hydroid (AKA: lace coral), which needed to be removed from the ship's hull. “We took the time off from work, we had our nearest and dearest friends and family all co-ordinate to be in New Zealand at this exact time,” Janine told the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-25/cruise-ship-turned-away-from-nz/103151078">ABC</a>. “The plan was to get off the boat, go straight to Hobbiton, have our wedding, then head straight back to the boat for the rest of the honeymoon.” “Now we have to figure out what to do about our wedding, we have all this money down the drain. I am heartbroken this day has been taken away from me." Kyle added, “First off, I was furious.” “I saw Janine’s face when we got the news. I was ready to explode. “I got a selfie from our family and friends at the site in Hobbiton we should have been on about 20 minutes before we had to turn around.” “It would have meant a lot as it was a beautiful setting. As long as we have each other,” he added. The cruise operator in charge of the vessel, P&O, has offered customers $300 in on-board credit and a 50 per cent credit on a future cruise. “We apologise for the change in itinerary and thank our guests for their patience and understanding,” a spokesperson for the company’s Australian division said per the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12791331/Engaged-couple-P-O-cruise-forced-turn-New-Zealand-fume-dream-Lord-Rings-wedding-ruined.html">Daily Mail</a>. Image credits: Facebook / Shutterstock

Travel Trouble

Cruise ship forced to turn back after 100 passengers injured in storm

The Spirit of Discovery cruise ship was forced to turn back after around 100 passengers were injured during a massive storm. Cruise company Saga have said that most of the injuries were minor, but five people had to be taken to hospital when the ship returned to England on Tuesday local time. One passenger told BBC News that a few passengers "feared for their lives", when the storm hit the ship in the Bay of Biscay, off the French coast. "People were writing texts to their loved ones in case we capsized," they added. "The tone of voice in our captain... he was physically scared. We had crew crying. We had many passengers in awful states of fear." The passenger also claimed that that injuries included broken bones and cuts, with reports of furniture flying around and people being knocked off their feet, as the ship stopped moving and veered dramatically to one side as part of its safety manoeuvre. Another passenger, 75-year-old Jan Bendall, told the BBC that she and her husband were "holding on for dear life", and that it was overall a frightening experience. "It was quite frightening, I'm not somebody who frightens easily," Bendall said. "We were lucky - we're quite able-bodied, but I think some of the older people and people in their own cabins were quite worried," she added. The ship itself holds almost 1000 passengers and holds cruises for people over 50. Saga told the BBC that there had been "very limited" damage and the ship had "remained safe at all times." "While the weather is clearly beyond our control, we want to offer our sincere apologies to all those affected who are now safely on their way home in calmer seas," the spokesperson said. Images: Nine News/ Facebook

Travel Trouble

Forcing people to repay welfare ‘loans’ traps them in a poverty cycle – where is the policy debate about that?

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/hanna-wilberg-1466649">Hanna Wilberg</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-auckland-1305">University of Auckland</a> The National Party’s <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/09/26/more-sanctions-for-unemployed-beneficiaries-under-national/">pledge to apply sanctions</a> to unemployed people receiving a welfare payment, if they are “persistently” failing to meet the criteria for receiving the benefit, has attracted plenty of comment and <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/09/26/nationals-benefit-sanctions-plan-cruel-dehumanising-greens/">criticism</a>. Less talked about has been the party’s promise to index benefits to inflation to keep pace with the cost of living. This might at least provide some relief to those struggling to make ends meet on welfare, though is not clear how much difference it would make to the current system of indexing benefits to wages. In any case, this alone it is unlikely to break the cycle of poverty many find themselves in. One of the major drivers of this is the way the welfare system pushes some of the most vulnerable people into debt with loans for things such as school uniforms, power bills and car repairs. The government provides one-off grants to cover benefit shortfalls. But most of these grants are essentially loans. People receiving benefits are required to repay the government through weekly deductions from their normal benefits – which leaves them with even less money to survive on each week. With <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/132980318/auckland-mother-serves-up-cereal-for-dinner-due-to-rising-food-costs">rising costs</a>, the situation is only getting worse for many of the 351,756 New Zealanders <a href="https://figure.nz/chart/TtiUrpceJruy058e-ITw010dHsM6bvA2a">accessing one of the main benefits</a>. <h2>Our whittled down welfare state</h2> Broadly, there are three levels of government benefits in our current system. The main benefits (such as jobseeker, sole parent and supported living payment) <a href="https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/products/benefit-rates/benefit-rates-april-2023.html">pay a fixed weekly amount</a>. The jobseeker benefit rate is set at NZ$337.74 and sole parents receive $472.79 a week. Those on benefits have access to a second level of benefits – weekly supplementary benefits such as an <a href="https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/products/a-z-benefits/accommodation-supplement.html">accommodation supplement</a> and other allowances or tax credits. The third level of support is one-off discretionary payments for specific essential needs. Those on benefits cannot realistically make ends meet without repeated use of these one-off payments, unless they use assistance from elsewhere – such as family, charity or borrowing from loan sharks. This problem has been building for decades. <h2>Benefits have been too low for too long</h2> In the 1970s, the <a href="https://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/12967">Royal Commission on Social Security</a> declared the system should provide “a standard of living consistent with human dignity and approaching that enjoyed by the majority”. But Ruth Richardson’s “<a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/christchurch-life/124978983/1991-the-mother-of-all-budgets">mother of all budgets</a>” in 1991 slashed benefits. Rates never recovered and today’s <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/03/29/benefit-increases-will-still-leave-families-locked-in-poverty/">benefits are not enough to live on</a>. In 2018, the <a href="https://www.weag.govt.nz/">Welfare Expert Advisory Group</a> looked at how much money households need in two lifestyle scenarios: bare essentials and a minimum level of participation in the community, such as playing a sport and taking public transport. The main benefits plus supplementary allowances did not meet the cost of the bare essentials, let alone minimal participation. The Labour government has since <a href="https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/government-delivers-income-increases-over-14-million-new-zealanders">increased benefit rates</a>, meaning they are now slightly above those recommended by the advisory group. But those recommendations were made in 2019 and don’t take into account the <a href="https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/annual-inflation-at-6-0-percent">sharp rise in inflation</a> since then. Advocacy group <a href="https://fairerfuture.org.nz/">Fairer Future</a> published an updated assessment in 2022 – nine out of 13 types of households still can’t meet their core costs with the current benefit rates. <h2>How ‘advances’ create debt traps</h2> When they don’t have money for an essential need, people on benefits can receive a “special needs grant”, which doesn’t have to be repaid. But in practice, Work and Income virtually never makes this type of grant for anything except food and some other specific items, such as some health travel costs or emergency dental treatment. For <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/02/27/very-stressful-beneficiary-says-he-cant-afford-msd-debt/">all other essential needs</a> – such as school uniforms, car repairs, replacing essential appliances, overdue rent, power bills and tenancy bonds – a one-off payment called an “advance” is used. Advances are loans and have to be paid back. There are several issues with these types of loans. First, people on benefits are racking up thousands of dollars worth of debts to cover their essential needs. It serves to trap them in financial difficulties for the foreseeable future. As long as they remain on benefits or low incomes, it’s difficult to repay these debts. And the <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2018/0032/latest/whole.html">Social Security Act 2018</a> doesn’t allow the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) to waive debts. <h2>Contradictory policies</h2> Another problem is that people on benefits have to start repaying their debt straight away, with weekly deductions coming out of their already limited benefit. Each new advance results in a further weekly deduction. Often these add up to $50 a week or more. MSD policy says repayments should not add up to more than $40 a week, but that is often ignored. This happens because the law stipulates that each individual debt should be repaid in no more than two years, unless there are exceptional circumstances. Paying this debt off in two years often requires total deductions to be much higher than $40. The third issue is that one-off payments can be refused regardless of the need. That is because there are two provisions pulling in opposite directions. On the one hand the law says a payment should be made if not making it would cause serious hardship. But on the other hand, the law also says payments should not be made if the person already has too much debt. People receiving benefits and their case managers face the choice between more debt and higher repayments, or failing to meet an essential need. <h2>Ways to start easing the burden</h2> So what is the fix? A great deal could be achieved by just changing the policies and practices followed by Work and Income. Case managers have the discretion to make non-recoverable grants for non-food essential needs. These could and should be used when someone has an essential need, particularly when they already have significant debt. Weekly deductions for debts could also be automatically made very low. When it comes to changing the law, the best solution would be to make weekly benefit rates adequate to live on. The government could also make these benefit debts similar to student loans, with no repayments required until the person is off the benefit and their income is above a certain threshold. However we do it, surely it must be time to do something to fix this poverty trap.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212528/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/hanna-wilberg-1466649">Hanna Wilberg</a>, Associate professor - Law, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-auckland-1305">University of Auckland</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/forcing-people-to-repay-welfare-loans-traps-them-in-a-poverty-cycle-where-is-the-policy-debate-about-that-212528">original article</a>.

Money & Banking

No, the Voice to Parliament would not force people to give up their private land

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kate-galloway-9907">Kate Galloway</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a> In the polarised debate about the Voice to Parliament referendum, some proponents of the “no” vote have <a href="https://www.aap.com.au/factcheck/voice-legislation-does-not-authorise-a-land-grab/">claimed</a> the creation of the new advisory body would lead to the conversion of private land titles in Australia to native title. The implication is that people will be forced to give up their land. This has sown fear among some Australians. Last week, a false letter purporting to be from a member of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria was distributed to homes in regional Victoria, saying the body was moving into the “next phase of reacquiring land”. The minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/fake-letter-scaremongering-about-indigenous-land-claims-sparks-outrage-20230912-p5e43n.html">called</a> it a “another example of the dirty tricks campaign” being waged to sow doubt over the Voice referendum. Similar concerns were raised following the High Court decision in the <a href="https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/mabo-case">Mabo case</a> in 1992 and passage of the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2017C00178">Native Title Act</a> a year later. Like the fear-mongering over the Mabo decision, the current alarm over the potential loss of private lands with a Voice to Parliament is unwarranted because this claim is manifestly incorrect. There are two foundational legal reasons why: <ul> <li> because of the words of the proposed constitutional amendment itself </li> <li> and because of the way that native title works. </li> </ul> <h2>Would the proposed Voice have powers related to land?</h2> The proposed constitutional amendment that would create the Voice is very simple. It seeks to insert one new section into the Constitution, which reads: <blockquote> In recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia: <ol> <li> there shall be a body, to be called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice; </li> <li> the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice may make representations to the Parliament and the Executive Government of the Commonwealth on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; </li> <li> the Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws with respect to matters relating to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, including its composition, functions, powers and procedures. </li> </ol> </blockquote> The words clearly provide for only one activity to be undertaken by the Voice. The new body “may make representations” on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. There is no express or hidden power to either take people’s land or give land to First Nations people. The Voice is a committee that may provide advice to parliament and government on issues relating to First Nations people. That is all. And this advice is not binding. The parliament of the day is free to ignore it, if it wishes to. The new provision also gives one sole power to the parliament – it would have the capacity to set up the Voice. It is not possible to understand this provision as creating a special power to take people’s land, or to “convert” land to native title. Importantly, the power to establish the Voice would not be given to the government – it would belong to parliament. In exercising this power, normal parliamentary processes will apply and the parliament will be accountable to the public. There are no other changes to the Constitution proposed in this referendum. <h2>How native title works</h2> In the famous Mabo case, the High Court found that the land title of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, held under their traditional law and custom, survived the introduction of British sovereignty over Australia. Mabo confirmed native title can only be claimed over land where there is no interest in conflict with the exercise of this right. Native title will always give way to grants of exclusive land use. Following this decision, the law now states that every grant of freehold land (“private” land) extinguishes native title. Further, in the later case of <a href="https://jade.io/article/68082">Fejo v Northern Territory</a>, the High Court confirmed that once native title has been extinguished, it cannot be revived. Consequently, even if the constitutional change creating the Voice did (somehow) recognise native title, it is not possible to “convert” freehold land to native title. On private land, native title no longer exists under Australian law. To put these claims of “land conversion” in context, it is helpful to recall the public response to the Mabo decision. Following the High Court judgement in Mabo, the mining industry ran a national campaign asserting that native title would threaten people’s back yards. The managing director of Western Mining, Hugh Morgan, <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=(Id:library/prspub/raf10);rec=0">said</a> the High Court’s decision "put at risk the whole legal framework of property rights throughout the whole community." This campaign led to significant public fear about the effects of native title. These claims about native title after Mabo were incorrect. Private landholdings have not been threatened. Indeed, on the ten-year anniversary of the Mabo decision, former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett even <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/i-was-wrong-on-mabo-kennett-20020601-gdu9dt.html">admitted that his initial fears had been unfounded</a>. In reading or listening to claims about the effect of the Voice, it is prudent to question the source of information. If you have questions, seek a reliable source to read the words of the proposed amendment and understand the objective of the constitutional change. If you hear of a claim that seems extreme, it may well be aimed at diverting the public’s attention from the real issues.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212784/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kate-galloway-9907">Kate Galloway</a>, Associate Professor of Law, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/no-the-voice-to-parliament-would-not-force-people-to-give-up-their-private-land-212784">original article</a>.

Legal

Tourists flock to the Mediterranean as if the climate crisis isn’t happening. This year’s heat and fire will force change

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/susanne-becken-90437">Susanne Becken</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/johanna-loehr-1457342">Johanna Loehr</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a> Thousands of people on the beach. Children reportedly falling off evacuation boats. Panic. People fleeing with the clothes on their backs. It felt like “the end of the world”, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/23/british-tourists-tell-of-nightmare-in-rhodes-fires-greece">one tourist</a>. The fires sweeping through the Greek islands of Rhodes and Corfu are showing us favourite holiday destinations are no longer safe as climate change intensifies. For decades, tourists have flocked to the Mediterranean for the northern summer. Australians, Scandinavians, Brits, Russians all arrive seeking warmer weather. After COVID, many of us have been keen to travel once again. But this year, the intense heatwaves have claimed <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/world/heatwave-pictures-wildfires-worsen-greece-italy-spain-europe-us-2488556">hundreds of lives</a> in Spain alone. Major tourist drawcards such as the Acropolis in Athens have been closed. Climate scientists are “stunned by the ferocity” of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/25/northern-hemisphere-heatwaves-europe-greece-italy-wildfires-extreme-weather-climate-experts">heat</a>. This year is likely to force a rethink for tourists and for tourism operators. Expect to see more trips taken during shoulder seasons, avoiding the increasingly intense July to August summer. And expect temperate countries to become more popular tourist destinations. Warm-weather tourist destinations will have to radically change. <h2>What will climate change do to mass tourism?</h2> Weather is a major factor in tourism. In Europe and North America, people tend to go from northern countries to southern regions. Chinese tourists, like Australians, often head to Southeast Asian beaches. In Europe, the north-south flow is almost hardwired. When Australians go overseas, they often choose Mediterranean summers. Over the last decade, hotter summers haven’t been a dealbreaker. But this year is likely to drive change. You can already see that in the growing popularity of shoulder seasons (June or September) in the traditional Northern Hemisphere summer destinations. Many of us are shifting how we think about hot weather holidays from something we seek to something we fear. This comes on top of consumer shifts such as those related to sustainability and <a href="https://theconversation.com/flight-shaming-how-to-spread-the-campaign-that-made-swedes-give-up-flying-for-good-133842">flight shame</a>. What about disaster tourism? While thrillseekers <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/22/death-valley-tourism-extreme-weather-california">may be flocking</a> to Death Valley to experience temperatures over 50℃, it’s hard to imagine this type of tourism going mainstream. What we’re more likely to see is more people seeking “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09669582.2016.1213849?journalCode=rsus20">last-chance</a>” experiences, with tourists flocking to highly vulnerable sites such as the Great Barrier Reef. Of course, this type of tourism isn’t sustainable long-term. <h2>What does this mean for countries reliant on tourism?</h2> The crisis in Rhodes shows us the perils of the just-in-time model of tourism, where you bring in tourists and everything they need –food, water, wine – as they need it. The system is geared to efficiency. But that means there’s little space for contingencies. Rhodes wasn’t able to easily evacuate 19,000 tourists. This approach will have to change to a just-in-case approach, as in other <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/willyshih/2022/01/30/from-just-in-time-to-just-in-case-is-excess-and-obsolete-next/?sh=195cd054daf7">supply chains</a>. For <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0261517712002063">emergency services</a>, tourists pose a particular challenge. Locals have a better understanding than tourists of risks and escape routes. Plus tourists don’t speak the language. That makes them much harder to help compared to locals. Climate change poses immense challenges in other ways, too. Pacific atoll nations like Kiribati or Tuvalu <a href="https://www.pacificpsdi.org/assets/Uploads/PSDI-TourismSnapshot-TUV3.pdf">would love</a> more tourists to visit. The problem there is water. Sourcing enough water for locals is getting harder. And tourists use a lot of water – drinking it, showering in it, swimming in it. Careful planning will be required to ensure local carrying capacities are not exceeded by tourism. So does this spell the end of mass tourism? Not entirely. But it will certainly accelerate the trend in countries like Spain away from mass tourism, or “overtourism”. In super-popular tourist destinations like Spain’s Balearic Islands, there’s been an increasing pushback from locals against <a href="https://theconversation.com/were-in-the-era-of-overtourism-but-there-is-a-more-sustainable-way-forward-108906">overtourism</a> in favour of specialised tourism with smaller numbers spread out over the year. Is this year a wake-up call? Yes. The intensifying climate crisis means many of us are now more focused on what we can do to stave off the worst of it by, say, avoiding flights. The pressure for change is growing too. Delta Airlines is being sued over its announcement to go carbon neutral by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/30/delta-air-lines-lawsuit-carbon-neutrality-aoe">using offsets</a>, for instance. <h2>Mountains not beaches: future tourism may look a lot different</h2> You can already see efforts to adapt to the changes in many countries. In Italy, for instance, domestic mountain tourism is <a href="https://www.euromontana.org/en/neve-diversa-how-mountain-tourism-can-adapt-to-climate-change/">growing</a>, enticing people from hot and humid Milan and Rome up where the air is cooler – even if the snow is disappearing. China, which doesn’t do things by halves, is investing in mountain resorts. The goal here is to offer cooler alternatives like northern China’s <a href="https://english.news.cn/20230714/9ae6f89a6b7b433ebde3ec689b87f6db/c.html">Jilin province</a> to beach holidays for sweltering residents of megacities such as Beijing and Shanghai. Some mountainous countries are unlikely to seize the opportunity because they don’t want to draw more tourists. Norway is considering a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidnikel/2022/12/03/norway-to-consider-introducing-tourist-tax-from-2024/?sh=710871eb1b27">tourist tax</a>. Forward-thinking countries will be better prepared. But there are limits to preparation and adaptation. Mediterranean summer holidays will be less and less appealing, as the region is a <a href="https://www.unep.org/unepmap/resources/factsheets/climate-change">heating hotspot</a>, warming 20% faster than the world average. Italy and Spain are still <a href="https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/jrc-news-and-updates/severe-drought-western-mediterranean-faces-low-river-flows-and-crop-yields-earlier-ever-2023-06-13_en">in the grip</a> of a record-breaking drought, threatening food and water supplies. The future of tourism is going to be very different. <img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210282/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/susanne-becken-90437">Susanne Becken</a>, Professor of Sustainable Tourism, Griffith Institute for Tourism, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/johanna-loehr-1457342">Johanna Loehr</a>, , <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/tourists-flock-to-the-mediterranean-as-if-the-climate-crisis-isnt-happening-this-years-heat-and-fire-will-force-change-210282">original article</a>.

International Travel

Kmart and Target join forces to create mega discount stores

Two of Australia’s favourite retail giants are about to get better in a huge merger creating a $10 billion discount giant. Wesfarmers is set to fold Target into Kmart with hopes that it will improve sales, provide better value for customers, and allow both stores to share backend technology. Ian Bailey the Managing Director of Kmart Group has said that there will be “no impact” to stores, and that the move was an "internal reorganisation". "With customers now demanding value more than ever, this new operating model will unlock a new level of scale and productivity across both brands, so we can deliver even greater value to our customers in the future," he said in a statement. "For store networks and 50,000 store team members – it's business as usual – as we continue to focus on providing the best value products to the thousands of customers in Australia and New Zealand who choose to shop at Kmart or Target every day." The move comes as the cost of living crisis is forcing more and more Aussies to be mindful of their spending habits. In a statement to the The Australian Financial Review, Bailey said that there would likely be “a handful of redundancies" but more jobs overall by next year. He added that one of the benefits of tighter integration and better technology is the ease in which the prices of products can be reduced. He said that the price drop on 1000 Kmart products this month was assisted by merchandise planning tools and a self-navigating inventory scanning robot. "Kmart and Target are both strong businesses. I don't see us doing this from a position of weakness. It's quite the opposite,” he told the publication. “I'd say we're strong, but I think there's an opportunity to really capitalise on this time and find ways to continue to deliver better value for customers." "What we found was that running two businesses it was very, very difficult to get the tech into Target, and to get those benefits. This is really why we decided to push the two businesses into one." Images: Getty

Money & Banking

“That’s the reality”: Older Aussies forced into shared living

Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe’s suggestion that more and more Australians would need to consider life in a share house if they had any hope of bringing rental prices down hasn’t landed as he would have hoped. “We’ve got a lot of people coming into the country, people wanting to live alone or move out of home,” he said. “The way that this ends up fixing itself is unfortunately through higher housing prices and higher rents. “We need more people on average to live in each dwelling, and [higher] prices do that.” But for those wrestling with Australia’s cost of living crisis and high rental demand with even higher costs, the suggestion is hardly cause for comfort. And as 51-year-old Mandy Pritchard - a recently single NGO worker hoping to move closer to friends in either Sydney or Wollongong - told The Guardian, the reality of shared housing isn’t so straightforward anyway. “It’s challenging because I’m obviously not the first choice for a household of twenty-to-thirty-somethings,” she said of her struggles to secure a new home - and potential new roommates - for herself. “I didn’t think I’d be going back to share accommodation at this age, but that’s the reality because of the cost of rent.” According to Pritchard, it could take up to 50% of her full-time wage to rent a one-bedroom property in Sydney’s Newtown suburb if she wanted to live alone. “It’s not as if I am on low income, I make a decent wage,” she pointed out. “I wanted to live even in just a studio apartment, but it just isn’t feasible.” However, as Lowe noted during Senate estimates, the problem and ‘solution’ were a case of supply and demand. “Higher prices do lead people to economise on housing. Kids don’t move out of home because the rents are too expensive or you decide to get a flatmate,” he said. “That’s the price mechanism at work.” He went on to state that the nation’s population was set to rise by 2% with the arrival of migrant workers and international students, and that the only way - in his opinion - to combat the pressure on the housing and rental market was through supply. “Are there 2% more houses? No,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of people coming into the country, people wanting to live alone or move out of home. The way that this ends up fixing itself is, unfortunately, through higher housing prices and higher rents.” Lowe’s comments drew a wave of criticism from housing advocates - with data suggesting that Australians are beginning to share more - as well as the argument that the government actually needed to construct and provide more housing. As Flatmates.com.au’s Claudia Conley said, the share housing website had actually just experienced its busiest April on record. “This year has been unusually busy and we started to see a real increase in traffic around October, which has not died down,” she said. “Month after month we’re breaking new records, with April just gone our busiest ever. March recorded the highest number of new property listings in over two years, since January 2021, up 14% month-on-month to be 33% above March 2022 levels.” Images: Getty

Real Estate

“Extremely difficult”: Woman forced to live in car for over two years

A Queensland woman has revealed the “extremely lonely” reality of living in her car. Wendy lived in shared accommodation for seven years, with a weekly room rent upwards of $200 a week. With the rent increases showing no signs of slowing down, the 52-year-old found herself living in her car for the past two and a half years. She has shared some tips for those in the same boat. “Downsize to the bare necessities you need, with just those few little luxuries like a good coffee and the barbecues,” Wendy said. She allows herself some luxuries, such as a gym membership, so she can have a shower, coffee and the occasional hot dinner. If she can’t keep up with her gym payments, Wendy exercises until she’s warm and hops into one of the cold public showers. She worked in construction cleaning, but the early start and late finishes became too difficult. “Transforming my car into a cleaning business was, as you can imagine, a bit unhygienic,” she said. She relies on welfare to get by, which is “extremely hard”. Wendy has a storage shed to help her keep some of her belongings, but the cost of that will see an increase from $45 to $60 a week, “I’m now going to even be pushed out of the storage,” she said. Wendy can access fresh food just once a fortnight when she visits Encircle Redcliffe Neighbourhood Centre, Queensland, otherwise, she’s stuck with a 3-day time frame of storing food in her car. Now with winter just around the corner, she parks her car in underground car parks to shelter from the elements. “As soon as they see you on camera, they’re concerned about me being there,” she said. “So I will be kicked out of there soon too.” It feels as though those in power have “turned a blind eye” to the reality of the housing crisis, Wendy said. “There’s no help out there for us, I’ve applied for housing and been denied.” The extra $40 announced in the federal budget for people on welfare was “definitely not enough”, Wendy said. Even going to the doctor has become “extremely hard”, Wendy said, as many have stopped bulk billing, which has forced her to travel further to find those who do so. She’s now facing car troubles, which only furthers her challenging situation. “I’m only using my car if it’s really necessary,” she said. Aside from discomfort, Wendy confessed living out of her car was “extremely lonely”. “It’s intimidating when people are walking past and staring at you — you feel like an extreme oddball in this world.” Image credit: 7NEWS

Real Estate

“What am I going to do now?”: 77-year-old widow forced from her home

When Rosemarie Earley lost her husband, Eric Earley, she’d already suffered enough heartbreak to last a lifetime. But her devastating situation wasn’t to end there, with the New South Wales government landing one more blow to the 77-year-old: she had to leave the home she and Eric had shared for almost 50 years. Rosemarie and Eric had moved in to their Pendlebury Parade property in the ‘70s, establishing themselves as well-known and well-loved fixtures of the street. However, it was their experience back then that seems to have caused Rosemarie’s present day trouble, with different rules and regulations surrounding whose name could be on the lease. As Rosemarie explained to A Current Affair’s Hannah Sinclair, the paperwork was “in my husband's name. Eric Earley. The females had no say in the matter back in those days. Everything was in the husband's name because he was classed as the breadwinner. We were just housewives.” Rosemarie and Eric had left England for a new and “better life for the family” in 1971, and were allocated their home by the government. "When we moved in it was an empty shell,” she said. “There were no carpets, no window fittings, not even lightbulbs. No soil. So we had to buy soil. “We bought a garage, we paid to have the gas connected, put the carpet [down] and everything else that was needed. "We were under the impression we were buying because the paperwork said we had been approved to purchase.” But this was not the case, as Rosemarie went on to explain. When their rent collector had dropped by, Eric had asked when the pair might be able to pay their deposit on the home, but was told they never would. “We were actually told by the man that came and did the inspection a couple of weeks after we moved in that, 'this is your house, you can stay here till you die'. That was his words," she recalled. It was a cruel reminder that Rosemarie was served in late 2022, when Eric passed away from heart failure at just 83 years old. In the wake of her devastating loss, Rosemarie contacted the government and applied to be recognised as a tenant. They had other ideas, and just a few months later, Rosemarie was informed the one level house with ramp access did not meet her needs anymore. “I was so happy when I finally signed the paperwork to say that I could live here and it was now in my name,” she said, “and then six weeks later or so, I got the letter saying that this house no longer meets my needs. "I don't understand why. Why couldn't they wait till my husband had been gone even 12 months, so that I would have acclimatised to being on my own? Why did it have to be four months?" Rosemarie went on to admit that she thinks Eric would be “devastated” to know what she was going through without him, admitting that “that was his one worry, that I wouldn't get treated properly when he died and that's what's happened. I'm not getting treated properly." "Can you believe that in 2023 as a woman you still don't have the same rights as your husband? "I don't know. Why are they still going by those rules? Why haven't they adapted to the fact that life now is in two names? Husband and wife, or man and woman. A partner.” Images: A Current Affair / Nine

Real Estate

Room to Move: Desperate renters forced into backyard boxes

Victorian tenants have taken desperate measures in their hunt for a home in the midst of a housing crisis, turning to portable rooms set up in their parent’s driveways and backyards. The portables - described as ‘stand-alone separate rooms’ - have been seen across Facebook Marketplace for up to $180 per week, in a time when Melbourne’s median rent has reached $460 each week. The company behind the Room to Move initiative have advertised a 7.2sq m room for $150 per week, and for those seeking a little more wiggle room, a 10.1sq m room is available for $180. However, a minimum hire period of six months applies to both, as well as a bond of $500, and a one-month written notice to end the lease. And for anyone just outside of Melbourne who might be interested, the rooms can be delivered within a three-to-four hour drive from the city - for a fee of $250. The spaces don’t come with bathrooms, but do feature weatherproof electrical sockets that power two double power points, two internal downlights, and a reverse cycle air conditioner. “There’s plenty of demand for people looking for a short term solution for accommodation,” Room to Move co-founder Nick Nottle said of the decision to launch the spaces. “Typically people place [the rooms] in their backyard or on their driveway back off the street a bit.” He noted that the spaces attracted the most attention from renters who were moving back in with family in a bid to save enough for their own house deposit, and that he and business partner Mike Rose launched Room to Move when they noticed a gap in the market, and saw an opportunity for portables that weren’t an eyesore in a residential environment. “Neighbours don’t really complain because people like the look of it,” he said, “it doesn’t look like you’ve just dropped a big shipping container in your backyard.” Beyond desperate renters, however, Nick believes the ‘properties’ also appeal to parents who want something self-contained to get their teenagers out of their hair, as well as having somewhere to house visitors coming from a long way away. And last but not least, according to Nick, “the other group is people using them as an office to work from home, or for studio-type businesses like a lash salon, tattoo parlour or hairdresser - things you can do from home rather than renting a space elsewhere.” Images: Facebook, realestate.com.au

Real Estate

Dalai Lama forced to apologise following bizarre footage of him and young boy

The Dalai Lama has apologised following the controversy surrounding him kissing a young Indian boy on the lips and asking him to “suck” his tongue. The exchange, which occurred at an event for India’s M3M Foundation in March 2023, has since gone viral on social media, with the spiritual leader’s office releasing a statement to address the situation. On behalf of the Dalai Lama, the statement reads he “wishes to apologise to the boy and his family, as well as his many friends across the world, for the hurt his words may have caused”. “His Holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras,” the statement said, also saying he “regrets” the interaction. The leader of Tibetan Buddhism, Tenzin Gyatso, was hosting students and members of the foundation at his temple in Dharamshala, India, where he lives in exile. In the footage, the boy is seen approaching the microphone before asking, “Can I hug you?” His Holiness then responds, “OK, come” and ushers the boy onto the stage. The 87-year-old then motions to his cheeks and tells the child “first here” and the boy gives him a hug and a kiss. He holds the boy’s arm and turns to him, saying “then I think fine here also”, pointing to his lips. The Dalai Lama proceeded to grab the boy’s chin and kiss him on the mouth as the audience laughed. “And suck my tongue,” he tells the boy, sticking out his tongue. The two press their foreheads together and the boy pokes out his tongue briefly before stepping away as the spiritual leader gives him a playful slap on the chest and laughs. He can then be seen offering the boy spiritual advice, telling him to “look [to] those good human beings who create peace, happiness” and not “not follow those human beings who always kill other people”. The clip sparked outrage in India, with some describing the footage as “creepy” and “disgusting”, while his supporters insisted he was just “joking around”, local media reports. The clip has also gained a lot of traction on Spanish-language social media. “This video is scandalous,” Colombian journalist Vicky Dávila shared on Twitter. “The Dalai Lama kisses a boy who approaches him on the mouth. The attendees applaud and laugh instead of condemning this aberration.” In March, the official Twitter account for the Central Tibetan Administration shared a snippet of the second half of the interaction. Tibet.net wrote, “During his meeting with students and members of M3M Foundation at courtyard of Thekchen Choeling Tsuglakhang, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama advised a young Indian boy to look up to a good human being who always work for cultivating peace and happiness in the world,” The Dalai Lama made headlines back in 2019 following a sexism controversy after he said that if his successor were a woman, “she should be more attractive”. Following the sexism scandal, his office was forced to issue an apology, explaining that his “off-the-cuff remarks, which might be amusing in one cultural context, lose their humour in translation when brought into another”. In 2018 he made waves online after a remark he made on a trip to Sweden, suggesting that refugees should return to their homes and help rebuild their countries because “Europe belongs to Europeans.” Image credit: Twitter

News

International student forced to live in tent

A 27-year-old student Zoe Jiang travelled from China to Sydney to attend university and much to her surprise, she was forced to sleep in a tent. The finance student arrived in Australia in January 2023 and was shocked to discover the rental prices were too high, resulting in her having to set up camp in short-stay accommodation. During one of her short stays, Ms Jiang did not have a room of her own. She had to pitch a tent in the middle of the living room to allow privacy from her roommates who came home late. Despite sleeping in the shared room, she was paying $300 a week in rent. "I have never had a night in a tent before," Ms Jiang said. "It's a fresh experience, and I think camping in a living room is very different." She has since found long-term accommodation, but she had lived in three different places in less than two months. Ms Jiang is one of many international students struggling to find a home in the nation's growing rental shortage. Housing advocates are concerned that international students are at risk of exploitation and are urging universities to offer support. Ms Jiang is just one of thousands of Chinese international students who had to rush back to Australia or face the risk of losing their qualifications under a new Chinese government policy. Ms Jiang joined the 59,000 international students who arrived in Australia in January 2023, a figure that proved “more than double” the amount as the same time last year, Universities Australia said. Sydney’s rental vacancy is currently at its worst, growing 35 per cent in unit rents across the city. Hundreds of residents are seen lining up outside rental inspections, but international students are suffering the most. The national president of the Council of International Students Australia, Yeganeh Soltanpour, said many international students who have just arrived are often overlooked by real estate agents. "[They] don't have a rental history because they are from overseas, so the chance for them to apply for a rental and get it is a lot lower," she said. Local students might be able to find rental vacancies through personal and family networks, but newly arrived international students have “almost zero connections”. "They can't ask someone for help, they don't always know where to look at ... [and] they might not know a lot about the areas," she said. "They may not even know how to use public transport properly. "This leads to the issue that they have to choose homes within the CBD area, which means they have to pay more rent." Zoe Jiang is one of many international students forced to stay in a shared space like a living room. Leo Patterson-Ross, CEO of the Tenants’ Union of NSW, said transforming a living room into a bedroom could be unlawful. "The assumption is that it is unlawful under planning rules, under local councils, to convert a room to her bedroom without getting consent from council," he said. Mr Patterson-Ross mentioned he had seen "some very unlawful and often abusive behaviour" from landlords and head tenants who sublet rooms to students. This includes withholding students’ passports and threatening to report them to the immigration department if they were to breach the tenancy agreement. Mr Patterson-Ross also said that to prevent exploitation against international students, the government must fix “the fundamental issue” that everyone is faced with. “We just do not have enough homes for everyone in Australia," he said. "And that supply is not just the buildings, but also the pricing of the buildings." He also called for an independent third-party audit to ensure rentals in the market are of good quality rather than having renters shoulder the burden. Ms Soltanpour has asked international students to support each other to combat the rental crisis, but emphasised it was not their responsibility to “fix the issue”. She also called on universities to offer more support for students struggling to find accommodation. The chief executive of Universities Australia, Catriona Jackson, acknowledged that finding a rental anywhere in Australia is difficult for international students at the moment. "Universities continue to support students by providing information on accommodation options before they arrive in Australia along with various other support services," she said. "We encourage any student struggling to secure housing or facing financial pressures to reach out to their university for assistance." Fortunately for Ms Jiang she eventually secured her own room in North Sydney, paying $300 a week – the same amount as when she was sleeping in a tent. She met her new neighbour on the day she moved in, an elderly Italian woman who migrated to Australia when she was just 19. Ms Jiang’s new neighbour invited her in for a cup of tea and encouraged her to make new friends in Australia as “life is a gift”. Taking to social media after her move, a clearly grateful Ms Jiang wrote, “It’s such a great day.” Image credit: Shutterstock

Real Estate

Beloved singing star reveals condition that may force early retirement

Scottish singer and songwriter Lewis Capaldi has opened up about his battle with Tourette’s syndrome, admitting it could lead him into early retirement. The Before You Go singer, 26, has shared details of his condition with fans in the past, making light of it online, even going viral on TikTok for how he handles his on-stage tics. Speaking to The Sun, the 26-year-old revealed it is a “very real possibility” he will have to put the mic down if his condition deteriorates. "It's triggered by stress, anxiety, and excitement. Basically, any strong emotion, you're f—ed," Capaldi, who was diagnosed with Tourette’s in 2022, said. "There are times it has been really bad and I've wondered whether I can continue to do this with the stress, anxiety, and Tourette's. It all comes as a direct result of doing this job.” Capaldi, renowned online for his self-deprecating sense of humour and cheeky commentary, said he has worried that the crowd may mistake his tics for drug use. He also revealed he may have to stop making music and performing if the condition progresses. "This isn't drugs, and I've had that accusation on nights out. People have asked me directly, 'Are you on drugs, is it cocaine?'" He explained. "If it got to a point where my quality of life was drastically diminished, I'd just have to quit.” Capaldi’s powerhouse voice has thrown him into the mix with UK greats including Sir Elton John and Ed Sheeran. He said that John has been a pillar of support during his struggles with anxiety, telling The Sun that the Rocket Man singer emails him regularly. In early 2023, a clip from Capaldi’s concert made waves online after fans helped him finish the song as he experienced a tic attack on stage. Capaldi was singing his perhaps most famous song, Someone You Loved, at a concert in Germany on February 21. Audience members were quick to notice the singer struggling, so they continued the song from where he left off, with him holding onto the microphone in an attempt to compose himself. In 2022, Capaldi shared his diagnosis with fans on Instagram. "I do the shoulder twitch a lot. And you see underneath every TikTok and stuff, people are like, 'Why is he twitching?', which is fine. Curiosity is fine. I get it," he said. "I haven't really learned much about it. I'm learning. I've got Botox on my shoulder to stop it moving. It worked for a bit," he said. "The worst thing about it is when I'm excited, I get it; when I'm stressed, I get it; when I'm happy, I get it. It happens all the time. "Some days it's more painful than others and some days it's less painful. It looks a lot worse than it is. Sometimes it's quite uncomfortable … but it comes and goes." Image credit: Getty

Music

"Stay away!": City forced into bizarre anti-travel campaign

Amsterdam has taken desperate measures in the fight to keep the city safe from “messy” tourists determined to cause chaos and call it a night out. The Dutch capital’s new online campaign sets out to primarily tackle the problem of young British men, warning them against their plans to “let loose” while they’re visiting. Hopeful British tourists - between the ages of 18 and 35 - who google things like “stag party Amsterdam”, “pub crawl Amsterdam”, and “cheap hotel Amsterdam” will be made to view short videos that stress the consequences that come with “[causing] nuisance and excessive alcohol and drug use”, according to a statement from the city’s local authorities. One of said videos shows an intoxicated young man being arrested after insulting police officers, with text reading: “Coming to Amsterdam for a messy night + getting trashed = €140 fine + criminal record = fewer prospects.” From there comes the firm and to-the-point statement: “So coming to Amsterdam for a messy night? Stay away.” In another of the campaign’s videos, an unconscious individual can be seen in an ambulance as it rushes to hospital, this time with text that reads: “Coming to Amsterdam to take drugs + lose control = hospital trip + permanent health damage = worried family.” It concludes with the same message as the other. Amsterdam welcomes approximately 20 million tourists each year, and is well known for its red light district. It’s this same hotspot that has played a major role in establishing the city as the place to party in Europe. However, local residents have voiced their displeasure for years, fed up with the chaos that drunken tourists bring their way, and prevent them from enjoying their own city as they want to. “Visitors will remain welcome, but not if they misbehave and cause nuisance. In that case we as a city will say: rather not, stay away,” Amsterdam’s deputy mayor Sofyan Mbarki said. “Amsterdam is already taking lots of measures against excessive tourism and nuisance, and we are taking more measures than other large cities in Europe. But we have to do even more [in] the coming years if we want to give tourism a sustainable place in our city.” From there, he went on to note that in order to keep their city a liveable place, they had to turn their attention to “restriction instead of irresponsible growth.” This isn’t the only - or even first - step city officials have taken towards achieving their goal, having just passed new regulations that make it illegal for anyone to smoke cannabis while in the red light district. The video campaign may yet expand to include visitors from beyond the UK, authorities have suggested. They also plan to launch another campaign called “How to Amsterdam”, which aims to reign in tourists already visiting. This campaign will utilise social media and street signs, with warnings about everything from drunkenness to noise, drugs, and urinating in public. Providers who offer bachelor party experiences have reportedly been contacted by the council as well, in the hope that they can reduce - and prevent - trouble in the city’s centre, while they also await the results of research into a potential tourist tax. Images: YouTube

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“I told him not to open it": Flight attendant forced to hold plane door shut

Climate change is forcing Australians to weigh up relocating. How do they make that difficult decision?

Tenants forced to pay landlord after fleeing their “uninhabitable” rental

"Tone deaf": Jetstar forced to apologise over "racist" joke

Women forced to do shocking act for $100 rent reduction

Manu Feildel forced to pull out of major event after health emergency

Couple misses their own wedding after cruise ship forced to turn back

Cruise ship forced to turn back after 100 passengers injured in storm

Forcing people to repay welfare ‘loans’ traps them in a poverty cycle – where is the policy debate about that?

No, the Voice to Parliament would not force people to give up their private land

Tourists flock to the Mediterranean as if the climate crisis isn’t happening. This year’s heat and fire will force change

Kmart and Target join forces to create mega discount stores

“That’s the reality”: Older Aussies forced into shared living

“Extremely difficult”: Woman forced to live in car for over two years

“What am I going to do now?”: 77-year-old widow forced from her home

Room to Move: Desperate renters forced into backyard boxes

Dalai Lama forced to apologise following bizarre footage of him and young boy

International student forced to live in tent

Beloved singing star reveals condition that may force early retirement

"Stay away!": City forced into bizarre anti-travel campaign

Our Partners

News

Shop

Catalogues

Newspaper

Contests

Entertainment

Travel

Health

Lifestyle

Finance

Property

Compare

Games

Information

Keep up to date

Search

“I told him not to open it": Flight attendant forced to hold plane door shut

Climate change is forcing Australians to weigh up relocating. How do they make that difficult decision?

Tenants forced to pay landlord after fleeing their “uninhabitable” rental

"Tone deaf": Jetstar forced to apologise over "racist" joke

Women forced to do shocking act for $100 rent reduction

Manu Feildel forced to pull out of major event after health emergency

Couple misses their own wedding after cruise ship forced to turn back

Cruise ship forced to turn back after 100 passengers injured in storm

Forcing people to repay welfare ‘loans’ traps them in a poverty cycle – where is the policy debate about that?

No, the Voice to Parliament would not force people to give up their private land

Tourists flock to the Mediterranean as if the climate crisis isn’t happening. This year’s heat and fire will force change

Kmart and Target join forces to create mega discount stores

“That’s the reality”: Older Aussies forced into shared living

“Extremely difficult”: Woman forced to live in car for over two years

“What am I going to do now?”: 77-year-old widow forced from her home

Room to Move: Desperate renters forced into backyard boxes

Dalai Lama forced to apologise following bizarre footage of him and young boy

International student forced to live in tent

Beloved singing star reveals condition that may force early retirement

"Stay away!": City forced into bizarre anti-travel campaign

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