Placeholder Content Image

"The last male sanctuary": Barber shop campaigns to formally ban women

<p>An Adelaide barber shop which prides itself as "the last male sanctuary", has applied for an exemption to the Equal Opportunity Act, which, once approved, will allow it to formally ban women. </p> <p>The team behind Robbie's Chop Shop took to Instagram to ask over 42,800 of their followers to help with their application to Equal Opportunity SA. </p> <p>In their first pinned post on Instagram, the barber shop posted a photo of the letter explaining that they have applied for an exemption following a complaint made to the commission about their request for women to observe that it is a male-only business. </p> <p>"Unfortunately, this is not the first complaint of this type that we have received, so in order to deal with them once and for all, we have decided to make an application for an exemption to the Equal Opportunity Act," they wrote in the letter. </p> <p>They added that the business prides itself in being able to provide "a safe space for men to discuss their issues", so they applied for the exemption to deal with the complaints once and for all. </p> <p>The business believes that they are "not in breach of the act" if they are able to obtain this exemption. </p> <p>"As part of our application, we would like to include statements from you, our loyal and valued customers, that explain why you love Robbie's Chop Shop, and why you feel that is so important for Robbie's Chop Shop to be a safe space for men to come together and discuss their issues," they pleaded. </p> <p>Their plea has divided followers, while some men and women agreed with them, others seem to disagree with their stance. </p> <p>"I love that this exists and love the safe space you've created for men to unload their weights of the world without being judged and freedom speak up in a space with others that may be facing similar issues," one woman wrote. </p> <p>"I’ll never understand why this is an issue. There are so many women only places around. As a woman I’d much prefer to go to a hair salon than a barber," commented another woman. </p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CvPYHawy18U/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CvPYHawy18U/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by 💈 Robbie's Chop Shop 💈 (@robbieschopshop)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>"💯 support - Great idea to have a space for men. In the UK there are lots of ladies/women only spaces and events etc. Don’t see the issue for men having their own space in society as well. 👍" wrote one man. </p> <p>"The concept of the last male sanctuary is not to discriminate against women but to offer a place for men to come and discuss the issues in their lives, in comfort with other similar men," commented another. </p> <p>One person wrote that they hope the business is equally welcoming to non-binary or trans people. </p> <p>"I hope you would welcome trans men, non-binary people and folks of any gender wanting a masculine haircut. We all deserve to feel included and safe to approach businesses knowing we won’t be turned away based on personal attributes we can’t change."</p> <p>"More like Robbie's Mojo Dojo Casa House," another quipped in reference to Ryan Gosling's character Ken establishing the patriarchy in Barbie land in the 2023 <em>Barbie m</em>ovie. </p> <p><em>Image: Instagram</em></p>

Legal

Placeholder Content Image

Excelling as a musician takes practice and requires opportunities – not just lucky genes

<p>What makes talented musicians so good at what they do?</p> <p>There’s plenty of evidence that people can be born that way. Research findings suggest that about <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/jmg.2007.056366">half of musical ability is inherited</a>. Even if that’s true, it doesn’t mean you must have musical talent in your genes to excel on the bass, oboe or drums. </p> <p>And even if you’re fortunate enough to belong to a family that includes musicians, you would still need to study, practice and get expert guidance to play well. </p> <p>As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=34DZlUIAAAAJ&amp;hl=en&amp;oi=ao">music professor and conductor</a>, I’ve seen the role that practice and experience play in propelling musicians toward mastery and success. There are some factors that help a musician get started – and heredity could be one of them. But musical skill is ultimately a complex interplay between <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0022429416680096">lots of practice and high-quality instruction</a>.</p> <h2>The role genes can play</h2> <p>Of course many great musicians, including some who are world famous, are related to other musical stars.</p> <p>Liza Minnelli, the famed actress, singer and dancer, is one of the late entertainer <a href="https://hollywoodlife.com/feature/judy-garland-kids-4728886/">Judy Garland’s three children</a>. <a href="https://people.com/music/jon-batiste-everything-to-know">Jon Batiste</a> – “The Late Show” bandleader, pianist and composer who has won Emmy, Oscar and Golden Globe awards – has at least 25 musicians in his family. Saxophonist Branford, trumpeter Wynton, trombonist Delfeayo and drummer Jason Marsalis are the <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/02/825717204/ellis-marsalis-patriarch-of-new-orleans-most-famous-musical-family-has-died">sons of pianist Ellis Marsalis</a>.</p> <p>Singer and pianist <a href="https://www.notablebiographies.com/news/Ge-La/Jones-Norah.html">Norah Jones</a> is the daughter of Indian sitar player <a href="https://www.vogue.in/culture-and-living/content/norah-jones-on-her-relationship-with-pandit-ravi-shankar-september-2020-cover-interview-hope">Ravi Shankar</a>, though Jones had little contact with her renowned father while growing up.</p> <p>Absolute pitch, also known as perfect pitch, is the ability to recognize and name any note you hear anywhere. Researchers have found that it <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/301704">may be hereditary</a>. But do you need it to be a great musician? Not really.</p> <h2>Most people are born with some musical ability</h2> <p>I define musical ability as the possession of talent or potential – the means to achieve something musical.</p> <p>Then there’s skill, which I define as what you attain by working at it.</p> <p>You need at least some basic musical ability to acquire musical skills. Unless you can hear and discern pitches and rhythms, you can’t reproduce them.</p> <p>But people may overestimate the role of genetics because, with very rare exceptions, <a href="https://www.apa.org/monitor/feb05/absolute">almost everyone can perceive pitches</a> and rhythms.</p> <p>My research regarding children’s musicality suggests measures of singing skills are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429416666054">normally distributed</a> in the population. That is, pitch ability follows a <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bell-curve.asp">bell curve</a>: Most people are average singers. Not many are way below average or excellent. </p> <p>My team’s most recent research suggests that this distribution is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00224294211032160">true for rhythm</a> in addition to pitch. </p> <p>Not surprisingly, some musical skills are correlated.</p> <p>The more training you have on specific musical skills, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00224294211011962">better you’ll test on certain others</a>. This is probably because musical experience enhances other musical abilities.</p> <p>To sum it up, an emerging body of research indicates that practice doesn’t make perfect. But for most people, it helps a lot.</p> <h2>Lessons and practice are essential</h2> <p>What about people who say they they can’t keep a beat? It turns out that they almost always can track a steady beat to music. They just haven’t done it enough.</p> <p>Indeed, the last time I gave a nonbeliever our lab’s test for rhythm perception, she performed excellently. For that and for singing, some people just need <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/21/magazine/how-to-sing-in-tune.html">a little help</a> to move past assumptions they lack talent: You can’t say you’re incapable of something if you haven’t spent time trying. </p> <p>Some researchers and <a href="https://strategiesforinfluence.com/malcolm-gladwell-10000-hour-rule/">journalists have promoted</a> the idea it takes <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.100.3.363">10,000 hours of practice or training to master</a> a new skill. </p> <p>Innate ability puts people at different starting lines toward musical mastery. But once you’ve started to study an instrument or singing style, skill development depends on many other factors. Getting lessons, practicing often and being in a musical family may make those more likely.</p> <p>For example, Lizzo, a hip-hop superstar and classically trained flute player, had the luck to <a href="https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/lizzo-44986.php">grow up in family of music lovers</a>. They all had their own taste in music. Her success is a microcosm of why a well-rounded musical education for young people matters.</p> <p>The singers in the choir I lead at Penn State have a range of experience, from a little to a lot. Yet soon after they join it, they develop the ability to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/87551233211040726">pick a good key and starting pitch</a> as they get to know their own voices. </p> <p>Practicing more doesn’t change your baseline potential, it just changes what you can presently do. That is, if you practice a specific song over and over again, eventually you’re going to get better at it.</p> <p>Jonathon Heyward, the Baltimore Symphony’s new conductor, who has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/21/arts/music/jonathon-heyward-baltimore-symphony-orchestra.html">no musicians in his family</a>, has worked really hard to excel. He started taking cello lessons at age 10 and hasn’t stopped since, playing and practicing and studying.</p> <h2>Privilege can play a role</h2> <p>Socioeconomic factors can also enter the equation. While conducting research, I’ve seen high-income college students from high-income families, with more years of musical experience, perform better than their classmates who have lower-income backgrounds and had fewer opportunities.</p> <p>Genes can give someone a head start. At the same time, having a quiet space where you can practice on an acoustic instrument or a digital workstation might make a more decisive difference for the musical prospects of most children. The same goes for having money for private lessons or access to free classes.</p> <p>Even so, many of the best musicians, including jazz greats <a href="https://www.louisarmstronghouse.org/biography/">Louis Armstrong</a> and <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/billie-holiday-about-the-singer/68/">Billie Holiday</a>, grew up facing many hardships.</p> <p>With the right conditions for practice and gaining experience, who knows where the next Liza or Lizzo will come from.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/excelling-as-a-musician-takes-practice-and-requires-opportunities-not-just-lucky-genes-186693" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Music

Placeholder Content Image

Rare opportunity: Queen Elizabeth is hiring a new staff member

<p><span>The Queen’s royal household is hiring!</span><br /><br /><span>It is not all that often the Queen hires new employees, but a new vacancy has been made on behalf of the royal household.</span><br /><br /><span>The royal family is hoping to hire a Design and Development Assistant for the Royal Collection Trust shop at their Stoke-on-Trent office, where the China and Glassware products are made.</span><br /><br /><span>The Royal Collection Trust's Retail team operate shops at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse.</span><br /><br /><span>They also have a growing online presence.</span><br /><br /><span>The role involves support, design, development and planning of the production of items.</span><br /><br /><span>The website also states the role will also require the hire to be "providing vital admin and logistical support to the team, help place and oversee regular orders of stock, packaging and gift boxes, bringing all the components of a product together, ready to send out to the shops".</span><br /><br /><span>The position is on a permanent contract, with interviews taking place till the end of the month.</span><br /><br /><span>The royal household is looking for a person “confident working with numbers” and someone who has “strong IT skills and can use MS Office programs and database systems”.</span><br /><br /><span>"With a keen eye for detail and excellent administration skills, you'll be able to process large volumes of work with complete accuracy,” the site states.</span><br /><br /><span>“You'll also be highly organised, able to plan and prioritise your time effectively to meet multiple deadlines. As a good communicator, you’ll build a good rapport with colleagues and customers alike."</span><br /><br /><span>The successful candidate could earn up to £23,000 a year depending on his or her experience.</span></p>

Money & Banking

Placeholder Content Image

COVID-19 has offered us an unexpected opportunity to help more people quit smoking

<p>Smokers are worried. A respiratory disease is running rampant across the globe and people with unhealthy lifestyle habits appear to be especially vulnerable.</p> <p>We know smokers hospitalised with COVID-19 are more likely to become <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/commentaries/detail/smoking-and-covid-19">severely unwell and die</a> than non-smokers with the disease.</p> <p>At any point in time, most smokers <a href="https://www.quit.org.au/news/8-10-victorian-smokers-want-quit-survey/">want to quit</a>. But COVID-19 provides the impetus to do it sooner rather than later.</p> <p>In our <a href="https://journals.lww.com/journaladdictionmedicine/Abstract/9000/Preferences_for_Tobacco_Cessation_Information_and.99161.aspx">new study</a>, we surveyed 1,204 adult smokers across Australia and the United Kingdom. We found the proportion intending to quit within the next two weeks almost tripled from around 10% of smokers before COVID-19 to 29% in April.</p> <p>Many more were thinking about quitting some time soon, and most wanted help to do so.</p> <p>Our research shows many people who smoke understand they can reduce their COVID-19 related risk by addressing their smoking. Given this, and the broader health gains associated with stopping smoking, we must ensure people who want to quit in the face of COVID-19 are supported.</p> <p><strong>Information and support</strong></p> <p>When asked whether they’d like to receive information about the risks of COVID-19 for smokers, almost half (45%) of our respondents said they would. This was especially the case among those wanting to quit very soon.</p> <p>As for where they wanted to get this information, participants most commonly chose government representatives (59%) and doctors (47%) as their preferred sources.</p> <p>Television news was the most favoured information delivery channel (61%), followed by online news (36%), social media (31%) and email (31%).</p> <p>As well as being receptive to information, our participants were keen for support to help them quit.</p> <p><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/2020-smoking-cessation/index.html">Evidence-based</a> forms of smoking cessation assistance include nicotine replacement therapy (for example, gum, patches and inhalers) and counselling.</p> <p>Almost two-thirds (61%) of our respondents expressed an interest in receiving nicotine replacement therapy to help them quit, which rose to more than three-quarters (77%) if it could be home-delivered and provided free of charge.</p> <p>Half (51%) wanted access to personal advice and support, such as that provided by <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/contacts/quitline">Quitline</a>. A similar number (49%) were receptive to being part of a text support program for smokers.</p> <p>These results show us smokers are interested in forms of quitting assistance that can be delivered remotely. Making sure smokers know these sorts of things are available in lockdown could increase uptake, and in turn reduce smoking rates.</p> <p>It’s also important to note the <a href="https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-1212">social isolation</a> associated with the pandemic may make people more vulnerable to the addictive effects of nicotine. So they may need extra support during this time.</p> <p><strong>Two big risks to our health</strong></p> <p>Strong groundwork in the form of anti-smoking campaigns, tobacco taxes, and smoke-free environment legislation has reduced smoking levels in Australia to a record low of <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/illicit-use-of-drugs/national-drug-strategy-household-survey-2019/contents/summary">11%</a>. But even at this rate, smoking remains Australia’s <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/953dcb20-b369-4c6b-b20f-526bdead14cb/aihw-bod-20.pdf.aspx?inline=true">number-one avoidable killer</a>.</p> <p>Smoking eventually kills up to <a href="https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-015-0281-z">two-thirds of regular users</a>, and the number of people dying from smoking-related diseases still dwarfs COVID-19 deaths.</p> <p>Roughly <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tobacco">eight million people</a> around the world die each year from tobacco-related diseases (such as cancer, stroke and heart disease), compared to the almost <a href="https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/">one million</a> deaths attributed to COVID-19 so far.</p> <p>Of course, the infectious nature of COVID-19 brings its own set of challenges. But combined, we have a potent reason to prioritise encouraging and helping smokers to quit as soon as possible.</p> <p>There has been <a href="https://theconversation.com/does-nicotine-protect-us-against-coronavirus-137488">speculation</a> about whether smoking increases the risk of contracting COVID-19, or whether nicotine might actually protect against the disease. The evidence remains unclear.</p> <p>Regardless of whether smoking affects the risk of contracting COVID-19 in the first place, we know it increases the risk of dying from it. Providing intensive quit support during the pandemic could facilitate a substantial boost to cessation rates and bring us closer to the day when smoking becomes history.</p> <p><strong>Capitalising on this opportunity</strong></p> <p>Smokers’ increased risk from COVID-19 and the importance of encouraging smokers to quit to reduce their risk of a range of non-communicable diseases means <a href="https://infogram.com/ama-covid-19-factsheet-tobacco-1hd12y0rovwm6km?live">health agencies</a> <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/smokers-at-greater-risk-of-severe-respiratory-disease-from-covid-19">around the world</a> are sending messages about the importance of quitting now.</p> <p>Our results suggest these statements should ideally be accompanied by explicit offers of help to quit in the form of nicotine replacement therapy and counselling. Investment in these is <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26031929/">cost-effective</a>, and now is an ideal time to make them as widely available and affordable as possible.</p> <p>Many smokers would also likely benefit from the use of mass media to provide more information about their greater risk if infected with COVID-19.</p> <p>This heightened interest in quitting in the face of COVID-19 — reflected not only in our research, <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/number-of-people-quitting-smoking-at-ten-year-high-thanks-to-change-in-attitudes-during-covid-19-pandemic-12077840">but elsewhere</a> — represents a unique opportunity for governments and health agencies to help smokers quit, and stay off smoking for good.</p> <p><em>Written by Simone Pettigrew, George Institute for Global Health. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/search/result?sg=5c52bba7-3930-40c3-ac55-adfb03be59ed&amp;sp=1&amp;sr=1&amp;url=%2Fcovid-19-has-offered-us-an-unexpected-opportunity-to-help-more-people-quit-smoking-146747">The Conversation.</a></em></p>

Beauty & Style

Placeholder Content Image

A trans-Tasman bubble is an opportunity for Australia and NZ to reduce dependence on China

<p>When it comes to our economic over-reliance on China, New Zealand consumers need look no further than their most popular big box chain, The Warehouse. The familiar “big red shed” sourced about 60% of its home brand stock from China in 2017 – and a further NZ$62 million in products directly through offices in China, India and Bangladesh in 2019.</p> <p>In Australia, many major chain stores as well as online retail giant <a href="https://www.afr.com/companies/retail/kogan-com-braces-for-coronavirus-threat-after-mixed-first-half-20200217-p541fu">kogan.com</a> are in a similar position. Reliant on China for much of what they sell, including exclusive home-brand items, they are part of what has been described as the world’s <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-02-26/coronavirus-impact-hits-australia-most-china-reliant-economy">most China-reliant economy</a>.</p> <p>The COVID-19 crisis has thrown Australian and New Zealand businesses’ dependence on China into stark relief. With countries reportedly competing with and undercutting each other to secure desperately needed medical supplies from China, many are now waking up to their economic exposure to a single manufacturing giant.</p> <p>Understandably, discussions about creating a <a href="https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/prime-ministers-jacinda-ardern-and-scott-morrison-announce-plans-trans-tasman-covid-safe">“trans-Tasman bubble”</a> between Australia and New Zealand have focused on kick-starting economic activity in the short term, particularly through tourism. But both countries also need to take a longer-term view of boosting economic activity – including through increased manufacturing and trade integration.</p> <p>The statistics support this. In 2018, 20% of global trade in the manufacturing of “intermediate” products (which need further processing before sale) <a href="https://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/ditcinf2020d1.pdf">came from China</a>. Chinese manufacturing (including goods made from components made in China) also <a href="https://blog.euromonitor.com/coronavirus-impact-on-global-supply-chains/">accounted for</a>:</p> <ul> <li>35% of household goods</li> <li>46% of hi-tech goods</li> <li>54% of textiles and apparel</li> <li>38% of machinery, rubber and plastic</li> <li>20% of pharmaceuticals and medical goods</li> <li>42% of chemical products.</li> </ul> <p>Australia and New Zealand are no exception, with China the number one trading partner of both. Australia <a href="https://www.dfat.gov.au/">earned</a> 32.6% of its export income from China in 2019, mostly from natural resource products such as iron ores, coal and natural gas, as well as education and tourism.</p> <p>From New Zealand, 23% of <a href="https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/china-top-trade-partner-for-2019">exports</a> (worth NZ$20 billion) went to China in 2019, and much of the country’s manufacturing has moved to China over the past 20 years. The China factor in New Zealand supply chains is also <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/119598635/coronavirus-delivery-delays-from-chinese-are-hurting-kiwi-businesses">crucial</a>, with a fifth of exports containing Chinese components.</p> <p><strong>Supply shortages from China</strong></p> <p>The world is now paying a price for this dependence on China. Since the COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020 there has been volatility in the supply of products ranging from cars and Apple phones to food ingredients and hand sanitiser packaging.</p> <p>More worryingly, availability of popular over-the-counter painkiller paracetamol was <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/411131/coronavirus-pharmac-to-limit-paracetamol-due-to-chinese-factory-closures">restricted</a> due to Chinese factory closures. This is part of a <a href="https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/australia-dangerously-dependent-on-medical-imports-20200217-p541ej">bigger picture</a> that shows Australia now importing over 90% of medicines and New Zealand <a href="https://tradingeconomics.com/new-zealand/imports/pharmaceutical-products">importing</a> close to NZ$1.59 billion in pharmaceutical products in 2019. Overall, both countries are <a href="https://sldinfo.com/2020/03/australias-medicine-supply-chain-is-vulnerable/">extremely vulnerable</a> to major supply chain disruptions of medical products.</p> <p>For all these reasons, a cooperative trans-Tasman manufacturing strategy should be on the table right now and in any future bilateral trade policy conversations.</p> <p><strong>Opportunities for Australia and NZ</strong></p> <p>Rather than each country focusing on product specialisation or setting industrial priorities in isolation, the two economies need to discuss how best to pool resources, add value and enhance the competitive advantage of strategic industries in the region as a whole.</p> <p>Currently, trans-Tasman trade primarily involves natural resources and foodstuffs flowing from New Zealand to Australia, with motor vehicles, machinery and mechanical equipment flowing the other way. Manufacturing is skewed towards Australia, but closer regional integration would mean increased flows of capital, components and finished products between the countries. We have seen this already in the primary and service sectors but not much in the manufacturing sector, especially from New Zealand to Australia.</p> <p>Medical technologies and telecommunications equipment manufacturing (both critical during the pandemic) stand out as potential new areas of economic integration. In that sense, it was heartening to see major medical tech companies such as <a href="https://www.resmed.com.au/about-us/the-resmed-story">Res-Med Australia</a> and <a href="https://www.fphcare.com/nz/our-company/">Fisher &amp; Paykel Healthcare</a> in New Zealand rapidly <a href="https://www.fairfieldchampion.com.au/story/6705551/private-hospitals-join-coronavirus-fight/?cs=9397">scale up</a> their production capacities to build respiratory devices, ventilators, and other personal protective equipment products.</p> <p>These brands enjoy a global technology edge, smart niche positioning and reputations for innovation. We need more of these inside a trans-Tasman trade and manufacturing bubble.</p> <p><strong>China still vital but balance is crucial</strong></p> <p>Key to successful regional integration will be the pooling of research and development (R&amp;D) resources, mutual direct investment, subsidising R&amp;D and manufacturing in emerging markets with profits from another (such as China), and value-adding specialisation in the supply chain. For example, Tait Communication in New Zealand recently <a href="https://www.taitradio.com/about-us/news/2011/tait-strengthens-customer-support-in-australia-with-new-facility">invested</a> in a new facility based in one of Australia’s largest science, technology and research centres.</p> <p>Together, we can make a bigger pie.</p> <p>None of this means cutting ties with China, which will remain the main importer of primary produce and food products from Australasia for the foreseeable future. And Chinese exports will still be vital. Fisher &amp; Paykel Healthcare sells its products in about 120 countries, for example, but some of its key raw materials suppliers are Chinese.</p> <p>Getting this dynamic balancing right will be key to Australia and New Zealand prospering in the inevitably uncertain – even divided – post-pandemic global business environment. And you never know, maybe one day we’ll see a “made in Australia and New Zealand” label in the aisles of The Warehouse and Bunnings.</p> <p><em>Written by Hongzhi Gao and Monica Ren. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/beyond-travel-a-trans-tasman-bubble-is-an-opportunity-for-australia-and-nz-to-reduce-dependence-on-china-137062">The Conversation.</a></em></p>

Travel Tips

Placeholder Content Image

The end of global travel as we know it: an opportunity for sustainable tourism

<p>Saturday, March 14 2020, is “The Day the World Stopped Travelling”, in the words of <a href="https://skift.com/2020/03/15/the-day-the-world-stopped-traveling-a-letter-from-skift-founder/">Rifat Ali</a>, head of travel analytics company Skift.</p> <p>That’s a little dramatic, perhaps, but every day since has brought us closer to it being reality.</p> <p>The COVID-19 crisis has the global travel industry – “the most consequential industry in the world”, says Ali – in uncharted territory. Nations are shutting their borders. Airlines face bankruptcy. Ports are refusing entry to cruise ships, threatening the very basis of the cruise business model.</p> <p>Associated hospitality, arts and cultural industries are threatened. Major events are being cancelled. Tourist seasons in many tourist destinations are collapsing. Vulnerable workers on casual, seasonal or gig contracts are suffering. It seems an epic disaster.</p> <p>But is it?</p> <p>Considering <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/01/world/nasa-china-pollution-coronavirus-trnd-scn/index.html">human activities need to change</a> if we are to avoid the worst effects of human-induced climate change, the coronavirus crisis might offer us an unexpected opportunity.</p> <p>Ali, like many others, wants recovery, “even if it takes a while to get back up and return to pre-coronavirus traveller numbers”.</p> <p>But rather than try to return to business as usual as soon as possible, COVID-19 challenges us to think about the type of consumption that underpins the unsustainable ways of the travel and tourism industries.</p> <p><strong>Tourism dependency</strong></p> <p>Air travel features prominently in discussions about reducing carbon emissions. Even if commercial aviation accounts “only” for about 2.4% of all emissions from fossil-fuel use, flying is still how many of us in the industrialised world blow out our carbon footprints.</p> <p>But sustainability concerns in the travel and tourism sectors extend far beyond carbon emissions.</p> <p>In many places tourism has grown beyond its sustainable bounds, to the detriment of local communities.</p> <p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-australia-might-be-at-risk-of-overtourism-99213">overtourism</a> of places like Venice, Barcelona and Reykjavik is one result. Cruise ships disgorge thousands of people for half-day visits that overwhelm the destination but leave little economic benefit.</p> <p>Cheap airline fares encourage weekend breaks in Europe that have inundated old cities such as Prague and Dubrovnik. The need for growth becomes self-perpetuating as tourism dependency locks communities into the system.</p> <p>In a 2010 paper <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/23745318?seq=1">I argued</a> the problem was tourism underpinned by what sociologist Leslie Sklair called the “<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0263276410374634">culture-ideology of consumerism</a>” – by which consumption patterns that were once the preserve of the rich became endemic.</p> <p>Tourism is embedded in that culture-ideology as an essential pillar to achieve endless economic growth. For instance, <a href="https://www.tourism.australia.com/en/markets-and-stats/tourism-statistics/the-economic-importance-of-tourism.html">the Australian government</a> prioritises tourism as a “supergrowth industry”, accounting for almost 10% of “exports” in 2017-18.</p> <p><strong>Out of crisis comes creativity</strong></p> <p>Many are desperate to ensure business continues as usual. “If people will not travel,” said Ariel Cohen of California-based business travel agency <a href="https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3800229,00.html">TripActions</a>, “the economy will grind to a halt.”</p> <p>COVID-19 is a radical wake-up call to this way of thinking. Even if Cohen is right, that economic reality now needs to change to accommodate the more pressing public health reality.</p> <p>It is a big economic hit, but crisis invites creativity. Grounded business travellers are realising virtual business meetings work satisfactorily. Conferences are reorganising for virtual sessions. Arts and cultural events and institutions are turning to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/13/arts/music/coronavirus-pandemic-music-streaming.html">live streaming</a> to connect with audiences.</p> <p>In Italian cities under lockdown, residents have come out on their balconies to create music as a community.</p> <p>Local cafes and food co-ops, including my local, are reaching out with support for the community’s marginalised and elderly to ensure they are not forgotten.</p> <p>These responses challenge the atomised individualism that has gone hand in hand with the consumerism of travel and tourism. This public health crisis reminds us our well-being depends not on being consumers but on being part of a community.</p> <p>Staying closer to home could be a catalyst awakening us to the value of eating locally, travelling less and just slowing down and connecting to our community.</p> <p>After this crisis passes, we might find the old business as usual less compelling. We might learn that not travelling long distances didn’t stop us travelling; it just enlivened us to the richness of local travel.</p> <p><em>Written by Freya Higgins-Desbiolles. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-end-of-global-travel-as-we-know-it-an-opportunity-for-sustainable-tourism-133783">The Conversation.</a></em></p> <p><em> </em></p> <p> Winter is coming: Simple ways to keep energy costs down</p> <p>Winter is coming: Simple ways to keep energy costs down. It has been a sweltering Australian summer and for most retirees, this means that they are likely to endure one final summer blow: a high energy bill. Read more:</p> <p><strong>It has been a sweltering Australian summer and for most retirees, this means that they are likely to endure one final summer blow: a high energy bill.</strong></p> <p>According to recent Mozo research, households were<a href="https://mozo.com.au/energy/articles/australians-set-to-waste-2-billion-on-bad-energy-habits-this-summer"> expected to waste a jaw dropping $774</a> on bad energy habits this summer, with the biggest culprit - leaving the air conditioner on overnight.</p> <p>So if you’ve been stung with a high summer energy bill, now is the time to get prepped in time for winter - below are some helpful tips.</p> <p><strong>Switch on smarter bulbs</strong></p> <p>Did you know that lighting accounts for seven per cent of a household’s annual energy usage?</p> <p>What’s even more surprising is that according to Red Energy, standard incandescent light bulbs use the majority of its energy to heat up a bulb and only 10% is then converted into light, making them highly inefficient. </p> <p>You can get smarter with your lighting by switching to more energy efficient light bulbs, like compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs).</p> <p>These bulbs use up to 80 per cent less electricity and last up to 20 times longer than regular light bulbs, which can come in handy if you spend most of your time at home.</p> <p><strong>Take advantage of rebates in your state</strong></p> <p>Whether you live in New South Wales or Tasmania, most Australians dread the day their energy bill arrives in the mail.</p> <p>New research has even shown that<a href="https://mozo.com.au/energy/savings-tips/is-your-energy-bill-your-household-s-biggest-financial-stressor"> electricity costs is one of the top two financial stressors</a> for Australian households.</p> <p>So to ease the pinch of high bill, it’s worth looking into various government energy rebates you may be eligible for.</p> <p>There are a range of rebates available from solar battery storage to owning energy efficient appliances, so it shouldn’t be hard to find one you can apply for. </p> <p>For instance,<a href="https://www.moneymag.com.au/state-energy-rebate"> the Seniors Energy Rebate</a>, which is available in NSW, provides independent retirees with a $200 rebate on their electricity bill every year, while pensioners or veterans may be eligible for a $285 low-income household rebate.</p> <p>Just keep in mind that you may need to supply relevant documentation to confirm your eligibility, like your Commonwealth Seniors Health Card, so be sure to have these handy when you apply.</p> <p><strong>Get picky with your plan</strong></p> <p>From picking up a new toaster to locking down a good deal on your phone bill, there’s no denying<a href="https://www.downsizing.com.au/news/630/New-report-shows-how-retirement-village-consumers-can-save-thousands-by-shopping-around"> the value of shopping around</a> for the best price.</p> <p>And as deregulated energy markets, like New South Wales and Victoria continue to grow, the result can only mean competitive pricing and more options for customers.</p> <p>Following a Mozo number crunch of 427 electricity plans from 37 retailers, our data revealed that households have the potential to save an average of $554 a year, just by shopping around.</p> <p>So once you’re ready to start shopping around on energy plans, be sure to have your most recent bill nearby to make the process smoother.</p> <p>It’s important to look beyond flashy discounts and incentives many retailers offer new customers and instead consider whether the plan provides long term benefits and savings.</p> <p>Making sure there are no lock-in contracts or exit fees is also important because it can give you the flexibility to move between plans if better offers become available.</p> <p><strong>Go heavy with your sheets</strong></p> <p>As the seasons change, many Australians use it as an opportunity to give their bedroom a facelift with some new decor.</p> <p>But during winter, it’s also the chance to give your space an energy efficient upgrade.</p> <p>There’s nothing worse than a bad nights sleep or waking up in a with frozen fingers and toes, so it might be best to start with switching out your thinner bedsheets for thicker and heavier fabrics, like fleece.</p> <p>This will keep you warm during colder nights, without having to resort to the switching on the heating or electric blanket.</p> <p>Aside from being somewhat inexpensive, fleece sheets are great at insulating heat, are more durable and can absorb water or moisture faster than regular sheets.</p> <p><em>This is a guest post from <a href="https://mozo.com.au/">Mozo</a>, a trailblazer in energy comparison, providing Australians with practical energy saving tips and expert analysis.</em></p> <p><em>Mozo believes that getting a better deal on energy doesn’t have to be complicated and that no Australian should be paying more than they have for the same service.</em></p> <p><em>Written by Ceyda Erem. Republished with permission of Downsizing.com.au.</em></p> <p><em> </em></p>

Cruising

Placeholder Content Image

Age discrimination biggest barrier to job opportunity

<p>Nearly half of Baby Boomers believe their age is the biggest barrier to job opportunities, a new report has found.</p> <p><span>A <a href="https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/careers/ok-boomer-is-age-stopping-you-from-getting-ahead-20200210-p53zbn">quarter of Australians</a> view age as the biggest barrier to opportunities, while 24 per cent feel most held back by their lack of financial resources, <a href="https://economicgraph.linkedin.com/research/opportunity-index-2020">LinkedIn Opportunity Index 2020</a> revealed. </span></p> <p><span>The survey discovered that under one in two (46 per cent) Aussie Baby Boomers, or those born from 1946 to 1964, believe their age is the main hurdle standing in their way of finding employment. Younger generations are less likely to feel inhibited by how old they are, with only 31 per cent of Gen X, 11 per cent of Millennials and 22 per cent of Gen Z sharing the sentiment.</span></p> <p><span>“While younger generations feel their age is a reflection of their lack of experience, more mature generations are struggling to adapt their skills for the changing workforce,” said Matt Tindale, country manager for LinkedIn in Australia and New Zealand.</span></p> <p><span>“Professionals are working well beyond their retirement years and we now have four generations working together for the very first time. </span></p> <p><span>“Embracing Australia’s multigenerational workforce and leveraging this diversity of talent will be imperative in order for businesses to remain successful.”</span></p> <p><span>Australians also have low confidence about accessing job opportunities, ranking 17 out of 22 countries.</span></p> <p><span>More than 30,000 people around the world, including 1,025 Australians, were polled for the index.</span></p> <p><span>LinkedIn’s index came months after Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s call for <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-20/retraining-wont-keep-older-workers-from-choosing-to-retire/11720482">older workers to undergo more training or upskilling</a> to allow for their continued participation in the workforce.</span></p> <p><span>“This year, as the economic landscape and job market continues to evolve, it will be important that Australians adopt a growth mindset and embrace lifelong learning to ensure they are best placed to seek the opportunities they want,” Tindale said.</span></p>

Retirement Income

Placeholder Content Image

Pauline Hanson breaks down on Alan Jones’ show: “Give me an opportunity to keep fighting”

<p>One Nation leader Pauline Hanson broke down in tears on Alan Jones’ morning radio show during a discussion about the plight of dairy farmers in Australia. </p> <p>The politician spoke about her fight to introduce a code of conduct so dairy farmers are given a guarantee for farmgate price for their milk. </p> <p>Senator Hanson has gotten the support of Labor and various crossbench senators, but was still opposed by the Coalition and independent politician Cory Bernardi.</p> <p>Hanson had an emotional moment during the show where she broke down in tears. </p> <p>"Give me an opportunity to keep fighting," she told Jones on 2GB.</p> <p>"I don't want these farmers to give up."</p> <p>Jones went on to speak about Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s comments about farmers on Thursday.</p> <p>When Senator Hanson began to talk again, Jones interrupted and urged her to “go and have a rest”. </p> <p>"She's worn out, as are the farmers."</p> <p>Jones also choked back tears on Tuesday during his Sky News show. </p> <p>He criticised the Prime Minister for his handling of the drought. </p> <p>"I begged him to provide food, water and freight so farmers wouldn't have to send their breeding stock to slaughter. He just didn't understand," Jones said.</p> <p>"Canberra had better start understanding the gravity of the situation it's not addressing.</p> <p>"There must be a moratorium on bank debt. There must be help with water and electricity. Where things stand politically today is this: drought and the farmer are now a massive political issue."</p> <p>On Friday morning, Jones suggested Mr Morrison was referring to himself when he described people being “panicked” about the drought. </p> <p>"I mean, a lot of people are running around at the moment getting all panicked and wanting crisis measures," the Prime Minister told 2SM on Thursday. </p> <p>"Well, no, look, we just need to keep our heads, keep our discipline, not go and blow the Budget."</p>

News

Placeholder Content Image

Lost loves, money frittered and opportunities missed: What people most regret in life

<p>Regrets, we've had a few… The things we've said, the things we haven't said. The people we have let walk out of our lives, the ones we've stuck with for too long. The opportunities we should have grabbed. The money we've frittered.</p> <p>If you are trying to avoid regret, you might heed a <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1948550611401756" target="_blank">study</a></strong></span> which found that negative feelings around what we won't do (inaction) last longer than those associated with what we do (action). Also, romantic regrets were the most common, ahead of work or financial ones. </p> <p>Psychologists say that regret achieves nothing, unless we use it to inspire us to act differently. If it becomes a subject of obsession, it is not serving us and we need to let it go. Sometimes the best way to do that is by confessing and moving on. In that spirit, Stuff readers and writers share their biggest regrets.</p> <p><strong>We got married too young</strong></p> <p>It seemed like a good idea at the time because our friends and work colleagues were embracing the next phase in life, that of getting married, buying a house and having children, though not always in that order. We were all in our early 20s.</p> <p>My wife, three years older than me, was very happy and satisfied. I wasn't and it took me 10 years to fully accept my unhappiness and end the marriage. We had two young daughters and although I had them join me at every opportunity and never defaulted on child support, it wasn't the same as having a live-in dad and they bore some of the scars of my decision.</p> <p>My advice to young people considering marriage is to think it through very, very carefully with mentors and people they trust to be honest with them as individuals and as a couple.</p> <p><strong>I didn't really know my dad</strong></p> <p>I wish I'd got to know my father better when he was alive.</p> <p>A mechanical engineer, he was a quiet, unassuming collector, inventor and master of his own shed-universe; a good-natured introvert comfortable in his own skin. [His] frustrating controlled-release of potentially interesting information was in stark contrast to the unsolicited chapter and verse that often emanated from my mother, usually about things we already knew or never wanted to know.</p> <p>But it was my father's tightly-ravelled brain I wanted to probe, not hers. I knew there must be a lot more to this quiet dry-witted man but he somehow managed to choke the life out of a cross-examination even before it started.</p> <p><strong>I didn't protect my friend from bullying</strong></p> <p>I watched my best friend in high school get bullied about her weight. I remember to this day the moment she came to me and said "you know what, I will show them". Six months to a year later she went from around 80kgs to under 40kgs. She developed an eating disorder, something that she will now deal with for her entire life. It got to a point that after she had eaten my friends and I would drive her around in a car and not let her out to make her keep the food down.</p> <p>This all came from bullying, some nasty words from "friends" who thought it was funny. I feel guilt, I could have done more to stop them.</p> <p><strong>Why did I spend $30 a pop on cocktails?</strong></p> <p>I wish I hadn't spent so much money on stuff I really didn't need, including $30-39 cocktails at high-end bars. I wish I'd started therapy way, way sooner. I wish I'd followed my gut and dumped jerks a lot earlier instead of trying to 'fix them'. I wish I'd actually gone to Berlin for a weekend when I lived in London because it's freaking shameful I didn't even step foot in Germany.</p> <p><strong>I almost met Carrie Fisher</strong></p> <p>Once when I was living in London I found out that Carrie Fisher was doing a book signing at a bookstore near my work. I wasn't at a very good place at the time, struggling with depression and my health, so I chose to go home and drown my sorrows rather than wait in line for an hour to meet someone who had been first a beloved childhood hero and later an inspiration to me as a writer and feminist.</p> <p>When she died in at the very tail end of December 2016, I was gutted. Writing now, I can't believe I made such a stupid decision not going to meet her. Sure, it was just a book signing, and she was "just" a celebrity, but I regret it tremendously. On the positive side, it made me make a promise to myself never to let depression get the better of me again and to push myself to do things I know I love, even when they seem too much of a "hassle". </p> <p><strong>He could have been the one</strong></p> <p>I am just back from a weekend away with an old boyfriend. We were last together when I was 21 and I had not yet come not out. We had a wonderful weekend and he said I was the most compatible person he's ever been with but perhaps here's not the same spark between us now. I will always wonder how life might have turned out if it had worked out the first time around.</p> <p><strong>I should never have dieted</strong></p> <p>Once you realise it's possible to lose a kilo a day by eating only steamed fish and vegetables, you're f...ed for life, and can never eat normally again. And any weight you do manage to lose, you have to eat so many fewer calories to maintain that than someone who was that weight naturally. Now I'll always be overweight and there's nothing I can do about it apart from further dieting, ultimately making problem worse. If I'd just learned that I was fine the way I was, and didn't need to diet from about 13 onwards, I would ironically be much lighter now, I think.</p> <p><strong>I went back to work too soon</strong></p> <p>I regret not spending more time with my girls when they were very young. I was back at work within a few months with each of them. We needed the money, but we could have made it work. I'll never get that time back. </p> <p>But I don't really believe in regret as you do what you think is best at the time.</p> <p><strong>Maybe I should have had the baby</strong></p> <p>My biggest regret is terminating a pregnancy in my 20s because my boyfriend didn't want to go ahead and I didn't want to trap him. It's hard to reach my late 40s and know now that it's not going to happen. I always had hope and knew that next time round I would be so happy to go ahead whatever the situation.</p> <p>I have always thought that actually it might have been the making of us as a couple and he would have made a great father. There is so much attached to this one decision.</p> <p><strong>I could have been a vet</strong></p> <p>I regret not working harder at school, particularly in maths and the sciences so that I could get into vet school.</p> <p><strong>I could have worked with Kylie Minogue</strong></p> <p>I wanted to be a backup dancer with Kylie Minogue but I didn't even try.</p> <p><strong>Why didn't I appreciate how good I looked?</strong></p> <p>I wish I had been kinder to myself about how I looked. Every time I see a current photo of myself I absolutely hate it and yet years later when I look back at old photos I think I look great in the photos. I still do it. Looking at photos from last year I'm thinking why did I hate that so much? I look MUCH better than I do now.</p> <p>And I really wish I'd bought those red leather shoes in Milan.</p> <p><strong>I should have done a university exchange</strong></p> <p>It would have been so easy, I'm not sure why I didn't go. There are people at uni whose whole job it is to arrange these for people. I can't tell you what I missed out with because I didn't go, but a friend of mine met his American girlfriend in Hungary five years ago, now she lives in New Zealand and they're still together.        </p> <p><strong>I should have taken that job</strong></p> <p>When working for Hamilton City Council I was offered the opportunity to job exchange for a year in Bermuda, for tax-free income – in American dollars. </p> <p><strong>I missed out on love</strong></p> <p>I regret not pursuing a relationship with someone I feel loved me and vice versa but there were problems with timing, exes, and living in different cities.</p> <p><em>Written by Eleanor Black. Republished with permission of <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stuff.co.nz.</span></strong></a></em></p>

Retirement Life

Placeholder Content Image

What you need to do ahead of the July 1 superannuation changes

<p><em><strong>AMP financial adviser Mark Haynes is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and Principal of Adelaide-based <a href="http://www.hfs.com.au/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Haysman Financial Services</span></a>. He specialises in retirement planning, superannuation and self-managed super.</strong></em></p> <p>Big changes to super rules in Australia are kicking in on July 1, so if you’re already retired or getting closer to it then you have just a small window of opportunity to get a substantial lump sum into your super and reap the current tax advantages.</p> <p>The new wide-ranging rules – only passed in parliament in November 2016 – are the most significant changes we will have seen to super since 2007. This time, however, there’s not a lot of time to act.</p> <p>Let’s take a look at the key changes you need to be prepared for – the reduction of the after-tax super contributions cap and introduction of a $1.6 million non-concessional contribution limit – which could make all the difference to your lifestyle in retirement if you seek the right advice over the next few months.</p> <p><strong>Non-concessional caps changes</strong></p> <p>From July 1, an annual after-tax (non-concessional) contributions cap of $100,000 will apply, replacing the current cap of $180,000. If you are under 65, you currently have an opportunity to bring forward three years’ worth of after-tax contributions, so up to $540,000 each into super or up to $1.08 million per couple. After July 1, however, you will only be able to bring forward a maximum of $300,000 each under the new bring-forward rules.</p> <p>After-tax, or non-concessional, contributions could include money contributed from an inheritance, a redundancy payout or the sale of shares or property and money from savings. Let’s say you were already planning on selling an investment property or perhaps downsizing your family home later this year – it could be well worth bringing forward this sale and putting any lump sum proceeds into your super before July 1.</p> <p>If you are still working and salary sacrificing into super, it’s also important to know the cap for concessional contributions (pre-tax contributions) also will be lowered from 1 July 2017 from the higher $35,000 limit (for over 50s) to $25,000 regardless of your age, which will include the 9.5 per cent compulsory super paid by your employer.</p> <p><strong>The new $1.6 million non-concessional contribution limit</strong></p> <p>If you’re fortunate to have saved well over the years into your super for your retirement and built up a substantial super balance, there’s another good reason why you should take action before July 1. After this, anyone with a total super balance above $1.6 million simply won’t be allowed to make after-tax (non-concessional) contributions at all.</p> <p>However, if you make after-tax contributions before July 1 that take your balance above $1.6 million will be able to stay in super.</p> <p>What’s important to remember is that everyone’s circumstances and goals for their retirement are different, which is why it’s crucial to be talking to a professional financial adviser right now about how to make the most of your super and its tax benefits before July 1.</p> <p><em>*Mark Haynes is an Authorised Representative of AMP Financial Planning Pty Ltd, ABN 89 051 208 327, AFS Licence No. 232706.</em></p> <p><em>Any advice given is general only and has not taken into account your objectives, financial situation or needs.  Because of this, before acting on any advice, you should consult a financial planner to consider how appropriate the advice is to your objectives, financial situation and needs.</em></p>

Retirement Income

Placeholder Content Image

Vandalism opens up opportunity for river cruises

<p>Vandalism has closed one opportunity but opened up another for a water tourism venture looking to expand across the Waikato River.</p> <p>Waikato River Explorer has been granted permission to move a pontoon and ramp from Acacia Narrows Reserve near Airport Rd, and relocate it to the Mystery Creek Events Centre a few kilometres away.</p> <p>The move would give the river cruise business an all-weather, secure mooring point, to connect the 12,000 to 15,000 tourists its river cruise carries each year, to new events planned at Mystery Creek. It would also connect visitors with the popular Te Awa Cycle Way which runs past the events centre.</p> <p>Company director Darren Mills said the floating pontoon at Acacia was used as an alternative when the cruise boat could not access the jetty at Mystery Creek.</p> <p>"The mooring at Mystery Creek is currently fixed, so when there is a flood, it's underwater. We were able to use the one at Acacia as an alternative because it's a floating pontoon.</p> <p>"But during the summer it was damaged by people using it as a ramp to dive into the river. They'd drive nails into the pole of the pontoon and use them as steps to climb up, and then dive into about 1.5 metres of water."</p> <p>Mills said originally the business planned to redevelop the Acacia pontoon but heard that the council wanted to remove it because of vandalism.</p> <p>"So we said we'd remove it at our cost, and asked if we could relocated it to Mystery Creek."</p> <p>The council's service delivery committee met to review Mills' request and gave it the nod. The decision would still have to be approved at a full council meeting.</p> <p>"What this will do is give us an all-weather, all-height access mooring to use. And the Acacia structure will fit that purpose."</p> <p>Mills said a one-way cruise from Hamilton Gardens to Mystery Creek had proved popular with visitors and he aimed to build on that interest.</p> <p>"What we have now is a situation where there are a lot of tourists arriving in Hamilton then getting on a bus and going to Hobbiton, Rotorua or Waitomo Caves.</p> <p>"We want to be able to offer cruises like this one, to keep them in the Waikato a bit longer."</p> <p>Mills said the business had grown since he and wife Vanessa restarted the river cruises in 2012.</p> <p>The Mystery Creek site would help propel the business forward in the coming years. The business has one cruise boat operating now but a second could be added in the future.</p> <p>"Boats aren't cheap and they have to be specifically built to your needs, in terms of how you're going to use them."</p> <p>Mills said the Hamilton City Council's river plan may also offer new mooring sites in the city and a further chance to grow cruise passenger numbers.</p> <p>Have you ever been on a river cruise? How did you find the experience? Let us know in the comments below, we’d love to hear from you.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/travel/cruising/2016/09/i-saw-the-best-of-europe-on-an-imperial-danube-cruise/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>I saw the best of Europe on an Imperial Danube cruise</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/travel/cruising/2016/08/nerrida-romantic-getaway-on-a-barge-in-provence/"><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">My romantic getaway on a barge in Provence</span></em></strong></a></p> <p><a href="/travel/cruising/2016/08/13-things-to-do-to-make-the-most-of-a-river-cruise/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>13 things to do to make the most of a river cruise</strong></em></span></a></p>

Cruising

Placeholder Content Image

How to pick a good investment opportunity

<p><em><strong>Kent Kwan is co-founder of AtlasTrend. With 15 years of professional experience in investing and international financial markets, Kent has successfully managed more than $1 billion in funds invested in international-listed shares.</strong></em></p> <p>If only I had a dollar for everyone who has said “I really can’t sell that” to us in the past few months!</p> <p>Nearly everyone I’ve been speaking to who own Australian shares have been lamenting the negative performance of their investments over the past year. On many occasions, my simple question to them is why do you still own so many resources company shares?</p> <p>The answer I get is normally some variation of “it has gone down 60%, I really can’t sell that” or “there is no way iron ore prices will fall back to its lows again”. I call this the “I really can’t sell that” conundrum. At AtlasTrend, we actively avoid this kind of thinking when we invest.</p> <p>Investing should always be about looking for the best risk adjusted return for the money you are investing. This means you should try to look at alternative investment opportunities on a regular basis. It forces you to always ask whether there are better investments available versus what you already own. If the answer is yes, you should probably sell that existing investment, regardless of what you initially paid for it because your money can generate better returns elsewhere.</p> <p>The above sounds logical. However, in practice it can be a very difficult discipline to put in place. Why?</p> <p>It is all due to fear.</p> <p><strong>The fear of missing out</strong></p> <p>From an investing perspective, there is not much worse than selling an investment for a large realised loss and then watching that investment increase in price again when you no longer own it. Without exception, everyone hates this feeling of missing out on the potential share price rebound.</p> <p>However, has this fear ever caused you further losses rather than actual profits?</p> <p>To battle against this fear, take a disciplined approach of assessing risk and return. Investing in listed stocks within the resources sector is a topical example. For example, if I had invested in a listed iron ore producer previously, I would be selling those shares now. Iron ore prices are floundering again, dividends have been cut, balance sheets are somewhat at risk and there are little to no future growth prospects to speak of for the foreseeable future.</p> <p>The only reason to hold iron ore stocks would be a view that iron ore prices will experience a sustained price increase. At best, forecasting iron ore prices is currently a stab in the dark. Most so called experts have gotten it terribly wrong in the past few years. For many investors, there are much better risk adjusted investments available in companies and industries that currently have the opposite industry dynamics compared to the resources industry.</p> <p>Yes, you may realise a loss selling your resources investments. Yes, they may have a short term share price increase. However, the reality is much of the resources megatrend of the past decade is over. It is time to move on and not let the fear of missing out on a rebound hold you back. After all, successful investing is about finding good companies in industries enjoying a strong tailwind.</p> <p>I’ll leave you with a simple question to help avoid the “I Really Can’t Sell That” conundrum. For every listed share you actually own right now, ask yourself:</p> <p>“If I didn’t own this share at all, how many of these shares would I buy right now? – If you answered I wouldn’t buy any then you probably shouldn’t own any.</p> <p>For a new way to invest with full transparency, join the <a href="https://www.atlastrend.com/register/?group=oversixty" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">AtlasTrend community of investors</span></strong></a> today.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/finance/retirement-income/2016/01/should-you-withdraw-all-of-your-super-at-once/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Is it a bad idea to withdraw all of your super at once?</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/finance/retirement-income/2016/05/best-sized-superannuation-fund/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Size doesn’t always matter when it comes to super</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/finance/retirement-income/2015/11/investing-in-the-stock-market/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Beginner’s guide to the stock market</strong></em></span></a></p>

Money & Banking

Placeholder Content Image

Opportunities in today’s housing market

<p>While property is generally considered a sound investment, understanding what the market is doing based purely on statistics and what you read in the news can feel like deciphering complex algebra. We’ve taken a broad look at the investment opportunities in today’s housing market. Understanding market movement is the best way to ensure that you make the right decision with your money.</p> <p><strong>Queensland</strong></p> <p>As the Australian dollar continues to fall, and tourism in the region increases, The Sunshine State is expected to provide canny investors with a range of opportunities in the property market. Places five to 10 kilometres outside the Brisbane CBD and the Gold Coast could potentially become quite attractive for people in the tourist industry who’d like a comfortable home close to work.</p> <p>And these opportunities extend further north as well. The Sunshine Coast, Cairns and Townsville are all expected to see similar benefits from an increased influx of tourists. And the fact that they can often be picked up for a fraction of the price of similar property in areas like Sydney or Melbourne definitely makes investing in property in Queensland an idea well worth exploring.</p> <p><strong>Western Australia</strong></p> <p>While the Village People probably weren’t exactly talking about real estate investment, the instruction, “Go West!” might just turn out to be a sound piece of advice in today’s housing market. Areas close to WA’s Margret River region can expect to see a similar process to that at plan in Queensland due to the influx of tourists, while the south west coast of WA may also see a rise.</p> <p>High Wycombe, Spearwood, Bassendean, Morley and Scarborough have all been identified as potential growth areas, while property experts and economists have warned against making investment in regions like Baldivis, East Perth, Armadale, Ellenbrook and Riverdale.</p> <p><strong>Regional Australia</strong></p> <p>Sedate, less costly, smaller regional centres that aren’t too far from Australia’s capital cities are expected to prosper in coming years as well. And some of these regions are quite picturesque, like the NSW south coast, or the Mornington Peninsula and the Yarra Ranges in Victoria.</p> <p>Look for towns with a population in excess of 10,000 people that are still on an upward growth trajectory. If possible find a place that has a diversified economy that can provide multiple sources of employment. Some areas exposed to industries that are becoming less prevalent (mining towns) are really feeling the pinch, and you want there to be a range of capacity for growth. Upgrades to Victoria’s regional rail network are set to benefit areas like Bendigo and Ballarat as well.</p> <p><strong>Conclusion</strong></p> <p>In the end of the day, the most important thing you can do is ask yourself what you are looking to achieve with your investment, and make the decision accordingly. While no one can predict the future with 100 per cent accuracy, we can make calculated guesses. Follow the trends, read the news, do your own research and identify the best place in Australia for you to invest in property.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="/finance/money/2015/07/renting-versus-buying/">Buying or renting? 6 things to consider when it’s time to move</a></strong></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="/lifestyle/retirement-life/2015/10/how-to-afford-to-travel-in-retirement/">My super allows me to travel more than ever</a></strong></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="/finance/legal/2015/09/how-to-plan-to-protect-future/">Plan ahead to protect your future</a></strong></em></span></p>

Retirement Income

Our Partners