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"People are losing faith": Nat Barr takes aim at Albanese government

<p>Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has defended his record on economic management as the Labor party's primary vote continues to slip in the polls against Peter Dutton ahead of next year's election. </p> <p>This week's Newspoll shows that Labor's primary vote has slumped to 31 per cent, the lowest it has been since the 2022 election, while the Coalition remains steady at 38 per cent. </p> <p>On Thursday, <em>Sunrise</em> host Nat Barr told the Prime Minister that while on her way to the studio she had spoken to a Labor-voting taxi driver who said he was "losing faith" in Albanese's leadership, as things were "too expensive". </p> <p>“This is your biggest problem, people like this cabby are losing faith. How do you respond to that?” Barr asked Albanese. </p> <p>Albanese defended his choices by pointing out that ABS figures released on Wednesday showed annual inflation rates at 2.7 per cent in August, down from 3.5 per cent in July, and the lowest it has been since August 2021. </p> <p>“Cost-of-living pressures are real, but that’s why we have engaged with responsible economic management in order to bring inflation down whilst we have been delivering cost-of-living relief,” he said.</p> <p>“Yesterday’s figures show the headline inflation is down from 3.5 to 2.7 (per cent), it is a good outcome.</p> <p>“There’s more work to be done, but we’ve done that whilst we have delivered a tax cut for that cabby who would have got nothing under the previous scheme.”</p> <p>Albanese added that energy bill relief, cheaper childcare, and fee-free TAFE places were also making a difference to cost-of-living pressures. </p> <p>However, Barr hit back and said that the cost-of-living measures such as the energy rebate were “artificial” as the rebate would end. </p> <p>“The RBA has said, this does not mean that inflation is under control. The power rebate is going to end and that’s keeping it at one level at the moment, that’s why they look at underlying inflation — they take out volatile stuff,” Barr said.</p> <p>“So, what do you say about inflation still being at this level?” she asked. </p> <p>“What I say is if you exclude volatile, the figures released yesterday, which are known as month-by-month, but they’re year-to-year … that figure is down from 3.7 down to 3 (per cent). That’s a remarkable drop,” Albanese responded. </p> <p>“The Reserve Bank Australia’s target band is 2 to 3 (per cent). Every single one of the figures yesterday that were released, whether it was headline, excluding volatile, mean, all of them saw significant drops in inflation.</p> <p>“Inflation is half what we inherited and one-third of where it peaked …That is in part because of the back-to-back budget surpluses that we have delivered that in part is, yes, energy bill relief, but also what we’ve done in cheaper childcare, fee-free TAFE, the deliberate policy design to help people whilst putting that downward pressure on inflation,” he said.</p> <p><em>Image: Sunrise</em></p>

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What the government’s home care changes mean for ageing Australians

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tracy-comans-696663">Tracy Comans</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/frances-batchelor-2209350">Frances Batchelor</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a></em></p> <p>The Albanese government has this week announced it will introduce one of the <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/ministers/the-hon-anika-wells-mp/media/once-in-a-generation-aged-care-reforms">largest reforms</a> to Australia’s aged-care sector to date.</p> <p>The package includes a A$4.3 billion investment in home care, now called “<a href="https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/support-at-home">Support at Home</a>”, to come into effect from July 2025. This reflects both the desire of many people to remain living at home as they age, and the government’s desire to reduce the costs of residential aged care.</p> <p>So what changes is the government making to home care packages? And what will these changes mean for ageing Australians?</p> <h2>Reducing waiting times</h2> <p>One of the major complaints about the current home care system is the long waiting times. Estimates suggest there’s a <a href="https://www.gen-agedcaredata.gov.au/getmedia/447b425c-63d6-4b96-a1fc-4dac805066ba/Home-Care-Packages-Program-data-report-1-January-%E2%80%93-31-March-2024">6–to-12-month wait</a> for the higher level 3 and 4 home care packages. For people with the highest needs, this is far too long.</p> <p>As of March this year, around <a href="https://www.gen-agedcaredata.gov.au/getmedia/447b425c-63d6-4b96-a1fc-4dac805066ba/Home-Care-Packages-Program-data-report-1-January-%E2%80%93-31-March-2024">45,000 people</a> were waiting for any level of home care. An additional 14,000 were already receiving a package, but on a lower level of home care than they were entitled to.</p> <p>With additional funding, the new system will <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/ministers/the-hon-anika-wells-mp/media/once-in-a-generation-aged-care-reforms">support more participants</a>. It aims to shorten wait times to <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-09/support-at-home-fact-sheet.pdf">an average of three months</a> from July 2027.</p> <h2>Changes to services</h2> <p>The new system will replace the current four levels of home care packages with <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/ministers/the-hon-anika-wells-mp/media/once-in-a-generation-aged-care-reforms">eight classifications</a> of funding for services. When participants are assessed, they will be assigned the most suitable category. There’s currently very limited information on what these classifications are, but the idea is they will provide more targeted services.</p> <p>A number of short-term supports will also be available. These include assistive technology (such as mobility aids) and home modifications. Some people will be able to access 12 weeks of restorative care – a more intensive program designed to build function after injury or illness – as well as palliative care support.</p> <p>The way different types of services are subsidised is also changing. Previously, the same means-tested co-contribution applied regardless of the type of service.</p> <p>Under the new system, services are categorised into clinical care (for example, physiotherapy or wound care), independence (such as help with bathing or cooking) and everyday living (for example, gardening or home maintenance). The new reforms fully subsidise clinical services regardless of income, whereas independence and everyday living services will attract co-contributions based on means testing.</p> <p>For example, <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-09/case-studies-support-at-home.pdf">a self-funded retiree</a> would pay nothing out of pocket for physiotherapy, but would pay 50% for help with showering and 80% towards gardening costs. A full pensioner would also pay nothing for physiotherapy, but pay 5% for help with showering and 17.5% of the cost of gardening.</p> <p>This is a positive change. Our research has previously highlighted a tendency for people with home care packages to choose everyday living services <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1155/2023/4157055">such as gardening</a> and cleaning and refuse clinical care such as allied health and nursing as these types of services were more expensive.</p> <p>These changes should make older people more likely to choose allied health and clinical care services, which will help them maintain their function and stay fitter for longer.</p> <h2>Some challenges</h2> <p>For the government’s reforms to deliver faster and better support at home, a number of issues need to be addressed.</p> <p>As people stay at home for longer, we also see that these <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ageing/article/52/5/afad058/7147101">people are frailer</a> and have more health conditions than in the past. This requires a different and more highly skilled home care workforce.</p> <p>The current <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2021/10/2020-aged-care-workforce-census.pdf">home care workforce</a> consists largely of personal care and domestic support workers alongside a much smaller skilled workforce of registered nurses and allied health professionals.</p> <p>But with the changing profile of people receiving care at home, there will need to be a greater focus on maintaining functional capacity. This might mean more allied health input will be required, such as from physiotherapists and occupational therapists.</p> <p>It’s difficult to source an appropriately skilled workforce across the sector, and almost impossible in <a href="https://www.ruralhealth.org.au/sites/default/files/publications/fact-sheet-allied-health.pdf">rural and remote areas</a>. Alternative models, such as training personal care workers to act as allied health assistants, and effectively using technology such as telehealth, will be necessary to meet demand without compromising on quality of care.</p> <p>One example of the need for upskilling in specific areas relates to caring for people with dementia. The majority of people who are living with dementia at home receive care from family carers, supported by home care workers. It’s vital that these care workers have adequate knowledge and skills specific to dementia.</p> <p>However, research has shown the home care workforce may <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31646701/">lack the knowledge and skills</a> to provide best-practice care for people living with dementia. Specialised <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/gps.6140">dementia training</a> for home care workers is effective in improving knowledge, attitudes and sense of competence in providing care. It should be rolled out across the sector.</p> <h2>What about unpaid care at home?</h2> <p>Unpaid carers, such as family members, provide <a href="https://www.pmc.gov.au/resources/draft-national-strategy-care-and-support-economy/goal-1-quality-care-and-support/support-for-informal-carers">significant amounts of care</a> for older people. The value of this unpaid care is estimated to be in the billions. As older people stay at home for longer, this is set to increase even further.</p> <p>However, carers with high care burdens are particularly vulnerable to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352827316300283#s0025">poor physical and mental health</a>. Without adequate support, we may find extra caring pressures lead to a breakdown in caring relationships and an increase in other health-care costs for both the carer and care recipient.</p> <p>So we need to ensure carers have adequate financial, psychological and practical support. But the currently available detail on the reforms doesn’t indicate this has been adequately addressed.</p> <p>With careful implementation and ongoing evaluation, these reforms have the potential to significantly enhance the home care system. However, their success will depend on addressing workforce challenges, ensuring adequate support for unpaid carers, and maintaining a focus on the holistic needs of older Australians.</p> <p><em>More information about Support at Home is <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/support-at-home/about">available online</a>.</em><!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><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/238890/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tracy-comans-696663"><em>Tracy Comans</em></a><em>, Executive Director, National Ageing Research Institute; Professor, Centre for Health Services Research, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/frances-batchelor-2209350">Frances Batchelor</a>, Director Clinical Gerontology &amp; Senior Principal Research Fellow, National Ageing Research Institute, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p> <p><em>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/what-the-governments-home-care-changes-mean-for-ageing-australians-238890">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

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Even after the government’s aviation crackdown, Australia will lag behind on flyers’ rights

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ian-douglas-2932">Ian Douglas</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-sydney-1414">UNSW Sydney</a></em></p> <p>When it comes to consumer protections for airline passengers, Australia has long been dragging its feet.</p> <p>The limited protections we do have rely heavily on the general <a href="https://consumer.gov.au/index.php/australian-consumer-law">Australian Consumer Law</a>. The “consumer guarantees” provided in this law only require services to be delivered in the arguably vague framework of a “reasonable time”.</p> <p>That might be okay if we’re just getting a sofa delivered from a furniture retailer. The cost of a late delivery is low.</p> <p>But these guarantees were not tailored to the unique impacts delayed or cancelled flights can have on travellers. Australia’s lack of aviation-specific protections has long been a severe <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Airlines%20Terms%20and%20Conditions%20Report.pdf">pain point</a> for flyers, only heightened by pandemic disruption.</p> <p>The government’s much-awaited <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/infrastructure-transport-vehicles/aviation/aviation-white-paper">Aviation White Paper</a>, released in full on Monday, promised to address this issue. At the heart of the reforms, Australia will get a new aviation ombud scheme, and a new charter of customer rights for passengers.</p> <p>The recognition that new protections are needed is a step in the right direction. But this once-in-a-generation white paper missed the chance to achieve far more, by moving Australia to the style of consumer protection that have now been offered for 20 years in <a href="https://www.airhelp.com/en-int/ec-regulation-261-2004/">Europe</a>.</p> <h2>Why is air travel unique?</h2> <p>Airline customers have a reasonable expectation of arriving at their destination, at (or close to) the time published by the airline in its schedule at the time the reservation was paid and ticketed.</p> <p>If this can’t be achieved, they should at least arrive at some amended time that was advised far enough in advance to allow related reservations and bookings to be adjusted.</p> <p>Air travel has to be punctual because it doesn’t have any substitutes. On even a modest deadline, driving from Perth or even Sydney to Melbourne, for example, is not a comparable option.</p> <p>And a passenger’s options to adapt their travel plans diminish as the departure date approaches. In the final days before travel, hotel cancellation deadlines pass and alternative connecting flight options sell out or spike in price.</p> <p>In some cases, travelling to a specific event can become pointless for a passenger if a delay is lengthy enough.</p> <h2>Australia is playing catch-up</h2> <p>In contrast with Australia, aviation-specific protections have long existed in many other developed economies.</p> <p>In the European Union (EU), for example, <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=LEGISSUM%3Al24173">regulations</a> make clear that airlines have specific obligations and responsibilities in the event of delays, cancellations and denied boardings. This includes the <a href="https://www.airhelp.com/en-int/ec-regulation-261-2004/">right to compensation</a> of up to €600 (A$988).</p> <p>These protections and the levels of compensation payable for failure to meet specified requirements for different kinds of flights are comprehensively legislated.</p> <p>Canada has a <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2019-150/index.html">slightly different approach</a> – smaller regional carriers have different obligations to mainline operators. But as with the European regulation, it imposes an obligation to get the passenger to the ticketed destination, or to refund the ticket if the journey has become pointless.</p> <p>The absence of such legislated protections in Australia means we typically have to rely on the goodwill of the airline when things go wrong.</p> <h2>Real action has been delayed</h2> <p>The centrepiece proposal of the <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/infrastructure-transport-vehicles/aviation/aviation-white-paper">white paper</a> is to create a new ombud scheme with “the power to direct airlines and airports to provide remedies to consumers and investigate customer complaints about airlines’ and airports’ conduct”. This will replace the existing <a href="https://www.airlinecustomeradvocate.com.au/General/Default.aspx">Airline Customer Advocate</a>.</p> <p>A new charter of customer rights, to be produced by the scheme, will aim to give flyers “greater certainty about what they can expect when flights are cancelled and delayed” and require airlines to be more transparent about their performance.</p> <p>The white paper noted the poor on-time performance of Australian carriers. It also pointed out that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Airlines%20Terms%20and%20Conditions%20Report.pdf">identified</a> problems with consumer protections for air travel in Australia as far back as 2017. But its proposals offer no real quantifiable or enforceable improvements to consumer rights.</p> <p>Despite the well-established models in comparable countries – many of which have <a href="https://theconversation.com/if-australia-had-an-aviation-ombudsman-passengers-could-get-compensation-for-cancelled-flights-235679">followed the EU’s lead</a> – Australians will need to wait for yet another discussion process to be complete before they see what protections may eventually be introduced.</p> <p>The government’s white paper has largely just kicked the can down the road.</p> <p>At a minimum, passengers on Australian carriers deserve the assurances given to those travelling in and from Europe: in the event of a cancellation or long delay, that they will be transported to their destination on an alternative flight as quickly as possible.</p> <p>They should also be given appropriate meals and accommodation until they can make this onward journey, receive compensation for lengthy delays, and have the option to return home with a full refund if their travel has become pointless.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><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/237469/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ian-douglas-2932">Ian Douglas</a>, Honorary Senior Lecturer, UNSW Aviation, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-sydney-1414">UNSW Sydney</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>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/even-after-the-governments-aviation-crackdown-australia-will-lag-behind-on-flyers-rights-237469">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

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Government launches new campaign to tackle elder abuse

<p>The federal government has launched a new campaign to tackle elder abuse. </p> <p>According to the National Elder Abuse Prevalence Study, one in six older Australians experienced abuse last year, with 61 per cent of victims not seeking for help or advice. </p> <p>The Albanese government will spend $4.8 million on the campaign which includes a series of commercials.</p> <p>Council on the Ageing Australia chief executive Patricia Sparrow said the organisation believed cases were under reported.</p> <p>"That's why we think it's incredibly important to raise this awareness," Sparrow said.</p> <p>"It mostly comes from someone they know, which makes it very difficult for older people to report it or know what to do." </p> <p>Labor senator Jenny McAllister told <em>Sky News</em>: "This is something that the community needs to start thinking about. It's a scourge.</p> <p>"We need to eliminate it and the right place to start is with conversations with people we know and care about."</p> <p>"If you're feeling a little uncertain, if you think something is wrong and you're an older Australian you should speak up about it," she added. </p> <p>With an ageing population, it's important to raise awareness that elder abuse is not just physical violence, but emotional, financial and psychological abuse too. </p> <p>The commercials will run on TV, online and at medical clinics from July 28 and they aim to encourage older people to open up about the poor treatment they receive, including from their children and grandchildren. </p> <p>Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus will formally announce the campaign at the National Elder Abuse Conference in Adelaide on Monday. </p> <p>He said that elder abuse was a shameful and often hidden form of cruelty and mistreatment. </p> <p>"It is ugly, it is unacceptable and it must be eliminated," he said.</p> <p>"It is critical that we continue to work together as a community to promote the rights and safety of older people, and ensure that everyone is able to age with dignity and respect."</p> <p><em>Images: Nine</em></p>

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Australians lose $5,200 a minute to scammers. There’s a simple thing the government could do to reduce this. Why won’t they?

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/peter-martin-682709">Peter Martin</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/crawford-school-of-public-policy-australian-national-university-3292">Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University</a></em></p> <p>What if the government was doing everything it could to stop thieves making off with our money, except the one thing that could really work?</p> <p>That’s how it looks when it comes to <a href="https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/types-of-scams">scams</a>, which are attempts to trick us out of our funds, usually by getting us to hand over our identities or bank details or transfer funds.</p> <p>Last year we lost an astonishing <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/scam-losses-decline-but-more-work-to-do-as-australians-lose-27-billion">A$2.74 billion</a> to scammers. That’s more than $5,200 per minute – and that’s only the scams we know about from the 601,000 Australians who made reports. Many more would have kept quiet.</p> <p>If the theft of $5,200 per minute seems over the odds for a country Australia’s size, a comparison with the United Kingdom suggests you are right. In 2022, people in the UK lost <a href="https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/system/files/2023-05/Annual%20Fraud%20Report%202023_0.pdf">£2,300</a> per minute, which is about A$4,400. The UK has two and a half times Australia’s population.</p> <p>It’s as if international scammers, using SMS, phone calls, fake invoices and fake web addresses are targeting Australia, because in other places it’s harder.</p> <p>If we want to cut Australians’ losses, it’s time to look at rules about to come into force in the UK.</p> <h2>Scams up 320% since 2020</h2> <p>The current federal government is doing a lot – <em>almost</em> everything it could. Within a year of taking office, it set up the <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/national-anti-scam-centre">National Anti-Scam Centre</a>, which coordinates intelligence. Just this week, the centre reported that figure of $2.74 billion, which is down 13% on 2022, but up 50% on 2021 and 320% on 2020.</p> <p>It’s planning “<a href="https://treasury.gov.au/consultation/c2023-464732">mandatory industry codes</a>” for banks, telecommunication providers and digital platforms.</p> <p>But the code it is proposing for banks, set out in a <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-11/c2023-464732-cp.pdf">consultation paper</a> late last year, is weak when compared to overseas.</p> <h2>Banks are the gatekeepers</h2> <p>Banks matter, because they are nearly always the means by which the money is transferred. Cryptocurrency is now much less used after the banks agreed to limit payments to high risk exchanges.</p> <p>Here’s an example of the role played by banks. A woman the Consumer Action Law Centre is calling <a href="https://consumeraction.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Joint-submission-CALC-CHOICE-ACCAN-31012024-Scams-Mandatory-code-treasury-consultA.pdf">Amelia</a> tried to sell a breast pump on Gumtree.</p> <p>The buyer asked for her bank card number and a one-time PIN and used the code to whisk out $9,100, which was sent overseas. The bank wouldn’t help because she had provided the one-time PIN.</p> <p>Here’s another. A woman the Competition and Consumer Commission is calling <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Targeting%20scams%202022.pdf">Niamh</a> was contacted by someone using the National Australia Bank’s SMS ID. Niamh was told her account was compromised and talked through how to transfer $300,000 to a “secure” account.</p> <p>After she had done it, the scammer told her it was a scam, laughed and said “we are in Brisbane, come find me”.</p> <h2>How bank rules protect scammers</h2> <p>And one more example. Former University of Melbourne academic <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/377766055_Scams_Blaming_the_Victims">Kim Sawyer</a> (that’s his real name, he is prepared to go public) clicked on an ad for “St George Capital” displaying the dragon logo of St. George Bank.</p> <p>He was called back by a man using the name of a real St. George employee, who persuaded him to transfer funds from accounts at the AMP, Citibank and Macquarie to accounts he was told would be in his and his wife’s name at Westpac, ANZ, the Commonwealth and Bendigo Banks.</p> <p>They lost <a href="https://www.afr.com/wealth/personal-finance/i-lost-2-5m-of-my-super-to-scammers-20240423-p5flzp">$2.5 million</a>. Sawyer says none of the banks – those that sent the funds or those that received them – would help him. Some cited “<a href="https://www.choice.com.au/money/financial-planning-and-investing/stock-market-investing/articles/st-george-capital-investment-scam">privacy</a>” reasons.</p> <p>The Consumer Action Law Centre says the banks that transfer the scammed funds routinely tell their customers “it’s nothing to do with us, you transferred the money, we can’t help you”. The banks receiving the funds routinely say “you’re not our customer, we can’t help you”.</p> <p>That’s here. Not in the UK.</p> <h2>UK bank customers get a better deal</h2> <p>In Australia in 2022, only <a href="https://download.asic.gov.au/media/mbhoz0pc/rep761-published-20-april-2023.pdf">13%</a> of attempted scam payments were stopped by banks before they took place. Once scammed, only 2% to 5% of losses (depending on the bank) were reimbursed or compensated.</p> <p>In <a href="https://www.psr.org.uk/information-for-consumers/app-fraud-performance-data/">the UK</a>, the top four banks pay out 49% to 73%.</p> <p>And they are about to pay out much more. From October 2024, reimbursement will be compulsory. Where authorised fast payments are made “because of deception by fraudsters”, the banks will have to reimburse <a href="https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en-us/posts/investigation-fraud-and-risk/app-fraud-uk">the lot</a>.</p> <p>Normally the bills will be split <a href="https://www.psr.org.uk/news-and-updates/latest-news/news/psr-confirms-new-requirements-for-app-fraud-reimbursement/">50:50</a> between the bank transferring the funds and the bank receiving them. Unless there’s a need for further investigations, the payments must be made within five days.</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.psr.org.uk/media/as3a0xan/sr1-consumer-standard-of-caution-guidance-dec-2023.pdf">only exceptions</a> are where the consumer seeking reimbursement has acted fraudulently or with gross negligence.</p> <p>The idea behind the change – pushed through by the Conservative government now led by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak – is that if scams are the banks’ problem, if they are costing them millions at a time, they’ll stop them.</p> <p><a href="https://www.thepost.co.nz/business/350197309/banks-given-fraud-ultimatum">New Zealand</a> is looking at doing the same thing, <a href="https://www.biocatch.com/blog/mas-shared-responsibility-fraud-losses">as is Singapore</a>.</p> <p>But here, the treasury’s discussion paper on its mandatory codes mentions reimbursement <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-11/c2023-464732-cp.pdf">only once</a>. That’s when it talks about what’s happening in the UK. Neither treasury nor the relevant federal minister is proposing it here.</p> <h2>Australia’s approach is softer</h2> <p>Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones is in charge of Australia’s rules.</p> <p>Asked why he wasn’t pushing for compulsory reimbursement here, Jones said on Monday <a href="https://ministers.treasury.gov.au/ministers/stephen-jones-2022/transcripts/interview-mark-gibson-abc-perth">prevention was better</a>.</p> <blockquote> <p>I think a simplistic approach of just saying, ‘Oh, well, if any loss, if anyone incurs a loss, then the bank always pay’, won’t work. It’ll just make Australia a honeypot for these international crime gangs, because they’ll say, well, ‘Let’s, you know, focus all of our activity on Australia because it’s a victimless crime if banks always pay’.</p> </blockquote> <p>Telling banks to pay would certainly focus the minds of the banks, in the way they are about to be focused in the UK.</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.ausbanking.org.au/submissions/">Australian Banking Association</a> hasn’t published its submission to the treasury review, but the <a href="https://consumeraction.org.au/scams-mandatory-industry-codes-consultation-paper/">Consumer Action Law Centre</a> has.</p> <p>It says if banks had to reimburse money lost, they’d have more of a reason to keep it safe.</p> <p>In the UK, they are about to find out. If Jones is right, it might be about to become a honeypot for scammers. If he is wrong, his government will leave Australia even further behind when it comes to scams – leaving us thousands more dollars behind per day.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><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/228867/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/peter-martin-682709">Peter Martin</a>, Visiting Fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/crawford-school-of-public-policy-australian-national-university-3292">Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images </em></p> <p><em>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/australians-lose-5-200-a-minute-to-scammers-theres-a-simple-thing-the-government-could-do-to-reduce-this-why-wont-they-228867">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Money & Banking

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South Australian Government's sprinkles ban sparks outrage

<p>New guidelines for school canteens in South Australia have sparked outrage for "taking all the enjoyment away from children". </p> <p>Sprinkles of any kind, including 100s and 1000s - which are an essential ingredient for the iconic fairy bread - have been categorised as “red 2", meaning that they “should not be promoted or encouraged in schools on any occasion”.</p> <p>The ban comes after processed meats including ham would be limited at canteens in Western Australia, with similar restrictions now in place for South Australian canteens. </p> <p>Processed meats fall into the “red 1” or “amber” categories in South Australia, which means that products featuring them would be limited depending on nutritional criteria. </p> <p>These restrictions mean that children will no longer be able to regularly enjoy Australian staples like ham and cheese toasties and fairy bread at school. </p> <p>“Why are they taking all the enjoyment away from children?” one person told 7News. </p> <p>Dieticians have also questioned the decision, saying that it might only cause further problems in the future. </p> <p>“All your brain wants to do is eat that food, and eventually, you can restrict it for a little bit, until you get to that point where you just give in, you want to eat it, and then you binge,” dietitian Mattea Palombo said. </p> <p>Another expert suggested changing the foods we associate with good times. </p> <p>“Celebration foods aren’t so much about the foods that we have at the time of the celebration, but the friends and family we have around at the time of celebrating,” dietitian Dr Evangeline Mantzioris said.</p> <p>“So I think we probably need to balance it out a bit, so healthy foods are available at those celebrations.” </p> <p>Although the changes impact canteens, parents are still free to pack whatever they want in their kids' lunchboxes. </p> <p><em>Images: Getty</em></p> <p> </p> <p> </p>

Food & Wine

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Stage 3 stacks up: the rejigged tax cuts help fight bracket creep and boost middle and upper-middle households

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ben-phillips-98866">Ben Phillips</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-national-university-877">Australian National University</a></em></p> <p>The winners and losers from the Albanese government’s <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-01/tax-cuts-government-fact-sheet.pdf">rejig</a> of this year’s Stage 3 tax cuts have already been well documented.</p> <p>From July 1 every taxpayer will get a tax cut. Most, the 11 million taxpayers earning up to A$146,486, will also pay less tax than they would have under the earlier version of Stage 3, some getting a tax cut <a href="https://theconversation.com/albanese-tax-plan-will-give-average-earner-1500-tax-cut-more-than-double-morrisons-stage-3-221875">twice as big</a>.</p> <p>A much smaller number, 1.8 million, will get a smaller tax cut than they would have under the original scheme, although their cuts will still be big. The highest earners will get cuts of $4,529 instead of $9,075.</p> <p>But many of us live in households where income is shared and many households don’t pay tax because the people in them don’t earn enough or are on benefits.</p> <p>The Australian National University’s <a href="https://csrm.cass.anu.edu.au/research/policymod">PolicyMod</a> model is able to work out the impacts at the household level, including the impact on households in which members are on benefits or don’t earn enough to pay tax.</p> <h2>More winners than losers in every broad income group</h2> <p>We’ve divided Australian households into five equal-size groups ranked by income, from lowest to lower-middle to middle to upper-middle to high.</p> <p>Our modelling finds that, just as is the case for individuals, many more households will be better off with the changes to Stage 3 than would have been better off with Stage 3 as it was, although the difference isn’t as extreme.</p> <p>Overall, 58% of households will be better off with the reworked Stage 3 than they would have under the original and 11% will be worse off.</p> <p>Importantly, there remain 31% who will be neither better off nor worse off, because they don’t pay personal income tax.</p> <hr /> <p><iframe id="0CWXE" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: none;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/0CWXE/4/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe></p> <hr /> <p>But it is different for different types of households.</p> <p>In the lowest-earning fifth of households, far more are better off (13.5%) than worse off (0.2%) with the overwhelming bulk neither better nor worse off (86.3%).</p> <hr /> <p><iframe id="KC5zy" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: none;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/KC5zy/3/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe></p> <hr /> <p>In the highest-earning fifth of households, while more than half are better off (54.4%), a very substantial proportion are worse off (42.3%).</p> <p>Very few (only 3.1%) are neither better nor worse off.</p> <hr /> <p><iframe id="WSkSL" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: none;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/WSkSL/3/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe></p> <hr /> <h2>But high-earning households go backwards on average</h2> <p>In dollar terms, the top-earning fifth of households loses money while every group gains. That’s because although there are more winners than losers among the highest-earning fifth of households, the losers lose more money.</p> <p>The biggest dollar gains go to middle and upper-middle income households with middle-income households ahead, on average, by $988 per year and upper-middle income households by $1,102. The highest-income households are worse off by an average of $837 per year.</p> <p>As a percentage of income, middle-income households gain the most with a 1% increase in disposable income. Lowest income households gain very little, while the highest-income households go backwards by 0.3%.</p> <hr /> <p><iframe id="kAPmC" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: none;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/kAPmC/3/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe></p> <hr /> <h2>The rejig does a better job of fighting bracket creep</h2> <p>And we’ve found something else.</p> <p>The original version of the Stage 3 tax cuts was advertised as a measure to overcome <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-2-main-arguments-against-redesigning-the-stage-3-tax-cuts-are-wrong-heres-why-221975">bracket creep</a>, which is what happens when a greater proportion of taxpayers’ income gets pushed into higher tax brackets as incomes climb.</p> <p>We have found it wouldn’t have done it for most of the income groups, leaving all but the highest-earning group paying more tax after the change in mid-2024 than it used to in 2018.</p> <p>The rejigged version of Stage 3 should compensate for bracket creep better, leaving the top two groups paying less than they did in 2018 and compensating the bottom three better than the original Stage 3.</p> <hr /> <p><iframe id="YG0cT" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: none;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/YG0cT/1/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe></p> <hr /> <p>Not too much should be made of the increase in tax rates in the lowest income group between 2018 ad 2024 because some of it reflects stronger income growth.</p> <p>We find that overall, the redesigned Stage 3 does a better job of offsetting bracket creep than the original. It is also better targeted to middle and upper-middle income households.</p> <p>Having said that, the average benefit in dollar terms isn’t big. At about $1,000 per year for middle and upper-middle income households and costing the budget about what the original Stage 3 tax cuts would have cost, its inflationary impact compared to the original looks modest.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><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/221851/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ben-phillips-98866"><em>Ben Phillips</em></a><em>, Associate Professor, Centre for Social Research and Methods, Director, Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-national-university-877">Australian National University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>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/stage-3-stacks-up-the-rejigged-tax-cuts-help-fight-bracket-creep-and-boost-middle-and-upper-middle-households-221851">original article</a>.</em></p>

Money & Banking

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How a secret plan 50 years ago changed Australia’s economy forever, in just one night

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alex-millmow-4462">Alex Millmow</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/federation-university-australia-780">Federation University Australia</a></em></p> <p>At a time when governments are timid, keener to announce <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/productivity/report">reviews</a> than decisions, it’s refreshing to remember what happened 50 years ago today – on July 18 1973.</p> <p>Inflation had surged to <a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/vu9by/">14%</a>. Australia’s biggest customer, the United Kingdom, had joined the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/1/newsid_2459000/2459167.stm">European Economic Community</a>, agreeing to buy products from it rather than Australia. And the newly formed Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries had <a href="https://advisor.visualcapitalist.com/historical-oil-prices/">doubled</a> the price of oil.</p> <p>The tariffs imposed on imported goods to protect Australian manufacturers from competition were extraordinarily high. For clothing, they reached <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/textile-clothing-footwear-1997/59tcf2.pdf">55%</a>; for motor vehicles, <a href="https://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1077&amp;context=commwkpapers">45%</a>.</p> <p>Then, with absolutely <a href="http://andrewleigh.org/pdf/Trade%20liberalisation%20and%20the%20ALP.pdf">no</a> public indication he had been considering anything as drastic, at 7pm on Wednesday July 18, the recently elected prime minister Gough Whitlam made an <a href="https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/original/00002971_0.pdf">announcement</a>.</p> <h2>Every tariff cut by one quarter overnight</h2> <p>From midnight, all tariffs would be cut by 25%. As Whitlam put it: “each tariff will be reduced by one quarter of what it is now”.</p> <figure class="align-right "><figcaption></figcaption></figure> <p>If Australian businesses (and the Australian public) were caught by surprise, it was because Whitlam had planned the whole thing in secret.</p> <p>He had given a six-person committee just three weeks to work out the details.</p> <p>Although the committee was chaired by the head of the Tariff Board, Alf Rattigan, and included an official from Whitlam’s own department, the department of industry and the department of trade, it met in an obscure location in Canberra’s civic centre rather than in public service offices, where the project might be discovered.</p> <p>Not included in the committee was a representative of the treasury, which its then deputy head John Stone said “<a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/2744/Stone__The_Inside_Story_of_Gough%E2%80%99s_Tariff_Cut__in_The_Australian__18_July_2003..pdf">knew nothing</a>” about what was unfolding.</p> <p>But driving the work of the committee were two academic outsiders – Fred Gruen, an economics professor at the Australian National University and adviser to Whitlam, and Brian Brogan, an economics lecturer at Monash University who was advising the trade minister, Jim Cairns.</p> <h2>Outsiders, not treasury insiders</h2> <p>As economists rather than bureaucrats, Gruen and Brogan were able to see benefits where others saw entrenched interests. Going to the tariff board and asking for extra tariffs, whenever it looked as if your prices might be undercut by imports, had become a reflex action for Australian businesses.</p> <p>In the words of <a href="https://esavic.org.au/385/images/2013_GaryBanks.pdf">Gary Banks</a> – later to become head of the successor to the tariff board, the Productivity Commission: “it was not a shameful thing for a conga line of industrialists to be seen wending its way to Canberra”.</p> <p>Tariffs were good for business owners, although bad for their customers, who had to pay much higher prices and often got <a href="https://www.afr.com/opinion/bill-scales-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-australian-car-manufacturing-industry-20171018-gz3ky4">worse goods</a>. They were also good for government – bringing in tax revenue.</p> <p>Whitlam was more interested in bringing down inflation. His announcement said increased competition would "have a salutary effect upon those who have taken advantage of shortages by unjustified price increases which have exploited the public".</p> <p>Any firm seriously hurt by the extra imports could apply to a newly established tribunal for assistance, but the tribunal "should not provide relief as a matter of course – that is, simply because the question of relief had been referred to it".</p> <p>So Whitlam offered “rationalisation assistance” to encourage firms to refocus their operations, and “compensation for closure” where that couldn’t be done and production had to cease.</p> <p>For displaced workers, the 7pm announcement offered anyone who lost their job retraining, as well as "a weekly amount equal to his [sic] average wage in the previous six months until he obtains or is found suitable alternative employment."</p> <p>Over the next seven years, manufacturing employment fell by <a href="https://www.bitre.gov.au/sites/default/files/report_136_CHAPTER_6_WEB_FA.pdf">80,000</a>, but few of those job losses were immediate. Fifteen months after the 25% tariff cut, fewer than <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/20634782?seq=10">6,000</a> people had claimed the wage replacement offered on the night of the announcement.</p> <p>When Whitlam went to the polls a year after the cut in the double dissolution election of May 1974, 122 university economists signed an <a href="https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-3267">open letter</a> of support.</p> <p>The letter said the general thrust of the government’s policy responses had been in the best interests of the nation as a whole, and added, "more importantly, we seriously doubt that the previous government would have had the wisdom or the courage to undertake it. It had certainly given no indication of moving in that direction while it was in power, even though the need for such policies had become obvious".</p> <p>In its later days in office, the Whitlam government was roundly criticised for its irresponsible public spending. Ironically, in its approach to tariffs in the 1970s, it had taken the first steps in a neoliberal direction that characterised western governments of the 1980s.</p> <p>By acting boldly after decades of inaction, Whitlam showed what a government could do. It was a lesson his Labor successor Bob Hawke took to heart a decade later, when he floated the dollar, revamped Australia’s tax system and put in place a series of further cuts that reduced tariffs to near zero.</p> <p>It’s something we see less of today.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><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/209378/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alex-millmow-4462">Alex Millmow</a>, Senior Fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/federation-university-australia-780">Federation University Australia</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>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/how-a-secret-plan-50-years-ago-changed-australias-economy-forever-in-just-one-night-209378">original article</a>.</em></p>

Money & Banking

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Queensland proposes ban on certain dog breeds

<p>Queensland is proposing stricter laws in a bid to bring down the number of dog attacks in the state.</p> <p>The laws would include increased jail time for owners after dog attacks, the potential banning of select breeds and for all dogs to be “effectively controlled” in public.</p> <p>The Palaszczuk government released a discussion paper on June 23 outlining the options as well as a survey asking Queenslanders to speak out about the issue before the legislation is put together.</p> <p>A significant number of dog attacks occurred in the state in April, with three children suffering severe injuries in separate incidents that involved several dogs.</p> <p>The major factor to consider for the paper is whether Queensland should ban animals from the Commonwealth’s restricted breed list, which would make owning them in any capacity illegal.</p> <p>The restricted dog breeds include the pit bull terrier, dogo argentino, fila brasilerio, japanese tosa and the presa canario.</p> <p>Currently, those who seek to own these breeds are required to apply for a permit, but that would be withdrawn if the proposed laws are put into place.</p> <p>The discussion paper says that any changes would include a “grandfather clause” that would allow individuals with a current permit to keep their pet.</p> <p>The government has also proposed to include imprisonment as a maximum penalty for more serious attacks.</p> <p>If an attack causes death or grievous bodily harm to a patron, according to present laws, the owner could be fined up to $43,125 but would not face jail time.</p> <p>“It is proposed to introduce a new criminal offence in the Act that captures conduct of an owner, or responsible person for a dog, who fails to take reasonable steps to effectively control their dog if the dog causes bodily harm, grievous bodily harm or death to a person,” the report states.</p> <p>“Including a proposed new offence for the most serious dog attacks would send a clear message to owners and people responsible for dogs that fail to take reasonable steps to protect people in the community from harm from serious dog attacks will not be tolerated.”</p> <p>The move would bring the state into line with the laws in the ACT, NSW, Victoria, NSW and Western Australia.</p> <p>In NSW, an owner who encourages a dangerous dog to attack another person faces up to five years in prison.</p> <p>Another proposal is to set up a new requirement for dogs to be “effectively controlled” in public, which would ban off-leash dog walking.</p> <p>“Effective control could be defined to include a person who is physically able to control the animal, it is on an appropriate leash and supervised or in a temporary enclosure adequate to contain the animal,” the paper reads.</p> <p>Instant fines would be issued to owners who failed to control their dogs in public and exceptions would be made for designated off-leash areas.</p> <p>Councils are urging for certain breeds to be banned and for tougher restrictions, according to Local Government Association of Queensland chief executive Alison Smith.</p> <p>“Ratepayers would be alarmed to know that Queensland councils are being forced to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on legal fees because irresponsible owners are using the courts to drag out the fate of these dangerous animals after their dog has been impounded and a destruction order made,” she said.</p> <p>“For too long, irresponsible dog owners have been able to hold the community and councils to ransom. That needs to change.”</p> <p>Agricultural Industry Development Minister Mark Furner is calling on all Queenslanders to participate in the survey to “have their say” on the proposed reforms.</p> <p>“Community feedback on this discussion paper will be vital in drafting new legislation,” he said.</p> <p>“It is so important that we get this right to make sure any new laws meet community expectations.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Getty / Shutterstock</em></p>

Family & Pets

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Cost of living relief on the way for struggling Aussies

<p>As the ongoing cost of living crisis continues to affect hard-working Aussies, a series of changes set to be introduced by the government will ease the financial burden for a few select groups. </p> <p>As the new financial year begins on July 1st, a 15 per cent pay rise for aged care workers, cheaper childcare and changes to paid parental leave will come into effect. </p> <p>The policies promised in the last federal budget will come into effect, including electricity bill relief for some households and a small business incentive to help eligible companies become more energy efficient.</p> <p>Five million households will be eligible for up to $500 in power price relief while one million small businesses will be able to access up to $650.</p> <p>As well as this, eligibility for the first home guarantee and regional first home guarantee will now include any two borrowers beyond married and de facto couples.</p> <p>It will also apply to non-first home buyers who have not owned a property in Australia in the previous 10 years.</p> <p>Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the new measures are designed the help Aussies who are doing it tough. </p> <p>"The suite of policies which will start to roll out from Saturday, will make a real difference in the lives of millions of hardworking Australians while delivering an economic dividend and laying the foundations for future growth," he said.</p> <p>"Key policies like energy price relief will directly reduce inflation, while others like cheaper childcare and enhanced paid parental leave will boost the capacity of our economy."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Money & Banking

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All-electric homes are better for your hip pocket and the planet. Here’s how governments can help us get off gas

<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/esther-suckling-1220357">Esther Suckling</a>, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/grattan-institute-1168">Grattan Institute</a></em></p> <p>If every Australian household that uses gas went all-electric today, we would “save” more than 30 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over the next ten years. That’s because there are more than <a href="https://www.energynetworks.com.au/resources/fact-sheets/reliable-and-clean-gas-for-australian-homes-2/">5 million households</a> on the gas network, and the <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/getting-off-gas">avoided emissions per home</a> ranges from 5-25 tonnes over the coming decade, depending on the location.</p> <p>Most people would spend less money on energy too. Electric appliances use less energy than gas appliances to do the same job, making them cheaper to run.</p> <p>Our <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/getting-off-gas">new report</a> shows how much most households can save by switching from gas to electricity for heating, hot water and cooking. The extra cash couldn’t come at a better time: about <a href="https://www.rmit.edu.au/news/all-news/2023/may/hidden-energy-poverty">a quarter of Australian households</a> say they found it difficult to pay their energy bills this year.</p> <p>But many households face hurdles that stop them, or make it hard for them, to go all-electric. Governments could make it easier for people and bring emissions-reduction targets closer to reality.</p> <h2>Most households save by upgrading to electric</h2> <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532139/original/file-20230615-29-h20bv5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532139/original/file-20230615-29-h20bv5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532139/original/file-20230615-29-h20bv5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=393&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532139/original/file-20230615-29-h20bv5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=393&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532139/original/file-20230615-29-h20bv5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=393&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532139/original/file-20230615-29-h20bv5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=493&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532139/original/file-20230615-29-h20bv5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=493&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532139/original/file-20230615-29-h20bv5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=493&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="A chart showing estimated savings for each household switching from gas to electricity, over 10 years, in each capital city" /></a><figcaption><span class="caption">Over 10 years, the estimated savings for each household switching from gas to electricity range up to $13,900 in Melbourne. It’s a flat $3,890 figure for Brisbane, rather than a range, because there’s no gas heating.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Grattan Institute</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure> <p>Households in Melbourne tend to use more gas than those in other mainland capitals, mainly because the winter is so cold. Our report found Melburnians who replace broken gas appliances with electric ones, or move into an all-electric home, could save up to A$13,900 over ten years. Households with rooftop solar will save even more.</p> <p>It’s a similar story in most parts of Australia except the west, where gas is relatively cheap. This mainly reflects differences in the historical development of the gas markets between the west and east coasts.</p> <p>Getting off gas could also be <a href="https://www1.racgp.org.au/ajgp/2022/december/health-risks-from-indoor-gas-appliances">good for your health</a>. Several studies link cooking with gas to <a href="https://www.nationalasthma.org.au/living-with-asthma/resources/patients-carers/factsheets/gas-stoves-and-asthma-in-children">childhood asthma</a>.</p> <p> </p> <h2>Households face a series of hurdles</h2> <p>Renters make up nearly a third of all households, and they have little or no control over the appliances that are installed. As most electric appliances cost more to buy than gas ones – and the subsequent bill savings flow to tenants – landlords have little incentive to upgrade their properties from gas to all-electric.</p> <p>Apartment living can increase the level of complexity. Multi-unit dwellings often bundle gas bills into body-corporate fees, limiting the occupants’ incentive to go all-electric. There can also be space constraints in these buildings. Centralised electric heat pumps, for example, take up more space than centralised gas water heaters.</p> <p>Then there are households that simply can’t afford the upgrade. Induction stoves and heat pumps are more expensive than their gas equivalents, by up to a combined $2,000. This initial outlay will soon be recovered by cheaper energy bills, but that doesn’t help households that don’t have the cash up front. The <a href="https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/data/taking-the-pulse-of-the-nation-2022/2023/energy-poverty">12% of households that skipped meals</a> to pay their energy bills in the past year are the most likely to remain locked into high gas bills.</p> <p>Some people also simply prefer cooking with gas. Some think induction cooktops will be no better than the poor-performing electric cooktops they may have used in the distant past. Others haven’t ever heard of a heat pump for hot water.</p> <h2>Here’s how governments can help</h2> <p>Governments, both state and federal, should lower the hurdles on the path to all-electric homes -– to reduce people’s cost of living and to cut carbon emissions.</p> <p>As a first step, state governments should ban new gas connections to homes. In 2021, more than 70,000 households joined the gas network. Trying to shift households off gas while allowing new connections is like pouring water into a bucket with a hole.</p> <p>Then, governments should provide landlords with tax write-offs on new induction stoves and heat pumps for hot water, for a limited time. After that, they should require every rental property to be all-electric. Governments should pay to upgrade public housing to all-electric, where they are the landlords. And they should pay not-for-profits managing community housing to do the same.</p> <p>The federal government should help all households to spread the cost of electric appliances over time. It should subsidise banks to offer low-interest loans for home electrification, via the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.</p> <p>And governments should set out to change people’s preferences, from gas to electric. They should embark on a multi-decade communication campaign, not unlike the campaign to upgrade from analogue to digital television in the early 2000s.</p> <p>A key challenge will be shifting people’s ideas about the best way to cook. There are precedents. In Gininderry, a new all-electric suburb of Canberra, one developer recruited chefs to run demonstrations on induction cooktops at the display village. The proportion of potential homebuyers <a href="https://ginninderry.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Ginninderry-2017-Householder-Attitudes-to-Residential-Renewable-Energy-Futures.pdf">willing to consider buying an all-electric home</a> rose from 67% to 88%.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K9ytSh5TM9M?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption><span class="caption">Induction cooking with Chef David Wei at Ginninderry.</span></figcaption></figure> <h2>‘Green gas’ is no panacea: electricity is cheaper</h2> <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532117/original/file-20230615-23-n0wdqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532117/original/file-20230615-23-n0wdqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532117/original/file-20230615-23-n0wdqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=572&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532117/original/file-20230615-23-n0wdqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=572&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532117/original/file-20230615-23-n0wdqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=572&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532117/original/file-20230615-23-n0wdqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=719&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532117/original/file-20230615-23-n0wdqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=719&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532117/original/file-20230615-23-n0wdqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=719&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="Chart comparing the cost of hydrogen to electricity over time, showing hydrogen is more expensive and will remain so for decades" /></a><figcaption><span class="caption">Hydrogen is more expensive than electricity and will remain so for decades.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Grattan Institute</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure> <p>The gas industry has another solution in mind: instead of switching from gas to electricity, it suggests using “green gas” -– biomethane or “green” hydrogen. Biomethane is chemically identical to natural gas, but is derived from biological materials such as food waste, sewage or agricultural waste. Green hydrogen is made by using electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.</p> <p>But both options are <a href="https://theconversation.com/hydrogen-where-is-low-carbon-fuel-most-useful-for-decarbonisation-147696">too expensive and too far away</a>. Under the most generous of assumptions, green hydrogen will only become cost-competitive with electricity after 2045. And there is not enough biomethane commercially available to replace gas in households.</p> <p>Meanwhile, more than three million Australian homes already run on electricity alone.</p> <p>Getting the five million homes that use gas to the same point won’t be easy. But with good policy, it is doable. For households, and the climate, there is much to be gained.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><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/207409/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/esther-suckling-1220357">Esther Suckling</a>, Research Associate, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/grattan-institute-1168">Grattan Institute</a></em></p> <p><em>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/all-electric-homes-are-better-for-your-hip-pocket-and-the-planet-heres-how-governments-can-help-us-get-off-gas-207409">original article</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

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MP proposes schools remain open until night-time

<p>A NSW Liberal MP has proposed that Australian schools should remain open until 6pm to better accommodate “modern employment”.</p> <p>During his maiden speech to parliament, Member for Ryde Jordan Lane said that "local schools should become hubs for after-school activity”, where the government guarantees that a child can remain on school campuses after 3pm.</p> <p>"It affords parents flexibility, while at the same time making school a place for extracurricular excellence," he said.</p> <p>"By engaging providers and community organisations, we avoid overworking our tirelessly hardworking teachers but expose more children to rounded experiences, such as coding classes, culture and language, art, dance, music and sport.</p> <p>"I care deeply about the academic results that our students are able to achieve, and about ensuring they can compete on a global stage, but I care even more that our education system helps us to create a new generation of Australians with the content of character we need to be successful as a country.”</p> <p>The move could lead to an extra year of education as a result of the extended hours of teaching, Lane added.</p> <p>"Greater flexibility for parents, a productivity and employment boost to the state, financial relief from the high cost of child care and an injection of hope for potential but reluctant parents who, like me, struggle to rationalise how to afford, in terms of both time and money, children, a home and equal employability between partners," he said.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Getty / Instagram</em></p>

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Energy bill relief to benefit just one Aussie demographic

<p>Nearly half a million older Australians will receive hundreds of dollars in energy bill relief as the federal government looks to battle rising power prices.</p> <p>Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth revealed that all Commonwealth seniors health card holders will be given up to $500 per household.</p> <p>The 490,000-plus recipients will include an extra 16,320 people granted access to the card after the federal government introduced higher income thresholds for eligibility in November 2022.</p> <p>The new income limits are $90,000 for singles and $144,000 (combined) for couples.</p> <p>The government claimed this would benefit 52,000 older people by 2026-27.</p> <p>Rishworth explained the energy relief would be available from July 2023.</p> <p>The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) released its final determination on May 25, with a revised price increase higher than the March draft that saw a 20 to 22 per cent rise.</p> <p>AER chair Clare Savage said it had been a “difficult decision” but high wholesale energy costs continued to hike up retail prices.</p> <p>“No one wants to see rising prices, and we recognise this is a difficult time, that’s why it’s important for consumers to shop around for a better deal,” she said.</p> <p>Following the AER’s announcement, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton appeared on <em>Today</em> and said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had “lied” to Australians about energy prices.</p> <p>“Let’s be very clear about it, he promised on 97 occasions your bill would go down by $275,” he told <em>Today</em> host Karl Stefanovic.</p> <p>“I think the government’s completely underestimating how much families and small businesses are hurting at the moment.”</p> <p>The bill comes shortly after the Australian Energy Regulator revealed electric prices were set to increase by 25 per cent for about 600,000 customers across three states from July 1.</p> <p>The federal government’s latest budget committed to $3 billion in financial support for those struggling to pay their power bill.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Shutterstock</em></p>

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Government will require bosses to pay workers their super on payday

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/michelle-grattan-20316">Michelle Grattan</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-canberra-865">University of Canberra</a></em></p> <p>A government change requiring superannuation to be paid on payday could mean a young employee will be several thousand dollars better off by retirement.</p> <p>The reform – which will not come in until July 1 2026 – will benefit the retirement incomes of millions of Australians, according to Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones.</p> <p>They give the example of a 25-year-old median income earner presently receiving their super quarterly and their wages each fortnight, who could be about $6000 (or 1.5%) better off when they retire.</p> <p>The ministers argue there will be benefits to bosses, as well as to the workers, in the change. “More frequent super payments will make employers’ payroll management smoother with fewer liabilities building up on their books.”</p> <p>They say payday super will mean employees can keep track of the payments more easily and it will be more difficult for disreputable employers to exploit them.</p> <p>“While most employers do the right thing, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) estimates $3.4 billion worth of super went unpaid in 2019-20.”</p> <p>The ATO will get extra resourcing to help it detect unpaid super payments earlier. Treasury and the ATO will consult stakeholders on the changes later this year.</p> <p>The ministers say the July 1 2026 start will give employers, superannuation funds, payroll providers and other parts of the superannuation system enough time to get ready for the change.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><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/204759/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/michelle-grattan-20316">Michelle Grattan</a>, Professorial Fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-canberra-865">University of Canberra</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>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/government-will-require-bosses-to-pay-workers-their-super-on-payday-204759">original article</a>.</em></p>

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

<p dir="ltr">When Rosemarie Earley lost her husband, Eric Earley, she’d already suffered enough heartbreak to last a lifetime.</p> <p dir="ltr">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. </p> <p dir="ltr">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. </p> <p dir="ltr">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. </p> <p dir="ltr">As Rosemarie explained to <em>A Current Affair</em>’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.”</p> <p dir="ltr">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.</p> <p dir="ltr">"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. </p> <p dir="ltr">“We bought a garage, we paid to have the gas connected, put the carpet [down] and everything else that was needed.</p> <p dir="ltr">"We were under the impression we were buying because the paperwork said we had been approved to purchase.”</p> <p dir="ltr">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. </p> <p dir="ltr">“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. </p> <p dir="ltr">It was a cruel reminder that Rosemarie was served in late 2022, when Eric passed away from heart failure at just 83 years old.</p> <p dir="ltr">In the wake of her devastating loss, Rosemarie contacted the government and applied to be recognised as a tenant. </p> <p dir="ltr">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. </p> <p dir="ltr">“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.</p> <p dir="ltr">"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?"</p> <p dir="ltr">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."</p> <p dir="ltr">"Can you believe that in 2023 as a woman you still don't have the same rights as your husband?</p> <p dir="ltr">"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.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: A Current Affair / Nine</em></p>

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Millions of Aussies to be eligible for half-price medicines

<p>Massive changes are underway for millions of Aussies as the federal government is moving to cut the cost of prescription medicine.</p> <p>Health minister Mark Butler announced that patients will be able to double the number of scripts they can receive, from one month’s supply to two months.</p> <p>From September 1, general patients will be able to save up to $180 a year if their medicine can be prescribed for 2 months, concession card holders will save up to $43.80 per year on medicine.</p> <p>Under the reform, which is to be included in May’s budget, 320 different medicines treating chronic conditions such as cholesterol, heart disease and hypertension will be dispensed in 60-day doses rather than the current 30.</p> <p>They will still be subject to the current price caps, so instead of paying a maximum of $30 for a 30-day medicine supply, those affected will pay $40 at most for a 60-day supply.</p> <p>One of the ideas behind it is that Aussies won’t have to visit a doctor or pharmacist as often.</p> <p>The federal government said the change will bring Australia into line with other countries, including New Zealand and the UK, where patients already have access to multiple month medicines on a single prescription.</p> <p>"Every year, nearly a million Australians are forced to delay or go without a medicine that their doctor has told them is necessary for their health.</p> <p>"This cheaper medicines policy is safe, good for Australians' hip pockets and most importantly good for their health.”</p> <p>The overhaul of prescriptions has long been supported by the Australian Medical Association and was recommended by the indecent Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee in 2018.</p> <p>However, pharmacists have opposed the reform, with Pharmacy Guild saying the change would cost community chemists $3.5billion.</p> <p>Pharmacy Guild of Australia president Trent Twomey said the change does little to acknowledge a massive shortage in medications.</p> <p>“I'm all for cost-of-living relief and a cost-of-living measure but this, unfortunately, is just smoke and mirrors,' he told ABC TV.</p> <p>“If you don't have the medicine in stock, how do you give double nothing? Double nothing is still nothing.”</p> <p>Instead, the federal government needed to boost local manufacturing of pharmaceuticals to fix the medicine shortage, Twomey said.</p> <p>Dr Nick Coatsworth also agreed that the new policy could lead to major medication shortages for patients across Australia.</p> <p>“The medication shortage issue is not made up.</p> <p>“This policy could lead to Australians turning up to pharmacies and being turned away for medications they've been on for five-to-10 years,” he told Today.</p> <p>“I'm actually worried about this, it looks good at face value but I knew a lot about supply chains in Covid and Australians probably aren't quite aware of how ropey those supply chains are.</p> <p>“If we start giving people 60 days of medications instead of 30, people will miss out.”</p> <p>Opposition leader Peter Dutton has supported the Pharmacy Guild’s stance in an online video.</p> <p>"Many, particularly older Australians, but families as well, really rely on the relationship with their local pharmacist," he said.</p> <p>"The government's proposal at the moment is going to make it harder for pharmacists to do that work and have that relationship with their patients.”</p> <p>Nationals leader David Littleproud said regional, remote and rural Australians risked being impacted by the changes.</p> <p>"Thousands of Australians who need medications could suffer as a consequence, because doubling scripts for some might mean others miss out," he said.</p> <p>However, the reform has been supported by the Australian Medical Association, a doctor’s body, with vice president Danielle McMullen welcoming the change.</p> <p>“At the time we're talking about so many cost-of-living pressures, this will really ease the burden on patients across Australia,” she told Sunrise.</p> <p>“There are some situations of shortages in medicines at the moment but there will be a staged approach to this announcement to ease the burden on the shortages.”</p> <p>Health Minister Mark Butler said the changes will be launched in three states, each introducing around 100 medications.</p> <p>The first stage will commence on September 1 2023, with the second on March 1 2024, and the final on September 1 2024.</p> <p>Butler said the new prescriptions will reduce how often those living in rural areas need to travel for treatment and shed light on the issue of Aussies delaying or going without medicines they need due to high costs.</p> <p>“Every year, nearly a million Australians are forced to delay or go without a medicine that their doctor has told them is necessary for their health,” he said.</p> <p>“This cheaper medicines policy is safe, good for Australians' hip pockets and most importantly good for their health.”</p> <p>Butler rejected the idea that the scheme will cause widespread shortages, noting only seven medications on the list are currently scarce.</p> <p>From September 1, 60-day scripts will be available for the six million people prescribed the eligible medications.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Shutterstock</em></p>

Money & Banking

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The Whitlam government gave us no-fault divorce, women’s refuges and childcare. Australia needs another feminist revolution

<p>Australia’s history of women and political rights is, to put it mildly, chequered. It enfranchised (white) women very early, in 1902. And it was the first country to give them the vote combined with the right to stand for parliament.</p> <p>But it took 41 years for women to enter federal parliament. The first two <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-is-it-taking-so-long-to-achieve-gender-equality-in-parliament-117313">women federal MPs</a>, Dorothy Tangney and Enid Lyons, were just memorialised with a joint statue in the parliamentary triangle. It was unveiled this month – finally redressing the glaring absence of women in our statues.</p> <p>Australia’s record of women’s rights is still uneven. We pioneered aspects of women’s welfare, such as the <a href="https://www.naa.gov.au/learn/learning-resources/learning-resource-themes/government-and-democracy/prime-ministers-and-politicians/maternity-allowance-act-1912">1912 maternity allowance</a>that included unmarried mothers. But now, Australian women’s economic status is shameful. </p> <p>As Minister for the Environment <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-policy-aesthete-a-new-biography-of-tanya-plibersek-shows-how-governments-work-and-affect-peoples-lives-197427">Tanya Plibersek</a> notes in her foreword, Australia has plunged from the modest high point of 15th on the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap index to 43rd in 2022.</p> <h2>What Whitlam did for women</h2> <p>Federation was an exciting time for women. But the next peak didn’t arrive until the 1970s, when the Whitlam Government proved a beachhead for women’s rights. Feminism helped to swell the tide of change carrying <a href="https://theconversation.com/gough-whitlams-life-and-legacy-experts-respond-33228">Gough Whitlam</a> to power in 1972. </p> <p>But just how did Whitlam conceive his agenda for women? What were his short-lived government’s many achievements in this area? Until now, these questions haven’t been fully studied. </p> <p><a href="https://unsw.press/books/womenandwhitlam/">Women and Whitlam</a> is important not just for taking on this task, but for its stellar cast of essayists. Many of them were feminist activists in the 1970s, and their memories add rich narrative detail.</p> <p>The book is edited by Michelle Arrow, a <a href="https://www.whitlam.org/">Whitlam Institute</a>Research Fellow and an authority on women, gender and sexuality in the 1970s: not least through her prize-winning monograph, <a href="https://www.newsouthbooks.com.au/books/seventies/">The Seventies</a>.</p> <p>This excellent collection’s origins lie in <a href="https://www.whitlam.org/publications/womensrevolution">a conference</a> held at Old Parliament House in November 2019, organised by the Whitlam Institute. The book has been several years in the making, but its timing is perfect. Its month of publication, April 2023, is the 50th anniversary of Gough Whitlam’s appointment of Elizabeth Reid as his adviser on women’s affairs. This role, as an adviser to a head of government, was a world first.</p> <p>In her introduction, Arrow points out <a href="https://electionspeeches.moadoph.gov.au/speeches/1972-gough-whitlam">Whitlam’s 1972 election speech</a> only outlined three “women’s issues” as part of his program. But she also notes the late (former Senator) <a href="https://theconversation.com/vale-susan-ryan-pioneer-labor-feminist-who-showed-big-difficult-policy-changes-can-and-should-be-made-146996">Susan Ryan</a>’s excited response when she heard him begin it with the inclusive words, “Men and women of Australia” – a symbolic break from tradition. Iola Mathews, journalist and Women’s Electoral Lobby activist, captures the speed with which Whitlam acted on women’s issues, "In his first week of office he reopened the federal Equal Pay case, removed the tax on contraceptives and announced funding for birth control programs."</p> <p>Arrow summarises what else the Whitlam government did for women. It extended the minimum wage for women and funded women’s refuges, women’s health centres and community childcare. It introduced no-fault divorce and the Family Court. It introduced paid maternity leave in the public service. And it addressed discrimination against girls in schools. Women also benefited from other reforms, like making tertiary education affordable.</p> <h2>A world-first role</h2> <p>Elizabeth Reid’s chapter is especially powerful, because of the importance of her work as Whitlam’s women’s adviser and because she worked closely with him. She suggests Whitlam’s consciousness of feminism grew during his term in office. By September 1974, he understood his own policies and reforms could only go so far.</p> <p>Fundamental cultural shift was required, "We have to attack the social inequalities, the hidden and usually unarticulated assumptions which affect women not only in employment but in the whole range of their opportunities in life […] this requires a re-education of the community."</p> <p>Reid encapsulates how she forged her own novel role: travelling around Australia to listen to women of all backgrounds, holding meetings in venues ranging from factories, farms and universities to jails. Soon, she received more letters than anyone in the government, other than Whitlam himself. After listening and gathering women’s views, she learned how to approach parliamentarians and public servants in order to make and implement policies.</p> <p>Part of the power of Reid’s chapter lies in the insights she gives readers into the revolutionary nature of <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-human-being-not-just-mum-the-womens-liberationists-who-fought-for-the-rights-of-mothers-and-children-182057">women’s liberation</a>. Feminists who hit their stride in the 1970s had bold ambitions: ending patriarchal oppression, uprooting sexism as a system of male domination, taking back control of women’s bodies and sexuality, and using consciousness-raising to find alternatives to the confinement of women <a href="https://theconversation.com/suburban-living-did-turn-women-into-robots-why-feminist-horror-novel-the-stepford-wives-is-still-relevant-50-years-on-186633">as housewives</a>. </p> <p>Some in women’s liberation questioned the possibility of creating revolution from within government. But Reid’s chapter showcases her remarkable ability to take the fundamental insights of the movement and use them. She listened to Australian women and applied her insights and feminist principles to the key areas of employment and financial discrimination, education, childcare, social welfare and urban planning.</p> <h2>A dynamic movement</h2> <p>One vibrant thread connecting several chapters is the dynamism of the women’s liberation movement: not least, the Canberra group where Reid developed her feminism. Biff Ward recalls the night in early 1973 that she and other Canberra women from the women’s liberation movement attended the party held for the 18 shortlisted applicants for the women’s adviser job.</p> <p>It was a seemingly ordinary Saturday-night event in a suburban home: the prime minister was among the prominent Labor men present. Ward recalls the extraordinary atmosphere at the party, with the government luminaries aware of their own newfound power, yet “sidelined” by the women. These women knew each other from the movement and constituted “a tribe” that had the men on edge, because of the women’s shared confidence and agenda.</p> <p>The chapter on the late Pat Eatock, the Aboriginal feminist who had travelled from Sydney to Canberra in early 1972 for the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-aboriginal-tent-embassy-at-50-the-history-of-an-ongoing-protest-for-indigenous-sovereignty-in-australia-podcast-180216">Tent Embassy</a>, then stayed to move into the Women’s House (run by the Women’s Liberation group) is co-written by her daughter Cathy Eatock. In 1972 Pat Eatock became the first Indigenous woman to stand for federal parliament. Later she became a public servant, an academic and a pioneer in Aboriginal television. She was part of the Canberra women’s liberation movement, despite not feeling accepted by some members. </p> <p>On balance, Eatock believed the movement changed her life for the better. She participated in the celebrated <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/canberra/programs/sundaybrunch/the-1975-women-in-politics-conference/12708060">1975 Women and Politics Conference</a>, and was in the Australian delegation to the International Women’s Year Conference in Mexico City, where she found Australian feminist theory was “leading the world”.</p> <h2>Greater expectations</h2> <p>The book is organised into five sections, each introduced by a relevant expert. In the section on law, Elizabeth Evatt succinctly describes her path-breaking roles. She was deputy president of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission (predecessor to the Fair Work Commission), chair of the <a href="https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/original/00003358.pdf">Royal Commission on Human Relationships 1974-77</a> (which brought abortion, homosexuality and domestic violence into the spotlight); and first chief judge of the Family Court of Australia. The latter was created by the Family Law Act of 1975, which introduced no-fault divorce. </p> <p>In her conclusion, Evatt laments <a href="https://theconversation.com/book-extract-broken-requiem-for-the-family-court-166406">the recent merger</a> of the Family Court with the Federal Circuit Court, and hails the Family Law Act as one of Whitlam’s great legacies.</p> <p>In the health and social policy section, former Labor Senator Margaret Reynolds recalls observing the Whitlam government’s achievements from conservative Townsville, where she was a founding member of the local Women’s Electoral Lobby. As a teacher, she saw how the reforms in education benefited regional schools and children. And the Townsville CAE introduced a training program for teaching monitors from remote communities, which particularly helped Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women.</p> <p>In the section on legacies, author and former “femocrat” Sara Dowse catalogues the disastrous social consequences of <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-how-neoliberalism-became-an-insult-in-australian-politics-188291">neoliberalism</a>, which have been braided with the many real and important gains for women since the 1970s. Hope lies, she suggests, in women’s greater expectations for their own lives.</p> <p>I have focused on essays by senior feminists, but the 16 wide-ranging chapters include contributions from younger authors, too. </p> <p>From our current standpoint, the fervour of the 1970s is enviable. It’s very promising that the 2022 election brought an influx of new women MPs. But if we’re going to conquer <a href="https://theconversation.com/family-violence-is-literally-making-us-sicker-new-study-finds-abuse-increases-risk-of-chronic-illness-199669">intimate violence</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/weve-all-done-the-right-things-in-under-cover-older-women-tell-their-stories-of-becoming-homeless-188356">women’s homelessness</a> and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-ranked-last-in-an-international-gender-pay-gap-study-here-are-3-ways-to-do-better-168848">gender pay gap</a>, we need another feminist revolution.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-whitlam-government-gave-us-no-fault-divorce-womens-refuges-and-childcare-australia-needs-another-feminist-revolution-202238" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Books

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Resistance to mega-tourism is rising in the South Pacific – but will governments put words into action?

<p>With COVID-19 travel restrictions largely a thing of the past for Australian and <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/travel/2022/12/fiji-more-popular-with-kiwi-tourists-than-it-was-pre-covid-19.html">New Zealand tourists</a>, Pacific destinations are enjoying the return of visitors – albeit at a <a href="https://devpolicy.org/the-pacific-emerging-from-covid-slowly-20221019/">slower pace</a> than in other parts of the world.</p> <p>Tourism in Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu and the Cook Islands was <a href="https://www.imf.org/-/media/Files/Countries/ResRep/pis-region/small-states-monitor/pacific-islands-monitor-issue-17-october-2022.ashx">hit hard by the pandemic</a>, but <a href="https://www.massey.ac.nz/about/news/pacific-islands-resilient-as-covid-19-topples-tourism/">patience and resilience</a> are starting to pay off. Foreign dollars are once again circulating in those small economies. Recently, <a href="https://www.mvariety.com/business/kiribati-welcomes-first-cruise-ship-visit/article_30ca4be0-b0f7-11ed-9b9d-93619a4dfba6.html">Kiribati welcomed</a> its first international cruise ship since 2020.</p> <p>But this isn’t a simple case of returning to normal. The past three years have allowed time for reflection, leading to a rising awareness of <a href="https://southpacificislands.travel/pacific-sustainable-tourism-leadership-summit-calls-on-pacific-leaders-to-work-together-to-build-resilient-futures/">possible alternatives</a> to pre-pandemic tourism models.</p> <p>From senior levels within governments to grassroots tourism operators and citizens, there has been serious discussion about the resumption of business as usual, including several <a href="https://southpacificislands.travel/2021-ends-on-a-high-with-pacific-islands-tourism-research-symposium/">regional symposiums</a> hosted by the South Pacific Tourism Organisation.</p> <p>Issues of sovereignty and future resilience have been very much to the fore – quite untypical in a global tourism industry largely focused on <a href="https://etc-corporate.org/news/europes-tourism-rebound-predicted-to-continue-into-2023/">boosting numbers</a> as soon as possible. Questions remain, however, about the gap between rhetoric and reality.</p> <h2>Flipping the narrative</h2> <p>The <a href="https://southpacificislands.travel/2022-pacific-sustainable-tourism-leadership-summit/">Pacific Sustainable Tourism Leaders Summit</a> in November 2022 brought together tourism ministers and industry stakeholders to discuss the future of regional tourism. This led to a <a href="https://southpacificislands.travel/pacific-sustainable-tourism-leadership-summit-calls-on-pacific-leaders-to-work-together-to-build-resilient-futures/">regional commitment</a> signed by 11 countries focused on promoting sustainable tourism.</p> <p>Essentially, the aim is to flip the narrative: rather than Pacific nations being seen as dependent on tourism, regional tourism itself depends on the Pacific and its people surviving and thriving. Accordingly, Pacific countries are calling for fairer and more meaningful relationships with tourism partners.</p> <p>Cook Islands’ associate minister of foreign affairs and immigration, Tingika Elikana, urged other Pacific leaders at the summit to rebuild tourism in a way that was <a href="https://www.fijitimes.com/inclusive-pacific-summit-calls-on-regional-leaders-to-work-together/">equitable and inclusive</a>, "[it] is crucial that lessons are learned from recent crises and that steps are taken to embed long-term inclusivity, sustainability, and resilience into our tourism offering as it faces evolving challenges and risks."</p> <p>Vanuatu has been heading in this direction since early in the pandemic, when it made “destination wellbeing” <a href="https://www.traveldailymedia.com/vanuatu-tourism-adopts-well-being-approach-for-covid-19-recovery/">central to its tourism recovery</a>. The aim of “moving beyond solely measuring visitor arrivals and contribution to GDP” then fed into the country’s <a href="https://tourism.gov.vu/images/DoT-Documents/Presentations/Vanuatu_Sustainable_Tourism_Strategy_2020-2030-2020_.pdf">Sustainable Tourism Strategy</a>, launched at the height of the pandemic.</p> <h2>Push-back on resorts and cruise ships</h2> <p>This reappraisal of scale and priorities has perhaps been most evident in Fiji where there has been <a href="https://www.fijitimes.com/project-unoriginal/">strong opposition</a> to a US$300 million mega-project proposed by Chinese developers.</p> <p>The hotel, apartment and marina complex would be built in an area containing one of the last remaining remnants of mangrove forest near the capital, Suva. Conservationists and local residents have been critical of the <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/484141/conservationist-calls-on-fiji-govt-to-preserve-rare-mangrove">environmental</a> and <a href="https://www.fijitimes.com/how-can-fiji-supply-water-to-project/">infrastructural</a> impact of the proposed development, as well as the <a href="https://www.fijitimes.com/project-unoriginal/">authenticity of its design</a>.</p> <p>There is <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/484710/costly-development-of-suva-forest-may-now-not-happen">now doubt</a> about whether the government will renew the developer’s lease, due to expire in June. The minister for lands and mineral resources has said “there’s been a lack of transparency” from the developers, and that he “will continue to monitor the remaining conditions of the development lease”.</p> <p>A leading opponent of the project, Reverend James Bhagwan, <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/484710/costly-development-of-suva-forest-may-now-not-happen">told Radio New Zealand</a>, "we'’re not anti-development, but what we’re saying is we need to look at development from a perspective that places the environment at the centre, not at the periphery.</p> <p>There is a precedent here: approval for a multi-million-dollar resort and casino development on Malolo island was revoked in 2019 after another Chinese developer, Freesoul Investments, destroyed part of a reef, dumped waste and disrupted traditional fisheries. In 2022, the High Court fined the company <a href="https://www.newsroom.co.nz/resort-developers-found-guilty-over-fiji-island-disaster-1">FJD$1 million</a>. It was the first time a developer had been punished for an “environmental crime”.</p> <p>Environmental concerns are also causing other Pacific countries to resist a return to mass tourism. In Rarotonga, Cook Islands, annual visitor numbers before the pandemic were ten times the island’s local population. The ability to cope with that level of tourism has since been <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/443141/cook-islanders-considering-how-much-tourism-is-too-much">seriously questioned</a>.</p> <p>And in French Polynesia, the government has <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/french-polynesia-the-latest-country-to-ban-mega-cruise-ships/RXY2PDLCWPAIZRVNENLHJ6Z2N4/">banned port calls</a> for cruise ships with a capacity greater than 3,500 passengers. The decision was based on concerns about air pollution, stress on the marine environment and social impacts. Daily cruise arrivals to Bora Bora are now restricted to 1,200 passengers, much to the <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/407885/bora-bora-calls-for-ban-on-large-cruise-ships">relief of locals</a>.</p> <h2>A new kind of tourism?</h2> <p>In the face of uncertainties due to climate change and geopolitical tensions in the region, it’s encouraging to hear local voices being heard in debates about the future of Pacific tourism – and political leaders appearing to respond.</p> <p>The Pacific Island Forum leaders’ retreat in Fiji late last month discussed the tourism industry. The forum’s signature <a href="https://www.forumsec.org/2050strategy/">Blue Pacific Strategy</a> for regional co-operation recognises tourism is an important component of national development, and the need to balance economic pressures with environmental and cultural protection.</p> <p>But despite the apparent political will and regional focus on building resilience, tourism development will undoubtedly continue to challenge the desires and initiatives of Pacific peoples seeking more sustainable futures.</p> <p>While the policy rhetoric sounds good, it remains to be seen whether Pacific governments will remain steadfast and united under mounting pressures from major cruise operators, Chinese commercial interests and large hotels looking to maximise occupancy rates.</p> <p>Many Pacific people reported the natural environment – along with social, spiritual, physical and mental wellbeing – <a href="https://www.internationaljournalofwellbeing.org/index.php/ijow/article/view/2539">improved during the pandemic pause</a> in tourism. But the reality of putting local wellbeing ahead of profits and increased tax revenue is yet to be fully tested as tourism bounces back.</p> <p><em>Images: Getty</em></p> <p><em style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529; font-family: -apple-system, 'system-ui', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji'; font-size: 16px; background-color: #ffffff;">This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/resistance-to-mega-tourism-is-rising-in-the-south-pacific-but-will-governments-put-words-into-action-201071" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

International Travel

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Major boost to pension and allowance just days away

<p>The federal government has announced big changes to government allowance, with nearly 5 million Aussies set to benefit from an increase to their pension payments. Read more:</p> <p>Almost 5 million Aussies will receive a major increase to their pension payments as they are indexed to inflation.</p> <p>Recipients of the Age Pension, Disability Support Pension and Carer Payment can expect an increase of $37.50 a fortnight for singles and $56.40 a fortnight for couples combined.</p> <p>The maximum fortnightly rate of the pension is set to increase to $1,064 for singles and $1,604 for couples,  including the pension and energy supplements.</p> <p>Single, childless JobSeeker and ABSTUDY recipients over 22 will receive an extra $24.70 per fortnight.</p> <p>Each half of a couple receiving payments will receive a $22.50 increase per fortnight.</p> <p>Single parents receiving the parenting payment will benefit from an extra $33.90 a fortnight.</p> <p>Single parents on the parenting payment will also receive an additional $33.90 per fortnight, with the rate increasing to $967.90, including the Pension Supplement, Energy Supplement, and Pharmaceutical Allowance.</p> <p>Single, childless recipients of the maximum rate Common Rent Assistance will see an increase of $5.60, receiving $157.20 per fortnight.</p> <p>People who receive the maximum rate and have one or two children will see an increase of $6.58 to $184.94 per fortnight, while those with three or more children will receive an increase of $7.42 to $208.74 per fortnight.</p> <p>According to the federal government, the indexation of social security payments will bring cost-of-living relief for 4.7 million people.</p> <p>Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said the government was supporting Australians most in need.</p> <p>"Australia's social security system exists to support our most vulnerable citizens, and we know they are feeling the pinch," she said.</p> <p>"Indexation is a pillar of our social security system and we want more money in the pockets of everyday Australians so they can better afford essentials.</p> <p>"The increase is an important part of the system and helps those doing it toughest.”</p> <p>The indexation of payments begins on March 20.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Getty</em></p>

Money & Banking

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Jelena Dokic slams government superannuation legislation

<p>Jelena Dokic has lashed out at the government's proposed superannuation plan, saying it would stop women in vulnerable positions being able to get the financial help they need. </p> <p>On ABC's <em>Q+A</em>, the tennis champion-turned-commentator shared her own story of being forced to flee a violent home at the age of 19, and the financial burden of such a difficult situation. </p> <p>While she said she’d been lucky to have her professional tennis career to support her, she said most women did not have the financial means or stability to flee. </p> <p>Her comments come after Treasurer Jim Chalmers began a proposal to legislate a new superannuation objective plan, meaning superannuation money would exclusively be reserved for retirement income, with Aussies being unable to draw on these funds in times of crisis. </p> <p>Ms Dokic said the matter was not “black and white”. </p> <p>“There are a lot of different areas where I think you should be able to access it (super),” Dokic said.</p> <p>“I think there is so much we’re seeing today when it comes to domestic violence, for example; women are so afraid to leave and one of the reasons is because they feel like they won’t be able to start again – they won’t be able to set themselves up." </p> <p>“I was in that position when I was 19. I was just lucky with the fact that I was a professional athlete. I had the ability to go and earn a living, but I left home with nothing. I was basically on the street."</p> <p>“There are so many women out there that are in the same position, so maybe making it where you can withdraw $10,000 and put your money to use when you really need it."</p> <p>“There are so many people who are not even going to be able to get to retirement or be able to have a dignified retirement because they are not going to make it. They might not even be here.”</p> <p>As superannuation legislation currently stands, access to superannuation before the age of 65, is limited only to situations where someone is permanently incapacitated, has a physical or mental condition which prevents them from working, is dying, or their loved one is. </p> <p>There are also provisions for severe financial hardship, but domestic violence is not specifically mentioned.</p> <p>Dr Chalmers' proposal follows the release of $36 billion of Australians’ super during Covid-19, where early access was allowed during the initial months of the pandemic. </p> <p>To that, Dr Chalmers has vowed “never again”, saying his proposal would ensure Australians are less reliant on government subsidies in their retirement.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Q+A</em></p>

Retirement Income

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