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Flying to a footy final? Watch your wallet. Here’s why airfares soar

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/doug-drury-1277871">Doug Drury</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a> Planning a flight to an AFL final is like trying to decide when and how to hop on an amusement park ride that hasn’t stopped. You don’t know where you need to be until the very last minute, and by then, it seems everyone else wants to be there too. This annual dilemma is now in sharp focus, with preliminary finals coming up this weekend. Sydney will face Port Adelaide at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday night, then Geelong will take on Brisbane in Melbourne on Saturday. Getting to these locations on the right dates can be no mean feat, and some fans have already been stung by surging prices. For those who tried to book over the weekend, prices to fly from Adelaide to Sydney in time for Friday’s game <a href="https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/port-adelaide-fans-will-have-to-pay-a-hefty-price-for-airfare-tickets-to-sydney-for-prelim-final-at-scg/news-story/e549e292c50eb9798f6735d2270aafc3">reportedly ranged</a> from $597 to an eye-watering $1,723. Australia’s airline duopoly is already under intense scrutiny. According to government <a href="https://australianaviation.com.au/2024/09/domestic-airfares-rise-after-rexs-demise/">data</a> released this week, domestic airfares have risen by more than 10% since Rex shut down its capital city services. So how exactly do airlines price their fares today, and then again once the teams are decided? Why are they allowed to charge so much? <h2>How are airfares priced?</h2> Airfares are set through a process called revenue management. Airlines use <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969699714000556">mathematical modelling</a> to help determine what we as consumers are willing to pay. Airlines plan out their entire year based on what services they predict will be needed at certain times – such as travel for school breaks, winter skiing, or summers in Hawaii. In economics, this is known as seasonal supply and demand. Airlines have the supply, planes, and we as consumers provide the demand. The cost of flights to cities hosting footy finals might seem outrageous. But these games are one-off events that happen at the same time each year. Using historical data, airlines have determined that enough people are willing to pay these fares to justify charging them. <h2>Two types of traveller</h2> Airlines base their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jksuci.2019.02.001">pricing strategies</a> on the assumption that we as travellers fall into two groups: elastic and inelastic. Here, elasticity simply describes how sensitive demand is to a change in price. Vacationers with a flexible calendar are an example of elastic travellers, who are able to change their flight dates to get the lowest airfare. Inelastic travellers, on the other hand, include business travellers who need to be somewhere specific on a particular date, and aren’t paying fares out of their own pocket. Airlines factor in both of these groups to determine <a href="https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/hms_fac_pubs/27">demand-based pricing</a>. Footy finals create huge amounts of inelastic demand, allowing airlines to push up their prices. <h2>Does the price actually reflect the value?</h2> <a href="https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/hms_fac_pubs/27">Transactional utility</a> is a theory based upon the assumption that the price we pay for a product or service should reflect the value we receive. In this case – how much fans are willing to pay to be there to watch the game live. But individually, this depends on who you barrack for, as well as whether you have the disposable income to pay a premium for the experience. Last year, some airfares to the grand final soared <a href="https://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/travel-tsunami-2300-grand-final-flights-for-diehard-brisbane-footy-fans/news-story/270a34ad89d49cc68f1e7202b0d22e59">above the $2,000 mark</a>. So how are the airlines able to set these prices? Are they not regulated by the government? It all comes back to what we as consumers are collectively willing to pay for a diminished supply during high demand. The government does not regulate airfares on that level. Airlines will not want to sell discounted seats if they know enough of us are willing to pay. They might run more flights, but that doesn’t necessarily mean airfares will come down. Our decision to buy a seat is based on the perception of its fairness. Getting into the final is costly enough – does the price charged to fly there also <a href="https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/hms_fac_pubs/27">seem fair</a>? Airlines know the psychology of fairness is what will fill the seat. So they will continue to test our perception of fairness on last minute purchases. <h2>Less competition makes it worse</h2> These types of pricing strategies are not unique to Australia. Airlines all around the globe understand the passion associated with championship sporting events and position themselves to take advantage of such moments. But we also know that here, airlines are pricing what they can in part due to very low competition, only worsened by the recent demise of Bonza and Rex. We can <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/by-industry/travel-and-airports/domestic-airline-monitoring">voice our displeasure</a> about this situation with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, but in the short term, many of us simply continue to pay the airfares. This is because the other methods of travel either don’t exist, such as high speed rail, or aren’t reasonable, such as driving for multiple days. Remember, airlines see this as an opportunity to increase their bottom line as part of their revenue management system. So what should you do if your team makes the grand final? Sell your car or house? Take out a second mortgage? What if you book now while it’s still relatively cheap and your team doesn’t make the final? Well, there is plenty to do in Melbourne in September! I, for one, will be watching from the comfort of my lounge room.<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/239104/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/doug-drury-1277871">Doug Drury</a>, Professor/Head of Aviation, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a> Image credits: Shutterstock 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/flying-to-a-footy-final-watch-your-wallet-heres-why-airfares-soar-239104">original article</a>. </div>

Domestic Travel

Aussies race to the kitchen as CorningWare prices soar

For decades, CorningWare’s collections have been a staple of kitchen cupboards all across the country. And now, those family favourites have collectors everywhere reaching for those old casserole dishes, with prices skyrocketing online. The news may come as a surprise to some, given CorningWare’s US-based parent company Instant Brand’s announcement - just a few days prior - that it had initiated the process for voluntary court-appointed bankruptcy. The brand encompassed the likes of Instant Pot, Corelle, Pyrex, and CorningWare. Its products could be found on the shelves of major retailers all across the country, but with the rising challenge of inflation in the market and a reported $500 million USD in debt, Instant Brands had to make the difficult decision. And while some may have assumed things would go downhill from there, CorningWare items had other ideas, as people took to online marketplaces to list their old collections with never-before-seen price tags on the wares. When one seller listed their “Wildflower Spice of Life” casserole set on eBay, they asked for a staggering $25,000 - a price that topped the previous online auction high of $10,000. Another dish from the range was asking for much less, and still more than many would have bargained for - $13,000. Other dishes included more ‘rare’ designs from CorningWare’s previous collections, with its 1971-1972 “Floral” pieces making an appearance. A 5-piece L’Echaloto would given its next owners more than a few dishes to choose from, as long as they had another $25,000 to spare to get their hands on the set in the first place. And as one seller - who dipped her toes into the CorningWare online marketplace realm a few years prior - told 7News, the success of the dishes was certainly a surprise, though not a bad one. The items she’d managed to sell were off to a better life, too, as they’d just “been gathering dust in our home for years.” “I sold off a few pieces - with my mum’s blessing, of course - and have made about $9000 so far,” she said. “I have another one listed at the moment, which I’m hoping to get around $2500 for. “I would never have thought that it could be so valuable. When I was younger, I thought it was just daggy. “Now it’s making us more money than I ever dreamed.” Images: eBay

Money & Banking

Grandparents to the rescue in the face of soaring rents

As the cost of living in Australia continues to rise, taking rental and property prices up with it, younger generations are facing a whole new host of challenges when it comes to putting a roof over their heads. But for one woman from New South Wales’ Blue Mountains region, the answer lay closer than she ever could have anticipated. As 24-year-old Isis Pattison told ABC’s Hack, she had been looking for an affordable rental in her local area for months when she lost track of how many applications she’d submitted, and the entire ordeal had become “ridiculous” - until she’d taken her grandmother, Debbie, along with her. Debbie explained that her granddaughter had been looking at a yurt that “was round and connected by a little pathway. And they wanted $370 a week for it”, and that she had been shocked by the cost. Her solution? Offering Isis a place in her own home, so that she could “save that $370”. And Isis’ financial boost wasn’t the only benefit to come of the whole arrangement, with Debbie noting that she’d “been on my own now for nearly eight years. It’s been very lonely and expensive on my own.” She’d been hit hard by the cost of living crisis too, she revealed, admitting that she had been struggling to make ends meet between bills and essential home items, including everything from food to electricity and heating. At the worst of it all, the grandmother had even feared she may have to sell the home she’d been making for herself since 1981. But things had picked up for Debbie with the arrival of her new roommate, as while Isis wasn’t paying rent at her grandmother’s, she was helping out with the bills, paying half. “It's a big help,” Debbie said. “I'm grateful and happy that she's here. I think my standard of living is a little bit better. I've got the heating on now.” For Isis, who intended to return to university and undertake a nursing degree, her grandmother’s generosity meant more than just extra dollars in her savings account, too. “I think it really works for us as well, because we’ve always just had a good connection,” she shared. “We understand each other, which makes it a lot easier.” And they aren’t the only ones who’ve turned to multigenerational living to combat the crisis, with the University of New South Wales’ Edgar Liu revealing that “one in every five people” have returned home since the COVID pandemic swept the country. Unsurprisingly, the most common reasons behind the moves were the cost of living and related finance woes. As Liu explained, “that encompasses a whole range of things from sharing bills, or finding better value and sharing costs." Images: Getty

Real Estate

What made rents soar? It might have been COVID, and pairing off

So, you think you know why rents climbed. You probably think was skyrocketing interest rates and a tsunami of migration. It’s true that interest rates have jumped more over the past year than at any time on record, and it’s true that migration has roared back – in the six months to September 2022 (the latest month for which we’ve official figures) arrivals exceeded departures by <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/national-state-and-territory-population/sep-2022">170,000</a>. But here’s the thing. Advertised rents began climbing sharply in <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/insights/where-rents-prices-are-really-skyrocketing-in-some-cases-by-600-a-week-more/">late 2021</a> – six months before the Reserve Bank began pushing up interest rates, and at a time <a href="https://theconversation.com/top-economists-expect-rba-to-hold-rates-low-in-2022-as-real-wages-fall-175054">when it was forecast not to</a>. And “net migration” was <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/national-state-and-territory-population/sep-2021">negative</a> back when rents were taking off – meaning the number of arrivals didn’t even match the number of departures. <h2>It’s supply and demand</h2> Something else made rents move. As it happens, there’s no particular reason to think interest rates would have quickly affected rents even if they had been climbing. If higher rates force some landlords to sell, and they sell to other landlords, the number of properties for rent won’t change. If those landlords sell to owner occupiers who would otherwise rent, they cut both the number of rental properties and the number of renters. What matters for rents, as for any price, is the demand for and the supply of the product being priced. More demand (more renters wanting properties) and the price climbs. More supply (more properties available for rent) and the price falls. On the face of it, neither demand nor supply was changing much during COVID as rents started climbing. Australia’s population was growing more slowly than at any time <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/speeches/2023/sp-gov-2023-04-05.html">in modern history</a>. And, as best as we can tell, the number of properties available for rent was climbing, <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/industry/building-and-construction/building-activity-australia/latest-release">albeit weakly</a>. What did change during COVID, according to the research department of the Reserve Bank, was the <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2023/mar/renters-rent-inflation-and-renter-stress.html">average number of people per household</a>. The change doesn’t sound big – the average fell from a bit above 2.6 residents per household to a bit below 2.55 – but applied to millions of households it meant about <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/speeches/2022/sp-ag-2022-05-25.html">140,000</a> more houses and apartments were needed than would have been. <h2>Average household size (capital cities)</h2> The sudden change was awfully for hard for the building industry to respond to, especially when it was laid low by COVID. Why did we suddenly want to live with fewer people? The head of the Bank’s economic division, Luci Ellis, thinks it was COVID itself, and lockdowns. We suddenly became more precious about sharing space. <h2>‘Love the one you’re with’</h2> Ellis says proportion of Australians living in group houses declined and stayed low. Faced with the choice of living with a large number of housemates and just one other person, perhaps a romantic partner, a lot of renters left group houses and <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/speeches/2022/sp-ag-2022-05-25.html">shacked up with each other</a>. As she put it last year, "On the question of who you would rather be locked down with, at least some Australians have voted with their removalists’ van, by moving out of their share house and in with their partner." There’s more to it of course, but where the supply and demand for anything are roughly in balance (rents had been increasing by <a href="https://theconversation.com/rent-crisis-average-rents-are-increasing-less-than-you-might-think-189154">less than 1% per year</a> in the four years before COVID, and fell in the first year of COVID) any sudden change in either supply or demand can move prices quickly. <h2>Advertised rents aren’t typical …</h2> Having said that, for most renters prices are still moving slowly. Advertised capital city rents are up <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/insights/where-rents-prices-are-really-skyrocketing-in-some-cases-by-600-a-week-more/">13%</a> over the past year, and advertised regional rates up 9%. But average rents (the average of what all renters pay) are up only 4.8%. The rents charged to ongoing tenants climb <a href="https://theconversation.com/rent-crisis-average-rents-are-increasing-less-than-you-might-think-189154">much more slowly</a>than the rents charged to new tenants, in part because landlords often like their tenants, and in part because for the first year renters are usually on fixed contracts. But over time as renters move home, and landlords become less squeamish, more and more renters tend to pay the rents advertised. It makes the increase in advertised rents an unwelcome sign of what’s to come. <h2>… but they’re a sign of rents ahead</h2> And it might get worse. Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe says population growth is set to climb to <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/speeches/2023/sp-gov-2023-04-05.html">2%</a> – near the peak reached during the resources boom. We won’t be able to build houses anything like that fast. Lowe says the last time Australia’s population surged it took about <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/speeches/2023/sp-gov-2023-04-05.html">five years</a> for housing supply to fully respond to housing demand. We’ve ways of dealing with it of course. One is to re-embrace group homes, another is to delay moving out of our partents’ homes, or to move back in. But even if this does happen, Lowe says, with typical understatement, that rent inflation – ultra-low before COVID – is likely to stay “quite high” for some time. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-made-rents-soar-it-might-have-been-covid-and-pairing-off-203542" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Real Estate

Coastal property prices and climate risks are both soaring. We must pull our heads out of the sand

Australians’ <a href="https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/curated/australians-beach">well-documented</a> affinity with the sun, surf and sand continues to fuel <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/stunning-holiday-hotspots-where-house-prices-have-doubled-in-five-years-20221109-p5bwuk.html">coastal property market growth</a>. This growth defies rising interest rates and growing evidence of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jul/23/against-the-tide-storm-battered-wamberal-residents-cling-to-beachfront-homes">impacts of climate change</a> on people living in vulnerable coastal locations. People in these areas are finding it harder to insure their properties against these risks. Insurers view the Australian market as sensitive to climate risks, as climate change impacts can trigger large insurance payouts. They are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/nov/12/australians-facing-prohibitive-insurance-premiums-after-climate-related-disasters">pricing their products accordingly</a>. Clearly, there is a vast disconnect between the coastal property market and climate change impacts such as increasingly severe storms, tidal surges, coastal erosion and flooding. There is no shortage of <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/32-billion-of-cba-mortgages-exposed-to-extreme-weather-risks-climate-analysis-finds-20220819-p5bb5p.html">reports</a>, <a href="https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/australian-homes-uninsurable-2030-climate-risk-map/">studies</a> and <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-18/gold-coast-council-additional-88-000-properties-at-flood-risk/101664596">analyses</a> confirming the climate risks we are already living with. Yet another alarming <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/research/environmental-impacts/climate-change/State-of-the-Climate">State of the Climate</a> report was released last week. We keep talking about reaching global net-zero emissions. But this “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwD1kG4PI0w">blah blah blah</a>” masks the fact that climate impacts are already with us. Even if we make deeper, faster cuts to emissions, as we must, our world is now warmer. Australians will <a href="https://www.science.org.au/supporting-science/science-policy-and-analysis/reports-and-publications/risks-australia-three-degrees-c-warmer-world">feel the effects of that warming</a>. We ultimately cannot afford the price of business as usual, as embodied by so many coastal developments. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZwD1kG4PI0w?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption>Greta Thunberg denounces the ‘blah, blah, blah’ from world leaders in response to the climate emergency.</figcaption></figure> Risks are worrying banks and insurers In Australia, the disasters and the environmental collapse we are experiencing will get worse. While a range of businesses see this as opening up <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/accc-internet-sweeps-target-greenwashing-fake-online-reviews">new market and product frontiers</a>, the fact is climate change is creating a fundamentally uncertain, unstable and difficult world. Banks have a <a href="https://law-store.wolterskluwer.com/s/product/banking-on-climate-change-how-finance-actors-regulatory-regimes/01t0f00000J3aMk">central role</a> in addressing climate risks. They are <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-can-your-bank-help-reduce-climate-change-risks-to-your-home-60049">exposed to climate risk</a> through residential lending on properties that are vulnerable to climate impacts and now <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/nov/26/australias-unraveling-climate-risk-leaving-more-homes-uninsurable-against-flooding-expert-warns">face insurance pressures</a>. One in 25 Australian homes are <a href="https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/australian-homes-uninsurable-2030-climate-risk-map/">projected to be uninsurable by 2030</a>. The Australian government risks bearing the large costs of supporting the underinsured or uninsured – otherwise known as <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/disaster-funding/report">being “the insurer of last resort”</a>. This costly legacy shows why planning decisions made now must take account of climate change impacts, and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40641-020-00161-z">not just in the wake of disasters</a>. The rapidly escalating impacts and risks across sectors demand that we undertake mitigation and adaptation at the same time, urgently and on a large scale. This means reducing emissions to negative levels – not just reaching net zero and transitioning our energy sector, but also actively removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. We must also respond to climate change risks already locked into the system. We have to make substantial changes in how we think about, treat, price and act on these risks. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Australia’s ‘unraveling’ climate risk leaving more homes uninsurable against flooding, expert warns <a href="https://t.co/cLj1SKei72">https://t.co/cLj1SKei72</a> — Guardian Australia (@GuardianAus) <a href="https://twitter.com/GuardianAus/status/1596294943529893888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 26, 2022</a></blockquote> As the climate shifts, so must our coastal dream The consequences of a warming climate, including reaching and crossing tipping points in the Earth’s weather systems, are <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abn7950#core-collateral-purchase-access">occurring sooner than anticipated</a>. The required behavioural, institutional and structural changes are vast and challenging. People are often attached to places based on <a href="https://rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/tran.12368">historical knowledge</a> of them. These lived experiences, while important, inform a worldview based on an understanding of our environment before the <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-19-2428-6_2">rapid onset</a> of climate change. This can skew our climate risk responses, but compounding climate impacts are outpacing our ability to adapt as we might have in the past. Institutional signalling, such as <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/property-values-are-at-risk-in-climate-change-hot-spots-rba-warns-20210917-p58skt.html">warnings by the Reserve Bank</a>, support greater public awareness of climate impacts and risks. When buying a property, people need to consider these factors more seriously than, say, having an extra bathroom. Obligatory disclosure of regional climate change impacts could inform buyers’ decision-making. The data and models used would have to be clear on the validity and limitations of their scenarios. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> A great presentation from <a href="https://twitter.com/Tayanah?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Tayanah</a> at the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/C2C2021?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#C2C2021</a> about the legal status of property rights in Australia enabling (or otherwise...) managed retreat as a <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/climateadaptation?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#climateadaptation</a> solution. Once again we find the climate projections are ahead of our legal preced…<a href="https://t.co/XgDVV5O0Gj">https://t.co/XgDVV5O0Gj</a> — Anthony Boxshall (@ScienceN2Action) <a href="https://twitter.com/ScienceN2Action/status/1420173588217303044?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 28, 2021</a></blockquote> Nature-based and equitable solutions In recent years there has been an increasing focus on nature-based solutions. This approach uses natural systems and tools for tackling societal issues such as the enormous and complex risks posed by climate change. Indeed, many Indigenous peoples, communities and ways of knowing <a href="https://www.facetsjournal.com/doi/full/10.1139/facets-2019-0058">have long recognised</a> the fundamental role of nature in making good and safe lives possible for people. Nature-based solutions provide a suite of valuable tools for remedying issues we’re already facing on coasts. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0964569121000399">For example</a>, in many contexts, building hard seawalls is often a temporary solution, which instils a false sense of security. Planting soft barriers such as mangroves and dense, deep-rooting vegetation can provide a more enduring solution. It also restores fish habitat, purifies water and eases floods. Acknowledging the well-being of people and nature as interconnected has important implications for decisions about relocating people from high-risk areas. Effective planned retreat strategies must not only get people out of harm’s way, but account for where they will move and how precious ecosystems will be protected as demand for land supply shifts. Nature-based solutions must be built into retreat policies too. As the Australian Academy of Science’s <a href="https://www.science.org.au/news-and-events/events/launch-national-strategy-just-adaptation">Strategy for Just Adaptation</a> explains, effective adaptation also embeds equity and justice in the process. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-019-02535-1">Research</a> on historic retreat strategies has shown that a failure to properly consider and respect people’s choices, resources and histories can further entrench inequities. Giving people moving to a new home as much choice as possible helps them work through an emotional and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0964569116301119">highly political process</a>. We all need to find the courage to have difficult conversations, to seek information to make prudent choices, and to do all we can to respond to the growing climate risks that confront us. As climate activist Greta Thunburg <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwD1kG4PI0w">says</a>: <blockquote> “Hope is not passive. Hope is not blah blah blah. Hope is telling the truth. Hope is taking action. And hope always comes from the people.” </blockquote> Acting on this kind of hope can put us on an altogether different and more positive path.<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/195357/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> Writen by Tayanah O'Donnell and Eleanor Robson. Republished with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/coastal-property-prices-and-climate-risks-are-both-soaring-we-must-pull-our-heads-out-of-the-sand-195357" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. Image: Getty Images

Real Estate

If you’re renting, chances are your home is cold. With power prices soaring, here’s what you can do to keep warm

If you’re feeling the cold this winter, you’re not alone. About a quarter of all Australians have trouble keeping their homes warm enough in winter. That figure is likely to soar this year, due to poor quality housing and the rapidly escalating energy crisis. Renters are particularly at risk, but our research has shown many home owners are in the same boat as well. We’ve collected data over the last few years on how many Australians have cold homes, find it <a href="https://theconversation.com/forget-heatwaves-our-cold-houses-are-much-more-likely-to-kill-us-83030">difficult to stay warm</a>, and can’t afford their heating bills. What counts as cold? The World Health Organization recommends a <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-CED-PHE-18.10">minimum home temperature</a> of 18℃ for health and wellbeing. About a fifth of Australian renters, for example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01136-5">have cold homes</a>. Our <a href="https://able.adelaide.edu.au/housing-research/research/healthy-housing-cre/cold-in-australian-homes#0">current research</a> has shown this applies to home owners as well, with 26% of people across all housing types unable to stay warm at least half of the time during winter. Australia’s energy crisis is likely to see soaring rates of energy poverty, meaning being unable to keep your home warm or cool enough. Here’s why this is such a problem – and what you can do about it. <h2>Cold homes affect our health</h2> If you’re cold at home, you have a higher risk of developing <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00484-017-1379-0">respiratory problems</a>and <a href="https://journals.lww.com/jhypertension/fulltext/2014/08000/Stronger_association_of_indoor_temperature_than.8.aspx?casa_token=TFv1eApy3hQAAAAA:9tc6eHiZCAk72mWgrmcgSxQT7kLczUDd7XNpXvNvoIFcMF6pJPSGpORK3SI-Veu4oc994saGXCWuJFBCs3pYN4g">high blood pressure</a>. People in the coldest homes face a higher risk of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935114003661?casa_token=vWpvR-oc8iMAAAAA:q72pW312N2oWIm1Gf9jpTTGUr3sH8uM_DankOAVzziVRT8_OPPnPjxJzDIC_x5j4Pr7O_Uuq">dying in winter</a>. Cold can have a flow-on impact on our health system, which is already struggling. Australia’s south-east has had the coldest start to winter <a href="https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2022/06/09/cold-winter-weather-australia/">in decades</a>. Melbourne hasn’t been this cold this early since 1949, while Sydney hasn’t seen these temperatures in early June since 1989. <h2>Double trouble: cold weather and the energy crisis</h2> If you’ve been hit by the recent cold snap, chances are you’ll have been reminded how cold your home can get. This is not a surprise given how badly <a href="https://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/research-data-and-insights/research/energy-efficiency-and-reducing-emissions/household-retrofit-trials">existing homes</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-still-building-4-in-every-5-new-houses-to-no-more-than-the-minimum-energy-standard-118820">new housing</a> perform in keeping an even temperature. The cold has made many people doubly worried, because the energy required to heat our leaky, poorly insulated homes is about to get <a href="https://theconversation.com/expect-more-power-price-hikes-a-1970s-style-energy-shock-is-on-the-cards-183911">very expensive</a>. Early results from <a href="https://able.adelaide.edu.au/housing-research/research/healthy-housing-cre/cold-in-australian-homes#0">our survey</a> of over 350 Australians found 25% of people were experiencing shortages of money to the point they will be unable to adequately heat their homes. One third of our respondents said energy was unaffordable. Some reported making trade-offs, such as skimping on food or healthcare to pay energy bills. These people are experiencing energy poverty, where a household is unable to properly heat or cool their home or face significant financial difficulty doing so. While data about energy poverty in Australia is patchy, we know around 180,000 households <a href="https://vcoss.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Persistent-Energy-Hardship-FINAL-Web-Single-Page.pdf">in Victoria</a> had persistent bill payment issues as of 2018, and 45,000 households were consistently unable to heat their homes. <h2>Energy price increases hit lower income households hardest</h2> Lower income households are more at risk from the cold. That’s because they’re more likely to live in homes that are in <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10852352.2016.1197714?casa_token=D_2YbBQ9wRkAAAAA%3A5Z_XqM42cmGunbSwhVJ-EaaHrtV4w3nORhDq9ZoaqAMBx700PldV7_9VVPdAWy7mm2hi3KYLOij3">poor condition</a> and hard to heat. One quarter of low income households told us they struggle to stay warm. Insulation may be a key factor, with 25% of our respondents reporting their rental properties did not have insulation. Insulation matters, because heat escapes homes through <a href="https://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design/glazing">single-pane windows</a>, or poorly insulated walls and ceilings. As a result, poorly insulated homes <a href="https://environmentvictoria.org.au/resource/10-tips-warm-house/">cost more to heat</a>. This makes life harder for low income renters, given they have little control over insulation or other home modifications. Worse still, heaters that are cheap to buy are often the most <a href="https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/top-tips-improve-home-energy-efficiency/#:%7E:text=Shoot%20for%20the%20stars%3A%20Top%20tips%20to%20improve%20your%20home's%20energy%20efficiency,-26.11.21%20By&text=Compared%20to%20a%206%2Dstar,amount%20of%20electricity%20we%20use.">expensive to run</a>. While an efficient reverse cycle air conditioner would save money and heat the space better over the longer term, it is often difficult for renters to negotiate installation with property managers or landlords – especially given the intense competition for rentals at present in many cities. That can mean renters will suffer in silence, unwilling to ask for something that will make their lives better. <h2>What can renters do?</h2> Low income renters face real threats from energy poverty this year. While we need systemic change to improve the outlook for Australia’s renters, there are low-cost DIY ways to improve how <a href="https://www.yourhome.gov.au/">your house retains heat</a> this winter. The first step: check your current heating appliances are working efficiently. Many people don’t clean the filters on their reverse cycle air conditioners. This makes them less efficient, and can drive up energy bills. Poorly sealed windows and doors make it hard to stay warm. Using <a href="https://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/heating-and-cooling/insulated-curtains.htm">thermal curtains</a>, and keeping them closed makes a big difference. Putting a piece of plywood or even a scarf between the curtain rail and the wall to make a <a href="https://environmentvictoria.org.au/2011/07/05/take-the-chill-out-of-winter-with-diy-pelmets/">DIY pelmet</a> also helps keep the heat in. If you have single glazed windows, consider <a href="https://renew.org.au/renew-magazine/buyers-guides/window-buyers-guide/">window films</a> as a way to improve performance for a fraction of the cost of double glazed windows. <a href="https://blog.csiro.au/draught-proof-house/">Sealing the cracks</a> around windows, under doors and around the wider home is also important. Silicon or expanding foam can be used for gaps and cracks. Draughts under doors can be stopped with door seals or door snakes. Close the doors to your bathroom, laundry and other rooms not in use to keep the heat where you need it most. Hanging a blanket over a doorway can also be a cheap way to seal off a room and concentrate heat. It’s also worth checking what rebates and concessions your state government or council is offering. These might include energy efficiency improvements or extra help with heating costs. If you’re renting, your home must meet <a href="https://www.energy.vic.gov.au/energy-efficiency/minimum-rental-standards">minimum standards</a>, so make sure you check what you are entitled to as these vary by state. Everyone deserves a warm home. Our health and well-being depend on it. Building new, energy efficient homes is only part of the answer. We also have to make our 10.8 million <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/price-indexes-and-inflation/total-value-dwellings/latest-release#:%7E:text=Total%20value%20of%20dwelling%20stock,-Download&text=Range%3A%206400000%20to%2010400000.&text=End%20of%20interactive%20chart.&text=The%20preliminary%20estimate%20of%20the,in%20the%20December%20quarter%202021.">existing dwellings</a> warmer. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/if-youre-renting-chances-are-your-home-is-cold-with-power-prices-soaring-heres-what-you-can-do-to-keep-warm-184472" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Home & Garden

"Particularly appalling": Petrol prices set to soar before long weekend

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in"> Petrol prices are set to soar as Aussies get prepared for the long weekend. Peter Khoury from the NRMA in Sydney told Today that most capital cities will see prices above 140 cents a litre, and branded the hike "appalling". "It's particularly appalling," Mr Khoury said, adding "I would be social distancing myself from all companies from the next week or so at least. "The price cycles in Australia are now defying gravity. They are going up three times faster than they fall. "It's absurd in the middle of a pandemic to be doing this when we know so many families are struggling. I'm lost for words, to be honest." Sydney is tipped to hit 145 cents a litre, while both Brisbane and Melbourne will see prices of 150 cents a litre. Perth will hit 137.5 cents a litre and Adelaide is a bit lower hitting 139.2 a litre. Canberra and Hobart will hit 125.0 cents a litre and Darwin will have the nation's lowest prices at 119.2 cents a litre. Mr Khoury urged shoppers to use fuel comparison apps to get the most bang for their buck. "We're getting ripped off," he said. "In every one of those cities, there are a whole bunch of servos that are still sitting between $1 and $1.10 some $1.15, go and find them. Fill up there. "Drive past the $1.50 servos, don't give them your business, go to the cheaper servos... as long as we put our money into those servos we will keep having some degree of competition." </div> </div> </div>

Money & Banking

Extreme temperatures soar over 40C: Brace yourself for a heatwave today

Extreme heatwaves are set to make way across Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and some parts of New South Wales today. Broken Hill is forecast to get up to 45 degrees today yet that’s not the most extreme brunt of heat Australians may be facing today. Melbourne is set to reach 42 degrees and the Mercury is forecast could hit 47 degrees near the Victorian border. Sydney’s west and Hobart, Tasmania will both be reaching for the air con as well with heat projected to hit at 39 degrees. A sticky day is expected for the Northwest in South Australia today, with temps to reach 49. Fires have been totally banned for the whole state of Victoria. Click below to see what these restrictions could mean for you. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> Friday 4 January 2019 has been declared a day of TOTAL FIRE BAN for the whole State of Victoria. Plan ahead and understand what this means for you. Know what you can and can't do on a day of Total Fire Ban: <a href="https://t.co/Io6AlZ7Evh">https://t.co/Io6AlZ7Evh</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/vicfires?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#vicfires</a> <a href="https://t.co/utTkH0rfwT">pic.twitter.com/utTkH0rfwT</a> — VicEmergency (@vicemergency) <a href="https://twitter.com/vicemergency/status/1080334467779092480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 2, 2019</a></blockquote> Fortunately, the air con might not have to be on for the whole day though as temps are expected to cool down by the late afternoon. However, these cool wind changes could mean issues for firefighters trying to control blazes that may break out from the intense heat, a spokesperson for the CFA said. “The cool changes could make things very problematic,” they said. These winds could be up to 100km/h with the potential to widen fires attempting to be controlled. Forecasters are advising people who are especially susceptible to heatstroke to stay hydrated and remain indoors

Domestic Travel

Severe weather warnings in place as temperatures soar

Forecasters have warned Aussies of a “wild day of weather” as above-average temperatures, rain, 100km-plus gales and even blizzards are forecasted. Tasmania is expected to be hit with “vigorous and damaging” gusts of up to 100km/h. The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe warning for the Western, Upper Derwent Valley, South East and parts of East Coast, Central Plateau and Midlands areas today. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> ⚠️ Severe Weather Warning issued for Damaging <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Winds?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Winds</a> for Western and Southern <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tasmania?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Tasmania</a> for Wednesday morning and early afternoon. See <a href="https://t.co/lu3PDZ9GbE">https://t.co/lu3PDZ9GbE</a> for details and updates; <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hobart?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Hobart</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/weather?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#weather</a> <a href="https://t.co/lJW3P9PkP2">pic.twitter.com/lJW3P9PkP2</a> — Bureau of Meteorology, Tasmania (@BOM_Tas) <a href="https://twitter.com/BOM_Tas/status/1039311209135316992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2018</a></blockquote> Last night a cold front crossed Tasmania overnight, followed by a trough to cross Tasmania this morning. The windy conditions will continue to Thursday in the North-West, with showers contracting to the West and easing during the day. Friday will be mostly fine, with temperatures heating back up to the high teens. Hobart is expected to reach a maximum of 15 degrees today and 17C tomorrow. The wild weather follows many states encountering a burst of warm weather yesterday. Yesterday, Townsville had a top 27C and will rise to 29C towards the end of the week. Brisbane will experience 24C today, which will rise to 27C on the weekend. Today, Sydneysiders will experience 28C in the CBD which will drop back to 22C the following day. Yesterday, South Australia also encountered wild winds, with winds of 80-85km/h hitting Cleve, Whyalla, Roseworthy, Edinburgh and Hindmarsh. Today, South Australia is forecasted a high of just 16C. The Northern Territory will continue to experience warm weather with a high of 33C today and 35C on Friday. In the west of the country in Perth, temperatures have already fallen and the cloudy skies are expected to continue until the weekend.

Domestic Travel

Why grocery prices are set to soar

As Australia faces a horror drought, farmers across the country have been forced to slaughter their animals or watch them die as they struggle to feed and water livestock. Currently, 98 per cent of NSW and almost two-thirds of Queensland is either in drought or drought affected, while parts of Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia have also been hit. Some farmers have labelled this drought as the worst they’ve ever seen, and experts are warning the rest of the country to brace for the impact of the drought on supermarket prices. Executive director of agriculture research firm Australian Farm Institute, Richard Heath, said while “every drought was different”, they drive up grocery bills at double the rate of inflation. “Every drought is different depending on what time of the year it starts and where it’s more severe, and that flows on to what food types might be affected,” he told <a href="https://www.news.com.au/">news.com.au</a>. “Drought is not a new feature of Australian agriculture and generally what’s happened in the past is there has been in increase in grocery prices overall … generally the price has increased at about twice the rate of the consumer price inflation during equivalent periods of drought in the past. “But exactly what foods will be affected and the timing of that is really quite hard to determine until after the fact when we can go back and see how it’s translated into different foods.” Mr Heath predicted the availability of meat will increase before the shortage kicks in and pushes up prices. “In the early stages of drought the availability of meat products quite often increase with farmers offloading stock because they can’t feed them. So there might be a lot more on the market as the drought takes hold, but when the season recovers, farmers try to build up numbers again and potentially there could be less stock available for sale,” he explained. “Grocery prices are obviously the way that the community overall feels the impact of drought when it gets severe enough to impact the availability of food, but before that farmers are obviously the first and most severely affected. “The rural communities the farmers live in can also be severely affected because the income that farmers usually spend in the community just isn’t there. Retail and service industries in rural towns really suffer dramatically and they take a long time to recover, because the drought may break but it might be another six to 12 months before farmers start having decent incomes again.” National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) CEO, Tony Mahar, revealed that essential crops such as wheat, barley, oats and canola have also been impacted by the drought, along with livestock. “It’s pretty serious — some parts of Australia have been in drought for five, six, seven years so it has been really challenging for parts of the industry,” Mr Mahar told news.com.au. “Animals are stressed, farmers are stressed and families are stressed so it does have a large impact. “There has been a very reduced grain harvest this year. Australian farmers export around two-thirds of what they produce because it’s such a small market, so food security is not an issue.” Mr Mahar explained that if the grain shortage drives up the price of livestock feed, the price of meat will also increase. “Going forward next year, chances are feed prices are going to be more expensive for chicken, pork and beef producers who will have to pay more for their feed including barley, oats and wheat. Their input into their beef, pork and chicken products are going to get more expensive and ultimately, it could have a flow on to consumer prices,” he said. Mr Mahar said that any government and community support during this drought would be welcomed, as Australian farmers only receive a fraction of government subsidies compared to farmers in Europe, Asia and the US. “Farmers are a tough, resilient group and we’ll push through this … but at the end of the day, our farmers produce such amazing quality food and we need to support them through this time,” he said.

Retirement Income

Number of Aussies on welfare soars – at HUGE cost to taxpayers

There are nearly one million Australians on long-term welfare, <a rel="noopener" href="https://data.gov.au/dataset/dss-payment-demographic-data" target="_blank">new data</a> released by the Department of Social Services shows. There are 765,424 Australians who have been on welfare payments for longer than five years, which is an increase of 121,000 people from 2013. These payments include Newstart, Youth Allowance and the Disability Support Pension. New South Wales has the most total people on welfare payments, with more than 500,000 people receiving fortnightly benefits. The cost of welfare to the taxpayers has risen $40 billion in the past 10 years. According to the most recent report from the <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/australias-welfare-2017/contents/summary" target="_blank">Australian Institute of Health and Welfare</a>, an estimated $157 billion was spent on welfare in 2015–16, up from $117 billion in 2006–07. Social Services Minister Dan Tehan told the <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/longterm-welfare-rises-in-victoria/news-story/116f3dded5872e94e529c86d029b1cb7" target="_blank">Herald Sun </a>that although welfare costs taxpayers billions of dollars, it was an “even greater cost to the people who are stuck on welfare”. “The children of welfare dependent parents can pay a heavy price,” he said. “We know that children who grow up in unemployed households can have a lifetime of disadvantage. After record jobs growth, the proportion of working-age Australians now dependent on welfare has fallen to 15.1 per cent — the lowest in more than 25 years.” Data also shows thousands of people being forced off the Disability Support Pension and onto the dole, due to changes Disability Support Pension eligibility which came into effect in 2012. There has been a fall of 73,899 in DSP recipients over past five years, but a 54,505 rise in the Newstart payment. The DSP is no longer awarded on a diagnosis alone, but also on whether the disability affects an individual's ability to work. Under legislation, medical conditions must be permanent, fully diagnosed, treated and stabilised before the DSP would be issued. Further legislation implemented by the Turnbull Government effective from July 1 is designed to crack down on people taking advantage of the system, including those exploiting the system while having pending criminal charges or falsely reporting job applications.

Money & Banking

Cost of petrol FINALLY set to fall after weeks of soaring prices

Aussie motorists can finally expect to see the cost of petrol fall across the country after weeks of climbing prices. The relief follows the average price of petrol reaching a four-year high and motorists being forced to pay up to $1.63 per litre in parts of the country. On average, drivers in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide have been paying roughly $1.40 per litre. In Canberra, motorists have been paying nearly $1.50 per litre. Petrol prices are expected to drop by the June long weekend and drivers are recommended to fill up then. The NRMA’s Peter Khoury predicted four cents to be taken off the price per litre as the cost of a barrel dropped by $4 last week. “After a year almost, of consistent world oil price increases, this is finally starting to turn,” he told Today. “Finally, finally we've got some relief coming.” Since June last year, world oil prices have increased by 67 per cent. CommSec chief economist Craig James advised motorists to utilise fuel price websites and apps in order to shop around for the best deal. "Our first industry report showed that retailers' prices are not the same — retailers do price differently and have different strategies to get you to fill up with them," Mr Sims told <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-05/petrol-prices-hit-four-year-high-for-australian-motorists/9836366" target="_blank">ABC News.</a> "Yesterday lunchtime, the available fuel websites and apps indicated that the range between the highest and lowest-priced sites was over 20 cents per litre (cpl) in Sydney and Adelaide, around 15cpl in Brisbane and Perth, and around 10cpl in Melbourne."

Money & Banking

"Severe warning": Extreme heatwave to hit all capital cities as temperatures soar

After a slow start to summer that saw freezing cold nights, hail and torrential rain, summer has finally arrived, with a scorching heatwave set to sweep the country in the coming week. The temperature is set to soar above 30C across all capital cities, except Hobart, in the days ahead. But even Tasmania won’t be far off the 30C mark. Sydney will see the mercury soaring through the 30s by mid-week, Perth could get to 35C, Melbourne to 36C on Wednesday and Adelaide could potentially sweat through a hot 43C on Wednesday. Even the nation’s capital Canberra is set to swelter with temps ranging from low to mid 30s in the coming week. There is severe to extreme heatwave conditions forecasted for the Kimberley and Top End, with NT capital Darwin looking at temperatures of 35C all week. Brisbane is looking at highs of 20s early in the week followed by a sunny 32C on Friday and Saturday. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> The heat wave is expected to continue over the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TopEnd?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TopEnd</a> and extend to much of the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NorthernTerritory?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NorthernTerritory</a> early this week. Stay hydrated! Some respite towards the end of the week as showers return. Forecasts at <a href="https://t.co/PZqLmStPfd">https://t.co/PZqLmStPfd</a>. <a href="https://t.co/Q6zpiEhvmE">pic.twitter.com/Q6zpiEhvmE</a> — Bureau of Meteorology, Northern Territory (@BOM_NT) <a href="https://twitter.com/BOM_NT/status/939658412970913794?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2017</a></blockquote> Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Ashleigh Langey said NSW would reach peak temperatures on Thursday, followed by a short cool change on Friday. “Over the next couple of days there will be a high pressure system influencing the state with pretty warm conditions. From Tuesday onwards it looks like we have got a low intensity heatwave developing, and by Thursday it will be a severe heatwave in parts of the state. “There will be clear skies as well, which means things will heat up.” “The hottest day in Sydney will be Thursday, and we’re forecasting 34C (and hotter in the west). On Friday it will cool down to 27C because we have a southerly change moving through that will cool things down a bit,” she said. ”Even on Friday in the west of NSW it will still be quite warm. On Saturday it’s heating back up with 33C in Sydney.” The end of the week will see a nationwide cool-off, but next week is set to experience similar heat.

Domestic Travel

Your energy bills are about to soar

As if our power bills weren’t high enough, they’re about to soar even more. According to the <a href="http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/victorian-households-to-be-slugged-by-energy-price-rises-between-10-and-20-per-cent/news-story/5e00b4bd6cd9ac9c41c1160d8f30817b?login=1" target="_blank">Herald Sun</a>, Victorian Energy Australia customers are about to see the cost of their electricity rise by 15 per cent and gas by 13.5 per cent. This means the average residential customer will be forced to pay an extra $278 per year for electricity – pushing their bill up to around $2,134 and $1,612 for gas. The energy retailer has attributed the soaring costs to the “steep climb” in the Australian wholesale energy prices and the closure of the Hazelwood coal power station. According to Energy Australia’s chief customer officer, Kim Clarke, wholesale energy prices have risen 55 per cent since the start of the year, and unfortunately, customers will inevitably feel the pinch. “With this [latest] price increase that we have got there is zero retail margin increase in that," she told the Herald Sun. “Since August, calls to our contact centre are up 30 per cent and it’s easy to understand people are looking for a better deal on energy.” But while energy prices are set to rise across the board, Kirsty Lamont from financial comparison website Mozo says there are still better rates out there, so it’s important to shop around. “Energy bills are the second biggest household cost after the mortgage or the rent, so an increase of around 13 to 14 per cent will be a huge pain point for many households,” she said. “When it comes to energy, if you are not shopping around you are not saving because energy providers generally reserve their biggest discounts and best deals for new customers. If you have been with the same energy provider for a few years, chances are you are paying a lot more than you could be." In an effort to retain their position as the third-largest energy provider in Victoria, Energy Australia is offering both new and existing customers the chance to sign up to their two-year Secure Saver plan, which locks in prices for 24 months – but only if you sign up before January 31. Tell us in the comments below, are you happy with your energy provider? Or do you think you’re paying too much?

Money & Banking

Winter temperatures to soar to 32°C next week

At a time of the year where we’re used to reaching for a warm jacket, parts of Australia have been warned to brace for the warmest winter temperatures in almost a decade. Temperatures in Brisbane are expected to reach the mid-30s, with balmy weather expected for much of Queensland and NSW over the course of the week. Cold fronts that are bringing cooler temperatures to Western Australia are running out of puff before they reach the east coast, or moving to Melbourne instead, which is expected to be the main cause of the above average temperatures. The weather will be a little more seasonal in South Australia, Victoria and WA. How are you finding the weather this winter? Image credit: Sky News Australia

Domestic Travel

Grocery prices to soar in wake of Cyclone Debbie

Cyclone Debbie has <a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/2017/03/incredible-shots-of-cyclone-debbie-from-space/">left a trail of destruction across Queensland</a>, and if forecasts are to be believed it looks as though the damage will extend to your local supermarket. Australian Retailers Association director Russell Zimmerman told <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/" target="_blank">ABC News</a>, “If you get a devastation of that kind... what happens is prices really work on supply and demand. “I think you're going to see in the coming weeks there will be a shortage and in some cases, not in all, but in some cases retailers may have to look overseas to buy products. “Unfortunately prices will rise at the supermarket and that's going to affect everyone across (Australia).” Prices for fruit and vegetables could be set to rise with capsicum, tomato, eggplant, pumpkin, cucumber beans and corn amongst those hit by the storm. National Farmers' Federation chief executive Tony Mahar said that while it’s still early days, he expects a <a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/2017/03/mass-evacuations-in-queensland-ahead-of-cyclone-debbie/">number of growers would’ve been left devastated</a>. Mr Mahar said, "It really is too early to confirm the extent of the damage in terms of the area of crop damage and the value of the damage. But it is safe to say, given the force of the storm, farmers in the region will have suffered significant losses to not only crops but also infrastructure." With the prediction of $1 billion worth of damage just to crops, Mr Mahar also noted the implications of damage to the surrounding infrastructure. Mr Mahar said, “Damage to roads and other transport infrastructure will be expensive and will also impact on the process of getting produce to market. "On-farm damage to sheds, machinery, fences and silos will be an additional hit for farmers. In the Bowen region horticulture alone turns over $450 million a year and employs 3,500 people. Any hurt suffered by this industry is felt throughout the community." But while you might be feeling the pinch in the checkout, it’s important to remember that the farmers are the hardest hit. Mr Zimmerman said it was important for consumers to support farmers by continuing to buy Australian fruit and vegetables, to help farmers who might still have small portions of goods undamaged rebuild their business. "It's important for the future of the economy," he said.

News

Get used to paying more for snags and steaks as beef prices soar

Big price rises in beef mean that the traditional steak or sausages could be off the menu for many Aussie families. The price of some cuts increased by almost 50 per cent over the past six months as the Australian dollar softens and drought conditions hit farmers. The margins are being squeezed for this in the meat processing industry and it has been warned that we should get used to pay more for our beef. Butcher Peter Bouchier says it is actually hard to pass on the price increases to customers. "There's just no cheap beef any more and it's the cheaper cuts that have probably taken the biggest rise, chuck, stewing steak and trimmings, which we use for sausage meat," he said. Mr Bouchier even warned that some of the top-end cuts of beef could end up disappearing from butchers and restaurants for good. According to market watchers, the big supermarkets won’t be able to absorb the price hikes for much longer before we notice a cost increase at the registers. Coles said that while the new price for beef was great news for the farmers it had been forced to "minimise" the impact for some of these increases. “[However] for some beef products in our supermarket… we have needed to increase prices to reflect the higher cost,” a spokesman for Coles said. Aldi also admitted that the rising prices were making it harder for them to find cheaper cuts of beef. "However, what we may see is consumers trying new cuts of meat like chicken or pork," a spokesman for Aldi said. While some retailers are believed to be increasing the minimum size of popular products such as mince to support sales volume, it is understood that Woolworths has not changed its cuts or sizes. Woolworths has had no change in meat prices, while Coles has had a 0.7 per cent increase according to grocery data from Macquarie Securities. As well as the retailers, suppliers of beef to the restaurant industry are hurting too. Tarik Yalcin, who has worked at supplier CWB The House of Quality Meat for 16 years, says that these higher prices for beef are here to stay, especially due to the strong demand overseas for Australian meat. "Everything gets driven by the export prices," Mr Yalcin said. "We ring our suppliers on a daily basis to get chuck or silverside and one day they say it's $7 and the next it's $9. And they say 'take it or leave it' because if we don't want it, the export market does… this is the new normal." For the meat processors, the cost spike has led to reduced production and cuts to employee hours. "These are hard times for everyone in the industry and it's hurting a lot of people," one processor said. Related links: <a href="/news/news/2015/07/heart-disease-and-diabetes-danger/">Heart disease plus diabetes can knock more than 10 years off your life</a> <a href="/news/news/2015/07/peanut-turtle-litter/">Turtle lives 20 years after being cut free from a six-pack ring</a> <a href="/news/news/2015/07/baby-elephant-falls-in-well/">Mother elephant spends 11 hours trying to free baby from well</a>

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Soaring rental prices causing a rise in homelessness

There are more people experiencing first time homelessness in NSW than ever before, according to welfare group Vinnies. The ever-increasing cost of renting in Sydney means that tenants are falling behind and finding themselves without accommodation. And the people feeling the pinch aren’t those that are traditionally affected by homelessness, such as those with substance abuse issues or mental health problems. It’s the low-income earners and the casual workers who are finding themselves vulnerable too. Chief Executive of Vinnies, Michael Perusco, said that this rise was deeply concerning. “We are seeing a much greater increase in first-time homelessness,” he said. “We're seeing a lot of people on low incomes who have a life event which causes financial difficulty and suddenly they are in arrears with their rent with no hope of catching up. This is the group slipping into homelessness. As prices continue to increase inevitably we will see more people flow into homelessness.” The Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that in NSW almost 30,000 people are homeless, up 20 per cent since 2006. Mr Perusco also noted that living in insecure housing can affect a person’s mental and physical health and impede their ability to get back on their feet. “The price increases we have seen over the past few years in Sydney have driven people into homelessness and kept them homeless for longer,” he said. “What's missing in the debate about the affordability crisis is the human impact. The sharp end is not young people missing out on mortgages, it's families and individuals who are locked out of any sort of housing.” When Parramatta man Brian, 45, lost his job at the end of last year he found himself needing help from Vinnies to avoid homelessness. “I never, ever thought this happen to me,” he said. “I couldn't afford to pay the rent, I got into arrears and it looked like I was going to be evicted. The real estate agent sent me a termination notice and I thought I would end up homeless.” After finding a new job, he was able to pay the $300 a week to rent his studio apartment. He now sees just how easily he could have become homeless. “I used to look at homeless people and think, 'how do they get themselves like that?' It's a terrible thing to admit but I just thought they must be alcoholics or have drug problems,” he said. “I work, I have always paid my bills on time, I don't drink, I don't smoke, I go to the gym and stay healthy but look what almost happened to me. That's what shocked me. It can happen to anyone.” Statistics like these have led to a call for improved security of tenure for tenants and fairer laws for rent increases. Vinnies raise money and draw attention to the issue of homelessness through events like the CEO Sleepout fundraiser that was held last week. 300 company bosses spent the night at Luna Park and Vinnies hope to raise $2.3 million. It’s not too late to show your support – <a href="https://www.ceosleepout.org.au/donate/online-donation/" target="_blank">donate here.</a><a href="https://www.ceosleepout.org.au/donate/online-donation/"> </a> Related links: <a href="/news/news/2015/06/imprisoned-men-and-race-horses/">Prisoners and retired racehorses give each other hope for a better future</a> <a href="/news/news/2015/06/photos-of-kids-watching-tv/">Disturbing photos show what kids look like while watching TV</a> <a href="/news/news/2015/06/medicine-delays-approval-processes/">Seriously ill patients miss out on new medicines due to approval processes</a>

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Get used to paying more for snags and steaks as beef prices soar

Soaring rental prices causing a rise in homelessness

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