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Why is it so hard to cancel subscriptions or end ‘free’ trials? Report shows how companies trap you into paying

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/katharine-kemp-402096">Katharine Kemp</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-sydney-1414">UNSW Sydney</a></em></p> <p>Many businesses are trapping Australian consumers in paid subscriptions by making them hard to cancel, hiding important details and offering “free” trials that auto-renew with hefty charges. We need law reform to tackle this continuing problem.</p> <p><a href="https://cprc.org.au/report/let-me-out">A new report</a> shows 75% of Australian consumers have had negative experiences when trying to cancel a subscription, according to the Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC).</p> <p>It shows businesses use “<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-spot-avoid-dark-patterns/">dark patterns</a>”, which are designs that hinder consumers who try to act in their own best interests. Subscription traps are often called “<a href="https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2022/11/checking-out-ftcs-100-million-settlement-vonage">Hotel California</a>” techniques, referring to The Eagles’ famous lyric: “you can check out any time you want, but you can never leave”.</p> <p>In some of these cases, consumers may have remedies under our existing consumer law, including for misleading conduct. But we need law reform to capture other <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/consultation/c2023-430458">unfair practices</a>.</p> <p>In the meantime, the CPRC’s research also gives examples of businesses with <em>fair</em>, consumer-friendly subscription practices. These also benefit the business.</p> <h2>Examples of unfair subscription traps</h2> <p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesbusinessdevelopmentcouncil/2022/09/12/the-evolution-of-the-subscription-model-and-whats-on-the-horizon/">Subscription business models</a> have become common – many products are now provided in the form of software, an app or access to a website. Some of these would once have been a physical book, newspaper, CD or exercise class.</p> <p>Most people who use online services have experienced the frustration of finding a credit card charge for an unwanted, unused subscription or spending excessive time trying to cancel a subscription.</p> <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/615486/original/file-20240826-16-fp57es.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/615486/original/file-20240826-16-fp57es.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&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/615486/original/file-20240826-16-fp57es.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=643&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/615486/original/file-20240826-16-fp57es.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=643&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/615486/original/file-20240826-16-fp57es.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=643&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/615486/original/file-20240826-16-fp57es.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=808&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/615486/original/file-20240826-16-fp57es.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=808&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/615486/original/file-20240826-16-fp57es.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=808&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="Infographic with a few statistics from the report." /></a><figcaption><span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://cprc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/CPRC_LetMeOut_SubsTraps_Report_FINAL.pdf">CPRC, Let me out – Subscription trap practices in Australia, August 2024</a></span></figcaption></figure> <p>Businesses can make it difficult for consumers to stop paying for unwanted subscriptions. Some do this by allowing consumers to start a subscription with a single click, but creating multiple obstacles if you want to end the subscription.</p> <p>This can include obscuring cancellation options in the app, requiring consumers to phone during business hours or making them navigate through multiple steps and offers before terminating. The report points out many of the last-ditch discounts offered in this process are only short term. One survey respondent said:</p> <blockquote> <p>I wasn’t able to cancel without having to call up and speak to someone. Their business hours meant I had to call up during my work day and it took some time to action.</p> </blockquote> <p>Other businesses badger consumers with frequent emails or messages after they cancel. One respondent said a business made “the cancellation process impossible by making you call and then judging your reason for cancellation”.</p> <h2>What does consumer law say?</h2> <p>Some subscription traps already fall foul of the Australian Consumer Law and warrant investigation by the <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/accc-warns-consumers-to-beware-of-subscription-traps">Australian Competition &amp; Consumer Commission</a> (ACCC). Consumers may have remedies where the business has engaged in misleading conduct or imposes an unfair contract term.</p> <p>For example, the ACCC is <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/accc-court-action-against-eharmony-for-alleged-misleading-online-dating-membership-statements#:%7E:text=The%20ACCC%20has%20today%20commenced%20proceedings%20in%20the,the%20pricing%2C%20renewal%20and%20duration%20of%20its%20memberships.">suing dating site eHarmony</a> for its allegedly misleading subscription practices.</p> <p>In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/06/ftc-takes-action-against-adobe-executives-hiding-fees-preventing-consumers-easily-cancelling">has filed a complaint against software company Adobe</a> for allegedly using dark patterns in its subscription practices.</p> <p>The Federal Trade Commission has alleged that “Adobe pushed consumers toward the ‘annual paid monthly’ subscription without adequately disclosing that cancelling the plan in the first year could cost hundreds of dollars”.</p> <p>Adobe <a href="https://news.adobe.com/news/news-details/2024/Adobes-Recent-Statement-Regarding-Updated-Federal-Trade-Commission-Complaint-/default.aspx">issued a statement</a> arguing the commission’s complaint “mischaracterises” its business. The litigation is ongoing.</p> <h2>We need an unfair practices prohibition</h2> <p>Some subscription traps would fall outside the existing consumer law. This is because they don’t meet the test for misleading conduct or unfair contract terms, but make it practically very difficult to cancel.</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/accc-welcomes-consultation-on-possible-unfair-trading-practices-regulatory-reforms">ACCC has advocated</a> for Australia to follow other countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States to enact an unfair practices prohibition to capture conduct like this.</p> <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/615487/original/file-20240826-16-2j23h7.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/615487/original/file-20240826-16-2j23h7.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&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/615487/original/file-20240826-16-2j23h7.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=769&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/615487/original/file-20240826-16-2j23h7.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=769&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/615487/original/file-20240826-16-2j23h7.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=769&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/615487/original/file-20240826-16-2j23h7.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=966&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/615487/original/file-20240826-16-2j23h7.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=966&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/615487/original/file-20240826-16-2j23h7.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=966&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /></a><figcaption><span class="caption">The shift businesses can make today.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://cprc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/CPRC_LetMeOut_SubsTraps_Report_FINAL.pdf">CPRC, Let me out – Subscription trap practices in Australia, August 2024</a></span></figcaption></figure> <h2>Better practices benefit businesses too</h2> <p>The CPRC report also revealed that 90% of Australians would likely purchase from the same organisation if cancelling a subscription process was quick and simple.</p> <p>Businesses focused on a short-sighted cash grab fail to realise that consumers might cancel but later return if treated well.</p> <p>The CPRC highlights businesses that are doing a good job. For instance, the habit change app Atoms (based on James Clear’s book Atomic Habits) has a genuinely free trial. It doesn’t require credit card details, doesn’t auto-renew, and lets consumers know how many trial days remain.</p> <p>The CPRC says the charity World Vision doesn’t auto-renew annual sponsorships, but reminds supporters about when the sponsorship will lapse.</p> <p>Importantly, some businesses – such as Netflix – use their data for good in this context. They notice when users are paying for the service without using it and help them unsubscribe.</p> <p>These practices should be applauded. But we need an unfair practices prohibition for businesses who don’t follow suit and recognise the long-term benefits of treating customers fairly.<!-- 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/237236/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/katharine-kemp-402096">Katharine Kemp</a>, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law &amp; Justice; Lead, UNSW Public Interest Law &amp; Tech Initiative, <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/why-is-it-so-hard-to-cancel-subscriptions-or-end-free-trials-report-shows-how-companies-trap-you-into-paying-237236">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Money & Banking

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Beloved Oodie company fined $100k over child safety

<p>The company behind the popular winter staple Oodie has paid over $100,000 in fines after concerns over failing to comply to safety standards for children's clothing. </p> <p>Davie Clothing Pty Ltd was issued with infringements by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) after it was alleged that they did not include high fire danger warnings on six varieties of the Kids Beach Oodie. </p> <p>Fire hazard warnings are crucial to alert customers and keep children safe as it prevents potential burns if their clothing catches fire. </p> <p>“Children can suffer serious burns if their clothing catches fire and we urge consumers to remain especially vigilant when kids are more likely to be near artificial heating or open flames,” ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said. </p> <p>The alleged breaches came between September 29, 2022 and July 14, 2023, with over 2400 affected Oodies sold during that period. </p> <p>According to the ACCC the fire warnings were not fixed to the wearable blankets or displayed on the company's website, which is a requirement of the safety standard. </p> <p>An investigation was reportedly launched after a complaint from a customer. </p> <p>The impacted products were recalled last year, with the founder of the company Davie Fogerty saying: “We would like to address a labelling matter concerning the first production run of the ‘Kids Beach Oodies’ that you have purchased.”</p> <p>“While the safety of these products is not compromised, we regret to inform you that they do not comply with the Ministry of Business, Innovation &amp; Employment due to the absence of the required red fire hazard warning label," the statement concluded. </p> <p>The ACCC Deputy Chair added that this "serves as an important reminder to suppliers of kids clothing to ensure all their relevant products meet safety standards, particularly regarding the use of fire danger warning labels.</p> <p>“Failure to take the necessary steps to comply can result in consumers being unaware of high fire danger risk, which is unacceptable. This is particularly concerning where children’s clothing is concerned.”</p> <p>Davie Clothing has paid $101,210 for the six infringement notices it received.</p> <p>The ACCC has accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from the clothing company, which included them publishing a corrective notice on their website and establishing a consumer law compliance program.</p> <p><em>Images: news.com.au</em></p>

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From this week, you’ll be able to look up individual companies’ gender pay gaps

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/natasha-bradshaw-1358801">Natasha Bradshaw</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/grattan-institute-1168">Grattan Institute</a></em></p> <p>There will be nervous executives all over Australia this week.</p> <p>Come Tuesday, large private sector organisations will have their company’s gender pay gaps published for the first time for all to see, name, and shame.</p> <p>As they brace for the fallout, let’s look at how what we will be told is changing, and what it will mean for you.</p> <h2>What is changing?</h2> <p>Every year, the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (<a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/">WGEA</a>) collects information from every employer with more than 100 employees. Until now it has published only a summary of the findings on its website, including Australia’s overall gender pay gap, and the gap by industry and employment arrangement.</p> <p>But for the first time legislation enacted last year also allows WGEA to publish the gender pay gaps of individual employers.</p> <figure class="align-right zoomable"><figcaption></figcaption></figure> <p>Tuesday’s release will include each large company’s median gender pay gap, and the share of women it employs in lower- and higher-paid jobs.</p> <p>Employers will have the chance to publish a <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/data-statistics/data-explorer">statement</a> alongside their results to provide context.</p> <p>That means from Tuesday you will be able to look on the <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/">WGEA website</a> and find the median gender pay gap of your large private sector organisation, or of an organisation you are thinking of joining, and how it stacks up against its competitors.</p> <h2>Why the change?</h2> <p>Australian women, like women elsewhere, have made astounding progress in the workforce in recent decades.</p> <p>Women are both working and earning more than ever before. But progress has stalled, and the gender pay gap remains stubbornly persistent.</p> <p>The Albanese government has shown its commitment to gender equity by increasing the <a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/child-care-subsidy">childcare subsidy</a> and extending <a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/parental-leave-pay">paid parental leave</a>.</p> <p>But beyond this, the options for governments are limited. Most of the barriers to women getting better-paid jobs can only be broken by employers.</p> <p>The public naming and shaming that will begin on Tuesday will push accountability onto employers, holding them responsible for the conditions in their workplaces.</p> <p>Workers and bosses are going to take notice: when employer gender pay gaps were released in the UK in 2018 it was the <a href="https://www.genderpay.co.uk/wp-downloads/moving-forward-may-2018/presentations/Gender_Pay_Gap_Moving_Forward_May_2018_Studio_2_5_Nick_Bishop.pdf">biggest business news story of the year</a>, with coverage rivalling the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.</p> <p>At a time when companies are fighting for top talent, it is going to make it more difficult for employers with large pay gaps to hire talented women.</p> <p>Research shows that on average women are willing to accept a <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3584259">5% lower salary</a> in order to avoid working for the employers with the biggest gender pay gaps.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vAr1Lhaw0Ao?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption><span class="caption">Workplace Gender Equality Agency.</span></figcaption></figure> <h2>Let’s not rush to judge</h2> <p>While <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/about/our-legislation/publishing-employer-gender-pay-gaps">naming and shaming</a> will help make this policy effective, we should be careful about rushing to judgement.</p> <p>It is possible for an employer to be making serious efforts to improve while its gap remains large.</p> <p>And some actions aimed at improving things, such as implementing a gender quota on entry-level positions, can worsen a company’s apparent gender pay gap in the short term by temporarily increasing the number of lowly-paid women.</p> <p>Also, there will be firms that have a low gender pay gap because they pay both men and women poorly.</p> <p>On Tuesday, we should instead look closely at whether the organisation has outlined clear steps it will take to improve, and how it compares to its competitors. In future years, we will be able to see how things have changed.</p> <h2>What will matter is what employers do next</h2> <p>Since the UK reforms were introduced in 2018, the gender pay gap has narrowed by <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3584259">one-fifth</a>, with the biggest improvements coming from the worst offenders.</p> <p>UK companies have also become more likely to include wage information in their job ads, equalising the starting point of wage negotiations for all applicants.</p> <p>But for existing employees, the narrowing of the gap has been caused more by slower growth in men’s wages than faster growth in women’s wages, which isn’t good news for anyone looking for a pay rise.</p> <p>The full effects of the Australian reforms won’t be seen for some time.</p> <p>It is likely that making high-paid jobs more accessible to women will allow employers to tap into a new talent pool and encourage more highly credentialed women into the workforce, adding to productivity growth.</p> <p>What is clear now is that if we want to narrow the gender pay gap, we need to know what’s happening. The avalanche of data due on Tuesday will be a start.<!-- 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/224167/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/natasha-bradshaw-1358801"><em>Natasha Bradshaw</em></a><em>, Senior Associate, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/grattan-institute-1168">Grattan Institute</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/from-this-week-youll-be-able-to-look-up-individual-companies-gender-pay-gaps-224167">original article</a>.</em></p>

Money & Banking

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Supermarkets, airlines and power companies are charging ‘exploitative’ prices despite reaping record profits

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/sanjoy-paul-1141384">Sanjoy Paul</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-technology-sydney-936">University of Technology Sydney</a></em></p> <p>Australians have been hit by large rises in grocery, energy, transport, child and aged care prices, only adding to other cost of living pressures.</p> <p>While extreme weather and supply delays have contributed to the increases, an inquiry into what’s causing the hikes has confirmed what commentators and consumers suspected - many sectors are resorting to dodgy price practices and confusing pricing.</p> <p>Headed by the former Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) boss, Allan Fels, on behalf of the ACTU, the inquiry found inflation, questionable pricing practices, a lack of price transparency and regulations, a lack of market competition, supply chain problems and unrestricted price setting by retailers are to blame for fuelling the increases.</p> <p>The inquiry, which released its <a href="https://www.actu.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/InquiryIntoPriceGouging_Report_web9-1.pdf">final report</a> on Wednesday, is one of four examining price rises. The other three are being undertaken by a Senate committee, the Queensland government and the ACCC, which has been given extra powers by the government.</p> <h2>Prices vs inflation</h2> <p>The inflation rate in Australia peaked at <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/price-indexes-and-inflation/consumer-price-index-australia/latest-release">7.8%</a> in December 2022 and has been gradually dropping since then.</p> <p>While the inquiry found higher prices contributed to inflation, it reported that businesses claimed it was inflation that caused price rises - making it a chicken-or-egg kind of problem.</p> <p>However, many businesses made enormous <a href="https://theconversation.com/amid-allegations-of-price-gouging-its-time-for-big-supermarkets-to-come-clean-on-how-they-price-their-products-219316">profits</a> in 2022-23, which the inquiry said contributed to rising prices and inflation. In most cases, post-pandemic profit margins were much higher than before the pandemic.</p> <h2>How prices are set</h2> <p>Business pricing strategies had a big impact on product prices.</p> <p>In Australia, businesses often provided partial and misleading pricing information which differed from the actual price. For example, supermarkets were “<a href="https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/accc-warns-supermarkets-about-discount-claims-20240114-p5ex1s">discounting</a>” products by raising prices beforehand.</p> <p>These practices helped raise prices and were “exploitative”, the inquiry found.</p> <p>A lack of transparent pricing information caused a poor understanding by consumers of how prices were set. This was significantly worsened by a lack of competition. While market concentration was a major issue, the inquiry found prices in Australia are way higher than in many other less competitive markets.</p> <p>Large price increases occurred across many sectors:</p> <p><strong>AVIATION</strong></p> <p>While it is free to set any price for airfares, Australia’s largest and highest profile aviation company, Qantas, has been <a href="https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/life/2023/12/28/qantas-deceptive-conduct-accc">accused</a> of price gouging since the pandemic.</p> <p>According to the inquiry report, Qantas made a profit of $1.7 billion in 2023 - 208% higher than in 2019. At the same time, its reputation has been badly damaged by unreliable timetables, lost baggage and so-called <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/qantas-files-legal-defence-refutes-accc-case-and-ghost-flight-claims/9a6296c9-9238-4053-9f36-cc3cbf1f8a55">“ghost” flights</a> (selling tickets for a flight that’s been cancelled or doesn’t exist).</p> <p>Despite its huge profits and poorer service, Qantas passed on extra expenses to consumers in the form of higher airfares, the inquiry found.</p> <p><strong>BANKING</strong></p> <p>The banking industry has a long history of being tardy in passing on the Reserve Bank’s cash rate cuts to consumers. However, when the reserve raised the cash rates, banks immediately increased their standard variable rates and passed them on to customers. This practice keeps the bank’s profit margin higher.</p> <p>According to the inquiry report, the major banks’ average profit margins have been higher since May 2022 than in the 15 years before the pandemic. For 2022-23, the four big Australian banks’ profit margins were 35.5%, compared to an average of 32.4% from 2005 to 2020.</p> <p><strong>CHILDCARE</strong></p> <p>Australian households spent a good portion of their income on childcare, and for many of them, it was <a href="https://www.vu.edu.au/sites/default/files/mitchell-institute-assessing-childcare-affordability-in-Australia.pdf">unaffordable</a>.</p> <p>In Australia, the lack of availability and difficulty in switching services makes it even harder for working parents to find alternative options. This indicates parents are forced to pay more if the service providers raise prices.</p> <p>The inquiry found the childcare sector increased fees by 20% to 32% from 2018 to 2022. Accordingly, Australian households’ out-of-pocket expenses for childcare increased more than the rate of wage growth. For-profit childcare businesses have higher margins than not-for-profit centres.</p> <p><strong>ELECTRICITY</strong></p> <p>In recent years, electricity price increases have impacted all Australian households. The inquiry found both wholesale and retail electricity pricing strategies were responsible for these increased prices.</p> <p>It reported that wholesale price increases were mainly responsible for an estimated 9% to 20% increase in electricity bills in 2022-23.</p> <p>The report noted the “price bidding system” was largely responsible for increasing wholesale electricity prices.</p> <p>The inquiry was critical of the profit margin of AGL, a leading electricity retailer:</p> <blockquote> <p>It would seem that AGL needs to explain why consumers are paying $60.10/MWh more than seems to be justified by cost differentials. That is, for every consumer bill of $1,000 there is an apparent excess to be explained of $205.61 relative to prices charged to large business customers and not accounted for by genuine cost differences.</p> </blockquote> <p><strong>SUPERMARKETS</strong></p> <p>Supermarket prices have received the most attention recently with the main providers being accused of price gouging.</p> <p>As has occurred in other sectors, profit margins were well above pre-COVID levels. In 2023, the margin was more than 3.5% compared to less than 3% in 2017 and 2018.</p> <p>In Australia, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/not-happy-little-vegemites-food-prices-rising-faster-than-inflation-20230522-p5da9w.html">food prices</a> also increased well above the inflation rate.</p> <p>According to the inquiry, the price increases for groceries between March 2021 and September 2023 varied between 19.2% and 27.3% for different categories, including cheese, bread, milk, eggs, dairy products and breakfast cereals.</p> <p>Farmers recently <a href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail/aussie-farmer-shipping-beautiful-melons-to-japan-rather-than-deal-with-coles-and-woolworths/news-story/bd685cd91f934f31c02c764097f496ae">accused</a> supermarkets of making too much profit from their crops.</p> <p>This was backed by the inquiry, which found the disproportionate market power held by supermarkets and food processors was of significant concern.</p> <p>The report noted that supermarkets increased prices when there was a shortage or cost increase, but the opposite did not happen easily when supplies were plentiful and prices were cheaper.</p> <h2>Issues common to all sectors</h2> <p>Among the issues common to all sectors were weak competition, a lack of price transparency, the difficulty consumers face switching between suppliers and providers, a lack of pricing policies and a lack of consumer awareness.</p> <p>While the price rises imposed by service providers and retailers were <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/business/pricing/setting-prices-whats-allowed">not unlawful</a>, the increases in all sectors were significant and were hurting everyday Australians.</p> <h2>Fels’ recommendations</h2> <p>Many of the recommendations were sector-specific, but the one that applied to all areas related to the lack of regulation and pricing policies.</p> <p>The ACCC should be empowered to investigate, monitor and regulate prices for the child and aged care, banking, grocery and food sectors, the inquiry found. This was necessary to ensure businesses used fair and transparent pricing.</p> <p>A review of all existing policies was also recommended. For example, the government should use the current aviation review to remove international and domestic restrictions on competition. It was important aviation stakeholders, such as airlines and airports, were involved in the process.</p> <p>The report suggested the grocery <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/business/industry-codes/food-and-grocery-code-of-conduct">code of conduct</a> should be mandatory for the food and grocery sector, and a price register for farmers should be created. This should be a government priority to protect farmers from unfair pricing by major supermarkets and food processors.</p> <h2>Change is needed</h2> <p>The current pricing practices for all business sectors must improve for greater transparency and to protect Australian consumers from unfair pricing.</p> <p>The inquiry report’s findings and recommendations are helpful in ensuring fair and transparent pricing policies and improving the current regulations for price settings.</p> <p>Implementing the recommendations will improve fair and transparent pricing practices and may help Australians get relief from the cost of living pressure in future.<!-- 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/222755/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/sanjoy-paul-1141384"><em>Sanjoy Paul</em></a><em>, Associate Professor, UTS Business School, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-technology-sydney-936">University of Technology Sydney</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/supermarkets-airlines-and-power-companies-are-charging-exploitative-prices-despite-reaping-record-profits-222755">original article</a>.</em></p>

Money & Banking

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Why can’t WE do this?! UK company unveils "Grans Go Free" flights

<p>EasyJet Holidays has unveiled their "first of its kind" offer allowing older relatives to travel for free on family bookings to popular European destinations, including Spain, Greece and Italy. </p> <p>The offer was announced during the final week of the easyJet Holidays Big Orange Sale last week, where customers could get up to £400 off. </p> <p>The move was made after a survey they conducted found that half of families have never holidayed abroad with grandparents.</p> <p>From the survey of 2,000 British adults, half of them said they regret not spending more time with grandparents and hoped to travel with them in their upcoming holidays. </p> <p>"We're proud to offer thousands of free kids' places, but we feel it's time to recognise the grandparents," easyJet Holidays Chief Operating Officer, Matt Callaghan said. </p> <p>"This research shows how important grandparent and grandchild relationships are and how much can be learned from making time for them."</p> <p>The tour operator hopes to encourage people in the UK to take a "3G" holiday - the term used for getaways with three or more generations. </p> <p>They found that seventy-seven per cent of the people surveyed agreed that the bond between grandparents and grandchildren is one of the most special relationships within a family. </p> <p>73 percent of these people also said that they would use the holiday opportunity to learn more about their grandparents' lives, and almost half of them want to benefit from their grandparents' wisdom. </p> <p>The most popular destinations for multi-generational holidays abroad are Spain (18 per cent), Italy and France, which both sit at 13 per cent. </p> <p>Limited spaces for the offer were made available and to qualify, the grandparent had to travel as part of a family booking with at least one child, and provide proof of age and relation had to be provided upon arrival at the hotel. </p> <p>The offer ended on the 5th of February, but it does make us wonder, when will Australia follow in their footsteps?</p> <p><em>Image: EasyJet/ Getty</em></p>

International Travel

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Happy ending after company's awful retirement send-off

<p>An elderly gentleman in the United States, who had faithfully served as an "extremely dependable" employee for 42 years, recently experienced a remarkable change in his fortunes, thanks in large part to the generosity of individuals from Australia.</p> <p>John Bartlett, the dedicated worker in question, had received <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/retirement-life/you-deserve-more-company-slammed-over-measly-send-off-party" target="_blank" rel="noopener">underwhelming recognition from an unnamed company</a> for his decades of commitment. His daily 40-minute commute on public transportation to a job paying only the minimum wage went largely unnoticed until recently, causing widespread consternation.</p> <p>Sonia, one of his colleagues, was deeply moved by the perceived injustice and decided to share a video clip of Bartlett's story online. In her post, she expressed her wish that his hard work had been better acknowledged and thanked him for his unwavering loyalty. She noted that Bartlett loved his job so much that he was reluctant to retire, receiving nothing more than a barbecue and a certificate as a token of appreciation.</p> <p>After sharing Bartlett's story on social media, Sonia was inundated with messages from people eager to contribute to his well-deserved retirement. Responding to this outpouring of support, she set up a <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/happy-retirement-john#xd_co_f=YjM1NWNiYzAtN2QwYS00MDc2LTgzZWEtNzRiYzE2ZjczZDU2~" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GoFundMe</a> campaign, inviting the public to contribute "a little something for a better retirement" for him.</p> <p>Within a matter of days, the fundraiser received an overwhelming response, with donations and messages pouring in from around the world, including numerous contributions from Australians. The campaign was eventually closed after more than 1,900 individuals contributed, resulting in a total of A$57,454 for Bartlett's retirement fund.</p> <p>In his 70s, Bartlett was left speechless when Sonia shared this incredible news with him. She conveyed the global impact of his story and the messages of support he had received from people across the globe. Overwhelmed by the gesture, Bartlett could only smile and nod in response.</p> <p>“They left messages for you," said Sonia in the video. "So I’m going to print it out and go ahead and make something nice for you so you can read it on your own time. We started the GoFundMe because they wanted to give you something for your retirement on their part and it just blew up overnight. You deserve it, OK? I’m going to make sure everything goes to your account, just for you.”</p> <p>Supporters encouraged Bartlett to use the funds for special treats, like a grand holiday or for spending time with loved ones. Messages from donors expressed their heartfelt wishes for his retirement and new beginnings.</p> <p>Sonia expressed her gratitude to the donors, assuring them that every cent raised would be placed directly into Bartlett's account. In her final update to the GoFundMe account, she thanked donors for their kindness and reaffirmed her commitment to ensuring Bartlett received every penny, attributing the success of the campaign to their collective efforts.</p> <p>In the end, the power of community and compassion won out, as people from all walks of life came together to make a meaningful difference in the life of an individual who had dedicated so much to his job.</p> <p><em>Images: TikTok</em></p>

Retirement Life

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“You deserve more”: Company slammed over measly send-off party

<p dir="ltr">A company has been slammed online for their measly attempt to farewell a hard-working employee of 42 years. </p> <p dir="ltr">John Barlett was a dedicated worker for four decades, commuting long distances to work at minimum wage and give his all to his colleagues. </p> <p dir="ltr">After 42 years of hard work, John announced his retirement from the company, prompting a measly farewell party from his place of work. </p> <p dir="ltr">One of John’s longtime co-worker, Sonia, was devastated over the injustice, sharing a short clip to social media of John – now in his 70s – and what she felt was his hard work going unappreciated.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Today is my co-worker’s last day. He worked for this company for 42 years making minimum wage,” Sonia wrote with the video. </p> <p dir="ltr">“The company only threw him a barbecue and gave him a certificate. He takes the bus and Bart (train) to get here every day on time. He’s 70+.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“He loves working here so much he didn’t want to retire. [He got] No bonus, just a barbecue and a certificate. Don’t be a slave to your job. Thank you John for your loyalty.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The video quickly went viral and was flooded with comments of support for John, with one person even suggesting that John start a <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/happy-retirement-john" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GoFundMe</a> for people to contribute to his retirement. </p> <p dir="ltr">In the fundraiser, she revealed John could not drive because of a disability, but “rain or shine” would always make it to work.</p> <p dir="ltr">He was “extremely dependable”, Sonia added, revealing it had been difficult to convince him to take a break because he always wanted to work. </p> <p dir="ltr">He was “one of the most talented and hard working” employees at the company and his energy was “unmatched”, she said. </p> <p dir="ltr">“He has no wife or kids, however he does have a nephew whom he loves dearly,” she wrote in the fundraiser.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It would be nice to give him some kind of company or something to do so he knows that he’s special and loved.”</p> <p dir="ltr">In the few days since the GoFundMe was created, it has raised almost $45,000, as many shared their comments of support.</p> <p dir="ltr">One person wrote, “Happy retirement, John. You deserve more than what this company has offered you. Wish you all the best in your life and your future.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: GoFundMe</em></p>

Retirement Life

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Why is Rupert Murdoch stepping aside now and what does it mean for the company?

<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/andrew-dodd-5857">Andrew Dodd</a>, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a></em></p> <p>At age 92, media mogul Rupert Murdoch is <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-21/rupert-murdoch-steps-down-as-newscorp-chair/102887474">stepping down</a> as chairman of Fox Corporation and News Corp but will stay on in the role of chairman emeritus, presumably to help guide his eldest son Lachlan as the new head of the firm.</p> <p>In many ways, the news was inevitable. The company is clearly planning its succession and how it manages Rupert’s decline. It has one eye on the market and one on ensuring the company maintains its direction.</p> <p>But why now, and where to from here for the company? And what will Rupert Murdoch be remembered for?</p> <h2>Why now?</h2> <p>Rupert’s departure was always going to come in one of two ways: either Rupert dropping off the perch or him leaving on this own terms. He has opted for the latter.</p> <p>This means the company has chosen to manage the transition in a market-favourable way.</p> <p>The transition to Lachlan looks, for the moment, to be well and truly secure. This gives him the chance under the leadership of Rupert to guide the company in the direction he – or Rupert – wants.</p> <p>Rupert says he is in robust health but he was keen to hang on as long as possible. So, perhaps today’s news suggests his health is declining. We can only speculate but the man is, after all, 92.</p> <h2>Would the recent lawsuits have played a role?</h2> <p>Fox has been subject to several very expensive lawsuits in recent years, which caused a lot of turmoil internally. At the cost of US$787.5 million, Fox settled a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems over baseless claims made about its voting machines in the 2020 US presidential election. A different voting technology company, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/sep/21/rupert-murdoch-fox-news-lawsuits-donald-trump">Smartmatic</a>, is also suing.</p> <p>But I doubt this played a huge role in Rupert stepping down because, in the end, a billion in lawsuits is nothing to a company that a few years ago made $70 billion by selling just some of its assets to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/09/21/fox-and-news-corp-stock-surges-as-rupert-murdoch-steps-down/?sh=37463b772a49">Disney</a>.</p> <p>This is the price the company pays for its take-no-prisoners approach. It is proud of its uncompromising editorial stance, which is designed to pander to its right-wing audience. And there is no indication Lachlan will take it in a different direction.</p> <h2>What next for Lachlan, with Rupert as chairman emeritus?</h2> <p>In a sense, Rupert is not really stepping down. His new papal-like title of chairman emeritus recognises he will struggle to let go. But the new role is also about calming the market and saying, “Don’t worry, I haven’t gone away; I am still here and I have my hand on Lachlan’s shoulder.”</p> <p>The best indication of Lachlan’s future stewardship of News Corp is his recent behaviour. He was at the helm of Fox News during Donald Trump’s presidential years and the immediate aftermath, when Fox News did enormous damage in its reporting on the 2020 election result. He was at the helm when Fox was making those baseless claims about Dominion Voting Systems. He had ample opportunity to guide the company in a different direction, but he didn’t.</p> <p>So I think we can expect News Corp will continue to be the zealous right-wing media company it currently is.</p> <h2>How might this affect the 2024 US election?</h2> <p>News Corp has finally seen what millions of US voters saw at the 2020 election, which was that Trump was ultimately destructive as a leader. Now, outlets like Fox News are umming and ahhing about whether to back him. Some at Fox are clearly reluctant to let go of their adoration of Trump while others are disappointed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis isn’t emerging as a viable challenger.</p> <p>If Trump continues to be the most popular Republican candidate, Fox will probably fall into line and support him, albeit with less enthusiasm than last time.</p> <p>There is a sense of confusion within Fox about whom to back and where to stand, which reflects the chaos in US politics more broadly.</p> <h2>So what’s Rupert’s legacy?</h2> <p>It comes down to a ledger. Has this man done more harm or good in his life in the media?</p> <p>On the good side, he has been a champion of newspapers. He has employed thousands of journalists and his outlets have often practised good public-interest journalism.</p> <p>But I am afraid I believe the good is outweighed by all the harm done on Rupert’s watch.</p> <p>His news media empire is fundamentally antisocial in the way it operates. I believe it’s caused so much harm to so many people along the way, and that cannot go unacknowledged. From the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-british-scandal-murdoch-20150611-story.html">UK phone hacking scandal</a> and beat ups to <a href="https://www.uts.edu.au/sites/default/files/Sceptical-Climate-Part-2-Climate-Science-in-Australian-Newspapers.pdf">climate denial</a> and the demonisation of minorities, News Corp can be counted on to dumb down complexity, make issues binary and turn one side against the other.</p> <p>He has damaged democracy and civil discourse and journalism itself. The behaviour of News Corp has on occasions been reprehensible, for which I think Rupert must take the blame.<!-- 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/214141/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/andrew-dodd-5857">Andrew Dodd</a>, Director of the Centre for Advancing Journalism, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a></em></p> <p>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/why-is-rupert-murdoch-stepping-aside-now-and-what-does-it-mean-for-the-company-214141">original article</a>.</p>

Legal

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"Shameful": Betting company slammed for 9-11 themed "Never Forget" promo

<p>DraftKings, a prominent sports betting company in the US, has found itself in hot water on social media this past Monday when it featured a parlay with a 9/11 theme on its mobile app – on the 22nd anniversary of the infamous terror attacks of September 11.</p> <p>Social media users were quick to share screenshots of the DraftKings app late on Sunday night, revealing a parlay named "Never Forget". This special parlay entailed wagering on the New York Mets, New York Yankees, and New York Jets to secure victories on Monday, marking the 22nd anniversary of the tragic terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre.</p> <p>The parlay's description urged users to "Bet these New York teams to win tonight on 9/11," drawing sharp criticism from the online community. Many expressed their disapproval of DraftKings seemingly attempting to profit from the solemn occasion.</p> <p>The parlay remained accessible on the app throughout Sunday night and into Monday morning, further fuelling public discontent over the sports betting company's decision.</p> <p>However, DraftKings eventually removed the parlay on Monday and issued an official apology for its inclusion. Their statement read, "We sincerely apologise for the featured parlay that was shared briefly in commemoration of 9/11. We respect the significance of this day for our country and especially for the families of those who were directly affected."</p> <p>Bret Eagleson, who leads the 9/11 Justice organisation, an advocacy group representing families and first responders, strongly condemned DraftKings' offer as "tone-deaf".</p> <p>Eagleson, whose father, Bruce, tragically lost his life in the World Trade Centre attacks, emphasised to the Associate Press: "It is shameful to use the national tragedy of 9/11 to promote a business. We need accountability, justice, and closure, not self-interest and shameless promotion."</p> <p>DraftKings did not disclose how many individuals placed bets as a result of the 9/11-themed offer, leaving questions unanswered regarding the status of those wagers - whether they remain valid or if they have been cancelled.</p> <p><em>Images: Twitter (X)</em></p>

Legal

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"Completely crushed": Collapse of bridal company leaves dozens distraught

<p>Dozens of Aussie brides have been left feeling "completely crushed" after a bridal shop collapsed into voluntary liquidation. </p> <p>The Bridal Atelier Pty Ltd, a bridal shop in Melbourne, appointed liquidators, leaving staff shocked and left to take calls from distraught brides concerned their wedding plans have gone up in smoke.</p> <p>The company's phone number has been disconnected, while their social media accounts and website have been removed.</p> <p>Mr Dullaway, one of the appointed liquidators, told news.com.au the company had “never recovered from the Covid lockdown” so had made the difficult decision to shut down for good.</p> <p>Georgia Schroeder, who works in the Melbourne store, said that she had only been hired in the bridal store less than two months before the collapse and was left devastated by the collapse.</p> <p>“I’m a broken woman,” she posted online, adding that she is “completely crushed”.</p> <p>Ms Schroeder said she had thought scoring the gig would be a “dream job” but it’s turned into more of a nightmare, as she has been left dealing with the fallout.</p> <p>“I’ve had hundreds of phone calls from brides begging and crying about their gowns and loss of money,” she said. </p> <p>“And even though it won’t mean much to the hundreds affected, none of the staff have been paid. We have all been left in the dark.”</p> <p>She added that she wanted to apologise “from the bottom of my heart” for what had happened and wished the best for brides affected by the collapse.</p> <p>Anna Campbell, one of the brands stocked by the boutique, is trying to help brides as they panic over their weddings. </p> <p>“We are devastated to hear of the sudden and heartbreaking closure of our retailer, The Bridal Atelier,” the company posted online. </p> <p>“Even in these uncertainty times, you, our bride, are our number one priority and focus." </p> <p>“Rest assured that we remain dedicated to upholding our commitment to you and will ensure that the highest level of service and care is provided through every step of your remaining bridal journey.” </p> <p><em>Image credits: Instagram </em></p>

Money & Banking

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The revolutionary skincare company redefining ageing

<p dir="ltr">When it comes to skincare, the majority of brands are quick to pedal their anti-ageing lotions and potions that claim to rewind time, as if “ageing” is a dirty word.</p> <p dir="ltr">And while some of them may help to reverse some of the physical signs of ageing, it's no secret that people are left wondering why they can’t be left to age gracefully, as time intended. </p> <p dir="ltr">Enter: ManukaRx. </p> <p dir="ltr">This revolutionary skincare brand is redefining ageing, with their new sustainable “Pro-Ageing Collection” promoting a new kind of restorative skincare. </p> <p dir="ltr">The seven-product collection is scientifically and naturally curated by leading experts, harnessing the power house potency of East Cape mānuka oil. </p> <p dir="ltr">The mānuka oil produced by ManukaRx is exclusive to the East Cape rural region of New Zealand, the first place in the world to see the morning sun. </p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/ClPMZIyD1tP/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/ClPMZIyD1tP/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by ManukaRx | Restorative Skincare (@manukarx)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">While we have mānuka trees in Australia, ours do not contain the unique chemical identity called ‘triketone’ which studies have proven have the most profound restorative impact on skin and is scientifically proven to boost collagen and elasticity while minimising fine lines and wrinkles.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Pro-Ageing Collection features an exfoliant, a cream cleanser, a mist toner, a skin oil, an eye cream, a day cream, and a night cream to work while you sleep. </p> <p dir="ltr">All of these products feature ManukaRx’s signature East Cape mānuka oil, while also using the best natural ingredients such as rosehip oil and aloe vera. </p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CpqcTy4hS2t/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CpqcTy4hS2t/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by ManukaRx | Restorative Skincare (@manukarx)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">These products are designed to hydrate, soothe, and repair the skin, while gently but effectively working to strengthen skin elasticity, minimise the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles to youthfully restore skin. </p> <p dir="ltr">ManukaRx are involved in every step of the creation process for their products, including helping to plant 5,000,000 mānuka trees. </p> <p dir="ltr">They are passionate about providing employment, fair land use and environmental regeneration through native mānuka planting that supports the health and soil for years to come.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CoY44zjpg9J/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CoY44zjpg9J/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by ManukaRx | Restorative Skincare (@manukarx)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">The brand also respectfully pays their local indigenous community (Māori community called iwi) for rights to use their land and also provides them with a share in company profits.</p> <p dir="ltr">This eco-friendly, sustainable, scientific and natural line of skincare is at the forefront of revolutionising the way women think about the physical signs of ageing, while encouraging everyone to take care of their skin to look and feel the best they can. </p> <p dir="ltr">The entire ManukaRx line is available exclusively on their <a href="https://manukarx.co.nz/collections/all">website</a>. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Instagram </em></p>

Beauty & Style

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Energy companies warn of further jump in power bills

<p>Energy company bosses have warned cost of living pressures will increase, with power bills set to soar by 35 percent by next year. </p> <p>"Next year, using the current market prices, tariffs are going up a minimum 35 percent," Alinta Energy chief executive Jeff Dimery told The Australian Financial Review's Energy &amp; Climate Summit.</p> <p>The summit was told that tight supply issues and Russia's invasion of Ukraine have put pressure on wholesale prices and international commodity markets.</p> <p>The early closure of coal-fired power stations is also creating a rocky transition to renewable energy, bumping up power bills. </p> <p>Under the predicted 35 percent rise by 2023, the average quarterly power bill in South Australia would be $514, in New South Wales $480 and for Victorian consumers $430.</p> <p>This predicted rise is another blow to Aussies struggling with cost of living pressures, after there was an increase of up to 18 per cent in household tariffs on July 1st. </p> <p>The winter prices were increased due to the war in Ukraine, and the resounding pressure on the global energy market. </p> <p>Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen told the conference that transitioning to renewables remains the best way of bringing down power costs and household bills.</p> <p>Labor pledged its policies would result in power prices falling by 2025 during this year's federal election campaign.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Money & Banking

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This law makes it illegal for companies to collect third-party data to profile you but they do anyway

<p>A little-known provision of the Privacy Act makes it illegal for many companies in Australia to buy or exchange consumers’ personal data for profiling or targeting purposes. It’s almost never enforced. In a published <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4224653" target="_blank" rel="noopener">research paper</a>, I argue that needs to change.</p> <p>“Data enrichment” is the intrusive practice of companies going behind our backs to “fill in the gaps” of the information we provide.</p> <p>When you purchase a product or service from a company, fill out an online form, or sign up for a newsletter, you might provide only the necessary data such as your name, email, delivery address and/or payment information.</p> <p>That company may then turn to other retailers or <a href="https://www.oracle.com/au/cx/advertising/data-enrichment-measurement/#data-enrichment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data brokers</a> to purchase or exchange extra data about you. This could include your age, family, health, habits and more.</p> <p>This allows them to build a more detailed individual profile on you, which helps them predict your behaviour and more precisely target you with ads.</p> <p>For almost ten years, there has been a law in Australia that makes this kind of data enrichment illegal if a company can “reasonably and practicably” request that information directly from the consumer. And at least <a href="https://consultations.ag.gov.au/rights-and-protections/privacy-act-review-discussion-paper/consultation/view_respondent?_b_index=60&amp;uuId=926016195" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one major data broker</a> has asked the government to “remove” this law.</p> <p>The burning question is: why is there not a single published case of this law being enforced against companies “enriching” customer data for profiling and targeting purposes?</p> <h2>Data collection ‘only from the individual’</h2> <p>The relevant law is Australian Privacy Principle 3.6 and is part of the federal <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2022C00199" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Privacy Act</a>. It applies to most organisations that operate businesses with annual revenues higher than A$3 million, and smaller data businesses.</p> <p>The law says such organisations:</p> <blockquote> <p>must collect personal information about an individual only from the individual […] unless it is unreasonable or impracticable to do so.</p> </blockquote> <p>This “direct collection rule” protects individuals’ privacy by allowing them some control over information collected about them, and avoiding a combination of data sources that could reveal sensitive information about their vulnerabilities.</p> <p>But this rule has received almost no attention. There’s only one published determination of the federal privacy regulator on it, and that was against the <a href="https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/cth/AICmr/2020/69.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Australian Defence Force</a> in a different context.</p> <p>According to Australian Privacy Principle 3.6, it’s only legal for an organisation to collect personal information from a third party if it would be “unreasonable or impracticable” to collect that information from the individual alone.</p> <p>This exception was intended to apply to <a href="https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/australian-privacy-principles-guidelines/chapter-3-app-3-collection-of-solicited-personal-information#collecting-directly-from-the-individual" target="_blank" rel="noopener">limited situations</a>, such as when:</p> <ul> <li>the individual is being investigated for some wrongdoing</li> <li>the individual’s address needs to be updated for delivery of legal or official documents.</li> </ul> <p>The exception shouldn’t apply simply because a company wants to collect extra information for profiling and targeting, but realises the customer would probably refuse to provide it.</p> <h2>Who’s bypassing customers for third-party data?</h2> <p>Aside from data brokers, companies also exchange information with each other about their respective customers to get extra information on customers’ lives. This is often referred to as “data matching” or “data partnerships”.</p> <p>Companies tend to be very vague about who they share information with, and who they get information from. So we don’t know for certain who’s buying data-enrichment services from data brokers, or “matching” customer data.</p> <p>Major companies such as <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=202075050&amp;ref_=footer_iba" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Amazon Australia</a>, <a href="https://www.ebay.com.au/help/policies/member-behaviour-policies/user-privacy-notice-privacy-policy?id=4260&amp;mkevt=1&amp;mkcid=1&amp;mkrid=705-53470-19255-0&amp;campid=5337590774&amp;customid=&amp;toolid=10001#section4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">eBay Australia</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policy/?subpage=1.subpage.4-InformationFromPartnersVendors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Meta</a> (Facebook), <a href="https://www.viacomcbsprivacy.com/en/policy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">10Play Viacom</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/en/privacy#twitter-privacy-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a> include terms in the fine print of their privacy policies that state they collect personal information from third parties, including demographic details and/or interests.</p> <p><a href="https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en-US#infocollect" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Google</a>, <a href="https://preferences.news.com.au/privacy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">News Corp</a>, <a href="https://www.sevenwestmedia.com.au/privacy-policies/privacy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Seven</a>, <a href="https://login.nine.com.au/privacy?client_id=smh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nine</a> and others also say they collect personal information from third parties, but are more vague about the nature of that information.</p> <p>These privacy policies don’t explain why it would be unreasonable or impracticable to collect that information directly from customers.</p> <h2>Consumer ‘consent’ is not an exception</h2> <p>Some companies may try to justify going behind customers’ backs to collect data because there’s an obscure term in their privacy policy that mentions they collect personal information from third parties. Or because the company disclosing the data has a privacy policy term about sharing data with “trusted data partners”.</p> <p>But even if this amounts to consumer “consent” under the relatively weak standards for consent in our current privacy law, this is not an exception to the direct collection rule.</p> <p>The law allows a “consent” exception for government agencies under a separate part of the direct collection rule, but not for private organisations.</p> <h2>Data enrichment involves personal information</h2> <p>Many companies with third-party data collection terms in their privacy policies acknowledge this is personal information. But some may argue the collected data isn’t “personal information” under the Privacy Act, so the direct collection rule doesn’t apply.</p> <p>Companies often exchange information about an individual without using the individual’s legal name or email. Instead they may use a unique advertising identifier for that individual, or <a href="https://help.abc.net.au/hc/en-us/articles/4402890310671" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“hash” the email address</a> to turn it into a unique string of numbers and letters.</p> <p>They essentially allocate a “code name” to the consumer. So the companies can exchange information that can be linked to the individual, yet say this information wasn’t connected to their actual name or email.</p> <p>However, this information should still be treated as personal information because it can be linked back to the individual when combined with other <a href="https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/cth/FCAFC/2017/4.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">information about them</a>.</p> <h2>At least one major data broker is against it</h2> <p>Data broker <a href="https://www.experian.com.au/business/solutions/audience-targeting/digital-solutions-sell-side/digital-audiences-ss" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Experian Australia</a> has asked the government to “remove” Australian Privacy Principle 3.6 “altogether”. In its <a href="https://consultations.ag.gov.au/rights-and-protections/privacy-act-review-discussion-paper/consultation/view_respondent?_b_index=60&amp;uuId=926016195" target="_blank" rel="noopener">submission</a> to the Privacy Act Review in January, Experian argued:</p> <blockquote> <p>It is outdated and does not fit well with modern data uses.</p> </blockquote> <p>Others who profit from data enrichment or data matching would probably agree, but prefer to let sleeping dogs lie.</p> <p>Experian argued the law favours large companies with direct access to lots of customers and opportunities to pool data collected from across their own corporate group. It said companies with access to fewer consumers and less data would be disadvantaged if they can’t purchase data from brokers.</p> <p>But the fact that some digital platforms impose extensive personal data collection on customers supports the case for stronger privacy laws. It doesn’t mean there should be a data free-for-all.</p> <h2>Our privacy regulator should take action</h2> <p>It has been three years since the consumer watchdog recommended <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Digital%20platforms%20inquiry%20-%20final%20report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">major reforms</a> to our privacy laws to reduce the disadvantages consumers suffer from invasive data practices. These reforms are probably still years away, if they eventuate at all.</p> <p>The direct collection rule is a very rare thing. It is an existing Australian privacy law that favours consumers. The privacy regulator should prioritise the enforcement of this law for the benefit of consumers.</p> <p><strong>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/this-law-makes-it-illegal-for-companies-to-collect-third-party-data-to-profile-you-but-they-do-anyway-190758" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.</strong></p> <p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

Legal

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Billionaire gives away entire company for worthy cause

<p dir="ltr">The owner of outdoor apparel brand Patagonia has announced he will be giving away his company to support the fight against the climate crisis.</p> <p dir="ltr">Yvon Chouinard, who has a net worth of $US 1.2 billion ($AU 1.7 billion or $NZ 2 billion), revealed he will be transferring the ownership of the company to a trust and a not-for-profit that fights climate change.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Each year, the money we make after reinvesting the business will be distributed as a dividend to help fight the crisis,” he wrote in an open letter titled ‘Earth is now our only shareholder’ on the Patagonia website on Wednesday.</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Chouinard wrote that he considered multiple paths for the company, including selling it or taking it public, which involves selling the company’s shares on a stock exchange.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Instead of ‘going public’, you could say we’re ‘going purpose’,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Instead of extracting value from nature and transforming it into wealth for investors, we’ll use the wealth Patagonia creates to protect the source of all wealth.”</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cif5qbAjmgi/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cif5qbAjmgi/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Patagonia (@patagonia)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">According to the <em>New York Times</em>, Patagonia is valued at about $US 3 billion ($AU 4.4 billion or $NZ 5 billion).</p> <p dir="ltr">The Chouinard family, which controlled Patagonia until last month, no longer owns it, though it will continue to operate as a private, for-profit corporation.</p> <p dir="ltr">Its new owner, an environmental nonprofit called the Holdfast Collective, now owns 98 percent of the company and all the non-voting stock, while the newly-formed Patagonia Purpose Trust owns two percent of the company and all the voting stock.</p> <p dir="ltr">The trust will approve key decisions such as who sits on the board of directors, while the Chouinard family says they will guide the trust and continue to sit on the board.</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Chouinard founded Patagonia after years of prolific rock climbing and quickly became known for supporting environmental causes.</p> <p dir="ltr">Since 1985, one percent of Patagonia’s total sales have been committed to fighting climate change through One Percent for the Planet, an organisation of which Mr Chouinard is a founding member, and in 2019 the company announced it aimed to be carbon neutral by 2025.</p> <p dir="ltr">Last year, it was announced that Patagonia’s trademark branding would no longer appear on products because “adding an additional non-removable logo reduces the life span of a garment, often by a lot, for trivial reasons”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Though it’s common for wealthy individuals to contribute to various causes, the <em>New York Times</em> reported that the structure of Mr Chouinard’s changes to the company actually means he and his family don’t receive a financial benefit and that he will face a tax bill from the donation.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Here is the full text of the Mr Chouinard's extraordinary statement:</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">"Earth is now our only shareholder.</p> <p dir="ltr">If we have any hope of a thriving planet—much less a business—it is going to take all of us doing what we can with the resources we have.</p> <p dir="ltr">This is what we can do.</p> <p dir="ltr">By Yvon Chouinard</p> <p dir="ltr">I never wanted to be a businessman. I started as a craftsman, making climbing gear for my friends and myself, then got into apparel. As we began to witness the extent of global warming and ecological destruction, and our own contribution to it, Patagonia committed to using our company to change the way business was done. If we could do the right thing while making enough to pay the bills, we could influence customers and other businesses, and maybe change the system along the way.</p> <p dir="ltr">We started with our products, using materials that caused less harm to the environment. We gave away 1% of sales each year. We became a certified B Corp and a California benefit corporation, writing our values into our corporate charter so they would be preserved. More recently, in 2018, we changed the company’s purpose to: We’re in business to save our home planet.</p> <p dir="ltr">While we’re doing our best to address the environmental crisis, it’s not enough. We needed to find a way to put more money into fighting the crisis while keeping the company’s values intact.</p> <p dir="ltr">One option was to sell Patagonia and donate all the money. But we couldn’t be sure a new owner would maintain our values or keep our team of people around the world employed.</p> <p dir="ltr">Another path was to take the company public. What a disaster that would have been. Even public companies with good intentions are under too much pressure to create short-term gain at the expense of long-term vitality and responsibility.</p> <p dir="ltr">Truth be told, there were no good options available. So, we created our own.</p> <p dir="ltr">Instead of “going public,” you could say we’re “going purpose.” Instead of extracting value from nature and transforming it into wealth for investors, we’ll use the wealth Patagonia creates to protect the source of all wealth.</p> <p dir="ltr">Here’s how it works: 100% of the company’s voting stock transfers to the Patagonia Purpose Trust, created to protect the company’s values; and 100% of the nonvoting stock had been given to the Holdfast Collective, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting the environmental crisis and defending nature. The funding will come from Patagonia: Each year, the money we make after reinvesting in the business will be distributed as a dividend to help fight the crisis.</p> <p dir="ltr">It’s been nearly 50 years since we began our experiment in responsible business, and we are just getting started. If we have any hope of a thriving planet—much less a thriving business—50 years from now, it is going to take all of us doing what we can with the resources we have. This is another way we’ve found to do our part.</p> <p dir="ltr">Despite its immensity, the Earth’s resources are not infinite, and it’s clear we’ve exceeded its limits. But it’s also resilient. We can save our planet if we commit to it."</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-73b0b332-7fff-7578-f60d-b7caa2996db0"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

Money & Banking

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Moving company accidentally sells $120,000 worth of family belongings

<p>An elderly couple from Bribie island in Queensland are fighting for compensation after a removalist company sold their belongings during their interstate move to Bega, NSW.</p> <p>Gary and Lorraine Taylor are in their late 70s and had originally planned to use removal company ‘Wridgways’ before they liquidated in July 2021. This saw ‘Kent Removals and Storage’ taking on 160 new clients.</p> <p>The Taylors had packed all of their worldly possessions, including furniture and sentimental belongings, into two removal trucks. One truck contained $120,000 worth of furniture - little did they know they would never see these belongings again.</p> <p>Kent Removals &amp; Storage have since apologised and describe the incident as a result of human error, where the company had been court-appointed to assist liquidator Hall Chadwick. Chadwick was in charge of selling off Wridgways’ assets, which included items like office furniture.</p> <p>This is where the swap unknowingly took place - and the Taylor’s container was accidentally sent to online auction company ‘Grays Online’.</p> <p>Of course, everything was auctioned off for a fraction of the price.</p> <p>Lawyers representing the retiree couple say they would have to take $50,000 from their pension to recover only a few of the items, leaving them in complete limbo. Some of the furniture was unfortunately split between the two moving containers, meaning what did arrive couldn’t be assembled.</p> <p>“We’ve been married for 60 years, and 60 years of our bloody furniture has just gone down the tube and nobody cares,” Gary told 7NEWS.</p> <p>Lorraine spoke through tears as she told <a href="https://7news.com.au/news/nsw/elderly-couple-left-in-limbo-after-home-contents-sold-off-by-removalist-company--c-7794935" target="_blank" rel="noopener">7NEWS</a> the incident was “very hard to describe”.</p> <p>“It’s not believable what we’ve been through,” she said.</p> <p>“Its been terrible for both of us, and for our family.”</p> <p>Kent Removals and Storage CEO, Steve Alves has said the matter had been referred to Kent’s insurers but that, “the matter was incorrectly internalised between Kent, Grays Online and Hall Chadwick with a view to establishing liability for this error”.</p> <p>“As Kent Relocation Group contracted with Mr and Mrs Taylor and, irrespective of where the liability resides, Kent Relocation Group could and should have taken a lead role in this process and did not.”</p> <p>Alves said the company “apologises for the way in which this matter has been handled”.</p> <p>“Our team will focus on ensuring we support Mr and Mrs Taylor in any way we can to bring closure to this matter for them.</p> <p>“In terms of the missing items, given the quantum of the potential claim, the matter has been referred to Kent’s insurers along with an instruction to ensure that the matter is expedited in a prompt, efficient and reasonable manner for Mr and Mrs Taylor”.</p> <p>So far only 40% of the moving charges have been refunded, but since the matter was escalated Alves said Kent Removals &amp; Storage would work to refund 100% of all moving chargers. As to whether they will see a refund of their $120,000 worth of lost furniture, they must wait for the companies’ insurance process to run its course.</p> <p><em>Image: 7News</em></p>

Real Estate

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Grandad says power company is to blame for wife leaving him

<p>A 55-year-old man has blamed hefty power bills for the breakdown of his marriage. </p> <p>Grandfather Bryn Lawson has been in an ongoing battle with his energy provider, AGL, over bills that Mr Lawson claims are incorrect. </p> <p>The Western Sydney resident has accused AGL of using incorrect power meter numbers at his home, with his latest bill coming in at more than $1200.</p> <p>In attempt to lower his bills, Mr Lawson has tried to drastically reduce his electricity usage, even going so far as to get rid of his fridge. </p> <p>“It is a part of the decimation of my marriage to my wife of 35 years,” he told <a href="https://9now.nine.com.au/a-current-affair/power-bills-dispute-agl/42ed3aaa-4e9b-4f34-820d-02160a9130a7" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>A Current Affair</em></a>.</p> <p>“Because I’d come home and the lights would be on, the power would be on and the power bills are high. I’d be saying, ‘What have you got the lights on for, what’s this on for, why’s the heater on’?”</p> <p>However, even after his wife left, Mr Lawson was the only occupant of the home and his power bills still remained high, ranging anywhere from $900 to $1200.</p> <p>AGL has apologised to him for the issue and offered credit, but the mistakes keep happening. </p> <p>“Fix it AGL. Get your s*it together and fix it mate,” an enraged Mr Lawson said.</p> <p>He also shivers at night through cold temperatures because he does not want to use his heater to further drive up his bills. </p> <p>Mr Lawson, who said he was “sick to his stomach” and “scared” of his electricity bills, is ready to cut the power off.</p> <p>“I'm just banging my head up against a brick wall with these guys,” he said.</p> <p>“All I’m gonna get is a bad debt and a big bill I gotta pay off.</p> <p>“I have no problem at all putting my swag out there, putting my solar panels, my battery and running that fridge out there and living out there.”</p> <p>Mr Lawson has taken matters into his own hands by taking a picture of his power meter every month and sending the information to AGL three days before his bill is due, but he is still being overcharged just a few days later. </p> <p>An AGL spokesperson told <em>A Current Affair</em> the company had apologised to Mr Lawson for his experiences and would work with him to resolve his concerns.</p> <p><em>Image credits: A Current Affair</em></p>

Relationships

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The Aussie company revolutionising how we stay fresh

<p dir="ltr">While applying deodorant is part of our daily hygiene routine, some aerosols and roll-ons have been known to irritate the skin with long-term use. </p> <p dir="ltr">On top of the elements of sensitivity, the long list of chemicals in these products can actually be counterproductive to stopping or limiting perspiration. </p> <p dir="ltr">Luckily, there are now all-natural deodorants on the market that help to nourish the skin without causing irritation, while still keeping you clean, fresh and dry throughout the day. </p> <p dir="ltr">Australian-made and owned brand FRANK + BARE is the first Aussie company to create AHA deodorants. </p> <p dir="ltr">AHA, or Alpha Hydroxy Acids, are 100% natural ingredients that work together as a skin performance product, while also being incredibly effective as a natural deodorant. </p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb04skDtU53/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb04skDtU53/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by 🌿Clean Green Skincare Deo ♻️ (@frankandbare_)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">The 5 AHA’s included in the FRANK + BARE range, namely glycolic acid, lactic acid, malic acid, tartaric acid and citric acid, work to exfoliate the armpit and improve skin tone, while assisting with ingrown hairs and hyperpigmentation. </p> <p dir="ltr">The result is a gentle deodorant that provides effective odour control as well as smoother, brighter and clearer skin.</p> <p dir="ltr">Housed inside recyclable zero-waste packaging, the seven  natural deodorants in the revolutionary range have a smooth and creamy consistency, which make them easy to apply, while also being perfectly pH balanced and actively preventing odour-causing bacteria from developing while improving axilla health. </p> <p dir="ltr">The range includes scents of Magnolia + Black Pepper, Oakmoss + Myrrh, Coconut + Lime, Ylang Ylang + Grapefruit, Spearmint, Frangipani and a Fragrance Free product. </p> <p dir="ltr">So if you’re looking for a more natural alternative to your deodorants, look no further than FRANK + BARE for a more simple and sustainable option to add to your hygiene routine. </p> <p dir="ltr">You can try out the entire FRANK + BARE range on their official website <a href="https://frankandbare.com.au/">here</a>. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Beauty & Style

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Man sues company for celebrating his birthday

<p dir="ltr">A man has been awarded $US450,000 ($A611,000) after his colleagues threw a birthday party, despite him asking not to due to his anxiety disorder.</p> <p dir="ltr">Kevin Berling was working as a lab technician at Gravity Diagnostics in Kentucky when his fellow employees threw a celebration for his birthday on August 7, 2019.</p> <p dir="ltr">The 29-year-old suffered a panic attack following the celebrations and was eventually fired from his job. </p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Berling then filed a compensation lawsuit, seeking damages and compensation for lost income.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Managers started giving him a hard time for his response to the birthday celebrations,” his lawyer Tony Bucher told local TV news outlet WKRC.</p> <p dir="ltr">“They actually accused him of stealing his co-workers’ joy.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Berling specifically told his boss in 2018 that he did not want any celebrations for his birthday at work due to his anxiety. </p> <p dir="ltr">His employer claims to have “forgot” about the request which resulted in a panic attack on that fateful day in 2019.</p> <p dir="ltr">It took Mr Berling almost an hour to recover from the awful ordeal in his car, which was then questioned the following day.</p> <p dir="ltr">Following the interrogation, Mr Berling suffered another panic attack. </p> <p dir="ltr">A week later, he was fired from his job with his manager being “worried about him being angry and possibly becoming violent”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Berling was awarded a $US450,000 ($A611,000) judgment against the company by a unanimous jury.</p> <p dir="ltr">The settlement included $US120,000 ($A163,000) in lost wages and benefits, $US30,000 ($A40,000) in future wages, and $US300,000 ($A408,000) for “past, present and future mental pain and suffering, mental anguish, embarrassment, humiliation, mortification, and loss of self-esteem”.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

Money & Banking

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Companies scramble after being called out by gender pay gap bot

<p dir="ltr">A Twitter account exposing the gender pay gap at companies tweeting about International Women’s Day has caused a stir, prompting several of those companies to delete their posts.</p> <p dir="ltr">The account, appropriately called the <a href="https://twitter.com/PayGapApp">Gender Pay Gap Bot</a>, has seemed to take the internet by storm after it was first started in March 2021.</p> <p dir="ltr">Using data from the UK government’s gender pay gap service website, the account retweets posts from British companies with the median hourly pay difference between male and female employees.</p> <p dir="ltr">For example, fashion house Missguided tweeted: “Happy International Women’s Day! We’re paying it forward this IWD, and we’re giving away prizes throughout the day, including x2 lots of £1000 CASH.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-7231358a-7fff-4b42-ea1d-78f2b21fff63"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“To win, tweet us using #PayItForwardWithMissguided and share the best piece of advice you’ve received.”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">In this organisation, women's median hourly pay is 40% lower than men's. <a href="https://t.co/wm3Nsro6Zq">https://t.co/wm3Nsro6Zq</a></p> <p>— Gender Pay Gap Bot (@PayGapApp) <a href="https://twitter.com/PayGapApp/status/1501146247964635144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 8, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">The Gender Pay Gap Bot replied with, “In this organisation women’s median hourly pay is 40 percent lower than men’s”.</p> <p dir="ltr">For a majority of companies, the bot has actually reported that women’s pay was higher than men’s, including West London NHS Trust, Rowans Hospice and The Landmark Trust, and that St John’s Ambulance employees were paid equally.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-56901034-7fff-7c6e-4812-7080e92e0b1b"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">However, some of the companies where women earn less than men have scrambled to delete their tweets after they were called out by the bot.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">In this organisation, women's median hourly pay is 0.9% lower than men's. <a href="https://t.co/s9pLQU4jKf">https://t.co/s9pLQU4jKf</a></p> <p>— Gender Pay Gap Bot (@PayGapApp) <a href="https://twitter.com/PayGapApp/status/1501346190008352768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 8, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">In this organisation, women's median hourly pay is 81.6% lower than men's. <a href="https://t.co/0v0YFNb1r2">https://t.co/0v0YFNb1r2</a></p> <p>— Gender Pay Gap Bot (@PayGapApp) <a href="https://twitter.com/PayGapApp/status/1501315689738559493?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 8, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">The creators of the bot, Manchester-based copywriter Francesca Lawson and software developer Alastair Fensome, told <em><a href="https://qz.com/work/2139235/the-creators-of-gender-pay-gap-twitter-bot-explain-their-goals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Quartz</a></em> they made it to put the spotlight on companies and ensure their empowering words matched their actions.</p> <p dir="ltr">“[We] built it to put the gender pay gap data in the spotlight and enable the public to hold companies to account over the words of ‘empowerment’, ‘inspiration’ and ‘celebration’ they tweet on International Women’s Day,” Lawson explained via email.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The data shows their supportive posts are rarely backed up by action.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-81483d81-7fff-a090-13b9-181471e28830"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: @PayGapApp (Twitter)</em></p>

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