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Millions of Aussies to receive cash boost as welfare payments rise

<p>Millions of Australians who rely on welfare payments will receive a much needed cash boost as of Friday, thanks to an indexation boost. </p> <p>Recipients of the age and disability pensions, rent assistance, carer payments, and JobSeeker payments will all receive the increase. </p> <p>Age pensioners, as well as those on the disability pension and carer payments, will see an increase of $28.10 a fortnight for singles and $42.40 a fortnight for couples.</p> <p>This boost will take the total payment per fortnight, including energy supplement, to $1114.40 for singles and $862.60 for each member of a couple.</p> <p>Maximum rates of Commonwealth rent assistance will also be increased by 10 per cent from today, with indexation applied on top, as single recipients, with no children, renting on their own, and receiving the maximum rate will get an additional $23 per fortnight in rent assistance.</p> <p>For families with one or two children, their payment will increase by $27.02 per fortnight.</p> <p>Single JobSeeker recipients with an assessed partial capacity to work of zero to 14 hours per week will move to the higher rate of JobSeeker, receiving $849.50 a fortnight (including the energy supplement and pharmaceutical allowance).</p> <p>"This indexation will deliver timely boosts to people receiving allowance payments and pensions, ensuring that these vulnerable cohorts have more money in their pockets for everyday expenses," Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said.</p> <p>A full breakdown of the payment changes <a title="can be found here" href="http://www.dss.gov.au/about-the-department/benefits-payments/previous-indexation-rates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">can be found here</a>.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p>

Money & Banking

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No, taking drugs like Ozempic isn’t ‘cheating’ at weight loss or the ‘easy way out’

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/clare-collins-7316">Clare Collins</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-newcastle-1060">University of Newcastle</a></em></p> <p>Obesity medication that is effective has been a long time coming. Enter semaglutide (sold as Ozempic and Wegovy), which is helping people improve weight-related health, including <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37952131/">lowering the risk</a> of a having a heart attack or stroke, while also silencing “<a href="https://theconversation.com/some-ozempic-users-say-it-silences-food-noise-but-there-are-drug-free-ways-to-stop-thinking-about-food-so-much-208467">food noise</a>”.</p> <p>As demand for semaglutide increases, so are <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellness/in-a-fat-phobic-world-ozempic-is-hardly-the-easy-way-out-20240401-p5fgjd.html">claims</a> that taking it is “cheating” at weight loss or the “easy way out”.</p> <p>We don’t tell people who need statin medication to treat high cholesterol or drugs to manage high blood pressure they’re cheating or taking the easy way out.</p> <p>Nor should we shame people taking semaglutide. It’s a drug used to treat diabetes and obesity which needs to be taken long term and comes with risks and side effects, as well as benefits. When prescribed for obesity, it’s given alongside advice about diet and exercise.</p> <h2>How does it work?</h2> <p>Semaglutide is a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GLP-1_receptor_agonist">glucagon-like peptide-1</a> receptor agonist (GLP-1RA). This means it makes your body’s own glucagon-like peptide-1 hormone, called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucagon-like_peptide-1">GLP-1</a> for short, work better.</p> <p>GLP-1 gets secreted by cells in your gut when it <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38218319/">detects increased nutrient levels</a> after eating. This stimulates insulin production, which lowers blood sugars.</p> <p>GLP-1 also slows gastric emptying, which makes you feel full, and reduces hunger and feelings of reward after eating.</p> <p><iframe id="tc-infographic-1031" class="tc-infographic" style="border: none;" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/1031/c11b606581d4bc58a71f066492d7f740b52c04e1/site/index.html" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe></p> <p>GLP-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) medications like Ozempic help the body’s own GLP-1 work better by mimicking and extending its action.</p> <p>Some studies have found less GLP-1 gets released after meals in <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38218319/">adults with obesity or type 2 diabetes mellitus</a> compared to adults with normal glucose tolerance. So having less GLP-1 circulating in your blood means you don’t feel as full after eating and get hungry again sooner compared to people who produce more.</p> <p>GLP-1 has a very short half-life of about <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28443255/">two minutes</a>. So GLP-1RA medications were designed to have a very long half-life of about <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33567185/">seven days</a>. That’s why semaglutide is given as a weekly injection.</p> <h2>What can users expect? What does the research say?</h2> <p>Higher doses of semaglutide are prescribed to treat obesity compared to type 2 diabetes management (up to 2.4mg versus 2.0mg weekly).</p> <p>A large group of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36691309/">randomised controlled trials</a>, called STEP trials, all tested weekly 2.4mg semaglutide injections versus different interventions or placebo drugs.</p> <p>Trials lasting 1.3–2 years consistently found weekly 2.4 mg semaglutide injections <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36691309/">led to 6–12% greater weight loss</a> compared to placebo or alternative interventions. The average weight change depended on how long medication treatment lasted and length of follow-up.</p> <p>Weight reduction due to semaglutide also leads to a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36769420/">reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure</a> of about 4.8 mmHg and 2.5 mmHg respectively, a reduction in <a href="https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/triglycerides">triglyceride levels</a> (a type of blood fat) and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38041774/">improved physical function</a>.</p> <p>Another recent trial in adults with pre-existing heart disease and obesity, but without type 2 diabetes, found adults receiving weekly 2.4mg semaglutide injections had a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37952131/">20% lower risk</a> of specific cardiovascular events, including having a non-fatal heart attack, a stroke or dying from cardiovascular disease, after three years follow-up.</p> <h2>Who is eligible for semaglutide?</h2> <p>Australia’s regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), has <a href="https://www.tga.gov.au/safety/shortages/information-about-major-medicine-shortages/about-ozempic-semaglutide-shortage-2022-and-2023">approved</a> semaglutide, sold as Ozempic, for treating type 2 diabetes.</p> <p>However, due to shortages, the TGA had advised doctors not to start new Ozempic prescriptions for “off-label use” such as obesity treatment and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme doesn’t currently subsidise off-label use.</p> <p>The TGA has <a href="https://www.tga.gov.au/resources/prescription-medicines-registrations/wegovy-novo-nordisk-pharmaceuticals-pty-ltd">approved Wegovy to treat obesity</a> but it’s not currently available in Australia.</p> <p>When it’s available, doctors will be able to prescribe <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36934408/">semaglutide to treat obesity</a> in conjunction with lifestyle interventions (including diet, physical activity and psychological support) in adults with obesity (a BMI of 30 or above) or those with a BMI of 27 or above who also have weight-related medical complications.</p> <h2>What else do you need to do during Ozempic treatment?</h2> <p>Checking details of the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36691309/">STEP trial intervention components</a>, it’s clear participants invested a lot of time and effort. In addition to taking medication, people had brief lifestyle counselling sessions with dietitians or other health professionals every four weeks as a minimum in most trials.</p> <p>Support sessions were designed to help people stick with consuming 2,000 kilojoules (500 calories) less daily compared to their energy needs, and performing 150 minutes of <a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/tips-for-getting-active">moderate-to-vigorous physical activity</a>, like brisk walking, dancing and gardening each week.</p> <p>STEP trials varied in other components, with follow-up time periods varying from 68 to 104 weeks. The aim of these trials was to show the effect of adding the medication on top of other lifestyle counselling.</p> <p>A <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38041774/">review of obesity medication trials</a> found people reported they needed less <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28652832/">cognitive behaviour training</a> to help them stick with the reduced energy intake. This is one aspect where drug treatment may make adherence a little easier. Not feeling as hungry and having environmental food cues “switched off” may mean less support is required for goal-setting, self-monitoring food intake and <a href="https://theconversation.com/9-ways-wont-power-is-better-than-willpower-for-resisting-temptation-and-helping-you-eat-better-71267">avoiding things that trigger eating</a>.</p> <h2>But what are the side effects?</h2> <p>Semaglutide’s side-effects <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38041774/">include</a> nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, constipation, indigestion and abdominal pain.</p> <p>In one study these <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33567185/">led to</a> discontinuation of medication in 6% of people, but interestingly also in 3% of people taking placebos.</p> <p>More severe side-effects included gallbladder disease, acute pancreatitis, hypoglycaemia, acute kidney disease and injection site reactions.</p> <p>To reduce risk or severity of side-effects, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36934408/">medication doses are increased very slowly</a> over months. Once the full dose and response are achieved, research indicates you need to take it long term.</p> <p>Given this long-term commitment, and associated <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/topics/private-health-insurance/what-private-health-insurance-covers/out-of-pocket-costs#:%7E:text=An%20out%20of%20pocket%20cost,called%20gap%20or%20patient%20payments">high out-of-pocket cost of medication</a>, when it comes to taking semaglutide to treat obesity, there is no way it can be considered “cheating”.</p> <hr /> <p><em>Read the other articles in The Conversation’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/ozempic-series-154673">Ozempic series</a> here.</em><!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219116/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/clare-collins-7316"><em>Clare Collins</em></a><em>, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-newcastle-1060">University of Newcastle</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: </em><em>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/no-taking-drugs-like-ozempic-isnt-cheating-at-weight-loss-or-the-easy-way-out-219116">original article</a>.</em></p>

Body

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Woman’s outrageous act to catch cheating partner

<p dir="ltr">A woman has issued a desperate plea online for someone to help her catch her cheating boyfriend in the act. </p> <p dir="ltr">The Sydney woman, named Ariana, listed a job on the site Airtasker for someone to drive her to the suburb of Five Dock to catch her boyfriend, who she suspected was having an affair. </p> <p dir="ltr">She asked the potential driver to sit with her in the car for a few hours, in exchange for $350. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I need someone to drive me and a friend to Five Dock and sit in the car with us for a few hours so I can try and catch my cheating boyfriend,” she wrote. </p> <p dir="ltr">The ad, which was posted just before Valentine’s Day, quickly went viral and received mixed reactions. </p> <p dir="ltr">“The way I would do this for free,” one person said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Wow, who would've thought of putting it on Airtasker! This is genius,” another wrote. </p> <p dir="ltr">However, some people didn't see the point of going through so much trouble and wasting $350. </p> <p dir="ltr">“This never makes sense to me - if you don't trust him, just leave. The relationship is dead regardless of if he is cheating,” a woman said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Despite garnering massive attention online, it is not known if Ariana’s stealthy operation was a success, or if she is still in a relationship with her boyfriend. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Getty Images / Facebook</em></p>

Relationships

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Wayne Carey's flippant comment on past cheating scandal

<p dir="ltr">Wayne Carey has made a series of astonishing remarks about the high profile affair that ended his career, as he engaged with cheeky fans on X, formerly known as Twitter. </p> <p dir="ltr">The exchange began when the former AFL player made a seemingly innocent statement about AFL teams trading players. </p> <p dir="ltr">“If your club gets a player that plays your position? That should always be used as motivation to have the best preseason you have ever had,” the former Kangaroos star wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Difference between being good and great? Absolutely nothing beats hard work #tradeshow.”</p> <p dir="ltr">But fans were quick to recall Carey changing clubs back in 2002, as one person cheekily asked, “How come you traded clubs?” to which Carey replied, “Really?”</p> <p dir="ltr">“Didn’t work hard enough?” another added to the banter.</p> <p dir="ltr">Many others added to the virtual pile on, until one fan recalled the reason why he had to change clubs 21 years ago. </p> <p dir="ltr">“He slept with his teammate's wife!” the account wrote, to which the footy star responded with “3 times”. </p> <p dir="ltr">The rogue posts didn't stop there, as the same fan then jokingly asked if the footy star was “back on the bags”, referring to Carey's <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/finance/legal/it-s-not-a-great-look-afl-legend-caught-with-mysterious-substance-at-crown-casino" target="_blank" rel="noopener">incident at Perth Crown Casino</a>when a suspicious looking bag of white powder fell out of his pocket while he was gambling.</p> <p dir="ltr">On last year’s season of <em>SAS Australia</em>, Carey spoke candidly about the affair scandal. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I slept with a teammate’s wife. It’s haunted me for 20 years,” he said at the time. </p> <p dir="ltr">“My integrity will always be questioned. I’m not trying to prove anything to the public — it’s to myself." </p> <p dir="ltr">“People can change. They evolve. Hopefully this can help me.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Relationships

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

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/hanna-wilberg-1466649">Hanna Wilberg</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-auckland-1305">University of Auckland</a></em></p> <p>The National Party’s <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/09/26/more-sanctions-for-unemployed-beneficiaries-under-national/">pledge to apply sanctions</a> to unemployed people receiving a welfare payment, if they are “persistently” failing to meet the criteria for receiving the benefit, has attracted plenty of comment and <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/09/26/nationals-benefit-sanctions-plan-cruel-dehumanising-greens/">criticism</a>.</p> <p>Less talked about has been the party’s promise to index benefits to inflation to keep pace with the cost of living. This might at least provide some relief to those struggling to make ends meet on welfare, though is not clear how much difference it would make to the current system of indexing benefits to wages.</p> <p>In any case, this alone it is unlikely to break the cycle of poverty many find themselves in.</p> <p>One of the major drivers of this is the way the welfare system pushes some of the most vulnerable people into debt with loans for things such as school uniforms, power bills and car repairs.</p> <p>The government provides one-off grants to cover benefit shortfalls. But most of these grants are essentially loans.</p> <p>People receiving benefits are required to repay the government through weekly deductions from their normal benefits – which leaves them with even less money to survive on each week.</p> <p>With <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/132980318/auckland-mother-serves-up-cereal-for-dinner-due-to-rising-food-costs">rising costs</a>, the situation is only getting worse for many of the 351,756 New Zealanders <a href="https://figure.nz/chart/TtiUrpceJruy058e-ITw010dHsM6bvA2a">accessing one of the main benefits</a>.</p> <h2>Our whittled down welfare state</h2> <p>Broadly, there are three levels of government benefits in our current system.</p> <p>The main benefits (such as jobseeker, sole parent and supported living payment) <a href="https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/products/benefit-rates/benefit-rates-april-2023.html">pay a fixed weekly amount</a>. The jobseeker benefit rate is set at NZ$337.74 and sole parents receive $472.79 a week.</p> <p>Those on benefits have access to a second level of benefits – weekly supplementary benefits such as an <a href="https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/products/a-z-benefits/accommodation-supplement.html">accommodation supplement</a> and other allowances or tax credits.</p> <p>The third level of support is one-off discretionary payments for specific essential needs.</p> <p>Those on benefits cannot realistically make ends meet without repeated use of these one-off payments, unless they use assistance from elsewhere – such as family, charity or borrowing from loan sharks.</p> <p>This problem has been building for decades.</p> <h2>Benefits have been too low for too long</h2> <p>In the 1970s, the <a href="https://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/12967">Royal Commission on Social Security</a> declared the system should provide “a standard of living consistent with human dignity and approaching that enjoyed by the majority”.</p> <p>But Ruth Richardson’s “<a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/christchurch-life/124978983/1991-the-mother-of-all-budgets">mother of all budgets</a>” in 1991 slashed benefits. Rates never recovered and today’s <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/03/29/benefit-increases-will-still-leave-families-locked-in-poverty/">benefits are not enough to live on</a>.</p> <p>In 2018, the <a href="https://www.weag.govt.nz/">Welfare Expert Advisory Group</a> looked at how much money households need in two lifestyle scenarios: bare essentials and a minimum level of participation in the community, such as playing a sport and taking public transport.</p> <p>The main benefits plus supplementary allowances did not meet the cost of the bare essentials, let alone minimal participation.</p> <p>The Labour government has since <a href="https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/government-delivers-income-increases-over-14-million-new-zealanders">increased benefit rates</a>, meaning they are now slightly above those recommended by the advisory group. But those recommendations were made in 2019 and don’t take into account the <a href="https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/annual-inflation-at-6-0-percent">sharp rise in inflation</a> since then.</p> <p>Advocacy group <a href="https://fairerfuture.org.nz/">Fairer Future</a> published an updated assessment in 2022 – nine out of 13 types of households still can’t meet their core costs with the current benefit rates.</p> <h2>How ‘advances’ create debt traps</h2> <p>When they don’t have money for an essential need, people on benefits can receive a “special needs grant”, which doesn’t have to be repaid. But in practice, Work and Income virtually never makes this type of grant for anything except food and some other specific items, such as some health travel costs or emergency dental treatment.</p> <p>For <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/02/27/very-stressful-beneficiary-says-he-cant-afford-msd-debt/">all other essential needs</a> – such as school uniforms, car repairs, replacing essential appliances, overdue rent, power bills and tenancy bonds – a one-off payment called an “advance” is used. Advances are loans and have to be paid back.</p> <p>There are several issues with these types of loans.</p> <p>First, people on benefits are racking up thousands of dollars worth of debts to cover their essential needs. It serves to trap them in financial difficulties for the foreseeable future.</p> <p>As long as they remain on benefits or low incomes, it’s difficult to repay these debts. And the <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2018/0032/latest/whole.html">Social Security Act 2018</a> doesn’t allow the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) to waive debts.</p> <h2>Contradictory policies</h2> <p>Another problem is that people on benefits have to start repaying their debt straight away, with weekly deductions coming out of their already limited benefit.</p> <p>Each new advance results in a further weekly deduction. Often these add up to $50 a week or more. MSD policy says repayments should not add up to more than $40 a week, but that is often ignored.</p> <p>This happens because the law stipulates that each individual debt should be repaid in no more than two years, unless there are exceptional circumstances. Paying this debt off in two years often requires total deductions to be much higher than $40.</p> <p>The third issue is that one-off payments can be refused regardless of the need. That is because there are two provisions pulling in opposite directions.</p> <p>On the one hand the law says a payment should be made if not making it would cause serious hardship. But on the other hand, the law also says payments should not be made if the person already has too much debt.</p> <p>People receiving benefits and their case managers face the choice between more debt and higher repayments, or failing to meet an essential need.</p> <h2>Ways to start easing the burden</h2> <p>So what is the fix? A great deal could be achieved by just changing the policies and practices followed by Work and Income.</p> <p>Case managers have the discretion to make non-recoverable grants for non-food essential needs. These could and should be used when someone has an essential need, particularly when they already have significant debt.</p> <p>Weekly deductions for debts could also be automatically made very low.</p> <p>When it comes to changing the law, the best solution would be to make weekly benefit rates adequate to live on.</p> <p>The government could also make these benefit debts similar to student loans, with no repayments required until the person is off the benefit and their income is above a certain threshold.</p> <p>However we do it, surely it must be time to do something to fix this poverty trap.<!-- 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/212528/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/hanna-wilberg-1466649"><em>Hanna Wilberg</em></a><em>, Associate professor - Law, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-auckland-1305">University of Auckland</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/forcing-people-to-repay-welfare-loans-traps-them-in-a-poverty-cycle-where-is-the-policy-debate-about-that-212528">original article</a>.</em></p>

Money & Banking

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The Block contestants accused of cheating one week in

<p>Barely a week into the newest season of The Block and Sydney-based contestants Steph and Gian have been accused of breaking the rules. </p> <p>The couple had a difficult start to the competition after their builder consistently made costly mistakes. With one builder down and the time running out, Steph’s father Nick - a qualified builder - turned up at the site for a visit. </p> <p>Nick, who had travelled from interstate to visit them, was filmed helping the couple build their bathroom well into the late hours of the night. </p> <p>“It’s like the gods were aligned this week for my dad to be in town,” Steph said in the show.</p> <p>“This was a really hard week, and having someone that you trust there, that’s qualified also... he was just the perfect person.”</p> <p>This didn't sit well with Brisbane couple Leah and Ash, who had a few questions about Nick's involvement, including whether he received a site induction the night before. and if he would get paid for his work. </p> <p>If the answer was "no", then Steph and Gian would've broken the rules. </p> <p>Fellow contestant Kristy added fuel to the fire and <span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">noted that Nick was still working on-site after midnight - when even Steph had called it a night. </span></p> <p>“What set me off was the commentary, ‘Steph has had a big day so we’ve popped her to bed,’” she said. </p> <p>Turns out the other contestants had nothing to worry about, with Steph and Gian placing dead last in the bathroom judging with a score of 20.5 out of 30. </p> <p>The judges called out the “rustic” wooden beams in their bathroom ceiling which they said looked messy and needed to go. </p> <p><em>Image: The Block</em></p>

TV

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Can you lend a paw this tax time to help cats in need?

<p>With a proud reputation of caring for cats for more than 60 years, the Cat Protection Society of NSW runs Sydney’s only no-kill shelter just for cats, as well as providing feline welfare programs to help cats and the people who love them. </p> <p>Cat Protection began in 1958 as a small group of people dedicated to reducing the number of street cats and while our organisation has grown over the years, our vision remains the same; that every cat deserves a loving and responsible home.</p> <p>Over the years, Cat Protection has helped literally hundreds of thousands of cats, kittens, and people. We’ve led the way in setting the standards for best-practice feline sheltering, and our health and welfare services extend far beyond our adoption centre. And while technology means we can offer a great range of free cat care resources online, we’ve never lost our human touch and we still help thousands of people every year with advice and tips on cat care by phone or in-person, at no cost. </p> <p>Our subsidised desexing, vaccination and microchipping programs promote cat health and welfare in the community and our newest program, Adopt-a-Stray, offers a complete and affordable package for those who wish to fully welcome a street cat into their heart and home. </p> <p>What sets us apart from many other animal shelters is our holistic approach to each individual cat or human client. Cats are not given a time limit, although most are adopted within days or weeks. Every cat is individually assessed and provided with a care plan to meet their unique needs. If they need complex surgery, allergy trials or behavioural interventions our highly qualified team will work with veterinarians and specialists to ensure the cat gets everything they need to set them on the path to living their best life.</p> <p>A kind person found Snake, a four-week-old sickly orphaned kitten. In addition to cat flu, our vets identified corneal scarring in his right eye, a blocked tear duct, and an adhesion on his eyelid restricting the normal movement of his third eyelid. Treatment resolved the flu and improved his eye, but Snake will live with limited vision in that eye. This has not dampened his playfulness or zest for life.</p> <p>As well as poor physical health, orphaned kittens miss out on the important lessons of being a cat from their mum and siblings, and this can lead to behavioural issues. Where we can, we will make sure such kittens get to join a stepfamily, but in cases such as Snake’s, illness means that isn’t always possible. It is then up to our human team to work with these little ones to help them learn to navigate the world with good manners!</p> <p>In contrast, Banjo had all the behavioural benefits of his brother but alas at seven weeks of age Banjo weighed only 560 grams while his brother Clancy weighed 900 grams!  </p> <p>Banjo was diagnosed with a rare form of congenital hypothyroidism. Because his condition was diagnosed early, his prognosis is very good. He was started on a medication called Thyroxine and went back into foster care so that we could monitor his progress and adjust the dose of his medication as necessary with follow-up blood tests. After six weeks in foster care, Banjo graduated to the adoption centre. He will need to be on Thyroxine for the rest of his life, but that didn’t daunt his new family who’ve told us Banjo is now thriving in his loving forever home.</p> <p>From individualised TLC and veterinary care for every cat and kitten, to helping human clients resolve cat challenges (from furniture scratching to strata bans) and strategic research and advocacy on behalf of people and cats, Cat Protection’s impact is so much greater than our budget. </p> <p>As an independent registered charity for cats, we’re dependent on donations and bequests to do our work. We are compliant, open and transparent; on our website you can see our audited annual reports for details of what we do and what it costs.</p> <p>We have a strict “no harassment” fundraising policy which means under no circumstances will your information be sold on, and we do not employ pressure-tactics or door-to-door solicitations. </p> <p>We don’t spend money paying fundraising companies to ring you at dinner time asking for money or send you five-page long letters insisting you give more. And we never will. </p> <p>Donations are invested in helping our feline friends and nurturing the unique bond between cats and people. Your generosity will mean that we can continue to help thousands of cats and people each year.</p> <p>If you can lend a paw, please <a href="https://www.givenow.com.au/catprotectionsocietynsw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">make your tax-deductible donation here</a>! </p> <p>For general advice on cat care and everything feline, call the Cat Protection Society of NSW on 02 9557 4818 or visit <a href="https://catprotection.org.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">catprotection.org.au</a>  </p> <p><em>Images: Supplied.</em></p> <p><em>This is a sponsored article produced in partnership with the <span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">Cat Protection Society of NSW.</span></em></p>

Family & Pets

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Adorable reason behind Chris Hemsworth’s red carpet cheat notes

<p>Chris Hemsworth has been married to Spanish actress Elsa Pataky for almost 13 years, and while she speaks fluent English, Hemsworth is yet to master her native tongue.</p> <p>On June 8, he was at the premiere of his Netflix film Extraction 2 and was caught with some Spanish words scrawled on the palm of his hand.</p> <p>The 39-year-old was then photographed with what appeared to be a cheat sheet, which he personally found hilarious.</p> <p>“After years of coming to Spain and being asked ‘has my Spanish improved’ I can safely say it’s in the palm of my hand,” he wrote on Instagram alongside the photo.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CtOqVmTJ1sx/?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/CtOqVmTJ1sx/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Chris Hemsworth (@chrishemsworth)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>The actor revealed what was written on his hand during a guest appearance on local TV program El Hormiguero (Spanish for The Anthill).</p> <p>In the interview, Hemsworth also shared that his three children with Pataky - daughter India, 10, and twin sons Tristan and Sasha, 9 - find it funny that he doesn’t speak nor understand the language.</p> <p>“I try, but I can’t. My children laugh at me when I try to have a conversation with them in Spanish,” he admitted.</p> <p>“Sh*t, f**k, what happened? … I know that, that’s what my wife yells at me. The more she gets angry, the more she speaks Spanish.”</p> <p>Speaking to <em>Today</em> in 2017, Pataky said she had pretty much given up on teaching Hemsworth her native language, focusing on teaching their children instead.</p> <p>“He promised me, he said, ‘I’ll be speaking Spanish in two months.’ There we go, we have been together for six years,” Pataky – who speaks five languages: English, Spanish, Italian, French and Romanian - told <em>Today</em>.</p> <p>“That’s important, that’s what my mum did to me, talked in Romanian. I start to speak in English, I’m like, ‘I don’t express myself great.’ I got used to making an effort to speak to [the kids] in Spanish.”</p> <p><em>Image credit: Instagram</em></p>

Movies

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"Get a job": Ben Fordham slammed over interview with welfare recipient

<p>Ben Fordham has come under fire for a patronising interview with a welfare recipient, in which he tried to get the man, who is unable to work, a job live on air. </p> <p>On Wednesday morning, the 2GB radio host spoke with Jez Heywood, who is president of the Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union, and has been out of work since 2017 due to several health conditions. </p> <p>Mr Heywood had recently spoken to <em>The Australian</em>, sharing his frustration about the $20-a-week increase to Jobseeker, saying he was “angry” and “annoyed” at the federal government, describing the $2.85-a-day increase as “absolutely nothing”.</p> <p>Mr Heywood's commentary on the Jobseeker budget increase caught the attention of 2GB, who invited him to speak to Fordham, saying he “wanted to see whether we can find Jez a job”.</p> <p>Fordham asked Heywood if he was looking for work, to which Heywood shared that he is looking for work, but it is hard to find a job that would be suitable given his physical and mental health barriers. </p> <p>In response, Fordham told Heywood that "there are 54,000 jobs available right now in Melbourne".</p> <p>"That’s on the Workforce Australia website. So none of those 54,000 jobs are suitable to you or you’ve applied for them and they’re just not giving you the nod?"</p> <p>Heywood said he is applying for jobs that are "suitable" for his conditions, and is hearing nothing back from prospective employers. </p> <p>Fordham said a job would seemingly fix everything for Heywood, saying, "I reckon we can help your mental health if we get you into a job."</p> <p>Heywood seemingly appreciated the help, but also said it is important for him to consider what he is able to achieve in a job given his limitations. </p> <p>The tense exchange between Fordham and Heywood continued, as Heywood voiced his concerns and limitations with working, as Fordham seemed to dismiss his worries and said everything would be fine if he simply returned to work as a graphic designer. </p> <p>After the call, Heywood took aim at Fordham on social media, slamming the host as a “coward and a bully who’s been taking potshots at welfare recipients from the safety of his cosy radio studio for years”.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">You're a dog Ben Fordham</p> <p>— Vulgar Boatman (@satisjacktion) <a href="https://twitter.com/satisjacktion/status/1658691768706269184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 17, 2023</a></p></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">I’ve never met a dole bludger. </p> <p>I *have* met plenty of people with unresolved trauma and mental and physical illnesses (often not-yet-diagnosed), who probably LOOK like bludgers, through a telephoto lens. </p> <p>People who are doing okay WANT to be busy and to work.</p> <p>— Catherine Caine (@CatherineCaine) <a href="https://twitter.com/CatherineCaine/status/1658665436916101120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 17, 2023</a></p></blockquote> <p>He stood by his opinion that the Jobseeker payment should be at least $88 a day to keep recipients above the poverty line, and condemned Fordham for “calling me a dole bludger on national radio”.</p> <p>Fordham doubled down on his condescending treatment of Mr Heywood, saying, "I just want to find you a job, Jez."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images / Twitter</em></p>

Money & Banking

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

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

Real Estate

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Husband cheats on wife and blames her

<p dir="ltr">Kerry knew her marriage “wasn’t in the best shape”, and that there was not much happening in the bedroom department. She was working full-time and busy with their kids, aged five and seven. She was also considering suggesting couples counselling to her husband. </p> <p dir="ltr">"I knew he was preoccupied, but told me it was work stress and I believed him.”</p> <p dir="ltr">She also noticed had a few more “business trips” than usual. </p> <p dir="ltr">One night, realising that her husband was avoiding eye contact with her, she demanded to know what was going on. </p> <p dir="ltr">He had been cheating on her. For six months. </p> <p dir="ltr">He revealed that flirtation with a work colleague transformed into meeting for drinks, kissing and some “home bases”.</p> <p dir="ltr">"He said 'I didn't have sex with her until recently' as though he thought he deserved some sort of prize.”</p> <p dir="ltr">That’s not all he told her.</p> <p dir="ltr">"He was like, 'Oh you must know you haven't been meeting my needs'. I was like 'I cook, and look after the kids, and carry the mental load so what the f--k do you mean?”</p> <p dir="ltr">"He told me we'd been distant, sort of leading separate lives. I was like, really? How separate is sharing a bedroom? How separate is having two kids together? How separate is watching Succession together?”</p> <p dir="ltr">Before he cheated, he had been counting the days since Kerry had initiated sex - while not initiating it himself - as a bizarre test.</p> <p dir="ltr">An understandably emotional Kerry blew up at him yet he allegedly does not want the marriage to end. He has since cut off contact with the colleague apart from necessary exchanges at work. </p> <p dir="ltr">"He doesn't seem that remorseful, though. He keeps saying how I was so distant. I still feel like he wants me to shoulder some blame.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Kerry revealed she had issues with her self-worth that stemmed from her father. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Now, because of the cheating, that thought keeps popping up – that maybe I'm not good enough."</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credit: Shutterstock</em></p>

Relationships

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Federal Budget 2023: How to make the most of the key promises

<p dir="ltr">Treasurer Jim Charles has handed down his first budget for 2023/24, offering a series of measures aimed at tackling the cost-of-living crisis.</p> <p dir="ltr">Millions of Australians will receive a boost from the federal government medical care, bills and welfare payments, amid the forecast that the budget will be be in the black with a surplus of $4bn.</p> <p dir="ltr">Here’s what it means for you:</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Bill help</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Those who are on the pension, a seniors card holder or a recipient of family tax benefits A and B will be eligible to get help with energy bills thanks to a deal between the states and Commonwealth that’s worth $1.5bn.</p> <p dir="ltr">That means over five million eligible households and one million eligible small businesses will benefit from the scheme.</p> <p dir="ltr">The relief will come in the form of credits that apply directly to their power bills rather than cash, and the amount they receive will depend on the state they live in.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Medicare Relief</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">The incentives paid to GPs who bulk bill 11.6m eligible Australians including children under 16, pensioners and other concession card holders will increase.</p> <p dir="ltr">GPs will be able to claim the incentives for in-person consultations over six minutes long and certain telehealth consultations.</p> <p dir="ltr">GPs who bulk bill patients in the city will be paid a new incentive of $20.65 compared to the previous rate of $6.60, while regional GPs will receive a $31.40 incentive, up from $10.05.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Welfare recipients</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Over 1.1 million vulnerable Australians will benefit from a $40 fortnightly boost from September, if parliament agrees.</p> <p dir="ltr">The increased base rate will apply to people receiving JobSeeker, Youth Allowance, Parenting Payment (partnered), ABSTUDY, Disability Support Pension (Youth) and Special Benefit.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Rental assistance</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">For many renters, this budget means that rent is forecasted to increase over the next year as the market tightens.</p> <p dir="ltr">However, for those currently receiving the maximum Commonwealth Rent Assistance allowance their payments will increase by 15 per cent.</p> <p dir="ltr">Here’s what the Federal Budget will look like at a glance:</p> <ul> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr">Budget deficit of $13.9 billion in 2023/24</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr">Commonwealth net debt to rise to $574.9 billion (22.3 per cent of GDP) in 2023/24</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr">Economic growth to fall to 1.5 per cent in 2023/24</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr">Unemployment rate to rise to 4.25 per cent in 2023/24</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr">Inflation as measured by CPI to be 3.25 per cent in 2023/24</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr">Wages to rise by four per cent in 2023/24</p> </li> </ul> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr">And here are the key measures the federal budget has promised:</p> <ul> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr">Energy bill relief for five million households and one million businesses</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr">Triple bulk-billing incentives and more funding for urgent care clinics</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr">Base rate of JobSeeker and other payments to be raised for 1.1 million households</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr">Commonwealth Rent Assistant rise for 1.1 million households</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr">Housing boost including tax breaks for build-to-rent investors</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr">$4 billion extra for renewable energy</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr">Tax breaks for small business to write-off assets and reduce energy costs</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr">Targeted help for jobless aged over 55</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr">Cut to cost of medicines</p> </li> </ul> <p><em>Image: Getty Images/ Martin Ollman / Stringer</em></p>

Money & Banking

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Over-55s the only group to receive Centrelink payment boost

<p>Older recipients of JobSeeker will receive a higher welfare payment as the federal budget is set to include an increase in payments for 227,000 Aussies.</p> <p>According to <em>7News</em>, the budget will include an increase in the base rate of the JobSeeker for people aged 55 and above.</p> <p>The change honours Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ promise that an increase “will be focused on the most vulnerable”.</p> <p>Finance Minister Katy Gallagher previously committed to a “significant improvement” in terms of the budget.</p> <p>When asked if the rate of JobSeeker would be lifted, Gallagher revealed the budget would contain “ongoing” investments to help people with cost-of-living pressures, in addition to one-off measures.</p> <p>“This budget will have a significant cost-of-living package and that cost-of-living package will be targeted to the most vulnerable Australians,” she said.</p> <p>About 227,000 Jobseeker recipients are 55 and over, which is the highest number of any age group and the group most likely to be unemployed long-term, meaning they are without a job for five years or more.</p> <p>The majority of people in this group are women.</p> <p>Senior sources reportedly told <em>7News</em> that the increase will be modest, not the $100-a-week advocates are hoping for but what the budget can afford.</p> <p>The change is unlikely to please Raise the Rate campaigners, who have called for the government to bring payments above the poverty line.</p> <p><em>7News </em>reported that the government will sell the moderate increase as a “responsible first step”, an increase that will help the most vulnerable of JobSeeker recipients and honours its election commitment to do what it can to help within the restraints of the budget.</p> <p>The pressure continues to pile up for the government to substantially increase income support payments above $49.50 a day for singles on JobSeeker and $40.20 a day for Youth Allowance.</p> <p>An open letter to the Prime Minister, which has been signed by more than 300 politicians, community advocates and prolific Aussies, called for an increase to be included in the budget to support those most in need.</p> <p>“Right now, the rate of JobSeeker is so low that people are being forced to choose between paying their rent or buying enough food and medicine,” the letter, coordinated by the Australian Council of Social Service, read.</p> <p>In 2022, the council’s research found six in 10 people on income support were eating less or reporting difficulty getting medicine or care due to their inadequate income. This increased to seven in 10 in March 2023.</p> <p>The budget plans to extend single-parenting payments and increase rental assistance - particularly for women.</p> <p>Around $120 billion in Morrison Government road and rail projects will be reviewed and money reprioritised, with hundreds of smaller projects likely to be stopped.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Getty</em></p>

Money & Banking

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Jackie O sends welfare check for concerning caller

<p>Radio giant Jackie ‘O’ Henderson has requested a welfare check for a listener after receiving a distressing phone call on The Kyle and Jackie O show.</p> <p>The caller, Michael, who made it on air at about 6:30 am during the First Calls segment on the show, proceeded to sing a song about suicide, blindsiding the presenters.</p> <p>The song was Fade to Black by U.S heavy metal band Metallica, from their 1984 album <em>Ride the Lightning</em>. The bleak track is about wondering if life is worth living and wishing for death.</p> <p>Michael did not advise the hosts that he would be singing the song, and had told producer ‘Intern Pete’ Deppeler off air that he was a ‘comedian’ and ‘had a few jokes to tell’.</p> <p>Henderson seemed concerned and asked the team to make sure the listener was okay.</p> <p>The dismal segment started soon after an ad break, with host Kyle Sandilands asking, “You want to ring up for anything? First Calls, 13 10 65 will get you through. Michael has called in. Hey, Michael.”</p> <p>“Hello,” Michael responded, sounding dismal, which the hosts recognised was off as Sandilands was quick to mimic ‘hello’ back.</p> <p>Sandilands asked how the listener was doing, to which Michael replied, “Oh, not bad. I [inaudible] have a quick ten-second song I'd like to... sing for you.”</p> <p>'What, sorry? A song?' Henderson asked.</p> <p>“It goes like this,” Michael said, before singing the lyrics to Fade to Black, “.. lost the will to live / Simply nothing more to give / There is nothing more for me / Need the end to set me free.”</p> <p>Michael put his own spin on the song, singing lyrics that don’t appear on the track, “Never cared for no one else” before quickly hanging up.</p> <p>“Don't be like that…”, a baffled Sandilands said after Michael abruptly ended the call.</p> <p>Henderson feared the worst, immediately asking producers, “Is he alright? That didn't sound good, guys. What were you getting off air? Because that sounded like a goodbye song to me.”</p> <p>Sandilands tried to reassure Henderson, saying “He seems fine. He seems fine.”</p> <p>Deppeler, who had spoken to Michael during the ad break and briefed him on what would be discussed on air said, “He was normal to me,”</p> <p>When Henderson asked what they’d spoken about during the ad break, Deppeler told the presenter, "He said, 'I'm a comedian, I've got a few jokes to tell, I've got a new song.'”</p> <p>“So he went rogue on you?' Henderson asked, with Deppeler replying, “A little bit rogue, yeah”.</p> <p>Henderson asked Deppeler to “call him back and check he's okay,” adding, "He just hung up and said this is the end for me. Just check he's alright, that guy.”</p> <p>She awkwardly laughed as she and Sandilands scolded Deppeler for having such a grim listener as the first caller following a two-week break.</p> <p>The presenters then moved on to the second caller, A woman called Debbie.</p> <p><em><strong>Help is available, speak with someone today.</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>Crisis support is available from <a href="https://www.lifeline.org.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lifeline</a> on 13 11 14.</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>Support is available from <a href="https://www.beyondblue.org.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Beyond Blue</a> on 1300 22 4636.</strong></em></p> <p><em>Image credit: Instagram</em></p>

Caring

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A horse died on the set of The Rings of Power: more needs to be done to ensure the welfare of horses used in entertainment

<p>The recent <a href="https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/rings-of-power-horse-death-lord-of-the-rings-peta-1235564884/">death of a horse</a> on the set of Amazon’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7631058/">The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power</a> is the latest incident raising questions about how humans use horses for entertainment and sport.</p> <p>While a statement from producers said the horses’s cardiac arrest occurred before the day’s filming began, animal rights activists PETA used the death to call on all screen producers to replace on-set horses with CGI and mechanical rig alternatives.</p> <p>The incident feeds into growing public concern about horse welfare on film and TV sets, at the track and in equestrian sports.</p> <p>But improving horse welfare is about more than just reputation repair – too often it’s about survival for horses and humans.</p> <h2>Horse welfare in film and TV</h2> <p>The riding of a horse over a cliff to its death for the movie Jesse James (1939) led to the establishment of <a href="https://humanehollywood.org/about-us/">American Humane</a>, which now oversees around 100,000 animals on more than 1,000 productions each year.</p> <p>While things have improved since the early days of film and television, deaths and mistreatment of horses still occur.</p> <p>In 1987, on the set of <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/118307194">The Man From Snowy River II</a>, a seriously injured horse was killed using the blunt end of an axe.</p> <p>More recently, the high-profile series <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/the-real-story-behind-hbos-cancellation-of-luck">Luck</a>, starring Dustin Hoffman, was cancelled following the deaths of three horses.</p> <h2>The good and bad of unprecedented global exposure</h2> <p>In 2021, the Tokyo Olympics beamed to a global audience the excessive <a href="https://7news.com.au/sport/olympics/peta-calls-for-abusive-equestrian-events-to-be-axed-from-olympics-c-3703388">whipping and punching</a> of modern pentathlon horse Saint Boy and show jumper Kilkenny’s <a href="https://www.chronofhorse.com/article/kilkenny-suffers-nosebleed-during-olympic-individual-final">spectacular nosebleed</a> during the controversial show jumping program.</p> <p>While the bleed must have been obvious, officials did not intervene to stop the ride.</p> <p>Confronting images, and the perceived failure of organisers to protect the horses involved, brought into clear and global focus the indisputable welfare issues faced by horses competing at the elite level.</p> <p>The global outcry led to <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-9892093/Name-price-Kaley-Cuoco-offers-buy-horse-cruelly-punched-Olympics.html">actress Kaley Cuoco offering to buy Saint Boy</a> and the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/nov/02/modern-pentathlon-votes-to-ditch-horse-riding-after-tokyo-olympic-turmoil">withdrawal of the equestrian phase from modern pentathlon</a>.</p> <h2>Risk to humans and horses</h2> <p>Horse welfare does not just impact animals.</p> <p>Since the 1840s, 873 jockeys are known to have <a href="https://www.thoroughbredracing.com/articles/2062/facts-and-figures-jockey-fatalities-australia/">died in race falls</a> in Australia.</p> <p>Internationally, the sport of eventing (where competitors complete three phases: dressage, show jumping and cross-country) reported 38 rider and 65 horse fatalities during or after competition between 2007-15.</p> <p>Riding horses is considered one of the most <a href="https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/evj.13934">dangerous of all sporting pursuits</a>, and the deaths of riders and jockeys, usually from falls, are common.</p> <p>Public concern about risk to horses and humans through horse racing and equestrian sports, as well as screen production, also <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/15/1987">threaten these industries’ social licence</a>.</p> <h2>Better horse welfare is related to better rider safety</h2> <p>Our research offers hope for the horse industry and for those passionate about riding horses.</p> <p>Last year, we <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168159121003269">published a paper</a> demonstrating the link between horse welfare and rider safety. We asked riders how they cared for their horses and how their horses behaved when ridden – for example, we wanted to know how often horses were bucking or rearing.</p> <p>From this information, we calculated a relative welfare score for each horse. We also asked riders about their accidents and injuries.</p> <p>After analysing the data from over 400 riders, we found the higher the horse welfare score, the fewer accidents and injuries a rider reported.</p> <p>In a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08927936.2023.2176589">subsequent study</a>, we found horses with better welfare scores are more enjoyable to ride, most likely because they perform better and riders feel more in control, creating a win-win for horses and riders.</p> <h2>Good horse welfare means more than good health</h2> <p>Often good welfare is thought of in terms of an animal being healthy.</p> <p>While this is part of good welfare, good health alone is not enough – especially for a horse competing at the elite level or taking part in a film.</p> <p>Horses are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159117300710?casa_token=5E77h_TYKGEAAAAA:EUBGz7BTnACvpvB_3iYM-urXpBxJbS95G0-05yMRJEbMTg_SEeb_VnSoVgn35su8_aNOZEpSqctL">neophobes</a> – this means they find new things frightening – so most horses are likely to find a movie set or travelling to a new location stressful. The most up-to-date <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/10/1870/htm">understanding of welfare</a> tells us that stress and poor mental health means poor animal welfare.</p> <p>When a horse is stressed or in pain they <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168159117300692">behave in a very predictable way</a> – they run away, panic, kick out or buck and rear.</p> <p>Yet, anecdotally and in the media, people seeing a horse behaving in this way often claim the horse is crazy, unpredictable or just plain mean.</p> <p>More likely, an “unpredictable” horse is suffering from poor welfare.</p> <p>As part of our research program, we have developed a <a href="https://hub.rspca.org.au/attachments/88">new framework</a> to help horse owners identify aspects of their care and training that diminish horse welfare.</p> <p>This information can be used to make modifications to improve horse welfare, and, importantly, can be applied to horses in any equine sector, including racing, sport and film and television.</p> <h2>Investing in the future of horses in entertainment and sport</h2> <p>Although a veterinarian assessed the recent horse death on the set of The Rings of Power as “unlikely to be associated with the horse’s participation in the film”, more can be done to protect horses and the industry.</p> <p>In Australia, <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/7/1986">no specific standard exists for the use of animals</a> in filmed media, and each state and territory has differing risk management guidelines.</p> <p>An opportunity now exists for the industry to set a new standard for horse care and training.</p> <p>An easily executable first step for the industry could be to insist a scientifically trained and credentialed equine behaviour expert be involved in the recruitment and supervision of horse actors and their trainers at all stages of production.</p> <p>This would ensure horse actors are appropriately trained to be on set and that horses are trained using the most up-to-date ethical methods.</p> <p>Horse behaviour experts could also help in scene design to minimise horses’ exposure to stressful situations and identify tasks that are incompatible with good horse welfare.</p> <p>If these suggestions were to be adopted, the film and television industry would be setting the benchmark for horse welfare – and pressure other horse industries to follow suit.</p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-horse-died-on-the-set-of-the-rings-of-power-more-needs-to-be-done-to-ensure-the-welfare-of-horses-used-in-entertainment-202939" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Images: The Rings of Power / Amazon</em></p>

TV

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Karl Stefanovic and Michael Clarke caught in public scuffle over cheating claims

<p>Australian cricket legend Michael Clarke and TV personality Karl Stefanovic have been filmed in a fight over cheating claims while holidaying in Noosa.</p> <p>The incident occurred on January 10 and was released to <em>The Daily Telegraph</em> on Wednesday.</p> <p>Clarke and Stefanovic were having dinner with their partners, Jade and Jasmine Yarbrough, when their friendly dinner was cut short as Jade confronted Clarke after she reportedly contacted the former cricketer's ex-partner Pip Edwards.</p> <p>“You f**ked her on December 17 … You f**ked her, you’re a f**king dog,” Jade screamed.</p> <p>Clarke vigorously denied the accusations, saying that he was with their celebrity accountant friend Anthony Bell.</p> <p>"Baby, baby, Belly was at the house. I swear on my life, I swear at my life… That's not true, it's not true," he continued.</p> <p>Jade refuted, saying that his ex-partner told her about it: "You're f**king lying to me. You are a piece of s**t. I just spoke to her. What is wrong with you?"</p> <p>At this moment, her sister Jasmine and Stefanovic tried to intervene, which led to Clarke taking his anger out on the TV show host.</p> <p>"Karlos, I can tell you now c**t, don't you f**king walk away. She can, she can punch me, but not you, you c**t," Clarke said.</p> <p>Jade continued to yell at Clarke and hit him.</p> <p>“You piece of s**t, don’t you f**king speak to him,” she defended her brother-in-law.</p> <p>Clarke insisted that Jade was wrong, to which Jade retorted: "Oh am I wrong? You f**ked her [Edwards] on December 17, you f**ked her… you're a f**king dog… I'm going to show her every f**king message you ever f**king sent me".</p> <p>The video footage ended with Jasmine and Bell separating the couple.</p> <p>In a statement to <em>The Daily Telegraph</em>, the former cricketer accepted full responsibility for his actions.</p> <p>“I’m absolutely gutted I’ve put people I hold in the highest regard in this position,” he said. “My actions in the lead-up to this altercation were nothing short of shameful and regrettable.</p> <p>“I am shattered that because of my actions I’ve drawn women of class and integrity, and my mates, into this situation.”</p> <p>“I own this fully and am the only one at fault.”</p> <p>Clarke’s ex, Edward, also released a statement, hitting back with: “This is not my circus"</p> <p>“Yet again, Michael in his true nature has not taken responsibility for his actions and I was blatantly lied to," she said.</p> <p>Karl Stefanovic has yet to release a statement, with the topic being ignored on today's segment of <em>The Today Show</em>.</p> <p><em>Image: Getty, The Daily Telegraph, 7News</em></p>

News

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"You have to beg for help": how our welfare system pressures people to perform vulnerability

<p>People who rely on welfare payments to survive are often required to repeatedly tell stories of their personal hardships.</p> <p>In a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jun/07/job-seekers-could-have-welfare-stopped-under-onerous-new-points-based-system-advocates-warn">conditional welfare system</a>, many must regularly attend compulsory appointments, job search training courses, and self-development and treatment programs simply to receive their payments.</p> <p>People in extreme hardship often tell their stories even more frequently as they seek extra relief from non-government charities and community providers.</p> <p>Those on income support payments below the relative poverty line feel the crunch of <a href="https://www.ncoss.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/NCOSS_CostOfLiving22_FINAL_DESIGNED.pdf">inflation and rising living costs</a> most severely. This means many will require extra support from welfare services to meet their basic needs.</p> <p>Integral to this system is the idea of “performing vulnerability”.</p> <p>“Performing vulnerability” – a term I borrow from UK-based researcher <a href="https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/vulnerability-and-young-people">Kate Brown</a> to update Australian academic <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/lowest-rung/FA159318C2D046EDD3C9347C8B8E4F2E">Mark Peel’s</a> idea of “performing poverty” – is not just about repeatedly describing personal hardship. </p> <p>It points to the expectation to describe hardship in particular ways that are recognisable – and hence believable – to support providers.</p> <p>My book, <a href="https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/making-a-life-on-mean-welfare">Making a Life on Mean Welfare: Voices from Multicultural Sydney </a>shows how the expectation to perform vulnerability to access support shapes experiences on both sides of the welfare frontline. </p> <p>It can compound the cycle of disadvantage associated with receiving welfare in the long term. It does so by <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0038026119876775">fostering mistrust</a> between welfare users and providers, as well as tainting how people in need of support see themselves and their situation.</p> <h2>‘Tell me your story’</h2> <p>For my doctoral research, I spent 18 months speaking to welfare users and workers in culturally and linguistically diverse southwest Sydney. I also observed different aspects of service delivery while volunteering at a community welfare organisation. I interviewed 25 welfare users and 11 community welfare practitioners.</p> <p>As a researcher of everyday experiences of welfare and poverty, I know all too well what it is like to ask people to tell their stories of hardship yet again.</p> <p>I also grew up in an impoverished family reliant on welfare to get by. I know firsthand what the impact of retelling stories of hardship can be, particularly when the audience is, as Peel <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/lowest-rung/FA159318C2D046EDD3C9347C8B8E4F2E">puts</a> it, “someone who has the power to give or deny them something they need”.</p> <p>One of the community welfare practitioners I interviewed summed it up by saying: "They’re coming again feeling ashamed. They’ve knocked on someone’s door, to tell yet again how shitty their situation is."</p> <p>Her response was to chat and put them at ease before saying, “Can you tell me your story?” She would follow up by saying, “You’ve given me some insight, let’s formalise your story a little bit.”</p> <p>Some welfare workers showed more scepticism, particularly when it came to giving out emergency relief. </p> <p>When someone refused to share more than the minimum information required to be eligible for extra assistance, one welfare worker commented: "That person doesn’t want to take responsibility."</p> <p>Another practitioner told me, “That woman dramatised her situation,” but quickly added, “That doesn’t mean she wasn’t genuine.”</p> <p>The willingness of people seeking assistance to disclose personal hardships and do so convincingly impacts on how deserving they may come across to those delivering support. The pressure to perform can overshadow encounters between welfare users and workers even when it doesn’t determine the outcome.</p> <h2>‘It’s your dignity’</h2> <p>Among the most marginal welfare recipients I spoke to, “performing vulnerability” was another toll of poverty.</p> <p>Those experiencing the worst hardship frequently told me about having to explain “the ins and outs” and feeling “embarrassed”, “intimidated” or “uncomfortable” when they had to present to welfare agencies.</p> <p>Two young people (whom I have given fictional names) powerfully conveyed the cost of telling all about their struggles:</p> <blockquote> <p>Kane: Often if you go to them sorts of people (welfare agencies) you’ve gotta put it all out there, that you’re homeless, that you got nothing, you got no friends, no family – and then they’re gonna go boom “alright” (you get the help you came for)…</p> <p>Nessa: Yeah, that’s what I had to do to get a house and it’s embarrassing (talking over each other) I think it’s embarrassing.</p> <p>Kane: You gotta go down to those levels you know – it’s wrong.</p> <p>Nessa: When you gotta expose everything and don’t want to, it’s, like, your dignity.</p> <p>Kane: Yeah, it’s everything.</p> </blockquote> <h2>Performing is not pretending</h2> <p>The most marginal welfare users get a great deal of practice performing their hardship. But knowing how to tell their story a certain way is not the same as pretending.</p> <p>Not only do people at the sharp end of the welfare system have to endure the hardships of poverty, but they must then recite it in a way that registers as genuine, pressing and beyond reprieve.</p> <p>As a woman living on the disability support pension put it:"You don’t have the flexibility that a rich person has to respond to crisis, so you have to beg for help. That takes time! And you know you’ll be judged like it’s your fault."</p> <p>A welfare system that demands disclosure of personal hardships – even when geared towards being <a href="https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.ezproxy.uws.edu.au/doi/full/10.1111/1468-4446.12740">supportive</a> rather than suspicious – can undermine dignity and hold back those unwilling or unable to tell their story convincingly or in enough detail.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images </em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/you-have-to-beg-for-help-how-our-welfare-system-pressures-people-to-perform-vulnerability-180975" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Retirement Income

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Record boost to Centrelink payments coming for nearly one million Aussies

<p dir="ltr">Hundreds of thousands of Australians receiving welfare are due to receive the biggest increase to their payments in two decades.</p> <p dir="ltr">The increase will see payments for young people, including parents, students and those on disability, increase from January 1, 2023.</p> <p dir="ltr">From next year, the base rate for singles on Youth Allowance will increase by at least $19.10 - with a maximum $32.40 extra a fortnight - taking the maximum rate up to $569.80.</p> <p dir="ltr">Single Australians with dependents can expect a boost of $41.40, bringing payments up to $729.60, while couples will receive an additional $35.20 a fortnight.</p> <p dir="ltr">For those under 21 without kids who receive Disability Support Pension, including Youth Disability Supplement, the payment increase is expected to range between $27.40 and $40.70 a fortnight.</p> <p dir="ltr">Recipients of Austudy, ABSTUDY, Mobility Allowance, Double Orphan Pension, Carer Allowance and Pharmaceutical Allowance will also be included in the increases, which are part of a routine indexation that happens every January to keep up with inflation.</p> <p dir="ltr">It comes after the Reserve Bank of Australia forecasted that inflation would peak at eight percent by the end of 2022.</p> <p dir="ltr">In comparison, payments for young people and students have been indexed at 6.1 percent. </p> <p dir="ltr">Social services minister Amanda Rishworth said the increase would help ease the pressure coming from the current cost-of-living crisis.</p> <p dir="ltr">“With the cost of living increasing, we need to ensure students and young people can cover basic costs while focusing on their studies and career aspirations,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">While young people are the subject of these payment increases, those who receive Jobseeker or the Aged Pension won’t be left out, with indexation increases announced for all welfare payments were announced by the federal government in September.</p> <p dir="ltr">These payments are also indexed at other times of the year, with the Aged Pension increasing in March and September.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-4ef18bd0-7fff-9f99-b17c-fdf2ca04bab3"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

Money & Banking

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Man hides hefty lottery win from wife and child

<p dir="ltr">A Chinese man has kept his eye watering 219 million yuan (AUD$47,068,869) lottery win a secret from his wife and child so they don’t become lazy. </p> <p dir="ltr">Known only as Mr Li to conceal his identity, the man dressed up in a yellow cartoon costume when he accepted the huge win on October 24 at the lottery office in Nanning, in the southern region of Guangxi. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I did not tell my wife and child for fear that they would be too complacent and would not work or work hard in the future,” he told Nanning Evening News. </p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Li confessed that he bought 40 lottery tickets all of which had the same seven numbers, with the lottery company paying out 5.48 million yuan (AUD$1,177,811) for each ticket.</p> <p dir="ltr">Eventually he found out that he had the winning lottery numbers of 2, 15, 19, 26, 27, 29, and 2 and went to claim his prize.  </p> <p dir="ltr">After receiving the hefty sum, Mr Li donated 5 million yuan (AUD$1,074,597) to charity and is still unsure of what to do with his fortune.</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Li has been playing the lottery for a decade and only won minor prizes until this time round.  </p> <p dir="ltr">“I regard buying the lottery as a hobby, and my family does not care. Plus, I do not spend much money on it, and the lottery provides a ray of hope for me,” he told the South China Morning Post. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Guangxi Welfare Lottery Centre</em></p>

Money & Banking

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Is your spouse micro-cheating? Here’s what that is and how to know

<h2>Micro-cheating is trending</h2> <p>Although cheating is as old as time, you might be surprised to learn that people are still coming up with creative new ways to do it. Enter micro-cheating, the latest way people are stepping out on their relationships – but they may not even realise what they’re doing. Thanks to the rise of digital technology and the impact of current events, it’s no surprise micro-cheating is mega-trending.</p> <h2>What is micro-cheating?</h2> <p>This phrase has been used recently to describe day-to-day actions that could be considered ‘inappropriate flirting’ when someone is in a relationship. The hallmark of micro-cheating is being emotionally and perhaps even physically focused on a person who isn’t your partner. “What is cheating?” is one of the questions sex therapists get asked the most. For a more detailed look, here’s what relationship experts say are some of the common ways people micro-cheat:</p> <ul> <li>Texting flirty jokes and memes</li> <li>Making a Tinder profile just to see how many matches/likes you get</li> <li>Putting extra effort into your appearance in case you run into your crush</li> <li>Google stalking a crush</li> <li>Lying about your relationship status, either in person or online</li> <li>Sending anonymous flirty messages, tweets, or posts</li> <li>Liking and/or commenting on a crush’s social media</li> <li>Discussing your sex life with someone who isn’t your partner</li> <li>Constantly texting throughout the day</li> <li>Sending ‘feelin’ cute’ or slightly revealing selfies to a crush</li> <li>Hiding a friendship</li> <li>Telling someone you’d date them if you/they weren’t married</li> <li>Having inside jokes that your partner isn’t a part of</li> <li>Inventing reasons to see or spend time with your crush</li> <li>Confiding emotionally intimate things in someone who’s not your partner</li> <li>Sexting, including graphic language and sending nudes</li> </ul> <h2>It’s a slippery slope</h2> <p>While these behaviours may seem innocent on the surface, micro-cheating takes harmless crushing to the next level and if left unchecked, can lead to a full-blown affair, says psychiatrist, Anisha Patel-Dunn. Even if it never turns physical, micro-cheating fits all the criteria for an emotional affair, and those can be even more damaging to your relationship, she says.</p> <p>“In many cases, physical cheating is an impulsive act, often as the result of being temporarily impaired from drinking,” she says. “On the other hand, emotional affairs are intentional, and require a series of increasingly intimate decisions over a period of time.” Both types of affairs are terrible (and they can happen together) but it’s often the emotional aspect that is the hardest to recover from because it was premeditated, she says.</p> <p>“It can feel easier to forgive a spouse for a one-night stand than for months of lying and deception,” she says.</p> <h2>Micro-cheating is real cheating</h2> <p>These behaviours can feel like a grey area. Things that are totally innocent when done between friends become cheating when one or both people get feelings for each other, says marriage therapist, Dr Caroline Madden. For instance, having lunch with an old friend is a great way to reconnect, but if you have always harboured a crush on this person, a solo lunch all-too-quickly can lead to flirting. In addition, different people have different comfort levels in a relationship; some things that you may consider micro-cheating, your best friend may take more seriously.</p> <p>When it comes to deciding if something is cheating, follow the Golden Rule principle. “Ask yourself, if you found out your partner was doing what you are about to do, would it hurt your feelings?” Madden says. “Transparency is everything. Any picture or text you send to a ‘friend’ should be able to be posted on social media or sent to your mother.”</p> <p>However, don’t get caught up in black-and-white definitions as that can be a way to rationalise bad behaviour, Madden says. Only you know your own feelings and motives and it’s important to be honest with yourself about them. What other people think is irrelevant; the only person whose opinion counts in this conversation is your partner’s, Madden says.</p> <p>“Bottom line, doing anything that your partner would have a problem with is cheating in your relationship. And, yes, this is in fact ‘real’ cheating. These behaviours are the beginning of the slippery slope that leads to a full-blown sexual affair,” she says. “This isn’t new, it just has been given a cutesy name to make it sound harmless. It isn’t.”</p> <h2>Why micro-cheating is on the rise</h2> <p>The pandemic and other disruptive current events have created a perfect storm for micro-cheating, Dr Patel-Dunn says. A lot of micro-cheating happens through digital means like social media and texting because it’s easier to hide or explain away than physical actions. And, thanks to working from home and lockdown orders, many of us are spending more time online than ever.</p> <p>It’s not just spending more time at home, though. The upheaval of normal life has cut people off from their social support groups and coping techniques. Plus, spending extra time together in a stressful situation has made a lot of people see flaws in their relationship, which can lead to increased fighting. There’s been plenty of time over the last few years to ruminate on problems and idealise other people who aren’t in the thick of it with you, she explains.</p> <p>“Since the pandemic started and many people are now working from home, I have many clients confide in me that they are surprised at how much they miss certain co-workers,” Madden says. “It turns out that the ‘special friend’ at the office was acting as a Band-Aid on a bad marriage by meeting their needs for respect, appreciation and emotional connection.” The extra time spent at home during the pandemic has made some people realise they are stuck in an empty marriage or toxic relationship, she says.</p> <p>“The core issue is that current events have greatly increased anxiety and insecurity, putting people in a very emotionally vulnerable position,” Dr Patel-Dunn explains. “It’s normal for people to look for comfort and support from friends and loved ones during these times and sometimes that can turn into cheating.”</p> <h2>Signs your spouse might be micro-cheating on you</h2> <p>It can be difficult to tell when your spouse is micro-cheating, specifically because many of these behaviours can be innocent in the right context. So it’s important to look at other behaviours that may indicate they’re being sneaky.</p> <h2>They always keep their phone face down</h2> <p>You can’t see notifications that pop up if your partner keeps their phone face down. Some micro-cheaters will go so far as to disguise texting apps as other apps or only chat within password-protected social media private messages, Madden says.</p> <h2>They delete whole text conversations</h2> <p>Are there whole text threads missing with someone you know your spouse texts regularly with? “If they are deleting stuff so you don’t accidentally see something, even if it has nothing to do with sex, that is still cheating,” Madden says. “There’s a reason they feel like they have to hide it and it’s not a good reason.”</p> <h2>They’re constantly on their phone during family time</h2> <p>If you ask your spouse to put the phone away so you can have uninterrupted time together, and they can’t, that’s a red flag, Dr Patel-Dunn says. It shows they prioritise that ‘friendship’ over your relationship.</p> <h2>They call someone ‘just a friend’ but spend more time talking to them than you</h2> <p>“People caught micro-cheating will almost always claim they are ‘just friends’ with the person you are worried about,” Madden says. “If the other person has feelings for them, they might not even be aware that they are on a slippery slope.” Pay more attention to what your spouse does than what they say.</p> <h2>They won’t share their phone passcode</h2> <p>There are plenty of reasons you need the passcode to your partner’s phone –­ like using it to look something up or answering the phone when their mum calls, Madden says. People who don’t have anything to hide won’t have an issue sharing their unlock code.</p> <h2>They like and comment on every single post a friend makes</h2> <p>This is definitely a thing that more and more couples fight about these days with everyone on social media. Liking and commenting on another person’s social media posts isn’t a definitive sign your partner is cheating but it can give you a lot of clues, Madden says. For instance, if your husband is liking all the bikini pics of the woman next door or your wife comments on every post her high school crush makes, it’s evidence they are spending a lot of time thinking about that person in a flirty way. Likes and comments often lead to private messages, she adds. Many people say that there were early warning signs on social media of cheating.</p> <h2>They have someone saved in their phone under the wrong name</h2> <p>Any time someone is lying, there’s a problem, Dr Patel-Dunn says. So if you notice that your spouse is constantly texting with someone whose name you don’t recognise, they’re either hiding their relationship with that person from you or they’ve saved someone you do know under a false name – often a name of the opposite gender, to throw off suspicion.</p> <h2>They swear they could never cheat and laugh at those who do</h2> <p>Some people think, either due to low self-esteem or an overestimation of their willpower, that cheating could never possibly be a temptation for them. “This is dangerous. Because he thinks he would never cheat, he feels free to get really close to the edge,” Madden says. “Then he falls off the cliff taking his marriage and your heart with him.”</p> <h2>Your sex life is dead</h2> <p>When your partner is getting their romantic and sexual needs met through another person, they naturally turn less to you, Dr Patel-Dunn says. This often manifests as a declining sex life and much less physical and emotional intimacy between you.”</p> <h2>What to do if your spouse is micro-cheating</h2> <p>“The best way to counteract and prevent micro-cheating is to work on strengthening your relationship,” Madden says. “Lean into the relationship, pay more attention to your partner, plan date nights. Because here is the truth: many people are tempted to cheat because they don’t feel appreciated or loved at home.”</p> <p>Oftentimes micro-cheating highlights what is lacking in your relationship, Dr Patel-Dunn says. “One or both partners may be surprised to realise micro-cheating is happening because it starts on a very subconscious level,” she says. “This is a real opportunity for introspection and communication. You need to talk about it and get it out in the open.”</p> <p>These conversations can be very difficult to have, particularly if your spouse is in denial about their micro-cheating, Dr Patel-Dunn says. In this case, it’s time to get marriage counselling immediately, before micro-cheating turns into something more devastating. “If both partners are committed to fixing the underlying issues, this type of emotional honesty can strengthen your relationship and fortify you against micro-cheating in the future.”</p> <p><strong>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/true-stories-lifestyle/relationships/is-your-spouse-micro-cheating-heres-what-that-is-and-how-to-know?pages=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader's Digest</a>.</strong></p> <p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

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