Cost living in australia

Hospitals across Britain face rises in power bills running into millions of pounds as the spiralling cost of living crisis hits NHS trusts. As household fuel bills climb to unprecedented levels, the health service also faces soaring charges as a result of the escalating cost pressures. A survey of NHS trusts across England and Scotland shows they are facing rises of up to £29 million in the three financial years to date. Sharp rises in energy costs caused by factors including the end of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine are also hitting the NHS, figures obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests by Metro.co.uk show. In Nottingham, costs for gas, electricity and oil combined rose from £8.8 million in 2020 and 2021 to £15.8 the following year. The budget, and therefore forecast, for the current financial year is £37.9 million. At St George’s Trust in London , which runs one of the largest hospitals in the UK, the bill for gas and electricity is due … [Read more...] about Soaring fuel bills add to ‘dire’ cost pressures facing NHS

Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have told Brits the government is ‘on your side’ when it comes to the spiralling cost-of-living crisis. But with food and petrol prices reaching fresh highs, plunging millions into financial distress, some might find their assurances hard to stomach. In an op-ed for the Sun on Sunday , the prime minister and chancellor outlined what they are calling ‘the single biggest tax cut in a decade’, worth £6 billion. Their measures include ‘a council tax rebate, a cut in fuel duty, at least £400 for every household to help with energy bills and at least £1,200 for the eight million most vulnerable ­households’. Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak said that when the National Insurance (NI) threshold rises this Wednesday from £9,880 to £12,570, it will save up to £330 a year for 30 million people. They claim the change will lift 2.2 million ­people out of paying any NI or income tax on their earnings. ‘We know it’s tough but we want you to know that … [Read more...] about Boris and Rishi announce £6,000,000,000 cost-of-living tax cut

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday urged the public to face the country's economic problems together, as inflation in Europe's leading economy remained stubbornly high. Scholz published a new video in his weekly podcast, admitting that rising prices were troubling many citizens . He called for the population to "link arms and stick together." Just days after data showed prices rose 7.6% in June compared to a year earlier, Scholz said he would convene a meeting of experts to tackle the cost of living crisis. The chancellor said he has invited trade unions, employers, the central bank (Bundesbank) and academics for a summit that kicks off Monday at the chancellery in Berlin. The campaign, dubbed "Concerted Action," echoes similar efforts by former West German chancellors in the 1960s and 1970s. One-off payments proposed instead of wage hikes Economists and politicians have mooted several ideas in recent days to ease the burden on personal budgets. Labor Minister … [Read more...] about Scholz: Germans must ‘stick together’ over cost of living crisis

Listen to the Stuff To Watch podcast by hitting the "play" button below, or find it on podcast apps such as Apple or Spotify . Red Dog (M, 92mins) Directed by Kriv Stenders *** "Way out where the rain don't fall, got a job with the company drilling for oil, Just to make some change, Living and a' working on the land". It's perhaps unsurprising that like fellow Aussie 70s staples Eagle Rock and Stumblin' In, The Dingoes' 1973 song should feature prominently in this "dusty" little-Aussie-battler tale of devotion and derring doggy- do. Supplied Red Dog is now available to stream on Netflix. READ MORE: Thor: Love and Thunder, Where the Crawdads Sing among July's must see movies Minions: The Rise of Gru: Slapstick kings shine despite playing second-banana Seabiscuit: The greatest horse racing movie of all-time comes to Disney+ Father of the Bride: A surprisingly innovative, smart update of a rom-com classic After all, this … [Read more...] about Red Dog: Australia’s greatest crowd-pleasing canine caper comes to Netflix

RNZ Earlybirds tuning in to Morning Report will have a fresh wake-up call. (Audio first aired May 2022). Composers are outraged that public broadcaster RNZ gave a $43,000 contract to an overseas-based music and sound design company for its recent “sonic refresh”, but say the case is symptomatic of wider issues with talented Kiwi composers not being nurtured or trusted. But RNZ says it’s misleading to imply it does not support music from Aotearoa. RNZ awarded a contract to design new sounds for its news programmes Morning Report , Midday Report and Checkpoint to Song Zu , an Australia- and Singapore-based company that specialises in advertising music and audio post-production. “Song Zu were settled on because of their impressive original sound portfolio, especially their recent re-brand imaging work with multilingual and multicultural Australian public broadcaster, SBS, and also their experience with use of indigenous instrumentation,” RNZ communications manager … [Read more...] about Kiwi composers treated as an ‘afterthought’, say critics after RNZ outsources new sounds to Australia

F1 is back as the world's most famous racing drivers head to Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton , Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc will all be seeking an important victory in Aus but only one can come out on top. So far this season it's the latter two Verstappen and Leclerc who have secured race wins , with Hamilton coming 3rd and 10th in Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia. Mercedes, evidently, are still having porpoising issues, and are so far lagging behind both Red Bull and Ferrari. F1 THAT'S POR Mercedes back in F1 title fight if they fix ‘porpoising', Red Bull chief claims IT'S BAD WOLFF Mercedes boss Wolff 'not having fun' after Lewis' poor start to F1 season But Toto Wolff and Co will be looking to put a stop to that this weekend, with Hamilton looking to reel in more points. When is the F1 Australian Grand Prix? The F1 Australian Grand Prix will get underway from 6am UK time on … [Read more...] about F1 Australian Grand Prix practice: UK start time, live stream, TV channel, qualifying and race schedule for Albert Park

Published 28 February Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Organisers of St Pauls Carnival have announced plans to return to live carnival activities with a series of community events in the summer. The Bristol carnival, which has been digital since 2020 due to the pandemic, usually draws thousands to its celebrations of diversity and culture. Event director LaToyah McAllister-Jones said she was "thrilled" the programme will include features like the school's performance and Elders' Brunch. The full carnival will return in 2023. Ms McAllister-Jones said although the team had hoped to bring "the full, vibrant celebrations of St Pauls Carnival back to the streets this year", ongoing uncertainty around the pandemic had impacted carnival plans and fundraising events. However, she added the important thing was that "carnival season '22 will not go uncelebrated". St … [Read more...] about Bristol’s St Pauls Carnival set to partly return with live events

Beyond the photoshoots and the media fanfare of the Chancellor’s set-piece economic statements, the big question most of us want to know is: what does it all mean for me and my money? That question is particularly acute at a time when the cost of living is soaring for millions of households around the country. Inflation is currently at 6.2%, and that figure is forecast to peak at 8.7% by the end of the year. Against that intimidating backdrop, Rishi Sunak announced a reduction in fuel duty by 5p per litre to try to tackle the eye-wateringly high prices hitting motorists at the pumps, alongside plans to give the Household Support Fund (money distributed by local councils to help the most vulnerable) a £500million boost from April. But probably the biggest announcement made by the Chancellor last Wednesday was the increase to the threshold at which workers start paying National Insurance contributions (NIC), which will kick in from July 6. NI is a tax on earnings if … [Read more...] about What the increase in National Insurance threshold really means for you

A disabled man is having to sell his late wife’s possession in order to keep his head above water as inflation bites. Jason Alcock said he is struggling to make ends meet amid the cost of living crisis hitting people up and down the country. The 51-year-old from Stoke-on-Trent lives with autism, ADHD and bipolar disorder, conditions which make finding work extremely difficult. With the price of everyday goods  rising at levels unmatched in 40 years, he is faced with making heartbreaking decisions to pay the bills. His wife Paola died in 2018 after being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Jason has resorted to raising funds from treasured items she left behind to stay afloat. He said: ‘I worked out I’ve sold £8,000 worth of stuff in the last three years to survive. ‘Paola had a Star Wars collection, she used to do a lot of crafts. All those kinds of things, her old phones and tablets and everything like that, that’s all been sold. ‘A lot of the … [Read more...] about Disabled man had to sell late wife’s Star Wars collection to pay the bills

SIR – Your Leading Article ( June 28 ) is a salutary reminder of the need to revisit the call in last year’s defence review for “a modern army that is more agile, more integrated and more expeditionary”, achieved through digitisation rather than numbers. While digital transformation remains relevant, the need to refocus on our European backyard puts the spotlight firmly on numbers – particularly the plan to limit the Army to 73,000 regulars and 30,000 reserves, with a commensurate reduction in heavy armour. Four months on from Russia’s invasion of a sovereign nation – and given Boris Johnson’s cheerleading for Ukraine at the G7 meeting, as well as Nato’s decision to increase high-readiness forces to 300,000 – the credibility of Britain’s contribution to thwarting Vladimir Putin’s ambitions is at stake. However dire the economic outlook, the Government must reorder its defence priorities. This will include: reversing Army personnel cuts so that at least one full-sized armoured … [Read more...] about Letters: Russian aggression highlights the need to restore Army manpower