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News$700k worth of savings tips from the government
$700k worth of savings tips from the government

$700k worth of savings tips from the government

Tags: Energy Information
Last updated by Someone on

Unless you’ve been living under a rock lately, you would have noticed all the talk about energy prices. If you have been off the grid (pun intended), there’s no hiding from your energy bill, which will find you eventually. 

And so will the Federal Government’s latest $700,000 ad campaign!

Launched this month, the Powering Forward Campaign reportedly cost tax-payers $300,000 for 60 seconds of airtime during the AFL & NRL Grand Finals, and as much as $700,000 in fees to a Melbourne ad agency.

There's some useful information buried in there, but it's hidden behind propaganda pushing the government's energy policy credentials.

What do you think of the campaign?

Our take? The website contains some useful info for people wanting to save on power bills, for example it links to the Energy Made Easy comparison site and the Victorian Switchon site to compare offers.

It also contains energy efficiency tips for households, which can be handy.

But all that useful stuff is buried behind the silly “powering forward” slogan and some bumph about the Government’s Snowy Hydro 2.0 and gas reservation policies.

They’re important, but we’d like to see the moneysaving info up front and centre!

Here’s something else you can do to save.

A couple of months back, the Fiftyup Club started our Power-Up Campaign,  which now boasts a staggering 50,000 registrations nationally That tells us that you do want to do something about energy prices even if it’s just to send a message to power companies that enough is enough.

While Australia may rank second in the world for quality-of-life, we rate first in the world for the highest energy prices. Data from the Carbon + Energy Markets' MarkIntell service says we’re ahead of Germany, Denmark and Italy with 4 Australian states in the top ten (click here to see the list).

This despite Australia having every energy resource available in the world including coal, wind, solar, nuclear and sea-water hydro power.

What can you do? It’s as easy as picking up the phone, calling your energy retailer and asking for a better deal. Don’t take no for an answer. The energy market has never been so competitive and you can get results, with many members reporting savings in the hundreds of dollars.

Click here to see the latest Fiftyup Club energy offers, extended for a limited time only


 

 

Originally posted on .

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Alyson
Alyson from NSW commented:

I'd like to see some discussion and investigation into mobile phone plans. We are paying too much in Australia. People power through the FiftyUp Club should have some influence. 

Ali
Ali from NSW replied to Alyson:

This is a good idea Alyson, I personally find it confusing comparing mobile phone plans - cheaper providers can offer unlimited everything for around $40, whereas to get a similar deal with the 'better' providers - e.g. Telstra and Optus, it can cost closer to $100. Definitely worth investigation. 

Barbara
Barbara from NSW commented:

I don't know of any privatised entity that has been responsible for reduced costs. It should also be remembered that our taxes (and in some cases, "special levies") were introduced and used to pay for and develop these "Government" institutions to provide us with the services necessary for our "day to day"existence. They were not created for the benefit of " Governmental Mates " or to pay back for political favours. Don't ever believe that it is for the benefit of the general population to privatise ANYTHING , EVER ! 

Beverley
Beverley from NSW replied to Barbara:

Well said Barbara - totally agree. 

Garth
Garth from QLD replied to Beverley:

Hello Barbaba and hello again Beverley. You say that one should not believe that privatisation is for the benefit of the general population. Herein lies the perceptional problem again, you (and this demographic in general) clearly do not understand national economics 101. Public assets are sold to pay down debt. Debt costs us all just like a credit card debt costs you personally. Taxes which are collected (which is the ONLY form of income available to government) some of that tax revenue (your money) is used to pay interest on debt. The principal is not reduced. When a public asset is sold, most often the proceeds of that sale of your asset is used to pay down debt, thus reducing the amount of interest which the budget requires from your taxes. The balancing act which needs to be considered by a responsible government is whether the annual "dividends" paid by operating the government entity are worth more to the taxpaying public than the permanent reduction in interest bills through the pay down of debt. One more thing to consider before making sweeping claims that no-one benefits from privatisation is that the above equation becomes a no-brainer when the government entity is making a loss in which case it is ALWAYS preferable to realise a lump sum than to continue to bleed. 

Scott
Scott from NSW replied to Garth:

Fantastic reply Garth! Finally someone on this forum who spell AND count. 

david
david from NSW commented:

Looking at both home and car insurance, surely there has to be savings to 50+ members of the community who own their car & home. The policy wording is now clearly designed to confuse with what is covered and what is not in some many different risks. Let's get a real deal!! 

Perrine - FiftyUp Club
Perrine - FiftyUp Club from NSW replied to david:

Hi David, we are looking into home and contents insurance as this has been a common recommendation from our members. Hopefully, we can unlock a discount in the future that will allow you to save! 

terry
terry from NSW commented:

all of these so called government assets were built and paid for with money from taxes.they are owned by the people,they are not the governments to sell! 

neil
neil from NSW commented:

Governments keep telling us bull about how prices will fall if a government asset is sold off I have never known of one yet eg. water, green slips, and electricity. It has to be remembered these take over companies have to make profits to pay off the loans and keep their share holders happy and pay their CEO's exorbitant wages. 

Carrie
Carrie from NSW commented:

Queenslands water in the south east was sold off my the labour government . My father & daughter both in live Ipswich & Landsborough & now complain about the water costs. 

Garth
Garth from QLD commented:

The problem with asking a group of people over 50 what they think of when "privatisation" is mentioned is that this demographic remember how public (government owned) entities operated in the 50's, 60's and 70's. Public companies have not operated this way for more than a decade. While private (not government owned) companies are required by their shareholders to make a profit, public companies are now required to deliver dividends to their "owner" (the government). While private companies are usually highly regulated in what they can offer and for how much they can sell an essential service for, public companies driven by their bankrupt governments simply demand higher and higher dividends while also making the rules governing those industries. NSW and Queensland have by far the most expensive electricity in Australia where the electricity industry is government owned. Victoria the lowest where Kennett "privatised" in the 1990's. Anyone remember Melbourne to Sydney return flights under government ownership costing over $1,000? now less than $200. Well regulated private companies will ALWAYS be able to deliver better services at lower prices. I pay 9.8c/kWh for private electricity at my home in Texas, 12c/kWh for a business in Alberta, Canada yet 52c/kWh for government owned electricity in Sydney. 

Beverley
Beverley from NSW replied to Garth:

Garth, due to the beginning of your posting . . ."The problem with asking a group of people over 50 . . ." I feel compelled to ask your age . . . and reading the next statement . . . . " . . . . . private companies are now required by shareholders to make profits . . .", does that not answer the whole question in those short words? The PRIVATE enterprises are there to make profits for demanding shareholders. And if that is to work so well, then why does the government RETAIN the geese that lay golden eggs, and open the doors for shareholders to participate in the utilities? Re the 12xkWh available in Alberta, I lived in Saskatchewan for quite some time. Things are worked out differently there, AND wages in Canada are way lower than here. Same as US where it differs again. We must compare apples with apples. 

Garth
Garth from QLD replied to Beverley:

Hi Beverley. Good questions which I am delighted to answer. I am 48, so probably not what you thought. Yes, you are right, private companies are required to make profits. However, the missed point is that public companies (owned or controlled by government) are required to pay "dividends". Dividends can only come from profits and whether it is profits from private or public companies they come from the same source, you and I. By way of illustration, in 2010 the Queensland government took dividends of $50 million from the electricity industry, by 2012, that "dividend" was $3 billion. When did you see any "private" electricity company declare a profit of $3 billion in one year. "Public" companies are nowadays no more than cash cows for their bankrupt government owners who set the dividends required to fit budget demands. As they also make the rules governing those industries, this is a very dangerous position. 

Jude
Jude from NSW commented:

No - leave publicly owned service industries in our hands. Private entities always want to make profit at the cost of service - with the consumer losing out. Our taxes are meant to help support service industries. 

Someone
Someone from NSW commented:

I received a survey yesterday which looked at post offices, mail and parcels. This was obviously to gain opinions about selling off Australia Post. The choices seemed geared to keeping it. Brian NSW 

Geoff
Geoff from NSW commented:

No No. We are sick and tired of governments privatising public utilities. Everything we privatise ends up costing us the tax payer more. Keep Australia Post in Government hands. Hands off. NO MORE SELLING OUR ASSETS! 

Garth
Garth from QLD replied to Geoff:

Geoff, can you give some examples? 

Geoff
Geoff from NSW replied to Geoff:

Postal services which have been privatised overseas such as Royal Mail and others initially reduce costs of items but provide less options and choices and some don't even deliver mail to indivdual homes. After awhile they start increasing prices. Since our motorways and so called Freeways are now built by private companies every year we are paying higher tolls. Costs approx $20 one way to work in Sydney now. What about Telstra, Commonwealth Bank, etc etc. Sorry I don't buy the rubbish about privatisation. 

Scott
Scott from NSW replied to Geoff:

Geoff, you picked 3 terrible examples to try to prove your erroneous point. Telstra, CBA and Qantas are all far more efficient and far more profitable than they ever were under government ownership. The drain on the public purse has been turned into a flows of taxes to the Govt and dividends to shareholders, the entire economy wins. 

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