News

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

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 .

Join the conversation

FiftyUp Club
Fiftyup Club

Join the Conversation with other members below on the FiftyUp Club Forum. Join an existing conversation, or start your own. 

Conversation is closed.
Read our moderation policy here.
Someone
Someone from NSW commented:

Sadly most people that are now in the over sixty age group, were the ones that started their working careers doing hard labor and are now at a point where the body is tired and fatigued.Fifty years ago there were not as many machines to do the heavy tasks.If you are over 65 and in good condition, by all means work as long as you can if you have the interest to do so . 

Debra
Debra from NSW commented:

According to the Aust Gov Dept of Human Resources website, if you were born from 1 st January 1957 the retirement age to receive a pension is now 67 years of age for males and females this will take place from 1/7/2023. Depending on which website you research on the net, the average age of people living in Aged Care facilities in NSW is 79 to 83 years of age with women 3 times more likely yo live in a facility then men. I work in Aged Care while it is a very rewarding job for me, it is a physical and mentally exhausting job at my age of 56. One that I cannot imagine doing at 70 years of age. Most people working in aged care now are middle aged women. Young people don't want to work in such physically demanding jobs . I agree leave the pension as it is and let us enjoy some quality time in our lives we have served the community well in all walks of employment. 

Christine
Christine from NSW replied to Debra:

Debra, I also work in aged care and have done for the last 17yrs, yes it is rewarding yet axhausting. I most certainly do not want to work till I'm 70, I am looking forward to spending more quality time with my husband doing the things we enjoy. Who's to say that by the time we all turn 70 the government doesn't up the age again?, we will need someone to shower us before we set off to work.!!! Christine. NSW 

Beverley
Beverley from NSW replied to Christine:

I too work in age care.I had residents die younger than me. I would like to retire at 65 but have to work till I am 67 under new regulations.I may even forget where I work or where I live before I can retire. 

Robert
Robert from NSW replied to Debra:

I agree I want to retire and enjoy some quality time. 

Christopher
Christopher from NSW commented:

is it only on comprehensive Insurance? I tried to get a quote, but where it said "have you made any claims in the last 2 years" I answered no! But it wouldn.t let me move on until I put in how many times that I've claimed........ 

david
david from NSW replied to Christopher:

it asks "how many claims have you made"...answer 0(zero). 

Someone
Someone from NSW commented:

Keep the pension age at 65 as in some jobs your body has to work a lot harder so it would depend how you feel, if you feel ok you may want to keep going for an extra couple of years. 

Naomi
Naomi from ACT commented:

I agree with Greg - we work hard to get where we are - remove the dole and force chronic work avoiders to take a job............note of course the politicians are not included in the requirement to work to 70................... 

Kerrie
Kerrie from NSW commented:

Keep pension age at 65. Desk jobs are ok but manual labour jobs can't keep on going on! 

greg
greg from NSW commented:

Keep the pension at 65.for God`s sake we have worked our whole lives.we need a break and deserve it.How about drug tests for dole bludgers.................... 

Someone
Someone from NSW commented:

Pensioners would be a lot better off if they didn't pay GST on everything. It's a nice thought but pigs will fly before this happens. 

David
David from NSW commented:

They should keep the Pension at 65 but if people feel they want to work beyond that it will be up to them. In the trades the government has to consider the health of an individual being in such a physical type of work. The body does start to slow down at 60. 

Barry
Barry from NSW commented:

l would like to see insurance companies cover men and women who choice to stay in the workforce if they are in their 70's why keep working till 70 if you cant get work cover or accident insurance, if the government wants to lift the pension age to 70 there has to be some kind of insurance to protect the older worker? 

Comment Guidelines