Kate Cowling reports in the SMH this week that, for many who made the switch to solar, the financial incentives were as much of a hook as the environmental feel-good factor. But now those generous feed in tariffs for putting energy back into the grid are far less generous than they were and in some cases, non-existent. It raises questions about whether solar still makes financial... read more>

    UPDATED 30 JUNE: Australian electricity prices are already some of the world’s highest. But after doubling in less than a decade, they’re now headed skywards again. So here at the FiftyUp Club, we've got our energy expert keeping an eye on what electricity companies are doing to their prices on July 1. Unfortunately, only a couple of the biggest retaile... read more>

Two weeks after the FiftyUp Club released it’s findings into Health costs, the Federal Coalition has announced this week that Private health insurance is facing a shake up in a bid to weed out "junk" policies and eliminate bill shock. Health Minister Sussan Ley said a coalition government would introduce a gold, silver and bronze insurance policy ranking system to make it eas... read more>

It’s not often we get to report this but a bill is going down for a change. Unfortunately it’s only for Sydney members at the moment. NSW’s pricing regulator IPART announced that Sydney households will see their water bills slashed by about $100 each year. The price is now significantly lower in Sydney than in Melbourne, which is bad news for our Victorian members. ... read more>

The Advertiser reports this week that Sydney-based company SOLASTOR Australia will build a one megawatt demonstration plant at Port Augusta by the end of this year and connect it to the existing grid as a first step to its proposed $1.2 billion solar thermal project. The company, owned by Momentum Energy & Resources and Solastor, is chaired by former Liberal leader John Hewson. The pr... read more>