Tag Archives: oceania

Thousands of customers signing up for energy bill relief

Thousands of customers have asked for financial assistance from their energy providers as Australians feel the cost-of-living pinch.

AGL Australia has revealed 10,000 customers joined its financial hardship program in the past year, while Energy Australia gets 1,000 bill relief calls every weekday.

Crystal Noronha has worked in the AGL call centre for 11 years and says she is increasingly hearing from customers in need.

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"There's a lot of distress in their voice, there's anxiety," Noronha said.

"Some hide away from sharing their difficulties, but we're here to help them."

Customers don't need to be dealing with extreme financial hardship to see some relief as everyone is eligible for some help.

Gavin Dufty, from charity St Vincent De Paul, said energy companies have ways to help their customers.

"Every energy company has a legal obligation to provide support for all households regardless," Dufty said.

Assistance will depend on the provider and the customer's circumstances but can include bill extensions or paying in smaller amounts more often.

In some instances, they could waive the debt completely.

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From July 1, every household will be given $300 credited into their energy account from the federal government to help provide bill relief.

The government also has a free website where customers can compare energy plan prices to find the cheapest one.

The information provided on this website is general in nature only and does not constitute personal financial advice. The information has been prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information on this website you should consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.

Mum survives ‘broken heart syndrome’ after giving birth to twins

A mum whose heart shut down after delivering twins has survived thanks to teamwork across two Melbourne hospitals.

Alexandra Judd, 37, was kept alive by an advanced form of life support reserved for ICU's sickest patients.

Just after her twins Violet and Esther were delivered via caesarean at maternity hospital Frances Perry House last month Judd, from Hampton, almost died.

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Melbourne mum Alexandra Judd was kept alive by an advanced form of life support reserved for ICU's sickest patients after giving birth to twins Violet and Ester.

"My last recollection is somebody saying 'she needs to be intubated' and that was it," she said.

Obstetrician Professor Mark Umstad said she "became acutely short of breath and then deteriorated very quickly".

She was transported from the maternity hospital to the Royal Melbourne's intensive care unit right next door.

Husband Tim was told to prepare for the worst, and rushed to the hospital.

"The real seriousness hit when the ICU called me and said 'you need to come over here right now'," he said.

"She's the sickest patient we have in the ICU right now."

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Melbourne mum Alexandra Judd was kept alive by an advanced form of life support reserved for ICU's sickest patients after giving birth to twins Violet and Ester.

Doctors put her on ECMO, an advanced form of life support.

"Her heart was not pumping, we said 'we need to use something else here'," Dr James Anstey from Royal Melbourne Hospital Intensive Care said.

"Without this extra support Alex wouldn't have survived."

Two days later she started rousing, receiving the first of many visits from her newborns, a rarity in ICU.

"It was amazing. They came together and I was able to hold them," she said.

Judd had suffered a rare stress-induced cardiac condition.

"We call it 'broken heart syndrome'. It's seen after major traumas," Dr Anstey said.

After a month in hospital the new mum and the twins went home to meet big three-year old brother Louie.

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"Everyday I was starting to get a sense of how lucky I was that I was around to see the girls," she said.

The family is sharing their story to showcase the teamwork of Royal Melbourne Hospital and Frances Perry staff and to demonstrate why medical equipment like she was able to benefit from is so critical.

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Walker who escaped attack wants others not to exercise alone

A woman who escaped an attack on a Queensland walking trail has warned others not to exercise alone.

Alana, who did not wish to have her surname published, had been walking with headphones on along Mt Coot-tha's Maculata trail on Friday when she was struck.

"He pushed me from behind with force," she told 9News Queensland.

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A woman who escaped an attack on a Queensland walking trail last week has warned others not to run alone.

"I fell to the ground and hit my head, so I think I blacked out for a bit.

"He held me down and the pressure, I just felt either his foot or hands holding me down."

Former NRL player Arana Taumata found the 31-year-old concussed on the ground and helped her to safety.

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A woman who escaped an attack on a Queensland walking trail last week has warned others not to run alone. Alana, who did not wish to provide her surname, had been walking with headphones on along Mt Coot-tha's Maculata trail on Friday when she was struck.

Her predator had left the scene when he heard Taumata coming.

Police have increased their presence on Mt Coot-tha and have started conducting patrols on horseback and trail bikes.

Detectives are yet to identify Alana's attacker.

"It's just a frightening thing to think that you can't walk alone with your headphones in and it's just not safe," she said.

"It can happen to anyone, which is a really unfortunate thing."

Alana is the second woman to report an assault on the trails in the past month.

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PM hits out at Dutton’s ‘extraordinary abandonment’ of climate target

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has accused Peter Dutton of an "extraordinary abandonment" of Australia's climate credentials after the opposition leader refused to release his party's 2030 emissions targets until after the federal election.

Dutton announced on Sunday that the Coalition would ditch the government's legislated 43 per cent emissions reduction target by 2030 if it takes office next year.

Today, Albanese described the decision as "a rather extraordinary abandonment of any pretence of having a climate policy" that he said would harm Australia's relationships with key allies.

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at a press conference.

"His nuclear fantasy will result in higher power prices and more unstable energy grid and rising emissions," the prime minister said.

"No 2030 target means walking out of the Paris Agreement. That is very clear. And if you walk out of the Paris Agreement, you're left standing with Libya, Yemen, and Iran. That is not the company that Australia should want to keep.

"We know that the consequences of that for our relationships in our region and around the world with our closest allies will be ones that are regrettable, to say the least."

Earlier today, Dutton ruled out providing any detail on what goal a Liberal-National government would pursue instead of the 43 per cent cut.

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Opposition Leader Peter Dutton at a press conference.

"We'll make those decisions when we are in government … we'll look at the prevailing economic conditions after the next election, and we'll make an announcement in due course," the opposition leader said.

To support its policy, the opposition has claimed the government will fall short of its own emissions target.

The latest update, released in December, had Australia on track for a 42 per cent emissions drop – one per cent shy of the legislated target.

However, that forecast did not include a raft of new measures announced this year, including the Future Made in Australia initiatives that were in the federal budget, and Albanese said they mean the country is "very much on track" to meet the 2030 goal.

The Coalition's promise to walk away from that target has set up the potential for another election where climate action is a primary issue, something Albanese said voters did not want after 2022's poll.

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"Australians … know climate change is real," he said.

"They have experienced it with bushfires, with floods, with increased numbers of, and intensity of, extreme weather events, which is what the science told us would happen here and around the world."

The Liberal Party lost a raft of seats it has traditionally held to mainly independent and some Labor candidates at the 2022 election, a trend that was largely put down to differing climate policies.

Dutton brushed off concerns his policy would help those MPs retain their seats. 

"Do I think that they're in touch with average families who are struggling to pay their power bills at the moment? No, I don't," he said.

The federal election is due to be held by next May.

Man ‘targeted’ in fatal attack outside Melbourne home

The man believed to have been murdered outside a home in Melbourne's south-east overnight has been identified. 

Police have said they believe the death followed a "targeted incident" after they were called to Ashleigh Street in Frankston just after 11.30pm.

Matt Salau, a 30-year-old from Heatherton, was found with critical injuries and died at the scene.

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Matt Salau

Neighbours told 9News they heard a man running from the house screaming he had been stabbed.

"It's terrifying," resident Jasmine said. 

"Quite sad but I am not surprised from type of commotion that we hear," another said.

Residents said the street has become a "hot spot" for drugs, which has left some elderly neighbours and young families installing shutters and too afraid to leave their homes.

"It's the same corner where drug deals have been going on night after night," neighbour David said.

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"We are sick of seeing people walking like zombies down the street."

Police said the exact circumstances around the man's death are yet to be determined but believe both parties are known to each other.

Ashleigh Street was earlier closed in both directions as police investigated the incident.

Anybody with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online.

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Australia Post extends its overnight delivery service to two new cities

Australia Post has extended its next-day delivery service to Adelaide and Perth after the cities recorded a surging demand for online shopping.

Perth saw the highest online shopping year-on-year growth of 5.1 per cent while Adelaide saw a 15.2 per cent rise in purchases since 2019.

At the same time, the national courier found 68 per cent of shoppers abandon their online carts if the delivery method is too slow. 

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Australia Post has responded to the findings by rolling out its new delivery service in both cities to keep up with growing e-commerce trends.

"We've been listening to our customers, and know they expect more certainty, simplicity and speed when ordering online," Australia Post executive general manager of parcel, post and e-commerce services Gary Starr said.

The next-day service allows quicker deliveries for eligible retailers like Big W.

"We already have some of the country's largest retailers using the Australia Post Metro service covering the lifestyle, fashion, beauty and FMCG space, with more retailers coming online every month," Starr added.

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Australia Post

"This new service provides a more agile, flexible delivery option as we head into our busiest time of year."

Since the launch of service, more than 2.6 million parcels have been delivered with expectations that number will only continue to grow as more retail partners come on board.

Australia Post has prioritised parcel and e-commerce deliveries since posting a $200 million decline last year, largely brought down by its letters service.

Chief executive Paul Graham at the time said the courier would continue to fall if it failed to adapt to modern services.