For many people, news the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has dropped interest rates to a record low of 1.25 per cent probably falls on deaf ears. This isn’t really surprising – the RBA is not a topic of conversation likely to pop up at the dinner table. Despite this the Reserve Bank shapes our everyday lives. As the Australian dollar continues to deflate and the housing market falters, it is up to the RBA to juggle these pressures and keep things running smoothly. To keep the Australian economy on an even keel the RBA uses the cash rate to…
Author: David Barnott-Clement
Flowers are bought and sold as gifts around the world. While they can be used to demonstrate love, care or compassion, they can also spread nationally significant weeds. Pampas grass is a highly invasive plant that competes with native vegetation and is a fire hazard. Despite being banned from sale in parts of the country, the plant is increasingly making an appearance in floral displays at weddings, social events and on social media. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Weddings Fashion Lifestyle (@thedreamdayco) on May 28, 2019 at 5:30pm PDT The ban doesn’t seem to be…
Candidates running for the marginal seat of Gilmore have voted climate change the issue of most concern among young voters. Labor’s Fiona Phillips, the Greens’ Carmel Mary McCallum, independent Grant Schultz and Milton Leslight from Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party, all nominated a warming planet as the top priority of young voters. The Nationals’ candidate, Katrina Hodgkinson, saw things differently, explaining university students were more concerned with cost of living pressures. Australians aged between 18 and 29 have enrolled for the approaching election at historically high levels – nearly 90% of eligible young voters are now on the electoral roll.…
The fight against cancer continues as Cure Cancer Australia celebrates the work of not-for-profit organisation Jane’s Walk for a Cure. Jane’s Walk for a Cure has raised over $130,000 for the cause, all of which has been donated to Cure Cancer Australia. Jane Broadhead founded the not-for-profit in 2012 and said it is important the community supports cancer research. “I was inspired [to found Jane’s Walk for a Cure] by my grandpa actually. He passed when I was quite young from bowel cancer and then throughout my life people just kept getting diagnosed,” she said. Cure Cancer Australia works to…
Athletes from the Illawarra will be throwing, catching and diving in Canberra this weekend as part of the largest Ultimate Frisbee competition in Australia. The event will host 38 teams and over 700 players and support personnel from across the country for the Division 2 round of the Australian Ultimate Championships. The Wollongong Ultimate Frisbee Organisation will send men’s and women’s teams, the Kranks and the Surges. Kranks defender Sam Armes said the team could see mixed results over the weekend. “A lot of our players are quite experienced, and we also have a lot of players that are very fresh to…
Grass and mud-stained knees jogged, sprinted and crawled their way across the University of Wollongong this morning to raise funds for motor neurone disease. The Go Commando for Motor Neurone Disease appeal raised $5,882, which will be used to help fund motor neurone disease research carried out by Professor Justin Yerbury and his team at the Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute (IHMRI). Motor neurone disease (MND) causes the progressive degeneration of motor neurones, the nerve cells associated with muscle movement and control. Approximately 2000 Australians currently live with the disease, and Prof. Yerbury and his team are attempting to…
A landmark partnership is promising a potential breakthrough for the federal Close the Gap Initiative after 10 years of disappointing results. The Joint Council, composed of state and territory governments and 40 representatives from leading Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations, met for the first time today in Brisbane to discuss Close the Gap initiatives. Associate Professor and Academic Leader in Indigenous Health in the School of Medicine at the University of Wollongong Peter Malouf said the council has promise, but warned hosting the meeting in Brisbane ignored the rural and regional communities on the front line. “It’s a good step forward,…
Koalas have climbed back onto the community agenda, the ‘re-discovered’ population sparking a tagging and tracking program and an outpouring of local support. Listed as vulnerable in NSW, the unexpected revelation represents a major step forward in the conservation of one of Australia’s most iconic animals. Wollondilly’s Environmental Education Officer, Damion Stirling, explained the program kicked off in response to numerous resident reports of koalas in Appin. “The Wollondilly Koala Hotline was set up in February 2015 – since then there has been 44 reported sightings of koalas across the Shire, which is pretty amazing,” Mr Stirling said. “The council…