The Australian energy regulator has released the default market offer (DMO) for 2025-26 which predicts an increase of up to 10 per cent for electricity bills in the coming months. The DMO is the maximum price that electricity retailers can charge customers on standing offer plans for households and small businesses in NSW, Southeast QLD, and SA. Director of the UOW Energy Futures Network Ty Christopher said the DMO increases are a cause for great concern for all energy consumers and must be addressed. “The underlying reason for the increase is predatory market behaviour and price gouging by the…
Author: Lilian Cooper
The Australian Olympic snowboard cross team have left the slopes behind to undertake an intense preseason training camp in Thirroul led by Illawarra Hawks trainer Alex Moore. Olympic snowboarder Josie Baff said the team are utilising the beach scene to get some variety in their training schedule. “Specifically, we are training on the beach which, walking on sand makes everything harder so doing exercises on the sand makes our lives very very challenging during that one to two hours in the morning,” Ms Baff said. “Then we go to the gym and do our normal strength sessions in the afternoon.…
The aftermath of the 2025 federal election has seen Australian politics shift towards a more female-represented environment. This follows two record-breaking announcements of a majority female cabinet and the appointment of the first female opposition leader. This week Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced his national cabinet which is 55 per cent female. Federal Member for Cunningham Alison Byrnes said history was made in the last term with 11 out of 23 cabinet ministers being women and that the Labor Party has built on that progress in their second term. “Women make up 57 per cent of the government, and this…
UOW Students have the opportunity to refine their culinary skills with the ‘Creative Cooking’ program kicking off today. Returning for 2025, the four-week free program is run by UOW Pulse in collaboration with Healthy Cities Illawarra. The program will be available over the next three Wednesdays, and will return again during the spring session later this year. Watch Video: https://youtu.be/sYknmKOkk8s
Ocean temperatures in the Great Barrier Reef have reached unprecedented levels, according to new research. A group of academics, including UOW researchers, analysed ocean temperatures on the Great Barrier Reef over 400 years, finding that the last few years have been extremely high compared to the previous four centuries. Professor Helen McGregor from the UOW School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences was one of the authors of the article, ‘Highest Ocean Heat in Four Centuries Places Great Barrier Reef in Danger’, and she has expressed her concerns about these high temperatures and subsequent coral bleaching events. RadioU UOW ·…
The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) has reported a persistent rise in breaches of bail conditions. Despite these breaches, bail is more frequently continued rather than revoked, permitting the accused to remain in the community after violating their bail terms. When a person is charged with an offence they will either be held in custody on remand or granted bail and released into the community awaiting their trial. If bail is granted, conditions will often be attached to their release. The most common bail conditions include non-association orders prohibiting the accused from contacting specific individuals, accommodation requirements…
Cybercrime is on the rise with a 42 per cent increase over four years according to the NSW Bureau of Crime and Statistics Research. There were 11,389 reported incidents of cybercrime between 2019 and 2020 compared to 16,130 between 2021 and 2022. Fraud has seen a substantial increase, rising by 95 per cent from 2019 to 2022. Head of Telco Technology at AGL Taylor Newnham said cybercrime has significantly impacted major companies such as AGL. “While cybercrime has been around for decades, over the past three to five years we have seen significant movement in this area,” Ms Newnham said.…
Lifeline South Coast’s bi-annual ‘Big Book Fair’ to raise funds for suicide prevention services has come at a crucial time. A Lifeline spokesperson says there has been a spike in calls due to distress surrounding ongoing global conflicts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZDnDup26sw
Vaping has surged in popularity, particularly among Gen-Z, who might have been the first generation of non-smokers. Many people do not know what they are vaping, with University of Wollongong researchers revealing that it is not uncommon for dangerous banned substances to make their way into the devices. Boxes of vibrant vapes fill every vacant space on the laboratory floor. The multitude of coloured vessels have a curiously artistic presence. Each metal tube carries with it a story of who it belonged to and why it was used. These discarded vapes, close to 1000 all up, have been cracked open…