The message arrived just after lunch. At first glance, it looked real. The logo matched, the language sounded professional, and the warning felt urgent. The message claimed that there had been suspicious activity on the account and urged the owner to click on a link to secure funds immediately. University of Wollongong student, Maddison Matthews said the message looked legitimate. She was expecting a parcel. Without thinking, she tapped onto the link, entered her details and continued on with her day. Within twenty minutes, nearly $8,000 had vanished from her bank account. “I felt physically sick then I felt embarrassed…
Author: Mikaylee Priest
Owning a home has been central to the Australian dream for generations, but for young people that dream feels less like a milestone and more like a myth. The median housing price in the Wollongong region is $1.3 million, with the average graduate salary being $71,000 annually. The widening gap between wages and housing prices has made home ownership difficult for younger generations. University of Wollongong student, Sinead Rogers, 20, said rising costs have pushed home ownership beyond financial reach. “I can’t buy a house anymore cause it’s way out of my budget,” she said. The gap is shaping how…
Children spend an hour or more in front of a screen before school, a new study has revealed. From cartoons at breakfast to video games before bed, devices have become integrated into childhood routines, raising concerns about how much screen time is too much. Health guidelines from the Australian Institute of Family Studies, and the World Health Organisation, has recommend that no more than one hour a day of screen time for children aged 2 to 5. However research suggests this limit is often exceeded. For people who work in early education, the impact is becoming more visible Preschool director,…
University of Technology Sydney student, Emily Spencer, is a part of a growing number of young Australians delaying getting their drivers licence, as new data shows changing patterns in driving rates across the country. “It’s too expensive to own a car, buying one is expensive and then you add the fuel, the rego and all of that it’s so expensive,” she said. Her decision reflects broader patterns among some young Australians, where obtaining a licence is being delayed or deprioritised. Cost is a main factor. Learning to drive involves lesson fees, test costs and access to a vehicle. Ongoing expenses…
It’s a quiet morning in Avondale as we arrive at the Huntley Colliery site entrance, an abandoned car sitting there, wild grass whispering in the wind. The air carries a faint smell of native trees; there’s not a trace of the dark dust that once coated the area, but beneath the soil, the echoes of the mine’s past are still entwined with the place. It was 1946 when three brothers, William, Phil and Frank Waugh, opened the colliery. The original vision was local and determined. Handworked in the beginning, the mine was named ‘Huntley’ as a homage to Huntly in…
There are more than 200 million active users of dating apps worldwide, according to the National Library of Medicine. Aged-care worker, Emily Priest, uses dating apps to meet people, blaming her work roster as a reason she struggles to meet people in person. “Working long hours and night shifts has ensured that I won’t meet anyone normally,” Ms Priest said. Ms Priest describes how despite the success of using the apps, it was an exhausting process. “You would be a great conversation and really getting along with someone but they can suddenly disappear onto the next person, it’s emotionally exhausting,” she…
There’s been a rise in abuse of retail workers across the country, with more than 88 per cent of employees claiming to have been verbally and even physically abused in the last year. The statistic comes from a survey conducted by the Retail Association and Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees Association (SDA), which showed that the abuse is impacting the mental health and wellbeing of retail workers. More than 88 per cent of surveyed members experienced verbal abuse from a customer in the past year, impacting their mental and physical wellbeing, the report found. Woolworths checkout operator, Maddy Steel said…
Real estate in the coastal town of Kiama has skyrocketed since Covid and the cost-of-living crisis. Kiama resident Peta Priest said that real estate prices are at an all time high across the region. “I have been in Kiama for over 30 years and have never seen the prices for the area so high before,” she said. Ms Priest has blamed an increase in tourism and wealthier residents for the rise in real estate prices. “Kiama is no longer a town for me, a local, but rather the blow-ins. My children can’t even afford to live here,” she said. According…