Residential aged care wait time increases
Older Australians have been waiting longer to enter residential aged care facilities after being approved for the service by health professionals. The median waiting time for 2017/18 was 121 days, up from 105 days in 2016/17 and 84 days in 2015/16, the Productivity Commission said in a report on government services released on Tuesday. The…
AGL halts coal ash sales on metal concerns
Energy company AGL has suspended sales of coal ash and ash by-products from its Bayswater and Liddell power stations in NSW due to elevated signs of heavy metals in the product. In a release on Thursday, the company said testing showed some of the coal ash from the Bayswater and Liddell power stations in the…
Light rail critic launches political party
An outspoken critic of the Sydney light rail project has launched her own political party which will run candidates in several inner-city seats at the upcoming state election. City of Sydney councillor Angela Vithoulkas – who once owned Vivo Cafe on George Street – has established the Small Business Party and will head the upper…
CommSec Daily Report Tuesday
Latest NewsAfter a slow start, the Aussie sharemarket has bounced back into positive territory at towards lunch. The ASX 200 dipped into negative territory early and was down 17 points at its lows. The index is now 24 points or 0.4% higher at 5707.3 and follows another positive session on Wall St on optimism over…
Big insurers will not cover Adani coal mine
In a sign that environmental pressure is escalating, many of the world’s biggest insurers have now said that they will not cover the proposed Adani coal mine in Carmichael. The coal-powered plant needed to be self-funded, as major investors were concerned over the long-term viability of the resource. Many companies are under pressure to move…
New payout for victims of Madoff Ponzi scheme
Victims of Bernie Madoff’s multi-billion-dollar fraud, who lost their savings when the Ponzi scheme collapsed in 2008, are receiving additional compensation, bringing the total payout so far to nearly $2 billion, US officials announced Thursday.The Madoff Victim Fund paid out another $695.4 million to over 27,000 victims of the investment scam, the Justice Department said…
Australian government clarifies Pacific fund
As another Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum concluded, representatives from different nations posed many more questions than they received answers to. Two of the main lines of talks centered around China and how its relationships with both the US and Australia will affect the future of the Pacific. The trade war between the US and…
Spying on bees reveals pesticides impair social behavior
A new study that allowed humans to spy on bumblebees inside their nests showed that pesticides can impair social behavior, making it hard for bees to eat and rear their young, researchers said Thursday.Previous research has shown that the common class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids can harm bees’ ability to forage outside the nest.The…
Petrol at new decade highs
Petrol: new decade highs, but light in the tunnelPetrol prices; New home salesUnleaded petrol price: According to the Australian Institute of Petroleum the national average price of unleaded petrol rose in the past week by 1.2 cents to 160.5 cents a litre – the highest level for over a decade (highest prices since the week…
CommSec Daily Report Monday
Latest NewsInvestor nerves are still rattled after the worst weekly loss on the Australian sharemarket since January 2016 last week with the ASX 200 stumbling again on Monday. The index is down another 88 points or 1.5% to 5807 and accelerating towards lunch despite a strong rally for Wall Street on Friday where the Dow rebounded…
