Road pricing: A solution to Auckland's traffic nightmare
The average Auckland commuter loses five days a year in traffic. Photo / Dean Purcell
There is plenty to like about Auckland, but traffic is not one.
As a South Islander, who makes occasional visits to the City of Sails, I dread its infamous traffic. I worry I will be late
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ABC News
3 minutes ago
- ABC News
Tasmanian premier set to call election today. What happens next?
Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff is expected to go to the state's governor on Tuesday to seek a snap election, just 15 months after the last state election. Parliament will sit today to debate and pass a budget supply bill to ensure public servants can get paid during and after an election campaign. After that, Mr Rockliff intends to ask to dissolve parliament, with July 19 the earliest date an election can be held. It comes after the lower house passed Labor's no-confidence motion in Mr Rockliff on Thursday, citing the bungled rollout of new Spirit of Tasmania vessels, the state's poor budget position and previous suggestions to privatise state-owned companies. He did not speak to the media on Monday, instead taking part in an icy water slide fundraiser for a motor neurone disease charity. An election could have been avoided if the Liberals chose a new leader who would then need to get the confidence of the lower house, but cabinet minister Felix Ellis said Mr Rockliff has the support of the Liberal partyroom. "He is a man of experience, strength and compassion who has served our community for decades. "We back him in wholeheartedly." The two major parties continue to blame each other for the political impasse. Labor leader Dean Winter says the premier was to blame for losing the confidence of the lower house, while Mr Rockliff says Mr Winter is a "wrecker" . The Tasmanian Greens have called on Labor to attempt to form minority government with their support rather than go to an election, but Mr Winter has rejected this. Mr Winter said the party will not be making big spending promises if an election is called. "This will not be a spendathon from Labor," he said. "Our state cannot afford it. Labor has confirmed it will support the supply bill through parliament. It's likely to be the only parliamentary business of the day. There could be another lengthy debate however, as members can make speeches on the bill. The Legislative Council has also been recalled for the day to pass the supply bill, and members will have briefings while they wait for the supply bill to be approved by the lower house. The Tasmanian Industrial Commission last week determined that the state's politicians will get a 22 per cent pay rise on July 1, but both the Liberals and Labor say they will block this. A disallowance motion would be required to stop the pay rise. However, the government says this can occur when parliament returns after an election, with the pay increase on hold until then. Tasmania is the only state or territory that does not have its own political donation disclosure scheme, but one is set to start on July 1, potentially halfway through the election campaign. It would require all political donations above $1,000 to be publicly disclosed. The donations must be declared to the Electoral Commission within seven days, and then published seven days later, meaning donations won't start being published until one or two weeks into July. Independent upper house MLC Meg Webb called on the government to either bring the system forward to today, or ensure it starts on July 1. Mr Rockliff confirmed on Sunday that the disclosure system will start on July 1. The new laws also include public funding for campaigns, at $6 per vote once 4 per cent of the vote is achieved. Parties can apply for half of its anticipated funding up-front, based on its result at the previous state election. It's unclear whether this aspect of the bill will be in operation if an election is called. An election would also delay several pieces of legislation and the work of multiple parliamentary committees. The government intended to have its Macquarie Point stadium enabling legislation debated and passed in the lower house this month, and then the upper house in the first week of July. This will need to wait until after the election, and is subject to the new numbers in the lower house. Currently, both the Liberals and Labor have a combined 24 seats out of 35 to pass the stadium bill, but 10 out of 11 crossbenchers are opposed. The numbers in the Legislative Council will remain the same, with three independents required for the stadium bill to pass. A bill to allow for the rezoning of University of Tasmania land above Churchill Avenue in Sandy Bay will also be delayed, having already passed the lower house. A parliamentary committee examining the implementation of recommendations from the commission of inquiry into child sexual abuse in institutional settings will be paused. So, too, will a committee that is examining how the previous election was carried out. That committee will likely need to add a second election onto its workload.
ABC News
3 minutes ago
- ABC News
Rains bring relief and hope to farmers in drought-stricken Victoria
After months of blue skies and dwindling dams, the weekend finally brought rain to drought-stricken areas of Victoria. More than 25 millimetres of rain fell in many parts of the state, giving hope to rural communities. Ben Pohlner's farm outside Warrnambool in the state's south-west received more than 40 millimetres since Friday. With the rain turning dry soil to mud, he said the farm could get on with planting a long overdue strawberry crop. "We've got to get 45,000 plants in the ground and that's going to be exciting for us," Mr Pohlner said. At parched Edenhope in the state's west, Clayton Caldow has been hand feeding his flock for months. Since Friday, 44 millimetres of rain has fallen at his property. "Look, a month earlier would have been amazing, but it's going to really kick start a lot of pastures," he said. Inland from Victoria's Surf Coast, at Mount Moriac, drought has forced beef farmers Eliza Holt and Jim McKenna to move their cattle to another property. "For the first time ever we faced the reality in January this year that the dam had gone dry, and we just couldn't maintain the cattle here," Ms Holt said. "So we had to completely destock, which was a huge thing to do." Over the weekend they received more than 80 millimetres, topping up dry troughs and turning thirsty paddocks green. "We spent yesterday staring out the window like idiots just grinning our heads off like it was Christmas," Mr McKenna said. Mr McKenna said the stress and anxiety farmers have been feeling due to drought could not be underestimated. "From here to the border, western Victoria is just going to sleep a lot better after that rain," he said. While grateful for the rain, they say plenty more is needed. "[The rain] won't bring an end to the drought as such, but it's fantastic to have rain and water in the dams," Ms Holt said. "Let's hope for some sunshine and that the seed will actually grow that's been sown in many paddocks throughout Victoria in the past few weeks." The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) is forecasting more rain this week, but drought-breaking rains could still be some time off. "While this is very welcome rainfall and it's good to get some rain, many of these areas are hundreds of millimetres behind average and coming off the driest six, nine, 12 months in some places on record," BOM senior meteorologist Dean Narramore said. "So it's going to take a number of these systems to break the drought."
ABC News
3 minutes ago
- ABC News
As BNPL enters food delivery territory in the US, new regulations come in here
Clothes, appliances, holidays, festival tickets and now burritos are all being bought now and paid for later as small lenders expand their offerings across the globe. But a US company's foray into financing fast food has sparked consumer backlash and raised questions about the industry's expansion. Food delivery service DoorDash in March said it was partnering with finance company Klarna. The Swedish company offers a range of services, including buy now, pay later (BNPL), which lets users pay for their meal delivery in four interest-free instalments. The move echoes the availability of BNPL financing for food in Australia, which is launching new regulation of the industry from today. The DoorDash-Klarna announcement drew a flurry of memes to social media about the notion of taking months to pay for a $15 burrito, but it also raised eyebrows. One US financial advisor, Douglas Boneparth, wrote on X that "these companies [BNPL] aren't helping people". "In fact, they are taking advantage of them. Even Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski told CNN it was "unwise" to use BNPL for takeaway. "I would not recommend anyone buy a burrito on buy now, pay later." He said the company only offered the option because Klarna had become associated with BNPL in the US, whereas in Europe, users associate the company with PayPal and flexible payments. In the first three months of 2025, Klarna's net loss totalled $99 million, almost double the $47 million it lost during the same period last year. The company attributes the loss to one-off costs, including depreciation, share-based payments and restructuring. However, the losses may also be a result of customers defaulting on their BNPL agreements, Consumer Action Law Centre senior policy officer Rose Bruce-Smith says. The company's first-quarter report found customer credit losses increased by 17 per cent, totalling $136 million. "It's been widely reported that Klarna's delinquency rate is increasing, and it's not hard to link this to an increasing push by BNPL providers for people to use their products for small, extremely discretionary purchases," Ms Bruce-Smith told the ABC. "Encouraging people to go into debt can start what we call a debt spiral, leaving people overcommitted and reeling from borrowing to pay off one debt to the next." Afterpay said data in the last three months of 2024 suggested there was not a similar increase in delinquency in Australia. Yes. Australians can and do use BNPL to pay for online food delivery. A quick test on an UberEats account shows Zip as an available payment option. Afterpay also partners with a range of food and beverage providers aiming to provide what it calls a "seamless on-demand offering, at no cost to the customer when instalment payments are made on time". Afterpay and Zip did not disclose how many Australians use BNPL to order food delivery on their platforms when asked by the ABC. But a 2023 survey from Financial Counselling Australia found that a significant number of people were using BNPL to pay for essential items: According to a survey by Finder, two in five Australians used a BNPL service in the six months leading up to August 2024. The average debt carried by BNPL users in September 2024 was $964. From today, BNPL products are going to be regulated as a new type of credit — low cost credit contracts (LCCC). That means BNPL providers will need to hold a credit licence and comply with most obligations under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act. According to the government, the aim of the new legislation is to provide appropriate and proportionate protections to consumers, while maintaining the benefits associated with access to BNPL products. ASIC commissioner Alan Kirkland says "these reforms are an important step to improve protection for Australian consumers who use BNPL products". The new regulations ensure there is a legal framework that reduces the risk of people being left worse off by BNPL. Here's how the specific changes mentioned above will protect you as a consumer: Currently, responsible lending obligations (RLO) require credit providers to reasonably ensure they're not signing people up to unaffordable or unsuitable credit. Under the new regime, BNPL providers will be able to choose between complying with the full version of the RLOs or with a modified framework. Within the modified framework, BNPL providers won't be required to vet a consumer's ability to make repayments as thoroughly. For instance, they won't need to obtain documentation, like bank statements, to confirm a consumer's income and financial situation. Though they'll still need to conduct a credit check. Ms Bruce-Smith says the new regulations are "absolutely the right step forward". "BNPL will be treated like other credit products, meaning there will be some mandatory checks of a consumer's ability to repay the loan," she said. "Customers will also have a right to request a financial hardship arrangement from their provider." But she believes the result is still a "light-touch" regulation. "Many protections against unaffordable lending will only apply to loans over $2,000, and we're concerned that consumers may end up with multiple contracts with different providers," Ms Bruce-Smith said. "The light touch verification also means people are vulnerable to identity fraud and financial abuse by another person taking out a loan in their name." Deb Shroot from Financial Counselling Australia is broadly supportive of the new changes, but is concerned there may be some loopholes. In particular, that the new regulations don't cover other forms of credit products. "We are concerned about the use of wage advance products," Ms Shroot told the ABC. "They're unregulated and potentially harmful credit products on the market that target people in financial stress. "The new rules are welcome, but they're complicated." The biggest BNPL player, Afterpay, has welcomed the changes. "Our commitment to simplicity and transparency remains unchanged," an Afterpay spokesperson said. "The new BNPL regulations reflect what we've always known: we're distinctly different from traditional forms of credit such as credit cards because we help customers avoid interest and revolving debt." A Zip spokesperson told the ABC the BNPL provider has held an Australian credit licence since inception. "Zip has been advocating for fit-for-purpose regulation for many years, and we have transparently been conducting ID, credit and affordability checks on our customers since inception," they said. "Zip is well placed to meet the timetable for the regulation of BNPL products and looks forward to continuing to support our customers and stakeholders as they look for flexible alternatives to manage their finances."
