Latest news with #CycloneAlfred
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Australians advised to prepare for significant rise in energy bills
By Australian consumers are being warned of another explosion in the cost of living, with the prices of milk, butter, and meat set to rise due to floods and drought - while power prices continue to soar. Egg prices have already surged by 18.6 per cent over the past year, and the latest natural disasters threaten to revive Australia's cost of living crisis. Last month's flooding on the NSW mid-north coast has particularly decimated dairy herds near Taree, Wingham and Gloucester. At the other end of the weather spectrum, farmers in Victoria, South Australia , Western Australia and Tasmania are battling drought, which is pushing up the price of fodder across the country. Joe Bradley, the president of dairy farmers' group eastAUSmilk, told Daily Mail Australia a 10 per cent fall in Australian milk production was likely, as a result of the latest floods in New South Wales and Cyclone Alfred in Queensland in March. This would ultimately hit consumers, and see supermarket prices for a litre of milk climb from $1.55 to levels above $2. 'Prices of dairy and dairy products will have to go up, there's no ifs or buts,' he said. 'Milk has to go up: you can't be paying $1.50 a litre for milk, it has to be two bucks a litre minimum for home brand milk.' Eight in 10 dairy farmers are now battling the aftermath of floods or droughts. 'We estimate that between the drought and the floods and Cyclone Alfred, there's probably 80 per cent of the dairy farmers who have been affected one way or another,' he said. 'It's got to have an impact and prices for farmers' stuff is going through the roof.' A new wave of natural disasters ultimately may prompt more farmers to quit the industry, leading to Australia importing more dairy products. 'The consumer will one day pay for all this, there's no doubt about that,' he said. 'It's just a matter of getting in now and trying to make sure that we have fresh dairy for the next generation. I can tell you, if milk keeps getting shorter, dairy products keep getting shorter, it might not be a staple diet anymore - it might be a luxury diet.' Back in 2001, shortly after dairy deregulation, Australia's annual dairy milk production peaked at 11.3billion litres, back when Australia was home to 18.8million people. That is estimated to have fallen to 8.2billion litres, as Australia's population has grown to 27.3million. During the past two decades, the number of dairy farmers in NSW and Queensland has also plunged by 85 per cent. 'Once you go out of dairy, you don't come back; milk is getting less, Australia's population is growing,' he said. Australia has also become a net importer of butter - exposing consumers to fluctuations in global demand for the spread with less of it now made locally compared with two decades ago. Michael Harvey, a senior dairy analyst with Rabobank, said higher global butter prices, as a result of problems like blue tongue disease affecting European cattle, could see Australians pay more for butter. 'The reality is it's a record-high butter price we've got at the moment,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'If it remains elevated, there's a chance it will, you'll see retail prices moving higher. We actually import more butter now than we did - it's a long-run decline in milk production.' Major dairy processors like Norco, Lactalis and Saputo are publishing farmgate prices on Monday, which will determine what dairy farmers are likely to be paid for their produce at a wholesale level in the year ahead. 'Higher global prices feed through to higher retail prices,' Mr Harvey said. 'It's improving global demand, which means you get higher global prices for dairy which then put upward pressure on local prices whether it's at farmgate or in the wholesale market.' Australian consumers have this year already been dealing with an egg shortage after an outbreak of avian influenza affected egg production in Victorian and NSW. As a result, egg prices have soared, leading to supermarkets limiting customers to two cartons, with price statistician Michelle Marquardt blaming the outbreak of avian influenza. 'While annual inflation eased for most food categories in April, egg prices were up by 18.6 per cent in the past 12 months. This comes as supply has been affected by bird flu outbreaks,' she said. Agribusiness giant Elders is also predicting an increase in beef and lamb prices, in the six months to September, as a result of drought conditions in southern Australia. This would reduce the supply of livestock 'following increased de-stocking in dry regions'. Meanwhile, electricity price increases of somewhere between 0.5 per cent and 9.7 per cent can be expected from July 1 by customers on default market offers, the maximum retailers can charge. The Australian Energy Regulator's determinations mean NSW customers on standing offers face the steepest price growth of between 8.3 per cent to 9.7 per cent, depending on their network area. Residential customers on default plans in southeast Queensland can expect hikes of anywhere between 0.5 per cent and 3.7 per cent, while people in South Australia face rises of 2.3 per cent to 3.2 per cent. Victorian households can expect a modest one per cent average bump, following an Essential Services Commission ruling. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended his government's energy policies when asked if households were bearing the financial burden of increased network costs to switch to clean energy. 'The cheapest form of new energy is renewables, backed by gas, backed by batteries and backed by hydro for firming capacity,' he told reporters. 'That is the transition that is under way. And at the election on May 3, there was the option of stopping all of that, waiting until the 2040s for the nuclear fantasy to be rolled out with costs, unknown of that.' Deputy Liberal leader Ted O'Brien said electricity prices continued to rise despite 'constant assurances of cheaper power from the Albanese government'. 'The AER identifies high demand, network and power station outages and low renewable generation as the key drivers behind the continued rise in prices,' said the former energy spokesman. 'While the opposition acknowledges it did not meet expectations at the recent election the fundamental issues in Australia's energy market under Labor persist - prices continue to rise.' Headline inflation rose by just 2.4 per cent in the year to April but fruit and vegetable prices soared by 6.1 per cent, and prices for other major foods are in danger of also surging.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Australians warned to prepare for a huge 'bill explosion' that's about to drive up the price of nearly every essential
Australian consumers are being warned to brace for a bill explosion with the cost of milk, butter, and meat set to rise as dairy farmers battle floods and drought - while power prices continue to soar. Egg prices have already surged by 18.6 per cent during the past year, with the latest natural disasters threatening to revive Australia's cost of living crisis. Last month's flooding on the NSW mid-north coast has particularly decimated dairy milk herds near Taree, Wingham and Gloucester. This is occurring as farmers in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania battle drought, which is pushing up the price of fodder to feed stock across the country. Joe Bradley, the president of dairy farmers' group eastAUSmilk, told Daily Mail Australia a 10 per cent fall in Australian milk production was likely, as a result of the latest floods in New South Wales and Cyclone Alfred in Queensland in March. This would ultimately hit consumers, and see supermarket prices for a litre of milk climb from $1.55 to levels above $2. 'Prices of dairy and dairy products will have to go up, there's no ifs or buts,' he said. 'Milk has to go up: you can't be paying $1.50 a litre for milk, it has to be two bucks a litre minimum for home brand milk.' Eight in 10 dairy farmers are now battling the aftermath of floods or droughts. 'We estimate that between the drought and the floods and Cyclone Alfred, there's probably 80 per cent of the dairy farmers have been affected one way or another,' he said. 'It's got to have an impact and prices for farmers' stuff is going through the roof.' A new wave of natural disasters can lead to more farmers quitting the industry, leading to Australia importing more dairy products. 'The consumer will one day pay for all this, there's no doubt about that,' he said. 'It's just a matter of getting in now and trying to make sure that we have fresh dairy for the next generation. 'I can tell you, if milk keeps getting shorter, dairy products keep getting shorter, it might not be a staple diet anymore - it might be a luxury diet.' Back in 2001, shortly after dairy deregulation, Australia's annual dairy milk production peaked at 11.3billion litres, back when Australia was home to 18.8million people. That is estimated to have fallen to 8.2billion litres, as Australia's population has grown to 27.3million. During the past two decades, the number of dairy farmers in NSW and Queensland has also plunged by 85 per cent. 'Once you go out of dairy, you don't come back; milk is getting less, Australia's population is growing,' he said. Australia has also become a net importer of butter - exposing consumers to fluctuations in global demand for the spread with less of it now made locally compared with two decades ago. Michael Harvey, a senior dairy analyst with Rabobank, said higher global butter prices, as a result of problems like blue tongue disease affecting European cattle, could see Australians pay more for butter. 'The reality is it's a record-high butter price we've got at the moment,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'If it remains elevated, there's a chance it will, you'll see retail prices moving higher. 'We actually import more butter now than we did - it's a long-run decline in milk production.' Major dairy processors like Norco, Lactalis and Saputo are publishing farmgate prices on Monday, which will determine what dairy farmers are likely to be paid for their produce at a wholesale level in the year ahead. 'Higher global prices feed through to higher retail prices,' Mr Harvey said. 'It's improving global demand, which means you get higher global prices for dairy which then put upward pressure on local prices whether it's at farmgate or in the wholesale market.' Australian consumers have this year already been dealing with an egg shortage after an outbreak of avian influenza affected egg production in Victorian and NSW. As a result, egg prices soared by 18.6 per cent in the year to April with price statistician Michelle Marquardt blaming the outbreak of avian influenza. 'While annual inflation eased for most food categories in April, egg prices were up by 18.6 per cent in the past 12 months. This comes as supply has been affected by bird flu outbreaks,' she said. Agribusiness giant Elders is also predicting an increase in beef and lamb prices, in the six months to September, as a result of drought conditions in southern Australia. This would reduce the supply of livestock 'following increased de-stocking in dry regions'. Meanwhile, electricity price increases of somewhere between 0.5 per cent and 9.7 per cent can be expected from July 1 by customers on default market offers, the maximum retailers can charge as spelled out by regulators. NSW customers on standing offers face the steepest price growth of between 8.3 per cent to 9.7 per cent, depending on their network area. Residential customers on default plans in southeast Queensland can expect hikes of anywhere between 0.5 per cent and 3.7 per cent, while people in South Australia face rises of 2.3 per cent to 3.2 per cent. Victorian households can expect a modest one per cent average bump, according to the Essential Services Commission. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended his government's energy policies when asked if households were bearing the financial burden of increased network costs to switch to clean energy. 'The cheapest form of new energy is renewables, backed by gas, backed by batteries and backed by hydro for firming capacity,' he told reporters. 'That is the transition that is under way. 'And at the election on May 3, there was the option of stopping all of that, waiting until the 2040s for the nuclear fantasy to be rolled out with costs, unknown of that.' Deputy leader of the opposition Ted O'Brien said electricity prices continued to rise despite 'constant assurances of cheaper power from the Albanese government'. 'The AER identifies high demand, network and power station outages and low renewable generation as the key drivers behind the continued rise in prices,' said the former energy spokesman. 'While the opposition acknowledges it did not meet expectations at the recent election the fundamental issues in Australia's energy market under Labor persist - prices continue to rise.'
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Natural disasters cost Australia's economy $2.2bn in first half of 2025, new Treasury analysis shows
Six months of natural disasters in 2025 have cost the economy $2.2bn, largely in slower retail and household spending, according to new federal Treasury analysis. Wild weather has repeatedly battered the Australian east coast this year. The analysis period covers Cyclone Alfred, the first cyclone to hit south-east Queensland in 50 years, and associated flooding. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email It also includes the impact of last month's severe flooding in New South Wales's Hunter and mid-north coast regions. The disaster left about 10,000 buildings with flood damage, with an estimated 1,000 uninhabitable, and claimed five lives. Outback and north Queensland also flooded this year. Treasury expects most of the immediate loss in economic activity to take place in the March quarter. Partial data for the March quarter has shown that retail trade and household spending have been the most significantly impacted as a result of the disasters. Nominal retail trade in Queensland fell 0.3% in February and 0.4% in March, according to Treasury analysis. Household spending was flat, with a 0.2% drop in Queensland. Full March quarter national accounts will be released on Wednesday. 'The human impacts matter to us most, but the economic cost is very significant too, and we'll see that in Wednesday's national accounts,' said the treasurer, Jim Chalmers. 'The government will be there for people in disaster-hit regions, just like they're there for each other. 'We've activated disaster assistance to the Hunter and mid-north coast regions of NSW, just as we did earlier in the year in Queensland and northern NSW.' The treasurer said the economic progress Australians had made lowering inflation, debt and unemployment meant 'we're in a stronger position to provide support when communities need it most'. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion The federal government has activated several rounds of disaster payments. The minister for emergency management, Kristy McBain, said the government planned to fund projects designed to improve preparedness and resilience in order to protect communities when disasters strike. 'We are committed to funding support to increase resilience, adaptability and preparedness,' she said. 'Our disaster ready fund initiative will provide another $200m of investment in 2025-26.' McBain said she had been on the ground in NSW, where she saw 'first-hand the effects a disaster can have', and had been meeting with small businesses and primary producers that had been 'hit hard'. 'It is my priority to work closely with all levels of government to ensure support is provided as quickly as possible,' she said. McBain said the federal government would 'continue to work with NSW on any other funding requests'. 'For a lot of these people, it's the cumulative impact of a number of events, and we understand that,' she said. 'That's why recovery isn't going to be over the next couple of days when cameras and lights are on the area. It's going to be days, weeks and months that we'll walk with these communities.'
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Huge cost of natural disasters in 2025 revealed
The Treasury has flagged GDP figures may be lower than expected this quarter due to a huge economic loss from natural disasters so far in 2025. New analysis by the Treasury has estimated the immediate loss of economic activity from natural disasters so far in 2025 is $2.2 billion. The huge costs of disasters this year, include the impacts of flooding in the NSW Hunter and mid-North Coast regions, as well as Cyclone Alfred and flooding in western Queensland and Far North Queensland. Most of the loss will affect the March quarter, the Treasury said, which is to be reflected in National Accounts released on Wednesday. The natural disasters have also had an impact on retail trade and household spending, data from the March quarter suggests. Retail trade in Queensland dropped 0.3% in February and 0.4% in March. Household spending was flat nationally, with a 0.2% drop in Queensland contributing. Treasurer Jim Chalmers highlighted the dual focus on human and economic costs, with continued disaster assistance. The huge cost of natural disasters this year, including the impacts of flash flooding on the mid-north coast of NSW as well as Cyclone Alfred in Queensland, have been revealed. SES via NewsWire Credit: NewsWire 'Our government's first priority is helping to fund the recovery and rebuild for communities hit hard by all the heavy weather we're seeing more and more frequently,' he said in a release. 'The human impacts matter to us most, but the economic cost is very significant too and we'll see that in Wednesday's National Accounts. 'The Government will be there for people in disaster hit regions, just like they're there for each other.' Mr Chalmers added they have activated disaster assistance to the Hunter and mid-North Coast regions of NSW. 'Because of the progress Australians have made together in the economy, with inflation down, debt down and unemployment low, we're in a stronger position to provide support when communities need it most,' he said. Meanwhile, Minister for Emergency Management Kristy McBain stressed the importance of preparedness and long-term recovery, with an extra $200 million to be invested via the Disaster Ready Fund in 2025–26. 'Our Government is committed to preparedness and resilience in order to protect communities when disasters strike,' she said. 'We are committed to funding support to increase resilience, adaptability and preparedness. Our Disaster Ready Fund initiative will provide another $200 million of investment in 2025-26.' The huge cost of natural disasters this year, including the impacts of flash flooding on the mid-north coast of NSW as well as Cyclone Alfred in Queensland, have been revealed. SES via NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia Ms McBain said she has recently been on the ground in NSW, and has seen first hand the effects a disaster can have. 'We have activated multiple disaster payments and we will continue to work with NSW on any other funding requests and I have been meeting with small business and primary producers who have been hit hard,' she said. 'For a lot of these people, it's the cumulative impact of a number of events and we understand that. 'That's why recovery isn't going to be over the next couple of days when cameras and lights are on the area. It's going to be days, weeks and months that we'll walk with these communities.' Leader of the opposition Sussan Ley is expected to visit flood affected communities on the Mid North Coast on Monday morning, along with local MPs.
7NEWS
3 days ago
- Sport
- 7NEWS
Eva Air Brisbane Marathon: Meet Michael Byrne, 83, who says it's never too old to run
Approximately 14,000 people are competing in this year's Eva Air Brisbane Marathon, from babies in prams all the way through to an octogenarian. Gold Coast resident Michael Byrne, 83, has run more than 40 marathons in six different countries, but it's Brisbane's unique scenic course that's brought him back for five years. 'It's never too late' to start, said Byrne, who picked up running at the age of 50. This year's participants will complete a 42.2km loop from the Botanical Gardens, across the Story Bridge, through New Farm, and then to Kangaroo Point on Sunday. 'Last year alone, more than 10,000 runners from 35 countries participated, and I'm always amazed by the spirit of everyone who comes to cheer them on,' Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said. The Story Bridge will be open to runners for the first time since Cyclone Alfred, when the pedestrian paths were closed. 'It's a beautiful course and that's why people do these events,' marathon spokesman Jason Crowther said. Beyond the course, it's also about giving back. The marathon is also about giving back. Now in its 33rd year, the sold-out event has so far this year raised over $300,000 for charities. 'We do impact the community with road closures... (so) we make sure that the event is a big supporter of community and charity, just to thank the residents and the businesses (in the area),' he said. Crowther said the event has attracted younger participants too, as some kids will be pushed in prams by their parents in the two-kilometre event. 'There's definitely a resurgence in running at the moment, post COVID we've seen a massive boom. 'There's a massive shift of health and fitness within that younger community now and I think it's great. 'These sorts of events give that younger generation a reason to get outdoors and get active and not just sit behind the screens.' First time entrants will make up about 70 per cent of the participants at the marathon. As Byrne prepared to lace up for the weekend event, he said 'consistency' is key. 'Don't take a month or too off, keep going,' he said. 'Stick to your pace ... don't run off like it's a hundred-yard dash.'
