Latest news with #OliverGriffiths
Daily Mail
13 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Young Aussie finds huge loophole in parking fines - and why he's now refusing to pay
A young law student is disputing a parking fine he received while at university, claiming the parking meter did not give him the option to pay in cash. Oliver Griffiths, who is studying law at the University of Wollongong, received a $97 fine earlier this month after parking his car on campus. The university changed its parking policy last year, introducing digital parking machines that accept card-only payments. However, Mr Griffiths claimed there was signage visible in the car park that stated payment could be made with 'credit card or coins' at the time he received the fine. In a video shared to Facebook, Mr Griffiths outlined his plan to challenge the fine in his fight against a cashless society. 'My name is Oliver and I have fallen victim to the incoming cashless society,' Mr Griffiths said. 'Last year, my university made parking only available through digital payment. 'Instead of following along with the modern digital currency agenda I left notes on my dashboard offering to pay in cash.' The cash crusader had left a handwritten note on the dash of his car, explaining he was happy to organise a cash payment for the parking. He left a $10 note next to the message and also provided his phone number for the parking inspector to call so that he could organise payment. 'Dear parking inspector, cash is Australia's legal tender. I am not available to pay by card right, but I can only pay in cash, I'll come down right now and pay. Here's my number, give me a ring,' the note read. However, the note did not do the trick, and Mr Griffiths was still fined for parking without a ticket. Mr Griffiths, who wore a T-shirt with the slogan 'cash is king' in his social media video, outlined his pro-cash argument — one he said resonated with many Australians. 'I, like so many other Aussies out there, believe that cash is king,' Mr Griffiths said. 'Cash is essential to the economic freedoms of people, and it sustains everyday purchases of small businesses and individuals daily. 'It's available in emergencies, it protects your privacy, it doesn't cost you to use it, and it allows families to budget better.' If a magistrate orders Mr Griffiths to pay the fine, the young law student has vowed he will take out his wallet and pay in cash. 'I am going to keep fighting and if I have to go to the High Court I will, because cash is legal tender,' Mr Griffiths said. Last year, the federal government announced a cash mandate would come into force on January 1, 2026, requiring businesses to offer customers a cash option. Under that mandate, businesses that sell essential items like groceries and fuel must accept cash as payment. This comes as an estimated 1.5 million Australians still prefer to use cash over digital payments, despite one in four businesses no longer accepting cash. Cash use in Australia has steadily declined over the past decade—a trend that accelerated sharply following the Covid-19 pandemic. According to Reserve Bank data, the number of in-person cash transactions halved between 2019 and 2022, dropping from 32 per cent of transactions to 16 per cent. Currently, cash makes up about 10 per cent of all transactions, with projections suggesting it could fall to just seven per cent by 2030. Meanwhile, debit and credit card payments have remained strong, with debit card usage increasing over the same period. Jason Bryce, from advocacy group Cash Welcome, led an initiative known as 'Cash Out Day' on April 22, encouraging Aussies to withdraw cash from ATMs and banks to demonstrate its continued importance. An estimated 1.6 million people withdrew cash—totalling around $500 million—in 2024. Mr Bryce also started a 'Cash Welcome' petition on which has garnered almost 210,000 signatures. The petition calls on the government to introduce an Australian cash and banking guarantee. It calls for: 'all Australians [to] have reasonable local access to cash and full banking services,' and insists that 'all Australians must be able to choose cash when paying for food and essentials at physical retailers.' 'Millions of Australian consumers and businesses trust and rely on cash for their everyday needs and for budgeting purposes. 'Even Australians that don't attend banks or use cash regularly need access to face-to-face banking services and physical money sometimes.'
News.com.au
16 hours ago
- Business
- News.com.au
‘It's wrong': Student who refuses to accept cashless parking meter takes fine to court
A Wollongong student who refused to accept that a car park at his university had gone cashless is taking his $97 parking fine to court. Oliver Griffiths has styled himself a 'cash crusader' and in a video recently shared on Facebook, he outlined his plan to challenge his fine in a bid to push back against a society that's increasingly rejecting cash payments. 'I've fallen victim to the incoming cashless society,' Mr Griffiths, dressed in a 'cash is king' T-shirt, said. He claimed that: 'Last year, my university made parking only available through digital payment'. 'Instead of following along with the modern digital agenda, I left notes on my dashboard offering to pay in cash.' The handwritten notes listed the student's mobile number and asked the parking inspector to call him to organise cash payment for parking. Unsurprisingly, the letters did not do the trick and Mr Griffiths was fined for parking without a ticket. Businesses in Australia do not have to accept cash as a payment method, although according to the ACCC, they should make their accepted payment options clear to consumers. In this case, Mr Griffiths claimed that at the time he received his fine, signage stating that payment could be made 'by credit card or coins' was still visible in the car park. 'I, like so many other Aussies out there, believe cash is king,' he said, before vowing to challenge his fine in court. In the video, Mr Griffiths also outlined a number of pro-cash arguments popular with many Australians, including that cash protects an individual's privacy and data, doesn't incur bank fees and can make it easier to budget. Some 1.5 million Australians still prefer using cash to digital payments but as many as one in four businesses no longer accept cash payments. In response to the ever-shrinking options for those still attached to cash, almost 210,000 Australians recently signed a Cash Welcome petition calling for guarantees for 'reasonable local access' to cash and banking services. Cash made a big comeback around the pandemic, with cash use in Australia increasing by 22 per cent, or $19 billion, between March 2020 and December 2022, according to the Reserve Bank. At the end of last year, the Albanese government unveiled a plan to protect cash as a payment method. The cash mandate, which is expected to be brought in early 2026, will mean 'essential' businesses will have to accept cash. Among those that have made the essential list are supermarkets, pharmacies, dentists, GPs, hardware stores, insurers, pet stores, vets, service stations and mechanics.
The Irish Sun
4 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Worrying trend sees Brits trying to avoid new adult website block built to protect kids with ID checks from today
BRITS are finding worrying ways to get around strict new rules that block users from accessing porn sites unless they show ID. A long-awaited new law or scanning their face with a camera. 1 Adult sites face fines or a complete ban if they fail to comply with new law Credit: Getty The sweeping changes affect websites showing porn , or anything linked to self-harm, suicide, or eating disorders - as well as social media apps showing such content. Websites that fail to implement tougher age checks face being blocked from view in the UK or being hit with hefty fines. The Online Safety Act is designed to protect children from harmful material and will be enforced by the regulator Ofcom. But many claim it's "easily exploitable". Read more tech It's a "non issue for anyone with the most minimal of computing knowledge" one person wrote on Reddit. Others fear that the move could inadvertently push people to far dodgier websites. Ofcom admits there's no way to stop people using VPNs to get around the block. 'Our research shows that these are not people that are out to find porn – it's being served up to them in their feeds,' Oliver Griffiths, group director for online safety at Ofcom told The Sun. Most read in Tech 'And we think that these measures are going to have a really big impact in terms of dealing with that particular problem. "There will be teenagers – dedicated teenagers – who want to find their way to porn, in the same way as people find ways to buy alcohol under 18. They will use VPNs. Big changes come to PornHub and a dozen other XXX sites 'And actually, I think there's a really important reflection here. It's not just us, in terms of making life safer online. 'Parents having a view in terms of whether their kids have got a VPN, and using parental controls and having conversations, feels a really important part of the solution.' Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said a generation of children will not be allowed to grow up 'at the mercy of toxic algorithms' and warned tech firms 'will be held to account' if they fail to act in line with the changes. He told Sky News: 'I have very high expectations of the change that children will experience. 'And let me just say this to parents and children, you will experience a different internet really, for the first time in from today, moving forward than you've had in the past. And that is a big step forward.' Children's charities the NSPCC and Barnardo's are among those who have welcomed the new checks, as well as the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) which hunts and takes down online child abuse material. Meanwhile, a petition with more than 65,000 signatures at the time of publishing is calling for the law to be reversed, arguing the shake-up is "far broader and restrictive than is necessary in a free society". THE SHOCKING STATS Latest figures show the scale of adult content consumption online... Ofcom stats: Around 8% children aged 8-14 in the UK visited an online porn site or app in a month. 15% of 13–14-year-olds accessed online porn in a month. Boys aged 13-14 are the most likely to visit a porn service, significantly more than girls the same age (19% vs 11%). Our research tells us that around three in ten (29%) or 13.8m UK adults use porn online. Pornhub is the most used site in the UK – Ofcom research says 18% (8.4m) visited it in one month. Children's Commissioner stats: Of the 64% who said that they had ever seen online pornography: The average age at which children first see pornography is 13 . By age nine, 10% had seen pornography, 27% had seen it by age 11 and half of children who had seen pornography had seen it by age 13. We also find that young people are frequently exposed to violent pornography, depicting coercive, degrading or pain-inducing sex acts; 79% had encountered violent pornography before the age of 18 . Pornography is not confined to dedicated adult sites. We found that Twitter was the online platform where young people were most likely to have seen pornography.
Scottish Sun
4 days ago
- Scottish Sun
Worrying trend sees Brits trying to avoid new adult website block built to protect kids with ID checks from today
BIG CHANGE Worrying trend sees Brits trying to avoid new adult website block built to protect kids with ID checks from today BRITS are finding worrying ways to get around strict new rules that block users from accessing porn sites unless they show ID. A long-awaited new law came into effect at midnight, forcing people to prove they're over 18 by sharing an ID document or scanning their face with a camera. Advertisement 1 Adult sites face fines or a complete ban if they fail to comply with new law Credit: Getty The sweeping changes affect websites showing porn, or anything linked to self-harm, suicide, or eating disorders - as well as social media apps showing such content. Websites that fail to implement tougher age checks face being blocked from view in the UK or being hit with hefty fines. The Online Safety Act is designed to protect children from harmful material and will be enforced by the regulator Ofcom. But many claim it's "easily exploitable". Advertisement It's a "non issue for anyone with the most minimal of computing knowledge" one person wrote on Reddit. Others fear that the move could inadvertently push people to far dodgier websites. Ofcom admits there's no way to stop people using VPNs to get around the block. 'Our research shows that these are not people that are out to find porn – it's being served up to them in their feeds,' Oliver Griffiths, group director for online safety at Ofcom told The Sun. Advertisement 'And we think that these measures are going to have a really big impact in terms of dealing with that particular problem. "There will be teenagers – dedicated teenagers – who want to find their way to porn, in the same way as people find ways to buy alcohol under 18. They will use VPNs. Big changes come to PornHub and a dozen other XXX sites 'And actually, I think there's a really important reflection here. It's not just us, in terms of making life safer online. 'Parents having a view in terms of whether their kids have got a VPN, and using parental controls and having conversations, feels a really important part of the solution.' Advertisement Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said a generation of children will not be allowed to grow up 'at the mercy of toxic algorithms' and warned tech firms 'will be held to account' if they fail to act in line with the changes. He told Sky News: 'I have very high expectations of the change that children will experience. 'And let me just say this to parents and children, you will experience a different internet really, for the first time in from today, moving forward than you've had in the past. And that is a big step forward.' Children's charities the NSPCC and Barnardo's are among those who have welcomed the new checks, as well as the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) which hunts and takes down online child abuse material. Advertisement Meanwhile, a petition with more than 65,000 signatures at the time of publishing is calling for the law to be reversed, arguing the shake-up is "far broader and restrictive than is necessary in a free society".
The Sun
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Worrying trend sees Brits trying to avoid new adult website block built to protect kids with ID checks from today
BRITS are finding worrying ways to get around strict new rules that block users from accessing porn sites unless they show ID. A long-awaited new law came into effect at midnight, forcing people to prove they're over 18 by sharing an ID document or scanning their face with a camera. The sweeping changes affect websites showing porn, or anything linked to self-harm, suicide, or eating disorders - as well as social media apps showing such content. Websites that fail to implement tougher age checks face being blocked from view in the UK or being hit with hefty fines. The Online Safety Act is designed to protect children from harmful material and will be enforced by the regulator Ofcom. But many claim it's "easily exploitable". It's a "non issue for anyone with the most minimal of computing knowledge" one person wrote on Reddit. Others fear that the move could inadvertently push people to far dodgier websites. Ofcom admits there's no way to stop people using VPNs to get around the block. 'Our research shows that these are not people that are out to find porn – it's being served up to them in their feeds,' Oliver Griffiths, group director for online safety at Ofcom told The Sun. 'And we think that these measures are going to have a really big impact in terms of dealing with that particular problem. "There will be teenagers – dedicated teenagers – who want to find their way to porn, in the same way as people find ways to buy alcohol under 18. They will use VPNs. 'And actually, I think there's a really important reflection here. It's not just us, in terms of making life safer online. 'Parents having a view in terms of whether their kids have got a VPN, and using parental controls and having conversations, feels a really important part of the solution.' Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said a generation of children will not be allowed to grow up 'at the mercy of toxic algorithms' and warned tech firms 'will be held to account' if they fail to act in line with the changes. He told Sky News: 'I have very high expectations of the change that children will experience. 'And let me just say this to parents and children, you will experience a different internet really, for the first time in from today, moving forward than you've had in the past. And that is a big step forward.' Children's charities the NSPCC and Barnardo's are among those who have welcomed the new checks, as well as the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) which hunts and takes down online child abuse material. Meanwhile, a petition with more than 65,000 signatures at the time of publishing is calling for the law to be reversed, arguing the shake-up is "far broader and restrictive than is necessary in a free society". THE SHOCKING STATS Latest figures show the scale of adult content consumption online... Ofcom stats: Around 8% children aged 8-14 in the UK visited an online porn site or app in a month. 15% of 13–14-year-olds accessed online porn in a month. Boys aged 13-14 are the most likely to visit a porn service, significantly more than girls the same age (19% vs 11%). Our research tells us that around three in ten (29%) or 13.8m UK adults use porn online. Pornhub is the most used site in the UK – Ofcom research says 18% (8.4m) visited it in one month. Children's Commissioner stats: Of the 64% who said that they had ever seen online pornography: The average age at which children first see pornography is 13. By age nine, 10% had seen pornography, 27% had seen it by age 11 and half of children who had seen pornography had seen it by age 13. We also find that young people are frequently exposed to violent pornography, depicting coercive, degrading or pain-inducing sex acts; 79% had encountered violent pornography before the age of 18. Pornography is not confined to dedicated adult sites. We found that Twitter was the online platform where young people were most likely to have seen pornography.
