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Funding for refugees has long been politicized − punitive action against UNRWA and Palestinians fits that pattern

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nicholas-r-micinski-207353">Nicholas R. Micinski</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-maine-2120">University of Maine</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kelsey-norman-862895">Kelsey Norman</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rice-university-931">Rice University</a> At least a dozen countries, including the U.S., have <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/01/1145987">suspended funding to the UNRWA</a>, the United Nations agency responsible for delivering aid to Palestinian refugees. This follows allegations made by Israel that <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/at-least-12-u-n-agency-employees-involved-in-oct-7-attacks-intelligence-reports-say-a7de8f36">12 UNRWA employees participated</a> in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. The UNRWA responded by <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/un-palestinian-refugee-agency-investigates-staff-suspected-role-israel-attacks-2024-01-26/">dismissing all accused employees</a> and opening an investigation. While the seriousness of the accusations is clear to all, and the U.S. has been keen to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/30/us/politics/aid-gaza-israel.html">downplay the significance</a> of its pause in funding, the action is not in keeping with precedent. Western donors did not, for example, defund other U.N. agencies or peacekeeping operations amid accusations of <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/01/11/un-peacekeeping-has-sexual-abuse-problem">sexual assault</a>, <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/former-un-general-assembly-president-and-five-others-charged-13-million-bribery-scheme">corruption</a> or <a href="https://www.hrw.org/legacy/summaries/s.bosnia9510.html">complicity in war crimes</a>. In real terms, the funding cuts to the UNRWA will affect <a href="https://www.unrwa.org/where-we-work/gaza-strip">1.7 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza</a> along with an additional 400,000 Palestinians without refugee status, many of whom benefit from the UNRWA’s infrastructure. Some critics have gone further and said depriving the agency of funds <a href="https://jacobin.com/2024/01/unrwa-defunding-gaza-israel">amounts to collective punishment</a> against Palestinians. Refugee aid, and humanitarian aid more generally, is theoretically meant to be neutral and impartial. But as experts in <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/reluctant-reception/558E2A93FF99B8F295347A8FA2053698">migration</a> <a href="https://www.routledge.com/UN-Global-Compacts-Governing-Migrants-and-Refugees/Micinski/p/book/9780367218836">and</a> <a href="https://press.umich.edu/Books/D/Delegating-Responsibility">international relations</a>, we know funding is often used as a foreign policy tool, whereby allies are rewarded and enemies punished. In this context, we believe the cuts in funding for the UNRWA fit a wider pattern of the politicization of aid to refugees, particularly Palestinian refugees. <h2>What is the UNRWA?</h2> The UNRWA, short for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, was established two years after about <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-nakba-at-75-palestinians-struggle-to-get-recognition-for-their-catastrophe-204782">750,000 Palestinians were expelled or fled from their homes</a> during the months leading up to the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 and the subsequent Arab-Israeli war. Prior to the UNRWA’s creation, international and local organizations, many of them religious, provided services to displaced Palestinians. But after <a href="https://cup.columbia.edu/book/refuge-and-resistance/9780231202855">surveying the extreme poverty</a> and dire situation pervasive across refugee camps, the U.N. General Assembly, including all Arab states and Israel, voted to create the UNRWA in 1949. Since that time, <a href="https://www.unrwa.org/what-we-do">the UNRWA has been the primary aid organization</a> providing food, medical care, schooling and, in some cases, housing for the 6 million Palestinians living across its five fields: Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, as well as the areas that make up the occupied Palestinian territories: the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The mass displacement of Palestinians – known as the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-nakba-at-75-palestinians-struggle-to-get-recognition-for-their-catastrophe-204782">Nakba, or “catastrophe</a>” – occurred prior to the <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/about-unhcr/who-we-are/1951-refugee-convention">1951 Refugee Convention</a>, which defined refugees as anyone with a well-founded fear of persecution owing to “events occurring in Europe before 1 January 1951.” Despite a <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/legacy-pdf/4ec262df9.pdf">1967 protocol extending the definition</a> worldwide, Palestinians are still excluded from the primary international system protecting refugees. While the UNRWA is responsible for providing services to Palestinian refugees, the United Nations also created the U.N. Conciliation Commission for Palestine in 1948 to seek a <a href="https://www.refworld.org/docid/4fe2e5672.html">long-term political solution</a> and “to facilitate the repatriation, resettlement and economic and social rehabilitation of the refugees and the payment of compensation.” As a result, the UNRWA does not have a mandate to push for the traditional durable solutions available in other refugee situations. As it happened, the conciliation commission was active only for a few years and has since been sidelined in favor of the U.S.-brokered peace processes. <h2>Is the UNRWA political?</h2> The UNRWA has been <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/palestinian-refugees-dispossession">subject</a> to political headwinds since its inception and especially during periods of heightened tension between Palestinians and Israelis. While it is a U.N. organization and thus ostensibly apolitical, it has <a href="https://cup.columbia.edu/book/refuge-and-resistance/9780231202855">frequently been criticized</a> by Palestinians, Israelis as well as donor countries, including the United States, for acting politically. The UNRWA performs statelike functions across its five fields – including education, health and infrastructure – but it is restricted in its mandate from performing political or security activities. Initial Palestinian objections to the UNRWA stemmed from the organization’s early focus on economic integration of refugees into host states. Although the UNRWA officially adhered to the U.N. General Assembly’s <a href="https://www.unrwa.org/content/resolution-194">Resolution 194</a> that called for the return of Palestine refugees to their homes, U.N., U.K. and U.S. <a href="https://cup.columbia.edu/book/refuge-and-resistance/9780231202855">officials searched</a> for means by which to resettle and integrate Palestinians into host states, viewing this as the favorable political solution to the Palestinian refugee situation and the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In this sense, Palestinians perceived the UNRWA to be both highly political and actively working against their interests. In later decades, the UNRWA <a href="https://cup.columbia.edu/book/refuge-and-resistance/9780231202855">switched its primary focus</a> from jobs to education at the urging of Palestinian refugees. But the UNRWA’s education materials were <a href="https://cup.columbia.edu/book/refuge-and-resistance/9780231202855">viewed</a> by Israel as further feeding Palestinian militancy, and the Israeli government insisted on checking and approving all materials in Gaza and the West Bank, which it has occupied since 1967. While Israel has <a href="https://cup.columbia.edu/book/refuge-and-resistance/9780231202855">long been suspicious</a> of the UNRWA’s role in refugee camps and in providing education, the organization’s operation, which is internationally funded, <a href="https://www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/east-mediterranean-mena/israelpalestine/242-unrwas-reckoning-preserving-un-agency-serving-palestinian-refugees">also saves</a> Israel millions of dollars each year in services it would be obliged to deliver as the occupying power. Since the 1960s, the U.S. – UNRWA’s primary donor – and other Western countries have <a href="https://cup.columbia.edu/book/refuge-and-resistance/9780231202855">repeatedly expressed their desire</a> to use aid to prevent radicalization among refugees. In response to the increased presence of armed opposition groups, the <a href="https://cup.columbia.edu/book/refuge-and-resistance/9780231202855">U.S. attached a provision</a> to its UNRWA aid in 1970, requiring that the “UNRWA take all possible measures to assure that no part of the United States contribution shall be used to furnish assistance to any refugee who is receiving military training as a member of the so-called Palestine Liberation Army (PLA) or any other guerrilla-type organization.” The UNRWA adheres to this requirement, even publishing an annual list of its employees so that host governments can vet them, but it also <a href="https://www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/east-mediterranean-mena/israelpalestine/242-unrwas-reckoning-preserving-un-agency-serving-palestinian-refugees">employs 30,000 individuals</a>, the vast majority of whom are Palestinian. Questions over the links of the UNRWA to any militancy has led to the rise of Israeli and international <a href="https://cufi.org/issue/unrwa-teachers-continue-to-support-antisemitism-terrorism-on-social-media-un-watch/">watch groups</a> that document the social media activity of the organization’s large Palestinian staff. <h2>Repeated cuts in funding</h2> The United States has used its money and power within the U.N. to block criticism of Israel, vetoing at least <a href="https://www.un.org/depts/dhl/resguide/scact_veto_table_en.htm">45 U.N. resolutions</a> critical of Israel. And the latest freeze is not the first time the U.S. has cut funding to the UNRWA or other U.N. agencies in response to issues pertaining to the status of Palestinians. In 2011, the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE79U5ED/#:%7E:text=WASHINGTON%20(Reuters)%20%2D%20The%20United,grant%20the%20Palestinians%20full%20membership.">U.S. cut all funding to UNESCO</a>, the U.N. agency that provides educational and cultural programs around the world, after the agency voted to admit the state of Palestine as a full member. The Obama administration defended the move, claiming it was required by a 1990s law to defund any U.N. body that admitted Palestine as a full member. But the impact of the action was nonetheless severe. Within just four years, UNESCO was <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1758-5899.12459">forced to cut its staff in half</a> and roll back its operations. President Donald Trump later <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/u-s-and-israel-officially-withdraw-from-unesco">withdrew the U.S. completely from UNESCO</a>. In 2018, the Trump administration paused its <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/31/us/politics/trump-unrwa-palestinians.html">US$60 million contribution to the UNRWA</a>. Trump claimed the pause would create political pressure for Palestinians to negotiate. President Joe Biden restarted U.S. contributions to the UNRWA in 2021. <h2>Politicization of refugee aid</h2> Palestinian are not the only group to suffer from the politicization of refugee funding. After World War II, states established different international organizations to help refugees but strategically excluded some groups from the refugee definition. For example, the U.S. funded the <a href="https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/last-million-eastern-european-displaced-persons-postwar-germany">U.N. Relief and Rehabilitation Administration to help resettle displaced persons after World War II</a> but resisted Soviet pressure to forcibly repatriate Soviet citizens. The U.S. also created a separate organization, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ijrl/article-abstract/1/4/501/1598187">the precursor to the International Organization for Migration</a>, to circumvent Soviet influence. In many ways, the UNRWA’s existence and the exclusion of Palestinian refugees from the wider refugee regime parallels this dynamic. Funding for refugees has also been politicized through the earmarking of voluntary contributions to U.N. agencies. Some agencies receive funding from U.N. dues; but the UNRWA, alongside the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration, receive the majority of their funding from voluntary contributions from member states. These contributions can be earmarked for specific activities or locations, leading to donors such as the <a href="https://www.peio.me/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/PEIO12_paper_107.pdf">U.S. or European Union dictating which refugees get aid and which do not</a>. Earmarked contributions amounted to nearly <a href="https://unsceb.org/fs-revenue-agency">96% of the UNHCR’s budget, 96% of the IOM’s budget and 74% of UNRWA funding in 2022</a>. As a result, any cuts to UNRWA funding will affect its ability to service Palestinian refugees in Gaza – especially at a time when so many are <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/30/middleeast/famine-looms-in-gaza-israel-war-intl/index.html">facing hunger, disease and displacement</a> as a result of war.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222263/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nicholas-r-micinski-207353">Nicholas R. Micinski</a>, Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-maine-2120">University of Maine</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kelsey-norman-862895">Kelsey Norman</a>, Fellow for the Middle East, Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rice-university-931">Rice University</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/funding-for-refugees-has-long-been-politicized-punitive-action-against-unrwa-and-palestinians-fits-that-pattern-222263">original article</a>.

Money & Banking

Couple who found love in chemotherapy raise funds for final trip

Ainslie Plumb, 22, and Joe Fan, 29, found love in an unexpected place, at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. The couple met in 2022 while they were both undergoing leukaemia treatment. “We met at an event for young people with cancer and became friends following that,” Plumb told 7News. “(We) would hang out during our hospital stays, I asked him out in October 2022 and (we) have been together ever since.” While Plumb successfully entered remission, last October, Fan was told that he was now terminal, as doctors had run out of options to treat his Philadelphia chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. With only months left to live, Fan, who has actively given back to the hospital and cancer community by playing his violin for patients and staff and worked with the Queensland Youth Cancer Service, has one final wish - to travel. The couple have set a <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-joe-live-his-dreams" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GoFundMe</a>, to help raise funds which cover flights, accommodation and specialised travel insurance, for Fan's final trip. “I go through my cancer treatments and observe the toll that takes on my physical and mental wellbeing,” Fan said. “The end of a trip can hopefully mark the start of another — and I have held onto hope, looked forward and dreamed for one more trip, more time, one more experience with that someone I love.” Their first destination will be Taiwan and Hong Kong, where Fan's parents are from and where he spent a majority of his childhood. They also intend to travel to New Zealand and Western Australia to swim with whale sharks at Ningaloo in the state’s north. “We’re aiming at going at the end of February to give us time to co-ordinate with his doctors around his appointments and infusions, which are all booked in advance,” Plumb said. “We recently reached 75 per cent on the fundraiser and are hoping to hit 100 per cent perhaps by the end of January.” As of today, the couple have successfully raised over $21,000 from their $20,000 goal, and have thanked everyone in their community and strangers for their support. “Truly, words do not suffice,” the couple said. Images: 7News

Relationships

How do I find out what my superannuation fund invests in? A finance expert explains

You want your superannuation savings to be invested in things that also serve the planet’s long-term interests. But how can you be sure your fund’s values align with yours – or even its own claims? This question has become increasingly pertinent as demand for environmentally and socially sustainable investments <a href="https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2022-releases/22-141mr-how-to-avoid-greenwashing-for-superannuation-and-managed-funds/">grows</a> – and with it incentives for financial institutions to put the best spin on their offerings. One consultancy specialising in “responsible investment” reckons <a href="https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/superannuation/2021/08/16/greenwashing-super-funds/">10% of the funds</a> it has examined do not have the sustainability orientation they claim. Among those <a href="https://www.edo.org.au/2022/08/10/hestas-fossil-fuel-investments-may-amount-to-a-breach-of-the-law/">accused of greenwashing</a> in recent months is one of Australia’s biggest super funds, HESTA (the industry fund for health and community service workers), which has promoting its “clean energy” credentials while still holding shares in fossil-fuel companies <a href="https://www.ai-cio.com/news/australias-hesta-accused-of-greenwashing/">Woodside and Santos</a>. So how can you check what your superannuation fund invests in? Super funds are legally obliged to disclose how they invest your money in two different disclosure documents – a Product Disclosure Statement and a Portfolio Holdings Disclosure. Both will be available on a super fund’s website, though how easily you can find them will vary. The rest of this article is going to explain what information these documents provide, how useful this information is likely to be, and your best bet to ensure your super fund reflects your values. <h2>The Product Disclosure Statement</h2> Product disclosure statements are required by the financial regulator (the Australian Securities and Investments Commission) for all financial products. This document outlines the most basic but important information of an investment product’s features, benefits, risks and costs, including fees and taxes. The format is standardised, with one section (Section 5) covering with “How we invest your money”. The information it contains is broad. At best you’ll learn how the fund splits its investments between safe and riskier assets, and between different asset classes – Australian shares, international shares, property trusts, infrastructure trust, cash and so on. <h2>Portfolio Holding Disclosure</h2> For a comprehensive look at where your money is invested in, you can consider the Portfolio Holdings Disclosure. This document lists a fund’s complete holdings – including the percentage and value of every single company stock held. Portfolio holdings disclosures are relatively new, being obligatory only since March 2022 under <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2021L01531">legislation</a> meant to improve transparency in the sector. However, super funds aren’t obliged to provide this information in a consistent, easily understandable way. For a non-expert who doesn’t know what to look for, the level of detail can be mind-boggling. You may find yourself scrutinising a spreadsheet listing thousands of items. The Australian Retirement Trust’s Portfolio Holdings Disclosure for its “Lifecycle Balanced Pool”, for example, has more than <a href="https://www.australianretirementtrust.com.au/investments/what-we-invest-in/superannuation-investments">8,000</a> line items. Some super funds have made the effort to provide this information in a more user-friendly format. An example is Future Super, which allows you to <a href="https://www.futuresuper.com.au/everything-we-invest-in/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=1757241588&utm_content=68234193065&utm_term=future%20super&campaigntype=SearchNetwork-1757241588&device=c&campaignid=1757241588&adgroup=68234193065&keyword=future%20super&matchtype=p&placement=&adposition=&location=9069039&gclid=CjwKCAjwmJeYBhAwEiwAXlg0AYOEe2tJViZiZBgUk3bt1h9LNuHx1jWnGy6VzqGaNjBzOEi60852JRoCel8QAvD_BwE">search and filter</a> portfolio holdings by asset class and country of origin. But if your concern is to avoid investing in some specific activity such as in mining fossil fuels or gambling, you’ll need to know the companies and other assets you want to avoid for this to be helpful. <h2>Your best options</h2> This is not to say portfolio holding disclosure obligations are useless. They are incredibly useful – a huge leap forward in the sector’s accountability. They just aren’t designed for consumers. So there is still much work to be done to make the sector truly transparent. What would really help is independent certification and ratings of super products, similar to government websites and programs that certify energy efficiency and allow comparison of electricity plans. In the meantime, I can offer you one big tip. Choose a specific superannuation product that markets itself on its environmental or social sustainability credentials. Most super funds now provide these choices alongside their more traditional investment options. There is a variety of “screening” approaches to ethical investments. Some exclude entire sectors. Others include the best environmental and social performers even among “sinful” industries such as tobacco or weapons. So just because a super product is marketed as “ethical” or “sustainable” doesn’t guarantee you will agree with all its investments. But there is a much higher likelihood of it living up to its claims due to greater scrutiny by third parties such as environmental groups as well as the financial regulator. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission put super funds on notice earlier this year with a “<a href="https://asic.gov.au/regulatory-resources/financial-services/how-to-avoid-greenwashing-when-offering-or-promoting-sustainability-related-products/">guidance note</a>” about the growing risk of greenwashing in sustainability-related financial products. It reminded funds that “making statements (or disseminating information) that are false or misleading, or engaging in dishonest, misleading or deceptive conduct in relation to a financial product or financial service” is against the law. So super funds know their portfolios are being scrutinised. Switching your investment option or fund is simpler than you think. You only need to fill out and lodge a form. Just be sure to compare fees and performance, and seek a second opinion from trustworthy adviser before “voting with your wallet”. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-i-find-out-what-my-superannuation-fund-invests-in-a-finance-expert-explains-188802" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Retirement Income

5 questions to ask before setting up self-managed super

Self-managed super funds (SMSF) continue to attract retirees looking for greater control over their finances, but is managing your own super for everyone? Here’s five questions to ask yourself before setting one up. Retirees continue to establish self-managed super funds, with SMSFs the fastest growing area within the superannuation industry. For many Australians, the advantage of managing your own super means greater flexibility in choosing where to invest the money, lower fees and better performance on average compared with industry and retail funds, and ultimately, more control of the future of your retirement income. Are you looking to manage your own SMSF? Before you do and to get a better understanding of what can be involved, wealth management firm BT Financial Group recommends asking yourself these five questions to see if setting up a SMSF is right for you. 1. Why are you looking to establish a SMSF? Historically, many prospective SMSF members have used the terms “control” and “choice” as reasons to establish a SMSF. But, this is not necessarily a feature confined to SMSFs. The ability to choose underlying investments (often thought of as also giving control by some) is a feature that is today available in a number of other types of superannuation funds. In general, the only asset classes that SMSF trustees will potentially look to invest in that can’t be achieved through a retail fund are direct property investments and investments in collectibles. 2. How many money do you have to start your SMSF? You can start your SMSF with less, but the industry recommended investment is around $200,000. This makes the cost of running the fund more competitive with other funds with a similar amount of money invested. There are incidental costs to running your SMSF which should be taken into account when deciding whether it’s a cost effective option with the balance you have. There are also costs in moving money from one fund to another, such as realising capital gains tax on the sale of existing investments, and time out of the market until investments are re-purchased. Any potential loss of insurance coverage (and the loss of possible benefits around group insurance arrangements) also needs to be considered. 3. What trustee structure will you utilise? As a trustee you have two choices here – individual or corporate. Most SMSFs have been established with an individual trustee structure, on the basis that it’s initially cheaper and easier. However, the benefits of a corporate structure should not be ignored. It has future benefits for the efficient running of the fund. For example, any direct shareholdings of an SMSF need to be registered in the name of the trustees. With individual trustees, when new members are added or removed, changes are required to the share register. If held via a corporate trustee, however, any changes in membership of the fund doesn’t require share registry changes, as it’s only the directors of the corporate trustee that change – not the trustee itself. 4. Have you thought about the fund’s investment strategy? One big requirement in managing a SMSF is to have a sound investment strategy, which complies with the sole purpose test requirements and assists in managing and growing super savings. You should consider diversification, risk and return. Given the recent amendments to super law, trustees should be aware that they’re also required to review their investment strategy regularly (a good idea would be annually) and to consider the insurance needs of the fund. This doesn’t mean that insurance needs to be taken out if members are adequately covered through other means, but the considerations should be documented for future reference. 5. Do you understand your obligations and responsibilities as a SMSF trustee? One of the most common comments from new trustees is that it takes more time than they anticipated in running their own fund. All new SMSF trustees are required to sign a standard trustee declaration issued by the Australian Taxation Office. While this document does a great job of summarising many of the requirements of being a trustee and the responsibilities associated with running a SMSF, the question still remains whether trustees truly understand this or are just signing it as a matter of course for establishing the fund. In the event that something goes wrong, ignorance won’t be an excuse for trustees who have signed the form. Did you know? Not to equate a SMSF with a do-it-yourself fund. If you decide to start your own fund, you should choose experienced service providers to assist with the efficient and compliant running of your fund. This includes administrators or accountants to ensure the accounts are maintained, a lawyer for the appropriate drafting of the terms of the SMSF’s deed, a tax agent for completion of annual tax returns, and a financial planner to assist with strategy and investment decisions. Image credits: Getty Images

Retirement Income

Couple tackle the Nullabor to raise funds for polio charity

A Tasmanian couple are jumping on their bicycles ahead of their 2750-kilometre journey - and they’re doing it to raise funds for a good cause. Phil and Joyce Ogden, who have been members of Rotary for over a decade, are undertaking the trek from Perth to Adelaide as part of an epic fundraiser for Rotary’s END POLIO campaign. The campaign, which was started over 30 years ago by Rotary, UNICEF and the World Health Organisation, has been driving towards the goal of completely eradicating Polio, beginning with a project to vaccinate children in the Philippines against the disease in 1979. Now, Polio is believed to only be naturally spreading in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but according to the <a href="https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/wha65/A65_20-en.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Health Assembly</a>, failing to eradicate the disease would be a “global health emergency”. “We feel the enormous effort which has gone into turning the tide of the disease will be lost if pressure, and fundraising, is not maintained until the final handful of cases is consigned to history,” the Ogdens said in a message to all Rotarians. With the support of their South Launceston Rotary Club, the Odgens have planned to begin their trip in mid-May and hope to raise awareness of the cause along the way. “If we take our collective eyes off the ball, the disease will re-establish,” the couple said. “So, we are still committed to making our personal donations every year but felt we might harness another of our passions, cycling, to push things along - once again with the assistance of Rotary.” With limited sources of water and no shops to buy food from along the Nullarbor, the couple will carry a week’s worth of food and two days of water at a time, and they’re relying on dehydrated food which will be mailed ahead of them. Their upcoming journey isn’t a first for the Ogdens, who have covered more than 100,000 kilometres from crossing the European Alps, the Pyrenees and the Rockies. Heather Chong, the Tasmanian District Governor, praised the pair and described them as “adventurous philanthropists”. The couple have started an <a href="https://raise.rotary.org/phil-ogden/fundraiser" target="_blank" rel="noopener">online fundraiser</a> with a goal of raising $40,000. As of publication, the fundraiser has already collected $10,000 in donations, with every $1 donated prompting the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to contribute $2. Image: Supplied

Caring

Government funds bail out festival cancellations with Event Saver Fund

As another year of music festivals and summer events have been cancelled in the eleventh hour by the pandemic, the NSW government has put their hand up to help the arts. The state government recently announced the Event Saver Fund, which is aimed at financially supporting the state’s music industry that has been devastated by the latest wave of Omicron. At a recent press conference, NSW Treasurer Matt Kean revealed that a $43 million fund has been established for organisers of the cancelled events to be financially supported if they've been cancelled or may be affected by changes to public health orders. “This fund is a $43 million fund that will ensure that we will underwrite sunk costs for the festivals that could be impacted by changes to public health orders,” he said. The fund will help organisers to pay their staff and suppliers, as well as recoup other costs lost in the event planning that got cancelled or cut short due to lockdowns or border closures. Minister for the Arts Ben Franklin said the vital funding will give event organisers to continue to plan festivals without the stress of a last-minute cancellation costing them thousands. “Major events provide tremendous social benefits to the community, bringing us together to enjoy live performances,” he said. “As we look to rebound from the effects of the past two years, this funding will help support local jobs and ensure major event organisers can plan with confidence to safely deliver their events in 2022/23.” Australian Festivals Association chair Julia Robertson welcomed the Event Saver package, and emphasised how much the industry has suffered since the start of the pandemic. “This package is really great for building confidence,” she said. “For helping those festivals that have got events coming up — to maintain those festival lineups — but also to those events that have had to be cancelled over the last couple of weeks due to the Omicron variant. “We will be able to help those events recover some of those costs that they’ve lost. We’ve got a really long way to building that confidence for the festival industry, so thank you.” Image credits: Getty Images

Music

Labor’s proposed $10 billion social housing fund isn’t big as it seems, but it could work

The centrepiece of Labor’s election program so far is its A$10 billion social housing policy, officially called the <a href="https://alp.org.au/policies/housing_future_fund">Housing Australia Future Fund</a>. In the first five years the fund would be used to build <ul> <li> 20,000 social housing properties for people on low incomes - 4,000 of the 20,000 for women and children fleeing violence and for low income older women at risk of homelessness </li> <li> 10,000 “affordable” housing properties </li> <li> $200 million for the repair, maintenance and improvements of housing in remote Indigenous communities </li> <li> $100 million for crisis and transitional housing for women and children fleeing violence and for low income older women at risk of homelessness </li> <li> $30 million to build more housing and fund specialist services for veterans who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness </li> </ul> Although needed, its a far short of the 100,000 extra social housing units we would have had if social housing been growing in line with total housing in recent years, a gap that is climbing by 4,000 homes a year. And, like the frilled-neck lizard, the $10 billion looks much bigger than it is. Labor could probably do what it has promised to do for $450 million per year. Instead, it says it would borrow $10 billion at low interest rates, invest the money for much higher returns, and use the proceeds to pay for the program. If the fund earns 4.5% more than the cost of borrowing it’ll get the $450 million per year. Rather than use the money to build the houses it will use the money to fund service payments to community housing providers who build them. As Labor points out, it’s a mechanism used by the current government, which has set up five such funds in addition to the <a href="https://www.futurefund.gov.au/">Future Fund</a> used to fund public service pensions (of which more later). <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440171/original/file-20220111-13-1erhnaj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440171/original/file-20220111-13-1erhnaj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> <a href="https://alp.org.au/policies/housing_future_fund" class="source">Extract from Labor's Housing Australia Future Fund election policy</a> Two of these funds, the Medical Research Future Fund and the Disability Care Australia Fund are actually bigger than the proposed Housing Fund. A problem with this structure designed to make the commitment look bigger than it is is that spending on social housing will depend on the returns of the fund. Allocating money from one source to spending on one particular purpose is called <a href="https://www.cis.org.au/app/uploads/2015/07/pm75.pdf">hypothecation</a>, a word closely related to “<a href="https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/429589/is-hypothecate-anything-to-do-in-origin-or-meaning-with-hypothetical/570700">hypothetical</a>”. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440181/original/file-20220111-19-6m0mfi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440181/original/file-20220111-19-6m0mfi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> Medicare funding is independent of the levy. Dean Lewins/AAP The Medicare Levy of 2% of most taxable incomes is intended to be for funding Medicare, but funds only part of it. In contrast, there doesn’t appear to be any plan to guarantee payments for social housing if in any year the Social Housing Fund fails to make money. The bigger question is whether it makes sense for governments to use funds like the Future Fund to put money into income-generating investments in private companies (the Future Fund invests in <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/1918/20200630_-_Top_100_largest_listed_equity_holdings.pdf">Apple, Microsoft and the Commonwealth Bank</a>) or to use any available funds to pay down government debt. The answer depends in part on whether the profits the funds earn are genuine or mere compensation for the risky business of investing in shares, which can always go wrong. My work on the so-called “equity premium”, the excess return for investing in shares, suggests that is <a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/15061616.pdf">genuine</a> and exceeds what’s needed to compensate for risk, making investment in the stock market an appealing option for governments in the absence of better opportunities. But the premium is not limitless, for two reasons. One is that if governments borrow enough and buy enough shares, we can reasonably expected the government’s cost of borrowing to rise and the rate of return on shares to fall, reducing the equity premium. The other is that if buying shares is pursued far enough, governments will become major, or even majority, shareholders in large businesses, effectively becoming owners. <h2>Future funds should invest in what governments do best</h2> Long experience suggests that while governments are quite good at running some types of businesses (especially those involving infrastructure and requiring large amounts of capital) they are not nearly as good at running others. Retailing comes to mind. If we accept that large debt-financed public investment can make sense, it follows that governments should own as much as 100% of some types of businesses (businesses such as Telstra come to mind) and little or none of others, such as shopping centres, which Australia’s government <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7139681/the-sale-of-belconnen-mall/">did indeed once own</a>. And that was generally the way Australia’s economy worked during the brief period of broadly shared-prosperity in the mid-20th century. Governments borrowed at low rates and invested in physical and social infrastructure, such as roads and communications services. The more funds there are like Labor’s proposed Housing Australia Future Fund the more likely it is we will get back there.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/174406/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/john-quiggin-2084">John Quiggin</a>, Professor, School of Economics, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/labors-proposed-10-billion-social-housing-fund-isnt-big-as-it-seems-but-it-could-work-174406">original article</a>.

Real Estate

The compelling case for a future fund for social housing

As more and more Australians are forced into private renting, including Australians who once would have owned homes or lived in social housing, more are living in <a href="https://www.acoss.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/ACOSS_Poverty-in-Australia-Report_Web-Final.pdf">poverty</a>, suffering <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/912-Money-in-retirement.pdf">financial stress</a> and becoming <a href="https://blog.grattan.edu.au/2019/06/who-is-homeless-in-australia/">homeless</a>. Social housing – where rents are typically capped at 25% of tenants’ incomes – used to make a big difference to the lives of many vulnerable Australians. Infrastructure Victoria has found that it makes a big difference to homelessness. Only 7% of renters in social housing subsequently become homeless, compared to 20% of private renters. But the stock of social housing – currently around 430,000 dwellings – has barely grown in 20 years, during a time Australia’s population has grown 33%. Given that most social housing tenants stay for more than five years, the stagnating stock of such housing means there are few openings available for people whose lives take a turn for the worse. We not only have fewer social houses per person, we also have vastly fewer openings for anyone looking. <h2>The fund would leverage cheap money</h2> Social housing is expensive. The capital cost per unit over and above what is recouped in rent amounts to about A$300,000. A new Grattan Institute paper released on Monday makes the case for a $20 billion federal government <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/news/a-place-to-call-home-its-time-for-a-social-housing-future-fund/">Social Housing Future Fund</a>, which would make regular capital grants to state governments and community housing providers. Future funds are not unusual. The <a href="https://www.futurefund.gov.au/about-us/who-we-are/board-of-guardians">Future Fund Board of Guardians</a>, chaired by former Commonwealth Treasurer Peter Costello already manages $247.8 billion in assets across six funds addressing problems ranging from covering federal public servants’ superannuation entitlements to drought to disability care to medical research. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434062/original/file-20211126-27-iuq4w2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434062/original/file-20211126-27-iuq4w2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> Peter Costello chairs the Future Fune Board of Guardians. Dean Lewins/AAP The endowment for the Social Housing Future Fund could be established by borrowing at today’s ultra-low interest rates. Some states, including Victoria, NSW, and Queensland already operate social housing investment funds, some financed by privatisations, others financed by government borrowing. The funds would be managed by the existing Future Fund Board of Guardians with only the returns above inflation used to provide capital grants for housing, maintaining the real value of the fund over time. Capital grants for new social housing units would be allocated by the existing <a href="https://www.nhfic.gov.au/">National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation</a> via competitive tenders after specifying dwelling size, location and subsidies for tenants. As is the case with the existing Future Fund, the funding would be off budget, with only each year’s profits or losses affecting the budget balance. The extra $20 billion in gross government debt would be small compared to the nearly <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-09/federal-budget-2020-debt-deficit-blowout-explained/12741472">$1 trillion</a> currently on issue, supported by about $500 billion a year in federal government revenues. <h2>How much could a $20 billion fund support?</h2> A $20 billion fund that achieved after-inflation returns of 4-5%, could over time provide $900 million each year – enough to deliver 3,000 extra social housing units a year in perpetuity, assuming capital grants of $300,000 per dwelling. Starting in 2022-23, the fund could build 24,000 social housing dwellings by 2030, and 54,000 by 2040. Future governments would be at liberty to top up the fund, helping expand the social housing share of the national housing stock. <hr /> <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434215/original/file-20211127-23-1xithw8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434215/original/file-20211127-23-1xithw8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> Assuming $300,000 capital grant per dwelling, indexed to inflation. <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/news/a-place-to-call-home-its-time-for-a-social-housing-future-fund/" class="source">Source: Grattan analysis</a> <hr /> The <a href="https://alp.org.au/policies/housing_future_fund">Labor Party</a> has proposed something similar, in which funds are used for annual service payments to community housing providers rather than via upfront capital grants. The on-budget cost of our proposal would be modest: about $400 million a year, or less than 0.1% of federal government spending in the form of interest costs. Alternatively, part of the above-inflation return from the fund each year could be used to cover these costs, leaving $500 million available to fund the construction of nearly 1,700 new social housing units per year with no hit to the budget. The Commonwealth should require state governments to match its contributions. <h2>States could double the money</h2> Any state that did not agree to provide matching contributions would be ineligible for capital grants for social housing in that year, with the savings reinvested in the Future Fund and distributed across all states the following year. If matched state funding was forthcoming, the fund could provide 6,000 social homes a year – enough to stop social housing shrinking as a share of the total housing stock. This would double the build to 48,000 new homes by 2030, and 108,000 by 2040, boosting the current stock by one quarter. <hr /> <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434216/original/file-20211127-23-h5zalb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434216/original/file-20211127-23-h5zalb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> Assuming $300,000 capital grant per dwelling, indexed to inflation. <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/news/a-place-to-call-home-its-time-for-a-social-housing-future-fund/" class="source">Source: Grattan analysis</a> By itself, a Social Housing Future Fund wouldn’t solve the housing crisis for low-income Australians. We would still need to boost rent assistance for people on income support and do more to boost housing supply to bring rents down. But it would give a much-needed helping hand to some of our most vulnerable, and keep social housing there for future generations should they need it.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172508/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/brendan-coates-154644">Brendan Coates</a>, Program Director, Economic Policy, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/grattan-institute-1168">Grattan Institute</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-compelling-case-for-a-future-fund-for-social-housing-172508">original article</a>. Image: Shuttershock

Real Estate

Dad spends daughter’s wedding fund on car and holiday

After posting about his situation on <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/mhgoq5/aita_for_spending_my_daughters_wedding_fund_on_a/" target="_blank">Reddit</a>, a father has been questioning whether it was wrong of him to spend the $35,000 (AUD $45,045) he had saved for his daughter’s wedding on gifts for himself instead. In the post, he explained his daughter’s wedding had been postponed for more than a year, ending with her choosing to elope rather than going through with the ceremony. Having saved the cash for the wedding fund, the man said he was ‘thrilled’ that his daughter was still able to get married, but also that he could ‘put [the money] to other use’. He revealed that he used the money to treat himself to a new car and take his wife on a holiday. ‘I didn’t think this was controversial,’ the man said. But, his decision has caused major controversy. Just weeks after the daughter had eloped, she asked whether she could dip into the fund of savings to put a down payment on a property. After learning that he had spent the cash, his daughter and ex-wife called him out as ‘selfish’. Her dad defended himself, saying, ‘I never told her it was a wedding or whatever she wanted fund, so I didn’t think I did anything wrong.’ But he’s questioning whether his opinion was biased. ‘I’m a blue collar guy. She knew that I had money put aside for her wedding,’ he added. ‘I never told her it was a fund for her to use on whatever. I paid for her [university] and planned on paying for her wedding but beyond that didn’t plan on paying her way through life.’ The Reddit post received over 1,000 comments, many sided with him and supported his decision to spend the money he’d earned on himself. ‘[This man] paid for his daughter’s entire [university] tuition and living expenses so she’s starting out in life with zero debt,’ one user replied. ‘Isn’t that gift enough?’ Another said, ‘[Your] daughter is allowed to be disappointed, but not an ungrateful, entitled brat.’ Offering a more neutral view, a third commenter said, ‘At the end of the day, it is your money and adult children are not owed houses, cars or weddings by their parents’, claiming they ‘personally’ would have ‘at least given her some of the money as a wedding present.’

Money & Banking

Man who rescued baby whale plans to donate fine funds to marine charities

<div class="body_text "> Django Hopkins didn’t think twice when he saw a baby whale calf tangled in shark netting and rescued the whale in his tinny. However, as Hopkins is from Queensland, it’s illegal to interfere with equipment used for shark control and he could have received a possible fine of up to $26,900. A fundraising page was set up to cover the costs of the fine and it quickly raised more than $20,000. "The GoFundMe page is by two guys I don't even know – they started it, and I think it's about $24,000 today," Hopkins said. He’s made it clear he’s not planning on pocketing the money, as a Department of Fisheries investigation has cleared him of any serious breaches. "It can either go to Sea Shepherd or it can go back to them - I'm not just going to get it and go to the pub when they open." The whole experience of saving the calf was “the best part of the whole thing”, according to Hopkins. "I'm a typical Aussie male, I do stuff first and think about it later. There was no real thinking, I saw it and that was it, you just get going and get in the water," Django told 2GB's Ben Fordham on Thursday. "(Saving the calf) was the best part of the whole thing. Because of the adrenaline going through the whole experience, I can barely remember any of it." <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"><iframe class="embed-responsive-item" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2jk90q1eTtc"></iframe></div> He also holds no ill will towards the Department of Fisheries and said they’ve done the right thing. "It's hard to put yourself in the position where you're going to break the law or help something or someone, but they have pulled bodies out of these things - so I get it on their behalf." The whole experience wouldn’t stop him from helping another animal in distress but warns others not to do the same. "I was going straight in. I'm not scared of it, to be honest," he said. "I wouldn't recommend everyone go and do it, its highly dangerous." </div>

Travel Trouble

Family suing after routine surgery leaves daughter brain damaged

A heartbroken family are suing a Melbourne hospital after their eight-year-old daughter suffered brain damage during a routine operation. Taylah Burns went into hospital for surgery in November 2019 after she was suffering from headaches and a cyst was found on her brain. The brain surgery was meant to drain the cyst but did not work. After attempting the surgery for a second time to insert a shunt, Taylah emerged a different child from the operation as she suffered irreparable brain damage. “She doesn’t talk anymore, she doesn’t interact - she just sort of lays in the bed,” Taylah’s mother Melanie Burns told <a rel="noopener" href="https://7news.com.au/news/medicine/melbourne-family-sue-monash-childrens-hospital-over-daughter-taylahs-brain-surgery-c-1045403" target="_blank">7NEWS</a>. “There is very little recovery, we have been told. We’ll get some things back, but the things we’ll get back will be at a different level,” father Cameron said. The family are now suing Monash Children’s Hospital for negligence. “A full review involving an external expert will be established, and Safer Care Victoria has been advised,” Monash Health said in a statement. The family are also struggling with the financial strain after the injury as both their home and car will now need to be wheelchair accessible. They have launched a <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/fvu8ts-treatment-for-taylah" target="_blank">GoFundMe page</a> for financial support, and at time of writing, have raised over $40,000 for the treatment she needs. Photo credits: <a rel="noopener" href="https://7news.com.au/news/medicine/melbourne-family-sue-monash-childrens-hospital-over-daughter-taylahs-brain-surgery-c-1045403" target="_blank">7News</a>

Caring

5 ways to protect yourself from identity theft

It’s hard to guarantee total protection against hackers and with more people losing money to scammers, it’s important to do your best to stay vigilant. Recent Scamwatch figures show that in 2019, Aussies lost $4.3 million to scammers, which is almost three times more than was lost the year before. With scams becoming more sophisticated, the onus is on you to stop your money from being stolen. Here are five ways to protect yourself from identity theft. (AN: will number later, just hate doing it in a word doc as it doesn’t copy properly to umbraco) 1. Always check your emails In order to get into your accounts, a hacker will try many different passwords or sometimes reset it. If you see a password reset email and you can’t remember requesting one, this can be a major red flag. 2. Set up two-factor authentication This is a two-step process that you can add to your account login. This increases security on your account as it requires a different piece of information outside your password. It is usually a temporary code which is sent as a text message to your phone. How does it work? After you enter your password, you’ll be asked to enter in the code that has been sent to your phone. Some websites have a time limit on the code so if you don’t enter it before the time limit expires, the code will no longer work. This also means that if hackers gain access to your password, they won’t receive the temporary code and won’t be able to get into your account. 3. Consider a PO box Having an outdoor mailbox makes you more vulnerable to identity theft as anyone can help themselves to the personal documents that are sent to your home. Your mail provides information like your full name, bank account details, tax file number and your address. Hackers can also steal bank cards if they’re sent to your home address. If you decide to get a PO box, your mail will be kept in a secure place under lock and key. However, if you don’t want to get a PO box, you can request to send personal documents and bank cards to a secure location. 4. Monitor your credit report Every time you apply for a loan or a credit card, it’s listed on your credit report. You are able to check your credit for free every few months to make sure all listing are correct. If you notice any suspicious activity, contact the relevant bank or lender and let them know that the listing is fraudulent. 5. Check your transaction history Review your purchases every couple of weeks to make sure there aren’t any suspicious transactions. If you notice any transactions that aren’t yours, put your card on hold and contact your bank immediately. You may also need to cancel your existing card and order a replacement.

Money & Banking

New study shows men feel stressed if female partners earn more than 40 percent of household income

The best marriages are probably based on teamwork. But it seems individual contributions do matter – specifically, who earns how much of the household income. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0146167219883611">My research</a> shows that in, heterosexual couples, men are happier when both partners contribute financially – but much prefer to be the main breadwinners. With stress levels high when they are sole breadwinners, men appear to be more relaxed when their wives or partners earn anything up to 40% of the household income. But their distress levels increase sharply as their spouse’s wages rise beyond that point. And they find it most stressful when they are entirely economically dependent on their partners. The findings are based on an <a href="https://psidonline.isr.umich.edu/">analysis</a> of over 6,000 married or cohabiting heterosexual couples over a period of 15 years. Levels of distress are calculated based on feeling sad, nervous, restless, hopeless, worthless, or that day to day life is an effort. Men who are the only earners are relatively unhappy but they were not as stressed as men whose partners are the principal earners. Neither of the extreme scenarios is good for male mental health. The exception is men who knowingly partner with a high-earning woman. These men do not appear to suffer from higher psychological distress when their partners earn more. People do not pick their partners at random, so if the woman was the higher earner before marriage, then the potential income gap was already clear to the man – perhaps even a reason to partner with them. Balance of power There are a variety of reasons which may explain why husbands who are “outearned” by their partners may suffer from psychological distress. When one person in a couple earns a much greater proportion of the joint income, it may create a relationship imbalance. For example, if the relationship deteriorates significantly, the possibility of divorce or separation can make the lower earner feel more vulnerable, financially speaking. These effects are larger among cohabiting couples, possibly due to the <a href="https://ifstudies.org/blog/less-stable-less-important-cohabiting-families-comparative-disadvantage-across-the-globe">higher probability of break up</a>. Even if breaking up is not on the cards, money that comes into the household predominantly through one partner also affects the balance of power. This is important if partners have a different view on what is best for their family, how much to save, what to spend their money on, and various plans and big decisions. Traditional gender identity norms Another theory involves the historic effect of social, psychological and cultural norms when it comes to gender roles. The social construct of a male breadwinner has been highly durable in the past. For generations, in many cultures, there has been an expectation that men will be the primary income provider in the family, and masculinity is highly linked to <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1389781?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">fulfilling this expectation</a>. Faced with a change in this outcome by being outearned by their partners, means men are likely to experience high levels of psychological distress. But the reality is that things are changing. In places like the US, the percentage of wives outearning their husbands <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/630326/pdf">is growing</a>. In 1980, only 13% of married women earned about as much or more than their husbands. In 2000, that figure almost doubled to 25%, and in 2017 it was 31%. This trend is likely to continue into the future and similar patterns <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1136176">have been observed</a> in other countries. The stress of being a sole bread winner On average, men in my study said they experienced the lowest levels of psychological distress when their partners earned no more than 40 percent of household income. But for men, being the sole breadwinner may also come at a psychological price. For even if social gender norms support this situation, being the only income earner in a household comes with a lot of responsibility and pressure and so may result in significant anxiety and distress. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/302676/original/file-20191120-524-40h5dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /> How perceived stress levels vary. Joanna Syrda, Author provided And while the emerging profile of a female breadwinner and its possible consequences has been <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225702056_The_Female_Breadwinner_Phenomenological_Experience_and_Gendered_Identity_in_WorkFamily_Spaces">widely researched</a>, very little attention has been devoted to the psychological hurdles faced by male primary breadwinners. This lack of research is perhaps symptomatic of the strength of the male bread-winning tradition. Health and wellbeing research is typically devoted to new phenomena, rather than widely accepted norms in society. <a href="https://academic.oup.com/qje/article/130/2/571/2330321">Gender identity norms</a> clearly still induce a widely held aversion to a situation where the wife earns more than her husband. And as the number of women outearning their male partners grows, the traditional social norm of the male breadwinner may begin to adjust.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/126620/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/joanna-syrda-386410">Joanna Syrda</a>, Lecturer in Business Economics, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-bath-1325">University of Bath</a> This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/men-feel-stressed-if-their-female-partners-earn-more-than-40-of-household-income-new-research-126620">original article</a>.

Money & Banking

What rich people won’t tell you

Most of the world's mega-rich weren't always rolling in it. Here's how to become a money magnet... We’re cheapskates and proud of it “I think about it this way: not spending money is the same as making money. So if I save $2000 by not flying first class, that’s the same as someone paying me $2000. Wouldn’t you sit in an uncomfortable chair for three hours for $2000?” says a successful US plastic surgeon “When you open up the paper and you see those coupons, it looks like dollar bills staring you in the face … It’s how I grew up. Why not?” agrees Hilary Swank to talk show host Kelly Ripa, on clipping coupons “People are always surprised that I don’t have a closetful of suits. I buy three suits every five or so years and own only ten in total. That’s all I need.” T. Boone Pickens, oil billionaire, explains in an interview with Kiplinger’s magazine in 2012 “I go to the ATM only once a week and pay for everything with cash. That way, I’m forced to stay on a budget without counting pennies and saving receipts. I can spend only what is in my wallet. I turn it into a game where each week, I reduce my ATM withdrawal amount by $20 to determine how low I can really go,” recommends Alan Corey, author of A Million Bucks by 30 “We have neighbours who are billionaires, but you would never know it. The really wealthy are usually not the ones who wear the most expensive clothes, have the latest handbags, or drive flashy cars. In Martha’s Vineyard, you see a lot of people who live in houses that sell for $10 million driving ten-year-old Toyotas,” says a successful US plastic surgeon We’re just like you “Many of the super-wealthy have huge homes with specific rooms dedicated to entertaining. Your home might not have a ballroom, but you can save yourself stress by creating an off-limits area when entertaining. Bonus: you can shove the ‘I don’t know what to do with this stuff’ pile into one of those rooms and shut the door,” a real estate broker from Million Dollar Listing New York on television explained. “Contrary to popular belief, the rich do pay taxes – a lot of taxes. And they don’t all have teams of high-priced lawyers and accountants to do the paperwork. Many of them do their own with [US tax software] TurboTax, just like the rest of the world,” recommends a partner at a prestigious law firm “Millionaires tend to pay about $16– including tip – for a haircut at a traditional barbershop.” Researchers from the University of Georgia Survey Research Institute discovered. We loathe waste “I get a tremendous amount of satisfaction from not wasting things. I still collect all the tiny pieces of soap and put them together into one bar. I still squeeze the toothpaste tube dry. And I grow a lot of my own vegetables,” laughs August Turak, founder of two successful software companies and author of Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks “One time my granddaughter was filling out all this paperwork, and there were several paper clips. I told her to take them off so she could reuse them. She said, ‘Grandma, do you know how cheap paper clips are?’ I said, ‘Do you know how far a penny can stretch when you need it to?’” Pat Brennan, co-owner of Brennan Builders, a US building company specialising in custom homes at an average price of $500,000, remembers teaching her daughter. Written by Michelle Crouch. This article first appeared in <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/money/25-things-rich-people-wont-tell-you">Reader’s Digest</a>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, <a href="http://readersdigest.innovations.co.nz/c/readersdigestemailsubscribe?utm_source=over60&utm_medium=articles&utm_campaign=RDSUB&keycode=WRN93V">here’s our best subscription offer.</a>

Money & Banking

Where there’s Wilbr, there’s a way to make a Will

Have you written your professional Will? Is it on your to-do list? More than half of New Zealanders leave this world without a professional Will each year, resulting in confusion and uncertainties for their immediate family, and the prospect of working through a mountain of complex legal paperwork during a time of intense grief. A personal binding Will shouldn’t be difficult or expensive. Even so, thousands of New Zealanders are likely to avoid the task of creating a professional Will. This is not helped by a proliferation of legally suspect online DIY will kits, and concerns over exorbitant costs charged by law firms. The process can be incredibly costly, time consuming, confusing or unclear, or just sensitive and difficult to face. Thankfully, that real stress can be avoided because an Australian-based company has created a platform that enables anyone to remotely and securely create a binding Will. <a href="https://wilbrwills.com/au/register">Wilbr</a> was founded in August 2019 by a senior lawyer with a simple goal: that access to legally binding and easy-to-navigate wills should be offered to all New Zealanders and that any friction or obstacles should be removed. All you have to do is Write, Sign and Store. The company has removed any worries about the legality of the Will by allowing people to sign digitally via its own technology, which encrypts your signature, creating total security and authenticity. Why Wilbr? The benefits of Wilbr? No waiting to see a lawyer, no hidden costs or fees, and no need to fret about the process. The Wilbr platform is seamless, transparent and easy to navigate, making the process less stressful and quite possibly, even enjoyable. You can even use the platform to calculate your own net worth. Wilbr allows anyone to commence writing their Will whenever they like, wherever they like – on their laptop, tablet or mobile device. The company offers a once-off fee Will for only $169. Approved by solicitors and barristers, Wilbr is legally binding and just as trustworthy as seeing your own local lawyer. Wilbr can be signed and verified authentically online, without the hassle of printing copious streams of paper. The Wills are stored securely online and the all-important signature is captured digitally. There is no excuse anymore for creating heartache for your loved ones. You can <a href="https://wilbrwills.com/au/register">sign up for Wilbr here</a>. This is a sponsored post in partnership with <a href="/Wilbr%20Wills">Wilbr</a>. Guest author Doron Rivlin is the founder of Wilbr Wills and a practising solicitor based in Sydney.

Retirement Life

Research shows pre-retirees worry about money "almost without exception"

New research from financial advisors has said that nearly every pre-retiree is concerned about whether or not they’ll have enough saved to fund the lifestyle they want. Concerns were also broached to financial advisors about whether the money saved will run out, despite the amount of wealth held by the retiree. Goldsborough Financial Services director Brenton Miegel said that pre-retirees are worried about money “almost without exception”. Having a “really good budget in place” can help ease your mind. “Know what you are going to spend and how you are going to spend it, and allow for unexpected expenses,” he said to <a href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/money/why-australians-worry-about-their-retirement-even-the-millionaires/news-story/c50f32aeaea499b90dd7e68b595bda72">news.com.au</a>. “Get good advice. Speak with a professional financial planner who will look at your situation and offer insight and suggestions without necessarily reinventing the wheel.” Miegel also reaffirms that you don’t need a lot of money to have a comfortable lifestyle. “You don’t have to have great wealth in order to have a comfortable lifestyle,” Mr Miegel said. “Don’t be afraid to use some of your capital to do those extra things like an overseas trip or upgrading the kitchen, without getting silly about it, because you can’t take it with you.” MidSec managing partner Nick Loxton said that most retirees were concerned about maintaining their lifestyle. “You don’t get a lot of chances at retirement and if you get it wrong the consequences are high,” he said. “There is so much information on strategies, investments and tax. Everyone’s different so they often wonder which bits apply to them.” Here are three tips that you can follow to ensure that there’s enough saved in your retirement fund. <ul> <li>Have an emergency cash back-up</li> <li>Know where your income will come from for the next five years at all times</li> <li>Budget to have 10 per cent more cash flow than you expect to spend</li> </ul>

Money & Banking

Shock as Sydney grandmother scoops $7 million lottery win

A Sydney grandmother could not be more thrilled with her lottery win of $7 million as she says she plans to sing and dance in the street after the win. She was informed of her new-found wealth by Lucky Lotteries Super Jackpot draw officials. The grandmother won the entire Jackpot Prize, which totalled $6,870,000 ($NZD 7,294,566). "My husband is still working, he isn't going to believe this. He can finally retire!" the woman told lottery officials over the phone, according to <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/sydney-grandmother-scoops-dollar7-million-lottery-win/ar-BBWXPLt?li=AAgfYrC" target="_blank">MSN</a>. "This news has made my day, my year and we will have the best Christmas of our life! "We will drink champagne and dance to celebrate!" The woman bought the winning ticket at Foodworks in Tennyson Point, and the owner of the store, Mohammed Nawaz, is thrilled as well. "We've sold a Lucky Lotteries 1st Prize in the past and a division one winning entry in Monday and Wednesday Lotto but this is by far the biggest prize we've ever sold," said Mr Nawaz. "We are thrilled. We will be telling all of our customers and we'll organise a celebration with all of our staff. "We wish the winner all the best with her prize." However, if you plan on going out and trying to get the winning ticket, Oz Lotteries have warned punters that the chance of winning the jackpot is one in 18,385,876.

News

Why Sweden's central bank dumped Australian bonds

What’s happening? Suddenly, at the level of central banks, Australia is regarded as an investment risk. On Wednesday Martin Flodén, the deputy governor of Sweden’s central bank, announced that because Australia and Canada were “<a href="https://www.riksbank.se/globalassets/media/tal/engelska/floden/2019/monetary-policy-in-a-changing-world.pdf">not known for good climate work</a>”. As a result the bank had sold its holdings of bonds issued by the Canadian province of Alberta and by the Australian states of Queensland and Western Australia. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301897/original/file-20191115-47128-1s2eoc3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301897/original/file-20191115-47128-1s2eoc3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> <a href="https://www.riksbank.se/globalassets/media/tal/engelska/floden/2019/monetary-policy-in-a-changing-world.pdf" class="source">Martin Flodén, deputy governor Sveriges Riksbank Central Bank of Sweden</a> Central banks normally make the news when they change their “cash rate” and households pay less (or more) on their mortgages. But central banks such as Australia’s Reserve Bank and the European Central Bank, the People’s Bank of China and the US Federal Reserve have broader responsibilities. They can see climate change affecting their ability to <a href="https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/working-paper/2018/climate-change-and-the-macro-economy-a-critical-review.pdf">manage their economies</a> and deliver <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/fsr/2019/oct/box-c-financial-stability-risks-from-climate-change.html">financial stability</a>. There’s more to central banks than rates As an example, the new managing director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva warned last month that the necessary transition away from fossil fuels would lead to significant amounts of “<a href="https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/central-banks-tune-in-to-climate-change-20191020-p532ev">stranded assets</a>”. Those assets will be coal mines and oil fields that become worthless, endangering the banks that have lent to develop them. More frequent floods, storms and fires will pose risks for insurance companies. Climate change will make these and other shocks more frequent and more severe. In a speech in March the deputy governor of Australia’s Reserve Bank <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/speeches/2019/sp-dg-2019-03-12.html">Guy Debelle</a> said we needed to stop thinking of extreme events as cyclical. <blockquote> We need to think in terms of trend rather than cycles in the weather. Droughts have generally been regarded (at least economically) as cyclical events that recur every so often. In contrast, climate change is a trend change. The impact of a trend is ongoing, whereas a cycle is temporary. </blockquote> And he said the changes that will be imposed on us and the changes we will need might be abrupt. <blockquote> The transition path to a less carbon-intensive world is clearly quite different depending on whether it is managed as a gradual process or is abrupt. The trend changes aren’t likely to be smooth. There is likely to be volatility around the trend, with the potential for damaging outcomes from spikes above the trend. </blockquote> Australia’s central bank and others are going further then just responding to the impacts of climate change. They are doing their part to moderate it. No more watching from the sidelines Over thirty central banks (including Australia’s), and a number of financial supervisory agencies, have created a <a href="https://www.ngfs.net/en">Network for Greening the Financial System</a>. Its purpose is to enhance the role of the financial system in mobilising finance to support the transitions that will be needed. The US Federal Reserve has not joined yet but is <a href="https://www.bis.org/review/r191111a.pdf">considering how to participate</a>. One of its credos is that central banks should <a href="https://www.bis.org/review/r191111a.pdf">lead by example</a> in their own investments. They hold and manage over A$17 trillion. That makes them enormously large investors and a huge influence on global markets. As part of their traditional focus on the liquidity, safety and returns from assets, they are taking into account climate change in deciding how to invest. The are increasingly putting their money into “<a href="https://www.bis.org/publ/qtrpdf/r_qt1909f.pdf">green bonds</a>”, which are securities whose proceeds are used to finance projects that combat climate change or the depletion of biodiversity and natural resources. Over A$300 billion worth of green bonds were issued in 2018, with the total stock now over A$1 trillion. Central banks are investing, and setting standards While large, that is still less than 1% of the stock of conventional securities. It means green bonds are less liquid and have higher buying and selling costs. It also means smaller central banks lack the skills to deal with them. These problems have been addressed by the <a href="https://www.bis.org/">Bank for International Settlements</a>, a bank owned by 60 of the central banks. In September it launched a <a href="https://www.bis.org/press/p190926.htm">green bond fund</a> that will pool investments from 140 (mostly central bank) clients. Its products will initially be denominated in US dollars but will later also be available in euros. It will be supported by an advisory committee of the world’s top central bankers. It is alert to the risk of “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwashing">greenwashing</a>” and will only buy bonds that comply with the International Capital Market Association’s <a href="https://www.icmagroup.org/green-social-and-sustainability-bonds/green-bond-principles-gbp/">Green Bond Principles</a> or the Climate Bond Initiative’s <a href="https://www.climatebonds.net/standard">Climate Bond Standard</a>. Launching the fund in Basel, Switzerland, the bank’s head of banking Peter Zöllner said he was <blockquote> confident that, by aggregating the investment power of central banks, we can influence the behaviour of market participants and have some impact on how green investment standards develop </blockquote> It’s an important role. Traditionally focused on keeping the financial system safe, our central banks are increasingly turning to using their stewardship of the financial system to keep us, and our environment, safe.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/126766/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/john-hawkins-746285">John Hawkins</a>, Assistant professor, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-canberra-865">University of Canberra</a> This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-why-swedens-central-bank-dumped-australian-bonds-126766">original article</a>.

Money & Banking

5 ways you can save money by using credit cards

Credit cards sometimes get a bad rap, and that’s mostly because they can lead you to temptation to spend beyond your means. Used responsibly, however, these little pieces of plastic can actually save you money as banks are constantly running promotions that offer discounts for spending. The key is to pay your bills in full every month so you don’t incur the astronomical interest rate, which, in Singapore, is about 25 per cent per annum. Check out these 5 ways that using credit cards can help save you money. 1. Dining deals Credit cards that offer dining deals are a foodie’s best friend and the good news is, there are plenty of such cards in Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand. Be sure to subscribe to receive promotional emails and mailers from your banks to find out about current dining deals such as 1-for-1 offers, cashback or complimentary treats at selected eateries. 2. Discounts on hotels and flights Keep an eye out for special flight or hotel deals from your credit card of choice. You can also get discounts when you book through hotel booking sites such as Agoda or Expedia. Some cards are specially designed for frequent travellers as you get complimentary use of airport lounges a number of times a year, and free travel insurance if you purchase your ticket using the card. Be aware, though, that some airlines charge a fee when you pay for your tickets online using a credit card, so do some calculations to see if it still works out cheaper. 3. Take advantage of interest-free instalment plans If you need to buy expensive electronic or electrical goods, such as a new TV or laptop, the 0 per cent interest instalment offered by most major credit cards at most major electronic stores can come in very handy. It helps spread the payments out over your chosen six or 12 months without the high interest rates you would otherwise incur if you were to pay for it upfront using your credit card. This allows you to better manage your monthly expenses and avoid overspending. Credit card companies make profits on a simple fact of human nature: we buy today and worry about how to pay for it tomorrow. 4. Discounts on everyday items Credit cards aren’t just useful for big ticket or luxury goods, they can help you save on everyday items too, such as groceries and petrol. In Singapore, cards from POSB, Citibank, HSBC and others can knock off up to 20 percent from your petrol spending each time you fill up the tank. There are many similar campaigns available in Australia and New Zealand. And with the high cost of car ownership, every single dollar counts. 5. Collect rebates and cashback If you’re not after dining deals and you don’t like going for holidays, you may want to keep it simple and just collect good ’ol rebates or cashback from your spending. In Singapore, most cashback cards require you to have a minimum spend per month, such as $500, in order to qualify for rebates. Written by Siti Rohani. This article first appeared in <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/money/5-ways-you-can-save-money-using-credit-cards">Reader’s Digest</a>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, <a href="http://readersdigest.innovations.co.nz/c/readersdigestemailsubscribe?utm_source=over60&utm_medium=articles&utm_campaign=RDSUB&keycode=WRN93V">here’s our best subscription offer.</a>

Money & Banking

Thomas Cook bosses’ took home more than $36 million despite the company being in debt

As hundreds of thousands of tourists are stranded across the country, there have been furious calls for the top earners of travel firm Thomas Cook to hand back their multimillion dollar bonuses. In the past five years alone, 12 of the company’s top earners took home a shocking $36 million despite the company facing debts of $2.9 billion when it collapsed. This is according to the UK’s <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/09/22/thomas-cook-bosses-received-20m-bonuses-last-5-years-company/" target="_blank">The Telegraph.</a> Chief executive officer Peter Fankhauser took home $15.23 million since he took on the job in 2014, whereas chief financial officers Michael Healy and Bill Scott earned a combined $12.84 million since 2014. The UK’s opposition Labour Party finance spokesman John McDonnell has said that the executives should repay their bonuses. “I think they need to really examine their own consciences about how they’ve brought this about and how they themselves have exploited the situation,” he said on BBC radio. The company was one of the world’s oldest and largest travel operators and fell into compulsory liquidation after it was unable to secure the $368 million demanded by lenders. Mr McDonnell also attacked the British Government for not doing more to help out the company. “I’m worried for the holiday-makers. I really feel for them. But also 13,000 people will lose their jobs over this and I just think the government should have been willing to do more intervene, stabilise the situation, then allow a longer term plan to develop,” he said. “This company once was in public ownership and as a result of privatisation it’s had real problems over the years I think because of issues around management and the lack of long-term planning.” However, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it would be a “moral hazard” to save the company. The liquidation has left more than 21,000 people out of work and stranded more than 600,000 holiday goers overseas. In Tunisia, things took a turn for the worse as tourists were locked inside a hotel by security guards. “Do not come to Les Orangers hotel (in) Hamamet, Tunisia, as we’re all being held hostage because Thomas Cook haven’t paid for our stays!” she said. “Everyone’s being charged nearly 3000 pounds to leave. The security gates are locked and no-one can leave nor can any coaches get in to take people out.” A spokesman for Thomas Cook later said the issue had been resolved and guests allowed to leave. "We are aware that a small number of customers were asked to pay for their hotel room before leaving Les Orangers in Tunisia … this has now been resolved and customers flew home as planned. We continue to support our customers in all our resorts," they said.

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News

Shop

Catalogues

Travel

Health

Lifestyle

Finance

Entertainment

Property

Information

Keep up to date

Search

Funding for refugees has long been politicized − punitive action against UNRWA and Palestinians fits that pattern

Couple who found love in chemotherapy raise funds for final trip

How do I find out what my superannuation fund invests in? A finance expert explains

5 questions to ask before setting up self-managed super

Couple tackle the Nullabor to raise funds for polio charity

Government funds bail out festival cancellations with Event Saver Fund

Labor’s proposed $10 billion social housing fund isn’t big as it seems, but it could work

The compelling case for a future fund for social housing

Dad spends daughter’s wedding fund on car and holiday

Man who rescued baby whale plans to donate fine funds to marine charities

Family suing after routine surgery leaves daughter brain damaged

5 ways to protect yourself from identity theft

New study shows men feel stressed if female partners earn more than 40 percent of household income

What rich people won’t tell you

Where there’s Wilbr, there’s a way to make a Will

Research shows pre-retirees worry about money "almost without exception"

Shock as Sydney grandmother scoops $7 million lottery win

Why Sweden's central bank dumped Australian bonds

5 ways you can save money by using credit cards

Thomas Cook bosses’ took home more than $36 million despite the company being in debt

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