Yahoo Finance ASX flat, $700 bill savings, and 5 other things to start your day
Good morning!
ASX: The local market market is expected to have a muted start at the open after US stocks fell overnight.
Energy bills: Aussie households could be saving more than $700 on their electricity bill under a new plan laid out by the Greens.
The proposal suggests increasing taxes on coal and gas companies, which would allow for electricity bills for everyday Australians to be frozen for two years at pre-Ukraine-invasion costs.
Crisis point: Housing and homlessness in regional NSW has reached boiling point, with legal advocates reporting a surge in calls for help.
Legal Aid NSW said services being provided to help Aussies keep their homes had increased by 53 per cent this year.
Calls for help have mostly come from regional areas, where the combination of tree-changers and widespread flooding has gutted the affordable rental market.
Spoonful of sugar: Thousands of seniors will be able to access cheaper medicine and doctor visits thanks to a new relaxed income test for concession card holders.
From today, singles earning up to $90,000 and couples earning up to $144,000 will be able to access the scheme.
The move will benefit an extra 44,000 seniors and cost the Federal Budget $69.4 million over four years.
Robodebt: The royal commission into the failed ‘robodebt’ scheme will hear from two debt-collection agencies today.
Hundreds of thousands of Australians were caught up in the illegal program which recovered more than $750 million from nearly 400,000 people.
Long weekend? If you are in need of a bit of a trip away, the NSW government wants you to consider a trip to the regions.
A stunning array of NSW national parks are set to take centre stage in a regional tourism campaign to lure Aussies keen on travelling post-pandemic.
Native farming: Growing Australian natives on a commercial level could restore balance to our ecosystem, researchers from James Cook University have suggested.
The researchers took 170 native foods and mapped the entire country to find where they would best grow.
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