Editorial To Philip Lowe and the RBA, enough is enough Australia's cost-of-living crisis is hitting young people and low-income earners hard although baby-boomers are doing alright. Why? Because so many of the baby boomers do not rely on salaries; so many of that group also are financially more stable than younger groups, with lower debt (including mortgages) and higher savings. Does that mean that in an ageing population such as exist in our towns in the wimmera, with so many of us baby-boomers, we should be saying ‘well it does not harm me very much, so I don’t care’? Recent Australian Bureau of Statistic (ABS) data reveals that over the past year that food and non-alcoholic beverages are up 8%, travel and accommodation has risen by 25% and medical costs are up 6.7%. Electricity costs continue to rise, up 15.5%. Therefore it is no small wonder that we in Australia are experiencing what is happening generally around the world, inflation, which is remaining stubbornly high at around 7-8%. We are told regularly that the only tool that the RBA has to control inflation is interest rates and that is supposed to keep us quiet while they go up and up. It is those with mortgages and those on lower incomes that are suffering. Basic expenses, those that pretty much all of us cannot do without, that have become expensive, and because those on lower incomes spend a larger part of their budget on non-discretionary items such as housing, petrol and food, they are suffering. Just examining housing costs we know that this expense is the most draining item and whether you’re paying rent, a mortgage, or simple utility A bills, spending money on housing is non-negotiable. However, if you're spending more than 30% of your income on housing (such as mortgage repayments or rent), you're considered to be under F "housing stress". The numbers in housing stress E must be through the roof in that case, as even those renting a modest home in a regional city, where salaries are lower, the rents are crippling. An interesting read came across our desk at North Central News looking at the difference between Cost of Living and Standard of Living. Someone needs to do some research into this C because the standard of living of those on lower incomes is falling rapidly while the standard for those on high incomes keeps them out of the reach C of the worst of inflations little nasties. Because of this, standard of living is usually a far more comprehensive measure of someone’s circumstances than cost of living. Standard of living differs widely along socio-cultural lines, too, such as race, gender, sexuality, ability, and age. It can even give us an idea of someone’s ‘quality of life’, or subjective happiness. However, cost of living is still a very important factor in understanding how we live. If someone faces a higher cost of living, it follows that their standard of living – and quality of life – might also be impacted. Therefore, when it comes to saving money and maintaining a good standard of living, basic costs are a crucial part of the equation. Many Australians have had enough, and despite aggressively fighting inflation with higher interest rates, pockets of inflation, especially around items many of us need, continue to build. It's causing harm whilst the message from the authorities has been ‘hang in there’ because many households are still well placed to absorb the ongoing financial shocks. The RBA aims for an inflation target of between 2 to 3% and we are lead to believe that interest rates will rise until that figure is on the horizon. If the RBA cannot do anything other than adjust interest rates, then action must be taken from another sector (our politicians) to relief some of this pressure. The gap is widening between the have and the have-nots and just raising interest rates is not impacting those that need to have their expenditure curbed.
Super school holidays trout stocking
18 Napier St., St. Arnaud, Victoria 3478. Phone: (03) 5495 1055; Email: ncn@iinet.net.au
THERE’S more fishing fun in stock for everyone this school holidays, with thousands of rainbow trout stocked in more than 80 lakes across Victoria. Birchip’s L ake Tchum scored the most of all the lakes in north western Victoria with 1,000 trout stocked and another 1,000 to be stocked in the September school holidays. Foletti Caravan Park, Donald will have 350 trout added and another 350 in the September school holidays. In Stawell, St George’s dam and Lake Cato will have 100 and 300 respectively with the same number in the September school holidays. Both Goldfields Reservoir and the Upper Teddington Reservoir will not have any trout stockings in this year. Minister for Outdoor Recreation Sonya Kilkenny visited Albert Park Lake and Karkarook Lake in Moorabbin to stock some of the more than 30,000 catchableQld size trout released 4217 ahead of the two-week break for students. 1 800 652 284 Ms Kilkenny said that holidays were a great opportunity to get kids into the great outdoors. “Family Fishing L akes are located across Victoria and feaTed Whillier ture good access, regular stockings of catchable-size Matt Trickeyfish and many are located within suburban areas or close to town so kids everywhere can try their luck.” From the Mallee’s Rainbow L ake to Guthridge Lake in Sale, Lake Pertobe in Warrnambool and 15 waters across metropolitan Melbourne – Family Fishing Lakes across Victoria will offer families colourful adventures in the great outdoors. The state-wide stocking program released almost 10 million fish in 2022, with the majority produced at Snobs
QUOTE OF THE WEEK Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are. - Benjamin Franklin
Page 2 - NORTH CENTRAL NEWS, WEDNESDAY JUNE 28th 2023.
Creek and the VFA’s native hatchery at Arcadia, near Shepparton. The program is supported by the reinvestment of recreational fishing licence fees and the State Government’s $96 million investment to improve fishing, boating, piers and aquaculture. Rainbow trout are the ideal catch for budding fishers as they take a variety of widely available baits like worms or PowerBait. Most Family Fishing Lakes feature pontoons or jetties, good access paths and parking for fishers of all abilities as well as other nearby
St. Arnaud, Charlton & surrounding districts
N.C.N. INFORMATION
facilities like barbecues and toilets. For the full list of waterways stocked for these holidays, visit vfa.vic.gov.au/holidaytrout. In Family Fishing Lakes, a daily bag limit of five trout applies, of which only two trout can exceed 35 centimetres. More information about bag and size limits, permitted equipQld licensing can Ament and 4217 be found in the Victorian 1Recreational 800 652 284 FFishing Guide, available free from most bait E and tackle shops, online at vfa.vic.gov.au/fishingguide or via the free ‘Vic Fishing’ app on your smartphone. Ted Whillier
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The North Central News is 100% locally owned, independent newspaper, established in 1864. With an ABC audited circulation of 1,650 copies, and an estimated readership of over 4,250 throughout the Northern Grampians and Buloke Shires. SUBSCRIPTIONS Annual subscription for 12 months is only $144.00 (inc. GST), including postage and packaging. ADVERTISING & COPY DETAILS Artwork, and all advertisements or alterations are to be submitted before 5.00pm Friday prior to publication. Announcements of births, deaths, marriages and engagements must be properly authenticated. N.C.N. prefers advertisement and editorial copy to be typed or neatly hand-written to avoid being published incorrectly. We accept no responsibility for error or misspellings in illegible advertisement and editorial copy.
DISCLAIMER The views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those held by the publisher or editor. The publisher and staff accept no liability for injury or losses which may occur as a result of information presented in this publication. © Copyright 2023
Matt Trickey
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No. 10095
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ACROSS 2 Twist 7 New 9 Comfort 11 Taken into account 14 Grinding tooth 16 Worshipped image 17 Short allegorical stories 18 Insane 20 Donkey 21 Foe 22 Insect 23 Moral 26 Man's name 28 Distress signal 30 Short arias 32 Outer covering 33 Means of communication 34 Foursided figures 36 Dwarf buffalo 37 Downhill racer 38 Garments
DOWN 1 Soldiers 2 Of a choir 3 Threepronged spear 4 Stagger 5 Sailor 6 Nourished 8 Cicatrix 10 Stiff hair 12 Preventing speaking 13 Prescribed amount 15 Whips 18 Great number 19 Daybreak 20 Weapons 22 Outdoor excursions 24 Maori posture dance 25 Emphasise 27 Undertones 29 Augury 31 Job allotted 32 Main actor 34 Narrow beam 35 Fish
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70 Woods Street, Donald — 5497 1211 See this week’s solution on page 7.
