Northern Rivers Echo
I urge eligible households to apply for the NSW Government Home Energy Action appliance program discounts to replace inefficient TVs and fridges.
The 40 and 50 per cent discounts for low income households are expected to save households an average of $140 a year on their energy bills. Replacing power hungry TVs and fridges is an easy way to lower your energy bills. Eligible households must be:- A NSW resident; and
- Hold either a valid Pensioner Concession Card, Health Care Card or Low Income Health Care Card from Centrelink or a Gold Card from Veterans’ Affairs.
The fridge being replaced is six years or older and the TV being replaced must be a plasma or cathode ray tube (CRT) TV.
The NSW Government is also working with leading community service organisations, including Northern Rivers Community Gateway, to ensure their energy hardship clients can easily access the offer, particularly those most in need across regional and remote NSW.
The offer is available until the $4 million program budget is exhausted. To apply for a subsidy, visit http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/households/appliance-replacement-offer.htm
The biggest initiative to tackle litter in the state’s history has moved a step closer to reality, with draft legislation on the NSW Government’s 10-cent container deposit scheme going out to public consultation.
The scheme, which will mean eligible drink containers between 150 ml and three litres can be returned for a 10 cent refund, is scheduled to roll out across the state in July 2017.
The container deposit scheme (CDS) was now at the stage of consulting with the public on the details.
A draft bill and discussion paper aims to provide details to the public on how the scheme was proposed to work, including:
- How the scheme will be coordinated
- How the network of collection points will work
- How refunds will work including the potential for contactless (mobile phone) refunds
- How the scheme will interact with kerbside recycling, and
- Roles and obligations under the scheme
The draft Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Amendment (Container Deposit Scheme) Bill 2016 and Regulatory Framework Discussion Paper are open for public consultation until 21 September and feedback is welcome.
View the documents and submit comments online at www.epa.nsw.gov.au/waste/cds-draft-bill-consultation.htm
Customers in NSW will be the first in the nation to be able to pay for government services using Android Pay, the new mobile wallet that can store credit cards, debit cards and loyalty cards on compatible Android smartphones.
The new contactless payment service is now available to Android users in all Service NSW centres across the state.
For more information or a guide on how to pay with Service NSW using Android Pay, visit the Service NSW website www.service.nsw.gov.au