Our defective lounge was replaced with a model $200 cheaper. Can we get the difference refunded?

Consumer law is on your side here, Australian policy expert Kat George writes. If the business won’t cooperate, call the Office of Fair Trading

The Guardian

Why Santos is behind your soaring electricity and mortgage costs

The extent of the damage has been nothing short of spectacular. It was a primary force behind Australia’s…
#NewsBeep #News #Headlines #AU #Australia #australiancompetitionandconsumercommission #electricitycosts #Energy #Gas #gasexports #GasPrices #LNG #santos
https://www.newsbeep.com/183262/

I don’t want to pay a card fee but the business won’t accept cash instead. Is this legal?

Australian businesses do not have to offer a cost-free way of paying, policy professional Kat George writes. But it’s a good time to make your voice heard on this issue

The Guardian

Webjet fined $9 million for excluding fees from ads, falsely confirming bookings

Travel giant Webjet has been fined $9 million after it admitted it failed to include compulsory fees in…
#NewsBeep #News #Headlines #accc #AU #Australia #australiancompetitionandconsumercommission #travelagency #webjet #webjetaccc #webjetairfares #webjetbookings #webjetfined
https://www.newsbeep.com/24206/

Australian Gas Infrastructure Group's green hydrogen gas blend reaches Gladstone customers
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-03/renewable-gas-blend-flows-to-gladstone-customers/105482274

This article contains an astonishing amount of bullshit from the fossil fuel lobby.

Cathryn McArthur is the main offender, with breathtaking lies such as:

- Ms McArthur said customers had been using the product at no additional cost. The total cost of the project was $6.48 million, which included a $2.73 million contribution from the Queensland government.
This means taxpayers have already footed the bill for part of it, and customers will be charged by the gas company for the rest of the cost.

- "This [Gladstone] project is a real-world demonstration of the potential of renewable gas. It's here, it's real, it's viable and it works."
It's not viable without government hand-outs. And she should know the laws of physics would disagree with pumping hydrogen through through existing pipes into homes.

- "It is a 10 per cent blend but you've got to start somewhere, and hopefully one day we will see that at 100 per cent."
No. Just no. The gas company might be trying to put 10% hydrogen into the pipe at the factory, but due to leakages, not all that hydrogen makes it to the other end of the pipe. And there is no way in hell people will be cooking with 100% hydrogen in domestic kitchens. Again, that's not how physics works.

- Ms McArthur said the company had planned and costed for minor modifications to its existing network which would allow them to distribute 100 per cent green hydrogen.
Cathryn McArthur is wrong again. For this to work, the gas company will need to replace their entire distribution infrastructure -- every pipe, pipe-fitting, valve, sensor, and gas-meter. Then you replace your home appliances for cooking, heating, and hot water.

It's greenwashing by the Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG) to prolong the use of fossil gas in Australia. They're not serious about tackling climate change. They're using Green Hydrogen and "carbon neutral" as a smokescreen to keep pushing their pollution until 2050.

This announcement at the Hydrogen Park Gladstone facility was timed to deflect attention from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) saying gas companies are making false claims and greenwashing.

#AusPol #Greenwashing #AustralianGasInfrastructureGroup #AGIG #FossilGas #FossilFuel #FossilFuels #ClimateChange #ClimateDisaster #Hydrogen #GreenHydrogen #AustralianCompetitionAndConsumerCommission #ACCC

Australian Gas Infrastructure Group's green hydrogen gas blend reaches Gladstone customers

A central Queensland city has become the first in the country to deliver blended green hydrogen gas in its entire distribution network, but experts warn it does not go far enough in reducing emissions.

ABC News
An impending gas shortfall in eastern Australia? This is just gas market Groundhog Day

The ACCC has been running an inquiry into the sector since 2017 and has been saying the same thing every year. The answer is obvious

The Guardian
Popular sunscreens accused of greenwashing by ACCC over ‘reef-friendly’ claims

Consumer regulator claims owner of Hawaiian Tropic and Banana Boat misled consumers but company stands by products

The Guardian
Australian consumer watchdog takes gas company to court alleging it misled consumers over renewables claim

The ACCC says it launched investigation into Australian Gas Networks after complaints from consumers and conservation advocates

The Guardian
Is it really possible to fly ‘carbon neutral’ with Qantas? A greenwashing complaint to the ACCC hopes to find out

A spokesperson for the airline says it is doing ‘what we can with what’s available now’ after Environmental Defenders Office singles out ‘carbon neutral’ claim

The Guardian

Farmer, industry groups question how Australian beef can be cheaper in Japan than at Coles and Woolworths
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-28/australian-beef-cheaper-tokyo-supermarket-than-coles-woolworths/103897144

Our supermarkets have been caught price gouging again. It's impossible to export top-grade locally-produced food all the way to Japan and for it to end-up far cheaper. The government needs to step-in to stop this price gouging.

The government also needs to give back power to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. After years of undermining by the successive RWNJ governments and nepotistic placements of their own pro-big-business colleagues high-up in the ACCC, the ACCC has been rendered toothless. We need the ACCC to be an independent umpire again.

#AusPol #Coles #Woolies #Duopoly #PriceGouging #Inflation #AustralianCompetitionAndConsumerCommission #ACCC

Farmer, industry groups question how Australian beef can be cheaper in Japan than at Coles and Woolworths

On a recent visit to Tokyo, a New South Wales farmer was shocked to find Australian beef selling for less than you can find it in Coles and Woolworths.

ABC News