Australian Consumer News Stories that have been prominent this last week include:
- According to The Australian, thousands of people who have invested $1.8 billion into a failed blue gum, grape vine and olive tree scheme and who face being paid a paltry $16 at best for every $10,000 they invested are also threatened with the double jeopardy of bankruptcy as banks are given the green light to foreclose on the estimated $398 million in outstanding loans used to finance plantations.
- The Australian reports that federal regulators last year told Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft to more clearly highlight the ads in their search-engine results, as it is hard for users to distinguish ads from “natural” search results.
- The Victorian Coalition Government released its energy plan to make sure Victoria has the safe, reliable and affordable energy needed to underpin the state’s economy and liveability, according to the Premier’s media release.
- According to the Sydney Morning Herald, a national register of financial planners armed with a consumer-led rating system could become a ”game changer” for an industry that lacks transparency and has raised alarm bells for years. The website, Advisor Ratings, is free of charge and includes the names and details of 18,000 financial planners to help identify the good and the bad ones.
- The Australian Financial Review reports that credit card providers will no longer need to hold a bank licence under proposed changes from the Reserve Bank & Finance Minister.