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Is Australia’s top performing fund smoke and mirrors? Hostplus, Canva and the year of super losses

Superannuation gouging Westpac

Australians are getting a rude shock as they open their superannuation statements. For most, it was a rare year of losses. Only three funds ended in the black. Callum Foote and Michael West investigate super returns and the best performing fund of them all, Hostplus.

It’s an obvious thing, but one worth nothing nonetheless. When interest rates rise, share markets tend to fall. And that is precisely what happened to the savings of millions of Australians for the year to June. Opening our superannuation fund letters, we discovered we are worth less than we were the year before.

The drop on sharemarkets had been compounded by an unusual phenomenon; bonds had failed too. Bonds are a key part of any “balanced” super portfolio, and when bond yields (interest rates on debt) rise, bond prices fall. The good news is the markets have sparked up since, so positive returns for the past seven weeks will have put most of us back in the black.

Drilling down in the league tables, historical trends prevailed, even in this volatile year to June 2022. Industry funds tend to perform better than retail funds. Their lower fees are reflected – better on a five year basis or longer – in higher returns. Ironically, not-for-profits do better than for-profits.

That said, the boast of industry funds that takeovers work – that is, taking over other funds so you can manage more money on the same cost base means greater efficiencies, ergo better returns – still remains a mirage. Industry juggernaut Australian Super is no more efficient despite its enormity, indeed it recently hiked its admin fees.

SuperRatings found industry superfund Hostplus came out on top as the best performing balanced superfund of the year, with Qantas and Christian Super options coming in next as the only three funds with positive results for the year to June. Were their results bolstered by valuation chicanery? We will get to that shortly.

Balanced superfunds are those with a third to three-quarters exposure to what are known as growth assets. Growth assets are those with more volatile returns – not as safe – such as shares; and these are favored by those looking to take a higher risk approach, mostly younger people.

So it was that safer options did better and those weighted with shares did worse. The bright spots were gold, infrastructure and cash – the safest options, ‘defensive’ investments. And here was the big reason why industry funds did better last year, they hold long term, large positions in infrastructure: airports, ports, current property.

Hostplus and the super fund lurk

Is all as it seems though in the land of industry superannuation? While we have long applauded industry funds for their lower fees and higher returns, chastened retail funds – such as the shockers managed by ANZ and AMP where fees were ridiculously high and performance laughably low – have lifted their game. The banks which control them have been pressured into closing some and curtailing fees across the board.

This began around the time Chris Brycki, founder of Australia’s first digital investment provider which operates ETFs (exchange traded funds) began publishing his annual Fat Cats report which identified the worst performing super funds (and yours truly duly began to expose them).

ANZ chief, Shayne Elliott is said to have remarked to colleagues that he didn’t want to see his bank turning up on that Fat Cats survey any more so the super poor performers were closed to new investors and then flogged to IOOF.

Search for the biggest fat cat of the Australian super fund industry

Where retail funds, those operated by banks, invest in publicly listed markets such as the ASX, industry funds are less transparent, making huge bets in unlisted investments such as infrastructure like airports and ports, even teaming up with foreign vulture funds (vid Hesta and KKR taking hospital group Ramsay private, and offshore). Yet the rules around disclosure and valuation are fluid; or perhaps suspect is a better word.

And this is where the performance of Australia’s top-performing fund Hostplus is deserving of scrutiny. Hostplus says it is happy with its valuations of unlisted assets. They trust their own valuations more than “the market” they say.

But as Chris Brycki puts it, “It’s like marking your own homework and bragging you came top of the class”. “There is a paucity of symmetric information out there.”

Hostplus has $12bn of unlisted assets, assets for which it can make its own valuations, and Brycki reckons the fund would have been down 2.8% for the year to June had it not been for the *amazing* performance of these assets. “To get from a return of negative 2.8% to positive 1.6%, they would have needed a return of 22% on the private assets on which there is no visibility.”

Listed markets were down, shares and bonds thumped, yet here was a balanced fund which produced a positive return amid all the volatility.

The Canva caper

“It seems not very feasible.” A prime example of the valuation issue is Canva, one of the hottest investments around last year, feted in the financial press with glossy pictures of its Young Rich List founders, breathless coverage of the Aussie success story. Indeed it is an incredible achievement – ​​at $40bn it became on of the most valuable private companies in the world – but like every hot market play, there are characteristics of the bubble and therefore extreme changes in value.

When Canva’s value was knocked off its perch – a great software product but it ran too high on all the hype – some of its investors began marking down the value of their holdings. Investor Blackbird for instance marked its holding down by 36%. Hostplus has $2.5bn in Canva alone. at 40bn it was the most valuable private company in the world.

A generational challenge for younger Australians?

There is not enough visibility of super fund valuations, certainly for a market of this sheer size an importance. Here is a market where there is little price competition. People’s superannuation drops routinely into super funds, we are forced to have super and most people don’t think much about it, switch funds or demand to know from their fund manager what is going on with their investments.

And the funds get to decide their own valuations on the unlisted assets, the infrastructure assets. Whether and when they are marked up or down in value is up to the manager, not based on movements in say the ASX or bond markets. The temptation to ‘mark up’ is therefore strong, as it goes to performance and therefore the bonuses of the fund managers themselves.

As far as Hostplus is concerned a fund can get an external “independent valuation” on an asset but the Hostplus trustee allows the fund to override the valuer and put its own value on the investment.

So it was that last year the REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts listed on the ASX) were down by 11% for the year yet Hostplus marked up the value of its property assets by 17%. Did they just happen to own better buildings?

What i think will happen now, says Brycki, is that over the next ten years there will be an intergenerational problem where people will exit their super now at higher valuations leaving younger super holders vulnerable to lagged valuations (falling valuations) of the unlisted assets.

“They are clearly not marking them to market.”

The wash-up

SuperRatings is a website devoted to comparisons. Its executive director Kirby Rappell says: “Since the bottom of the GFC we haven’t seen huge amounts of volatility coming through, there have been a few moments, but we have seen extreme levels of volatility since COVID-19 hit and in terms of the menu for the year ahead, we expect to see more volatility.

“While the 2022 financial year has seen super funds record a modest fall, the benefits of diversification have shone through. When we compare returns for equity, bond and listed property markets to balanced style portfolios among super funds, these results should be reassuring to members.”

However, many Australians have chosen high growth options, which means more exposure to the stock market, have suffered worse.

According to super research company Chant West’s senior investment research manager, Mano Mohankumar: “Over FY22, Australian shares retreated 6.8%, while international shares were down 12.4% in hedged terms. It was the same story for listed property, with Australian and global REITs falling 11.2% and 10.5% respectively. That was bad enough, but what made the year even more challenging was that bonds didn’t play their usual cushioning role, with Australian bonds and international bonds falling 10.5% and 9.3%, respectively.”

Statistics from the Australian Association of Superannuation Funds Superannuation assets totaled $3.4 trillion at the end of the March 2022 quarter. Over the 12 months from March 2021 there was a 9.7 per cent increase in total superannuation assets.

As at the end of the March 2022 quarter, 56 per cent of the $2.2 trillion investments were invested in equities; with 24 per cent in Australian listed equities, 27 per cent in international listed equities and 5 per cent in unlisted equities.

However, Mohankumar says that diversification largely stemmed the losses to Australian superfunds: “Despite all this, the median growth fund was only down 3.3%. That’s mainly because most major super funds now invest far beyond these traditional asset sectors.”

Industry research shows that funds that have the highest exposure to the stock market have suffered the most in the financial year to date. Over the past 10 years, those with near total exposure to growth assets are roughly 20% higher than more conservative balanced funds.

Rising interest rates

The Reserve Bank has signaled that interest rates will continue to rise to curb growing inflation which means that the stock market will take further hits.

According to Brycki, “Unfortunately rising interest rates are something that doesn’t work too well for the sharemarket, so people are yanking their money out”. If investors can get higher rates of return on safer investment due to higher interest rates, the sharemarket looks less desirable as a result.

To end with our first market proposition – when interest rates go up, share markets to go down – a lot depends on rates. The outlook for the year ahead is not too flash, unless you take the view that central banks will quickly crush inflation and contain interest rates.


Callum Foote

Callum Foote is a journalist and Revolving Doors editor for Michael West Media. He has studied the impact of undue corporate influence on Australian policy decisions and the impact this has on popular interests.

michael west headshot

Michael West established michaelwest.com.au to focus on journalism of high public interest, particularly the rising power of corporations over democracy. Formerly a journalist and editor at Fairfax newspapers and a columnist at News Corp, West was appointed Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Sydney’s School of Social and Political Sciences.

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The Fruit Nerd’s juiciest tips for picking a ripe lemon, plus the best ways to cut and store them

The Fruit Nerd's juiciest tips for picking a ripe lemon, plus the best ways to cut and store them

Winter might be a season of dormancy for many plants but for citrus trees — like lemons — it’s a time when they’re at their best.

Melbourne-based fruiterer Thanh Truong (aka The Fruit Nerd) shares a couple of tips to pick a good lemon and the best ways to cut and store them.

If you’re looking to grow your own lemons, he says there’s a trick to growing a big, juicy lemon tree — and it has to do with the type of fertilizer you use.

How to pick a juicy lemon

Thanh says dark yellow lemons are a sign they’re ripe and juicy inside.(ABC Everyday: Matthew Garrow)

What signs should you look out for when it comes to picking a ripe, juicy, lemon? Thanh says it’s all in the texture of the skin.

“Smooth skin lemons represent maturity or ripeness,” he says.

“It’ll mean there’s more juice and it’s heavier, whilst one picked a little less ripe [will] be bumpy and it’s not going to have as much juice in it.”

Farmers usually harvest lemons when they’re transitioning from white to yellow, so if you’re buying lemons from the supermarket, Thanh recommends picking one that’s “at a darker yellow stage”.

There are a few lemon varieties grown in Australia: Eureka, Lisbon and Meyer (each with different benefits). If you’re a fan of citrus fruit like Thanh, then a Meyer lemon could be a good option for you.

“This is my favorite lemon,” he says.

“It’s half a lemon and half a mandarin, which gives it the qualities of both — it’s got the aroma and perfume and sweetness of a mandarin, but it’s got the sourness and tang of a lemon.

“My hack if you can’t buy a Meyer lemon, is to squeeze one part lemon and one part mandarin and you get the perfect, zesty, sweet tang,” he says.

Urinating on your lemon tree can help it grow

For a long time, people have sworn by urinating on citrus trees to help them grow and Thanh says this underrated hack can produce some good results.

“Urinating on a lemon tree will give you [a] comparable amount [of nutrients] to a general fertilizer. These nutrients help with tree health, more flowering and more fruits,” he explains.

If you’d rather stick to a store-bought product, Thanh says a good fertilizer for your lemon tree generally includes nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium (NPK) in the ingredients list.

Cutting and storing lemons

You might have noticed chefs rolling their lemons before they cut them and then wonder why they do this extra little step?

Juicing a lemon can be a tough job, but Thanh explains when you roll a lemon before cutting it, it makes juicing easier.

“When you roll the lemon, you’re actually crushing the vesicles, so the juice is going to be easily accessible once you squeeze it” he says.

What you’re using your lemons for will determine the best way to cut it.

If you want to get the most juice out of your lemon, Thanh says cut it horizontally.(ABC Everyday: Matthew Garrow)

If you’re making homemade lemonade or cooking a recipe where you want to get all the juice out of your lemon, Thanh recommends cutting it horizontally rather than vertically. This way you’ll squeeze all the juice out of each segment.

But if you’re looking for lemon wedges to have alongside your food — like fish and chips — then cutting it vertically is the way to go.

The great thing about lemons — unlike some other fruit — is they last a long time. If you store them in a fridge, you’ll be able to keep them for up to six months.

Is bottled lemon juice a good alternative?

Bottled lemon juice could be a good alternative but there is a difference in taste.

“Bottled lemon juice has got preservatives in it and might have been cooked to make it shelf stable so it’s going to have a much more mellow lemon taste,” Thanh says.

“If you want something zingy and you’re going to eat it fresh, [like in salads, cocktails, or oysters] then a fresh lemon is the way to go.

“If you’re cooking a savory dish and [cooking] the lemon juice down, bottled juice is actually a good option,” he says.

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Economy: Winners of rising interest rates revealed

Economy: Winners of rising interest rates revealed

Homeowners and renters are bracing for more bad news with interest rates tipped to rise again, but there are some people who are benefiting more than others.

Household budgets are being stretched to their limits after inflation hit a massive 6.1 per cent and cost of living pressures, including the prices of groceries and fuel, continue to mount.

But financial experts say some parts of the community are enjoying economic success during this difficult time.

So who are the winners of rising interest rates?

Financial planner and Edith Cowan University lecturer Damon Brown told NCA NewsWire there were two big winners — withdraw and people who locked in fixed rates before the cycle changed.

“Retires who are invested in cash have been doing it tough for the past five years because interest rates on their cash have been very low and below what Centrelink deems them to be earning,” he said.

“For the older people Centrelink deems them when it comes to their the age pension they can receive.

“So it’s called deeming, which is what the Centrelink assumes they can earn from their money, but they might not actually earn that money.

“An example might be my mother who invests all her money in cash. She’s been receiving one per cent interest rate for the last few years but Centrelink assumes that she earns a bit more than that. And so she’s receiving less Centrelink entitlement.”

Mr Brown said people who locked in fixed rates before the cycle changed, like him and his wife who secured a rate just under two per cent, were also doing well.

“We actually locked in for three years a year ago, so we’ve still got another two years to take the big difference,” he said.

Daniel Kiely, a senior research fellow at the Bankwest Curtin Economics Center, told NCA NewsWire rising interest rates were not necessarily a bad thing.

“If the increase in interest rates that we are seeing both in Australia and in other global jurisdictions flow through to the economy, and in turn lead to lower inflation, we will all be winners in the long-run.” he said.

“Lower inflation will make it more unlikely for a global recession to occur.”

In the shorter-term, Dr Kiely said savers would get higher returns on their savings accounts, but the speed at which this occurred would vary from bank to bank and depending on the type of savings account.

“Withdraw may benefit too, if savings supplement another source of income such as a pension,” he said.

“However, for savers and retirees to see the full benefit of such returns, inflation will need to come down substantially.”

Dr Kiely said there was a double edge sword for potential homeowner investors.

“Higher interest rates may stem house price increases and help those saving for a home,” he said.

“But, higher interest rates will also reduce borrowing capacity for many wishing to enter the housing market.”

LCI Lending partner Domenic Romeo said there were still more losers than winners.

“However, the people who have savings in a term-deposit or savings account will benefit from higher interest income rates,” he said.

“Some property investors may find themselves in a better position to purchase a property, due to the softening property prices too.”

In this month’s Finder RBA Cash Rate Survey, 26 experts and economists agreed the cash rate would change on Tuesday, with 23 of them predicting another increase of 50 basis points.

That would bring the cash rate to 1.85 per cent in August.

“A 50 basis point rate increase will see the average Aussie homeowner forking out an additional $610 per month compared to what they were paying four months ago,” Finder’s head of consumer research Graham Cooke said.

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Advocates say two-wheeled EVs a cheaper, greener option to de-carbonise transport

An e-bike on an overpass with freeway in background

In the push to decarbonise Australia’s economy, much has been made of the need to transition to electric cars.

But advocates say there is a much cheaper and greener EV to consider — the electric bike.

While you will likely have to go on a 12-month waiting list and come up with at least $40,000 to buy a new electric car in Australia at the moment, you could get a two-wheeled vehicle with a battery that costs less than 10 cents to charge, remove easily.

Chris Jones, president of the Australian Electric Vehicle Association, says many of us have forgotten that bikes are a form of transport, and often see them as simply for fitness and recreation.

Dr Chris Jones, President, Australian Electric Vehicle Association
Chris Jones says EVs on two wheels seem forgotten by policy makers.(ABC Radio Perth: Emma Wynne)

“It’s a bit sad that this humble, very efficient, highly affordable electric vehicle is often overlooked,” Dr Jones said.

“I think a lot of people, especially in Perth, have always viewed bicycles as toys or recreation; they’re very rarely viewed as transport.”

But that is rapidly changing.

“[E-bikes] are the most abundant EV on the market right now. E-bikes are outselling electric cars 10 to one,” he said.

They range from about $1,200 to convert an existing bike to an electric motor and from $2,000 to $3,000 for a factory-built e-bike, and the running costs are “negligible”.

“The battery on my e-bike is about half a kilowatt hour. Based on Synergy [WA’s energy retailer] rates, that’s anywhere between 3.5 and 7 cents to fully charge the battery,” Dr Jones said.

‘You’re halfway there before you know it’

In the Perth hills, we met Andy, who had ridden his bike into the Kalamunda town center to do some shopping.

He bought his e-bike second-hand six months ago after his license was suspended and said it had been a practical replacement for the car, and one he planned to keep using even when he got back behind the wheel.

“It’s more fun riding to the shops and getting around than getting in the car and driving in traffic,” he said.

“And I haven’t had to worry about fuel, so that’s been good, especially with the price of fuel now. You get the pick of the parking spots.”

Andy in Kalamunda with e-bike
Andy got his e-bike six months ago, and says it is more convenient for short trips than driving.(ABC Radio Perth: Emma Wynne)

He has used push-bikes and motorbikes before, but the thing that surprised him most about the e-bike was just how easy it was to get around.

“It’s easier than walking out to the car and jumping in and all that turning it on and getting on the road,” he said.

“You’re halfway here before you know it.”

But it has highlighted for him the gaps in cycling infrastructure in his neighbourhood.

“The paths could be better, that’s for sure. I wouldn’t have picked up on that before.”

Removing barriers to riding

While there is nothing that an e-bike can do differently to a pedal-powered one, the powered motor removes barriers to cycling for trips where people would otherwise use their cars.

Road with bike sign going uphill
An electric motor takes away a lot of the difficulty in riding up hills.(ABC Radio Perth: Emma Wynne)

It is also attractive to people who want to ride but don’t have the fitness or desire to work up a sweat, but want to keep riding, according to Henry Shiel, who works at Fremantle e-bike shop Solarbike.

“We see people who, for example, want to commute a relatively short distance, but don’t feel that they want to work up too much of a sweat,” Mr Sheil said.

“The electric bike is like having a little helping hand pushing you along, you still make some effort, but you don’t work up the same sweat otherwise.

“In addition to that, quite a few parents drop their kids off to school with the bikes.

“We also have people who are older, or people who have lost perhaps a sense of balance, maybe after a little medical episode.”

Henry Shiel repairs an e-bike wheel
.Henry Shiel repairs an e-bike wheel. (ABC Radio Perth: Emma Wynne)

He said the shop recently sold an electric tricycle to a young man with a disability.

“He can go out with his family and keep up with them, and his father has told me that it has really been a huge benefit to the young man in terms of his independence.

“And there’s definitely a portion of people who have decided to eliminate the car, for the cost and the environmental impact.”

Two cyclists on a shared path at Claisebrook train station, above the Graham Farmer freeway in East Perth
Planners says encouraging people to ride rather than drive will be crucial.(ABC: Emma Wynne)

While most e-bikers choose to pedal while assisted by the motor, they do often come across the attitude that having a motor to assist is somehow cheating or failing to give them the full exercise benefit from cycling.

“I absolutely reject that,” Mr Sheil said.

“I found that [having the motor] meant that I used the bike on days that I otherwise might have gone: ‘Oh, it’s too windy, it’s too rainy, it’s too hot’ and taken the bus, or driven or something else.

“Whereas with the e-bike, I found that I actually use the bike a lot more, and therefore my aerobic fitness, felt the benefit of that.”

Reducing car use crucial to emission reduction

Removing that temptation to just jump in the car is vital if Australia is to achieve a net zero emission target, according to Courtney Babb, senior lecturer in urban and regional planning at Perth’s Curtin University.

“As part of the move towards net zero, we need to move people out of cars and to reduce car use,” Dr Babb said.

“There’s a focus on electric vehicles as doing that, and reducing our emissions that way, but that’s not going to be enough, we actually have to reduce car use.”

He says there is good evidence that e-bikes did that.

“Research shows e-bikes replace 20-80 per cent of trips in different cities around the world, with the cycling-friendly cities having the higher rates,” he said.

An aerial photo of a suburban street
A bicycle boulevard in a “safe active street” in Perth’s northern suburbs.(ABC News: Gian De Poloni)

He noted since the start of the COVID pandemic, there had been a growth in sales of both bikes and e-bikes, but there were still barriers, and one of the key ones was cycling infrastructure.

“One of the main drivers for people to cycle is having safe cycling environments,” Dr Babb said.

“We have a very good primary cycling network [in Perth]although it could also be better.

“But what’s missing is a lot of the secondary links… cycling on local streets and roads in general is considered unsafe.

“The United Nations recommends that about 20 per cent of transport budgets are dedicated to active transport, and I think about 2 per cent of ours is.”

Extending EV subsidies to mooted bikes

A number of Australian states and territories now offer subsidies and rebates to buy electric cars.

Dr Babb suggested governments could look at extending that financial support to e-bikes as well.

“I think if the government was serious about de-carbonising transportation, but also addressing some of the issues associated with a very car-focused, car-dependent transport system, we need to think about solutions other than just electric cars and providing subsidies for people for e-bikes might be one way of doing that,” he said.

“Even with a subsidy or a rebate for an electric vehicle, they’re focused on people who are on the wealthier end of the spectrum.

“With e-bikes, you can maybe address people who don’t have that much money to spend on an electric car and also substitute a lot of those trips within that 15-kilometre catchment where they live.”

A bike lane.
There are calls to extend subsidies and rebates to e-bikes.(ABC News: Gian De Poloni)

Chris Jones agrees.

“I think the fact that really efficient two-wheeled electric transport has been completely overlooked by the various schemes that are in existence is quite disappointing,” he said.

“I think governments often forget just how cheap e-bikes are as a transport option.”

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This Paper Battery Is as Powerful as a AA, And Is Activated by Water

This Paper Battery Is as Powerful as a AA, And Is Activated by Water

A newly developed, water-activated disposable paper battery promises to make a big impact on single-use electronics – those temporary gadgets used in medical and industrial fields where electronic waste can quickly start piling up.

The battery that has been demonstrated by researchers is biodegradable, made from sustainable materials, and cheap to put together. What’s more, it can be produced in a variety of shapes and sizes as needed.

To give an idea of ​​the power, a two-cell battery made using the technology was enough to power an LCD alarm clock. While it won’t be charging up your laptop anytime soon, there’s lots of potential for low-powered sensors and trackers.

“We present a printed paper battery developed to power single-use disposable electronics and to minimize their environmental impact,” write the researchers in their published paper.

“The battery is based on a metal-air electrochemical cell that uses zinc as a biodegradable metal in the anode, graphite in the cathode, paper as a separator between the electrodes, and a water-based electrolyte.”

The battery, made from sodium chloride salt-diffused paper, can measure as little as one square centimeter (0.15 square inches), and is based on printed inks: one ink contains graphite flakes and acts as the cathode (positive end), while another on the other side of the paper contains zinc powder and acts as the anode (negative end).

A third ink, composed of graphite flakes and carbon black, is printed on both sides, on top of the other two inks, connecting the positive and negative ends to two wires. These are attached to one end of the paper, dipped in wax.

All that’s needed, then, is a small amount of water, as little as two drops. This dissolves the salts within the paper, releasing charged ions that then activate the battery as they travel. The circuit is closed by attaching the wires to the electrical device, meaning that electrons can be transferred from the negative to the positive ends.

With a stable voltage of 1.2 volts, the paper battery is close to the level of a standard AA alkaline battery at 1.5 volts. The battery starts producing power around 20 seconds after water is added, as per the experiments carried out by the team.

“This demonstration shows that despite its limited power density when compared to standard technologies, our battery is still relevant for a wide range of low-power electronics and the Internet of Things ecosystem,” write the researchers.

Although the performance decreases over time as the paper dries out, it can be topped up to some extent with more water. With extra water, the battery can still be producing 0.5 volts two hours after first being activated.

This is very much a proof-of-principle study for the time being, but the battery described in the paper isn’t overly complicated to produce. The researchers say they want to improve the efficiency of the battery in the future, and get it working for longer.

“With a rising awareness of the e-waste problem and the emergence of single-use electronics for applications like environmental sensing and food monitoring, there is a growing need for low environmental impact batteries,” write the researchers.

“This shift from traditional performance-oriented figures of merit creates new opportunities for unconventional materials and designs that can provide a balance between performance and environmental impact.”

The research has been published in Scientific Reports.

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The wave power generator experts say ‘proves ocean energy can work’ is already powering Australian homes

A concrete platform with a hole for a turbine in shallow waters at a beach.

For the first time in Australia’s history, a wave energy converter trial has successfully generated energy from the chaotic and wild ocean waves to power homes.

For years, companies around the world have tried to harness the power of the ocean, with varying degrees of success.

“This is really the first project that has successfully generated electricity for a customer, and that goes to provide that ocean energy can work,” Stephanie Thornton of Australian Ocean Energy Group said.

Sitting off the King Island coast in Bass Strait, the unit — made by Melbourne company Wave Swell Energy — has been generating power for the island’s local energy grid for the past year.

“It’s a huge success from our point of view,” King Island Major Julie Arnold said.

“It’s providing power for the island, it’s renewable, it’s a method that could be used in other places so we’re very happy to be pioneering it.

“We’re a community that does look at our environment every day, certainly with a lot of what’s going on around the world, I think more and more importance is being placed on environmentally sustainable ways to provide power.”

A middle-aged woman standing in front of a window wearing a black shirt and red jacket.
Ms Arnold said the generator was a huge success.(ABC News: Sarah Abbott)

Australia’s first successful trial

“It’s really exciting for us,” said chief CEO of Wave Swell Energy Paul Geason.

“We’ve been very focused on this trial and providing the capabilities of the technology we deployed …and now 12 months later we’ve achieved what we set out to do.

“We’ve been generating electricity from the waves of the southern ocean that have been captured in the unit, that was our primary objective.

“That electricity is of a very high quality and has been accepted by Hydro Tasmania as suitable for the grid on King Island, so that’s a very important achievement.”

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The company said under the right wave conditions the UniWave200 can make enough energy for 200 homes.

“The conversion rates that we’ve been able to achieve in terms of the amount of electricity we are able to extract from the wave energy that comes into the unit is very high,” Mr Geason said.

“On average, we’ve been able to achieve conversion rates of 48 per cent, so 48 per cent of the energy that comes in, in the wave, is then exported onto the grid on King Island.

“That rate is very encouraging and in fact is higher than other renewable energy technologies.”

A tug boat alongside the UniWave200 power generator.
The company said the generator had made enough energy for 200 homes.(Supplied: Wave Swell)

Why did it work while others failed?

The team behind it said its success all came down to the unique design.

The $12 million unit was constructed in Launceston and extensively tested at the Australian Maritime College.

It was towed across last year to King Island and placed in the rough waves off Grassy Harbour.

Since then, the team have been tested it in a range of harsh weather conditions.

“We have now operated the unit and it has survived for the last 12 months in the very harsh conditions of Bass Strait … and we’ve achieved the objectives we set out to achieve,” Mr Geason said.

“Now we find ourselves in a position where we’ve come from the technology and the next stage is now to move forward and commercialize the technology and see it become mainstream as part of the global mix of renewable energies.”

A floating platform in shallow water off a beach.
The generator’s design essentially mimics a natural blow hole.(Supplied: Wave Swell)

The 200-kilowatt wave energy converter has no moving parts in the water and uses an oscillating water column design, which essentially mimics a natural blow hole.

Waves go in, rise and fall, and move air up into the turbine, which then converts into power.

It sits on the seabed and has an opening on one side to allow the movement of the waves in and out of the chamber.

The company said there was a trial in Scotland that was having success too, but that it was mainly using tidal energy and did not have the blowhole design.

‘Seeing is believing’

As defined by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, wave energy is generated by converting the energy within ocean waves into electricity.

Tidal energy, however, comes in two forms, both of which generate electricity.

Tidal range technologies harvest the potential energy created by the height difference between high and low tides, and tidal stream technologies capture the kinetic energy of currents flowing in and out of tidal areas, such as seashores.

“We have something to showcase that works and now we can build on that and build that customer demand that we’re looking for,” said Stephanie Thornton of the Australian Ocean Energy Group.

“What’s really exciting for me is that seeing is believing, and up until now even though there’s been a lot of innovation, a lot of the technology has not been very visible.

“So with this success, where it goes from here is now to see many more prototypes and demonstration projects in the water and really being able to showcase the benefits of ocean energy.”

A floating platform in shallow water.
The unit can be made five times larger than the pilot converter.(Supplied: Wave Swell)

Using the ocean for energy is a concept many companies have tried to harness.

In 2010, a large wave sunk a wave energy generator off the New South Wales coast, and in 2014 in South Australia, a unit was being towed into position when one of the flotation devices ruptured and it sank.

Since then, there have been other units trialled and funding committed for research.

Can more units now be made?

A larger unit can be made that generates five times the amount of energy and could be placed off any coastline anywhere in the world.

Wave Swell said it was open to working with interested companies who would provide the funding and resources to build future units.

“In terms of the commercial scale-up … it will most likely be a bigger unit, and also have a bigger engine, so at least five times bigger,” Mr Geason said.

“So for us, it means finding those parties and we will work with them, bringing our knowledge and know-how to help them.”

A rugged island coastline.
King Island sits off Tasmania’s north coast, in Bass Strait.(Alison Branley )

The units can also be integrated into being part of a breakwater or sea wall in the ocean — off Pacific Island Nations, for example — to help combat rising sea levels and coastal erosion.

“There are sovereign governments in those islands that are very concerned to ensure that they are building resilient infrastructure so that’s also presenting as a very considerable opportunity for us,” he said.

“There’s also interest out of Europe, in the United States and India, so we need to identify which projects are the next step for the technology.”

“We would hope that maybe seeing it work here on a pilot basis might give them some hope,” Ms Arnold said.

An ocean of possibilities ahead

Wave Swell said it would “love” to see another unit operating off the Australian coastline.

“Given we are an emerging technology, the very obvious market for us to pursue is the Australian market,” Mr Geason said.

“The Australian oceans have some of the best waves in the world, and waves that are well located to grid access, and to electricity demand, many of us live on the coastline.”

But Mr Geason said more support for the industry was needed.

“Solar and wind have received substantial government support … wave is now in that position, it needs policy support and funding, that’s vital for the industry taking its next steps,” he said.

Experts in the field have said the stigma around wave energy converters failing also needed to change for the sector to move forward.

“Every technology in the world has had failures, but that’s really part of experimenting and learning from it and reinventing and growing, so that’s the challenge,” Ms Arnold said.

“In our industry, people remember the ones that didn’t work, and think, ‘Oh well that’s ocean energy, so it can’t possibly be successful’, when in fact that’s not true and this unit has proven that.

“It’s exciting … I hope demand for ocean energy grows from here.”

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Dangerous new TikTok trend prompts warnings about this car brand

Dangerous new TikTok trend prompts warnings about this car brand

Owners of a particular car model have been warned they could be targeted after an alarming new TikTok trend went viral.

The Kia challenge emerged earlier this month, and involves people starting a car with a USB cable instead of a key.

It started when TikTok user @robbierayyy posted a video starting up a Kia using only a USB cable.

Husband and wife Kim and Bill who had their car recently broken into.
Camera IconHusband and wife Kim and Bill recently had their car broken into. Credit: Channel 9

The video has since been removed.

It quickly evolved with other users participating to see if the trick would hot-wire their cars.

But the trend has dangerous consequences and has been linked to an uptick in car thefts overseas.

It’s a story that Bill Gardiner and wife Kim know all too well. They told A Current Affair their brand new Kia had recently become victim to the craze.

Footage shows that in the dead of the night two people smashing the window of the vehicle.

Husband and wife Kim and Bill who had their car recently broken into.
Camera IconThe offenders could be seen on CCTV. Credit: Channel 9

“From there you can see one of the offenders standing in the middle of the street on his phone, it’s like he’s videotaping the person inside the car or yelling out the instructions,” Bill told Nine.

The would-be thieves eventually gave up after they were unable to start the car.

But the two offenders attempted to try the same trick on another Kia parked doors down from Kim.

Both cars had the same damage: a broken rear window and the casing removed from around the steering column.

Husband and wife Kim and Bill who had their car recently broken into.
Camera IconHusband and wife Kim and Bill urged Kia owners to park their cars somewhere safe. Credit: Channel 9

Kim said once she had been alerted to the TikTok trend, the damage caused by the offenders “made perfect sense”.

The husband and wife urged Kia owners to park their cars in a garage or somewhere safe at night.

“I would say now it has gone viral in the United States, that there will be a few more of these popping up over the next week or so,” said Bill.

TikTok is encouraging anyone who comes across any ‘Kia Challenge’ videos to report them so they can be removed.

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Bugatti unveils new logo as it changes gear to become a luxury brand

Bugatti unveils new logo as it changes gear to become a luxury brand

Made famous by its record-setting hypercars, Bugatti is trying to broaden its appeal by tackling the luxury market next.

Jordan Mulach
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Hypercar manufacturer Bugatti plans to switch from record-setting hypercars to super-expensive luxury electric vehicles.

Less than a year after Croatian electric manufacturer Rimac purchased a 55 per cent stake in Bugatti – with the remaining 45 per cent held by Porsche – the French brand has announced plans to offer more multi-million dollar road cars.

Bugatti is best known for its 400km/h-plus Veyron and Chiron quad-turbo W16 machine, but is making the shift to electric power to future-proof itself.

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Headlining its new corporate identity is a simplified “EB” logo – the initials of company founder Ettore Bugatti.

However, the new logo won’t be used on its vehicles.

Instead the new badge will appear on the company’s new Ettore magazine, showrooms, and other corporate facilities such as the Molsheim factory in France.

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“We did not just create a new look and feel,” said Managing Director for Sales and Marketing, Hendrik Malinowski, in a media statement.

“We analyzed where we came from, the historical connection we intensively referenced when re-installing the brand and the Veyron in the 2000s.

“We evaluated, how did the Chiron change Bugatti’s positioning and brand appeal, how did the world change during the last 10 years.

“Don’t forget, at the time the Veyron came out, the iPhone did not yet exist.

“Technologically we are on the right path to move the brand forward: with bold moves that will keep us ahead of the game.”

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Bugatti Rimac CEO Mate Rimac says he hasn’t ruled out the Chiron’s successor retaining a petrol engine, despite his focus on electric cars.

“I don’t want to talk much about future plans yet, but I can tell you you’ll be astonished. You’ll be especially astonished by the features which have not yet been seen on any other car, and I am pushing also for a combustion engine.”

While the Chiron replacement will likely be a petrol-hybrid, Bugatti will likely become a zero-emissions car maker in the future, ditching its iconic petrol-powered hypercars in favor of fully-electric vehicles.

Bugatti’s current model line-up includes the Chiron Super Sport, Centodieci and Bolide – all of which are sold out, with production continuing until existing orders are fulfilled.

Jordan Mulach

Jordan Mulach is Canberra/Ngunnawal born, currently residing in Brisbane/Turrbal. Joining the Drive team in 2022, Jordan has previously worked for Auto Action, MotorsportM8, The Supercars Collective and TouringCarTimes, WhichCar, Wheels, Motor and Street Machine. Jordan is a self-described iRacing addict and can be found on weekends either behind the wheel of his Octavia RS or swearing at his ZH Fairlane.

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Inflation: NYC shop Duane Reade locks up Spam in antitheft cases

Inflation: NYC shop Duane Reade locks up Spam in antitheft cases

It’s the nation’s crises in a can.

Inflation and crime have gotten so bad in New York that even cheap meat like Spam has to be locked up, the New York Post reports.

At Duane Reade’s store in the Port Authority bus station, the shelf-stable product — only $US3.99 ($5.70) a can — is now being stocked in plastic, antitheft cases.

“I’ve never seen that before!” one cashier laughed while using a magnet to remove a can of Spam from its cage from him.

The cashier was among the employees, tourists and store regulars stunned that the iconic blue-and-yellow cans are now being kept under lock-and-key — some even poking fun at the sight as “a sort of Jeff Koons homage,” per one viral tweet.

Jenny Kenny, 43, who was visiting from Kentucky, was aware of the ongoing crime waves hitting cities like New York and San Francisco, but still couldn’t believe the sight of “so many things in boxes.”

“Some of these things are pretty ridiculous,” she said.

As prices and crime skyrocket, New York City stores have taken to locking up staples like toothpaste and soap to prevent crooks from stealing and then hawking the products on the sidewalk or online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay.

Yet some shoppers were confused why Spam, along with $US1.89 cans ($2.70) of StarKist tuna, was enclosed under plastic, while pricier foodstuffs like $US5.49 cans ($7.86) of Amy’s soup sat unencumbered.

“To put Spam in a cage is stupid — and kind of insulting to the customers that would buy it,” said shopper Dennis Snow, 46.

Snow said he doesn’t think Spam is being stolen to “sell it for crack,” but rather because the homeless in the area are looking for a quick and easy meal.

“Someone is stealing this because they need it,” agreed Delia Kemph, a 28-year-old teacher.

Employees at the store said thefts have been surging over the past two-plus years, with one estimating a minimum of four shoplifters every evening shift.

“I don’t think they stop anything,” Iggy, 21, a store clerk, said of the antitheft cases. “It’s security theatre. If you really needed it, you would stomp on it.”

The employee’s complaints were prescient — at around 7pm on Thursday, a man in a black tank top and gray sweatpants had an employee unlock the glass case for a $US38 ($54.40) electric razor, and then bolted with the appliance past a yellow-shirted security guard and out the door.

With inflation out of control — the consumer price index spiked 9.1 per cent in June compared to a year ago, even as President Joe Biden this week refused to acknowledge the nation is in a recession despite the economy contracting two quarters in a row — emboldened thieves have found a ready market for discounted stolen goods among recession-weary consumers.

Petty theft complaints for the New York Police Department’s Midtown South Precinct, which includes the Port Authority bus terminal, have shot up 52 per cent — to 1,771, through July 24 — compared to the same period last year.

Hormel CEO Jim Snee told analysts last month that prices for their legacy product were set to increase in late July to cover increased transportation, packaging and meat costs.

A spokeswoman for Walgreens, which owns Duane Reade, refused to say why Spam was locked down at this particular location, and that installing antitheft devices is done “in response to theft data.”

Liz Tawfik, 57, a home health attendant, complained that the added security measures are hampering the once-smooth shopping experience — and annoying customers like herself.

“If you’re gonna catch a train you wanna grab something quick, it’s not quick anymore,” she said. “You might as well have someone take your order at the door and get what you want.”

Not all drug stores have put Spam under lockdown.

Two other Duane Reades and a pharmacy in the Times Square area, along with two other stores in Central Harlem, sold their cans of Spam, cage-free.

Dariel Cepin, 23, an employee at a West 44th Street Duane Reade, said, “Here, we lock up ice cream.”

This article originally appeared on NY Post and was reproduced with permission

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Qantas nightmare: Australian traveller’s horror overseas flight saga

Qantas nightmare: Australian traveller's horror overseas flight saga

As I found myself stranded in Athens airport, surrounded by unsympathetic airline staff and forced to splash out an extra $2700 on new flights back home, I couldn’t help but feel this all could have been avoided.

Like thousands of other Aussies, I too had a nightmare experience flying with Qantas.

It’s amazing what can happen to a beloved national airline when it sacks 9000 staff, outsources thousands of jobs, moves customer service teams overseas and hands out millions in bonuses to executives.

My nightmare all started when I fell for the trap that is ‘frequent flyer flights’.

I applied for a credit card back in May (disastrous idea), splurged on a new laptop to secure 120,000 bonus Qantas points and booked my first overseas holiday in years.

There was a slight catch, my flights to Europe were from Adelaide – but given I had spent less than $1000 on taxes in addition to my points I thought I had scored a bargain.

I called up the Qantas helpline in a bid to see if they could help me book connecting flights from Sydney to Adelaide – mistake 1.

Instead of booking me a simple flight home from Adelaide to Sydney, they REPLACED my overseas return leg from Athens to Adelaide.

It wasn’t until a few days later that I noticed my overseas leg had vanished and been simply replaced with the domestic flight.

I spent over five hours that night on hold as I desperately tried to explain what had happened to call center workers who struggled to even speak to me let alone understand my complaint.

This is of course not their fault, they are doing the best they can in difficult circumstances. The blame lies with an airline that sacrificed quality, local customer service for cheaper labor.

Just one Qantas call center is located in Australia – and that Hobart team specifically services the airline’s premium clients (the big spenders).

I would wait two hours on hold, before finally getting onto someone – who would then spend 30 minutes attempting to understand my issue, only for them to hang up on me.

After over five hours I finally got onto someone who told me they could no longer get me on my original flight (Athens to Doha to Adelaide) as it was now full.

Qantas has since informed me that the domestic leg wasn’t ticketed correctly – which resulted in my overseas flight being cancelled.

With my trip approaching and still no return leg, I took matters into my own hands and booked another flight via Vietnam.

With so few options available I had to book the Vietnam to Sydney leg with a different airline – Jetstar.

I called up Qantas to make sure that I would be able to get a transit visa at the airport in Ho Chi Minh as I would need to check my bags in and out again during my short four-hour layover between flights.

A spokesperson told me there would be no problems getting a visa at the airport – mistake 2, blindly trusting Qantas again.

Three weeks of blissful travel – visiting my best mates in picturesque Switzerland, a romantic trip in Santorini – finished with me being stuck in Athens after Qantas’ advice was swiftly shot down.

Airline staff refused to let me on my flight as I had no visa – despite the assurances of Qantas it would be fine.

Ironically, the only option presented to me was to spend almost 2000 Euros to get back onto the Athens-Doha-Adelaide flight that I had originally booked months ago – only for Qantas to inexplicably cancel without telling me and then assure me there were no seats on the flight.

Turns out there were seats on the flight Qantas.

And while a seedy room above an Adelaide pub wasn’t exactly how I pictured closing out my trip – I was just glad to get home and be done with travelling.

Qantas’ statement:

“Unfortunately, it appears that the additional domestic flight was not ticketed correctly when it was added to your booking which led to the Qatar Airways booking being automatically canceled by their system.

“Our agent was unable to secure you another seat on that Qatar flight as there were no more reward seats available on the flight.

Our contact centers are not trained to provide visa advice, rather they should direct you to the relevant consulate, and we apologize that this process wasn’t followed.

“We are following up your experience with a full review to help prevent it happening again.”

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