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Corrs leader Gavin MacLaren is a $6m man

Corrs leader Gavin MacLaren is a $6m man

Word is he has overtaken John Nerurker of Mills Oakley, who is said to be on more than $5 million as part of a deal that ties him to the firm’s highest earner. And that MacLaren is on up to double the pay of CEOs at the big six: MinterEllison, King & Wood Mallesons, Ashurst, Clayton Utz, Herbert Smith Freehills and Allens.

Law firm leaders, who have heard the same numbers, are incredulous at what is an extraordinarily top-heavy remuneration system for a law partnership.

Other top earners at Corrs include Chris Pagent (head of class actions) and Mark McCowan (head of competition). Both are said to be earning around $4 million.

Salary tables

Normally, salary tables are shared with partners. But in another MacLaren initiative, remuneration arrangements are no longer available to the broader partnership.

This has put a lot of noses out of joint, and is a reason why people are getting itchy feet. They fear they will never be part of the “MacLaren’s club” of high earners, and that they are actually subsidizing the pay of those at the top.

Corrs has 145 partners. As one CEO explained, you could take $50,000 off 100 of those partners and have a pretty big pool to redistribute for those at the top. And it’s not as if the regular pay/partner draw isn’t going up, especially in this market.

Those to have left this year include highly regarded infrastructure partners Andrew McCormack (Brisbane) and Chris Campbell (Perth), who both joined Ashurst. Head of intellectual property Kate Hay (Melbourne) moved to King & Wood Mallesons, while another IP partner, Helen Clarke (Brisbane), joined Johnson Winter & Slattery. Litigation partner Spencer Flay (Perth) went to Clifford Chance.

We sought comment from Corrs, but again came up doughnuts. Aside from the comment that it was “transitioning out of personal injury” (for some clients), there’s been nothing.

Who is coming up with this bad communications strategy? Perhaps it’s the same genius who decided the Catholic Church didn’t need a heads-up that they were about to be dumped as a client.

The partners even got an email at 7.21am on July 25 – the day after The Australian Financial Review‘s Street Talk broke the church story – reminding them that unauthorized contact with the media was verboten.

As they say in the classics – aka the media book of cliches – if you leave a vacuum, someone will fill it. And those lining up to do so grow by the day.

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Jeff Bezos’ unfinished mega yacht towed away after threats of egging

Jeff Bezos' unfinished mega yacht towed away after threats of egging

Jeff Bezos’ unfinished mega yacht was towed away from a Dutch shipbuilding yard before dawn Tuesday just weeks after Rotterdam residents threatened to pelt the luxury vessel with eggs if the city went through with plans to dismantle a landmark bridge to make way for the $500 million ship .

The 417-foot long, three-masted yacht, which goes by the name Y721, was relocated from the Oceanco shipyard in Alblasserdam to the Greenport yard just 24 miles away in Rotterdam, according to the German-language daily Der Spiegel.

Video of the towing was posted to YouTube by Dutch yacht enthusiast Hanco Bol.

“We never saw a transport going that fast,” Bol writes of what he witnessed. It took less than three hours for the ship to travel southwest along the Noord canal even though it normally requires nearly twice as much time to traverse the route, according to Bol.

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He speculates that Oceanco, the company that was commissioned to build the yacht, chose the timing of the move in order to keep it under wraps given the considerable publicity it has generated.

Rotterdammers who were furious about plans to dismantle “De Hef” bridge, also known as Koningshaven, had threatened to pelt the yacht with eggs if it made the journey.

Bol writes that the yacht’s route was designed to avoid traveling through the Rotterdam city center and underneath “De Hef” — even though it would have saved more time.

Oceanco last month announced that it had dropped its request for the Rotterdam city council to approve the temporary dismantling of the bridge.

The company had indicated that Bezos, the Amazon founder and second-richest person in the world, was willing to foot the bill for the removal of the middle section of the span so that the yacht would be able to sail through the Nieuwe Mass River.

Bol speculates that Oceanco intentionally avoided towing the unfinished yacht underneath “De Hef.”

“I think that was intentional,” he told Der Spiegel.

“When I was standing on one of the bridges, they shined a searchlight on me, so it wasn’t easy for me to take pictures.”

According to Dutch media reports, it will take several more months for the ship to be completed.

The Post has reached out to Amazon and Oceanco seeking comment.

This article was originally published by the New York Post and reproduced with permission

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Turkey’s inflation jumped to a 24-year high of 79.6 percent in July | Inflation News

Turkey's inflation jumped to a 24-year high of 79.6 percent in July | Inflation News

Turkey’s inflation has been fueled by the lira’s continued decline as well as the economic consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Turkish inflation rose to a fresh 24-year high of 79.6 percent in July, data showed on Wednesday as the lira’s continued weakness and global energy and commodity costs pushed prices higher, though the price rises came out below forecasts.

Inflation began to surge last autumn, when the lira slumped after the central bank gradually cut its policy rate by 500 basis points to 14 percent in an easing cycle sought by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Month-on-month, consumer prices rose 2.37 percent in July, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) said, below a Reuters news agency poll forecast of 2.9 percent. Annually, consumer price inflation was forecast to be 80.5 percent.

Jason Tuvey, senior emerging markets economist at Capital Economics, said annual inflation may be approaching a peak, with energy inflation falling sharply and food inflation appearing close to topping out.

“Even if inflation is close to a peak, it will remain close to its current very high rates for several more months,” Tuvey said in a note.

“Sharp and disorderly falls in the lira remain a key risk,” he said.

The biggest annual rise in consumer prices was in the transportation sector, up 119.11 percent, while food and non-alcoholic drinks prices climbed 94.65 percent.

Inflation this year has been fueled further by the economic impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as the lira’s continued decline. The currency weakened 44 percent against the United States dollar last year, and is down another 27 percent this year.

The lira was trading flat after the data at 17.9560 against the dollar. It touched a record low of 18.4 in December.

Annual inflation is now at the highest level since September 1998, when it reached 80.4 percent and Turkey was battling to end a decade of chronically high inflation.

Last week’s Reuters news poll showed annual inflation was seen declining to some 70 percent by end-2022, easing from current levels as base effects from last year’s price surge take effect.

The domestic producer price index climbed 5.17 percent month-on-month in July for an annual rise of 144.61 percent.

The government has said inflation will fall as a result of its economic programme, which prioritizes low rates to boost production and exports and aims to achieve a current account surplus.

Erdogan has said that he expects inflation to come down to “appropriate” levels by February-March next year, while the central bank raised its end-2022 forecast to 60.4 percent last Thursday from 42.8 percent previously.

The bank’s inflation report showed the estimated range of inflation reaching nearly 90 percent this autumn before easing.

Opposition lawmakers and economists have questioned the reliability of the TUIK figures, claims TUIK has dismissed. Polls show Turks believe inflation is far higher than official data.

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ASX says CHESS unlikely before 2025

ASX says CHESS unlikely before 2025

Former ASX executive and long-time critic of the project Patrick McConnell said the delays were worse than feared.

“Even I’m a bit shocked by the latest announcement. It’s way worse than even I thought given they seem to have kicked the can way down the road to 2025,” Mr McConnell said. “It’s particularly surprising when even a couple of weeks ago they were still saying the work had been done and everything was only a bit delayed.″⁣

Judith Fox, the chief executive of the Australian Stockbrokers and Investment Advisors Association, welcomed the independent assessment of the software and the fact the ASX has identified that more work needs to be done to develop the solutions.

“We welcome that independent assessment of the remaining deliverables, really the timeline is a consequence of needing to look at the technology,” Ms Fox said.

“The new CEO [Ms Lofthouse] has expressed support for the CHESS replacement project but has sought this independent assessment because she wants to give stakeholders more confidence.”

Questions of independence

But Ms Fox warned the delays would be costly for market participants, even with increased certainty over the timeline.

“It’s a step in the right direction because an assessment is a very welcome thing but of course the further delay is in itself very challenging,” Ms Fox said.

“The further delay is extremely challenging for our members because it does imply further costs. They’ve brought on additional resources that will likely sit idle, they’ve allocated existing budgets, not to mention the amount of re-work that will need to be done.”

Some market participants raised questions about Accenture’s true independence, given it is already working with ASX on the implementation of the CHESS replacement project.

An ASX spokesman confirmed Accenture is working with ASX, but said the review would be conducted independently.

“There are members of Accenture working with the ASX on the CHESS replacement project. The review announced today will involve an Accenture team that will be independent from the ones assisting ASX with CHESS replacement,” the spokesman said.

“ASX has engaged EY to assess the terms of reference for the review to ensure appropriate governance arrangements are in place.”

Dave Curran, who was recently appointed an ASX non-executive director despite his role as a mentor for the CHESS replacement project’s boss, Tim Hogben, also spent 16 years at Accenture.

Accenture declined to comment on client matters.

ASX said Accenture will review the timeline for the CHESS implementation project together with New York-based Digital Asset, which is the provider of the distributed ledger technology for the project. But ASX confirmed it will not look at alternative projects or scaled back measures.

The review comes amid growing regulatory and political scrutiny of ASX, after a market outage that halted trading for a full day in November 2020 led to questions about the market operator’s ability to carry out complex upgrades.

Delays disappointing

ASIC chairman Joe Longo said the new delays were disappointing but flagged the review would help assure market participants on the timeline.

“Given the delays and duration of the project, it is critical that Accenture now undertake this review to provide assurance on the delivery of a resilient replacement for CHESS and a high degree of confidence in a revised go-live date,” Mr Longo said.

“It is important that the Australian financial system is served well by contemporary infrastructure that is efficient, resilient, reliable and scalable to meet existing and future needs of the market and participants.”

RBA Governor Phil Lowe echoed Mr Longo’s disappointment, but said, “the review initiated by ASX is an important step in providing assurance that the new CHESS application software will be fit for purpose”.

While many market participants have urged the ASX to scale back its CHESS replacement project and use an “off the shelf” solution rather than build an entirely new system, ASX confirmed it will forge ahead with the current plan.

The review will focus on the timeline, in an attempt to offer more certainty to market participants who need to invest in their own systems to connect with the new technology. It will also provide an independent view on the application and software code built to date, the remaining work to be done and make recommendations on delivering the new system safely.

Ms Lofthouse said ASX is continuing to invest in the aging CHESS infrastructure to strengthen its capacity, speed and resilience to cope with higher trading volumes.

“Existing CHESS remains secure and stable, and continues to perform well as we transition to a replacement CHESS system,” Ms Lofthouse said.

Given the CHESS replacement’s importance to national infrastructure, ASX has been under close regulatory scrutiny and is expected to come before parliament later this year.

Ms Lofthouse said while there has been “significant progress” with the project, the independent review will provide detail of what work still needs to be done.

“CHESS is a critical system, and we must have high confidence in the schedule to deliver new CHESS safely,” she said.

“I know our customers will be as disappointed as I am with the uncertainty about the timeline for completion. I apologize for the uncertainty, and thank them for their close and constructive work with us on this important project.”

ASX first selected Digital Asset Holdings to build the DLT for the CHESS replacement project at the end of 2017, with plans to test in July 2020 and implementation the following year. But since then, the project has been beset with delays and uncertainty.

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Commonwealth Bank is first major bank to lift interest rates, two days after RBA rates decision

Commonwealth Bank is first major bank to lift interest rates, two days after RBA rates decision

After two days of silence, Commonwealth Bank has finally confirmed it will lift interest rates on its variable mortgages by 0.5 percentage points.

This makes CBA the first of the “big four” banks to pass on the Reserve Bank’s latest rate hike.

The RBA lifted its cash rate target by 0.5 percentage points on Tuesday, taking the new rate to a six-year high of 1.85 per cent.

It was no surprise that the commercial banks would pass on the RBA’s rate increase to their borrowers.

However, the surprising aspect is how uncharacteristically slow the banks have been in making such announcements in the past couple of days.

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Reserve Bank hikes interest rates for fourth consecutive month(Rhiana Witson)

CBA’s main rivals — Westpac, NAB and ANZ — still haven’t provided any update on their new borrowing rates.

Australia’s fifth-largest lender, Macquarie Bank, was the first bank to lift its rates — within hours of the RBA’s decision on Tuesday.

This was followed on Wednesday by ubank — an NAB subsidiary — announcing it would lift its savings rates by 0.5 percentage points in September.

Delay in being the first mover

“This kind of waiting game is unusual, but not unprecedented,” said Sally Tindall, the research director of RateCity.

“Back in 2010, three of the big four banks took between eight and 10 days to make announcements following the 0.25 percentage point RBA hike on 2 November.”

“The delay could be a worrying sign for savers. It’s possible the banks are still mulling over whether they will pass on the full hike to all their savings customers.”

“However, the big four banks could just be playing a game of chicken to see which one of them moves first.”

CBA increased its the standard variable rates for its borrowers by 0.5 percentage points.

The bank also said it would increase the rate on “select savings products”, meaning it has not passed on the RBA’s full rate hike to all savers.

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Volkswagen Polo review: drive impressions, prices, specification

Volkswagen Polo review: drive impressions, prices, specification

Hatchbacks used to be the default option for city drivers, but the compact SUV has put a huge dent in the market.

Volkswagen’s Polo is one of few remaining choices for buyers.

VALUE

The days of the sub-$20,000 hatchback are long gone.

The price of admission into Volkswagen’s new Polo is about $29,400 for the manual 70 TSI Life variant, while our 85 TSI Style test car will set buyers back more than $35,000. That’s a fair chunk of change and is more than many hatchbacks and SUVs a full size bigger.

Our test car has flash 16-inch alloy wheels, LED head and tail lights and an in-vogue LED illuminated grille strip.

It’s aimed at younger drivers, so connectivity is front and center.

An eight-inch touchscreen and a fully digital instrument display with crisp readouts and hi-res satnav is standard, as are Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, several USB-C charging points and a wireless device charger. A $1900 Sound and Tech pack adds a Beats stereo and wireless smartphone connectivity among other items.

VW backs its cars with an industry standard five year/unlimited km warranty and capped price servicing will cost $2200 over five years.

COMFORT

Despite its small size the Polo has plenty of room for long-limbed drivers.

Manually adjustable cloth wrapped seats are firm but supportive and a movable steering wheel makes it easy to find the right driving position.

The cabin is a mix of hard wearing plastic surfaces and premium glossy inserts. There are easy to use climate controls in the center dash and essential functions can be managed via steering wheel-mounted buttons.

Rear-seat legroom is above average for its class and there are two USB-C charging points. Disappointingly at this price point, there are no rear airconditioning vents.

The Polo has firm suspension that can crash over larger bumps but it does a decent job of managing pockmarked city streets. It’s quiet, too, keeping most of the outside noise at bay.

SAFETY

The Style grade comes with seven airbags including a center airbag to prevent head clashes during an accident.

The Polo will automatically brake if it detects a potential collision with a car, pedestrian or cyclist.

An array of sensors will warn you if a car is in your blind spot and sound an alarm if a car is approaching from the side as you reverse.

Radar cruise control and lane-keep assist make highway cruising a cinch.

DRIVING

The 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine proves that good things come in small packages.

It makes just 85kW of power but ample torque delivered early in the rev range means plenty of oomph off the mark.

VW has persisted with a seven-speed dual-clutch auto that can feel a little jerky at lower speeds and can hesitate on takeoff.

Once up to speed, it’s a hoot to drive thanks to quick, accurate steering and excellent body control through corners.

It feels agile in traffic and stable on the open road. Its compact size means it’s adept at tackling tight car parks and inner city streets.

VW claims it’ll drink 5.4L/100km of more expensive premium unleaded petrol, and it’ll do close to that figure in the real world.

ALTERNATIVES

Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo, priced at $37,990 drive-away

A hatch that shares its underpinnings with the Polo, but with a bigger engine and price tag.

Toyota Yaris ZR Hybrid, from about $36,000 drive-away

Smaller inside, but benefits from amazing fuel economy and low-cost servicing.

Mazda2 GT, priced from about $30,100 drive-away

Once a class leader that now feels too small inside and underpowered. Packed with safety kit, though and much cheaper.

VERDICT

three and a half stars

Price will scare buyers away, but it’s a classy little hatchback that boasts some impressive tech features and crisp drive experience.

VITALS

PRICE About $35,500 drive away

ENGINE 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol, 85kW and 200Nm

WARRANTY/SERVICING Five years/unlimited km, $2200 over five years

SAFETY Seven airbags, auto emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane-keep assist, blind-spot detection, rear cross-traffic alert, radar cruise control and driver fatigue detection.

THIRST 5.4L/100km

SPARE Temporary

LUGGAGE 351 liters

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Gold mine near Orange stops extraction, carries out evacuation following underground incident

Gold mine near Orange stops extraction, carries out evacuation following underground incident

An underground incident in one of Australia’s largest gold mines has forced the evacuation of staff and extraction to be suspended.

Cadia Gold Mine near Orange in the central west of New South Wales has not mined any ore for almost two weeks after it halted underground work on July 22.

Its surface operations, which involve the production of gold and copper concentrate, are still operating and it says it still delivering the same volume of product as usual.

General manager Aaron Brannigan released a statement after the mine was evacuated that said the decision was made to ensure the health and safety of its workforce.

“The evacuation was due to instability in one of Cadia’s vent rises [ventilation shafts],” Mr Brannigan said.

“All personnel were unarmed and many are continuing work in other areas of the operation.”

Road closed sign and road closed barriers across bitumen road
A section of Cadia Road between Woodville and Panuara roads is shut as a precaution following an incident in the underground mine.(ABC Central West: Joanna Woodburn)

The Environment Protection Authority and NSW Resources Regulator have confirmed water from an intersecting aquifer has flowed into the ventilation tunnel.

The Natural Resources Access Regulator said it was also investigating the incident.

Cadia confirmed it was carrying out visual assessments.

“We have limited access to the vent rise [and] we will complete our visual inspections through remote techniques and technologies as soon as it is safe to do so,” a statement said.

Damage closes road

The damage underground has also now forced the partial closure of a road bordering the mine.

Cadia Road between Panuara and Woodville roads has been shut and it was not yet known when it would reopen.

The mine is owned by Newcrest Mining, which hosted a community meeting on Tuesday night.

Local farmer Gemma Green said she had not realized how close the ventilation shaft was to Cadia Road.

“It’s actually closer than I thought, it’s about 35 to 45 meters from that main public road,” Ms Green said.

“I would not have that road open after what I heard last night.

“The instability in that top 100 meters that was shared and the potential crumbling of what they call the collar.

“My biggest concern is emergency services route, in the event that someone has to call an ambulance.”

Road sign with sign pointing to mine
A local road bordering Cadia Gold Mine has been partially shut after its underground mine was forced to temporarily close.(ABC Central West: Joanna Woodburn)

Water concerns

Gemma Green chairs the Cadia Community and Sustainability Group and said one if its key issues was the protection of local water sources.

“The damage is obviously very serious and one of their key intentions is to stop that water flowing into the ventilation shaft,” she said.

“Newcrest made it very clear that their intention is to stop the water as quickly and safely as they can.

“I’d be encouraging people to give their feedback locally in and around that aquifer in the event they have changes in their bore levels.”

In a statement on Wednesday Cadia’s general manager Aaron Brannigan said the proposed response plan would be carried out in a series of steps.

“The initial assessment of the area directly surrounding the ventilation [shaft] to ensure it is safe to access, the mobilization of drill rigs to install a high-pressure grout curtain to minimize the water inflow and filling the vent with inert rock material to stabilize it,” the statement said.

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Michaels camera collection goes to auction

Michaels camera collection goes to auction

The story goes that then-Chinese leader Mao Zedong’s fourth wife Jiang Qing, a keen photographer, wanted to impress senior Communist Party members by handing out gifts.

She loved Leica cameras, but was not going to promote German products, so she commissioned a Chinese factory to replicate the Leica M4.

Leica cameras from the 1950s are among the items up for sale.

Leica cameras from the 1950s are among the items up for sale.Credit:Wayne Taylor

It wasn’t released commercially, but perhaps a comrade fell on hard times and was forced to sell one, because, somehow, there’s one in the Michaels’ museum.

On sale at the first Michaels museum auction will be authentic Leicas dating from the 1920s, late 1890s and early 1900s studio cameras, advertising posters, and a kerosene-powered 1890s slide projector.

Also on sale will be a three-meter tripod that Leski says in the 1930s was used to raise cameras above horse race finishing lines.

There is a working, see-through Canon EOS camera used by salespeople for demonstration purposes.

Items to be sold at future auctions include a telephoto lens damaged in the 1986 bombing of the Turkish consulate in South Yarra, and a 1928 ladies’ pocket-sized camera that includes a powder compact, lipstick and mirror.

Owner Peter Michael said he was sad to part with the pieces that he, his brothers Tony and Rob and their late father Alan collected for 50 years, starting with Alan buying a customer’s 1920s and 1930s Leica camera collection. “I loved showing people through the museum; there were so many interesting items,” Peter said.

“[The museum] was our pride and joy for so many years”.

He says he knows many items intimately, including a 1960s Canon Dial camera with a clockwork winding film mechanism he owned as a child.

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After Michaels closed its store at the corner of Elizabeth and Lonsdale streets to trade solely online early last year, the building was leased to a hospitality business.

That meant there was no longer a room for the museum, which used to attract camera enthusiasts from around the world.

“I thought that we’d be building this museum forever,” Michael said. “I never anticipated selling it. But circumstances have changed. You need such an enormous amount of space, just to maintain it.”

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Tech takes ASX above 7,000-point mark after strong Wall Street session

Tech takes ASX above 7,000-point mark after strong Wall Street session

Treasuries had rallied last week after Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled that the pace of future increases may slow later this year, increasing the odds for cuts next year in market-implied measures. Several Fed leaders have since said the central bank is far from done with tightening and remains laser-focused on tamping down price gains that are the hottest in four decades.

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“If there is a change in tone by Fed members, it is similar to a parent that is finally telling the kids that you’ve had enough candy, no more,” wrote Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Financial Group.

“For decades the Fed always gave the markets more candy, especially when the kids raised out for it. Now, the kids are going to have to do without as long as inflation is at the very unsatisfactory levels that it’s pacing at, even with an expected fall.”

Markets are also somewhat calmer as US-China tensions simmered after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi left Taiwan. Her visit from Ella had provoked an angry response from China, and markets were on the edge ahead of her arrival from Ella on Tuesday.

US stocks were roaring on Wednesday after a session with many twists and turns the previous day.

PayPal jumped 8.9 per cent on a report that activist investor Elliott Management has taken a large stake in the payment company.

Robinhood Markets, whose stock trading app helped bring a new generation of investors to the market, rose 11.9 per cent following an announcement that it’s cutting nearly a quarter of its workforce. Crashing cryptocurrency prices and a turbulent stock market have kept more customers off its app.

But the strong equities trading doesn’t reflect the headwinds confronting the market, according to Goldman Sachs strategist Sharon Bell.

“There’s a little bit of complacency in there and markets are not fully taking into account the risks,” Bell said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

Seeing riskier areas of the equity market reprice higher as some earnings estimates get slashed indicates that investors may be overly optimistic, said Emily Roland, co-chief investment strategist at John Hancock Investment Management.

“In this environment, we would rebalance into quality companies and sectors that have strong balance sheets and more durable profitability,” she said. “This is not the right time to emphasize cyclical areas or ones that have a greater need for capital.”

Oil fell after a brief rally as traders mulled the lack of relief for oil markets and a poor demand outlook. The US dollar wall gains after jumping to its highest in a week.

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AGL customer says power bills are false due to wrong meter readings: Bryn Lawson

Bryn Lawson (above) said he's ready to cut all power to his house after consistently receiving overpriced bills from his Sydney power provider, AGL

Furious AGL customer EXPLODES at his power company for overcharging him revealing his $1200 bills cost him his marriage and forced him to use an esky instead of a fridge – now he’s threatening to cut electricity to his home for good

  • Bryn Lawson, 55, regularly receives power bills over $1,200 despite living alone
  • He said the bills are due to his power company, AGL, misreading his power meter
  • Mr Lawson has replaced his fridge with a camping fridge and doesn’t use heating
  • The bills have left him ‘broken and are part of the ‘decimation’ of his marriage

By Ashley Nickel For Daily Mail Australia

Published: | Updated:

A frustrated customer of one of Australia’s largest energy providers has threatened to cut the power to his home off for good after being stung with sky-high meter readings he says are false.

Sydneysider Bryn Lawson, 55, is drawing a line in the sand with electricity giant, AGL, as bills regularly soar over $1,200 a quarter, despite the fact he lives alone.

He even says the ‘overcharging’ s even cost him his 35-year marriage because the couple used to blame each other about which of them was responsible.

‘Fix it AGL. Get your s**t together and fix it, mate… Stop f**king me around,’ he told A Current Affair.

‘It was a part of the decimation of our marriage because I’d come home and the lights would be on the power would be on and the power bills were high.’

Bryn Lawson (above) said he's ready to cut all power to his house after consistently receiving overpriced bills from his Sydney power provider, AGL

Bryn Lawson (above) said he’s ready to cut all power to his house after consistently receiving overpriced bills from his Sydney power provider, AGL

‘I’d be saying “what are the lights on for what’s this on for, why is the heater on”.’

But after his wife walked out on him the chargers were just as high.

Mr Lawson has taken extreme measures to counteract the hefty bills.

He replaced his kitchen fridge with a camping esky and has refused to turn on the heater in all winter, despite near freezing temperatures.

But he still faces massive bills each quarter.

Mr Lawson is responsible for checking his own power meter as his power box is not accessible from the road.

However, Mr Lawson said the meter figure he confirms with AGL is never the number that appears on his bill.

He said AGL responds to his complaints with credits to make up the difference from his bill and the actual amount of power he uses but then the same mistake is made the next time round.

Mr Lawson has replaced his kitchen fridge with a small camping esky (above) in an effort to keep his power bills down

Mr Lawson has replaced his kitchen fridge with a small camping esky (above) in an effort to keep his power bills down

Now Mr Lawson has nothing left to give and said he is tired of ‘shivering’ every night and suffering from the paranoia of his upcoming bills.

He says he’s had enough and is threatening to cut off the power altogether.

‘It’s humiliating when I think about what they’ve made me do. It’s not the appliances, it’s AGL,’ he said.

‘I have no problem at all putting my swag out there, putting my solar panels, my battery and running that fridge out there and living out there,’ he said.

AGL told A Current Affair they apologize for Mr Lawson’s experience and are committed to fixing his concerns.

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