Seven ways to save money and the planet

Climate data shows we could be up for our hottest year on record. The good news is, it’s possible to go green on a budget – check out these seven financial tips from industry super fund-owned bank ME on how you can reduce your environmental footprint.

1. Invest in a water bottle

Around 370 million plastic bottles go to landfill each year in Australia, yet they can take more than 400 years to break down.

Think of it this way. If Michelangelo had been sipping from a plastic bottle when he painted the Sistine Chapel back in the early 1500s, the bottle still wouldn’t be fully decomposed in 2019. Scary right?

Invest in a reusable water bottle and fill it from the tap. It can see you save a fortune on bottled water while keeping you hydrated.

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Who needs financial planning?

The fallout of the Financial Services Royal Commission raised the question for consumers of how they can get financial advice they can trust. And for funds, there may be questions about how much effort and focus should be given to financial planning given the lack of consumer confidence.  Is there real value in offering members financial advice?  And who is best placed to deliver it?

If you ask Ben, one of Industry Fund Services’ financial planners – or a recent client of his – the answers to these questions are easy.

Ben recently saved a member around $70,000 in tax and structured his retirement savings to last an extra 20 years, enabling him to retire early to care for his ill wife.

But on hearing his client’s situation, Ben knew this approach would put a big dent in his retirement savings.  Ben set about exploring other options and modelling alternative solutions.

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Timor Leste presents Medal of the Order of Timor-Leste to Australian Union movement

The Government of Timor Leste has presented the Australian union movement the Medal of the Order of Timor-Leste.

Presented by Timor-Leste’s President the medal is in recognition of the role the Australian union movement played in the campaign for independence for Timor-Leste.

Twenty years ago the Timorese people voted overwhelmingly for independence from Indonesia after twenty four years of military occupation.

The Australian union movement has a long history of solidarity with the Timorese people, opposing Indonesian occupation and assisting the resistance.

ACTU President, Michele O’Neil said, “This is a great honour for the Australian union movement. Australian unions are proud to stand in solidarity with the people of Timor-Leste and our relationship continues to be strong.”

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ACTU calls for Porter to side with working people over big business to get economy moving

The peak body for working people has written to Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter ahead of his planned review of the Fair Work Act, urging him to tackle key areas of reform that are holding back working people’s rights and the national economy.

The letter outlines four critical areas of reform a review should focus on – record-low wage growth, insecure work, the proliferation of wage theft, and a persistent failure to deliver equal pay for women.

Australia is in the midst of its lowest sustained wage growth since World War II. A chorus of voices from across the political spectrum have voiced the need for working people to get a fair share of the wealth their work produces.

ACTU Secretary, Sally McManus said, “The big problems holding Australia back are low wage growth, insecure work, wage theft and our ongoing failure to close the pay gap for working women.

“These problems will not solve themselves. They require action from the Federal Government to fix them.”

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Experience adventure with your member benefits

Member Advantage has partnered with Intrepid Travel to get you a step closer to your next adventure.

Intrepid Travel’s small group adventures are for travellers of every age, budget and appetite for adventure. No matter where you go, you’ll enjoy the hallmarks of what makes their sustainable, experience-rich tours so special: a small group style of travel that allows travellers to explore like the locals do, an expert local leader and unique experiences with an emphasis on responsible travel.

To help you find your next adventure, Intrepid are offering an exclusive 10% OFF* to Australian Unions Member Benefits Members.

Find your next adventure, visit your Australian Unions Member Benefits website

Please note; if you haven’t already registered for the program, hit the ‘Register‘ button and input your details to access all the exclusive union member deals.

*Terms and conditions apply

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ACTU/ME AFL Footy Tipping winner

We are pleased to announce the winner of the ACTU/ME AFL Footy Tipping Competition!

The winner of the AFL tipping comp is Toby Hunt, an ABC staffer, CPSU member and Essendon supporter from Canberra. Toby won with an excellent score of 141 points with a margin of 739 at the end of the AFL home and away season.  Toby will receive $1,000 into his Everyday Transaction Account with ME.  Well done, Toby and congratulations!

The NRL footy tipping competition winner is still to be decided as there is one more round to go yet.  In the top spot currently is CFMMEU NSW member, James Wither on 127 points and a margin of 227 – can he be beaten?

A big thank you to all the union member tipsters and also to ME for providing the prize money.

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ACTU Member Benefits says farewell to Stuart Bell  

ACTU stalwart of over 15 years, Stuart Bell recently resigned from his position as Member Benefits and Partnerships Manager and it is with great reluctance we say farewell to him this week as he moves on to a new part time role with a not for profit organisation.

Stuart began his career in the union movement as a National Industrial Officer, then later, Secretary of the Customs Section with the CPSU-PSU before coming to work at the ACTU in 2004.  He has been a well-respected and hardworking member of the Member Benefits team and will certainly be missed around the office and especially at ACTU events time!

Good luck in your new role, Stuart; your friends in the movement wish you all the best for the future. 

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Jobs with the union movement – apply now

There are some terrific union roles currently listed on the ACTU Job Vacancies web page.  A variety of positions are available from Senior Industrial Officer to Organiser, Health and Safety Training roles and lots more.

So if you’re in the market for a great union job see what’s on offer today.

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WIN one of 6 DVDs from Madman

Enter the draw to win one of 3 copies of both ‘2040‘ and ‘The Hummingbird Project‘ that we are giving away to 6 lucky union members this month!

2040

Award-winning director Damon Gameau embarks on a journey to explore what the future would look like by the year 2040 if we simply embraced the best solutions already available to us to improve our planet and shifted them into the mainstream. Structured as a visual letter to his 4-year-old daughter, Damon blends traditional documentary footage with dramatised sequences and high-end visual effects to create a vision board for his daughter and our planet.

To win a copy of 2040 simply email [email protected] with your name, address, union name and membership number before close of business Friday 27^th September 2019.

The Hummingbird Project 

In this epic tale of humanity versus corporate greed, cousins from New York, Vincent and Anton are players in the high-stakes game of High Frequency Trading, where winning is measured in milliseconds. Their dream? To build a fibre-optic cable in a straight line between Kansas and New Jersey, making them millions. However nothing is as straightforward as it seems. 

To win a copy of The Hummingbird Project simply email [email protected] with your name, address, union name and membership number before close of business Friday 27^th September 2019. 

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