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big trip planned for a festival? your trip may be in jeopardy thanks to a new super rule.

as per the government's new super laws which now require festival organisers to pay for artist's super within seven days, long-running volunteer events will be required to shut down.

the inverloch and newcastle hunter jazz festivals just folded after decades of running. the trigger was a new law called payday super which forces organisers to pay out retirement contributions within a week of the gig. for small volunteer teams, the admin load to process hundreds of payments that fast is apparently impossible.

while it is great that performers finally get the super they are owed, the tight deadline is accidentally killing the venues where they actually work. it is a weird catch-22 for the arts scene where better pay conditions are currently leading to fewer jobs. keep an eye on how smaller community events handle this or if the government offers a workaround for the little guys.

your power grid is finally swapping dirty coal for a massive 12-hour water battery.

the nsw state government has approved a project to turn a closed coal mine into a 300mw pumped hydro battery and solar farm.

a closed coal mine north of newcastle is being flipped into a massive renewable energy hub. the project uses a pumped hydro system, which acts like a giant water battery by moving water between reservoirs to store energy. it can hold enough power to run for 12 hours, providing a massive safety net for when the sun goes down.

this is a huge part of the state's plan to replace aging coal plants with reliable green energy. for you, it means a more stable grid and a clear example of how the billions in super and tax dollars are actually being spent on the ground during the energy transition.