A Cost of Living forum occurred on Thursday, February 2 in the Sydney suburb of Lakemba, organised by Sophie Cotsis MP, Jihad Dib MP, and the Energy and Water Ombudsman to help people with their bills and save money on their utilities.
Ms Cotsis has remarked that these forums are a one stop shop, and have been a way for locals to find out about cost saving, rebates, and discounts on their everyday bills.
“It was great to see people of all ages at the forum. The cost of living crisis has made it increasingly more difficult for local families to make ends meet,” Ms Cotsis said.
“Our community is multicultural and linguistically diverse, we had many translators and multicultural services on the day to ensure no question goes unanswered.”
The forum had representation from local Council, Services NSW, Sydney Water, Housing NSW, Revenue NSW, Services Australia, Energy and Water Ombudsman, Canterbury City Community Centre, Chinese Australian Services Society, and Metro Assist.
Some case studies from the day included:
- Angel from Lakemba who had many questions about Government Housing, walked out with her hands full of informative materials in both English and Hindi, and with all her questions answered.
- Carol of Campsie, a single mother of four, received a fine when her car got stuck in an intersection and was caught by a red light camera. She spoke to Revenue NSW and Service NSW to get her fine reviewed.
- John of Belmore, a senior, received an exorbitant land tax fine which was calculated incorrectly. He spoke to Revenue NSW and the local MP office who told him about the next steps.
