Australians are dipping into their savings, delaying purchases and using their credit cards to bridge the gap between pay days, according to a new consumer survey.

The Choice Consumer Pulse Report has highlighted a range of cost-of-living pressures facing Australians with one third of people surveyed saying they find it difficult to get by on their current income, and two-thirds saying they have cut back spending on non-essential items.

Less than a quarter of people say they are feeling comfortable on their current income, and the price of electricity, fuel and food are the biggest concerns.

Choice CEO Alan Kirkland says it shows households are doing it tough.

"The people that are struggling the most are certainly people on low incomes," he told the ABC.

"And when we look into that further, renters are really struggling a lot more than people that are trying to buy their own home - but also families with young children, which is not surprising because they're households that face the biggest burden when it comes to things like electricity, fuel, food and groceries and health and medical costs.

"Some of these findings reflect what's actually happening, we've seen electricity costs go up massively in the last five years, way beyond the rate of inflation and it's no surprise that people are saying that they are the biggest cost-of-living concern.

read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-08/australians-anxious-about-cost-of-living-survey/5655660

Labor has sought to embarrass the government over the discovery that web domain names that include the term “Abbott lies” have been registered in the name of the Liberal party.

Web registry searches indicate abbottlies.com.au and abbottlies.net.au were registered by “Liberal Party of Australia” on 13 May, the date of the government’s first budget.

Anyone who visits those addresses is redirected to the official liberal.org.au site, which prompts people to sign up for updates and to “get the facts” on the budget. The Liberal website’s budget section includes material about “Labor’s budget deceit”.

Labor registered the slightly different abbottslies.com.au last week as part of its “lie a day” campaign against Tony Abbott.

Several Twitter users noticed the redirection last week and the Daily Telegraph reported on the apparent pre-emptive Liberal party tactic on Sunday.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/10/abbott-lies-web-domain-names-registered-in-liberal-party-name

On the ABC's AM program this morning, Mr Hockey rebuffed his long-time predecessor who declared the $7 GP co-payment would not pass the Senate.

Mr Costello said Mr Hockey should cut his losses and drop the planned budget measure.

"It's not good advice because frankly our budget is part of an overarching economic action strategy that has a number of different component parts," Mr Hockey said

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-11/hockey-forging-ahead-with-medicare-co-payment/5661968

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FRANKLY, Joe should know that any senator voting for his $7 medicare slug will be seen by the Australian public as a traitor to Australia and its fair spirit. Joe is ridiculous and pig-headed like a ridiculous pig-headed pig...