Unspent cards worth billions Bushfire lessons ‘not learnt’, says union chief

AUSTRALIANS risk losing billions of dollars on gift cards by not redeeming them, according to new research.

Two in five people (39 per cent) have unused gift cards lying around with a national total worth of $1.9 billion, says comparison website Finder’s survey of 1086 respondents.

The research found those with gift cards have an average of $243 sitting in drawers untouched.

Graham Cooke, Finder’s head of consumer research, said gift cards are a popular choice for presents, but more than a third go unused.

“Gift cards are a practical gift if you’re unsure of what someone will like or use,” he said.

“However, by not redeeming them, you’re essentially giving that money back to the retailer, and losing out on a great deal of savings.”

The data shows three in 10 people (29 per cent) have been unable to redeem a gift card: one in five (22 per cent) couldn’t redeem their gift card as it had expired, six per cent misplaced it, and two per cent were unable to cash in on their gift card as the company was out of business.

That’s equivalent to 5.8 million people who have missed out on an opportunity to use their credit.

“Up until recently, retailers could issue gift cards with an expiration date as short as six months. Thank fully, they must now allow you to use the card for a minimum of three years,” Cooke said.

“It is illegal for retailers to issue cards with an expiry date shorter than this. If a retailer rejects your card within a three-year period, lodge a complaint. If they still won’t honour the credit, reach out to your local consumer body. Additionally, retailers may not charge any additional fees to use the card after it is issued.”

Millennials tend to have the most unused gift cards – with half (49 per cent) holding on to them, compared to 31 per cent of gen X.

Cooke said there are ways to make for when the card expires so you remember to use it.

“Take a picture of the front and back of the card with your phone. In many cases, the details on the card will be sufficient to use the credit in the future if you lose it.

“If you’ve been given a card you don’t think you’ll use, consider regifting or selling it to friends, family, or online marketplaces. This will help you recoup some of the value that would have otherwise been lost.

“Remember, if you decide to resell it online, don’t use a picture of the card’s numbers or else it could be skimmed.”

IN the wake of the 20th anniversary of the Canberra bushfires, the local firefighters’ union says the ACT’s Emergency Services Agency (ESA) has failed to learn the lessons from the January 18, 2003, tragedy.

Greg McConville, the United Firefighters Union’s ACT secretary said: “After the Canberra bushfires destroyed nearly 500 homes and took four lives, the ACT’s Emergency Services Agency has failed to learn the lessons of 2003.

“ACT Fire and Rescue remains short of equipment and trucks. The Acton Fire Station promised in 2021 remains a vacant block of land, and organisations set up to protect Canberrans from bushfires have been scrapped.

“Despite the near disastrous incidents of defective fire trucks during the 2003 Canberra fires, the newest fire trucks procured for ACT Fire and Rescue suffer from the same faults of flammable plastic air intakes and unprotected brake lines, leaving firefighters and the community no better protected.”

This is in contrast to Emergency Services Minister Mick Gentleman’s assertion that the ACT government had undertaken “significant reflection” and worked to learn from the lessons from the 2003 bushfires and implement a range of actions to ensure the territory was better prepared for bushfire and natural disasters.

“The community should be confident knowing that our emergency services agencies are more prepared for a bushfire emergency than ever before,” he said.

McConville also claimed that the ACT was desperately short of firefighters.

“Between 2013 and mid-2016, no firefighters were recruited at all. In the 2018/19 financial year, only six were recruited,” he said.

“That’s meant that firefighters continue to undertake unacceptable levels of overtime, and firefighters are being pressured into not taking their accrued leave to cover the gaps.

Mr McConville said important bushfire consultative bodies created to strengthen the ACT’s response and resilience to bushfires had been abolished without explanation.

“The Emergency Services Operational Review Group was established to bring together biannually representatives of all emergency services, staff and volunteers. However, without any announcement, it appears to have been abolished and has not been met since November 2020,” he said.

“The Bushfire Council was abolished in 2021 against the will of its members, including rural landholders and the Bush Fire Abatement Zone recommended by the McLeod report, and the coronial inquest was also abolished.

“Unforgivably, the coroner’s inquiry into the 2019 fires remains incomplete and will not reconvene until April, 2023.”

The day the bushfire textbook was rewritten – Page 11.