Improving access to mental health and addiction support took a significant step forward today with Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey announcing that the University of Canterbury have been the first to be selected to develop the Government’s new associate psychologist training programme.
“I am thrilled that the University of Canterbury is the first to be awarded funding to help lead the new associate psychology pathway. I know this new role will help ease New Zealand’s psychology workforce shortages,” Mr Doocey says.
“Currently, there are far too many people in New Zealand who are stuck on waiting lists for psychological services or missing out altogether. This is utterly unacceptable. That is why the Government has created this new programme that will help ensure more people are receiving the support they need, when they need it.
“From next year in 2026 the first cohort of students will begin their studies. As the associate psychologist training programme is a one-year postgraduate diploma, from early 2027 we will see more graduates as a result entering the mental health and addiction workforce, making it easier for New Zealanders to access support.
“Every year there is a large amount of psychology students who graduate with an undergraduate degree but are unable to progress further due to the limited number of post-graduate clinical pathways. This new qualification now offers an opportunity for those students to continue pursuing a career within the mental health and addiction workforce.
“These graduate associate psychologists will be registered health professionals who will work under supervision within a mental health or addiction service. This will also help free up registered psychologists to allow them to focus on more complex cases.
“The associate psychologist could also work, with the appropriate support, in areas where there are few psychologists. This will help support rural and harder to reach communities improve their access to support.
“I’m very pleased that the University of Canterbury is continuing to expand their psychology programmes. Last year I was pleased to commended UC for increasing its intake of clinical psychology students each year to meet the growing demand for mental health professionals in New Zealand.”
The Government has set a workforce target of training 500 mental health and addiction professionals annually.
“To reach this target, a number of initiatives are underway including increased numbers of funded psychology internships and psychiatry trainees, better utilisation of the Peer Support workforce and work to create innovative new roles,” Mr Doocey says.
Notes to editors: • The University of Canterbury will work to develop the curriculum and qualification which will include both theoretical training and practical experience working in mental health and addiction services.
• A further tertiary provider is expected to be confirmed in due course. The tertiary providers will work collaboratively to develop this training alongside Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora and the New Zealand Psychologists Board, who are guiding the development of the scope of practice, competencies and accreditation process for the role.
Community wellbeing grants are now available to organisations that provide support to individuals and whānau impacted by the severe weather events of 2023.
The grants, which are funded by the Tāmaki Makaurau Recovery Office, are open for expressions of interest from 17 March until 6 April 2025.
The grants aim to support innovative initiatives that:
foster social connection and collective healing.
provide tools and programmes to help communities manage anxieties about nature and weather while rebuilding trust and connection with te taiao.
address one or more of the key wellbeing needs identified in the Learning Review [247 KB], with clear evidence of community need.
“These grants aim to fund innovative programmes and initiatives that enhance the wellbeing of our communities as they navigate their recovery journeys,” says Linda Greenalgh, Group Community and Social Recovery Lead for the Recovery Office.
“We encourage new and creative approaches that have not been previously implemented, allowing us to evaluate their impact on the community. The more innovative, the better!
“Many communities are still grappling with the long-term impacts of the storms. These grants provide an opportunity to support initiatives that empower people, strengthen connections, and help communities move forward in a way that makes sense for them.”
Check out the guidelines [437 KB] and register your expression of interest.
Please attribute to Detective Inspector Kevan Verry, Counties Manukau CIB:
Police are continuing with a critical incident investigation surrounding the events leading up a fatal crash in Penrose yesterday afternoon.
One person has died, and another person remains in a critical condition after a driver allegedly fled from Police and crashed on Great South Road just before 2pm.
Today, Police are in a position to release some further information as our enquiries continue.
A 22-year-old man will appear in Manukau District Court on Friday charged with reckless driving causing death and reckless driving causing injury following yesterday’s incident.
Shortly before 2pm, a Police officer sighted a vehicle travelling at excess speed along Vestey Drive.
Moments later the vehicle crossed the centre line and crashed into two other vehicles near the intersection of Great South Road, Penrose and Sundown Lane.
A passenger from one of the vehicles struck was pronounced deceased at the scene and the driver of the same vehicle was transported to hospital where they remain in a critical condition.
The driver of the other vehicle hit sustained minor injuries and did not require medical treatment.
The driver of the speeding vehicle was transported to hospital in a critical condition, and remains in hospital in a stable condition.
We would like to acknowledge the impact that yesterday’s events will have had on the community and our thoughts are with everyone involved.
We are providing support to those affected and their families, as well as our staff who were impacted.
Until the next of kin notifications have been carried out, further details regarding the deceased are unable to be released.
There are now several investigations underway, including a critical incident investigation and a policy, practice, and procedure investigation.
As is standard procedure, the Independent Police Conduct Authority has also been notified.
A scene examination was completed yesterday and the Serious Crash Unit and staff are working to establish the full circumstances surrounding the crash.
Police are also appealing to any witnesses who may have seen the a grey Holden Commodore in the Panama Road, Great South Road and Vestey Drive areas between 1.30pm-2pm yesterday.
Anyone with information or footage is urged to contact Police to assist with the investigation.
Please update Police online or call 105 and use the reference number 250316/5377 or cite ‘Operation Kershaw ’.
The Shanghai government on Sunday announced a series of measures and activities aimed at promoting the high-quality development of what it calls the “debut economy”, as the East China metropolis works to become a global consumption hub, according to official sources.
The latest policy package seeks to optimize the business environment in the city and encourage the introduction of more “first” stores, debut products, shows and exhibitions.
According to Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, a series of “first “events is set to take place in Shanghai and other cities aiming to unleash market potential and promote the integration of domestic and international trade.
“We hope Shanghai will continue to lead the development of the debut economy nationwide and drive high-quality economic growth to a higher level,” Wang said.
Since introducing policies to boost the debut economy in 2018, Shanghai has become a top destination for domestic and international brands to launch their first stores, debut products and host shows and exhibitions, said Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng.
To maintain its appeal as a consumption hub, Shanghai will continue to attract high-quality brands to open their first stores, create new consumption experiences and scenarios, and enhance the business environment, Gong said.
With the aim of creating “First in Shanghai” as a city brand, the measures seek to attract more high-profile events, position the initiative as a global consumption bellwether and make Shanghai the top choice for international brands entering the Chinese market, said the city’s Vice-Mayor Hua Yuan.
More than 3,500 domestic and international brands have held debut activities in the city as of the end of 2024, with 1,269 first stores opening in Shanghai last year, Hua said. These included 14 first stores across Asia or beyond and 202 debut stores at the national or Chinese mainland level — leading Chinese cities in both quantity and quality, he added.
Employers, unions and MinEx which represents health and safety for quarries, mines and tunnels, are among organisations saying the Government must reduce the risks faced by thousands of New Zealand workers from the deadly lung disease silicosis.
MinEx has today sent itssubmissionto consultation closing tomorrow on options from Workplace Relations and Safety Minister, Brooke van Velden on how to deal with Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS) which causes the disease.
A workshop was held by MinEx earlier this month to help develop a pan-industry response to silicosis across extractive, construction, concrete and other sectors as well as health and safety organisations and researchers.
CEO Wayne Scott says he’s since met with the Council of Trade Unions and been in touch with the Employers and Manufacturers’ Association.”It is heartening to have both unions and employers back MinEx’s call for a ban on engineered stone. This product is the primary focus of the Minister’s consultation as it presents the highest risk to workers.”
He says in the year to last October, WorkSafe inspectors visited 102 engineered stone businesses and issued 131 improvement notices to 67 of them. “This is five years after WorkSafe started paying attention to engineered stone and clearly indicates many of the businesses are not complying with health and safety controls, long after the risks to workers have been identified.
“The CTU and EMA and several other organisations also share our view that the Minister must additionally act to strengthen requirements to reduce the RCS exposure risk faced by tens of thousands of other Kiwi workers.”
“That underscores why every organisation associated with our workshop has backed a call for the Government to establish an Occupational Lung Disease Registry to provide tracking, treatment and support for affected workers.”
He says the mining and quarrying sector are already mandated to conduct regular exposure monitoring and lung tests on their workers every five years, as well as often consented requirements to reduce any dust created by their operations.
“No such requirements apply to other sectors where workers can be exposed to Respirable Crystalline Silica including construction, concrete cutting, glass and some other trades.”
Wayne Scott says every New Zealand worker who faces any risk from silicosis deserves a full range of protection, led by their employers and backed by Government regulations.
“This is a nasty disease. Unlike asbestosis which often takes decades to emerge, silicosis can quite rapidly stop healthy young people working. The tiny particles bypass the body’s defences, scarring the lungs, leading to breathing difficulties, other illnesses and sometimes death. We’ve got to deal with it,” says Wayne Scott.
On the eve of Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio New Zealanders are asking Mr Peters to speak up for Palestine.
In the last few days 1606 people have signed anopen letter to Mr Peterswhich we have sent him this afternoon, New Zealand time.
Open letter requesting government action on the future of Gaza
Kia ora Mr Peters,
The situation in Occupied Gaza has reached another crisis point.
Last Sunday Israel announced it was ending its January ceasefire agreement with Palestinian groups resisting the occupation and was once more imposing a total ban on humanitarian aid entering Gaza.
Israel says this is because it wants to extend the first phase of the ceasefire agreement rather than negotiate phase two which would see the agreed withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. The renewed blockade on food, water, fuel and medical supplies has been widely condemned as a breach of the ceasefire agreement and the use of “starvation as a weapon of war” by Palestinian groups, international aid organisations and many governments. The United Nations Secretary General António Guterres has called for “humanitarian aid to flow back into Gaza immediately”. Israel has refused this request.
Compounding the crisis is US President Donald Trump’s recently declared intention to permanently remove all the Palestinian people of Gaza and send them to other countries such as Egypt and Jordan so Gaza can be rebuilt as a US territory in the Middle East – in his words “the riviera of the Middle East”.
Israel has accepted this US proposal but Palestinians and the vast majority of governments and civil society groups around the world are appalled at the scheme.
To this point our government has not commented on either Israel’s new blockade of humanitarian supplies into Gaza or the US President’s plan for ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian territory.
Back in December 2023, when the government was commenting, the Prime Minister stated “…Israel must respect international humanitarian law. Civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected…Safe and unimpeded humanitarian access must be increased and sustained.”
None of this has happened in the more than 14 months since.
We are asking our government to speak out once more on behalf of the people of New Zealand to, at the very least, condemn Israel’s use of humanitarian aid as a weapon of war and to call for international humanitarian and human rights law to be applied.
We believe the way forward for peace and security for everyone who calls the Middle East home is for all parties to follow international law and United Nations resolutions so that a lasting peace can be established based on justice and equal rights for everyone in the region.
New Zealand has an internationally respected voice which can make a strong contribution to this end. We are asking the government to use this voice.
As we clean up after Alfred, we’re only just now realising how hard of a punch this cyclone has packed. Financial forecasts are predicting the impacts will amount to more than $1.2 billion.
Craig Zonca:
Yeah, it’s not just fixing the mess it made, it’s the flow on effects that could be felt for some time. The federal Treasurer is Jim Chalmers. Treasurer, good morning to you.
Jim Chalmers:
Good morning, Craig. Good morning, Loretta.
Zonca:
$1.2 billion, that’s quite the economic hit.
Chalmers:
It is a pretty hefty hit. We’ve said all along that our main focus here is obviously the human costs, but there’s going to be a very substantial economic cost as well, and we’ll account for that in the Budget. It’ll be one of the key influences on the Budget.
The best way to think about the economic impact is that around 5 million people were in harm’s way of this cyclone. Almost 2 million homes. I think we lost something like 12 million work hours out of the economy. What Treasury does as we finalise this Budget is it provides its best initial estimates of the economic fallout. So, a hit to our economy of about $1.2 billion, that’s about a quarter of a percentage point off growth. We’re also assessing which of our food growers were impacted, and what does it mean for building costs – because there is a risk as well that there’ll be some impact on inflation.
Zonca:
Well, you stand up next Tuesday, 25th March, with your Budget speech, how does it now change because of Alfred?
Chalmers:
I’m going to provision an extra $1.2 billion in the Budget for the recovery. Australians are there for each other when these difficult natural disasters occur, and the government will be there for them as well, so we will put an extra $1.2 billion in the Budget. That means there’ll be about 13 and a half billion dollars all told, when it comes to budgeting for rebuilding communities.
Remember, it wasn’t that long ago that our friends to the north of here were getting very substantial flooding as well. We’ve had a series of natural disasters. So, there’s about 30 and a half billion in the Budget, but $1.2 billion of that is new money which we’re putting in the Budget to account for the recovery and the rebuild after ex‑tropical Cyclone Alfred.
Zonca:
And is that paid by cuts elsewhere or new borrowings?
Chalmers:
It’s off the bottom line – and the budget overall will have some savings in it. It will have some responsible measures to get the budget in better nick, but it will have some investments as well, including this one. This brings us to an important point, unfortunately at this time of the morning, a bit of a political point, but you’ll hear our political opponents talk about wasteful spending and they talk about hundreds of billions in wasteful spending.
When they say that, remember that part of that figure they use is actually funding for natural disaster recovery. What we’ve been able to do is manage the budget very responsibly. Two surplus budgets for the first time in almost 2 decades, we’ve engineered something like a $200 billion improvement in the budget. And because we’ve done that, because we’ve managed the budget responsibly, we can afford to pay for things which are really important, like rebuilding communities after natural disasters.
Ryan:
On 612 ABC Breakfast, federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers with us for the families who are listening, Treasurer, and who have been hit hard with this. Will that money go towards recovery payments for them? I know there are payments for people affected. How does that all work?
Chalmers:
It is part of it. So, it’s partly rebuilding bridges and footpaths and local infrastructure. I think a lot of people would have seen on the TV the destruction on the Gold Coast, for example, and further out west and in my neck of the woods in Logan and Brisbane and elsewhere. So, part of it is to help the state government and local governments rebuild that local infrastructure. But a significant part of it is these hardship payments as well. Whether it’s the Hardship Assistance Payment or the allowance for people who are put out of work for a substantial period of time, there is a significant cost to that as well.
I’ll actually be standing up with my terrific colleague, Jenny McAllister, who is the responsible Minister in this area. We’ll be saying a bit more about this later today, because what we’re making sure that we’re doing is making sure that people are eligible for these payments, that they can access them as quickly as possible, and the total cost of that will be included in the Budget.
Ryan:
Is this on top of what I think the Prime Minister did announce last week when the storm was happening?
Chalmers:
That was part of it. The Prime Minister was talking about these payments for people who are very substantially impacted. And what the government does, via Jenny McAllister, but also working closely with the states, is we determine the eligible areas for those payments. And so, as the natural disaster evolves, more and more local communities get added to the eligibility for those payments that the Prime Minister was talking about. That always evolves in days after a disaster to make sure that we are making everyone eligible who needs to be eligible, so that they can get the payments they need to get back on their feet.
Zonca:
Just on those payments, Treasurer, has there been any discussion about increasing those? Because I look at the amounts on offer and we’ve seen costs of everything go up substantially over the past decade. I don’t think those hardship payments, those disaster payments have increased in 10 plus years.
Chalmers:
I think we keep them under constant review. If your question is, you know, would people like a little bit more, I think I would understand if they did. We’ve got to be as responsible as we can. But they’re not insignificant amounts of money. In some cases it’s $900 or $1,000 a family, depending on how impacted people are and whether they’re eligible. It is a significant payment for people just to help them get back on their feet. There’s also the income replacement payments for people who are out of work for a substantial period of time.
We keep these totals under constant review. If we can do more, we’ll do more in the future, but it is a relatively significant payment already.
Zonca:
19 past 7 – the federal Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, with you as you talk about those impacts you mentioned on fruit and veggies and so on. Already we have seen substantial increases every time we go to the grocery store or our local greengrocer. What sort of further increases are likely post Cyclone Alfred?
Chalmers:
One of the most encouraging things that’s been happening in our economy is, you know, a couple of years ago when we came to office, inflation was multiples of what it is now, and it was rising quite quickly. What we’ve been able to do together as a country is to make some really encouraging progress on that inflation. And people are still under pressure. I know at the supermarket checkout, people are still feeling the pinch. We don’t pretend otherwise. That’s why our cost‑of‑living help that we’re rolling out is so important. But inflation is coming down.
If you think about food inflation in particular, that was 5.9 per cent when we came to office and now about half that at 3 per cent. And so that gives you a bit of a sense of the progress that we’re making. We’re not complacent about that because people are still under pressure and that’s why that cost‑of‑living help is so important.
Zonca:
Well, you talk up the economic management there, but I think most Australians would probably say they feel like they’re worse off since you started in government, Jim Chalmers?
Chalmers:
I think I acknowledged in the answer a moment ago, Craig, that we know that people are still under the pump. You know, we don’t pretend otherwise. But what matters there is, once you acknowledge that, whether you’re prepared to do something about it. We have been prepared to do something about it, and our opponents voted against that cost‑of‑living help.
We’ve been rolling out tax cuts for every taxpayer, energy bill relief, cheaper medicines, cheaper early childhood education, Fee‑Free TAFE, rent assistance. We’ve been getting wages moving again. And these are all of the ways that we’re not just recognising people are doing it tough, we’re trying to take the edge off these cost‑of‑living pressures where we can in the most responsible way that we can.
Ryan:
Treasurer, it looks like Queensland is tipped to lose a lot of the share of the GST pie. So, the Commonwealth Grants Commission proposing a $5 billion cut to GST revenue. So, we’re potentially looking at $2.4 billion next year alone. Surely this is something that you won’t let happen.
Chalmers:
I think as you rightly kind of intimated in your question, Loretta, this is an arm’s length process. It’s an independent process managed by the Commonwealth Grants Commission. It’s not a decision of the federal government to carve up the GST. That’s done by the Commission. And every year or every time that these relativities are calculated, some states are happy, and some states are less happy. Queensland’s done quite well over recent years from the Commonwealth Grants Commission. And what this new number recognises is the substantial amount, extra amount that Queensland is getting in coal royalties. And so, this calculation is not done by the government. I know it’s not unusual for state governments to want more money from the federal government. It’s not unusual for states to blame the feds for pressures on their budget. But this is not a process that’s done by politicians in the Commonwealth government. It’s done by this independent organisation.
Ryan:
Are you disappointed, though?
Chalmers:
I think over time it all works out. You know, for example, the last time this was done, NSW was unhappy. This time it’s Queensland. But over time, if you look at this over a period of time, it generally smooths out. On this occasion, it recognises that Queensland’s doing well or expected to do really well out of coal royalties. On other occasions, Queensland’s done incredibly well. Over a period of time, not just from year to year or update to update, it generally smooths out. From time to time, states are unhappy. Obviously, I care about that. As a Queenslander, I have a respectful working relationship with the Queensland government. I have a respectful relationship with governments of both political persuasions around Australia. It’s not unusual for them to want more and that’s what we’re seeing here.
Ryan:
But we need more because of the Olympics, don’t we?
Chalmers:
We’re kicking billions of dollars in for the Olympics. I think that’s a really important point. We’re providing $3.5 billion as a Commonwealth government for the Olympics. We haven’t been shy about that. We haven’t been pinching pennies when it comes to our commitment there. We think the Olympics are going to be terrific. We want to work closely with the state government to deliver something that we can be proud of and our $3.5 billion is part of that effort.
Zonca:
So, giving us $3.5 billion for Olympic infrastructure but taking $5 billion in GST revenue, that still leaves us $1.5 billion down overall.
Chalmers:
No, because there’s a big recovery in coal royalties, as I keep pointing out. Secondly, you need to look at these calculations by the Independent Commission at arm’s length from us over a period of time and not just from update to update. Queensland’s done well over the years. I know that people are not happy about this one. I do genuinely understand that you do genuinely care about that. But you need to look at it over a period of time, not just from one update to the next.
Zonca:
I appreciate your time this morning, Treasurer. Thanks so much.
It took thousands of years to develop the world’s extraordinary range of domesticated farm animals – an estimated 8,800 livestock breeds across 38 farmed species.
But this diversity is dwindling fast. Advances in selective breeding and artificial insemination have fuelled the global spread of a small number of profitable livestock types. Their popularity has left ever more heritage breeds at risk of extinction.
Why does this matter? Each breed represents vital genetic diversity for the livestock species on which we rely, known as agrobiodiversity. As the number of breeds shrink, we lose their genetics forever.
There are bright spots amid the decline. Hundreds of passionate farmers are working hard to keep heritage breeds alive around Australia. As my new book shows, they do it primarily for love.
Which livestock breeds are disappearing – and why?
Cattle have experienced the highest number of extinctions, with at least 184 breeds lost globally.
Of all chicken breeds, one in ten is now extinct, and a further 30% are endangered.
The fleece of Elliotdale sheep has been used to make woollen carpets. Sue Curliss, CC BY-NC-ND
Pigs fare little better. Australia’s 2.5 million pigs are predominantly Large White, Landrace and Duroc crossbreeds, while none of the eight remaining purebred pig breeds in Australia currently has more than 100 sows registered with the Rare Breeds Trust. While not all sows are registered, we know breeds such as Tamworths are at dangerously low numbers.
How did this happen? Over the past century, the goal of animal husbandry has shifted from breeding hardy, multipurpose animals to increasing performance for economic gain. For livestock, performance means more of what humans value, such as pigs with extra ribs, prolific egg-laying hens and sheep with finer wool.
Huge sums have been spent on selective breeding and artificial insemination technologies. This, in turn, has made it possible for a small number of profitable livestock types to be farmed globally.
For instance, when you buy a roast chicken, it will likely be one of just two types of fast-growing broilers (meat chickens), the Ross or the Cobb. Their genetics are developed and trademarked by two multinational agribusinesses who dominate the global broiler market.
Chicken breed numbers have shrunk too, risking rare breeds such as Transylvanian naked neck cockerel bantams. Scott Carter, CC BY-NC-ND
It’s hard to overstate how big the increases in production have been from reproductive technologies. In the dairy industry, for instance, milk yield per cow has doubled in the past 40 years. These volumes are around six times greater now than a century ago.
Holsteins, the top dairy breed, have become globally dominant. Almost 1.4 million of Australia’s 1.65 million dairy cows are Holsteins. But as Holstein numbers soar, other breeds dwindle. Many farmers have simply stopped rearing other breeds, leading to many becoming endangered or extinct.
For Holsteins themselves, this has come with a cost. Selective breeding for high milk volume has meant Holsteins suffer more medical issues such as metabolic diseases and frequent mastitis. They also have reduced fertility and longevity.
Researchers have found 99% of Holstein bulls produced by artificial insemination in the United States are descended from just two sires. This wide dissemination of limited bloodlines has led to the spread of genetic defects.
Our food systems face growing threats. Genetic diversity provides a safeguard for livestock species against lethal animal diseases such as H5N1 bird flu and African swine fever.
If we rely on just a few breeds, we risk a wipe out. The Irish potato famine is a catastrophic example. In the 1800s, Irish farmers took up the “lumper” variety of potatoes to feed a growing population. But when fungal rot struck in the 1840s, it turned most of the crop to mush – and led to mass starvation.
Some breeds have very useful traits, such as resistance to particular pests and diseases.
Chickens and other birds die in swathes if infected by Newcastle disease, one of the most serious bird viruses. But breeds such as the hardy Egyptian Fayoumi survive better, while the European Leghorn – whose genetics are used in commercial egg-laying breeds – is highly susceptible.
Local breeds can also have better resistance to endemic pests. The Indian zebu humped cattle breed, for example, is less prone to tick infestation than crossbreeds.
Climate change is also making life harder for livestock, and some breeds are better adapted to heat than others.
For different cultural groups, local heritage breeds also have unique symbolic and culinary value.
While it’s well-known eating less meat would benefit ecosystems, animal welfare and human health, eating meat remains entrenched in our diets and the economy. Pursuing more sustainable and higher-welfare approaches to livestock production is crucial.
Some Aussie farmers love heritage breeds
A cohort of Australian farmers is working hard to conserve dozens of endangered livestock breeds such as Large Black pigs, Shropshire sheep and Belted Galloway cattle.
A rare Belted Galloway cow with a one week old calf. Scott Carter, CC BY-NC-ND
But these farmers are hampered by our reluctance as consumers to pay more to cover the cost of raising slower-growing breeds in free-range environments. Not only that, but meat processors are increasingly closing their doors to small-scale producers.
Why persevere? For four years, I’ve conducted ethnographic research with Australia’s heritage breed farmers. I found they were motivated by one of the most powerful conservation tools we have: love.
Of his endangered English Leicester sheep, one farmer told me:
I consider them to be family; they have been our family for over 150 years. I talk to them, and the rams in particular talk to me. Sorry if I sound like a silly old man, but you must talk to them. I gave myself a 60th birthday present by commissioning a large portrait of an English Leicester head, which hangs in our kitchen (I do not have a painting of my wife).
Love doesn’t often feature in agricultural research. But it is an important force. We know from wildlife conservation that humans will act to save what they love. This holds for livestock, too.
Catie Gressier receives funding from the Australian Research Council’s Discovery Project scheme as well as the European Research Council. She is affiliated with the Rare Breeds Trust of Australia and the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance.
BILAL EL-HAYEK: Well, good morning everyone. I want to welcome you here to the City of Canterbury Bankstown to this important announcement. Well, Bankstown is booming. We have 14,000 new homes coming to Bankstown, brand new metro, a state of the art hospital. So this fantastic announcement comes in at a perfect timing when we are planning for our open space. I actually want to welcome all the ministers as well of course, the Federal Minister, Catherine King, Paul Scully, Rose Jackson, and the candidate for Banks, Zhi Soon.
I’ll now hand over to the Minister, Catherine King. Minister.
CATHERINE KING: Thank you. Thanks, Mayor. And it’s fantastic to be here today alongside my state counterparts, Paul Scully and Rose Jackson. Both planning and housing are pretty critical to the announcement we’re making today. And of course, Zhi Soon, our fantastic candidate for the federal seat of Banks in the upcoming federal election, whenever that may be.
Well, today we’re announcing alongside the New South Wales Government that as part of the Albanese Labor Government’s Housing Support Program, we’re providing over $300 million to New South Wales to bring on stream over 60,000 homes, including very quickly, over 100 social homes that are incredibly important across the whole of New South Wales. What this money goes towards is the enabling infrastructure to bring those developments to fruition, so things like the road infrastructure, water, sewerage, other utilities. But also more importantly, we’re also funding community infrastructure. As you can see from the development behind me, it isn’t just about building houses. It’s actually about building green space, good places for people to be able to walk through on their way to work, get that really sense of place, but also be able to bring their kids and make sure that they are cooler places for people to be able to engage in recreation and social activities. So part of that $300 million we’re announcing today is, here in Bankstown, a further community space. Again, it’s not just about having well-located homes around train stations, around Metro. It’s really about also making sure these are great and liveable places.
The money is being stretched right across the state, so Parramatta, Kellyville, Bella Vista, community spaces there, and as I said also, social housing in Albury. This program is part of over almost $2 billion that the Federal Government is investing in that infrastructure. We’re doing that now. The money is flowing. That infrastructure is being built to bring those 60,000 additional homes on stream here in New South Wales. It forms part of our $32 billion commitment to really build over 1.2 million homes across the whole of the country, and my part of it is building the infrastructure.
I might hand over to Minister Scully to say a few words and then Minister Jackson.
PAUL SCULLY: Thank you, Minister King. And thank you, Mayor Bilal, for inviting us here today to Bankstown.
As you can see, there’s a lot of activity going on in Bankstown. As the Mayor just said, Bankstown is booming. As part of the New South Wales Government’s work to build more housing, our focus is building better communities. When we did the master planning and rezoned areas around the Transport Oriented Development’s accelerated precincts, we made it very, very clear thatwe were not just building housing, we were building communities. That means vibrant communities with access to jobs, access to transport, and access to good public spaces.This financial support, the $228.2 million from the Commonwealth Government to go towards accelerating the delivery of those new public spaces, will be an important contribution to that work that the New South Wales Government is undertaking.
Together, in the first tranche, Bankstown’s accelerated precinct, along with the accelerated precincts in Kellyville and Bella Vista, have been identified for those priority public spaces. We’ll continue to work with the council here in Canterbury Bankstown, through the Parks for People program, to deliver those public spaces to make sure that alongside the homes, alongside the jobs, alongside the transport activity that’s going here, is going to be the public spaces that people need, green spaces for people to meet, to recreate, to engage with other parts of the community. It’s really vital that we look at those areas not just from an environmental perspective, but the social benefit they bring.
I’ll leave some further comments on the social housing part to Minister Jackson, but I’d just like to acknowledge the hard work of the Mayor and the council here at Canterbury Bankstown. They have been in lockstep with the New South Wales Government right the way through this process, identifying and recognising that Bankstown and Canterbury are great places to live and will continue to be, but there are even better places, courtesy of this contribution from the Albanese Government, to make sure that we can get those green spaces underway, get those recreational spaces underway as we deliver new homes and as we complete the work on the metro here. Minister Jackson.
ROSE JACKSON: We know that New South Wales is in a housing crisis. The number one issue that’s raised with us when we’re talking to the community is cost of living. That is the thing that the community is absolutely determined that governments understand is hitting them hard, and we know that part of addressing cost of living is to delivering more affordable housing. It’s simply too expensive to find a place to buy and rent. What the State Government and the Federal Government are determined to do is put our money where our mouth is when it comes to addressing that crisis. So the State’s put $5.1 billion into building more social housing, and we are incredibly thrilled to have a federal partner that is willing to come to the table and contribute as well. This announcement alone is another $70 million to build social housing. We know that we need growth. We know we need more homes. But it’s not just any old growth, it’s good growth. It’s growth that delivers better, more diverse communities. And yes, that’s infrastructure, that’s green space, that’s community amenity, that’s transport. But it’s also diverse types of homes, and social and affordable housing is part of that mix.
With this $70 million, we’re going to be able to bring hundreds of new social housing properties online. We’ve already started that work from east to west, from Randwick to Campbelltown. We’re looking at acquiring homes in places like Lismore and Tweed as well – areas recently hit by Tropical Cyclone Alfred. So this is exactly the kind of working together between state and federal governments that are going to be necessary to confront the housing crisis.
It’s also really important to call out our local government partners, local councils, we’ve always been up front, have been a little bit of a mixed bag when it’s come to supporting housing. Not Canterbury-Bankstown – this is a council that is deeply invested in building a great community here, and it’s fantastic to have Mayor Bilal El-Hayek here alongside us to demonstrate all three levels of government working together. This is yet more money to build the homes that people need, that security of a roof over your head. We need a federal government that is willing to stick to the course when it comes to supporting housing, and the State Government is ready to stand right alongside it, using the funding to deliver homes that we know are desperately needed in this state.
CATHERINE KING: Happy to take any questions.
JOURNALIST: Well, may I ask about the allegations yesterday [indistinct] …
CATHERINE KING: [Interrupts] Sure – have you’ve got any questions on this- the announcement today yet? Nope, okay. Happy to take further- other questions, sure.
JOURNALIST: … allegations last night on60 Minutesand Nine papers about more corrupt and [indistinct], specifically in Victoria. I note one area of Victoria on the North East Link Road where federal taxpayers have already committed $3 billion to this project. How can federal taxpayers know that there won’t be any sort of- or, you know, if that money’s being overinflated, or if there’s any sort of corruption or wrongdoing in that process?
CATHERINE KING: Yeah, so we have zero tolerance for criminal activities on any work site, and especially on our building work sites. We have already taken strong action against the CFMEU by placing it in administration, and the administrator continues to do his work. When this broke some time ago, in terms of the CFMEU, I was in the process of negotiating new federated funding agreements with every state and territory. In those agreements, we have inserted new clauses that require states and territories to ensure they are- that we are receiving value for money on every single project where the Commonwealth is investing, that we are prioritising businesses that engage in ethical business practices. And I also wrote to every state and territory minister asking their assurance that proper checks are being put in place to ensure that- again, that value for Australian taxpayer dollars, and if there is any criminal activity seen on any of the sites where the Commonwealth is investing that that immediately be reported both to the administrator, to the police and also to my department. And we’ll continue to work with every state and territory in relation to that.
But I want to make it very clear: this is hard fought money. Taxpayers don’t want to see their money going to criminals, and that is incredibly important that every state and territory ensures that it’s got the assurance processes in place to make sure that we are getting value for money for every taxpayer dollar.
JOURNALIST: Did the Federal Government conduct its own audit of the $3 billion in this project?
CATHERINE KING: Well, again, what we have asked quite specifically is that every state and territory give us those assurances. I saw the program on60 Minuteslast night. If there is more that needs to be done, I’ll have a look at that. But what we have asked is every state and territory to assure us that they have the processes in place to make sure that this activity is not being undertaken. Thanks everyone.
Some have said Christopher Luxon’s pledge to get a free trade deal between New Zealand and India over the line in his first term as prime minister was overly optimistic. But not all trade deals are the same, and Luxon may yet get to claim bragging rights.
Already he is managing expectations, saying a “good” deal will be better than waiting a long time for a “perfect” one. And with formal negotiations confirmed not long after Luxon touched down in New Delhi, we can perhaps expect genuine movement.
At the same time, India’s negotiating style is notoriously rigid, with its bilateral investment treaty model having proved a stumbling block to deals with many other nations or blocs, including the United Kingdom and European Union.
New Zealand first held formal negotiations with India over a decade ago. But talks derailed in 2015 over the inclusion of dairy products in any agreement. We can be fairly sure this will be the compromise Luxon’s government is ready to make now.
Beyond the economic implications, of course, lie domestic political calculations. Luxon needs a win to counter flatlining poll numbers and speculation about his leadership future. Good news in India offers just that.
Playing the Indo-Pacific card
Using diplomatic language that plays up New Zealand being part of the Indo-Pacific region – rather than the traditional Western alliance – will be essential.
New Zealand – despite its relatively small size – is still a significant regional player, with the Indo-Pacific’s fourth highest GDP per capita.
In the context of an imminent “Asian Century”, and the region becoming a crucial zone for economic and military power, New Zealand also provides a strategic pathway into the Pacific, where India is becoming increasingly involved.
All of this will influence Luxon’s keynote address today at the 10th Raisina Dialogue, India’s flagship multilateral conference on global politics and economics. He is the first leader not governing a European country to make such a speech, and is also the chief guest at the dialogue.
Luxon is already on the record as saying New Zealand and India are “very aligned” on Indo-Pacific security and concerns over Chinese regional influence, with scope for more joint defence exercises. This linkage between security and trade mirrors Wellington’s recent relations with Beijing, which have become increasingly difficult to navigate.
Solid foundations
But there is a long way to go. In 2024, India-New Zealand trade was worth a combined NZ$3.14 billion – a fraction of the $208.46 billion generated by trade with China in the same year.
Nevertheless, Luxon and his ministers have made undeniable progress. His “recalibration of a relationship that has long been neglected” bore fruit in October last year when he met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the ASEAN summit, and the countries announced their intention to take the relationship to “greater heights”.
The previous Labour government helped set the scene with a succession of high-level diplomatic visits and parliamentary exchanges. In 2023, the Indian government described relations with New Zealand as having “an upward trajectory”.
And there are clearly good foundations to build on – especially the 292,000 people of Indian ethnicity in New Zealand, who contribute US$10 billion to the New Zealand economy.
Great expectations
Trade is ripe for expansion, too. New Zealand primarily exports wool, iron and steel, aluminium, fruits and nuts, wood pulp and recovered paper, and imports Indian pharmaceuticals, machinery, precious metals and stones, textiles, vehicles and clothing.
There were 8,000 Indian students in New Zealand last year, a number that may well grow given a relative drop in student numbers from China. With the US and UK becoming more hostile to immigration, New Zealand can offer a relatively safe and tolerant alternative.
As such, while Luxon has momentum on a trade deal, he is also part of a long queue. Given the relative power imbalance between the two countries, the weight of expectation sits squarely on his shoulders.
Chris Ogden is a Senior Research Fellow with The Foreign Policy Centre, London.
When a movie presents tragic history in a comedic way, it goes beyond entertainment to convey profound meaning. Detective Chinatown 1900 is one such cinematic endeavor.
Set in San Francisco in 1900, the film follows detectives Qin Fu and Ah Gui as they investigate the murder of an American woman in Chinatown. Starring Chow Yun-fat, Wang Baoqiang and Liu Haoran, this fourth installment of the Detective Chinatown franchise premiered during the Spring Festival holiday, quickly capturing public attention.
Praising the movie for its seamless blend of mystery and humor, Georges Chamchoum, an Emmy Award-winning film director and producer, says that the film effectively employs over-the-top acting and comedic elements to depict the harsh realities of historical racism.
“I believe the story resonates with a broad audience, including American viewers, as it vividly portrays the racism of that era,” Chamchoum told China Daily at a recent special screening hosted by the Asian World Film Festival in Culver City in the United States.
Co-directed by Chen Sicheng and Dai Mo, the film explores issues of race, immigration and national identity. Despite the invaluable contribution of Chinese immigrants to the development of the US during the Gold Rush, and the construction of the Pacific Railway, they faced discrimination and were even labeled the “yellow peril”, and the subject of derogatory rumors. The film highlights the rhetoric surrounding the Chinese Exclusion Act and its exploitation by one of the film’s characters, a mayoral candidate named Grant, who attempts to frame Chinese laborers in order to drive them out of the US.
Although the film treats these serious historical themes with a touch of caricature, its subtext regarding racial discrimination remains “significant”, according to Chamchoum.
For Chow, the role of Bai Xuanling was a long-awaited opportunity. Speaking to Chinese media, the actor said that he had been offered a similar role in the 1990s when he first arrived in Hollywood seeking opportunities. The late director King Hu had given him the script for The Battle of Ono, a film about Chinese laborers building American railways during the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). However, Hu died before the project could be realized.
Three decades later, Chow finally found his dream role in Detective Chinatown 1900. The film dramatically portrays the real-life injustices suffered by Chinese immigrants through its fictitious plot in which San Francisco elites fabricate a “Chinese Jack the Ripper” to justify dismantling Chinatown.
One of the most powerful scenes in the film has Chow’s character Bai delivering a passionate courtroom monologue in English. Facing an all-American jury, he exposes the discrimination endured by Chinese immigrants, despite their critical role in the growth of the US. The moment has been widely discussed for its emotional impact and historical significance.
“I think a lot of Americans didn’t know this history before, but the film brings it back to life and explains it to younger audiences, and I was so proud of those Chinese workers,” Miriam Ajibekova, an audience member, told China Daily.
Detective Chinatown 1900 is more than just an action-comedy mystery; it is a cultural bridge between China and the US, according to Chamchoum. Chen who studied in Hollywood has successfully merged Chinese and American cultural elements in the Detective Chinatown series through international collaborations. The latest installment features Hollywood actor John Cusack in the role of mayoral candidate Grant.
The film’s composer, Nathan Wang, a University of Southern California-trained musician born in the US, shared his experiences of working on the film after the special screening. “We recorded the pipa (a four-stringed lute), guzheng (plucked zither), and erhu (a two-stringed fiddle) here in LA and layered them with Western orchestration,” says the composer, who worked with German film composer Hans Zimmer on Kung Fu Panda 3.
Wang adds that he took pride in writing a score that blends Western orchestral elements with traditional Chinese instruments.
The film was shot in Shandong province at the Laoling Film Studio in Laoling county-level city, Dezhou, where a replica of 1900s San Francisco Chinatown was built. Covering a 200,000-square-meter area, the set took seven months to complete, adding to the film’s authenticity.
“The production value is incredible,” Chamchoum says, expressing hope for further collaborations between Chinese and American filmmakers.
Detective Chinatown 1900 is among the flagship Chinese films released internationally during Spring Festival, China’s most profitable box-office period. The film opened to 460 million yuan ($64 million) on its first day, Jan 29, the first day of Chinese New Year, and grossed 3.4 billion yuan in early March. The three preceding films in the franchise amassed over 8.74 billion yuan before the latest installment.
The 18th Asian Film Awards were announced here in China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on Sunday night.
This year’s Asian Film Awards showcased 30 exceptional films from 25 countries or regions, competing for 16 awards. The nominated works were diverse in genre and the competition was intense.
Chinese actress Tang Wei was honored with the Excellence in Asian Cinema Award. Sean Lau, actor from China’s Hong Kong, was awarded Best Actor. Action film “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In” from China’s Hong Kong won two awards including Best Editing and Best Production Design. Chu Wan Pin, composer from China’s Hong Kong, was awarded the Best Original Music for the film “the Last Dance.”
Japanese actor Koji Yakusho was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Established in 2007, the Asian Film Awards aimed to showcase outstanding Asian films to global audiences. Since 2014, they have been hosted by the Asian Film Awards Academy, jointly founded by international film festivals of Hong Kong, Busan and Tokyo.
Rau rangatira mā, e kui mā, e koro mā, e huihui nei, tēnei aku mihi māhana ki a koutou. Kia ora tātou katoa.
I’d like to begin by specifically acknowledging: Nettles Lamont, Chair of the Cholmondeley Children’s Centre; Darel Hall, General Manager; and Tutehounuku Korako, Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke, Patron.
And to all the very special guests with us here this morning, including members of the Banks Peninsula community, and most importantly, our tamariki – tēnā koutou katoa.
I am delighted to join you here today, in this beautiful part of our country, to celebrate the 100th birthday of the Cholmondeley Children’s Centre. This extraordinary achievement stands testament, not only to the generous and deeply caring vision of Hugh Heber Cholmondeley, but also to all of the staff, supporters, and volunteers who have worked to uphold that vision over this past century.
Now before I get too far, some of you in the audience might be wondering who I am and what my job is. I wonder – how many of you have heard of someone called King Charles III?
King Charles is the King of England – but he is also the King of New Zealand. He lives on the other side of the world, and my job as Governor-General is to do his work for him here in New Zealand.
I meet all kinds of important people in my job – I meet world leaders and Olympic athletes and award-winning artists – but if I can tell you a small secret: my favourite bit is meeting young people like you. I hope that while you’re here at Cholmondeley, you make new friends, and enjoy learning and playing as much as you can in this beautiful place.
To all the staff of the Cholmondeley Children’s Centre here today – thank you for the work that you do to make this such a safe and loving environment for our tamariki. Your whakataukī, ‘Whakanuia a tatou tamariki. Value our children’, I see so clearly reflected and embodied in every detail of this wonderful facility – but most of all, in your own commitment and manaakitanga as carers and educators.
The United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child states that childhood should be a special, protected time – a time in which children should be allowed to grow, learn, and play with freedom and dignity. Even in my short time here, I see that Cholmondeley is a place that wholly upholds that promise – a place for tamariki to feel protected, nurtured, and loved; a place for learning and play, and seeing again the beauty, goodness, and wonder of this world, with that very particular vividness of childhood.
I wish to take this opportunity to acknowledge all those who support this facility, from the Banks Peninsula and wider Canterbury region – knowing that Cholmondeley relies upon the generosity of this community to carry out its invaluable work.
My sincerest thanks, finally, to all who have made today possible, and for inviting me here to mark this significant milestone with you all. The beautiful wairua of this place represents the courage and resolve of so many dedicated people, and carries the hopes, dreams, and wellbeing of many more. I wish everyone here, all the very best for your future.
No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.
The Maritime Union says an appeal by former Port of Auckland CEO Tony Gibson against health and safety conviction should be dismissed.
On 26 November 2024, the Auckland District Court held that former Ports of Auckland (POAL) CEO Tony Gibson had failed to exercise his duty of due diligence as an officer of a PCBU (Person conducting a business or undertaking) under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.
Industry regulator Maritime NZ laid charges against Mr Gibson after the death of a stevedore, Pala’amo Kalati, in 2020.
The Union understands an appeal has been lodged.
Maritime Union of New Zealand National Secretary Carl Findlay says the conviction of Mr Gibson was an important public recognition of the harm he had caused.
“One thing we found when Tony Gibson was in charge at the Port was that he always saw himself as right, and saw everyone else as wrong.”
“This attitude would have fatal consequences.”
He says Mr Gibson’s regime at Port of Auckland saw multiple deaths and serious injuries, sustained attacks on the workforce, and a failed automation project that cost Aucklanders hundreds of millions of dollars.
Mr Findlay says the successful recovery of the Port of Auckland since Mr Gibson’s resignation in 2021 confirm previous problems were down to poor management.
“It has taken several years to turn around the Port but we have done it.”
Mr Findlay says the recent reappointment of Tony Gibson to a board position at Marsden Maritime Holdings (MMH) in Northland is a travesty.
“There is no way Tony Gibson should have been appointed to any senior business role, let alone the Board of a maritime and port company.”
Marsden Maritime Holdings is a New Zealand Exchange-listed (NZX) company, which has a 50% stake in Northport, a marina, and significant industrial land holdings.
The Maritime Union will continue to campaign for corporate manslaughter laws and was seeking the removal of Mr Gibson from the Board of Marsden Maritime Holdings.
Hong Kong registered 8.4 million visitor arrivals in the first two months of 2025, up 7 percent year on year, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) said.
Among them, approximately 6.5 million visitor arrivals were from the mainland, up 4 percent from last year. Visitor arrivals from elsewhere jumped significantly, hitting 1.91 million and representing a 20 percent increase from last year, the HKTB data showed.
Short-haul markets have shown particularly strong performance, with 1.13 million visitor arrivals recorded in the reporting months, up 26 percent. Notably, travelers from the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea all increased over 30 percent.
In the long-haul sector, around 500,000 arrivals were made from overseas, reflecting a 20 percent increase, with Australia leading the way at an impressive growth rate of 34 percent.
To enhance experience for travelers, the tourism board has launched a new program platform titled “Hong Kong Great Outdoors,” designed to introduce global visitors to the city’s scenic hiking trails, outlying islands, and geological parks.
The recent budget proposal from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government for the fiscal year 2025/2026 included a significant allocation of 1.235 billion Hong Kong dollars (158.8 million U.S. dollars) to the tourism board, aimed at realizing the concept of “tourism is everywhere” and implementing the Development Blueprint for Hong Kong’s Tourism Industry 2.0.
The Shanghai Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal welcomed a record number of foreign tourists on Sunday, as two large international cruise ships docked at the port.
The ships, AIDAstella of AIDA Cruises and Spectrum of the Seas belonging to Royal Caribbean International, brought nearly 4,800 foreign tourists to the east China metropolis, marking the highest single-day arrival of international visitors since this Shanghai terminal opened in 2011.
AIDAstella made its maiden call at the terminal on Sunday. Operated by AIDA Cruises, which primarily serves European markets, the ship is carrying approximately 2,200 foreign tourists, mainly from Germany and Poland, on a 14-day voyage that starts from Bangkok and stops at Vietnam, Japan, and China’s Hong Kong, Taiwan and Shanghai.
Elizabeth, a tourist from Poland, said: “This is my first time in China, and I’m traveling with my family. I’m looking forward to this trip.” She added that she plans to go to the Great Wall in Beijing on her next trip.
During their stay, tourists will visit Shanghai’s landmarks, including the Bund, Yuyuan Garden and Oriental Pearl Tower. They will also take trips to nearby cities like Suzhou in east China’s Jiangsu Province.
Spectrum of the Seas, which operates from Wusongkou as its home port, is carrying about 2,600 foreign tourists on this cruise. Angela Stephen, senior vice president of Royal Caribbean’s international business, praised the terminal’s excellent facilities and beautiful surroundings, emphasizing the company’s confidence in the Chinese cruise market.
Notably, the growing popularity of “China Travel” has fueled a surge in Shanghai’s cruise tourism market. Upcoming cruise ship visits include Mein Schiff 6 of TUI Cruises both this month and in April, while Costa Serena of Costa Cruises will return to the Chinese market in June.
Shanghai is leveraging its cruise tourism potential by developing diverse travel products, aiming to establish itself as the premier destination for inbound cruise tourism in China.
Australian artists can expect more money in their pockets when their works are resold overseas, with international reciprocity being extended to a further nine countries under the Albanese Labor Government’s Resale Royalty Scheme.
The nine countries are: Estonia, Greece, Lithuania, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Uruguay. This takes the list of total participating countries to 26.
Under the Scheme, visual artists are entitled to a five per cent share on eligible resales of their original works valued at $1,000 or more in Australia, and the ability to access local schemes in participating countries when their works are resold there.
The extension delivers on the Government’s commitment outlined in the National Cultural Policy, Revive, to enhance the scheme to provide royalty payments to artists, including First Nations artists, under international arrangements.
The changes come into effect on 31 March 2025.
Minister for the Arts, Tony Burke, said the expanded list would give artists the remuneration they deserve.
“We’re ensuring Australian artists are properly compensated for their work when they first sell it and on future sales. Just like when you purchase a book or an album, the artist gets a cut each time.
“So far more than $16 million in royalties have been generated, which artists would have otherwise missed out on.
“Our Government is committed to creating a fairer playing field and supporting our home-grown talent both locally and abroad.”
The Resale Royalty Right for Visual Artist Act 2009 provides visual artists with royalty rights similar to other creators such as songwriters or authors.
Under the act, auction houses and galleries are required to report resales to Copyright Agency, which determines eligibility, collects royalties and pays them to artists.
SAFE is reinforcing its call for a ban on rodeo following the death of a bull at the Waimarino rodeo on Saturday 15 March. At the same event, a steer suffered a significant injury resulting in the removal of one of his horns.
SAFE Campaign Manager Emily Hall says the death toll of five this season illustrates the inherent cruelty of rodeo.
Footage of the incidentshows the bull displaying clear signs of distress as he is provoked and forced to buck, before falling and breaking his leg. The footage then shows the bull circling, highly distressed and in pain. He was killed onsite shortly thereafter.
“It is simply unacceptable for animals to be suffering and dying for entertainment,” says Hall.
“Over the past four months we have seen five animals subjected to catastrophic injuries and killed, and it is high time the Government stepped in and finally took meaningful action to prevent further suffering and deaths.”
The National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) produced a revised rodeo code of welfare two years ago, however the Government has failed to take any further action. SAFE says that, as a result, New Zealand’s animal welfare laws remain disconnected from the brutal reality of rodeo practices.
“The Animal Welfare Act states that the physical handling of animals must minimise the likelihood of unnecessary pain and distress, yet rodeo practices depend on force and rough handling,” says Hall.
SAFE says releasing the revised code of welfare is urgently needed to allow New Zealanders to have their say on rodeo events.
“These delays are costing animals their lives” says Hall. “While NAWAC and the Animal Welfare Minister hold up progress on the revised code of welfare, animals are enduring unbearable suffering at these brutal events.”
SAFE is coordinating a peaceful protest at the national rodeo finals on Saturday 22 March in Kihikihi, Waikato, calling for this to be the last season of rodeo in New Zealand.
“Rodeo holds no place in a society that values compassion for animals, and we will be sending a clear message to the Government on Saturday that Kiwis want to see this barbaric form of entertainment banned,” says Hall.
SAFE is Aotearoa’s leading animal rights organisation.
We’re creating a future that ensures the rights of animals are respected. Our core work empowers society to make kinder choices for ourselves, animals and our planet.
Notes:Information on the five 2024/25 rodeo season deaths;
A horse was rendered lame following the Taupō rodeo on 29 December who was killed the following day.
The second death on December 30 occurred at the Te Anau rodeo, where a three-year-old bull’s hind leg was dislocated during the bull riding event. He was killed on-site.
A steer died prior to the Oruru Valley event on 3 January after being transported from the Warkworth and Far North events.
The fourth fatality occurred at the Mad Bull rodeo in Otago on 2 February where a bull died after being ridden the previous day.
Whilst vets are required to be on-site at all rodeo events, rodeo clubs are not obliged to report injuries or deaths sustained during events.
In July 2022, SAFE and the New Zealand Animal Law Association (NZALA) jointly contested rodeo in the High Court. The court ruled that the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) must determine appropriate animal welfare guidelines. However, neither NAWAC nor Andrew Hoggard have provided a justification for the significant delay on the revised rodeo code of welfare.
Covering period of Monday 17 – Thursday 20 March – A mosaic of Severe Weather Warnings and Watches cover the South Island, highlighting strong winds and heavy rain travelling up the South Island over today and tomorrow (Tuesday). Strong, warm northwesterly winds precede the band of rain, while cool southerly winds follow close behind.
Heavy Rain Warnings have been issued for the Westland District and Fiordland for only the second time this year, as these regions bear the brunt of the incoming rain.
MetService meteorologist Clare O’Connor details, “Up to 200mm of rain is expected in the ranges of Westland, and 100mm for areas nearer to the coast. These areas are well below their usual year to date rainfall totals, and surface flooding, slips, and adverse driving conditions are worth looking out for.”
A Heavy Rain Watch has also been issued for the Southland Region, including Stewart Island, with periods of heavy rain expected to affect the west of that region from Monday afternoon.
In the east of the South Island, temperatures are being pushed as high as 30°C as gusty northwesterly winds travel over the Southern Alps. The expected strength of these winds has resulted in Strong Wind Watches for the Canterbury High Country, Canterbury Plains, and the Otago and Southland Regions, with wind gusts of 100 km/h possible in those areas. An additional Strong Wind Watch covers Wellington from the early hours of Tuesday as the northwesterly winds arrive onto the lower North Island.
O’Connor adds, “These warm northwesterly winds will be quickly replaced by cooler southerlies behind the main band of rain, producing a bit of a rollercoaster in the temperature charts. Cricket fans in Dunedin on Tuesday will need to layer up, with only 15°C expected.”
“This switch in wind flow brings a chance of thunderstorms for the upper South Island and the North Island – excluding the regions in the east. While there are no severe thunderstorm watches in place right now, heavy showers and thunderstorms could be possible Tuesday afternoon and evening, so we advise checking in on our thunderstorm outlook.”
The last of the rain clears from the eastern South Island Wednesday morning as the rain moves northwards and high pressure settles over the South Island once again bringing fine weather. Conditions over the North Island are expected to remain showery throughout the week, with the wettest weather moving from west to east later in the week.
Workers First Unionis pleased to announce that the union has now formally changed its name from ‘FIRST Union’ to ‘Workers First Union’ (or ‘Workers First’, for short) following a vote by delegates at the union’s Annual General Meeting in December 2024.
Dennis Maga, Workers First General Secretary, said he was proud that the union was making its mission clear with the new name.
“For too long, employers have been putting workers second or worse, with fair wage rises and workplace wellbeing ranking last after a long list of shareholders, creditors and managers,” said Mr Maga.
“I’m excited to enter the next era with a new name befitting of our union’s work and purpose – we put workers first.”
FIRST Union was formed in 2011 through the merger of the National Distribution Union (NDU) and the Finance Sector Union of New Zealand (Finsec). NDU represented workers in the retail, distribution, and textile industries, while Finsec represented employees in banking and finance. The newWorkers First Unionhas since grown to cover over 32,000 workers across retail, finance, transport, logistics and manufacturing. The union is an affiliate of theCouncil of Trade Unions(CTU) but unaffiliated to any political parties.
Mr Maga said that the union had sought to change its name to distinguish the organisation from similarly named business entities and encapsulate the union’s purpose more clearly.
“This change reflects what our members have always known: our union is here to fight for them, whether in wage bargaining, on the picket line, or in the halls of Parliament,” said Mr Maga.
“The new name embodies the interests of working people in New Zealand and is particularly apt at a time when a far-right Government is abandoning the working class in favour of an illusory ‘growth’ model for their corporate backers.”
“Workers in Aotearoa face serious challenges ahead, from increasing workplace automation to stagnating wages, but our union is built on collective strength, and we will meet these challenges head-on in 2025 and beyond.”
The Electricity Authority Te Mana Hiko (the Authority) is introducing mandatory retailer reporting of domestic and small business customer data to increase transparency and accountability in New Zealand’s retail electricity market. Towards the end of 2025 the Authority will begin publishing aggregated retail data and insights on its website.
Authority General Manager Retail and Consumer Andrew Millar says increased retail reporting will enable the Authority to protect consumers’ interests, make proactive regulatory changes that support their needs, and hold the industry to account to ensure vulnerable customers are protected and promote competition.
“As we build a comprehensive and reliable data set over time, we’ll be able to identify and communicate trends and issues to help inform policy decisions, and share these insights with industry, investors and consumers,” says Millar.
“Improved oversight of retail plans and prices will enable us to assess the barriers that consumers face, promote retail competition and shine a light on retailer performance.”
Importantly, retailers will be required to provide information about medically dependent and prepay consumers and disconnections to enable robust compliance monitoring of the new mandatory Consumer Care Obligations.
“We are putting consumers at the forefront of our decisions to protect their interests, increase their choices, and give people greater control over their electricity use and costs,” Millar said.
The Authority is providing retailers with a five-month implementation period for the new reporting requirement, to enable them to make any necessary operational changes. As the Authority’s need for retail market information and data continues to increase, this more streamlined, automated process will reduce long-term regulatory burden. Retailers with fewer than 1000 domestic and small business customer connections are excused from some of the new requirements.
When developing its approach, the Authority confirmed that the long-term benefits for consumers will outweigh any costs. The Authority will work with retailers to respond to questions and implementation challenges if they arise, as they prepare to provide their first report in August 2025.
The Authority has powerful information gathering powers under the Electricity Industry Act 2010 and in the Electricity Industry Participation Code 2010 (the Code). This new requirement, implemented under clause 2.16 of the Code, supports the Authority’s statutory function to monitor the industry and electricity markets, and make data, information and tools available to help improve participation in and understanding of the electricity markets by consumers and industry participants.
Source: Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
Click to enlargeAustralia’s four largest airports, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, each reported their highest ever aeronautical revenues in 2023-24, the ACCC’s latest Airport Monitoring Report shows.
The 24.3 per cent increase in revenues to $2.6 billion occurred despite the four major airports collectively handling fewer passengers than before the pandemic. While domestic and international passengers grew by 13.7 per cent to 114.6 million since 2022-23, passenger numbers remained 4.7 per cent below 2018-19 levels.
“The increase in aeronautical revenues in 2023-24 was driven in large part by the continued recovery in international passenger numbers, which rose by 32.1 per cent at the four airports monitored in our report,” ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey said.
“Domestic passenger numbers also grew by 6.7 per cent.”
Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne airports also substantially increased their operating profits from aeronautical activities in 2023-24.
“Sydney Airport was once again clearly the most profitable of the four major airports for aeronautical services in 2023-24, both in aggregate and on a per-passenger basis,” Ms Brakey said.
In 2023-24 Sydney Airport recorded an aeronautical operating profit of $570.5 million, which represented a 20.2 per cent return on its aeronautical assets. Sydney Airport advised that both its aeronautical revenues and operating profits in the year were inflated by back-payments received during the 2023-24 financial year from its contractual agreements with airlines. The agreements started on 1 July 2022, but the terms were not agreed to until the 2023-24 financial year.
Brisbane and Melbourne airports reported aeronautical operating profits of $194.7 million and $198.9 million respectively, despite Brisbane Airport catering to far fewer passengers than Melbourne Airport. Both airports reported a 64.1 per cent increase in aeronautical operating profit in 2023-24.
Perth Airport was the only monitored airport to report a fall in aeronautical profits, down by 29.1 per cent to $70.7 million after a significant increase in security and depreciation expenses.
Car parking profits and ‘landside access’ revenues up
Operating profits from car parking grew for all four airports in 2023-24. Brisbane Airport made the largest profits, increasing by 21.1 per cent to $113.4 million. Melbourne Airport made an operating profit of $108.1 million from car parking, followed by Sydney Airport with $95.6 million and Perth Airport with $70.7 million.
All four monitored airports reported operating profit margins above 60 per cent for the second year in a row for their car parking operations.
“Car parking remains a very profitable business for the monitored airports as they report strong demand for parking,” Ms Brakey said.
“Brisbane Airport made an operating profit of 76.6 cents for every dollar of revenue it collected from car parking.”
Sydney Airport was the most expensive for 30 to 60 minute parking and parking for up to 24 hours at the terminal, while Melbourne Airport was the cheapest in both categories.
Long-term parking at a distance from the terminal booked online was most expensive at Perth and Sydney airports and cheapest at Melbourne Airport.
“To save money, motorists are encouraged to book online, if possible, instead of paying the drive-up rates, and should consider using free waiting zones at the airports,” Ms Brakey said.
Revenues from landside transport access services, such as rideshare operators, taxis and buses, grew by 18 per cent to $69.6 million, as vehicle numbers rebounded. All four airports continued to report a growth in rideshare services.
Airports maintain their ‘good’ quality of service rating, despite falling satisfaction from airlines
All four airports maintained an average overall rating of ‘good’ for the quality of service and facilities in 2023-24.
These results were mainly due to high ratings by passengers, continuing consistent trends over the last 10 years.
Ratings by airlines generally fell, and all four airports received only a ‘satisfactory’ result. The most common airline concerns related to aircraft parking facilities, baggage facilities, common user check-in facilities, aerobridges and public amenities.
“The airports all maintained their ‘good’ rating for quality of service, which is based on surveys of passengers and airlines, as well as objective measures such as the number of check-in kiosks per passenger,” Ms Brakey said.
“However, the falling satisfaction from airlines indicates the airports have some work to do.”
Airports have recommenced investment after Covid
After years of relatively little investment due to the pandemic, the airports have invested $985.1 million in aeronautical facilities in 2023-24, a figure set to increase in coming years.
Melbourne airport’s $502.3 million investment accounted for more than half the total investment in aeronautical assets in 2023-24. This included work on runway overlays, taxiways and terminals, such as the replacement of passenger screening equipment as well as works to resurface the north-south runway and replace the lighting system.
Other major projects underway, or recently announced, include new runways for Melbourne and Perth, new terminals for Perth and Brisbane, upgrades to terminals in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
A new airport will also open at Western Sydney in 2026.
“While the four major airports held back on investment during the pandemic period, this is starting to change now there is more certainty around demand for travel,” Ms Brakey said.
“These significant capital works should help increase capacity at our major airports, leading to more flight options for travellers.”
Background
Under direction from the Australian Government, the ACCC monitors the prices, costs and profits of aeronautical and car parking services at Australia’s four largest airports. The ACCC also monitors the quality of these services under the Airports Act.
The possible ratings for airport quality of services are ‘very poor’, ‘poor’, ‘satisfactory’, ‘good’ or ‘excellent’.
The ACCC measures operating profit by earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation (EBITA). Operating profit margin is EBITA as a percentage of revenue.
Aeronautical operations are those that directly relate to providing aviation services, including runways, aprons, aerobridges, departure lounges and baggage handling equipment.
A member of the public’s spidy senses and an officer’s keen sense of smell has assisted Police in locating more than 70 bags of drugs inside a car in Beachlands overnight.
At about 2.20am, Police received a report of a suspicious vehicle parked on Wakelin Road with the engine running.
Counties Manukau East Area Prevention Manager, Inspector Rakana Cook, says Police arrived quickly and spoke to a man who was sitting in the vehicle passengers’ seat believed to be under the influence of drugs.
“Upon seeing Police, the man has attempted to get into he driver’s seat and drive off, however he was quickly taken into custody.
“Officers noticed a strong smell of cannabis coming from the vehicle and a search of the vehicle located a large quantity of cannabis.”
Inspector Cook says more than 44 bags of cannabis were found, along with 30 bags of what appeared to be cocaine and MDMA.
“Also found was an air rifle, cash and what appears to be stolen property.
“It was also established this person has numerous warrants for his arrest.
“We’re very happy to have what appears to be a considerable amount of cannabis and other drugs that were set for sale now off the streets.
“This was a good example of proactive Police work that has resulted in a safer community.”
A 20-year-old man will appear in Manukau District Court today charged with possession for supply of cannabis, cocaine and ecstasy, possession of utensils for cannabis and two counts of failing to carry out obligations in relation to a computer search.
17 March 2025 – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand – Te Pūtea Matua welcomes the release of the latest National Risk Assessment (NRA) from Police’s Financial Intelligence Unit. The report assesses threat and sectoral vulnerability, exploring their impact on money laundering and terrorism financing risk and proliferation financing in New Zealand.
“An effective Anti-Money Laundering and Countering-Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) system enhances the economic wellbeing and prosperity for all New Zealanders by safeguarding the integrity of our financial system and keeping it resilient against crime,” RBNZ Manager AML/CFT Supervision Damian Henry says.
This Assessment outlines the significant criminal behaviours generating illicit income that threatens New Zealand’s financial system. It also assesses and identifies the vulnerabilities within our financial system that criminals are taking advantage of when they launder proceeds of crime.
“The release of the NRA is a trigger for reporting entities to review and update their respective risk assessments accordingly. We encourage them all to review the report,” Mr Henry says.
This NRA identifies that fraud-related crime, drug crime and transnational money laundering are the highest threat, with fraud accelerating and seeing both ‘defrauding’ and the subsequent ‘laundering’ occurring within the financial system.
This means the banking sector remains highly vulnerable to money laundering, along with any sector that offers services and products enabling movement of proceeds out of or into New Zealand.
“The NRA is a key document for New Zealand’s AML/CFT system as a clear understanding of risk strengthens our system’s resilience, enabling direct responses and maximising the benefits of security for both our financial sector and communities,” Mr Henry says.
SPECIAL REPORT:By Peter Cronau for Declassified Australia
Australia is caught in a jam, between an assertive American ally and a bold Chinese trading partner. America is accelerating its pivot to the Indo-Pacific, building up its fighting forces and expanding its military bases.
As Australia tries to navigate a pathway between America’s and Australia’s national interests, sometimes Australia’s national interest seems to submerge out of view.
Admiral David Johnston, the Chief of the Australia’s Defence Force, is steering this ship as China flexes its muscle sending a small warship flotilla south to circumnavigate the continent.
He has admitted that the first the Defence Force heard of a live-fire exercise by the three Chinese Navy ships sailing in the South Pacific east of Australia on February 21, was a phone call from the civilian Airservices Australia.
“The absence of any advance notice to Australian authorities was a concern, notably, that the limited notice provided by the PLA could have unnecessarily increased the risk to aircraft and vessels in the area,” Johnston told Senate Estimates .
Johnston was pressed to clarify how Defence first came to know of the live-fire drill: “Is it the case that Defence was only notified, via Virgin and Airservices Australia, 28 minutes [sic] after the firing window commenced?”
To this, Admiral Johnston replied: “Yes.”
If it happened as stated by the Admiral — that a live-fire exercise by the Chinese ships was undertaken and a warning notice was transmitted from the Chinese ships, all without being detected by Australian defence and surveillance assets — this is a defence failure of considerable significance.
Sources with knowledge of Defence spoken to by Declassified Australia say that this is either a failure of surveillance, or a failure of communication, or even more far-reaching, a failure of US alliance cooperation.
And from the very start the official facts became slippery.
Our latest investigation –
AUSTRALIA’S DEFENCE: NAVIGATING US-CHINA TENSIONS
We investigate a significant intelligence failure to detect live-firing by Chinese warships near Australia, has exposed Defence weaknesses, and the fact that when it counts, we are all alone.
— Declassified Australia (@DeclassifiedAus) March 7, 2025
What did they know and when did they know it The first information passed on to Defence by Airservices Australia came from the pilot of a Virgin passenger jet passing overhead the flotilla in the Tasman Sea that had picked up the Chinese Navy VHF radio notification of an impending live-fire exercise.
The radio transmission had advised the window for the live-fire drill commenced at 9.30am and would conclude at 3pm.
We know this from testimony given to Senate Estimates by the head of Airservices Australia. He said Airservices was notified at 9.58am by an aviation control tower informed by the Virgin pilot. Two minutes later Airservices issued a “hazard alert” to commercial airlines in the area.
The Headquarters of the Defence Force’s Joint Operations Command (HJOC), at Bungendore 30km east of Canberra, was then notified about the drill by Airservices at 10.08am, 38 minutes after the drill window had commenced.
When questioned a few days later, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese appeared to try to cover for Defence’s apparent failure to detect the live-fire drill or the advisory transmission.
“At around the same time, there were two areas of notification. One was from the New Zealand vessels that were tailing . .. the [Chinese] vessels in the area by both sea and air,” Albanese stated. “So that occurred and at the same time through the channels that occur when something like this is occurring, Airservices got notified as well.”
But the New Zealand Defence Force had not notified Defence “at the same time”. In fact it was not until 11.01am that an alert was received by Defence from the New Zealand Defence Force — 53 minutes after Defence HQ was told by Airservices and an hour and a half after the drill window had begun.
The Chinese Navy’s stealth guided missile destroyer Zunyi, sailing south in the Coral Sea on February 15, 2025, in a photograph taken from a RAAF P-8A Poseidon surveillance plane. Image: Royal Australian Air Force/Declassified Australia
Defence Minister Richard Marles later in a round-about way admitted on ABC Radio that it wasn’t the New Zealanders who informed Australia first: “Well, to be clear, we weren’t notified by China. I mean, we became aware of this during the course of the day.
“What China did was put out a notification that it was intending to engage in live firing. By that I mean a broadcast that was picked up by airlines or literally planes that were commercial planes that were flying across the Tasman.”
Later the Chinese Ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, told ABC that two live-fire training drills were carried out at sea on February 21 and 22, in accordance with international law and “after repeatedly issuing safety notices in advance”.
Eyes and ears on ‘every move’ It was expected the Chinese-navy flotilla would end its three week voyage around Australia on March 7, after a circumnavigation of the continent. That is not before finally passing at some distance the newly acquired US-UK nuclear submarine base at HMAS Stirling near Perth and the powerful US communications and surveillance base at North West Cape.
Just as Australia spies on China to develop intelligence and targeting for a potential US war, China responds in kind, collecting data on US military and intelligence bases and facilities in Australia, as future targets should hostilities commence.
The presence of the Chinese Navy ships that headed into the northern and eastern seas around Australia attracted the attention of the Defence Department ever since they first set off south through the Mindoro Strait in the Philippines and through the Indonesian archipelago from the South China Sea on February 3.
“We are keeping a close watch on them and we will be making sure that we watch every move,” Marles stated in the week before the live-fire incident.
“Just as they have a right to be in international waters . . . we have a right to be prudent and to make sure that we are surveilling them, which is what we are doing.”
Around 3500 km to the north, a week into the Chinese ships’ voyage, a spy flight by an RAAF P-8A Poseidon surveillance plane on February 11, in a disputed area of the South China Sea south of China’s Hainan Island, was warned off by a Chinese J-16 fighter jet.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry responded to Australian protests claiming the Australian aircraft “deliberately intruded” into China’s claimed territorial airspace around the Paracel Islands without China’s permission, thereby “infringing on China’s sovereignty and endangering China’s national security”.
Australia criticised the Chinese manoeuvre, defending the Australian flight saying it was “exercising the right to freedom of navigation and overflight in international waters and airspace”.
Two days after the incident, the three Chinese ships on their way to Australian waters were taking different routes in beginning their own “right to freedom of navigation” in international waters off the Australian coast. The three ships formed up their mini flotilla in the Coral Sea as they turned south paralleling the Australian eastern coastline outside of territorial waters, and sometimes within Australia’s 200-nautical-mile (370 km) Exclusive Economic Zone.
“Defence always monitors foreign military activity in proximity to Australia. This includes the Peoples Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) Task Group.” Admiral Johnston told Senate Estimates.
“We have been monitoring the movement of the Task Group through its transit through Southeast Asia and we have observed the Task Group as it has come south through that region.”
The Task Group was made up of a modern stealth guided missile destroyer Zunyi, the frigate Hengyang, and the Weishanhu, a 20,500 tonne supply ship carrying fuel, fresh water, cargo and ammunition. The Hengyang moved eastwards through the Torres Strait, while the Zunyi and Weishanhu passed south near Bougainville and Solomon Islands, meeting in the Coral Sea.
This map indicates the routes taken by the three Chinese Navy ships on their “right to freedom of navigation” voyage in international waters circumnavigating Australia, with dates of way points indicated — from 3 February till 6 March 2025. Distances and locations are approximate. Image: Weibo/Declassified Australia
As the Chinese ships moved near northern Australia and through the Coral Sea heading further south, the Defence Department deployed Navy and Air Force assets to watch over the ships. These included various RAN warships including the frigate HMAS Arunta and a RAAF P-8A Poseidon intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance plane.
With unconfirmed reports a Chinese nuclear submarine may also be accompanying the surface ships, the monitoring may have also included one of the RAN’s Collins-class submarines, with their active range of sonar, radar and radio monitoring – however it is uncertain whether one was able to be made available from the fleet.
“From the point of time the first of the vessels entered into our more immediate region, we have been conducting active surveillance of their activities,” the Defence chief confirmed.
As the Chinese ships moved into the southern Tasman Sea, New Zealand navy ships joined in the monitoring alongside Australia’s Navy and Air Force.
The range of signals intelligence (SIGINT) that theoretically can be intercepted emanating from a naval ship at sea includes encrypted data and voice satellite communications, ship-to-ship communications, aerial drone data and communications, as well as data of radar, gunnery, and weapon launches.
There are a number of surveillance facilities in Australia that would have been able to be directed at the Chinese ships.
Australian Signals Directorate’s (ASD) Shoal Bay Receiving Station outside of Darwin, picks up transmissions and data emanating from radio signals and satellite communications from Australia’s near north region. ASD’s Cocos Islands receiving station in the mid-Indian ocean would have been available too.
The Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN) over-the-horizon radar network, spread across northern Australia, is an early warning system that monitors aircraft and ship movements across Australia’s north-western, northern, and north-eastern ocean areas — but its range off the eastern coast is not thought to presently reach further south than the sea off Mackay on the Queensland coast.
Of land-based surveillance facilities, it is the American Pine Gap base that is believed to have the best capability of intercepting the ship’s radio communications in the Tasman Sea.
Enter, Pine Gap and the Americans The US satellite surveillance base at Pine Gap in Central Australia is a US and Australian jointly-run satellite ground station. It is regarded as the most important such American satellite base outside of the USA.
The spy base – Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap (JDFPG) – showing the north-eastern corner of the huge base with some 18 of the base’s now 45 satellite dishes and covered radomes visible. Image: Felicity Ruby/Declassified Australia
The role of ASD in supporting the extensive US surveillance mission against China is increasingly valued by Australia’s large Five Eyes alliance partner.
A Top Secret ‘Information Paper’, titled “NSA Intelligence Relationship with Australia”, leaked from the National Security Agency (NSA) by Edward Snowden and published by ABC’s Background Briefing, spells out the “close collaboration” between the NSA and ASD, in particular on China:
“Increased emphasis on China will not only help ensure the security of Australia, but also synergize with the U.S. in its renewed emphasis on Asia and the Pacific . . . Australia’s overall intelligence effort on China, as a target, is already significant and will increase.”
The Pine Gap base, as further revealed in 2023 by Declassified Australia, is being used to collect signals intelligence and other data from the Israeli battlefield of Gaza, and also Ukraine and other global hotspots within view of the US spy satellites.
It’s recently had a significant expansion (reported by this author in The Saturday Paper) which has seen its total of satellite dishes and radomes rapidly increase in just a few years from 35 to 45 to accommodate new heightened-capability surveillance satellites.
Pine Gap base collects an enormous range and quantity of intelligence and data from thermal imaging satellites, photographic reconnaissance satellites, and signals intelligence (SIGINT) satellites, as expert researchers Des Ball, Bill Robinson and Richard Tanter of the Nautilus Institute have detailed.
These SIGINT satellites intercept electronic communications and signals from ground-based sources, such as radio communications, telemetry, radar signals, satellite communications, microwave emissions, mobile phone signals, and geolocation data.
Alliance priorities The US’s SIGINT satellites have a capability to detect and receive signals from VHF radio transmissions on or near the earth’s surface, but they need to be tasked to do so and appropriately targeted on the source of the transmission.
For the Pine Gap base to intercept VHF radio signals from the Chinese Navy ships, the base would have needed to specifically realign one of those SIGINT satellites to provide coverage of the VHF signals in the Tasman Sea at the time of the Chinese ships’ passage. It is not known publicly if they did this, but they certainly have that capability.
However, it is not only the VHF radio transmission that would have carried information about the live-firing exercise.
Pine Gap would be able to monitor a range of other SIGINT transmissions from the Chinese ships. Details of the planning and preparations for the live-firing exercise would almost certainly have been transmitted over data and voice satellite communications, ship-to-ship communications, and even in the data of radar and gunnery operations.
But it is here that there is another possibility for the failure.
The Pine Gap base was built and exists to serve the national interests of the United States. The tasking of the surveillance satellites in range of Pine Gap base is generally not set by Australia, but is directed by United States’ agencies, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) together with the US Defense Department, the National Security Agency (NSA), and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Australia has learnt over time that US priorities may not be the same as Australia’s.
Australian defence and intelligence services can request surveillance tasks to be added to the schedule, and would have been expected to have done so in order to target the southern leg of the Chinese Navy ships’ voyage, when the ships were out of the range of the JORN network.
The military demands for satellite time can be excessive in times of heightened global conflict, as is the case now.
Whether the Pine Gap base was devoting sufficient surveillance resources to monitoring the Chinese Navy ships, due to United States’ priorities in Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Africa, North Korea, and to our north in the South China Sea, is a relevant question.
It can only be answered now by a formal government inquiry into what went on — preferably held in public by a parliamentary committee or separately commissioned inquiry. The sovereign defence of Australia failed in this incident and lessons need to be learned.
Who knew and when did they know If the Pine Gap base had been monitoring the VHF radio band and heard the Chinese Navy live-fire alert, or had been monitoring other SIGINT transmissions to discover the live-fire drill, the normal procedure would be for the active surveillance team to inform a number of levels of senior officers, a former Defence official familiar with the process told Declassified Australia.
Inside an operations room at the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) head office at the Defence complex at Russell Hill in Canberra. Image: ADF/Declassified Australia
Expected to be included in the information chain are the Australian Deputy-Chief of Facility at the US base, NSA liaison staff at the base, the Australian Signals Directorate head office at the Defence complex at Russell Hill in Canberra, the Defence Force’s Headquarters Joint Operations Command, in Bungendore, and the Chief of the Defence Force. From there the Defence Minister’s office would need to have been informed.
As has been reported in media interviews and in testimony to the Senate Estimates hearings, it has been stated that Defence was not informed of the Chinese ships’ live-firing alert until a full 38 minutes after the drill window had commenced.
The former Defence official told Declassified Australia it is vital the reason for the failure to detect the live-firing in a timely fashion is ascertained.
Either the Australian Defence Force and US Pine Gap base were not effectively actively monitoring the Chinese flotilla at this time — and the reasons for that need to be examined — or they were, but the information gathered was somewhere stalled and not passed on to correct channels.
If the evidence so far tendered by the Defence chief and the Minister is true, and it was not informed of the drill by any of its intelligence or surveillance assets before that phone call from Airservices Australia, the implications need to be seriously addressed.
A final word In just a couple of weeks the whole Defence environment for Australia has changed, for the worse.
The US military announces a drawdown in Europe and a new pivot to the Indo-Pacific. China shows Australia it can do tit-for-tat “navigational freedom” voyages close to the Australian coast. US intelligence support is withdrawn from Ukraine during the war. Australia discovers the AUKUS submarines’ arrival looks even more remote. The prime minister confuses the limited cover provided by the ANZUS treaty.
Meanwhile, the US militarisation of Australia’s north continues at pace. At the same time a senior Pentagon official pressures Australia to massively increase defence spending. And now, the country’s defence intelligence system has experienced an unexplained major failure.
Australia, it seems, is adrift in a sea of unpredictable global events and changing alliance priorities.
Peter Cronau is an award-winning, investigative journalist, writer, and film-maker. His documentary, The Base: Pine Gap’s Role in US Warfighting, was broadcast on Australian ABC Radio National and featured on ABC News. He produced and directed the documentary film Drawing the Line, revealing details of Australian spying in East Timor, on ABC TV’s premier investigative programme Four Corners. He won the Gold Walkley Award in 2007 for a report he produced on an outbreak of political violence in East Timor. This article was first published by Declassified Australia and is republished here with the author’s permission.
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of two new Family Court Judges.
The new Judges will take up their roles in April and May and fill Family Court vacancies at the Auckland and Manukau courts.
Annette Gray
Ms Gray completed her law degree at Victoria University before joining Phillips Fox in 1987. She then moved to Buddle Findlay, where she worked in the family and medical areas, before joining specialist family law practice Jan Clark Law in Porirua in 1994.
Ms Gray spent a year with Volunteer Service Abroad in Solomon Islands in 1999, returning to Wellington in 2000 and setting up practice as a specialist family lawyer. Since 2007 she has been principal of Buchanan Gray.
She is a District Inspector under the Mental Health Act and is a member of the panel of legal counsel for Hague Convention cases.
Judge Gray will sit in Auckland and will be sworn in on 16 April.
Annette Page
Ms Page was admitted to the bar in 1997 and commenced her legal career as a junior barrister working with Marie Dyhrberg KC before joining Smith and Partners in Waitākere, practising a broad range of litigation work in the District and High courts.
She has been a barrister sole since 2010, practising in all areas of family law.
Ms Page has held several roles within the New Zealand Law Society and is presently the Waitākere regional representative of the Family Law Section.
Judge Page will sit in Manukau and will be sworn in on 1 May.
Source: Australia Government Statements – Agriculture
17 March 2025
Who does this notice affect?
Stakeholders in the import and shipping industries—including vessel masters, freight forwarders, offshore treatment providers, Biosecurity Industry Participants, importers, customs brokers, principal agents and master consolidators.
What has changed?
Following identification of critical non-compliance, we have suspended Descroes BV (AEI: BE4001SB) from AusTreat.
The treatment provider has been listed as ‘suspended’…
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is today announcing the theme for the updated $5 banknote, which will honour the enduring emotional, spiritual, and physical connection of First Nations peoples to country.
Assistant Governor (Business Services) Michelle McPhee says, ‘The theme encompasses the deep connection First Nations peoples have to the land, the waters and the sky.’
‘This inspiring theme will guide the creation of an artwork that will feature on the redesigned banknote.’
‘The selection of a theme follows an Australia-wide campaign, which led to more than 2,100 theme nominations from the public.’
‘We extend our gratitude to everyone who made a submission.’
Theme for the $5 Banknote
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Country is more than just the land. Country is the land, the waters, and the sky. All are connected. The imagery on the $5 banknote should recognise the enduring connection that First Nations peoples have to Country – as an emotional and spiritual connection, as much as a physical one.
An important context for this connection is the overturning of the concept of terra nullius. This action recognised the existence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s relationship to Country for thousands of years. The artist is invited to reflect how this decision has shaped a positive future for First Nations peoples.
Key to this theme is the recognition of First Nations communities’ contribution to the restoration and conservation of our environment. Using traditional ecological knowledge First Nations peoples continue to act as custodians to sustain and conserve Country. There is an opportunity for all Australians to learn from Australia’s original stewards on how to nurture and protect our fragile world.
The theme should be represented in a way that recognises the diversity of First Nations peoples, across Australia and the Torres Strait. In acknowledging connection and caring for Country the theme should be inclusive, recognising the nature of Country varies, but it is all connected – the land, waters and sky. The artwork should avoid being tokenistic or stereotypical. The tone for the banknote is of a hopeful future, where First Nation peoples’ connection to Country is celebrated and respected.
Background
Before selecting the theme, the RBA engaged with First Nations organisations across the country to build awareness and encourage the submission of ideas.
The $5 Redesign Imagery Selection Panel, which includes First Nations representatives and representatives from the RBA and Note Printing Australia, selected the theme.
The new design will replace the portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, while the reverse side will continue to feature the Australian Parliament. The new design will reflect the chosen theme and incorporate artwork from a First Nations artist.
Financing the next generation of PHES projects11 min read
Interest in pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) continues to grow as the need for affordable, long-term, firm and weather-independent dispatchable electricity becomes increasingly critical to Australia’s energy transition. However, its high upfront capital costs and complex planning, procurement, and delivery processes, in contrast with its low operational expenses, is prompting debate over its viability as a mainstream asset class and optimal funding strategies.
PHES assets in Australia are predominantly government-owned, reflecting an era when electricity generation was seen as a public utility and a national asset. The privatisation of many segments within the energy sector raises questions about the future ownership and funding of large-scale PHES assets in today’s market-driven environment.
In this Insight, we explore the challenges and opportunities related to the financing of PHES projects in Australia and outline possible offtake structures to ensure a successful project.
Key takeaways
Government corporations have traditionally owned and procured PHES assets in Australia.
Significant capital costs, extensive civil engineering, underground works and long lead times have made private sector ownership and access to debt capital markets for PHES challenging.
Recent advancements seen in the BESS sector underpinned by the development of innovative funding and offtake structures present a potential pathway by which PHES could follow and become a mainstream asset class.
In NSW in particular, there is significant government support for PHES projects, with the LDS LTESA and the new Energy Security Corporation focusing on investing in long-duration storage, and in South Australia the proposed Firm Energy Reliability Mechanism.
Background
Australia has a PHES fleet of approximately 1.6 GW across the Wivenhoe, Tumut 3 and Shoalhaven power stations, with an additional 2.2 GWs of generation expected to come online with the completion of the Snowy 2.0 expansion project. There is also a significant pipeline of privately procured PHES projects in various stages of feasibility and planning.
The scale, capital intensity and inherent complexities of delivering a PHES project has meant that, to date, every project that has come to market in Australia has been funded using some form of government support. The most recent example is the Kidston PHES, which reached financial close in 2021. Whilst a privately owned asset, the project was funded with a combination of equity capital, a government grant and a concessional loan.
A question therefore arises as to whether PHES should continue to seen as public infrastructure necessitating government investment, or market evolution will result in future PHES being funded exclusively by the private sector.
Could a PHES be privately funded?
In our view, yes, though in the short term, the success of PHES will depend on a combination of both private and public sector investment. The private sector faces a unique set of challenges when it comes to the development and funding of PHES projects.
PHES projects have long lead times and are capital-intensive. Upfront development costs are very high, and the construction period typically ranges between three to four years. Up to 80% of asset-life costs can be on upfront capital expenditure, which typically runs into several billions of dollars. As a consequence, PHES is beyond the investment horizons of many private sector investors and the future success of the sector will be contingent on investors gaining access to debt capital markets.
While the recent $3.5 billion debt financing of Snowy 2.0 is an encouraging example of the willingness of mainstream financiers to lend to PHES, it is a government-procured project backed by an AAA-rated counterparty. Privately procured PHES projects with more limited funding sources will be subject to much more stringent credit requirements. Recent examples of cost and time delays on major PHES projects and the trend towards collaborative contracting and pricing models represent potential challenges from a bankability perspective.
Prospective financiers will focus heavily on the developer’s chosen procurement model to ensure that there is firm pricing and transferred risk to limit volatility and exposure. Where there are elements of flexibility or uncapped pricing (for example as seen with approaches to managing geotechnical risk on recent government projects), we are seeing developers seeking to forward-solve these issues by implementing robust risk mitigation measures, including, alternative contracting methods, highly structured delay and performance liquidated damages regimes and intricate risk allocation arrangements.
In addition to enhanced procurement regimes, prospective financiers to PHES projects have, through market soundings, also indicated that highly conversative modelling assumptions and tighter financing terms will be required. As seen with other nascent renewables assets classes during their ascendancy (such as wind, solar and now BESS), developers will likely be required to also build in large contingency packages, contingent undrawn lines, accept front-ended repayment profiles, more stringent cash sweep and upside sharing mechanisms and lower gearing levels.
Access to debt capital markets will also be contingent on investors demonstrating that PHES as an asset class is commercially viable in the context of private ownership. Traditionally, governments have adopted a model of utilising PHES projects as a form of system support (ie where there has been a shortfall of supply during periods of peak demand). In contrast, private sector investors will need to monetise projects and demonstrate positive price differentials between pumping and generation.
Owing to the capital cost of PHES, the initial wave of privately held projects will be financed utilising multi-source funding structures. At least initially, it is expected that multilateral agencies which are spearheading Australia’s push to net zero, such as ARENA, the CEFC and NAIF, will provide concessional/grant funding alongside mainstream commercial debt. The limited pool of civil contractors with PHES experience in Australia, combined with a lack of a domestic OEM market will likely result in developers satisfying key credibility requirements for international export credit agencies to also participate in the financing of Australian PHES projects.
Unlocking private funding for PHES projects
Despite the challenges in financing PHES assets, recent market developments and potential future changes could pave the way for greater private funding of PHES projects.
The sheer scale of PHES projects means there is a limited pool of available investment-grade offtakes, and as a consequence, many pipeline PHES developers are seeking to underpin project economics through government revenue underwriting schemes such as the Long-term Energy Support Agreements (LTESA) and Capacity Investment Scheme Agreements (CISA).
While initially met with scepticism, these agreements are starting to be viewed favourably by financiers, representing a fixed revenue line against which debt sizing can be made. This has been demonstrated by the successful project financings of the Orana BESS project in mid-2024 (the first standalone financing of an LTESA) and recently EnergyAustralia’s Wooreen BESS project (the first standalone financing of a CISA). Both projects also demonstrate the potential upside these products offer to developers, with the revenue underwrite providing scope to trade all or part of a project’s capacity in the merchant market.
A potential challenge however is whether or not the LTESA and CIS programs are in fact ‘fit-for-purpose’ in the context of PHES, owing to their capital intensity and the quantum that these government support agreements will have to underwrite over the long term. There is a view by some market participants that a more traditional model, whereby the government acquires an equity interest in projects, would be better suited to PHES and would go some way towards solving a number of the key bankability concerns pipeline developers are currently grappling with.
The NSW Government has sought to address this issue through the Long Duration Storage (LDS) LTESA, which provides a tailored agreement for LDS projects (including PHES) to account for the fundamental differences in their operational and market context.
Key features of the LDS LTESA that benefit PHES projects are:
an underwriting mechanism that grants the operator a series of two-year options to access a variable annuity payment in the form of a top-up to net operational revenue – rather than short-term swaps, which are granted under the generation LTESA;
a minimum availability threshold of 97% rather than a minimum generation guarantee; and
a contract term of up to 40 years for PHES projects, compared to 20 years for a generation LTESA and 10 years for firming LTESAs.
The ACEN Phoenix PHES project was recently awarded an LDS LTESA, marking the first time a PHES project has been awarded an LTESA. AEMO Services has indicated that the next LDS tender round will open in the second quarter of 2025 and is encouraging projects with short lead times to participate in order to meet the 2030 minimum objective. This directive does not rule out PHES projects, with many of the PHES currently under development in Australia having expected completion dates of 2030 or earlier. PHES projects with longer lead times are encouraged to participate in future LDS tenders to help meet the 2034 minimum objective.
While there is no active mechanism in any other jurisdiction, the South Australian Government has announced its proposed Firm Energy Reliability Mechanism (FERM), which is similar to the NSW LDS LTESA tenders and Federal Capacity Investment Scheme, providing a revenue underwrite for long-duration capacity projects. All existing and new generators in South Australia with long-duration firm capacity >30MW (excluding coal) and that can dispatch for a period of at least eight continuous hours must participate in the FERM process, but are not required to bid for financial contracts. The South Australian Government is considering responses to the FERM and is expected to release an update in 2025. With NSW as the frontrunner in supporting LDS projects and SA proposing some support, other jurisdictions may consider similar regimes based on their progress.
In June 2024, the NSW Energy Security Corporation (ESC) was established to accelerate the state’s renewable energy transition. In February 2025, the government announced the first Investment Mandate for the ESC. The Investment Mandate sets out how the ESC will invest in renewable energy projects where private sector investments alone are insufficient. The ESC has been allocated $1 billion and will co-invest with private investors on PHES, as well as large-scale batteries, community batteries and virtual power plants.
The Investment Mandate did not provide a breakdown of how the $1 billion would be allocated amongst these projects. However, with a clear mandate to invest in PHES projects, there is hope that the ESC may be able to help address some of the challenges faced by private investment as set out above.
PHES is often referred to as a ‘water battery’. It is therefore unsurprising that revenue models which have underpinned the recent meteoric rise of the BESS market are similarly being adopted by PHES developers who are currently in the planning phase.
In particular, the rise of virtual offtake arrangements (ie where the offtaker makes virtual nominations that are effectively separate from the physical operation of the asset). These structures (and the significant capacity size of PHES) allow a developer to retain day-to-day control over the underlying PHES asset, split capacity across multiple offtakers, provide potential for greater equity upside (although also give rise to greater risk on the downside), and importantly can be treated off-balance sheet from an accounting perspective.
We are anticipating a further evolution of the virtual offtake market, particularly if storage projects can secure an underlying LTESA or CISA, which can give them a base level of security to trade the remaining capacity. Revenue sharing, caps and firmed supply (or a mixture of a number of structures) could be possible, and we expect the PHES market to take inspiration from the BESS market.
Actions you can take now
If you are considering entering the PHES space and exploring funding options, it is important to:
engage with financiers (both private and government, and concessional providers) early;
engage external counsel early and seek guidance on key bankability issues throughout the planning and feasibility phases;
develop your revenue stack during the planning phase (in consultation with financiers) and take into consideration the quickly evolving offtake market in the BESS sector;
for those projects in NSW:
prepare for the next LDS LTESA round which is slated to be undertaken before the second half of this year;
engage with the ESC to explore how it will invest its $1 billion in the context of a PHES project; and
for those projects in South Australia, engage with the South Australian government and monitor for updates on the FERM process.
