NewzIntel.com

Category: Australia

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Serious Financial Crime Taskforce case studies

    Source: New places to play in Gungahlin

    Most people comply with their tax obligations. However, there are a small number of people who deliberately do the wrong thing. The ATO-led SFCT was established to respond to this, targeting the more serious financial crimes in Australia.

    The case studies on this page reinforce that those who deliberately cheat the system will be held to account.

    Stay up to date on the latest SFCT outcomes by subscribing to general email updates. Subscribers will receive updates on all new general content on our website, including the latest SFCT case studies.

    Government fraudster sentenced to jail

    Paolo Esmaquel was sentenced on 28 May 2025 in the Melbourne County Court to 18 months of imprisonment in addition to the jail time previously imposed for similar federal offences in November 2024.

    She was charged with 3 categories of offending against Government at both federal and state levels: tax fraud, identity and counterfeiting fraud, and social security fraud.

    The ATO worked collaboratively with other partner agencies across Government to hold Ms Esmaquel to account for her actions.

    An operation conducted by the ATO-led SFCT uncovered her elaborate scheme to commit tax fraud by stealing the identities of 3 different individuals.

    One of the assumed identities was registered by Ms Esmaquel as a tax practitioner with the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB). To do this, she submitted forged documents to the TPB that falsely claimed she completed the required tertiary education to become a tax agent and forged a declaration from a chartered accountant.

    Following this, she set up a tax agent profile on ATO Online Services and linked several taxpayers to her account. Ms Esmaquel then lodged 10 fraudulent business activity statements on behalf of these taxpayers without their knowledge or consent.

    As a result of the investigation, the TPB cancelled her tax agent registration.

    Acting Deputy Commissioner and Serious Financial Crime Taskforce (SFCT) Chief Kath Anderson acknowledges the prevalence of identity crime, saying ‘With a rise in scammers and cyber criminals out in the community, it’s more important than ever to protect your personal identifying information. This case shows how far criminals will go to commit identity fraud and exploit the tax and super system.’

    ‘We have strengthened our systems against fraud and financial crime through prevention, early detection, containment and consequences, such as the jail time Ms Esmaquel received’.

    Read more in the media release.

    Former registered liquidator sentenced to prison

    Former liquidator Peter Amos has been sentenced to 4 years imprisonment for dishonestly gaining an advantage for his business and himself contrary to the Corporations Act.

    Mr Amos was a registered liquidator and business owner of Amos Insolvency Pty Ltd (Amos Insolvency).

    Between 6 October 2016 and 31 December 2022, Mr Amos transferred $2,498,546 from the accounts of Mikcon Employment Services Pty Ltd, TPC (Vic) Pty Ltd, P O W 4X4 Pty Ltd, A-Force Electrics Pty Ltd, and Conomi Group Pty Ltd to Amos Insolvency.

    ATO Deputy Commissioner and Serious Financial Crime Taskforce Chief John Ford welcomed the court’s decision, saying the sentencing is a warning to those looking to use their position to exploit the system.

    ‘This outcome sends a clear message to those who look to game the system to gain an unfair advantage – you will be caught,’ Mr Ford said.

    Read more about the outcome in the media releaseExternal Link.

    Woman sentenced for false claims and forged documents

    On 1 October 2024, Ashmita Sharma appeared before the Downing Centre Local Court in NSW for sentence.

    Ms Sharma received two 18-month suspended sentences, to be served concurrently. She pleaded guilty to committing GST fraud, JobKeeper fraud and attempting to pervert the course of justice, contrary to sections 134.2(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth) and 43(1) of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) respectively.

    Ms Sharma was also ordered to be of good behaviour for 3 years and repay the remaining $26,426 in stolen funds to us.

    In August 2020, Ms Sharma lodged:

    • a false COVID-19 JobKeeper application on behalf of a dormant company that listed her father as the sole director, without his knowledge or authorisation
    • 3 separate business activity statements
    • a false claim for a Cashflow Boost Stimulus which was taken into account on sentence.

    In total, Ms Sharma received $30,926 as a result of the offending.

    During the course of the matter, Ms Sharma was also charged with one count of attempting to pervert the course of justice by forging a medical certificate to avoid attending court.

    Operation Hyacinth is part of a broader investigation by the SFCT into the misuse of government funds. Our message is clear; those who think they can steal and cheat the system for their own financial gain will be caught. Attempting to avoid these consequences can make the situation worse.

    This SFCT matter was prosecuted by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) (CDPP) following a referral from the ATO.

    To report any known or suspected illegal behaviour you can either complete the tip-off form or phone us on our tip-off hotline on 1800 060 062.

    Find out more about the Serious Financial Crime Taskforce.

    Attempts to commit gold bullion fraud didn’t have the outcome 2 fraudsters had planned.

    The investigation, conducted under the ATO-led SFCT, revealed that Cedric Adrian Millner and Jonatan Kelu purchased GST-free gold bullion, refashioned it into scrap and then sold it inclusive of GST to a refiner. Millner and Kelu claimed GST input tax credits by falsely stating that the GST-free gold bullion was purchased inclusive of GST under the GST second-hand rules.

    The reward for engaging in this complex $40 million fraud activity was a sentence of 8 years in jail for both men, handed down in the Supreme Court of NSW.

    These criminals thought their actions would go undetected, but our expert team of investigators uncovered the fraud and worked to solve the case, bringing together thousands of documents and multiple data sets to form a solid brief that would ultimately be their downfall.

    Operation Nosean was established to look at network participants in the gold bullion and precious metals industry. This included refiners, bullion dealers, gold kiosks, dealers and buyers within established supply chains involved in gold recycling arrangements, seeking to exploit the GST rules in relation to precious metals.

    New laws were introduced in April 2017 to combat fraud in the gold bullion and precious metals industry.

    Our message is clear to those who seek to evade or cheat the tax system: there is no place for you to hide and we will not tolerate this behaviour.

    For more information see:

    Second sentencing for Australia’s largest tax fraud case

    On 29 March 2018, Michael Issakidis faced the Supreme Court of NSW for his involvement in the largest prosecuted tax fraud case in Australia’s history.

    Alongside his co-conspirator Anthony Dickson, Issakidis deliberately absorbed $450 million of otherwise assessable income. He did this using complex domestic and international trust and tax evasion structures. This caused a loss to the Commonwealth of $135 million. By creating a web of false identities and siphoning money offshore, the pair acquired approximately $63 million.

    Issakidis was sentenced to 10 years and 3 months jail for his involvement in the operation. This followed the 2015 sentencing of Dickson, whose original 11-year sentence was increased to 14 years on appeal.

    The significant penalties handed down to both Issakidis and Dickson demonstrate the success of the SFCT in dealing with those who deliberately cheat the system. As a member of the SFCT, we are equipped with the resources, data-matching capability and international and domestic intelligence-sharing relationships to uncover even the most complex tax evasion schemes.

    People who deliberately avoid paying the correct amount of tax will be caught and will face the full force of the law.

    For more information see:

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Young people who witness domestic violence are more likely to be victims of it. Here’s how we can help them

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kristin Diemer, Associate Professor of Sociology, The University of Melbourne

    In our national discussions on domestic and family violence, much of the focus is rightly on the women experiencing the violence and how best to help them.

    But another vital, less acknowledged part of the puzzle is the impact on children.

    Children and young people exposed to, or witnessing domestic violence between their parents or primary caregivers is widely recognised as a form of child abuse.

    They can be placed in otherwise unthinkable scenarios. These include being forced to spy on a parent, defending a parent, intervening to stop the violence, or being used as a hostage.

    After the event, young people can be the ones assisting with injuries, calling for emergency services and witnessing police intervention. Sometimes, they’re forced to leave the home and seek refuge.

    As we seek to end violence in a generation under the national plan, focusing on children will be key.

    The extent of the problem

    Evidence shows children living with domestic violence have greater rates of learning difficulties, poor health and wellbeing and may exhibit challenging behaviours.

    The Australian Personal Safety Survey (2021–2022) identified one in eight adults (13%) witnessed violence between their parents or caregivers before the age of 15.

    People were twice as likely to have witnessed violence towards their mother than their father.

    There is also emerging evidence children and young people exposed to domestic violence are more likely to be victims of multiple forms of maltreatment.

    The Australian Child Maltreatment Study invited people aged 16 and older to participate. Four out of ten young people (aged 16–24) who responded to the survey and experienced childhood abuse, also reported more than one type of abuse.

    What does this mean for them as adults?

    Australians who witness violence against their mother as a young person are 2.5 times more likely to become victims of intimate partner domestic violence from the age of 15, compared to people who are not exposed to domestic violence during childhood.

    We don’t know why they are at greater risk, but one theory is that children who grow up in a domestic violence household may minimise or normalise the behaviour.

    The Australian National Community Attitudes Survey on Violence Against Women shows a quarter of Australians (23%) minimise domestic violence, believing it’s is an overreaction to day to day stress.

    We don’t know how many people in Australia who witness domestic violence as a child become perpetrators of intimate partner abuse as adults.

    Howeve, global studies have found witnessing parental violence as a young person is the highest risk factor associated with likelihood of perpetrating violence in adult relationships (28%). This is closely followed by permissive attitudes on violence against women (24%).

    New data released by the Australian Institute of Family Studies further reveals men who grow up with positive father figure role models expressing affection are 48% less likely to become perpetrators of family violence in adulthood.

    Do childhood victims become adult victims?

    While there is a real increased risk of adult domestic violence among children who witness parental domestic violence, it is not the majority.

    One in three (34%) Australian women who witness parental domestic violence against their mother become victims of adult domestic violence themselves. It’s one in seven (14%) men.

    As researchers, we are usually identifying a problem, rather than examining positive outcomes. This means less attention has been paid to understanding resilience and what protects young people.

    Our research team has conducted two projects in which we spoke with young people about their experience of living with fathers who abused their mothers.

    While we focused on amplifying their voices and asking what they wanted to say to their fathers, it was common for them to mention they were fearful of forming their own intimate partner relationships.

    They had heard of cycles of intergenerational violence and did not want to become like their fathers.

    Can we break the cycle?

    An evaluation of a pilot project working directly with children and young people in the western suburbs of Melbourne found children living with domestic violence experienced present fear, overwhelming worry about their future, and an inability to form positive friendships.

    Receiving one-on-one, intensive support helped them with improved confidence, decreased fear and overall increased happiness.

    Both of these example studies with children and young people are small. Conducting research with children and young people involves greater attention to risk, ethics and safety, and often requires a greater amount of time for the whole process. Many projects are not sufficiently funded to include the voices of young people.

    The available research shows the concerning long-term impact of childhood exposure to domestic violence, but it also shows hope.

    It is a minority of children in these circumstances who become victims in adulthood, and we estimate also a minority who go on to perpetrate violence.

    Reparative work with children does show their lives can be greatly improved. The participation of young people in research and the recent Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety conference also shows they can clearly articulate an understanding of their experiences, what has worked for them, and importantly, what is not effective.

    We have good evidence for what can work to prevent and end family violence if there is sufficient long-term investment.

    But children’s needs have been under investigated. We would benefit from better understanding of what can help young people exposed to domestic violence and the positive impact of early intervention.

    The National Sexual Assault, Family and Domestic Violence Counselling Line – 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.

    Kristin Diemer holds a joint appointment at the University of Melbourne and Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS). She is a member of the Advisory Panels for the Australian Personal Safety Survey, and the National Community Attitudes Survey on violence against women.

    – ref. Young people who witness domestic violence are more likely to be victims of it. Here’s how we can help them – https://theconversation.com/young-people-who-witness-domestic-violence-are-more-likely-to-be-victims-of-it-heres-how-we-can-help-them-257463

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI China: Chinese delegation attends 157th session of WHO Executive Board

    Source: People’s Republic of China Ministry of Health

    The 157th session of the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board was held in Geneva, Switzerland, from May 28 to 29.

    The meeting reviewed 10 administrative and technical agenda items, including the report on the outcome of the 78th World Health Assembly, the report of the WHO Executive Board’s Programme, Budget and Administration Committee, and the report of its Standing Committee on Health Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response.

    The Chinese delegation expressed appreciation for the WHO’s efforts in leading the response to global health emergencies and enhancing the effectiveness of governing bodies. They called for further progress in WHO governance reform, focusing on core operations, improving efficiency, transparency and accountability, and increasing the representation and voice of developing countries.

    Over 200 participants attended the meeting, including the 34 members of the WHO Executive Board, as well as representatives from other WHO member states, international organizations and non-state actors. Australia served as the chair of this session of the Executive Board. The Chinese delegation was composed of officials from the Department of International Cooperation of the National Health Commission, the National Administration of Disease Prevention and Control and China’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations Office at Geneva, and relevant experts.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: UPDATE #2 – Death in custody – Alice Springs

    Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

    The Northern Territory Police Force is continuing to investigate the death of a 24-year-old man in police custody in Alice Springs.

    This incident is being investigated by the Major Crime Section, which operates under strict protocols and with full transparency.

    In consultation with the Northern Territory Coroner, the coronial investigation has been paused, while the criminal investigation into the man’s death is undertaken to determine whether any criminality was involved.

    The coroner has requested, and will be provided, with regular updates as the criminal investigation progresses.

    All evidence collected in relation to the death, including CCTV, cannot be released until the criminal investigation is concluded.

    The timeline for this investigation is unknown at this early stage.

    The cause of the man’s death remains undetermined.

    An independent examination of the initial undetermined findings of the autopsy is also being undertaken

    The forensic pathologist is in the process of completing further investigation to ascertain the cause of death.

    The NTPF is aware of the public interest in this investigation and further updates will be provided through a media release as relevant information becomes available.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Keep up to date with the taskforce

    Source: New places to play in Gungahlin

    Taskforce results

    The Serious Financial Crime Taskforce (SFCT) started operation on 1 July 2015.

    From this date until 31 March 2025, the Taskforce has progressed cases that have resulted in:

    • completion of 2,526 audits and reviews  
    • conviction and sentencing of 71 people
    • raised over $2.9 billion in liabilities
    • collected more than $1 billion.

    Guidance and resources

    The SFCT has valuable resources to warn taxpayers of the risks of getting involved in these kinds of behaviours, including:

    • GST refund fraud – an Intelligence Bulletin warning businesses against using related-party structuring and false invoicing, and entering into artificial and contrived arrangements to cheat the tax and super systems.
    • False invoicing – an Intelligence Bulletin warning businesses against false invoicing arrangements. These schemes involve issuing invoices where no goods or services are provided.
    • Electronic sales suppression tools (ESSTs) – a new Intelligence Bulletin warning businesses against using ESSTs. Businesses use ESSTs to illegally manipulate transaction records and avoid their tax obligations.
    • Fraud in the precious metals refining industry – The illegal manipulation of the government’s interpretation of precious metals has been a focus for SFCT, which has investigated participants alleged to have been involved in gold bullion fraud.

    Case studies and tax crime prosecution results

    Case studies show that those who deliberately cheat the system will be held to account:

    Read our past SFCT media releases and listen to the audio grabs.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Gluten intolerance and coeliac disease can both cause nausea, bloating and pain. What’s the difference?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yasmine Probst, Professor, School of Medical, Indigenous and Health Sciences. Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian, University of Wollongong

    fotodrobik/Shutterstock

    Around one in ten Australians say they follow a gluten-free diet.

    This means eliminating common foods – such as bread, pasta and noodles – that contain gluten, a protein found mainly in wheat, barley and rye.

    Not everyone who follows a gluten-free diet has an underlying condition. But if you experience nausea, bloating or stomach pain after eating gluten, it could be the sign of a gluten intolerance, or coeliac disease.

    While gluten intolerance and coeliac disease share many similar symptoms, one can cause intestinal damage and malnutrition. So, what’s the difference?

    What is coeliac disease?

    Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disease. This means the body mistakenly starts attacking healthy cells and tissue – in this case, in the small intestine – causing inflammation.

    It affects around one in 70 Australians, but only 20% of this group are diagnosed.

    If you have coeliac disease, eating foods that contain gluten can damage your villi, structures in the small intestine that help the body absorb nutrients.

    Following a meal containing gluten, you may experience digestive problems including diarrhoea, bloating, nausea, gas and abdominal pain.

    Coeliac disease can lead to long-term damage in the small intenstine.
    Sakurra/Shutterstock

    Gluten can also cause non-digestive symptoms such as brain fog, headaches, dermatitis herpetiformis (an itchy, blistery skin rash), joint pain and fatigue.

    In the long term, untreated coeliac disease can lead to malnutrition because the damaged villi can’t absorb nutrients from food. It can also reduce bone mineral density and has been linked to neurological disorders such as epilepsy and dementia.

    How is coeliac disease diagnosed?

    For an accurate diagnosis, you must not have eliminated gluten from your diet yet. This is so its effect on your digestive system can be measured.

    A diagnosis involves blood tests followed by biopsies of the small intestine using an endoscope (an instrument with a light that can look inside the body).

    Blood tests look for antigens – markers of a reaction to gluten – while the biopsy inspects any damage to the villi in the intestine.

    In some cases, a capsule endoscopy, where a pill-sized camera is swallowed, is used to look at the intestine and observe for damage.

    What about gluten intolerance?

    People with gluten intolerance experience similar symptoms to coeliac disease. The difference is, after consuming gluten, there is no autoimmune response or intestinal damage.

    Gluten intolerance is sometimes known as non-coeliac gluten sensitivity.

    An estimated 1% of Australians live with a gluten intolerance, but only 12 in every 100 of this group are diagnosed by a doctor.

    Doctors will rule out coeliac disease and wheat allergies as a first step for a person with symptoms related to eating gluten.

    Once these have been ruled out, a gluten-free diet trial, supervised by an accredited practising dietitian, might be recommended to see if symptoms improve.

    A formal diagnosis of gluten intolerance can only be confirmed using a highly complex dietary trial that compares the effect of gluten and a placebo over at least eight weeks.

    This form of scientific study is very labour-intensive and not very common.

    So instead many people just choose to eliminate gluten, without a diagnosis.

    Extreme sensitivity to gluten

    Coeliac disease is more severe than gluten intolerance and sensitivity can vary among those diagnosed.

    Even traces of gluten can trigger symptoms. This means a strict, lifelong, gluten-free diet essential.

    It also means people with coeliac disease have to be careful about cross-contamination. For example, using the same knife, chopping board or toaster to cut or toast gluten-free bread and regular bread can transfer gluten particles and cause a reaction.

    According to the latest studies, consuming just 50mg of gluten per day is enough to cause intestinal damage for people with coeliac disease.

    For context, a slice of whole-wheat bread contains about 4,800mg of gluten, meaning 50mg is around 1/100th of a slice of bread.

    A small amount of gluten won’t affect someone with gluten intolerance in the same way. They may have temporary symptoms, but won’t experience intestinal damage.

    However, the symptoms and their severity can vary from person to person, depending on their individual sensitivity.



    Read more:
    What’s the difference between a food allergy and an intolerance?

    Should I cut out gluten, just in case?

    You might be wondering if there is a downside to avoiding gluten, if you don’t have coeliac disease or an intolerance.

    There can be.

    Grain foods that contain gluten are rich in essential nutrients such as fibre, folate, iron and B-group vitamins.

    Avoiding gluten when you don’t need to can lead to nutritional deficiencies.

    Gluten-free products can also be more expensive and are sometimes higher in sugar, salt and fat to help compensate for texture and taste.

    Before making any changes to your diet, it is best to speak with an accredited practising dietitian to make sure you’re not missing out on important nutrients.

    So, what if you have symptoms?

    Common signs of a gluten intolerance or coeliac disease include bloating, diarrhoea or constipation, and stomach pain. Both conditions can trigger non-gastrointestinal symptoms such as headaches, fatigue and joint pain.

    If these symptoms sound familiar, it’s best to speak to a health-care professional who may test you for coeliac disease and/or a wheat allergy before eliminating gluten from your diet.

    Remember, self-diagnosing and removing gluten without proper guidance might do you more harm than good.

    If your symptoms concern you, speak to your GP, a gastroenterologist or a qualified dietitian. Dietitians Australia has a list of accredited practising dietitians.

    Yasmine Probst receives funding from Multiple Sclerosis Australia.

    Olivia Wills does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Gluten intolerance and coeliac disease can both cause nausea, bloating and pain. What’s the difference? – https://theconversation.com/gluten-intolerance-and-coeliac-disease-can-both-cause-nausea-bloating-and-pain-whats-the-difference-253235

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: National Accounts March quarter 2025

    Source: Australian Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry

    Today’s National Accounts show that our economy continues to grow in the face of substantial economic headwinds at home and abroad.

    While overall growth in the Australian economy remains subdued, the private sector recovery we have planned and prepared for is gradually taking hold.

    With all the uncertainty in the world, any growth is a decent outcome.

    Lower public demand, combined with global economic uncertainty and the impact of natural disasters, meant growth was weaker than expected.

    Even with these challenges, we are seeing private demand and incomes continuing to recover.

    Today’s numbers show the private sector stepping up as public demand steps back.

    The economy grew 0.2 per cent in the March quarter, leaving annual growth steady at 1.3 per cent.

    While growth in the quarter was weaker than expected, the Australian economy remains one of the strongest in the world.

    No major advanced economy has achieved what we have, with unemployment in the low 4s, inflation below 2.5 per cent and continuous growth for three years.

    Public demand has played a role in keeping the economy from going backwards over the past two years, but we know strong and sustainable economic growth is driven by the private sector.

    Our plan has always focused on restoring the private sector to its rightful place as the main driver of growth in our economy.

    While the private sector‑led recovery was always going to be gradual, today’s data shows encouraging signs it is continuing.

    Private demand grew 0.5 per cent, contributing 0.3 of a percentage point to growth in the quarter.

    The contribution from private demand was greater than overall GDP growth.

    Growth in private demand was broad based, with consumption, new business investment and dwelling investment all growing in the quarter.

    These three components have grown at the same time in only around 1 in every 3 quarters since records began.

    Consumption grew 0.4 per cent in the quarter, contributing 0.2 of a percentage point to growth.

    Consumption growth was weighed down by the impact of natural disasters and households continuing to exercise caution in spending, with the saving ratio rising to 5.2 per cent – the highest in more than two and a half years.

    While consumption growth was modest in the quarter, it was encouraging to see solid growth in real incomes per capita.

    Getting real incomes growing again has been central to our Government’s economic strategy after they were going backwards 1.7 per cent when we came to office.

    Real incomes per capita grew 1.1 per cent in the quarter and are up 1.7 per cent through the year. This is the strongest quarterly growth rate for real incomes in more than three years.

    Growth in real incomes reflects a combination of moderating inflation, solid wage and employment growth, the Government’s tax cuts for every taxpayer and lower interest rates. There was also some support from insurance claims related to weather events.

    In the second half of last year real incomes in Australia grew faster than the OECD average and almost twice the G7 average, and we have now recorded a third consecutive quarter of real income growth.

    Private investment was an important contributor to growth in the quarter, driven by dwelling investment and new business investment.

    Dwelling investment grew by a solid 2.6 per cent in the quarter, to be 5.6 per cent higher through the year, well above average quarterly growth over the past ten years of just 0.2 per cent. This is the type of investment the Government’s $43 billion Homes for Australia Plan will continue to encourage as we deliver on our housing agenda.

    New business investment rose 0.4 per cent in the quarter, driven by construction investment, taking the level of business investment to a 12 year high.

    Since we came to office, new business investment has grown by an annualised average of 4.4 per cent, compared to an average decline of 1.3 per cent under our predecessors.

    Public demand fell 0.5 per cent in the quarter, detracting 0.1 of a percentage point from growth. The moderation in public demand growth means that public demand as a share of GDP fell in the quarter by 0.3 of a percentage point.

    The quarterly fall in public demand was driven by a wrap up of a number of large projects in the previous quarter and partly by a moderation in growth of NDIS spending due to the Government’s reforms.

    Net exports detracted 0.1 of a percentage point from growth, reflecting the impact of natural disasters and subdued global economic conditions.

    Extreme weather events had an impact on mining, tourism and shipping activities in the quarter. Coal export volumes declined by 6.4 per cent in the quarter, weighing down overall non‑rural goods exports, which fell 2.3 per cent.

    Despite all the challenges coming at us, Australians are earning more and keeping more of what they earn under Labor.

    Compensation of employees grew by 1.5 per cent in the quarter, to be 6.5 per cent through the year. This has seen the wage share of income rise to 53.7 per cent from the below 50 per cent before we came to office.

    Wages in future quarters will be supported by the Fair Work Commission’s welcome decision to award a real wage increase for award workers.

    Our tax cuts for every taxpayer have contributed to another fall in tax as a share of income. Income tax as a share of income was 15.5 per cent in the quarter, down from 16.3 per cent in the quarter before our tax cuts started rolling out.

    The substantial and sustained progress we’ve made on inflation was confirmed again in today’s data, with the National Accounts consumption deflator moderating to 3.3 per cent in annual terms, the lowest in three years.

    The first of the interest rate cuts saw mortgage interest costs fall in the quarter. As the rate cuts flow through to household mortgages, we expect them to play more of a role in boosting real incomes in future quarters.

    Under Labor, inflation is down, real wages and living standards are rising, unemployment is low, interest rates are falling and the economy is continuing to grow.

    All of this progress Australians have made together means that we are well placed and well prepared for the heightened uncertainty and volatility in the global economy in the period ahead.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: CCTV focus in Bellerive investigation

    Source: New South Wales Community and Justice

    CCTV focus in Bellerive investigation

    Wednesday, 4 June 2025 – 12:26 pm.

    Detectives reviewing CCTV footage from the Bellerive area have identified two people they believe could assist with the ongoing investigation into the death of a 45-year-old man.
    The body of Luke Jon Telega was found in an industrial-sized garbage bin on Monday morning, at the rear of a business premises in Percy Street.
    Police would like to speak with the woman pictured standing at a shopfront, (Photo 1) who was on Percy Street, Bellerive, around 7:50pm on Sunday, June 1.
    Police believe the member of the public may have spoken with someone in Percy Street at the time and may be able to assist with inquiries. The woman was driving what is believed to be a light-coloured Toyota Prado.
    Police would also like to speak with the woman pictured at the front of a car, (Photo 2) who was in Percy Street about 8:05pm on Sunday and who may be able to assist detectives. The woman was driving a red SUV at the time.
    Further, police would like to speak with anyone who was in the area of Percy Street, Scott Street and Cambridge Road on the evening of Sunday through to 8am on Monday, and may have seen either someone on foot, or riding a bicycle, in these areas.
    Anyone with information is asked to contact police of 131 444 or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously on 1800 333 000 or online at crimestopperstas.com.au

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Taskforce Artemis

    Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

    A joint South Australian (SA) and Northern Territory (NT) Police Taskforce has charged a man with historical child abuse offences against young people from the Northern Territory that occurred in South Australia.

    Taskforce Artemis was launched in October 2023 shortly after a now 65-year-old man was arrested by SA Police for 2 historical child abuse offences allegedly committed in South Australia.

    The charges relate to 30 victims, with the alleged offending occurring between 1990 to 2023 in South Australia.

    SA and NT Police, along with South Australian ODPP Witness Assistance officers have continued to engage with all victims and witnesses to provide support and assistance.

    The 65-year-old man is currently on remand and has now been charged with:

    • 12 x Sexual Abuse of a Child
    •  8 x Indecent Assault
    • 6 x Unlawful Sexual Intercourse
    • 4 x Assault
    • 3 x Aggravated Indecent Assault
    • 3 x Possess Child Exploitation Material
    • 2 x Aggravated Incite or procure Child to Commit Indecent Act
    • 2 x Aggravated Assault
    • 1 x Aggravated Compelled Sexual Manipulation
    • 1 x Attempt Indecent Assault
    • 1 x Attempt Aggravated Incite or Procure Child to Commit Indecent Act
    • 1 x Gross Indecency

    He appeared in SA District Court today.

    South Australian Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Crime Service Catherine Hilliard said “Operation Artemis has been a complex and incredibly confronting investigation.

    “The SA Police have been working closing with the NTPF as we conducted investigations into this offending.

    “The privacy and safety of the victims, remains our number one priority. We have been providing updates, along with support, to everyone effected.”

    Northern Territory Police Force Assistant Commissioner Michael White said “While the scale of the alleged offending discovered during investigations by Task Force Artemis is disturbing, it is important the community be aware that these investigations have been methodical and not resulted in any other person being charged with respect to the alleged offending.

    “The NTPF is working closely with those effected.”

    Members of the public who have any information about people involved in child abuse and exploitation are urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or https://crimestoppers.com.au/ or to contact NTPF Police on 131 444.

    You can also make a report online by alerting the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation via the ‘Report Abuse’ button at www.accce.gov.au/report.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Joint taskforce leads to further charges of child abuse

    Source: New South Wales – News

    A joint South Australia and Northern Territory Police Taskforce has charged a man with historical child abuse offences against young people from the Northern Territory that occurred in South Australia.

    Taskforce Artemis was launched in October 2023, shortly after a now 65-year-old man was arrested by SA Police for two historical child abuse offences allegedly committed in South Australia.

    The charges relate to 30 victims, with the alleged offending occurring between 1990 to 2023 in South Australia.

    SA and NT Police, along with South Australian ODPP Witness Assistance officers have continued to engage with all victims and witnesses to provide support and assistance.

    The 65-year-old man is currently on remand and has now been charged with:

    * 12 counts of sexual abuse of a child

    * 8 counts of indecent assault

    * 6 counts of unlawful sexual intercourse

    * 4 counts of assault

    * 3 counts of aggravated indecent assault

    * 3 counts of possess child exploitation material

    * 2 counts of aggravated incite or procure child to commit indecent act

    * 2 counts of aggravated assault

    * 1 count of aggravated compelled sexual manipulation

    * 1 count of attempt indecent assault

    * 1 count of attempt aggravated incite or procure child to commit indecent act

    * 1 count of gross indecency

    He appeared in the SA District Court today.

    South Australian Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Crime Service Catherine Hilliard said, “Operation Artemis has been a complex and incredibly confronting investigation.

    “The SA Police have been working closely with the NTPF as we conduct investigations into this offending.

    “The privacy and safety of the victims remains our number one priority. We have been providing updates, along with support, to everyone effected.”

    Northern Territory Police Force Assistant Commissioner Michael White said, “While the scale of the alleged offending discovered during investigations by Task Force Artemis is disturbing, it is important the community be aware that these investigations have been methodical and not resulted in any other person being charged with respect to the alleged offending.

    “The NTPF is working closely with those effected.”

    Members of the public who have any information about people involved in child abuse and exploitation are urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or https://crimestopperssa.com.au/ You can remain anonymous.

    You can also make a report online by alerting the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation via the ‘Report Abuse’ button at www.accce.gov.au/report

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: ACCC grants interim authorisation to allow Battery Stewardship Scheme to continue with limited levy and rebate adjustments

    Source: Australian Ministers for Regional Development

    ACCC grants interim authorisation to allow Battery Stewardship Scheme to continue with limited levy and rebate adjustments.

    The ACCC has granted interim authorisation with a condition to the Battery Stewardship Council (BSC) to continue operating the Battery Stewardship Scheme with a limited adjustment of the Scheme’s levy and rebates.

    The BSC was formed in 2018 with the primary goal of establishing a Battery Stewardship Scheme to significantly increase battery collections and recycling in Australia.

    In September 2020, the ACCC granted authorisation to the BSC to establish and operate a national scheme which manages end-of-life batteries. Under the Scheme, the BSC imposes a weight-based levy on imported batteries at a rate of 4 cents per equivalent battery unit.

    By granting interim authorisation, the ACCC will allow the BSC to adjust the levy to take account of changes in the Consumer Price Index since the Scheme’s commencement.

    “The Scheme results in significant environmental benefits by diverting the number of batteries headed for landfill, as well as raising public awareness around battery disposal and re-use,” ACCC Deputy Chair Mick Keogh said.

    “This interim authorisation is needed to ensure the Scheme’s financial viability, given that costs have risen since its inception.”

    Under the interim authorisation, the BSC will also be able to progress the development of new levy arrangements involving an eco-modulated levy to be applied based on battery type. This aims to provide sufficient funding to ensure that rebates provided to participants in the Scheme reflect the actual costs of safe collection and sorting, and to reward processing performance.

    “Granting interim authorisation provides the BSC with financial stability, enabling it to maintain the Battery Stewardship Scheme while the ACCC completes its assessment of the proposed broader levy and rebate arrangements,” Mr Keogh said.

    In order to address the continued risk of harm from consumers storing button batteries, the ACCC has imposed a condition that the BSC continue implementing its Button Battery Safety Strategy.

    “We acknowledge the broader issues raised by interested parties in relation to the Scheme’s performance so far as well as the pathway forward,” Mr Keogh said.

    “We will investigate these issues further in our draft determination.”

    The interim authorisation will take effect from 4 June 2025 and will remain in place until the ACCC issues its final determination, unless it is revoked or amended by the ACCC.

    The ACCC is continuing to assess the BSC’s substantive application, which includes proposals to broaden the scope of the Scheme and further develop levy and rebate mechanisms. Stakeholders will have a further opportunity to comment on the ACCC’s draft determination.

    More information, including the ACCC’s reason for decision, is available online on the ACCC’s public register at Battery Stewardship Council.

    Note to editors

    ACCC authorisation provides statutory protection from court action for conduct that might otherwise raise concerns under the competition provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act (CCA).

    Section 91 of the CCA allows the ACCC to grant interim authorisation when it considers it is appropriate and in the public benefit. This allows the parties to engage in proposed conduct while the ACCC is considering the merits of the substantive CCA authorisation application.

    The ACCC may review a decision on interim authorisation at any time, including in response to feedback raised following interim authorisation.

    Background

    Product stewardship is an environmental management strategy that means whoever designs, produces, sells or uses a product takes responsibility for minimising that product’s environmental impact through all of the stages of its life cycle.

    The BSC is a not-for-profit entity established to oversee the Battery Stewardship Scheme, which promotes the safe collection, recycling, and disposal of end-of-life batteries. The scheme does not cover automotive lead-acid batteries or batteries already included in other recycling programs.

    The BSC first sought authorisation in 2020 for a static, weight-based levy which was charged on imported batteries at a rate of 4 cents per equivalent battery unit. The weight-based charge on imported batteries (or equivalent fee to be paid by members of the scheme) is to be passed on to consumers as a visible levy and used to fund the scheme and a rebate system for service providers responsible for the battery’s collection, sorting and processing.

    That authorisation is due to expire on 26 September 2025.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Ahead of the Brisbane Olympics, it’s time for Australia to get serious about esports

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Craig McNulty, Senior Lecturer in Exercise Physiology, Queensland University of Technology

    Roman Kosolapov/Shutterstock

    Most of us have heard of esports but many don’t realise the fast-growing world of competitive video gaming features tournaments, university scholarships and billions of dollars in revenue.

    As we approach the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games, it’s time for Australia to develop esports talent pathways and invest in infrastructure.

    Doing so would create social benefits and economic opportunities, creating jobs in game development, content creation, events and tourism.

    The athletes

    For those unaware, esports refers to the organised, competitive playing of video games. All esports are video games but not all video games are esports.

    Esports players compete in competitions ranging from online ranked play (where you get an Elo rating, like chess) to live, in-person tournaments.

    Popular games include League of Legends, Dota 2 and Counter-Strike.

    Professional players compete in leagues and tournaments, online or in packed stadiums.

    Like most pro athletes, these players often train with their teams daily, and many also train by themselves informally. During training, they are honing reflexes, refining tactics and analysing opponents.

    Some competitions offer prize pools worth millions and global audiences can rival major traditional sports broadcasts.

    Like traditional sports, esports athletes are scouted young, attend development academies and receive university scholarships.

    An Olympic horizon?

    Esports has been around in some form since the 1970s but it’s exploded into the mainstream in the past decade.

    Unlike traditional sports, which depend on TV deals and fixed broadcast schedules, esports live online. Events are streamed on platforms like Twitch and YouTube, letting fans tune in from anywhere in the world.

    Much of the global momentum comes from Asia. South Korea is often credited with legitimising esports through the Starcraft boom of the early 2000s.

    Today, China, Japan and other nations have government-backed esports strategies, dedicated arenas and thriving pro circuits.

    The International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s announcement of the 2027 Esports Games marks a significant step.

    While not part of the main Olympics, this event is a signal esports is valued for its skill, global reach and cultural impact.

    With Brisbane to host the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, this may be Australia’s moment to step up by building talent development pathways and investing in major infrastructure: purpose-built training centres, venues for live competition and streaming and systems to support players from grassroots to elite levels.

    What’s happening in Australia?

    Australia is home to a growing esports community, with thousands of young Australians competing in national and international tournaments.

    Esports have become a central part of youth culture, from local high school leagues to university tournaments.

    Australia has already shown it can host major international esports events. Over the past decade, we’ve hosted qualifiers for titles such as Counter-Strike, Dota 2 and League of Legends.

    Flagship events such as Intel Extreme Masters (IEM), one of the most prestigious esports tournaments globally, continue to highlight Australia’s potential: in 2019, IEM Sydney drew thousands of fans and international teams, filling stadiums and putting Australia on the global esports map.

    More recently, IEM Melbourne in April this year brought Counter-Strike 2 back to local fans.

    If the right infrastructure is developed here, Australia could become a regular destination for international esports tournaments.

    On the education front, universities such as Queensland University of Technology, Swinburne and Southern Cross are leading the way with esports degrees, scholarships and research centres.

    These programs don’t just train players, they prepare students for careers in broadcasting, game development, coaching and performance science.

    Despite limited national support, some states and councils are experimenting with community programs, while broadcasters such as ESL Australia continue to grow local events and coverage.

    Challenges and opportunities

    Australia’s esports industry boasts immense potential, but it still faces significant challenges.

    The biggest hurdle is a lack of national investment and infrastructure.

    Unlike traditional sports, esports have no central body coordinating funding, training or pathways from amateur to professional. While other countries are investing in esports stadiums and elite teams, Australia has largely left the sector to develop on its own.

    Another issue is cultural: esports still struggle for full acceptance from sporting bodies, schools and sections of government.

    Without a coordinated effort to integrate esports into national sporting strategy, Australia risks being left behind.

    Yet the opportunities are clear.

    The IOC’s 2027 Esports Games could be a turning point. Ahead of Brisbane 2032, Australia is uniquely positioned to lead a national commitment to esports infrastructure and player development.

    Brisbane’s organisers could also advocate for esports’ inclusion in the 2032 Olympics, which could position Australia as a leading contender in this emerging field.

    There’s also a chance to combine esports with Australia’s world-class research in sports science and mental health: Australia is leading the way in developing health-focused research and initiatives that address player wellbeing from grassroots to professional levels.

    With the right support, Australia could shift from spectator to serious player.

    Craig is employed as a Senior Lecturer at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). QUT is mentioned within the article in relation to their QUT Esports program.

    Dylan Poulus works for Movember as a Senior Research Fellow in esports and video games and at Southern Cross University as a Senior Lecturer in Psychology. Movember and Southern Cross University are mentioned in the articles in relation to their work in esports. Dylan has received grant funding from the Australian Institute of Sport to investigate esports high-performance.

    – ref. Ahead of the Brisbane Olympics, it’s time for Australia to get serious about esports – https://theconversation.com/ahead-of-the-brisbane-olympics-its-time-for-australia-to-get-serious-about-esports-256788

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: How physicists used antimatter, supercomputers and giant magnets to solve a 20-year-old mystery

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Finn Stokes, Ramsay Fellow in Physics, University of Adelaide

    Cindy Arnold, Fermilab

    Physicists are always searching for new theories to improve our understanding of the universe and resolve big unanswered questions.

    But there’s a problem. How do you search for undiscovered forces or particles when you don’t know what they look like?

    Take dark matter. We see signs of this mysterious cosmic phenomenon throughout the universe, but what could it possibly be made of? Whatever it is, we’re going to need new physics to understand what’s going on.

    Thanks to a new experimental result published today, and the new theoretical calculations that accompany it, we may now have an idea what this new physics should look like – and maybe even some clues about dark matter.

    Meet the muon

    For 20 years, one of the most promising signs of new physics has been
    a tiny inconsistency in the magnetism of a particle called the muon. The muon is a lot like an electron but is much heavier.

    Muons are produced when cosmic rays – high-energy particles from space – hit Earth’s atmosphere. Roughly 50 of these muons pass through your body every second.

    Muons travel through solid objects much better than x-rays, so they are useful for finding out what is inside large structures. For example, they have been used to look for hidden chambers in Egyptian and Mexican pyramids; to study magma chambers inside volcanoes to predict volcanic eruptions; and to safely see inside the Fukushima nuclear reactor after it melted down.

    A tiny crack in physics?

    In 2006, researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory in the United States measured the strength of the muon’s magnetism incredibly precisely.

    Their measurement was accurate to roughly six parts in ten billion. This is equivalent to measuring the mass of a loaded freight train to ten grams. This was compared to a similarly impressive theoretical calculation.

    When researchers compared the two numbers, they found a tiny but significant difference, indicating a mismatch between theory and experiment. Had they finally found the new physics they’d been looking for?

    A better experiment

    To find a definitive answer, the international scientific community started a 20-year program to increase the precision of both results.

    The huge electromagnet from the original experiment was loaded onto a barge and shipped down the east coast of the US and then up the Mississippi River to Chicago. There, it was installed at Fermilab for a completely overhauled experiment.

    The giant ring of magnets used to study the muon’s magnetism was shipped from New York to Chicago in 2013.
    Reidar Hahn/ Fermilab

    Just this morning, researchers announced they had finished that experiment. Their final result for the strength of the muon’s magnetism is 4.4 times more precise, at one-and-a-half parts in ten billion.

    And better calculations

    To keep up, theorists had to make sweeping improvements too. They formed the Muon g-2 Theory Initiative, an international collaboration of more than 100 scientists, dedicated to making an accurate theoretical prediction.

    They computed the contributions to the muon’s magnetism from more than 10,000 factors. They even included a particle called the Higgs boson, which was only discovered in 2012.

    But there was one last sticking point: the strong nuclear force, one of the universe’s four fundamental forces. In particular, computing the largest contribution to the result from the strong nuclear force was no easy feat.

    Antimatter vs supercomputers

    It was not possible to compute this contribution in the same way as the others, so we needed a different approach.

    In 2020, the Theory Initiative turned to collisions between electrons and their antimatter counterparts: positrons. Measurements of these electron–positron collisions provided the missing values we needed.

    Put together with all the other parts, this gave a result that strongly disagreed with the latest experimental measurement. The disagreement was almost strong enough to announce the discovery of new physics.

    Simulations carried out with the Hawk supercomputer at the High-Performance Computing Center Stuttgart resolved the discrepancy between calculations and experiment.
    Marijan Murat/picture alliance via Getty Images

    At the same time, I was exploring a different approach. Along with my colleagues in the Budapest-Marseille-Wuppertal collaboration, we performed a supercomputer simulation of this strong contribution.

    Our result eliminated the tension between theory and experiment. However, now we had a new tension: between our simulation and the electron–positron results which had withstood 20 years of scrutiny. How could those 20-year-old results be wrong?

    Hints of new physics disappear

    Since then, two other groups have produced full simulations that agree with ours, and many more have validated parts of our result. We have also produced a new, overhauled simulation that almost doubles our precision (released as a preprint, which has not yet been peer-reviewed or published in a scientific journal).

    To ensure these new simulations weren’t affected by any preconceptions, they were performed “blind”. The simulation data was multiplied by an unknown number before being analysed, so we didn’t know what a “good” or “bad” result would be.

    We then held a nerve-wracking and exciting meeting. The blinding factor was revealed, and we found out the results of years of work all at once. After all this, our latest result agrees even better with the experimental measurement of the muon’s magnetism.

    But others emerge

    The Muon g-2 Theory Initiative has moved to using the simulation results instead of the electron-positron data in its official prediction, and the hint of new physics seems to be gone.

    Except … why does the electron–positron data disagree? Physicists around the globe have studied this question extensively, and one exciting suggestion is a hypothetical particle called a “dark photon”.

    Not only could the dark photon explain the difference between the latest muon results and the electron–positron experiments, but (if it exists) it could also explain how dark matter relates to ordinary matter.

    Finn Stokes receives in-kind funding from the National Computational Infrastructure through the National Computational Merit Allocation Scheme. They are supported by a Ramsay Fellowship from the University of Adelaide.

    – ref. How physicists used antimatter, supercomputers and giant magnets to solve a 20-year-old mystery – https://theconversation.com/how-physicists-used-antimatter-supercomputers-and-giant-magnets-to-solve-a-20-year-old-mystery-257891

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Importance of training and access to AED’s highlighted

    Source:

    A CFA volunteer has had the chance to say thank you to fellow volunteers and paramedics that helped save his life.

    John Moyes, a volunteer with Yarragon CFA, suffered a cardiac arrest while responding to a grass and scrub fire on Tuesday 4 March 2025 in Yarragon.

    Shortly after arriving at the scene, John collapsed.

    Crews from Trafalgar were on scene battling the blaze and Commander Greg Fisher said he immediately snapped into action.

    “We had to fight the fire, but we also needed to help John,” he said.

    “Thankfully, our members are first aid trained, and we were able to quickly begin doing what we needed to do.”

    Immediately following contact with Triple Zero (000), Trafalgar members, Sally Neenan, Colin Proctor, and Danny Mynard, got to work on John, starting cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and attaching an automated external defibrillator (AED) from one of the trucks.

    “It was all a bit of a blur,” Danny said.

    “But my training kicked in and I just did what I had to do to help save John.”

    Sally said John collapsed behind her and having just refreshed her CPR just months before, she was able to rely on her knowledge to help save John.

    “It was daunting but it really drives home the importance of having your first aid and CPR training even if you’re just a member of the community, this could have happened anywhere,” she said.

    Colin said having an AED was a huge help to their CPR efforts.

    “We were really glad to have the defibrillator right there on the truck,” he said.

    The trio continued CPR, delivering three shocks with the AED prior to the arrival of Ambulance Victoria paramedics. At the time of handover, John remained pulseless and unconscious.

    Paramedics took over care, intubated John and placed him into an induced coma. He was transported in a critical condition to the Victorian Heart Hospital for specialist care.

    John said he was “forever indebted” to those that intervened early and saved his life.

    “They are the reason I am here,” John said.

    “Because they knew what to do, I have another chance.”

    Greg said the incident was a good reminder about the importance of early intervention, having AEDs on trucks, and completing first aid training with CFA.

    “We offer basic first aid and CPR training to all CFA members and this really showed us why this training is so important,” Greg said.

    “Our members do more than just fight fires; they are there to help their communities in so many different situations.

    “All CFA primary firefighting appliances are also fitted with AED’s which is an amazing resource.”

    Ambulance Victoria Gippsland Clinical Support Officer Dion Meade said John’s recovery was testament to the quick actions of those around him.

    “It’s fantastic to see John alive and doing so well, which is all because of his peers who immediately started the chain of survival by implementing Call, Push, Shock,” he said.

    “We know the significant impact of early intervention, with a patient’s chance of survival almost doubling when they receive CPR and a shock from an AED before paramedics arrive.

    “The Victorian Ambulance Cardiac Arrest Registry 2023-24 showed Victoria has Australia’s best cardiac survival rate and the third best in the world, which is because of people, like Sally, Colin and Danny, stepping in when they see someone in cardiac arrest.

    “Anyone can save a life by remembering to Call Triple Zero 000, give CPR by pushing hard and fast on the middle of the chest, and use an AED if available.”

    Additional resources:

    To find a list of registered AED’s in Victoria, visit registermyaed.ambulance.vic.gov.au.

    Call, Push, Shock resources are available in multiple languages on the Ambulance Victoria website: ambulance.vic.gov.au/translated-resources/

    Learn more in the 2023/24 Victorian Ambulance Cardiac Arrest Registry (VACAR) Annual Report.

    Submitted by CFA Media

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Vale Bill Meredith

    Source: South Australia Police

    The City of Wanneroo shares our respects following the passing of a pioneering figure in our local business community, Bill Meredith, at the age of 91 years old.

    A founding member and former Vice President of the Wanneroo Business Association and a true local business legend, Bill played a key role in laying the foundation for the dynamic business landscape we see in our City today.

    Even if you did not know Bill personally, chances are you knew of him – his Landsdale-based business, Bill’s Machinery, is a local landmark, instantly recognisable thanks to the big red plane out the front.

    This symbol is also a testament to Bill’s entrepreneurial spirit and adaptability – qualities that contributed to his longevity and continued success as a businessman.

    Throughout his life, Bill achieved so much, including being named the City of Wanneroo Mayor’s Visionary Businessperson Award in 2008.

    His passion, mentorship and unwavering commitment to his community will leave a lasting legacy and be remembered for many years to come.

    We extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and admired him.

    Mayor Linda Aitken JP 

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI China: ‘Magnum’ primed for shot with ‘Bullet’

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    Out-sized and overpowered? UFC’s strawweight queen Zhang Weili dismisses the physical challenge of her ambitious division leap, drawing on her finesse to punch above her weight.

    Ever since she tamed American challenger Tatiana Suarez in February to successfully defend her strawweight title a third straight time, Zhang has not been shy about expressing her desire to try her hand in the heavier, and more brutal, flyweight class, currently ruled by Valentina Shevchenko of Kyrgyzstan.

    Riding on the momentum from her successful title defense against Tatiana Suarez at UFC 312 in February, China’s reigning strawweight champion Zhang Weili is primed to step up her challenge as she calls on the Las Vegas-based MMA promotion’s flyweight belt holder Valentina Shevchenko for a ‘super fight’ between two fearsome champs before the end of 2025. XINHUA/ZUFFA/LLC

    The proud Chinese striker, who’s almost done it all in the 115-pound (52kg) class with two championship reigns, has again called on the Las Vegas-based promotion and Shevchenko to book a date for a mouthwatering “super fight” between two formidable champs.

    If all goes to plan, the “Magnum” hopes to take her shot at a second belt before the end of this year.

    “I wish we could get it settled as soon as possible, hopefully before the end of 2025,” Zhang told China Daily after the UFC announced last month that it will bring its Fight Night back to Shanghai for the first time since 2017.

    “The negotiation, as far as I know, is going on right now. I think Valentina is also interested in it because that’s what the fans would want to see.

    “Now it’s up to the UFC to decide whether they are going to make it happen,” said Zhang, who will have to muscle up by more than four kilograms to match the standard in the 125-pound flyweight division.

    “I won’t have size or power on my side heading into the flyweight division, but I believe I can be competitive there with the right adjustments tactically and mentally.

    “I need to fight more with my brain and my heart, going with more precision and finesse.”

    The returning Fight Night, scheduled on Aug 23 at the Shanghai Indoor Stadium, is the Las Vegas-based mixed martial arts promotion’s first live event in the Chinese mainland since August 2019, when Zhang wrested the strawweight belt from Brazilian grappler Jessica Andrade with a first-round TKO in Shenzhen, Guangdong province.

    Neither Zhang nor Shevchenko, however, will be fresh enough to fight in Shanghai in just over two months, with both having only just defended their respective titles.

    Zhang’s unanimous decision win over Suarez at UFC 312 in Sydney has borne witness to her evolution into a more complete mixed martial artist. The 35-year-old champ, who developed her early career in China’s sanda, or kickboxing, system, fended off 14 of the wrestling specialist’s 15 takedown attempts, and outstruck the challenger 251-61, to retain her title as the “betting underdog” before the bout.

    Zhang is now tied with retired legend Joanna Jedrzejczyk for most strawweight title fight wins at six.

    Known as “Bullet” in the Octagon, Shevchenko also clinched a unanimous decision win over challenger Manon Fiorot at UFC 315 last month, showing quite an impressive momentum that has left the entire MMA community eagerly anticipating a cross-division clash with Zhang.

    Following Shevchenko’s successful defense, Zhang wasted no time offering her congratulations along with a statement hinting at her pursuit of a second title, saying in an Instagram post: “Everything has lined up perfectly, it’s destiny.”

    Shevchenko admitted during a recent ESPN interview that she’s accepted that a bout with Zhang seems almost inevitable in her near future.

    “On the other side, you can see the champion in strawweight, Weili Zhang, and it’s kind of like she built up her career,” Shevchenko said of her next fight options during the post-event show after UFC Fight Night on ESPN on Saturday.

    “She deserves so much, because all of her title defenses. Definitely, I feel that, at this point, she deserves this fight more than anyone.

    “Weili has the same passion for martial arts (as me) … and she’s very loyal and feels good about mixed martial arts. This is what I like about her.

    “I’m hearing from my fans that this is what they want to see.”

    Still, Shevchenko stressed that she will wait until she’s fully recovered from her win over Fiorot, and won’t rush to set a date with Zhang until she’s physically and mentally set to start a camp again.

    Not everyone is convinced, however, that Zhang has what it takes to be a legitimate contender in the higher class.

    “I think Weili would be very similar to Namajunas,” said American Erin Blanchfield, the fourthranked contender in flyweight, who claimed a unanimous decision win over former strawweight belt holder Rose Namajunas in November last year.

    “I think she could win some fights at flyweight, because she’s very good, but I don’t see her being a champ. I don’t even see her really being top-five at 125.

    “I mean, Rose was able to beat her twice and knock her out once, and Rose is a little bit bigger than Weili, at least height-wise. So, being even shorter, Weili has even less of an advantage at 125.”

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: China rising in rankings of universities

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    China Daily | June 4, 2025

    Students take selfies during the 8th International Culture Festival of Tianjin Foreign Studies University in North China’s Tianjin, April 20, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

    The global higher education landscape is undergoing a profound transformation, as China shows consistent improvement in academic output while universities in the United States face downward pressure in global rankings amid recent student visa policies, experts said.

    China has surpassed the US for the first time in the number of universities listed in the latest Global 2000 university rankings. Chinese institutions now account for 17 percent of the list, up from 324 last year to 346 this year, while the number of ranked US universities dropped from 329 to 319.

    The World University Rankings 2025, released on Monday by the Center for World University Rankings, revealed that 98 percent of Chinese universities improved their positions — a surge attributed to enhanced research performance and sustained government investment in higher education.

    Tsinghua University rose six places to rank 37th, excelling in employability and research. Peking University advanced three places to the 44th, while the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences jumped four places to 46th — surpassing Shanghai Jiao Tong University in the 61st place and Zhejiang University in the 68th position.

    Nadim Mahassen, president of the Center for World University Rankings, said that China is well represented among the world’s top universities, and further financial backing from the government will allow the country to be more competitive in the rapidly evolving global academic landscape.

    Although the US still has eight of the world’s top 10 universities — led by Harvard, MIT and Stanford — 83 percent of its listed institutions declined in rank. The United Kingdom’s Cambridge and Oxford secured the fourth and fifth places, respectively.

    Mahassen said that while the US still boasts the top universities in the world, the decline in ranking of the vast majority of its higher education institutions on the list is concerning.

    “At a time when Chinese universities are reaping the rewards of years of generous financial support from their government, American institutions are grappling with slashed federal funding and disputes over academic freedom and free speech,” he said.

    Recent controversies, such as the Trump administration’s move to revoke enrollment of international students at Harvard, later blocked by a federal judge, highlight the challenges facing US higher education.

    “For many years, American universities were able to attract a large number of international students, particularly from China. But with China’s extraordinary ascent in the rankings, coupled with the recent visa policies of the US, the situation may change soon,” Mahassen said.

    Liu Wei, senior vice-president of New Channel International Education Group and CEO of its overseas study division, said that China has been gaining ground in multiple international ranking systems — including QS, Times Higher Education and the Academic Ranking of World Universities — showing consistent improvement in academic output and global research influence.

    He emphasized that recent US visa policies toward Chinese students, such as the announcement of revoking the visas of some of those studying in “critical fields”, are also influencing the global higher education landscape and may affect the future rankings of US and Chinese institutions.

    “Stricter visa policies have introduced uncertainty for Chinese students seeking to study in the US, prompting many to consider alternatives,” Liu said.

    Countries such as the UK, Canada, Australia and Singapore, as well as some European countries, have ramped up efforts to attract international students, particularly those diverting from the US.

    Universities in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region also moved quickly to offer assistance when Harvard’s ability to admit international students was curtailed.

    Chen Zhiwen, a member of the Chinese Society of Educational Development Strategy, said that Chinese students contribute significantly to research productivity and academic exchanges on US campuses, especially in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math, as well as among postgraduate students.

    A decline in the number of Chinese students due to visa policies could have an impact on academic output in US higher education, Chen said. Chinese universities could benefit from this in the long term, as students who planned to study in the US may instead enroll in top domestic institutions, boosting China’s academic and research environment, he added.

    “Since 2018, the proportion of Tsinghua University graduates pursuing overseas studies has shown a declining trend,” he said, adding that the trend could usher in a more multipolar higher education system, reducing the US’ historical dominance.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for June 4, 2025

    ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on June 4, 2025.

    Artist Janenne Eaton’s retrospective is a compelling account of our troubled times
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julie Shiels, Senior Industry Fellow, RMIT University Janenne Eaton R E E F 2015 enamel paint, vinyl decals, mirror and polymer clay on canvas Geelong Gallery Gift of the artist, 2019. Photographer: Mark Ashkanasy © the artist. With bad news-overload it is easy to conclude it is

    ‘Not available in your region’: what is a VPN and how can I use one safely?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meena Jha, Head Technology and Pedagogy Cluster CML-NET, CQUniversity Australia Linaimages/Shutterstock “This video is not available in your location”. It’s a message familiar to many people trying to watch global content online. But beneath this frustration lies a deeper question – how do we navigate digital borders

    Just the ticket? The problem with local body candidates aligning with national political parties
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julienne Molineaux, Senior Lecturer, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images With accusations flying thick and fast last year about supposed “dysfunction” and a “shambles” at Wellington City Council, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown stepped in and appointed a Crown Observer. Announcing

    The chicks are alright: what songbirds can teach us about divorce and moving on
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frigg Janne Daan Speelman, PhD Candidate in Behavioural Ecology, Macquarie University Charli Davies, CC BY-NC-ND In humans, it’s very common for the traditional family structure of two parents raising children to change abruptly. Usually, this happens when the parents decide to separate. Many separated couples are able

    Former Congress staffer allowed to return to New Caledonia
    By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk One of seven people transferred to mainland France almost a year ago, following the May 2024 riots in New Caledonia, has been allowed to return home, a French court has ruled. Frédérique Muliava, a former Congress staffer, was part of a group of six who were

    Ship runs aground in Fiji – then its rescue vessel capsizes
    RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Maritime Safety Authority has launched an investigation into Goundar Shipping Limited following two incidents involving its vessels. Late last month, one vessel ran aground on the reef of Ono-i-Lau, and villagers had to step in to ferry stranded passengers to nearby islands using small boats. On Monday, the Lomaiviti Princess II was

    Curious Kids: can spiders swim?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leanda Denise Mason, Vice Chancellor Research Fellow in Conservation Ecology, Edith Cowan University A great raft spider (_Dolomedes plantarius_). Salparadis/Shutterstock Can spiders swim? Waubra Preschool students, Victoria, Australia What a great question! Most spiders don’t swim by choice. But they sure can survive in water when they

    A two-state solution is gaining momentum again. Does it have a chance of success?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Thomas, Lecturer in Middle East Studies, Deakin University As Israel’s devastating war in Gaza has ground on, the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was thought to be “dead”. Now, it is showing signs of life again. French President Emmanuel Macron is reportedly pressing other European

    Senior public servants think GenAI will boost productivity – but are worried about the risks
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Helen Dickinson, Professor, Public Service Research, UNSW Sydney Many bold claims have been made about Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) and its capacity to improve productivity and generate workplace efficiencies. A recent Microsoft survey found 24% of private sector leaders have already deployed GenAI across their organisations. Many

    People with severe mental illness are waiting for days in hospital EDs. Here’s how we can do better
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sebastian Rosenberg, Associate Professor, Health Research Institute, University of Canberra, and Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney Matthew Ashmore/Shutterstock On ABC’s 4 Corners this week, psychiatrists and nurses have warned New South Wales’ mental health system is in crisis. They report some patients with severe mental

    With a government review underway, we have to ask why children bully other kids
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marilyn Campbell, Professor, School of Early Childhood & Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock The federal government has launched a “rapid review” to look at what works to prevent bullying in schools. Led by mental health experts, the review will underpin a new national standard to

    In the trade wars, there are lessons for the US from Brexit. Australia and our trading partners should take note
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Draper, Professor, and Executive Director: Institute for International Trade, and Director of the Jean Monnet Centre of Trade and Environment, University of Adelaide General_4530/Getty While the Trump administration’s on-again, off-again trade wars wreak havoc on the business plans of the world’s exporters, the risks to the

    ‘That was rude’: why the new Broadway musical Death Becomes Her was ripe for TikTok memes
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Camp, Senior Lecturer, School of Music, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau A few snippets of musicalised dialogue from the cast album of the new Broadway musical Death Becomes Her – with music and lyrics by Julia Mattison and Noel Carey, and a book by Marco

    Motarilavoa Hilda Lini, ‘a trailblazer’ for Vanuatu women in politics, dies
    RNZ Pacific Motarilavoa Hilda Lini, a pioneering Ni-Vanuatu politician, has died. Lini passed away at the Port Vila General Hospital on Sunday, according to local news media. Lini was the first woman to be elected to the Vanuatu Parliament in 1987 as a member of the National United Party. Motarilavoa Hilda Lini in 1989 .

    Fiji coup culture and political meddling in media education gets airing
    Pacific Media Watch Taieri MP Ingrid Leary reflected on her years in Fiji as a television journalist and media educator at a Fiji Centre function in Auckland celebrating Fourth Estate values and independence at the weekend. It was a reunion with former journalism professor David Robie — they had worked together as a team at

    Australia’s lowest paid workers just got a 3.5% wage increase. Their next boost could be even better
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Buchanan, Professor, Discipline of Business Information Systems, University of Sydney Business School, University of Sydney Carlos Castilla/Shutterstock A week ago, the Australian Financial Review released this year’s “Rich List”. It reported the number of billionaires in Australia increased from 150 to 166 between 2024 and 2025.

    What’s a ‘Strombolian eruption?’ A volcanologist explains what happened at Mount Etna
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Teresa Ubide, ARC Future Fellow and Associate Professor in Igneous Petrology/Volcanology, The University of Queensland Fabrizio Villa / Getty Images On Monday morning local time, a huge cloud of ash, hot gas and rock fragments began spewing from Italy’s Mount Etna. An enormous plume was seen stretching

    The Queensland government is cancelling renewable energy projects. Can the state still reach net zero?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute Johan Larson/Shutterstock On the surface, Queensland’s new government is doing exactly what it pledged before winning office in October – repealing the state’s ambitious renewable energy targets and cancelling a huge pumped hydro project near Mackay. But since the start

    PNG’s Namah calls for tighter bio controls, patrols on Indonesian border
    By Scholar Kassas in Port Moresby A Papua New Guinea minister has raised concerns about “serious issues” at the PNG-Indonesia border due to a lack of proper security checkpoints. Culture and Tourism Minister Belden Namah, who is also the member for the border electorate Vanimo-Green, voiced these concerns while supporting a new Biosecurity for Plants

    Samoa parliament formally dissolved after months of uncertainty
    RNZ Pacific Samoa’s Parliament has been formally dissolved, and an early election is set to take place within three months. After months of political instability and two motions of no confidence, Prime Minister Fiāme Naomi Mata’afa said she would call for the dissolution of Parliament if cabinet did not support her government’s budget. MPs from

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Artist Janenne Eaton’s retrospective is a compelling account of our troubled times

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julie Shiels, Senior Industry Fellow, RMIT University

    Janenne Eaton R E E F 2015 enamel paint, vinyl decals, mirror and polymer clay on canvas Geelong Gallery Gift of the artist, 2019. Photographer: Mark Ashkanasy © the artist.

    With bad news-overload it is easy to conclude it is time to disengage. But troubling events don’t go away just because you stop looking. Janenne Eaton’s retrospective reminds us that art can provide new perspectives and a reason to look even harder.

    As a respected painter and teacher Eaton has influenced generations of Australian artists. She has exhibited extensively in museums and galleries nationally and internationally since 1978. Lines of Sight – Frame and Horizon is long overdue.

    This comprehensive exhibition is aesthetically and intellectually compelling. The paintings, drawings and installations offer complex, layered reflections on key moments from the last four decades.

    Rather than adopting a linear chronology, artworks are clustered to prompt dialogues between works across time. Eaton’s technical mastery and dexterity produces deliberate ambiguities. Her recognisable motifs and grid patterns convey rich ideas about human rights, colonisation, climate and First Nations justice, all underpinned by existential questions about uncertainty and meaning.

    Locked in or locked out?

    Supersized artworks populate the first space – Eaton’s underground car park drawings (1982–86) and two works using fences, from 2016 and 2019. Both series use layering to represent built structures, but proximity to each other in the gallery emphasises the differences.

    The dusty, velvety surfaces of the car parks emphasise volume and perspective. The fences made from acrylic board and high-gloss enamel flatten and compress space.

    In the carpark series, Eaton’s knowledge of art history is apparent in her Renaissance-influenced use of light and perspective. Texture and surface have been achieved by papering the canvas with found photocopies.

    Janenne Eaton, Adelaide I 1983, graphite, charcoal and photocopy toner on paper on canvas, Heide Museum of Modern Art, The Baillieu Myer Collection of the ‘80s.
    Photographer: Mark Ashkanasy, © the artist.

    Dense, sooty carbon extracted from ink-cartridges smothers the solid areas and light in touch graphite and charcoal drawing produce an underground environment that some may find contemplative and others sinister.

    They evoke an ambiguity of being simultaneously attracted and repelled. And there are sensory questions. Does it smell or echo? Is that the sun or artificial light? Is it hot or cold?

    This series reflects Eaton’s training in archaeology and draws attention to the cultural significance of subterranean spaces. In a time of geopolitical turbulence and endemic inequality other readings are open to us.

    By comparison, Fences, Borders, Walls (2016) makes clear who is locked in and who is locked out. The foreground dominates with hard-edged geometric forms; the word “fence” is mirrored and repeated, compromising its legibility but adding structural heft as a physical and psychological barrier.

    The small diamond grid is immediately legible in the middle ground as the chain-link barriers that kept men, women and children refugees incarcerated for indefinite periods on Manus and Nauru. The skilfully airbrushed background provides gradations of light and shade, suggesting the movement of bodies.

    Janenne Eaton, BORDERLANDS 2019, enamel paint on high-impact polystyrene, metal.
    Courtesy of the artist. Photographer: Mark Ashkanasy, © the artist.

    In Borderlands (2019), the grid is reprised and the phrase “keep clear” repeated and butted against two upended half skulls that stare out at the viewer. We are implicated as we peer back into our own reflections in the empty intervals of glossy black.

    Recognisable motifs

    Eaton reworks familiar imagery from popular culture, mass media and advertising – gunshot decals, slogans, road signs, everyday idioms. The immediate visual recognition invites us into her work and encourages us to look harder.

    Sometimes, the title and date alludes to a backstory. Banner for the Deputy Sheriff (2006) brings to mind depictions of John Howard as America’s “deputy sheriff”.

    Janenne Eaton, Banner for the Deputy Sheriff 2006, enamel paint on canvas, Courtesy of the artist. Photographer: Mark Ashkanasy, © the artist.

    A two-metre toy sheriff’s star floats on a painted ground of ranch-like planks. The mismatched scale of the two planes suggests the overblown self-importance of a leader desperate to ingratiate himself in Washington, rather than galvanise relationships with Australia’s Asian and Pacific neighbours. At the centre of the star, the upended moniker “Deputy Sheriff” surrounds a shooting target replete with a smudgy spatter.

    Bullet holes are regular motifs in Eaton’s compositions, as adhesive decals, perforations, or rendered in paint. Dark Star (2015) is a dense mix of bullet puncture holes, grids, stars and pop symbols and text. Like many of Eaton’s compositions, it is visually weighty.

    Nearest Neighbour Analysis (2021) is light and airy, as Eaton connects her field of evenly spaced bullet-hole decals with a network of lines, creating a painting devoid of signs of earthly life that is both cellular and paradoxically celestial.

    Janenne Eaton, Dark Star 2015, enamel paint and vinyl decals on canvas, Private collection. Photographer: Mark Ashkanasy, © the artist.

    OUTGO (2009) is a speculative visualisation of a digital realm. Eaton’s painting draws on the aesthetics of the screen and corrupted computer code. Constructed from multiple layers of bitmaps and pixelations, gobbledygook text and marzipan-coloured lozenges appear to float across the picture plane. It is oddly luscious and captivating.

    Eaton’s interest in archaeology and principles of stratification inform the layering processes in her artwork. Across the five rooms at Geelong Gallery, curator Jason Smith and Eaton have created a layered experience for the viewer.

    Janenne Eaton, OUTGO 2009, enamel paint on canvas, National Gallery of Victoria, Gift of the artist, 2019.
    Photographer: Mark Ashkanasy, © the artist.

    Aesthetic frissons, shifting ambiguities, hindsight and insight accumulate and become a complex account of the human condition in a time of flux and uncertainty. And it’s a potent reminder to look even harder.

    Lines of Sight – Frame and Horizon, is at Geelong Gallery until August 17.

    Julie Shiels does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Artist Janenne Eaton’s retrospective is a compelling account of our troubled times – https://theconversation.com/artist-janenne-eatons-retrospective-is-a-compelling-account-of-our-troubled-times-254069

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Press Conference – Ellenbrook

    Source: Murray Darling Basin Authority

    JASON CLARE, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION: This is really exciting. It’s about bringing university closer to where people live in the outer suburbs of our big cities and in particular here in Perth. We’re setting up a hub here in Ellenbrook, but also in Armadale and in Mandurah. It’s about making sure that wherever you live, you get a chance at going to university. And this will help people who are studying at uni now to be able to study closer to home. But also hopefully it’ll help a lot of young people who’ve got a dream to go to university but just think that it’s too far away. 

    Next door I got a chance to meet a young woman who’s studying to become a school teacher. She’s at Edith Cowan University at the moment and she’s got to travel about an hour to get to university. Now she only has to travel five minutes. I met a bloke who’s doing a PhD at RMIT in Victoria. He just lives across the road and now he could study right across the road, just a two minute walk to get to university. And I’m hoping that for kids at school today in Ellenbrook, they’ll see the sign university and they’ll know that, “hey, I can go to uni too.”

    JOURNALIST: 100 per cent, that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? You’re obviously in Perth for Cabinet today. Anything on your agenda?

    CLARE: This is the first time that the Cabinet’s back in Perth since the election and it’s a great opportunity not just to meet as a Cabinet and talk about the fantastic things that are happening here in WA, but to meet with Roger Cook and his team and continue the great work that we’re doing together. As Education Minister, I’m doing a lot of work with WA. WA was the first state in Australia to sign up to the new education agreement to fully fund our schools. So, I’m looking forward to catching up with the Education Minister tomorrow. 

    JOURNALIST: First thing on the agenda is cutting HECS. Is that something that really excites you?

    CLARE: Big time. There are 3 million Aussies across the country that have a HECS debt and we’re going to cut their debt by 20 per cent. It’ll be the very first piece of legislation that we introduce into the Parliament next month and I’ll have the privilege to introduce that legislation. That’s going to make a massive difference for young people right across the country. The average debt today is about $27,000. That means for a lot of people it’s going to cut their debt by $5,000. That’ll make it a lot easier for young people starting out who are just getting started, just moving out of home, just wanting to get a mortgage and buy their first home. Cutting that debt will make a world of difference. I want more young people to have a crack at university. That means setting up hubs like this and also means cutting their debt.

    JOURNALIST: 100 per cent. Tania, is there anything you’d like to add on the announcement today?

    TANIA LAWRENCE, MEMBER FOR HASLUCK: Yes. Ellenbrook is a part of the growth corridor in the outer region of Perth. There will be projected 76,000 people living out in this area by 2036. And we know that the infrastructure that’s needed for this community is being realised under the Labor Government both at the state and the federal level. We’ve now got a train station just within proximity, walking distance of today’s opening of the Ellenbrook Study Hub. We have a need to ensure that every student has access to affordable education. We’re achieving that with the reduction in the HECS debt. We are achieving that with making access to a study hub environment like this. 

    A means for students, no matter where they live, no matter their home environment, that they have the opportunity to be able to study in a place that is supportive, that’s inclusive and that allows them access to resources to ensure they get the best results at university. I’m definitely proud to be part of a Labor Government that sees education as a silver bullet. That we are investing in education from tiny tots with early education access right through to as the Minister spoke about having every public school now fully funded within Western Australia through to free TAFE and now with university making it more affordable but also more accessible with the Ellenbrook Study Hub opening today.
     

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Just the ticket? The problem with local body candidates aligning with national political parties

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julienne Molineaux, Senior Lecturer, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Auckland University of Technology

    Getty Images

    With accusations flying thick and fast last year about supposed “dysfunction” and a “shambles” at Wellington City Council, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown stepped in and appointed a Crown Observer.

    Announcing the move, Brown said the “financial and behavioural challenges” facing the council represented a problem under the Local Government Act. Part of the issue, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon claimed recently, was that there had been “way too much ideology and party politics”.

    With the Green-endorsed current mayor Tory Whanau withdrawing from the next election, and former Labour cabinet minister Andrew Little announcing his mayoralty bid, it remains to be seen whether those partisan perceptions have diminished.

    But at the other end of the political spectrum, the ACT Party is actively recruiting candidates to stand at the 2025 elections using its branding and policy platform. The ACT website states clear policy positions for prospective candidates to campaign on.

    The Local Government Act, on the other hand, requires elected members to consult with people affected by their decisions and to do so with an open mind. Reinforcing this point, the Office of the Auditor-General says those managing public resources must avoid holding pre-determined positions:

    You are not required to approach every decision as though you have given it no prior thought, or have no existing knowledge or opinion. However, you are required to keep an open mind, and you must be prepared to change or adjust your views if the evidence or arguments warrant it.

    If ACT is successful in building a local government ticket nationally, this tension – and the kind of tensions recently at play in Wellington – could be seen in other councils.

    Benefits of party branding

    Political party affiliations in local government are not actually the norm. In 2019, winning councillors around New Zealand mostly left the affiliation section of their nomination forms blank (60%) or stated they were “independent” (18%).

    Only 3% of winning councillors were affiliated with a registered political party, and 4% with a local grouping or ticket.

    But the picture changes in our three largest councils: Auckland Council, Christchurch City Council and Wellington City Council. No winning councillors in those cities left the affiliation section blank in 2019, 38% ran on a local ticket, and 22% for a political party.

    And there are good reasons for local body candidates to run as party-endorsed or on a local ticket, as former local body politician Shirin Brown outlined in her PhD thesis on Local Boards in Auckland: shared costs, shared resources (such as party volunteers to deliver leaflets), shared expertise and brand recognition for voters.

    Importantly, a candidate with low name recognition can coat-tail on higher profile candidates on the same ticket, or the public profile of the ticket overall. Other research suggests the strategy works: in Auckland, at least, those who stand with a group affiliation are more likely to be elected than those who do not.

    In larger urban areas, with high populations and low levels of representation per capita, visible groupings of local government candidates make sense. Research reveals a major obstacle to voting in local elections is a lack of information about candidates and what they stand for.

    Blurred party lines

    Once elected, though, there are questions about the cohesion of groupings. Shirin Brown found the ad-hoc nature of some local tickets for Auckland’s local boards – formed for strategic election reasons but with little coherence or discipline once elected – sometimes collapsed once in office.

    In Auckland, ward councillors and the mayor have run with group branding, but there is little evidence of whipping along party, ticket or broad ideological lines.

    As a councillor for the Manukau ward (2016-2022), the late Efeso Collins stood for election as a Labour Party candidate, but he voted against some initiatives of the Mayor Phil Goff, a former leader of the Labour Party.

    Communities and Residents (C&R) councillors have mostly been aligned with the National Party, but have also included ACT and unaffiliated centre-right candidates.

    While they often voted against Goff, and earlier against Labour Party member Len Brown (mayor from 2010-2016), it wasn’t always as a uniform block. Indeed, Brown’s initiatives were simultaneously opposed by Cathy Casey (City Vision) on the left and Cameron Brewer (C&R) on the right.

    Keeping an open mind

    As this year’s local elections approach, the Crown Observer for Wellington City Council, Lindsay McKenzie, has written candidate guidelines about political affiliations and their legal obligations to avoid predetermined positions.

    These cover the promises they make on the campaign trail as well as how they act once elected. They address the tension between the democratic act of signalling your values and policy positions to voters, and the requirement under the Local Government Act to make decisions based on local concerns rather than political affiliation.

    As McKenzie points out, having an open mind is not just an issue for party members. It also applies to those who stand as independents and adhere rigidly to policy positions they campaigned on.

    Irrespective of their affiliation, candidates in the upcoming local elections have a tightrope to walk – between declaring their values and policy positions, and being receptive to new information and perspectives once elected.

    Voters need to accept elected members may have access to information that was not available when they were campaigning. And the political media needs to give some leeway to councillors and mayors who change their positions.

    Julienne Molineaux does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Just the ticket? The problem with local body candidates aligning with national political parties – https://theconversation.com/just-the-ticket-the-problem-with-local-body-candidates-aligning-with-national-political-parties-257887

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: ‘Not available in your region’: what is a VPN and how can I use one safely?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meena Jha, Head Technology and Pedagogy Cluster CML-NET, CQUniversity Australia

    Linaimages/Shutterstock

    “This video is not available in your location”. It’s a message familiar to many people trying to watch global content online. But beneath this frustration lies a deeper question – how do we navigate digital borders safely and ethically?

    As our digital lives expand, so too does our desire for access. Maybe you want to see the latest streaming shows before they arrive in your country. Maybe you’re a sports fan wanting to watch live broadcasts of international events. Or perhaps you need to log into your company’s secure intranet while at home or overseas.

    Enter the virtual private network (VPN) – a technology that’s become as essential as antivirus software for many. With many commercial and free VPN providers on the market, interest in these services has grown in recent years.

    How does a VPN work?

    A VPN is like a secure tunnel between your device and the internet. When you use a VPN, your internal traffic is scrambled into unreadable data and routed through a remote server, which also masks your real IP address.

    Think of it like this: instead of sending a postcard with your return address, you send it in an envelope to a trusted friend overseas who mails it on your behalf. To anyone looking at the envelope, it looks like the message came from your friend and not you.

    This technique shields your identity, protects your data from snoopers, and tricks websites into thinking you are browsing from another location.

    While often marketed as tools for online privacy, VPNs have grown popular for another reason: access.

    Many people use VPNs to access geo-blocked content, secure their internet activity, work remotely – especially when handling sensitive data – and protect against online tracking and targeted advertising.



    Read more:
    What does it mean to ‘accept’ or ‘reject’ all cookies, and which should I choose?

    VPNs are legal, if a bit grey

    VPN services are offered by dozens of providers globally. Companies such as NordVPN, ProtonVPN, ExpressVPN and Surfshark offer paid subscriptions with strong security guarantees. Free VPNs also exist but come with caveats (more on this in a moment).

    In most countries, including Australia, using a VPN is completely legal.

    However, what makes it murky is what one might use it for. While using a VPN is legal, engaging in illegal activities while using one remains prohibited.

    Streaming services like Netflix or Disney+ license content by region. Using a VPN to access a foreign catalogue may violate their terms of service and potentially be grounds for account suspension.

    Australian law does not criminalise accessing geo-blocked content via VPN, but the copyright act does prohibit circumventing “technological protection measures” in certain cases.

    The grey area lies in enforcement. Technically, copyright law does ban getting around certain protections. However, the latest advice does not mention any cases where regular users have been taken to court for this kind of behaviour.

    So far, enforcement has mostly targeted websites and platforms that host or enable large-scale copyright infringement; not everyday viewers who want to watch a show a bit early.

    Beware of ‘free’ VPNs

    Not all VPNs are created equal. While premium services invest in strong encryption and privacy protections, free VPNs often make money by collecting user data – the very thing you may be trying to avoid.

    Risks of unsafe VPNs include data leaks, injection of ads or trackers into your browsing, and malware and spyware, especially in free mobile apps that claim to provide a VPN service.

    Using a poorly designed or dishonest VPN is like hiring a bodyguard who sells your location. It might give the impression of safety, but you may actually be more vulnerable than before.

    Okay, so how do I choose a VPN?

    With so many VPNs available, both free and paid, it can be hard to know which one to trust. If you are considering a VPN, here are five things to look for.

    No-log policy. A trustworthy VPN should have a strict no-log policy, meaning it does not store any records of your internet activity, connection time or IP address. This ensures even if the VPN provider is hacked, subpoenaed or pressured by a government, they have nothing to hand over.

    Strong encryption standards. Encryption is what makes your data unreadable to anyone snooping on your connection, such as hackers on public WiFi or your internet provider. A somewhat technical thing to look out for is AES 256-bit encryption – it’s extremely secure and is used by banks and governments.

    Independent audits. Reliable VPN services voluntarily undergo third-party audits to verify their privacy claims and the security of their infrastructure.

    Kill switch. A kill switch is a critical safety feature that automatically blocks internet traffic if the VPN connection drops. This prevents your real IP address and data from being exposed, even momentarily.

    Jurisdiction. VPNs are subject to the laws of the country they are based in. The countries in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance (Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand) may legally compel providers to hand over user data. If a VPN service has a strict no-log policy and does not collect information about what you do online, then even under legal pressure, there is nothing to hand over. So, you are safe.

    In an era of growing surveillance, cybercrime and corporate data collection, VPNs are essential tools for reclaiming your online privacy and data.

    But like any tool, the effectiveness (and ethics) of VPNs depend on how you use them. Next time you fire up your VPN, ask yourself – am I just dodging a digital border, or actively protecting my online freedom?

    Meena Jha does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. ‘Not available in your region’: what is a VPN and how can I use one safely? – https://theconversation.com/not-available-in-your-region-what-is-a-vpn-and-how-can-i-use-one-safely-256559

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI: Coach Launch Responds to Rising Sales Resistance by Championing Virtual Events for Entrepreneurial Success

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Melbourne, Australia, June 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — As businesses navigate an era of heightened sales resistance and growing distrust driven by AI-generated content, Coach Launch, a Melbourne-based consultancy with a global client base, has announced a strategic initiative to help entrepreneurs embrace virtual events as a scalable solution to rebuild engagement and trust. The company now offers tailored online virtual event consulting designed to replace outdated sales tactics with immersive, rapport-building digital experiences.

    AI Skepticism Fuels a New Sales Era

    Across industries, sales teams are encountering a new form of resistance—one deeply tied to the rise of artificial intelligence and automation in marketing. Potential buyers are becoming more selective, with an increased focus on authenticity and real-time engagement. According to recent findings, traditional one-to-one selling methods are proving costly and increasingly ineffective, while automated systems often fail to create the trust needed to convert modern customers.

    In response, businesses are shifting their approach, and Coach Launch is leading the way by offering a consulting model that focuses on high-impact virtual experiences.

    Virtual Events Offer an Effective Alternative

    Virtual events are emerging as a vital tool in combating sales resistance, offering entrepreneurs a way to scale outreach while maintaining a human touch. These experiences create an opportunity for businesses to connect with their audiences in real-time, delivering value, insights, and interaction that static digital content cannot match.

    “Virtual events have become a necessary evolution in business communication,” said Mr. Matthew White, spokesperson for Coach Launch. “They allow entrepreneurs to demonstrate their value in real time, answer questions, and build a genuine connection. In today’s environment, that’s what moves the needle.”

    Coach Launch specializes in guiding entrepreneurs through the entire event process—from strategy and planning to execution and follow-up—ensuring each virtual engagement is structured for both authenticity and profitability.

    Immersive Experiences Increase Engagement

    The effectiveness of virtual events lies in their immersive nature. Reports such as Immersion Causes Conversion point to a measurable link between active participation and consumer response. When attendees are drawn into a live, engaging experience, they are more likely to remember the message, build trust with the host, and take action.

    This insight is especially relevant given data from The Rise of Sales Resistance, which outlines the declining effectiveness of conventional outreach tactics such as cold emails and sales calls. In this landscape, passive strategies are falling short, and immersive approaches like live digital events are rising in value.

    Scalable and Repeatable Business Growth Model

    Coach Launch is not merely offering one-time solutions. Its consulting services are built around a repeatable framework that enables entrepreneurs to run profitable, recurring virtual events. This system allows entrepreneurs to run profitable, recurring virtual events—accessible to businesses anywhere in the world.

    Unlike conventional marketing funnels, the model empowers entrepreneurs to host sessions that engage audiences, showcase expertise, and move prospects naturally toward conversion—all within a controlled, measurable environment.

    “Our goal is to provide a roadmap that entrepreneurs can replicate,” said White. “The beauty of virtual events is in their flexibility. You can iterate, adapt, and run them as often as needed without the overhead of traditional events.”

    Coach Launch’s upcoming session will be held on April 19, 2025, with new sessions recurring every two weeks. Entrepreneurs and business leaders interested in learning more about this model are encouraged to get a free ticket and attend the next live event.

    Rebuilding Trust Through Connection

    Trust is at the heart of every business transaction, and Coach Launch emphasizes that it must be earned through transparency, interaction, and value. By replacing static content and impersonal outreach with live, human-driven experiences, entrepreneurs are reclaiming lost ground in a digitally crowded marketplace.

    Coach Launch’s approach aligns with the evolving expectations of today’s buyers, who value authenticity over automation and are more likely to engage when they feel seen and heard regardless of geography or time zone.

    About Coach Launch

    Coach Launch is a global online virtual event consulting company based in Melbourne, Australia. It specializes in helping entrepreneurs and small business owners plan, launch, and optimize profitable virtual events. As virtual event consultants, Coach Launch supports coaches, consultants, and service experts who want to run profitable virtual events in small, intimate groups with highly engaged attendees ready to buy—and do so consistently, like clockwork. With a focus on scalability, engagement, and trust-building, Coach Launch provides strategic consulting to support business growth through immersive digital experiences. Its bi-weekly events demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach, offering entrepreneurs a clear path toward modernizing their outreach methods.

    Virtual Event Consultants

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: ACT hits EV charger goal

    Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

    Our CBR is the ACT Government’s key channel to connect with Canberrans and keep you up-to-date with what’s happening in the city. Our CBR includes a monthly print edition, email newsletter and website.

    You can easily opt in or out of the newsletter subscription at any time.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Dragon boat races spark rise in tourism spending during ancient Chinese festival

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    Villagers compete during a dragon boat race at Xixi National Wetland Park in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province, on May 31, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

    In the watery maze of Diejiao Village in Foshan, south China’s Guangdong Province, dragon boat teams race through S-curves, L-bends and tight C-turns with breathtaking precision. Spectators gasp and cheer as the 25-meter-long boats spin around corners at full speed, water spraying in their wake.

    A popular Cantonese saying captures the spirit of the event: “Ning ho bou laan, bat ho paa maan,” meaning, “It’s better to crash the boat than to paddle slowly.” It’s no surprise, then, that Chinese social media users have dubbed this tradition the “F1 on water,” with thrilling clips of races going viral across the country and beyond during the recent Dragon Boat Festival holiday.

    The festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month each year, and in 2009, it became the first Chinese holiday to be inscribed on UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. People throughout China and all over the world celebrate the festival, which has a history stretching more than 2,000 years.

    Festivities vary from region to region but usually share several features: a memorial ceremony offering sacrifices to an ancient Chinese patriotic poet is combined with sporting events such as dragon boat races, zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) feasts, and folk entertainments such as opera performances.

    These rich traditions are increasingly influencing how people choose their travel destinations. Across China, more tourists are seeking out immersive cultural experiences, and the Dragon Boat Festival offers both vibrant celebrations and a focus on deep-rooted heritage.

    This year’s holiday — May 31 to June 2 — turned Foshan into a travel magnet, with its total tourist bookings up 167 percent year on year. Hotel reservations jumped 145 percent, and airline ticket sales rose 110 percent.

    “Chinese dragon boat racing has long gone global,” said Chen Xiaolin, a Chinese-Canadian and the leader of a dragon boat team from Victoria, Canada, that joined an international dragon boat competition in east China’s Suzhou city on May 31.

    Chen originally founded the team in Victoria to connect with the local Chinese community. But over time, more and more local residents joined. “That might be because residents in Victoria really enjoy water sports like kayaking and canoeing, which have similarities to dragon boat racing,” she said.

    Yvonne Christine Ann Sharpe, a 70-year-old team member, had eight years of canoeing experience before she tried her hand at dragon boat racing. Sharpe told Xinhua that canoeing allows paddlers to switch hands, making it a bit easier than dragon boat racing, which has a complex technique and requires full team synchronization to maintain balance and speed.

    “Hard connectivity, soft connectivity and economic ties lay the foundation for tourism, but cultural connectivity is key to sustaining its appeal,” said Tang Jinwen, an associate professor at the Management College of Guangdong Polytechnic Normal University. Tang noted that traditional festivals like the Dragon Boat Festival are becoming cultural events that connect China with the world.

    Traditional Chinese festival experiences are drawing growing numbers of international visitors to explore and connect with Chinese culture firsthand, particularly following the country’s rollout of its visa-free travel policies.

    According to data from the National Immigration Administration, 231,000 foreign nationals entered China during this year’s Dragon Boat Festival holiday under these new policies — a 59.4 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

    Hotel searches for inbound international tourism during the holiday more than doubled this year, according to data from online travel giant Trip.com. The top-10 source countries for related inbound travel were Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, the United States, Russia, Japan, Britain, Australia and France.

    Beijing, China’s capital city, welcomed 67,000 international tourists during the holiday, a year-on-year increase of 35.8 percent. These visitors spent a total of 720 million yuan (about 100 million U.S. dollars), which was 41.1 percent higher than the same period last year.

    China has been vigorously boosting its domestic consumption, notably in its culture and tourism sectors. Since the beginning of 2025, local governments have rolled out a variety of incentives, ranging from cultural vouchers to ticket discounts, aiming to unlock spending potential.

    These efforts intensified during the 2025 Dragon Boat Festival. In central China’s Hubei Province, more than 160 A-level scenic areas offered ticket discounts, pass bundles and family deals. Shandong Province distributed 50 million yuan in cultural tourism vouchers covering attractions, hotels and cultural products.

    As China’s economy reaches a certain level, a growing emphasis is being placed on exploring traditional culture and, in particular, how it is reflected in consumption, said Wang Qing, who works at a market economy institute under the Development Research Center of the State Council.

    Elements of traditional culture are likely to play increasingly important roles in shaping consumption in China, Wang said. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Release: Charter school failures clocking up

    Source: New Zealand Labour Party

    Public schools aren’t converting to charter schools at the rate David Seymour claimed they would.

    Due to low demand over the past year, $4 million was taken out of the money set aside for charter schools to be used on other things. Despite that, the Government is still funding ACT’s failing charter school model.

    “Charter schools are a waste of taxpayer’s money. They cost far more per student than state schools, have very little oversight and are based on ideology, not evidence,” Labour education spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime said.

    “It’s time David Seymour faced reality – ACT’s charter schools experiment is failing again. The Government’s own budget documents state that no state school converted in the last financial year.

    “When the funding was announced last year, he claimed there would be ‘15 new charter schools and the conversion of 35 state schools to charter schools in 2025 and 2026’. Now he’s back-tracking.

    “The Government is wasting money on David Seymour’s vanity project despite knowing it isn’t working. The cost per student is astronomical and there is no evidence it is worth it.

    “A student at a charter school costs the taxpayer around five times as much as a student who attends a state school, with nothing to show for it.

    “David Seymour is cutting funding for school lunches while wasting money on charter schools,” Willow-Jean Prime said.

    Stay in the loop by signing up to our mailing list and following us on Facebook, Instagram, and X. 

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Two men arrested and youths spoken to after drug dog patrols in Glenorchy

    Source: New South Wales Community and Justice

    Two men arrested and youths spoken to after drug dog patrols in Glenorchy

    Wednesday, 4 June 2025 – 9:34 am.

    Tasmania Police continues to focus on reducing anti-social behaviour and retail crime in the Glenorchy municipality with high visibility patrols supported by police dog handlers yesterday afternoon resulting in several arrests and formal directions being made.
    Sergeant Iain Shepherd from the Tasmania Police Dog Handlers Unit said that during the patrols, dog handlers searched 12 people resulting in the seizure of drugs such as methylamphetamine and cannabis, and three people were found in possession of knives or other weapons.
    “A 48-year-old man from Bridgewater wanted on stealing charges was located and interviewed and another 48-year-old man from Bridgewater was arrested for consuming alcohol and engaging in disorderly conduct.”
    “The man was bailed before being arrested again a short time later for attempted stealing.”
    “He was banned from entering all Coles stores for one year and will appear in court at a later date.”
    “Five other individuals also received formal directions to leave the Glenorchy CBD due to their behaviour.”
    “In addition, several youths were spoken to, and those found in possession of drugs will be dealt with through youth diversion programs,” said Sergeant Shepherd.
    Police would like to thank the community for their support and assistance, and encourage anyone with information about drugs and anti-social behaviour to contact police at 131 444 or Crime Stoppers Tasmania at 1800 333 000 or via crimestopperstas.com.au. Information can be provided anonymously.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Youths charged in Devonport

    Source: New South Wales Community and Justice

    Youths charged in Devonport

    Wednesday, 4 June 2025 – 9:03 am.

    Two boys have been arrested and charged over an alleged assault in the Devonport CBD as police continue to focus on anti-social behaviour in the city precinct.
    The male youths have been bailed to appear at the Devonport Youth Justice Court at a later date.
    Tasmania Police is aware of recent reports of anti-social behaviour in the Devonport CBD and is continuing with a high-visibility police presence in the area to deter this disruptive behaviour.
    “Members of the public and those working in the Devonport CBD have a right and expectation to feel safe. Tasmania Police are committed to ensuring public safety and will not tolerate any disruptive or harmful behaviour from anyone,” Devonport Police Acting Inspector Luke Negri said.
    “Offenders, including youths, will be held to account for their actions and behaviour.”
    Anyone who witnesses concerning activity is encouraged to report it to police on 131 444 or call triple zero (000) if it is an emergency.
    You can also report anonymously to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online at crimestopperstas.com.au

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SPC Tornado Watch 363

    Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

    Note:  The expiration time in the watch graphic is amended if the watch is replaced, cancelled or extended.Note: Click for Watch Status Reports.
    SEL3

    URGENT – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
    Tornado Watch Number 363
    NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
    540 PM CDT Tue Jun 3 2025

    The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

    * Tornado Watch for portions of
    Central and Eastern Oklahoma

    * Effective this Tuesday afternoon and evening from 540 PM until
    1000 PM CDT.

    * Primary threats include…
    A few tornadoes possible
    Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph likely
    Scattered large hail and isolated very large hail events to 2
    inches in diameter possible

    SUMMARY…A cluster of supercell thunderstorms across central
    Oklahoma will track northeastward across the watch for the next few
    hours. Localized wind fields have become favorable for a risk of a
    few tornadoes, along with damaging winds and large hail.

    The tornado watch area is approximately along and 40 statute miles
    east and west of a line from 35 miles southwest of Ardmore OK to 25
    miles east of Tulsa OK. For a complete depiction of the watch see
    the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU3).

    PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

    REMEMBER…A Tornado Watch means conditions are favorable for
    tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch
    area. Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for
    threatening weather conditions and listen for later statements
    and possible warnings.

    &&

    OTHER WATCH INFORMATION…CONTINUE…WW 359…WW 360…WW
    361…WW 362…

    AVIATION…Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail
    surface and aloft to 2 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind
    gusts to 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean
    storm motion vector 24025.

    …Hart

    SEL3

    URGENT – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
    Tornado Watch Number 363
    NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
    540 PM CDT Tue Jun 3 2025

    The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

    * Tornado Watch for portions of
    Central and Eastern Oklahoma

    * Effective this Tuesday afternoon and evening from 540 PM until
    1000 PM CDT.

    * Primary threats include…
    A few tornadoes possible
    Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph likely
    Scattered large hail and isolated very large hail events to 2
    inches in diameter possible

    SUMMARY…A cluster of supercell thunderstorms across central
    Oklahoma will track northeastward across the watch for the next few
    hours. Localized wind fields have become favorable for a risk of a
    few tornadoes, along with damaging winds and large hail.

    The tornado watch area is approximately along and 40 statute miles
    east and west of a line from 35 miles southwest of Ardmore OK to 25
    miles east of Tulsa OK. For a complete depiction of the watch see
    the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU3).

    PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

    REMEMBER…A Tornado Watch means conditions are favorable for
    tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch
    area. Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for
    threatening weather conditions and listen for later statements
    and possible warnings.

    &&

    OTHER WATCH INFORMATION…CONTINUE…WW 359…WW 360…WW
    361…WW 362…

    AVIATION…Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail
    surface and aloft to 2 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind
    gusts to 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean
    storm motion vector 24025.

    …Hart

    Note: The Aviation Watch (SAW) product is an approximation to the watch area. The actual watch is depicted by the shaded areas.
    SAW3
    WW 363 TORNADO OK 032240Z – 040300Z
    AXIS..40 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF LINE..
    35SW ADM/ARDMORE OK/ – 25E TUL/TULSA OK/
    ..AVIATION COORDS.. 35NM E/W /22SW ADM – 17E TUL/
    HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT..2 INCHES. WIND GUSTS..60 KNOTS.
    MAX TOPS TO 500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24025.

    LAT…LON 33939815 36209615 36209471 33939675

    THIS IS AN APPROXIMATION TO THE WATCH AREA. FOR A
    COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE WOUS64 KWNS
    FOR WOU3.

    Watch 363 Status Report Message has not been issued yet.

    Note:  Click for Complete Product Text.Tornadoes

    Probability of 2 or more tornadoes

    Mod (50%)

    Probability of 1 or more strong (EF2-EF5) tornadoes

    Low (20%)

    Wind

    Probability of 10 or more severe wind events

    Mod (60%)

    Probability of 1 or more wind events > 65 knots

    Low (20%)

    Hail

    Probability of 10 or more severe hail events

    Mod (40%)

    Probability of 1 or more hailstones > 2 inches

    Mod (30%)

    Combined Severe Hail/Wind

    Probability of 6 or more combined severe hail/wind events

    High (90%)

    For each watch, probabilities for particular events inside the watch (listed above in each table) are determined by the issuing forecaster. The “Low” category contains probability values ranging from less than 2% to 20% (EF2-EF5 tornadoes), less than 5% to 20% (all other probabilities), “Moderate” from 30% to 60%, and “High” from 70% to greater than 95%. High values are bolded and lighter in color to provide awareness of an increased threat for a particular event.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: New Zealand’s population likely to reach 6 million before 2040 – Stats NZ media and information release: National population projections: 2024(base)–2078

    New Zealand’s population likely to reach 6 million before 2040 – media release

    4 June 2025

    The population living in Aotearoa New Zealand is likely to grow from 5.3 million currently to eclipse 6 million by 2040, according to projections released by Stats NZ today.

    Two-thirds of that growth is likely to come from net international migration (migrant arrivals less migrant departures), with the remainder from natural increase (births less deaths).

    “New Zealand’s net migration has fluctuated widely from year to year,” population estimates, projections, and coverage spokesperson Victoria Treliving said.

    “But international migration has been the main contributor to New Zealand’s population growth this century, and this is projected to continue.”

    Visit our website to read this news story and information release:

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –