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Category: Australia

  • MIL-Evening Report: Tools like Apple’s photo Clean Up are yet another nail in the coffin for being able to trust our eyes

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By T.J. Thomson, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication & Digital Media, RMIT University

    Apple Clean Up highlights photo elements that might be deemed distracting. T.J. Thomson

    You may have seen ads by Apple promoting its new Clean Up feature that can be used to remove elements in a photo. When one of these ads caught my eye this weekend, I was intrigued and updated my software to try it out.

    The feature has been available in Australia since December for Apple customers with certain hardware and software capabilities. It’s also available for customers in New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States.

    The tool uses generative artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse the scene and suggest elements that might be distracting. You can see those highlighted in the screenshot below.

    Apple uses generative AI to identify elements, highlighted here in red, that might be distracting in photos. It then allows users to remove these with the tap of a finger.
    T.J. Thomson

    You can then tap the suggested element to remove it or circle elements to delete them. The device then uses generative AI to try to create a logical replacement based on the surrounding area.

    Easier ways to deceive

    Smartphone photo editing apps have been around for more than a decade, but now, you don’t need to download, pay for, or learn to use a new third-party app. If you have an eligible device, you can use these features directly in your smartphone’s default photo app.

    Apple’s Clean Up joins a number of similar tools already offered by various tech companies. Those with Android phones might have used Google’s Magic Editor. This lets users move, resize, recolour or delete objects using AI. Users with select Samsung devices can use their built-in photo gallery app to remove elements in photos.

    There have always been ways – analogue and, more recently, digital – to deceive. But integrating them into existing software in a free, easy-to-use way makes those possibilities so much easier.

    Using AI to edit photos or create new images entirely raises pressing questions around the trustworthiness of photographs and videos. We rely on the vision these devices produce in everything from police body and traffic cams to insurance claims and verifying the safe delivery of parcels.

    If advances in tech are eroding our trust in pictures and even video, we have to rethink what it means to trust our eyes.

    How can these tools be used?

    The idea of removing distracting or unwanted elements can be attractive. If you’ve ever been to a crowded tourist hotspot, removing some of the other tourists so you can focus more on the environment might be appealing (check out the slider below for an example).

    But beyond removing distractions, how else can these tools be used?

    Some people use them to remove watermarks. Watermarks are typically added by photographers or companies trying to protect their work from unauthorised use. Removing these makes the unauthorised use less obvious but not less legal.

    Others use them to alter evidence. For example, a seller might edit a photo of a damaged good to allege it was in good condition before shipping.

    As image editing and generating tools become more widespread and easier to use, the list of uses balloons proportionately. And some of these uses can be unsavoury.

    AI generators can now make realistic-looking receipts, for example. People could then try to submit these to their employer to get reimbursed for expenses not actually incurred.



    Read more:
    Can you spot a financial fake? How AI is raising our risks of billing fraud

    Can anything we see be trusted anymore?

    Considering these developments, what does it mean to have “visual proof” of something?

    If you think a photo might be edited, zooming in can sometimes reveal anomalies where the AI has stuffed up. Here’s a zoomed-in version of some of the areas where the Clean Up feature generated new content that doesn’t quite match the old.

    Tools like Clean Up sometimes create anomalies that can be spotted with the naked eye.
    T.J. Thomson

    It’s usually easier to manipulate one image than to convincingly edit multiple images of the same scene in the same way. For this reason, asking to see multiple outtakes that show the same scene from different angles can be a helpful verification strategy.

    Seeing something with your own eyes might be the best approach, though this isn’t always possible.

    Doing some additional research might also help. For example, with the case of a fake receipt, does the restaurant even exist? Was it open on the day shown on the receipt? Does the menu offer the items allegedly sold? Does the tax rate match the local area’s?

    Manual verification approaches like the above obviously take time. Trustworthy systems that can automate these mundane tasks are likely to grow in popularity as the risks of AI editing and generation increase.

    Likewise, there’s a role for regulators to play in ensuring people don’t misuse AI technology. In the European Union, Apple’s plan to roll out its Apple Intelligence features, which include the Clean Up function, was delayed due to “regulatory uncertainties”.

    AI can be used to make our lives easier. Like any technology, it can be used for good or bad. Being aware of what it’s capable of and developing your visual and media literacies is essential to being an informed member of our digital world.

    T.J. Thomson receives funding from the Australian Research Council. He is an affiliated researcher with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making & Society.

    – ref. Tools like Apple’s photo Clean Up are yet another nail in the coffin for being able to trust our eyes – https://theconversation.com/tools-like-apples-photo-clean-up-are-yet-another-nail-in-the-coffin-for-being-able-to-trust-our-eyes-253942

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Location-sharing apps are enabling domestic violence. But young people aren’t aware of the danger

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Atienzar-Prieto, PhD Candidate, School of Health Sciences and Social Work, Griffith University

    The Conversation/Snapchat

    Location-sharing apps are shaping how we connect and communicate – especially among younger people. Snap Map, a popular feature within Snapchat, is widely used by teens and young adults to stay in the loop and facilitate real-time meet-ups with friends and partners.

    Meanwhile, Life360 markets itself as “Australia’s number one family safety app”. It offers parents peace of mind through continuous, sophisticated location tracking.

    These apps determine a person’s real-time location primarily with GPS technology that’s already in a phone. The convenience and sense of security they provide might be appealing to many people. But they can also enable stalking and other forms of coercive control.

    The recent inquest into the murder of Lilie James starkly highlighted these risks. However, our research on young people’s perceptions of technology-facilitated abuse has shown many of them are not aware of the danger.

    A meticulously planned murder

    In October 2023, James, a 21-year-old water polo coach, was killed by her 24-year-old ex-boyfriend, Paul Thijssen, in a bathroom at St Andrew’s Cathedral School in Sydney.

    James had been in a brief relationship with Thijssen. But she ended it when he became obsessed.

    The coronial inquest revealed Thijssen had meticulously planned the murder. He had also used a range of coercively controlling behaviours in the lead up to his crime. For example, he physically stalked James by driving past her home on multiple occasions.

    He also tracked James’s location on Snapchat to monitor her whereabouts and asked a mutual friend to keep “an eye on her” during a party she attended.

    The court also heard about Thijssen’s use of abusive digital behaviours as a pattern of coercive control across his previous relationships.

    Not a sign of love and care

    A friend of James and Thijssen misinterpreted his tracking of her location as a sign of love and care. Young people are generally at risk of making similar mistakes, as our recent research highlights.

    As part of Maria’s PhD thesis, the research included surveys with more than 1,000 respondents and follow-up focus groups with 28 young people (aged 16–25). We asked these young people about their perceptions of technology-facilitated coercive control in dating relationships.

    Every young person who participated in the focus groups had either used location-sharing apps in their own relationships or knew someone who had. This reflected a high level of normalisation regarding the use of location sharing between dating partners.

    Many participants underestimated the risks associated with these behaviours.

    In fact, most young people in our study misinterpreted tracking a partner via Snapchat, the “Find My” app and Life360 as a protective behaviour and a sign of care and trust.

    There is a high level of normalisation regarding the use of location sharing between dating partners.
    Tom Wang/Shutterstock

    It starts at home

    According to the young people in our study, initial experiences with location tracking often start in the family home.

    In an attempt to ensure their children’s safety, parents are increasingly adopting tracking apps to monitor their children’s movements.

    Our findings suggest the widespread use of location sharing within families normalises its adoption outside the home. This can lead to a greater acceptance of surveillance among young people in friendships and romantic relationships.

    This observation is unsurprising when considering research from November 2024 by the eSafety Commissioner on broader community attitudes towards location sharing. It found one in ten Australians believe it is “reasonable to expect to track a partner using location-sharing apps”.

    Young people in our research were able to identify common red flags of harmful location tracking – for example, obsessively monitoring a partner’s whereabouts. But they described how the normalisation of location sharing makes it challenging for them to “opt out” of sharing their location with friends and partners.

    Location sharing is perceived as a demonstration of commitment in young relationships. Therefore, when someone in a relationship decides to stop sharing their location, it is seen as a sign of distrust or a breach of shared dating norms. And it may lead to displays of anger, as seen in the example of Thijssen’s earlier controlling relationships.

    Apps such as Snapchat include location-sharing features.
    Diego Thomazini/Shutterstock

    Negotiating digital boundaries early on

    Location sharing is often normalised in the family context without informed conversations about the associated risks in other relationships. But opting out of location sharing with friends or partners requires the skills and confidence to have such conversations.

    The Australian Government is investing A$77.6 million in respectful relationships education. This will be delivered in partnership with states, territories and non-government school sectors.

    However, for this initiative to be successful, both parents and young people should be educated about digital behaviours. These behaviours include location sharing in various contexts, such as with family members, partners and friends.

    Parents need to be informed about the potential risks associated with location sharing and its normalisation. Beyond learning how to use parental controls to ensure their children’s online safety, it is equally important that parents are equipped with skills to have informed conversations with their children about the risks associated with these features.

    Young people also require skills to navigate difficult conversations about their own digital boundaries.

    Solely relying on more education around the risks and protective measures related to location sharing, such as online stalking or increasing awareness of privacy controls, will not achieve this. We must equip young people with crucial knowledge and skills to recognise the need for, and negotiate, digital boundaries early on in their relationships.

    Setting boundaries in response to experiences of technology-facilitated coercive control may require additional safeguards, including the awareness and support of family and friends.

    Where technology-facilitated coercive control behaviours persist or escalate, national helplines and local domestic violence services can offer vital support, information and referral pathways.

    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.

    Silke Meyer receives funding from Australia’s Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) and state government funding for research into domestic, family and sexual violence.

    Maria Atienzar-Prieto 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. Location-sharing apps are enabling domestic violence. But young people aren’t aware of the danger – https://theconversation.com/location-sharing-apps-are-enabling-domestic-violence-but-young-people-arent-aware-of-the-danger-253932

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Commissioner Liza Carver to depart ACCC

    Source: Australian Ministers for Regional Development

    Commissioner Liza Carver will leave the ACCC in mid-May after making a significant contribution to our agency, including as Chair of the ACCC’s Enforcement Committee.

    “Liza is one of Australia’s leading minds in the field of competition and consumer law. Her contribution to the ACCC has been outstanding and she will leave an important and lasting legacy,” ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said. 

    “Liza’s legal skill and rigour, strategic insights and guidance have shaped our enforcement program in recent years, and her input has been central to many of our most important outcomes.”

    “Liza has made important contributions in many areas of our work, including in merger review and digital platforms regulation.”

    In reflecting on her time with the ACCC Ms Carver said “‘It has been an absolute privilege to serve as a Commissioner with the ACCC under the leadership of Gina Cass-Gottlieb. The importance of the agency to the welfare of consumers and the competitiveness of the Australian economy cannot be overstated, nor can the diligence and commitment of its staff and Commissioners. I look forward to watching its successes in the future.”

    This period has rounded out a large body of public service by Ms Carver. Commissioner Carver’s most recent appointment to the ACCC commenced in March 2022. She had been an Associate Commissioner with the Trade Practices Commission and the ACCC between 1993 and 1999, as well as a Commissioner with the Australian Energy Markets Commission between 2005 and 2008. She was also a member of IPART from 1997 to 2000 before moving into private practice.

    “I am most grateful to have had Liza’s expertise and experience on our team. We at the ACCC wish Liza all the best for her future endeavours,” Ms Cass-Gottlieb said.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: ACCC consults on Australia Post’s proposed stamp price increase

    Source: Australian Ministers for Regional Development

    The ACCC is seeking stakeholder feedback on its preliminary view to not object to Australia Post’s proposed stamp price increase of 13.3 per cent from mid–2025.

    Under the draft proposal submitted in November 2024, Australia Post intends to increase the prices for reserved ordinary letters delivered to the regular timetable from:

    Proposed prices for reserved ordinary letters delivered to the regular timetable.
    Letter type Current price Proposed price
    Ordinary small letter (BPR) $1.50 $1.70
    Ordinary large letter up to 125g $3.00 $3.40
    Ordinary large letter over 125g and under 250g $4.50 $5.10

    Australia Post is not proposing to increase the price of concession stamps ($3 for five) or stamps for seasonal greeting cards (65 cents).

    After assessing the draft price notification in line with its role, the ACCC has found that Australia Post is unlikely to recover revenue in excess of its costs for its reserved postal services.

    “Our preliminary assessment found that Australia Post’s proposed price increase is unlikely to produce surplus revenue for the reserved letter service over the coming years,” ACCC Commissioner Dr Philip Williams said.

    Australia Post’s letter services – including its reserved services – have incurred significant losses in recent years, which Australia Post attributes primarily to the ongoing reduction in letter volumes combined with an increase in delivery points.

    Currently, Australia Post only delivers around two letters to each household per week and expects reserved letter volumes to continue to decrease by around 10.6 per cent annually until 2027–28. At the same time, the number of delivery addresses serviced by Australia Post continues to grow, which adds to the financial pressure on the letter service.

    “The ubiquity of digital communication options has impacted the commercial viability of letter delivery globally,” Dr Williams said.

    “At the same time, Australia Post remains an essential national service – especially for vulnerable members of the community and those in regional and remote parts of the country.”

    For the average Australian household, which sends around six letters per year, the proposed basic postage increase to $1.70 would result in an additional annual cost of approximately $1.20. However, the ACCC recognises that the proposed price rise would be the third such increase within four financial years, from a basic postage rate of $1.10 at the start of 2022–23.

    In forming its preliminary view, the ACCC carefully considered the feedback presented by stakeholders during a consultation process in late–2024. While the ACCC acknowledges public opposition to the proposed increase, it has applied a cost-based approach in its analysis within the confines of its regulatory role.

    “Our assessment seeks to balance the needs of consumers who rely on mail with the financial sustainability of the letter service, and we’re very conscious that further stamp price increases may present affordability challenges for some consumers and small businesses,” Mr Williams said.

    Following feedback from mail users, the ACCC recommends Australia Post increase the annual cap on the number of concessional stamps available to eligible concession card holders as a way to lessen the impacts of the proposed price rise for these customers.

    The ACCC also acknowledges that the proposed price increases may have a disproportionate impact on businesses and organisations sending large volumes of mail as part of their operations – particularly those which are subject to legal obligations to send correspondence by post.

    “For those businesses which are heavily reliant on the postal service or are unable to change to electronic alternatives, we consider Australia Post should explore ways to make letter sending more affordable in addition to the existing bulk rates on offer,” Dr Williams said.

    In March 2024, the ACCC made several recommendations to Australia Post regarding changes to its financial modelling and forecasting as well as improvements to its cost allocation model ahead of future price notification processes. Australia Post has addressed a number of the ACCC’s recommendations, including the commissioning of an expenditure review by Frontier Economics into the efficiency of Australia Post’s costs.

    “While Australia Post has made progress on the recommendations, further work is needed to support any future ACCC pricing assessments,” Dr Williams said.

    “We also consider that Australia Post needs to be more transparent with the public about its implementation of such recommendations.”

    The ACCC invites submissions in response to its preliminary view paper by 5pm Monday 12 May 2025. Submissions received will be considered by the ACCC in making its final decision.

    The ACCC will issue a final decision after receiving a formal price notification from Australia Post.

    Australia Post must also notify the Minister for Communications of the proposed price increase and must not increase prices if the Minister rejects the proposal within 30 days.

    Background

    Australia Post’s proposed price change was outlined in a draft price notification provided to the ACCC in November 2024.

    Under the Competition and Consumer Act, the ACCC is responsible for assessing proposed price increases by Australia Post for its reserved ordinary letter services delivered to the regular timetable. The ACCC must consider Australia Post’s proposed price increases of these services and may decide to:

    • not object to the price increase
    • not object to a price that is less than that proposed, or
    • object to the price increase.

    The ACCC does not have the role of approving any proposed price increase under the Australia Post price notification framework. Only the Minister for Communications has the power to reject a price increase proposed by Australia Post.

    Australia Post’s reserved ordinary letter services are services that Australia Post has a statutory monopoly over and are declared as ‘notified services’ for the purposes of Part VIIA of the Competition and Consumer Act. The current declaration for Australia Post’s notified services is due to expire on 30 September 2025 unless extended.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Beyer Eviscerates Trump Tariff Policy In Hearing With U.S. Trade Representative

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Don Beyer (D-VA)

    Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA) today ripped the “logic” of President Trump’s insane tariff regime to shreds today during a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Trump’s trade policy with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

    During the course of his testimony, Greer repeatedly advocated for increased tariffs on top U.S. trading partners – tariffs Trump abruptly paused during the hearing. Greer, who ostensibly serves as Trump’s top adviser on trade policy, obliviously continued to defend the paused tariffs to members of the Committee for some time until he was informed of the sudden change.

    Video of Beyer’s exchange can be viewed here. Some of his comments to Ambassador Greer: 

    “Ambassador Greer, you have a most awful job: to try to convince us and the people we represent that the President’s trade policies are wise and measured when the truth is they are stupid and bad.”
    …
    “I want to quickly run through a few of the ways the logic behind the Trump tariffs makes no sense. You got the math wrong, according to the people whose research you cited. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to enter into the record a New York Times article by former Treasury official Brent Neiman titled, ‘The Trump White House Cited My Research to Justify Tariffs. It Got It All Wrong.’ This math error had the effect of quadrupling the tariffs Trump applied to some of our biggest trading partners.

    “Trump exempted some goods – notably oil – but not others, including things we simply cannot produce in the United States. Why tariff bananas? Why tariff cocoa? Why tariff coffee? We don’t have the capacity to produce these things at a scale that meets domestic demand.

    “Trump logic equates any trade deficit with ‘cheating,’ in fact he called it ‘rape.’ But even this stupid logic didn’t help Australia or Brazil or Singapore, all countries with whom we have a trade surplus. How does Australia negotiate an end to a trade deficit that doesn’t exist?

    “Some countries have a deficit because we import things we want but they are too poor to afford our exports. A perfect example is Madagascar. We buy something like 60 percent of our vanilla from Madagascar, but they have one of the lowest GDP-per-capita rates in the world, and they just can’t afford many of our products. We just hit them with a 47% tariff.

    Trump is hinting that maybe if countries lower tariffs on us he might drop tariffs on them, a little bit or some or possibly. But Vietnam, knowing that Trump was coming, massively cut their tariffs on the U.S. to appease him ahead of his announcement last week. Instead you slapped a 46% tariff on them anyway. So what are the Vietnamese supposed to do?

    “Trump declared a phony national emergency and imposed tariffs on Canada to punish our closest ally for ‘fentanyl smuggling,’ despite the fact that our own government says the amount of smuggling at the northern border is vanishingly small, less than one percent. How does Canada get out of tariffs imposed for something we admit they’re not doing?

    “Trump is risking our economy to bring back factory jobs that pay far less than the 8 million jobs listed in the JOLTS report right now, 8 million jobs available in America, that pay far more in fast-growing like health care, clean energy, or data science.

    “The Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, is on television raving about shifting millions of Americans to work on, and I quote, “screwing in little screws to make iPhones.”

    “You guys are blasting nearly every product from nearly every country with these tariffs, Senator Tillis yesterday called it ‘a trade war on all fronts.’ It hurts our alliances, it is hurting our economy, it hurts our ability to make and keep free trade agreements – which is supposedly your job.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: ACT MP welcomes step towards greater freedom over Easter

    Source: ACT Party

    ACT MP Cameron Luxton is congratulating Kieran McAnulty after his Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Sales on Anzac Day Morning, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and Christmas Day) Amendment Bill passed its first reading in Parliament last night.

    
“It would give us a little more freedom over the Easter weekend, allowing pubs and supermarkets to sell beer and wine without the current nanny state restrictions. Adults will be treated like adults, capable of making their own choices.

    “This scraps the absurd rule that compels customers to order a ‘substantial meal’ just to enjoy a pint at the pub on Easter and the arbitrary prohibition on ordering a drink more than an hour before or after eating a meal.


    “This change is one part of a similar bill I spent months campaigning and lobbying for. I’m pleased to see a second attempt at this change has given the idea new life.

    “I will be encouraging all those who supported my bill, particularly those businesses, workers, and industry groups I heard from, to throw their support behind Kieran’s bill at the Select Committee, and also to make the case for why MPs should support future efforts to relax trading rules over the Easter period.”

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Mixed results in Medibank class action on privilege claims over investigation reports

    Source: Allens Insights (legal sector)

    Multi-purpose reports remain most challenging for privilege 9 min read

    A recent Federal Court decision has further highlighted the challenges of maintaining privilege claims over third-party investigation reports. This is particularly relevant where those reports are—or become—relied on for non-legal purposes, including operational, regulatory and public or investor relations.

    Medibank has had mixed results in defending challenges to privilege claims over a series of third-party reports relating to its 2022 major data breach. It successfully defended claims over narrower and more targeted reports and communications with CyberCX, Coveware, CrowdStrike and Threat Intelligence, including, eg, those concerning negotiations with the threat actor.

    However, Medibank failed to sustain its claim over three wider-ranging reports prepared by consultant Deloitte, which the court found had multiple purposes, with the legal purpose not being predominant.

    While the court’s reasoning is consistent with the Full Federal Court’s decision in Singtel Optus Pty Ltd v Robertson [2024] FCAFC 58 (see our previous Insight), it demonstrates that the challenges of maintaining privilege claims can remain even when detailed witness evidence is carefully prepared to support those claims.

    Medibank has sought leave to appeal the court’s decision in relation to the reports by Deloitte.

    This Insight considers the implications of the decision and outlines practical steps to take when an investigation report is commissioned for a legal purpose.

    Key takeaways

    • The Federal Court has rejected Medibank’s privilege claims over three factual investigation reports prepared by Deloitte following a major data breach, but has accepted communications and reports from cybersecurity firms CrowdStrike and Threat Intelligence as privileged.
    • The decision is largely consistent with the Full Federal Court’s recent decision on similar privilege claims in the Optus data breach class action, further highlighting the difficulties associated with claiming privilege over investigation reports prepared for multiple purposes, including legal, governance, regulatory compliance and/or operational purposes.
    • The legal purpose for preparing a report must predominate other purposes—this is generally assessed at the time the report was commissioned, but later evidence can inform this assessment, particularly where the purpose evolves.
    • It is not sufficient merely to assert that a document is privileged or, for that matter, to adduce evidence only from inhouse counsel. Courts will rigorously examine the nature of the document and the surrounding circumstances to determine the document’s dominant purpose. In this case, that process involved focused cross-examination of Medibank’s CEO and chair.
    • The decision also further highlights the risks associated with making public statements about investigation reports, particularly the potential for those statements to highlight a material non-legal purpose of the document or otherwise to waive any legal privilege that attaches to it.

    Background

    From August to October 2022, Medibank experienced a cyber incident where cyber criminals accessed its IT systems and exfiltrated customer data. In a subsequent class action against Medibank, the applicants sought production of several reports prepared by Deloitte, CrowdStrike and Threat Intelligence, as well as communications involving CyberCX and Coveware. Medibank claimed legal privilege over these documents, contending that were created for the dominant purpose of obtaining legal advice or for use in any litigation relating to the cyber incident.

    CyberCX, Coveware, CrowdStrike and Threat Intelligence reports privileged

    Justice Rofe held that Medibank’s communications with, and reports prepared by, cybersecurity experts CyberCX, Coveware, CrowdStrike and Threat Intelligence were privileged because the evidence established that those firms were engaged by Medibank’s lawyers for the dominant purpose of providing technical assistance and advice to enable Medibank’s lawyers to provide legal advice, including in relation to legal proceedings. For example, the reports were used for the purposes of briefing counsel, responding to regulatory notices, and preparing Medibank’s defence in the proceeding.1

    Importantly, even though the scope of services provided by those firms to Medibank’s lawyers was not, in many cases, materially different from the scope of services already being provided to Medibank under previous direct engagements, Justice Rofe held that the relevant consideration is the purpose for which the relevant documents came into existence, and that the scope of services was only one factor to consider. In these cases, the documents being created possessed a dominant legal purpose.2

    Deloitte reports not privileged

    Justice Rofe decided that the three reports prepared by Deloitte were not privileged because the provision of legal advice was not the dominant purpose for which they were commissioned. Rather, the following purposes were found to be ‘at least equally dominant, if not more dominant’:3

    • Assuaging market and consumer concerns: Medibank made numerous public references to the commissioning of the external review and the appointment of Deloitte, including in ASX announcements and communications with employees, customers and health partners. These statements stated that Medibank, not its lawyers, were responsible for commissioning the report, and that the purpose of the report was to ‘protect and safeguard customers’.4 These statements were considered strong evidence that one of the dominant purposes of the report was assuaging market and consumer concerns.
    • Avoiding independent APRA review: evidence was given that a key concern for Medibank was to avoid the need for the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to conduct its own review of the data breach, which it was highly unlikely to avoid unless Medibank conducted a review in accordance with APRA’s requirements. The close communication between APRA and Medibank regarding the scope of the review (which notably did not copy in any of Medibank’s lawyers in most instances) and the ‘tri-partite’ meetings between Medibank, APRA and Deloitte were considered strong evidence that one of the dominant purposes of the report was avoiding an APRA investigation.5

    The applicants also submitted that the board’s oversight role in the production of the reports demonstrated a further governance purpose. While Justice Rofe did not decide that this governance purpose was equally dominant as the legal purpose, her Honour did find that certain factors weighed against the dominant purpose being the legal purpose, including the board’s desire for an overview of what had occurred, rather than for unvarnished legal advice, and the direct reporting by Deloitte to the board, rather than via Medibank’s lawyers.6

    Although Justice Rofe found that the Deloitte reports were not privileged from the outset, her Honour decided that Medibank’s public statement, which referred to the implementation of one of the Deloitte reports’ recommendations, would have waived privilege in the document because Medibank was seeking to take advantage of its implementation of the recommendations resulting from the external incident review to deflect criticism, and enhance or maintain its good standing in the eyes of its shareholders and customers, and its share price. In the circumstances, her Honour observed that Medibank ‘cannot at the same time maintain privilege in that part of the report setting out the recommendations to enhance Medibank’s IT processes and systems‘.7

    Consistency with Optus’s privilege claims

    Justice Rofe’s reasoning is largely consistent with the Full Federal Court’s recent decision in the Optus data breach class action. In that case, Optus’s privilege claim over the Deloitte report failed because it was not created for the dominant purpose of legal advice or litigation, but rather for multiple purposes, including operational, governance, regulatory and public relations purposes.8

    The failure of the privilege claim in that case was, in large part, because testimonial evidence of Optus’s general counsel to the effect that the legal purpose of the investigation report was the dominant purpose was contradicted by Optus’s public statements and board materials.

    In contrast, in this case, Medibank adduced very detailed and focused testimonial  evidence of the Deloitte reports’ legal purpose, including from their CEO and chair. Even adopting that approach, Justice Rofe decided that the testimonial evidence was insufficient to outweigh contemporaneous documentary evidence, including Medibank’s repeated public references to the review’s purpose being to learn from the incident so as to protect customer data, as well as the close ongoing communication between Deloitte and APRA without Medibank’s lawyers. This contextual evidence tended to indicate that, despite the testimony given by various executives, parts of the business were not aligned on the legal purpose being the dominant one, with the board using the reports for a variety of functions. This further highlights that courts will not hesitate to disregard witness testimony where there is contradictory contextual evidence, and underscores the importance of ensuring whole-of-business alignment in treating documents in a practical sense as being for a legal purpose, rather than simply agreeing that they are.

    Implications

    This decision highlights the challenges in seeking to claim privilege over investigation reports and root cause analyses that follow material events, such as cyber incidents, and demonstrates that oral testimony, including statements of individuals’ subjective intentions, will not necessarily be determinative of the question of whether a legal purpose is dominant.

    It demonstrates the importance of carefully considering the purpose(s) that the report is intended to serve before it is commissioned. Where it is likely to be used for multiple purposes, separate, dedicated reports may be more appropriate. Where it is intended that the dominant purpose of any report is a legal one, it is critical that the entire business is aligned on that purpose and that no steps are taken, such as making public statements or statements to regulators, that could compromise that alignment by exposing the existence of another non-legal purpose.

    As noted above, Medibank has sought leave to appeal the court’s decision in relation to the reports by Deloitte.

    Practical steps to take

    When an investigation report is commissioned for a legal purpose, it is important to:

    • Go beyond declarations of privilege: ensure that there is alignment across the business on the dominance of the legal purpose and that the business acts consistently with that alignment, including by:
      • ensuring that the terms of reference and engagement are formulated to confine the scope of the report to legal advice;
      • avoiding or otherwise limiting public statements or statements to regulators that could compromise that alignment, eg by suggesting the existence of material non-legal purposes or by waiving any privilege that subsists in the report; and
      • communicating through appropriate legal channels, including ensuring that internal or external lawyers, rather than the board, have responsibility for oversight of the investigation.
    • Consider commissioning separate investigation reports: where a factual investigation is intended to be taken for legal and non-legal purposes, consider commissioning separate legal and non-legal reports. The utility and effect of this approach will depend, at least in part, on the extent to which the content of each report will differ. The courts will be sceptical of so-called privileged reports that cover matters of operational significance that are not also covered in the non-privileged report.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Customer First Survey starts this week

    Source: New South Wales Ministerial News

    The City of Greater Bendigo has launched its Customer First survey this week to gain valuable insights on ways to further enhance its overall customer experience.

    This survey will target 5,400 customers who have lodged a request in the past four months either by phone, in person, or digitally such as via the City’s website or email.

    The first stage of the survey aims to gather valuable customer feedback on how specific requests were managed from start to finish.

    Director Corporate Performance Jess Howard said she was delighted to launch the Customer First survey.

    “This is one of the City’s key priorities to further enhance our customer service across the organisation,” Ms Howard said.

    “This survey will allow us to gather valuable insights about customer interactions with the City when they lodge a request.

    “The survey focuses on ease, action, and outcome.

    “We want to gain an understanding of how we have managed specific customer requests and to gauge overall satisfaction with the process.

    “We want to hear what is working well, what areas of the process need improvement, and concerns experienced by customers during their interactions with the City.

    “As the survey questions are related to a recent request made over the past four months, customers will be familiar with the details which will be greatly beneficial.

    “The information from the survey is important as it will help guide the development of a Customer First Action Plan, the next step in the project.

    “The plan will help us improve the way the City responds to our customers and hopefully increase customer satisfaction.

    “Putting customers first is our priority.”

    In the last financial year, the City’s Customer Experience staff managed over 91,000 phone calls and 32,000 digital requests lodged via the City website, email, or from a mobile phone.

    Requests not resolved during the initial contact with Customer Experience staff are added to the City’s customer request system to be actioned by the relevant unit within the organisation.

    The survey will be led and conducted by the City’s Senior Customer Experience staff who will call or email selected participants during business hours only, and not at weekends.

    No personal or financial information will be requested from participants for the survey.

    If you receive a phone call or email and are unsure about its authenticity, you are encouraged to contact the City’s Customer Experience staff for confirmation via phone or email:

    [email protected]

    1300 002 642

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Australia – Improved mental health support for diverse communities – AMES

    Source: AMES

    Diverse communities will have better access to mental health support thanks to a new partnership between settlement agency AMES Australia and mental health agency Beyond Blue.

    The partnership is delivering a new set of resources to help migrant and refugee communities address mental health issues, recently launched at the Melbourne Multicultural Hub.

    The AMES-Beyond Blue partnership is aimed at making it easier and more efficient for people to find the support that best suits them, when they need it.

    AMES Australia CEO Cath Scarth said the partnership would help improve access to mental health support for migrant and refugee communities.

    “We know that refugees and migrants are among the most vulnerable in our society to the effects of poor mental health. We also know that they often find it difficult to access services of all kinds, including mental health support,” Cath said.

    Domestic violence survivor Uyen Truong says the resources would have made a difference in her life when she became the victim of an abusive controlling relationship.

    “I had no money of my own, I wasn’t allowed to learn English and I had no freedom to meet people. And I couldn’t even wear the clothes I wanted to,” Ms Truong said.

    “My husband was not violent, but he made my life miserable. I tried to end my life a few times.”

    “Having access to mental health care at the time would have made a world of difference,” she said.

    Uyen left her husband in 2015 with her three children and found support through women’s refuges, a kindly social worker and through government programs. But with virtually no English, she faced a long journey in rebuilding her life.

    “When I left, I couldn’t speak English, I didn’t know how to use public transport and I had no family or friends to help me,” she said.

    “Having some mental health support when going through what I went though is so important,’” Ms Truong said.

    Beyond Blue CEO Georgie Harman said the partnership will address the unique mental health needs of individuals from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (CALD), particularly those for whom English is a second language, or who have poor literacy levels.

    “By working together, we aim to promote the importance of good mental health and destigmatisation and deepen understandings of mental health support services across the community.

    “We hope that by coming together, we can ensure that mental health support is accessible, and comprehensive to those who need it most,” she said.

    AMES community development officer Reshma Manandhar told the initiative’s recent launch event of her own struggles with post-natal depression and the need for diverse communities to talk about mental health.

    “We all need to understand that it is OK to talk about these issues and it is OK to ask for help. So having resources out in the community informing people how they can get that help is important,” Ms Mananadhar said.

    The partnership will improve access to mental health resources and information on supports/services for many marginalised communities; including refugees and migrants, and those who face additional barriers to accessing help.

    With one third of people in Australia born overseas, an increase in people finding refuge and safety in Australia, the continued impact of racism and discrimination, and current global conflicts, the need for more inclusive approaches to mental health is greater than ever.

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Universities – Poor oral health linked with body pain and migraines in women – UoS

    Source: University of Sydney

    New research from the University of Sydney has revealed poor oral health is significantly associated with higher instances of migraines, abdominal and body pain in women.

    Published in Frontiers in Pain Research, the world-first study identified specific oral microbes correlated with certain pain conditions, suggesting a potential relationship between the oral microbiome and the nervous system.  

    The findings highlight the importance of good oral health to potentially mitigate pain and improve overall wellbeing, prompting further exploration into the role of oral microbiota in chronic unexplained pain conditions. This includes fibromyalgia, a condition experienced by 67 percent of the study participants.

    “This is the first study to investigate oral health, oral microbiota and pain commonly experienced in women with fibromyalgia, with our study showing a clear and significant association between poor oral health and pain,” said lead investigator Associate Professor Joanna Harnett from the Faculty of Medicine and Health.

    “Our findings are particularly important to fibromyalgia which, despite being a common rheumatological condition, is often under recognised,” said first author and PhD candidate in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sharon Erdrich.  

    “Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition characterised by widespread musculoskeletal pain, and headaches including headaches, as well as fatigue, sleep disturbances, and cognitive problems.”

    How the research worked  

    The research examined associations between self-reported oral health, the oral microbiome, and various pain presentations in a group of New Zealand women with and without fibromyalgia.  

    Oral health was assessed using the WHO oral health questionnaire and evaluated against body pain, headaches, migraines, and abdominal pain using validated instruments, including the Short-form 36 (which measures quality of life), the International Headache Society headache survey and the functional bowel disorder severity index. Strong associations were evident between oral health scores and pain and each of these were associated with specific microbes found in the mouth, which were assessed using advanced genomic technology.  

    Participants with the poorest oral health were more likely to suffer from higher pain scores: 60 percent were more likely to experience moderate to severe body pain, and 49 percent were more likely to experience migraine headaches. Lower oral health was a statistically significant predictor of frequent and chronic migraine.

    Four oral microbial species from the Dialister, Fusobacterium, Parvimonas and Solobacterium genera were significantly associated with pain after age, BMI and added dietary sugars were considered.  

    A weak but significant inverse correlation with diet quality and oral health was also found, though the researchers note this has yet to be investigated in detail.

    The Australian Dental Association recommends regular oral hygiene appointments and dental health checks, in addition to twice daily teeth brushing and flossing.

    Declaration  

    Ethical review and approval of the study protocol and procedures was granted by the New Zealand Health and Disability Committee. The study was registered with the Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR). Written consent was obtained from all participants prior to undertaking the requirements of the study.

    Research:
    Erdrich, S. et al, xx, 2025 (Frontiers in Pain Research). DOI: 10.3389/fpain.2025.1577193

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Good boy or bad dog? Our 1 billion pet dogs do real environmental damage

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bill Bateman, Associate Professor, Behavioural Ecology, Curtin University

    William Edge/Shutterstock

    There are an estimated 1 billion domesticated dogs in the world. Most are owned animals – pets, companions or working animals who share their lives with humans. They are the most common large predator in the world. Pet cats trail far behind, at about 220 million.

    We are all too aware of the negative effects of cats, both owned and feral, on wildlife. Feral dogs too are frequently seen as threats to biodiversity, although dingoes can have a positive role. By contrast, our pet dogs often seem to get a free pass.

    This is, unfortunately, based more on feelings than data. Our beloved pet dogs have a far greater, more insidious and more concerning effect on wildlife and the environment than we would like to be the case.

    In our new research, we lay out the damage pet dogs do and what can be done about it.

    Dogs are predators. They catch many types of wildlife and can injure or kill them. Their scent and droppings scare smaller animals. Then there’s the huge environmental cost of feeding these carnivores and the sheer quantity of their poo.

    We love our pet dogs, but they come with a very real cost. We have to recognise this and take steps to protect wildlife by leashing or restraining our animals.

    The predator in your home

    Dogs are domesticated wolves, bred to be smaller, more docile and extremely responsive to humans. But they are still predators.

    Pet dogs are responsible for more reported attacks on wildlife than are cats, according to data from wildlife care centres, and catch larger animals.

    Pet dogs off the leash are the main reason colonies of little penguins are nearing collapse in Tasmania.

    In New Zealand, a single escaped pet dog is estimated to have killed up to 500 brown kiwis out of a total population of 900 over a five-week period.

    Once off the leash, dogs love to chase animals and birds. This may seem harmless.
    But being chased can exhaust tired migratory birds, forcing them to use more energy. Dogs can kill fledglings of beach-nesting birds, including endangered birds such as the hooded plover.

    The mere presence of these predators terrifies many animals and birds. Even when they’re on the leash, local wildlife are on high alert. This has measurable negative effects on bird abundance and diversity across woodland sites in eastern Australia.

    In the United States, deer are more alert and run sooner and farther if they see a human with a leashed dog than a human alone.

    Several mammal species in the United States perceived dogs with a human as a bigger threat than coyotes.

    Dogs don’t even have to be present to be bad for wildlife. They scent-mark trees and posts with their urine and leave their faeces in many places. These act as warnings to many other species. Researchers in the US found animals such as deer, foxes and even bobcats avoided areas dogs had been regularly walked compared to dog exclusion zones, due to the traces they left.

    Beach-nesting birds such as hooded plovers are vulnerable to off-leash dogs, who can easily trample eggs, kill hatchlings or scare off the parents.
    Martin Pelanek/Shutterstock

    Keeping dogs healthy and fed has a cost

    The medications we use to rid our pet dogs of fleas or ticks can last weeks on fur, and wash off when they plunge into a creek or river. But some of these medications have ingredients highly toxic to aquatic invertebrates, meaning a quick dip can be devastating.

    Researchers have found when birds such as blue tits and great tits collect brushed-out dog fur to line their nests, it can lead to fewer eggs hatching and more dead hatchlings.

    Then there’s the poo. In the US, there are about 90 million pet dogs, while the UK has 12 million and Australia has 6 million.

    The average dog deposits 200 grams of faeces and 400 millilitres of urine a day. This translates to a tonne of faeces and 2,000 litres of urine over a 13 year lifespan. Scaled up, that’s a mountain of waste.

    This waste stream can add to nitrogen pollution in waterways, alter soil chemistry and even spread diseases to humans and other wildlife. More than 80% of the pathogens infecting domesticated animals also infect wildlife.

    Dogs largely eat meat, meaning millions of cows and chickens are raised just to feed our pets. Feeding the world’s dogs leads to about the same emissions as the Philippines and a land use “pawprint” twice the size of the UK.

    No one likes thinking about this

    People love their dogs. They’re always happy to see us. Their companionship makes us healthier, body and mind. Many farms couldn’t run without working dogs. We don’t want to acknowledge they can also cause harm.

    Dogs, of course, are not bad. They’re animals, with natural instincts as well as the domesticated instinct to please us. But their sheer numbers mean they do real damage.

    Many of us have a large dog-shaped blind spot. Little Brutus wouldn’t have done something like that, we think. But Brutus can and does.

    Choosing to own a dog comes with responsibilities. Being a good dog owner means caring not just for the animal we love, but the rest of the natural world.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Good boy or bad dog? Our 1 billion pet dogs do real environmental damage – https://theconversation.com/good-boy-or-bad-dog-our-1-billion-pet-dogs-do-real-environmental-damage-252726

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Successful end to fruit fly response on Auckland’s North Shore

    Source: Ministry for Primary Industries

    Controls on the movement of fruit and vegetables in the Auckland North Shore suburb of Birkdale have been lifted after no further evidence of the Oriental fruit fly was found in the area, says Mike Inglis, Biosecurity New Zealand commissioner North.

    The decision to end the operation follows 7 weeks of intensive fruit fly trapping and inspections of hundreds of kilograms of fruit.

    Mr Inglis thanked residents and businesses in the affected area for their support of the movement controls, keeping an eye out for fruit flies, and safely disposing of fruit in provided bins.

    “Getting to this point wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the North Shore community. I can’t stress enough how vital this work has been to protect our horticulture sector.

    “We are satisfied that with no further detections, the Controlled Area Notice restrictions can be lifted, and response operations closed.”

    The biosecurity wheelie bins that have dotted the neighbourhood will now be removed and road signs will be dismantled.

    “Our nationwide routine surveillance will continue with our system of nearly 8,000 fruit fly traps spread across the country and more than 4,600 of these in the Auckland area. These traps are set for 3 exotic fruit fly species of concern: the Queensland fruit fly, Mediterranean fruit fly, and Oriental fruit flies.”

    Mr Inglis says Biosecurity New Zealand staff will be out in the community today, handing out flyers about the response closure and personally thanking residents and business owners for their contribution to the effort.

    “I’d also like to acknowledge the good work of our people and our partners across the horticulture sector. By working together, and responding quickly, we have managed this situation well.”

    Key figures

    • More than 2,000 individual visits were made to check the 116 fruit fly traps in the Birkdale area throughout the response.
    • Over 470 biosecurity bins were distributed in the community to collect produce waste for safe disposal.
    • More than 954kg of fruit were collected and examined for any signs of fruit fly eggs or larvae.
    • More than 70 Biosecurity New Zealand staff were involved throughout the response.

    For further information and general enquiries, email info@mpi.govt.nz

    For media enquiries, contact the media team on 029 894 0328.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Running on empty: Poor nutrition increases injury risk for female athletes

    Source:

    10 April 2025

    Proper nutrition is crucial for enhancing athletic performance, supporting recovery and overall health. Now, a new study from the University of South Australia reveals that proper nutrition is also key to reducing risk of injury, especially for females.

    In a systematic review of nearly 6000 runners, researchers examined the link between diet and exercise-related injury among adult distance runners. The study found that lower energy and fat intakes were strongly associated with a higher risk of injury in female runners.

    The study also found that a low-fibre diet increased the likelihood of bone stress injuries in both female and male runners.

    Specifically, injured female runners consumed 450 fewer calories (~1900kJ) and 20 grams less fat per day than uninjured counterparts. Both injured female and male runners had three grams less fibre in their diet per day, compared to those who remained injury free.

    Interestingly, runners’ intakes of protein, carbohydrates, alcohol, and calcium, did not influence injury risk.

    Sports dietitian and UniSA researcher, Erin Colebatch, says nutrition plays a crucial role in reducing injury risk.

    “Distance running is a popular activity for many people, helping them stay healthy and keep fit. Yet about 50% of adult runners sustain running-related injuries,” Colebatch says.

    “Nutrition is key to optimising athletic performance, providing the energy, recovery support, and injury prevention needed to maintain both endurance and overall health.

    “Many long-distance runners underestimate their energy needs. When they don’t fuel their bodies properly, they increase their injury risk.

    “Recognising the impact of diet on injury risk helps minimise it.”

    Senior researcher, UniSA’s Dr Alison Hill, says clinicians need to support female runners to achieve sufficient energy and fat intakes while guiding all runners to optimise their fibre consumption.

    “When runners don’t consume enough energy, their body’s needs go unmet, which over time can lead to issues like skeletal demineralisation, loss of lean body mass, fatigue, and stress fractures,” Dr Hill says.

    “While this research offers valuable insights for runners of all levels, additional studies are necessary to explore how these findings apply to a broader range of athletic abilities.”

    …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

    Contacts for interview: Erin Colebatch E: erin.colebatch@mymail.unisa.edu.au
    Dr Alison Hill E: Alison.Hill@unisa.edu.au
    Media contact: Annabel Mansfield M: +61 479 182 489 E: Annabel.Mansfield@unisa.edu.au

    Other articles you may be interested in

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Qube’s proposed acquisition of MIRRAT not opposed, subject to undertaking

    Source: Australian Ministers for Regional Development

    The ACCC will not oppose Qube Holdings Limited’s (ASX:QUB) proposed acquisition of Melbourne International RoRo & Auto Terminal Pty Ltd (MIRRAT), after accepting a court-enforceable undertaking to remedy competition concerns.

    The court-enforceable undertaking accepted by the ACCC prevents Qube, its subsidiary Australian Amalgamated Terminals Pty Ltd (AAT) and MIRRAT from discriminating against downstream rivals at Webb Dock West at the Port of Melbourne.

    The undertaking also imposes additional obligations on AAT in relation to its operations at Port Kembla in NSW, Fisherman Islands in Queensland and Appleton Dock in Melbourne. The undertaking will replace both the existing AAT undertaking, and MIRRAT’s existing undertaking in relation to its operations at the automotive terminal at Webb Dock West.

    MIRRAT operates the automotive/roll-on roll-off terminal at Webb Dock West in Melbourne. The proposed acquisition would permit Qube to control the operation of automotive roll-on roll-off trade through the Port of Melbourne.

    Qube, through its wholly owned subsidiary, AAT, operates automotive cargo terminals at the Port of Brisbane and Port Kembla, as well as a general cargo terminal at Appleton Dock at the Port of Melbourne.

    Qube is Australia’s largest provider of import and export logistics services including port-related activities of terminal management, stevedoring, processing, pre-delivery inspection (PDI) and delivery.

    The ACCC’s investigations focused on the acquisition’s impact on competition in downstream services, such as automotive stevedoring and PDI services at the Port of Melbourne.

    The ACCC also examined potential competition concerns arising from Qube’s operation of the three major automotive terminals on the east coast of Australia.

    “The ACCC concluded that, in the absence of adequate safeguards, Qube, through its ownership of MIRRAT, would likely have the ability and incentive to discriminate against rival stevedores and PDI providers at Webb Dock West,” ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.

    “MIRRAT could do this, for example, by restricting its downstream rivals’ access to the terminal or related services, raising prices or lowering the quality of terminal services provided to them.”

    “The ACCC also closely considered whether, by operating all three of the major east coast automotive terminals, Qube, through AAT and MIRRAT, could have an increased ability and incentive to discriminate against rivals at each of the terminals in a way that would harm downstream competition,” Ms Cass-Gottlieb said.

    Concerns were also raised with the ACCC that Qube would have access to rival stevedore or PDI operators’ commercially sensitive information through AAT and MIRRAT as the terminal operators.

    “With these significant concerns in mind, the ACCC only decided not to oppose the acquisition with a strong court-enforceable undertaking from Qube, AAT and MIRRAT,” Ms Cass-Gottlieb said.

    The undertaking requires AAT and MIRRAT to meet the following obligations to:

    • not discriminate between terminal users in favour of its own interests in the automotive supply chain,
    • provide for certain price and non-price dispute resolution processes,
    • comply with access and berthing allocation rules, as well as ring fencing of certain confidential information,
    • report periodically on its compliance with the undertaking and facilitate independent oversight (including by an independent auditor),
    • comply with restrictions on AAT’s and MIRRAT’s ability to introduce or change certain tariffs.

    “Long-term behavioural remedies come with particular risks and uncertainty. The ACCC is not generally supportive of such undertakings. This is why we have carefully assessed these risks when deciding whether to accept the undertaking in this matter. In the unique circumstances of this transaction, where there is already a similar undertaking in other ports, and where MIRRAT itself is already subject to an undertaking due to its existing vertical integration with shipping, after careful consideration we decided to accept the undertaking,” Ms Cass-Gottlieb said.

    “Most users of the terminal and participants in the vehicle import supply chain were supportive of Qube acquiring MIRRAT.”

    The new undertaking will cover all of AAT and MIRRAT’s east coast automotive terminals and is expected to be in place perpetually.

    More information, including the undertaking can be found on the ACCC’s public register here: Qube Holdings Limited (Qube) – Melbourne International RoRo & Auto Terminal Pty Ltd (MIRRAT)

    Note to editors

    In considering the proposed merger, the ACCC applies the legal test set out in section 50 of the Competition and Consumer Act.

    In general terms, section 50 prohibits acquisitions that would have the effect, or be likely to have the effect, of substantially lessening competition in any market.

    Background

    Qube, through AAT, proposed to enter into a share sale agreement to acquire all shares in MIRRAT.

    Webb Dock West is the key facility for the processing of automotive and roll-on roll-off cargo through the Port of Melbourne.

    “Roll-on Roll-off (RoRo)” refers to ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using a platform vehicle.

    MIRRAT

    MIRRAT’s ultimate parent company is Wallenius Wilhelmsen ASA (WW). WW is a Norway-based global provider of roll-on roll-off shipping and vehicle logistics and operates automotive terminals in Europe, the UK, the US and the Asia-Pacific. MIRRAT’s only operation in Australia is the automotive/roll-on roll-off terminal at Webb Dock West.

    MIRRAT operates Webb Dock West subject to a section 87B undertaking accepted by the ACCC on 27 March 2014 (MIRRAT Undertaking). The MIRRAT Undertaking was accepted by the ACCC in relation to MIRRAT’s acquisition of a long-term lease to operate the Webb Dock West roll-on roll-off terminal at Port Melbourne. The MIRRAT Undertaking commenced on 1 January 2018. It expires when MIRRAT ceases to operate the Terminal, which may occur on or before 30 June 2040, and when the ACCC confirms this in writing.

    The full text of the existing MIRRAT Undertaking can be found on the ACCC’s s87B undertakings register. Once in effect, the new undertaking offered by Qube, AAT and MIRRAT will replace the MIRRAT Undertaking.

    Qube

    Qube is Australia’s largest integrated provider of import and export logistics services. Its port-related activities include facilities management, stevedoring, processing, PDI and delivery. It manages and develops strategic properties such as inland rail terminals and related logistics facilities. It provides road and rail transport of freight to and from ports, operation of container parks, customs and quarantine services, warehousing, intermodal terminals, and international freight forwarding.

    In addition to being a terminal operator, Qube provides general stevedoring, automotive stevedoring and PDI services at each of its eastern seaboard ports. It provides general and automotive stevedoring through its affiliated entity ‘Qube Ports’. Qube provides PDI services through its 50% interest in K Line Auto Logistics which owns and operates PrixCar.

    AAT (Qube) operates automotive cargo terminals in Port of Brisbane and Port Kembla, as well as a general cargo terminal at Appleton Dock in Port of Melbourne. The facilities are operated under a s87B undertaking accepted by the ACCC in 2016 (AAT Undertaking). Once in effect, the new undertaking offered by Qube, AAT and MIRRAT will replace the AAT Undertaking.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: News 04/9/2025 Blackburn, Coons, Salazar, Dean, Colleagues Introduce “NO FAKES Act” to Protect Individuals and Creators from Digital Replicas

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn)
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), along with U.S. Representatives Maria Salazar (R-Fla.) and Madeleine Dean (D-Penn.), introduced the bipartisan Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe (NO FAKES) Act to protect the voice and visual likenesses of individuals and creators from the proliferation of digital replicas created without their consent:
    “While AI has opened the door to countless innovations, it has also exposed creators and other vulnerable individuals to online harms,” said Senator Blackburn. “Tennessee’s creative community is recognized around the globe, and the NO FAKES Act would help protect these individuals from the misuse and abuse of generative AI by holding those responsible for deepfake content to account.”
    “Nobody—whether they’re Tom Hanks or an 8th grader just trying to be a kid—should worry about someone stealing their voice and likeness,” said Senator Coons. “Incredible technology like AI can help us push the limits of human creativity, but only if we protect Americans from those who would use it to harm our communities. I am grateful for the bipartisan partnership of Senators Blackburn, Klobuchar, and Tillis, the support of colleagues in the House, and the endorsements of leaders in the entertainment industry, the labor community, and firms at the cutting edge of AI technology.”
    “While AI presents extraordinary opportunities for technological advancement, it also poses some new problems, including the unauthorized replication of the voice and visual likeness of individuals, such as artists,” said Senator Tillis. “We must protect against such misuse, and I’m proud to co-introduce this bipartisan legislation to create safeguards from AI, which will result in greater protections for individuals and that which defines them.”
    “Americans from all walks of life are increasingly seeing AI being used to create deepfakes in ads, images, music, and videos without their consent,” said Senator Klobuchar. “We need our laws to be as sophisticated as this quickly advancing technology. The bipartisan NO FAKES Act will establish rules of the road to protect people from having their voice and likeness replicated through AI without their permission.”
    “In this new era of AI, we need real laws to protect real people,” said Representative Salazar. “The NO FAKES Act is simple and sacred: you own your identity—not Big Tech, not scammers, not algorithms. Deepfakes are digital lies that ruin real lives, and it’s time to fight back.”
    “As AI’s prevalence grows, federal law must catch up—we must support technological innovation while preserving the privacy, safety, and dignity of all Americans,” said Representative Dean. “By granting everyone a clear, federal right to control digital replicas of their own voice and likeness, the NO FAKES Act will empower victims of deep fakes; safeguard human creativity and artistic expression; and defend against sexually explicit deepfakes. I’m grateful to work with a bipartisan group of colleagues on common sense, common ground regulations of this new frontier of AI.”
    BACKGROUND
    With the rapid advance of generative artificial intelligence (AI), artists and creators have already begun to see their voices and likenesses used without their consent in videos and songs created as nearly indistinguishable replicas.
    In one high-profile example, AI-generated replicas of the voices of pop stars Drake and The Weeknd were used to produce a viral song titled “Heart on My Sleeve,” generating hundreds of thousands of listens on YouTube, Spotify, and other streaming platforms before it was flagged as a fake and removed from the platforms. 
    The harmful effects of unauthorized AI-generated content go far beyond celebrities. For example, in Maryland, a Baltimore high school athletic director was arrested and charged after using AI to create a deepfake voice recording of the school’s principal that included racist and derogatory comments about students and staff – statements the principal never actually made.
    NO FAKES ACT
    The NO FAKES Act would address the use of non-consensual digital replications in audiovisual works or sound recordings by:
    Holding individuals or companies liable if they distribute an unauthorized digital replica of an individual’s voice or visual likeness;
    Holding platforms liable for hosting an unauthorized digital replica if the platform has knowledge of the fact that the replica was not authorized by the individual depicted;
    Excluding certain digital replicas from coverage based on recognized First Amendment protections; and
    Preempting future state laws regulating digital replicas.
    Click here to read the bill text.
    ENDORSEMENTS
    This legislation is endorsed by the Recording Industry Association of America; Motion Picture Association; SAG-AFTRA; YouTube; Recording Academy; OpenAI; Warner Music Group; Universal Music Group; Sony Music; The Walt Disney Company; IBM; Vermillio; Hive; Independent Film & Television Alliance; WME; Creative Artists Agency; Human Artistry Campaign; National Association of Broadcasters; the Model Alliance; ASCAP; Nashville Songwriters Association International; the Authors Guild; the National Center on Sexual Exploitation; Television Academy; Enough is Enough; American Association of Independent Music; and more.
    “This bill proves that we can prioritize the growth of AI and protecting American creativity at the same time. We applaud the Senate and House sponsors driving this legislation that provides balanced and effective protections for all individuals against exploitative uses of their voice and likeness while supporting free speech, reducing litigation and achieving the promise of AI technology,” said Mitch Glazier, Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Chairman & CEO.
    “The NO FAKES Act thoughtfully establishes federal protections for performers from generative AI abuse while also respecting creators’ First Amendment rights and freedoms,” said Charles Rivkin, Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association (MPA). “The MPA thanks Senators Blackburn, Coons, Klobuchar, and Tillis for re-introducing this bill. Specifically, we appreciate the inclusion of safeguards intended to prevent the chilling of constitutionally protected speech such as biopics, docudramas, parody, and satire. This is necessary for any new law to be durable. The MPA will continue to work closely with the bill’s sponsors as the NO FAKES Act makes its way into law.”
    “In the age of digital clones, deepfakes can be devastating,” said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator, SAG-AFTRA. “We all deserve the right to demand platforms remove illegal voice and image clones, and to seek damages from those who intentionally cause harm. Thank you Senators Blackburn, Coons, Klobuchar, and Tillis for reintroducing the NO FAKES Act. As innovation continues to rapidly evolve, it’s time for commonsense legislation that defends individual rights.”
    “For nearly two decades, YouTube has been at the forefront of handling rights management at scale, and we understand the importance of collaborating with partners to tackle these issues proactively. Now, we’re applying that expertise and dedication to partnership to ensure the responsible deployment of innovative AI tools. We thank Senators Coons and Blackburn, and Representatives Salazar and Dean, for their leadership on the NO FAKES Act, which is consistent with our ongoing efforts to protect creators and viewers, and reflects our commitment to shaping a future where AI is used responsibly,” said Leslie Miller, VP of Public Policy, YouTube. 
    “The Academy is proud to represent and serve creators, and for decades, GRAMMYs on the Hill has brought music makers to our nation’s capital to elevate the policy issues affecting our industry. Today’s reintroduction of the NO FAKES Act underscores our members’ commitment to advocating for the music community, and as we enter a new era of technology, we must create guardrails around AI and ensure it enhances – not replaces – human creativity. We thank Senators Blackburn and Coons, and Representatives Dean and Salazar for their unwavering support on this issue, and we look forward to working alongside them to pass the NO FAKES Act this Congress,” said Harvey Mason jr., CEO, Recording Academy.
    “OpenAI is happy to once again support the NO FAKES Act, which supports creators and artists. We applaud Senators Coons, Blackburn, Klobuchar, and Tillis for their leadership, and we look forward to working with the sponsors and fellow supporters as this legislation moves forward,”said OpenAI Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane. 
    “I applaud Senators Blackburn and Coons and Representatives Salazar and Dean for their leadership in introducing the NO FAKES Act. This bill reflects what can happen when tech and creative industries come together – foster cutting edge innovation while protecting human identity and artistry. We look forward to working with key members of the US Senate and House to help pass the NO FAKES Act this year,” said Robert Kyncl, Warner Music Group CEO.
    “Universal Music Group applauds the reintroduction of the NO FAKES Act – landmark, bipartisan, bicameral legislation to address ‘deepfakes’ and other threats to individuals’ rights to control their own voice and visual likeness,” said Universal Music Group. “At once, this legislation secures First Amendment protections and takes a critical step to ensure all Americans can protect and control their own persona. We are grateful to the bill’s sponsors for their thoughtful leadership on this important issue.”
    “Sony Music is proud to support the No FAKES Act to promote the ethical use of AI and give artists more control over their identity and creative expression,” said Sony Music. “Thank you to the Senate and House sponsors for continuing to champion this bipartisan legislation, which will provide meaningful protections against the unauthorized use of an artist’s voice and image. We look forward to working towards passage of this legislation allowing AI innovation and creativity to flourish.”
    “Disney is pleased to support the reintroduction of the NO FAKES Act. We look forward to working with the sponsors to see this legislation enacted to ensure important and meaningful protections for individuals against misuse of their image and voice through AI while maintaining critical speech protections for legitimate storytelling rooted in the First Amendment,” said the Walt Disney Company.
    “AI is now widely used across sectors, and as advancements continue, it’s vital to protect creators and individuals from potential deepfake risks,” said Mike Harney, Vice President, Government & Regulatory Affairs, IBM. “IBM supports the NO FAKES Act, which safeguards individuals from unauthorized AI replication of their images, voices, or likenesses. We thank Senators Coons, Blackburn, Klobuchar, and Tillis for their leadership on this important bipartisan legislation.”
    “The NO FAKES Act makes a critical stride towards establishing NIL protections that deliver consent, credit, compensation, and control to all Americans,” said Dan Neely, Co-Founder and CEO, Vermillio. “With deepfakes representing only one piece of a much larger battle against unauthorized content, the entertainment industry must implement robust AI safeguards to protect American creativity, one of our most valuable assets. We appreciate the leadership of Senators Coons, Blackburn, Tillis, and Klobuchar, who recognize the essential role of cutting-edge technologies in delivering national security, protecting all citizens, and closing vulnerabilities that allow bad actors to misuse AI.”
    “The development of AI-generated media and AI detection technologies must evolve in parallel,” said Kevin Guo, CEO and cofounder of Hive. “We envision a future where AI-generated media is created with permission, clearly identified, and appropriately credited. We stand firmly behind the NO FAKES Act as a fundamental step in establishing oversight while keeping pace with advancements in artificial intelligence to protect public trust and creative industries alike.”
    “The Independent Film & Television Alliance® supports the NO FAKES Act and thanks lead sponsors Senators Coons and Blackburn, and sponsors Senators Klobuchar and Tillis, for their ongoing efforts to enact this bill,” said Jean Prewitt, President and CEO, IFTA. “This essential legislation establishes a standardized federal solution to prevent the unauthorized exploitation of an individual’s voice, image and likeness, upholds crucial First Amendment safeguards to protect free speech, and includes an important preemption clause.”
    “We view technology as a complement, not a substitute, for human artistry,” said Christian Muirhead, Co-Chairman, WME. “Guardrails must be put into place that ensure continued innovation while protecting our clients’ name, image, likeness, and voice. We thank Senators Coons, Blackburn, Tillis, and Klobuchar for recognizing the urgency of this issue, and will continue to work with them to ensure all artists and our clients remain at the center of this vital legislation.”
    “As advancements in AI continue to move at an unprecedented pace, so too must our legal frameworks. We thank Senators Coons, Blackburn, Klobuchar, and Tillis for creating this legislation that ensures artists maintain control over how their name, image, likenesses, voice, and IP are used. These forward-thinking policies are an essential first step to navigating this new digital era, striking a critical balance between innovation and strong protections,” said Bryan Lourd, CEO and Co-Chairman, Creative Artists Agency (CAA).
    “The Human Artistry Campaign stands for preserving essential qualities of all individuals – beginning with a right to your own voice and image. The NO FAKES Act is an important step towards necessary protections that also support free speech and AI development. The Human Artistry Campaign commends Senators Blackburn and Coons and Representatives Salazar, Dean, Moran, and Balint for shepherding bipartisan support for this landmark legislation, a necessity for every American to have a right to their own identity as highly realistic voice clones and deepfakes become more pervasive,” said Dr. Moiya McTier, Human Artistry Campaign Senior Advisor.
    “NAB applauds Senators Blackburn and Coons for reintroducing the NO FAKES Act, which takes an important step toward protecting trusted broadcast journalists, local radio hosts and other on-air personalities from the unauthorized use of their voice, image or likeness. Broadcasters play a vital role in keeping communities informed, and the spread of deceptive deepfakes undermines both individual rights and public trust. This bipartisan bill offers meaningful safeguards while respecting First Amendment protections, and we look forward to working with Congress to advance it,” said the National Association of Broadcasters. 
    “As AI adoption grows, workers whose livelihoods depend on their image face a new frontier of exploitation: their digital replica being used without consent. That’s why the Model Alliance is proud to endorse the NO FAKES Act, which will empower individuals to control their digital likeness,” said Sara Ziff, Founding Director of Model Alliance. “As image-based workers who lack union protection, models are the canary in the coal mine. Federal standards for AI use are urgently needed to protect all individuals, particularly those whose image is their livelihood.”
    “American songwriters and other music creators need Congress to put human beings first and pass laws that ensure transparency, consent, compensation, credit, and global consistency when it comes to generative AI. ASCAP commends this bipartisan group of leaders for introducing legislation that recognizes the value of human creativity to AI development,” said Elizabeth Matthews, CEO of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
    “NMPA is proud to support the reintroduction of the No Fakes Act. In an era where artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping the creative landscape, it is critical that we protect the rights of creators from exploitation, fraud, and misuse. We commend Senators Coons, Blackburn, Klobuchar, and Tillis for their leadership in protecting songwriters and artists from illicit theft of their work. By establishing new protections against the harmful use of digital replicas, the No Fakes Act will provide the necessary framework to ensure that AI serves as a tool to enhance creativity rather than undermine the rights of those who create it. We urge the Senate to move swiftly in passing this critical legislation and securing the protections the creative community deserves,” said David Israelite, President and CEO, The National Music Publishers Association.
    “The NO FAKES Act is an extremely important part of the puzzle in protecting human creators in the age of generative Artificial Intelligence. We applaud Senators Blackburn and Coons for introducing this bill in recognition that it should be a person’s right to protect their own voice and likeness and use it in only the ways they see fit. The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) strongly supports the NO FAKES Act and urges Congress to pass and enact this legislation expeditiously in the interest of protecting our creators,” said Jennifer Purdon Turnbow, COO of Nashville Songwriters Association International.
    “The Authors Guild thanks Senators Chris Coons, Marsha Blackburn, Thom Tillis, and Amy Klobuchar for introducing the NO FAKES Act,” said Mary Rasenberger, CEO, Authors Guild. “It marks a significant step in protecting creators’ rights to their own persona. By prohibiting the unauthorized use of AI-generated replicas in audiovisual and sound recordings and establishing clear legal guidelines and liability for misuse, this bill helps safeguard creators from unauthorized and unpaid uses of their images and voices.”
    “Imagine waking up one morning to find your face or the face of someone you love manipulated into sexually explicit imagery—distributed online for the world to see. This is now the reality we face. The proliferation of nonconsensual digital depictions has exploded online: 98% of deepfake videos online today are pornographic, and 99% of these deepfakes explicitly target women. The NO FAKES Act offers vital relief for victims by providing a path to seek justice through civil remedies,” said Haley McNamara, Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Programs, National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
    “Representing nearly 30,000 members across all disciplines of the television industry, the Television Academy supports the NO FAKES Act and applauds Senators Coons and Blackburn for working on this important bill. Television is built on the talent, creativity, and hard work of real people – writers, producers, and TV executives to camera operators and cinematographers who bring stories to life. As artificial intelligence and digital replication technologies evolve, it is essential to put in place meaningful protections that prevent the unauthorized and exploitative use of performers’ voices, likenesses, and creative expressions. The Television Academy supports the NO FAKES Act to establish clear federal protections that uphold the rights of television professionals and the creative foundation of the television industry,” said the Television Academy.
    “Senator Blackburn (R) has long been a champion of protecting children and families from the harms of online exploitation and abuse and we proudly support her efforts, as well as her co-sponsor Senator Coons (D) in introducing the bi-partisan NO FAKES Act. As technology evolves exponentially, so do those who exploit these technologies at the expense of others. While artificial intelligence is increasingly relied upon to educate, inform, and create, it can also be used by bad actors to harm through the growing problem of ‘deepfakes’ and fraudulent unauthorized computer generated recreations of an individual’s voice or visual likeness. The NO FAKES Act would protect against such nonconsensual digital replications by providing harmed individuals with the ability to hold civilly liable those responsible for producing and distributing such content as well as the platforms who knowingly host such unauthorized content. AI can be a wonderful tool with vast benefits, but we must guard against its misuse to produce nonconsensual voice or visual replicas! No one is immune and we encourage Congress to move thoughtfully and aggressively forward to pass bi-partisan laws that prioritize the safety of both children and adults in the digital world,” said Donna Rice Hughes, CEO/President of Enough Is Enough.
    “GenerativeAI development is moving at lightning speed, without the guardrails needed to make sure that artists who spend lifetimes developing their art don’t see their livelihoods eaten along with untold harm to the America’s creative culture. The NO FAKES Act would arm our community of over 550 independent labels with a new tool to combat the egregious theft of artists’ professional identities by big tech behemoths intent on winning at all costs. We are so thankful to our champions in the House and Senate for introducing the NO FAKES Act today,”said Dr. Richard James Burgess, President and CEO of the American Association of Independent Music. 
    RELATED

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senators Coons, Blunt Rochester join in introducing bill to fully fund special education

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Delaware Christopher Coons
    WASHINGTON – Senators Chris Coons and Lisa Blunt Rochester (both D-Del.) joined in introducing the IDEA Full Funding Act, legislation to ensure Congress finally fulfills its commitment to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Fifty years ago, Congress passed IDEA to ensure that every child with a disability has access to educational opportunity. This law was an historic step forward, but since its passage Congress has failed to provide the funding it promised. The legislation is cosponsored by over 30 members in the Senate and more than 60 members in the House of Representatives and is endorsed by 60 organizations.
    Under IDEA, the federal government committed to pay 40 percent of the average per student expenditure for special education; however, that pledge has never been met. According to the Congressional Research Service, current funding is at less than 12 percent, and the IDEA shortfall in the 2024-2025 school year nationwide was $38.66 billion. Under full funding, Maryland alone would have received $671.6 million. The IDEA Full Funding Act would require regular, mandatory increases in IDEA spending to finally meet our obligation to America’s children and schools.
    “The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act made a promise to children with disabilities and their families that they would be provided a free, public, and individualized education––but our government has never fulfilled this promise,” said Senator Coons. “While Trump and DOGE are taking illegal steps to dismantle the Department of Education and slashing billions of dollars in education-related research and programs, we must not retreat and forget our promise to Delaware’s kids.”
    “Every student deserves to have access to a high-quality education, regardless of their disability status,” said Senator Blunt Rochester, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. “At a time when the Trump administration is doing all they can to make it harder for people to get the resources and services they need, I am proud to support this legislation on behalf of students with disabilities and their families in Delaware and across the nation. I look forward to working with Senator Van Hollen and our colleagues to finally honor our commitment and fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.”
    “Fifty years ago, Congress passed the IDEA Act, and with it, made a promise to children with disabilities and their families – but we have fallen short of that promise every year since. While Donald Trump and Elon Musk are illegally gutting public education in America, we are fighting to strengthen it. Our bill will ensure that Congress finally meets its commitment to fully fund IDEA, putting us closer to delivering equal access to high-quality education for every student in this country,” said Senator Van Hollen.
    “Our government works best when it serves its people – especially our most vulnerable communities. 50 years ago, Congress passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to support our children with disabilities and ensure they had access to an appropriate education – we built up our children, gave them protections and supports. Yet for years, IDEA has been underfunded, creating burdens for districts and threatening access to services for students and families. This President and his callous Administration is intent on tearing things down instead of building them up. Now, more than ever, we need to fully fund IDEA,” said Senator Alsobrooks.
    “Our legislation makes necessary investments in programs that students with disabilities across the country depend on to access high-quality education that meets their individual needs. President Trump’s destruction of the Department of Education has made it all the more clear: we must fully and permanently fund special education services so that every student—no matter where they live—has the opportunity to succeed,” said Senator Blumenthal.
    “Decades after the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act became law, the federal government has still not fully funded the law to help ensure children with disabilities have equal opportunities to succeed in the classroom,” said Senator Duckworth. “Our legislation would help make long overdue investments in special education that would help support children with disabilities, their families and the educators who serve them.”
    “Our nation’s children are our future, and we must ensure that every child has access to high-quality education that meets their individual needs. It is critical that we honor our commitment to properly fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act,” said Senator Durbin. “That is why I am joining my colleagues in introducing the IDEA Full Funding Act to ensure students with disabilities are receiving access to high-quality services and education, which they are entitled to under law.”
    “I am proud to cosponsor the IDEA Full Funding Act, which will ensure that our government upholds its responsibility to give every child with disabilities access to educational opportunities,” said Senator Gillibrand. “All students deserve a high-quality education and school systems with the resources to support them. This bill will help Congress fulfill its promise to fund special education programs, making sure that we meet our obligation to give every child the best chance at success.”
    “We promised families we’d have their backs, and for decades, we’ve fallen short on that promise. Because IDEA hasn’t been fully funded, parents and teachers have been working overtime to make up for the missing resources their students desperately need,” said Senator Fetterman. “Making IDEA whole is how we guarantee students with disabilities get the support they need to thrive in school. I’m proud to join my colleagues in championing this legislation amid continued threats to public school students and educators.”
    “As Donald Trump continues working to illegally dismantle the Department of Education, securing funding for crucial resources like IDEA is more important than ever,” said Senator Hirono. “I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing this legislation so Congress can finally fulfill its commitment to fully fund the IDEA for the first time since its passage in 1975. This investment in IDEA will help ensure that every student with disabilities in this country can receive the quality education they deserve.”
    “Students with disabilities, like any student, deserve access to a high-quality public education,” said Senator Kaine. “The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a crucial component of making that ideal a reality, but the IDEA is underfunded, leaving Congress’ promise of equal opportunity to students with disabilities unfulfilled—and as a former Mayor and Governor, I’m acutely aware of how federal underfunding of the IDEA puts tremendous pressure on local and state budgets. It’s imperative that we fully fund the IDEA to help schools offer the education, services, and supports that help students thrive.”
    “As Trump and Musk continue their assault on public education, Congress must act to ensure every student has equal access to learning across our country,” said Senator Kim. “Educators and parents across my state of New Jersey are terrified about what comes next for essential programs like IDEA while Trump dismantles the Department of Education. This legislation is critical to help secure schools the resources they need to support students with disabilities’ education and futures.”
    “A half a century ago, Congress enshrined into law the right of students with disabilities to access free and quality public education. Yet, every year, Congress fails to appropriate the funding necessary to fulfill that promise and guarantee that all students are not only integrated into our education system, but thrive in it. And now, President Trump and Secretary McMahon are attacking federal education funding and our entire public school system,” said Senator Markey. “Congress must fully fund the IDEA so that disabled students can thrive, families can be assured their children will receive world class education, educators have the resources they need to provide that education, and communities aren’t left scrambling to fill federal funding gaps.”
    “Across Nevada, I have heard from the parents of children with disabilities, and all they want is for their children to have the same opportunities as any other child,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “The government has already committed to fund the IDEA program, yet it has consistently failed to do so. This legislation fulfills the government’s promise and provides essential funding for schools across the Silver State.”
    “All students, regardless of ability, deserve access to a quality education. Yet, President Trump’s cruel dismantling of the Department of Education is putting millions of students with disabilities at risk of losing essential IDEA funding. The IDEA Full Funding Act upholds our commitment to offer every student a chance at the American dream by working to close longstanding opportunity gaps in our education system. This investment serves our students, supports our educators, and strengthens our economic future,” said Senator Padilla.
    “Every student in Nevada deserves equal access to high quality public education, but the Trump Administration’s dismantling of the Department of Education is taking away resources and protections for children with disabilities,” said Senator Rosen. “I’m helping to introduce this bill to make sure Congress fully funds the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and provides equal opportunity for every child to have a shot at accessing quality education. I’ll keep fighting back against all attempts to cut funding from our children’s education.”
    “Every child across America deserves access to quality education and a chance to succeed,” said Senator Shaheen. “For too long, Congress has fallen short of its promise to students with disabilities by failing to provide adequate funding through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Our legislation will right that wrong and help ensure schools have adequate resources to give students in New Hampshire and across the nation the education they deserve.”
    “A good education has the power to transform lives, and Congress needs to fully fund the educational resources that support children with disabilities and their families. Every child deserves a quality education and the chance to meet their full potential in life. At a time when support for special education is threatened, I join my colleagues in insisting that Congress deliver on its promise to fund these vital services so that every student has access to a quality education,” said Senator Schiff.
    “It’s time for Congress to finally fulfill our promise to deliver quality public education to every student across the country. As Donald Trump and Elon Musk continue their senseless attacks on public education, it’s more important than ever to stand up for all students no matter their disability or zip code,” said Senator Warner.
    “As a former special education teacher, I’ve seen first-hand how this funding is transformational for students with disabilities. It means our schools have elevators to help with mobility, provides aides that help students communicate, and tailored programs to best meet their learning needs,” said Senator Warren. “With public education under attack, I am deeply grateful for Senator Van Hollen’s leadership in the fight to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).”
    “While we’ve made substantial progress to fund special education services in recent years, we still have important work left to do to live up to the original commitment Congress made,” said Rep. Jared Huffman. “All children – no matter their zip code, race, disability, or any other factor – should be able to access a full, exceptional education, and this legislation will help school districts provide the necessary resources to make this vision a reality. The current chronic underfunding leaves an unfair burden on students, teachers, schools, and families. Our bill holds up the federal government’s end of the bargain to fully fund special education services on a permanent basis and set all students up for long-term success.”
    The legislation is cosponsored in the Senate by Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), John Fetterman (D-Penn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). The legislation is co-led in the House by Representatives G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.-15), Joe Neguse (D-Colo.-02), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.-01), Angie Craig (D-Minn.-02), Pete Stauber (R-Minn.-08), Janelle Bynum (D-Ore.-05), Don Bacon (R-Neb.-02), Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.-14), and Mike Bost (R-Ill.-12), and cosponsored by over 60 additional members of the House.
    This legislation is supported by a broad and diverse group of over 50 national organizations, including The School Superintendent Association (AASA), American Federation of Teachers (AFT),American Occupational Therapy Association, Assistive Technology Industry Association, Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO), Autism Society of America, Center for Learner Equity, Council for Exceptional Children, Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities, National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), National Center for Learning Disabilities, National Down Syndrome Congress, National Education Association, and The Arc of the United States.
    The bill is also supported by: American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), American Psychological Association, Association of Educational Service Agencies, Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents, Association of Latino Superintendents and Administrators, Association of People Supporting Employment First (APSE), Autism Speaks, Autistic Self Advocacy Network, CAST, Coalition for Adequate Funding for Special Education, Coalition for Community Schools, Consortium of State School Boards Associations (COSSBA), Council for Learning Disabilities, Council of Administrators of Special Education, EDGE Consulting Partners, EdTrust, Education Reform Now, First Focus Campaign for Children, Higher Education Consortium for Special Education, Institute for Educational Leadership, Learning Disabilities Association of America, NAESPA (National Association of ESEA State Program Administrators), National Association for Music Education, National Association for Pupil Transportation, National Association of Federally Impacted Schools (NAFIS), National Association of Private Special Education Centers, National Association of School Psychologists, National Consortium for Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities (NCPEID), National Disability Rights Network (NDRN), National Down Syndrome Society, National PTA, National Rural Education Association, National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children, Teach For America, The Advocacy Institute, and The New Teacher Project (TNTP).
    You can read the full text of the bill here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Orange County man sentenced to federal prison for kidnapping attorney

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    BEAUMONT, Texas – An Orange, Texas, man has been sentenced to federal prison for violations related to a kidnapping in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr.

    Putnam Darwin Richardson, 79, pleaded guilty to kidnapping and brandishing a firearm and was sentenced to 294 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone on April 9, 2025.

    “Thanks to the quick and outstanding work of the FBI, in concert with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the Orange Police Department, an innocent victim was rescued from the clutches of a gun-wielding kidnapper and returned safely home to his family, and a now-twice convicted armed kidnapper is returned home to prison,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr. “This case serves as a reminder that violent predators come in all shapes, sizes and age-ranges, and to always stay vigilant and aware of your surroundings.”  

    “Putnam Richardson clearly failed to learn from his previous imprisonment for kidnapping, and he definitely underestimated FBI Houston’s capacity to mobilize critical resources when a life is at risk,” said FBI Houston Special Agent in Charge Douglas Williams. “We are in the business of saving lives, and cases like this are why we exist. I’m especially grateful to the FBI Beaumont investigators, crisis negotiators, and special surveillance teams who swiftly deployed and worked tirelessly for days to rescue and reunite the victim with his family.”

    According to information presented in court, on July 15, 2024, a kidnapping for ransom was reported to the FBI.  The victim, a local attorney, was kidnapped at gunpoint that morning after arriving at his law office in Beaumont.  The victim’s wife received a call from the victim’s cell phone, during which the kidnapper indicated the victim was being held hostage in exchange for $1 million ransom. The kidnapper also indicated he would kill the victim if the ransom was not met.  Richardson, a former client of the victim, was identified as a suspect during the investigation.  Richardson had previously been convicted of kidnapping in 1984 and was sentenced to 50 years in prison.  On July 17, 2024, Richardson was arrested at a gas station and the victim was rescued by law enforcement authorities.

    This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

    This case was investigated by the FBI, the Beaumont Police Department, the Orange Police Department, and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Reynaldo P. Morin.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Speech on foreign affairs and trade

    Source: New Zealand Government

    Kia ora and good morning everyone.
    Before I start, can I acknowledge the Wellington Chamber of Commerce for the opportunity to speak to all of you this morning.
    It comes at a difficult time for the global economy, with rising rhetoric, escalating tariffs, and the prospect of further retaliation to come.
    I had originally planned to take this opportunity to speak about my Government’s plan for economic growth – to create jobs, lift incomes, and put more money back in the wallets of Kiwis.
    I will still touch on that.
    It’s my Government’s top priority and it frames just about every decision we take here in Wellington as we focus on improving the lives of all New Zealanders.
    But with markets rocked and exporters facing uncertainty, I know there’s one topic front of mind for many businesses and many households.
    So this morning I want to take some time to speak to those events and make the case for free trade and the rules-based international order.
    Trade is the lifeblood of the New Zealand economy.
    Whether it’s our incredible farmers and growers, our outstanding tourism industry, or our burgeoning tech sector, Kiwis businesses thrive when we compete on the world stage.
    Our success isn’t an accident – and it didn’t happen overnight.
    Successive generations of trade negotiators and political leaders have invested in relationships offshore, and worked hard to complete deals like CER, the China FTA, the CPTPP, and the more recent EU, UK, UAE and GCC FTAs.
    Business leaders have moved rapidly, too – finding fresh opportunities for growth in emerging markets, and developing outstanding products back home that put New Zealand on the map.
    Our rural economy in particular represents the very best of open and competitive trade – selling into difficult markets, with no direct financial support, and consistently coming out on top.
    I could – and often do – speak at length about the contribution exporters make to the domestic economy.
    But trade goes both ways.
    Yes, export growth will be critical to improving New Zealand’s economic prospects in the coming years.
    But the removal of New Zealand’s own trade barriers and embrace of goods and services imported from offshore has also led to a major improvement in our quality of life in recent years.
    Our clothing is more affordable, our cars are more reliable, our diets are more diverse, and our holidays in Bali and Europe are a nice contrast to summers at the lake or the beach.
    Free trade of goods purchased from offshore has also supported growth in productivity.
    Kiwi exporters rely on the trucks, tractors, jet engines, computers, and smart phones we buy from overseas that make their businesses tick.
    And it’s not realistic to expect that in a country of just five million people, we could make everything we need here at home.
    Political leaders have tried that before in New Zealand – and it didn’t end well.
    Older generations will remember the efforts we went to.
    Governments imposed strict import controls and encouraged cars and televisions to be assembled here at home.
    And like today, conflict offshore occasionally helped to send prices spiralling – but the response looked very different.
    In the late 1970s, politicians imposed “carless days”, with stickers on your vehicle dictating which days you could drive to work, and which days you caught a ride with a friend or just walked into town instead.
    There was no “work from home” in 1979.
    Agriculture, today the backbone of our economy, was heavily subsidised and much less productive, much less diverse than the efficient and entrepreneurial sector thriving in New Zealand today.
    Those failed policies weren’t just foolish economics.
    They reflected the best efforts of political leaders to insulate New Zealand from an era of major social and geopolitical change.
    History shows those best efforts were a mistake, that required years of difficult choices and careful recovery.
    New Zealanders paid the price then.
    I don’t intend for them to do so again.
    Which brings us to today.
    The events of recent days are the most significant challenge to the rules-based trading system since the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was formed in 1947.
    Action, reaction, and response have shocked financial markets.
    As the Minister of Finance highlighted earlier this week, the direct impact on the New Zealand economy from the US tariffs announced last week is likely to be around $900 million or roughly 0.2% of GDP.
    But the second order consequences of a region and a world retreating from trade and increasingly uncertain about its economic future will be more significant, despite the welcome news of de-escalation this morning.
    I know for many businesses keeping an eye offshore and for those New Zealanders watching their KiwiSaver accounts, that could be confronting.
    The exporters I’ve spoken to in recent days remain buoyant, rightly confident in the quality of their product, and their ability to navigate choppy waters.
    But for countries whose prosperity is underpinned by global trade, the months ahead will be challenging for their economic interests.
    Many commentators will see these events as just the next step in a longer-term trend towards economic security and national resilience, as countries insure themselves against emerging geopolitical threats.
    Others have gone further, declaring an end to the era of free markets, free trade, and free people, and the rules-based international order underpinning it.
    For my part, I’m not ready to throw in the towel quite yet. Kiwis have worked too hard and for too long, to give up on the values and institutions which have seen our country and the region we live in thrive.
    So, for as long as I am Prime Minister, New Zealand will keep making the case for trade as a cornerstone of our prosperity.
    Yes, we are a small country – but stature has never been a barrier to our success.
    Take the P3 – a proposed trade agreement which began life under negotiation at APEC between New Zealand, Singapore, and Chile in the early 2000s.
    Three small countries, practicing what we preach – and doing everything we could to create opportunity for our people through trade.
    Today, that agreement lives on as the CPTPP and covers a dozen countries, including New Zealand and Australia, Canada, much of Asia, and most recently the United Kingdom.
    In total, that’s roughly 15% of global economic activity, or $13 trillion USD – a long way from where we started just over twenty years ago.
    The United Kingdom might be the most recent accession, but I expect they won’t be the last.
    New Zealand will continue to work with like-minded countries to promote free trade as a path to prosperity and explore the role of the CPTPP in strengthening that vision.
    One possibility is that members of the CPTPP and the European Union work together to champion rules-based trade and make specific commitments on how that support plays out in practice.
    My vision is that includes action to prevent restrictions on exports and efforts to ensure any retaliation is consistent with existing rules.
    Collective action, and a collective commitment, by a large portion of the global economy would be a significant step towards preserving free trade flows and protecting supply chains.
    Clearly though, efforts at collective action won’t be enough to support New Zealand’s economic interests.
    As Prime Minister, I have a responsibility to do everything I can to both bolster the existing rules-based order and to further strengthen New Zealand’s position offshore.
    It’s why I have put so much emphasis on deepening our relationships with partners around the region, with visits throughout South-East Asia, Korea and Japan, the United States, and to India last month as we commenced negotiations for a free trade agreement.
    It’s why my Government has worked so hard to close out fresh agreements with the UAE and GCC that enable additional trade and investment.
    It’s why we hosted an Investment Summit in Auckland, making the case both for New Zealand as an outstanding place to do business and for the opportunity to enter long-term infrastructure partnerships.
    It’s why on Monday this week the Minister of Defence and I launched the Government’s Defence Capability Plan, that lifts defence expenditure to 2% of GDP and ensures New Zealand pulls its weight for many years to come.
    It’s why I will be on the phone later today to world leaders comparing notes on world trade, and testing what we can do together to buttress the rules-based trading system.
    And it’s why I will be heading to the United Kingdom later this month to meet Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, to talk trade, security, and the geopolitical backdrop in Europe and the Indo-Pacific.
    We can’t make the case for New Zealand sitting at home.
    We have to position ourselves as advocates both for our own economic interests and the institutions that underpin them.
    I’m very lucky to lead a Government with so many Ministers dedicated to that task, whether that’s the Foreign Minister, the Minister of Trade, or the Minister of Defence, each of whom having already made a number of significant achievements supporting New Zealand’s interests offshore.
    Back home, the volatility offshore is a fresh reminder of just how important our focus on economic growth will be in the coming years.
    As I said recently at our Investment Summit in Auckland, New Zealand can be a shelter from the global storm.
    That brings a serious opportunity from ensuring our business environment is as welcoming as possible for investment and growth.
    We are making serious inroads into that task.
    Earlier this year, Minister for Economic Growth Nicola Willis published our Government’s Going for Growth Agenda, which outlines a range of actions we are taking to get the New Zealand economy moving and realising its vast potential.
    Each of those actions fits into one of five pillars we have identified as critical to lifting economic growth and improving New Zealanders’ standard of living:

    Developing talent,
    Encouraging innovation, science, and technology,
    Introducing competitive business settings,
    Promoting global trade and investment,
    And delivering infrastructure for growth.

    Across each of those pillars, we have Ministers working day and night to drive through reform – in transport, tourism, aquaculture, construction, advanced aviation, mining, energy, agriculture, and horticulture.
    In just the last few weeks, we have presented our plans to replace the Resource Management Act, fix our broken health and safety laws, and make nation-shaping investments like the Northland Expressway.
    We have introduced the Fast Track regime, streamlining the consenting process for projects of regional and national significance.
    We are re-writing the Overseas Investment Act, so major investments from offshore are consented faster and more reliably.
    We are tearing down the barriers to fresh investment in renewable and non-renewable energy, by repealing the oil and gas ban and ushering in new consenting rules for wind, solar, hydro, and geothermal.
    And we are doubling down on efforts to showcase New Zealand to the world, promoting our tourism and international education sectors offshore so we can attract even more people to spend their money here.
    I know there’s more we can do.
    Growth has now returned, and the economy has turned the corner, but our reform agenda will need to continue at pace for us to out-run the challenges to growth facing us from offshore.
    The challenges to the rules-based international order are intense and the strategic environment my government has inherited is more difficult than it has been for many years.
    For New Zealanders who grew up watching events unfold in Europe and the Middle East, it will be confronting to watch strategic competition and the deterioration of rules-based trade come to our neighbourhood, the Indo-Pacific.
    But the response for New Zealand cannot be retreat.
    New Zealanders are at our best when faced with adversity and we thrive when we compete on the world stage.
    To quote my friend the Foreign Minister, this isn’t our first rodeo.
    Our export sector is jam-packed with talented, sharp New Zealanders who make great products – and create jobs here at home while they do it.
    Farmers, growers, wine makers, and start-ups from all around the country investing in our nation’s future because they have confidence that better days lie ahead.
    I’m not ready to call time on the rules-based trading system.
    And I’m not ready for New Zealand to give up on our efforts to advocate for it on the world stage.
    We’re not in this alone.
    The same institutions that have served New Zealand so well for so long, also underpin the prosperity of so many of our friends and partners, many of whom are also continuing to make the case for free and open trade in recent days.
    My government will keep making the case – overseas, here at home, with a strong voice and a consistent message.
    Free trade works.
    It lifts incomes.
    It creates jobs.
    It builds partnerships.
    And it secures peace.
    I think that’s worth fighting for – and I’m up for that fight.
    Thank you.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI: Dundee Corporation Renews Normal Course Issuer Bid on Class A Subordinate Voting Shares

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    TORONTO, April 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Dundee Corporation (TSX: DC.A) (“Dundee” or the “Company”) announced today receipt of regulatory approval for its notice of intention to renew its normal course issuer bid (the “Bid”) in respect of its class A subordinate voting shares (“Class A Shares”) through the facilities of the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX”) or alternative Canadian trading systems from April 14, 2025 to April 13, 2026.

    Jonathan Goodman, President and CEO of Dundee Corporation, commented:

    “Buying back shares for cancellation at current prices is a good long-term investment for the Company and a prudent allocation of capital. We remain committed to rationalizing our legacy investment portfolio and monetizing our remaining non-core assets. We will continue to review options for capital allocation that deliver further value to our shareholders as we execute on our strategic plan to find and work collaboratively to develop mining companies.”

    Dundee may purchase up to a maximum of 6,442,048 Class A Shares under the Bid, representing approximately 10% of the Company’s public float on the Class A Shares. As of March 31, 2025, Dundee had 86,305,197 Class A Shares issued and outstanding. The average daily trading volume for the most recently completed six calendar months prior to TSX acceptance of the Bid is 76,534 Class A Shares. Under the Bid, Dundee may purchase up to 19,133 Class A Shares during any trading day, other than pursuant to a block purchase exception.

    The price paid for Securities acquired under the Bid will be the market price at the time of purchase and all Class A Shares purchased under the Bid will be cancelled. The Company intends to enter into an automatic purchase plan with its designated broker to allow for purchases under the Bid during periods when Dundee would ordinarily not be permitted to purchase Class A Shares due to regulatory restrictions or customary self-imposed blackout periods. Outside of the automatic purchase plan, the Class A Shares may continue to be purchased under the Bid based on management’s discretion in compliance with the rules of the TSX and applicable securities laws.

    Under Dundee’s current normal course issuer bid on the Class A Shares which is set to expire on April 11, 2025, the Company sought and received approval from the TSX to purchase up to 7,692,104 Class A Shares. The Company purchased a total of 81,956 Class A Shares at an average price of $1.42 per share to date through the facilities of the TSX or alternative Canadian trading systems under the current normal course issuer bid.

    ABOUT DUNDEE CORPORATION

    Dundee Corporation is a public Canadian independent holding company, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “DC.A”. Through its operating subsidiaries, Dundee Corporation is an active investor focused on delivering long-term, sustainable value as a trusted partner in the mining sector with more than 30 years of experience making accretive mining investments.

    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

    Investor and Media Relations
    T: (416) 864-3584
    E: ir@dundeecorporation.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Mullin, Capito, Fischer, Introduce Resolutions to Repeal California’s Extreme EV Mandate

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator MarkWayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma)

    Mullin, Capito, Fischer, Introduce Resolutions to Repeal California’s Extreme EV Mandate

    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), and Deb Fischer (R-NE) introduced joint resolutions of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to repeal California’s EV waivers that prohibit the sale of new gas-powered light-duty vehicles by 2035, and set unrealistic and stringent requirements for heavy-duty trucks and heavy-duty diesel engines.
    Senator Mullin’s CRA, the ‘Omnibus’ Low NOx Regulation, overturns a Biden EPA approved waiver that allowed California to enforce overly burdensome Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emission limits regulations for heavy-duty highway and off-road vehicles and engines. The regulation includes longer emission control system warranties, new cold start emission requirements, and extended durability requirements over a vehicles operational life. This waiver applies to model year 2024 and later on-road heavy-duty Otto-cycle and heavy-duty diesel engines used to operate Class 3-8 medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, including drayage trucks, buses (except transit buses), refuse trucks, and other commercial work vehicles. 
    “This waiver imposes significant compliance costs estimated at upwards of $20,000 per truck making it more difficult for small fleets and independent operators to invest in new equipment. Moreover, this creates a competitive disadvantage for manufactures and fleets by forcing stricter standards to apply unequally across the country. We cannot allow California’s costly and extreme Green New Deal agenda to bankrupt families and eliminate consumer choice for hundreds of millions of American families. Thankfully, after four years of ineffective one-size-fits-all crippling bureaucracy, the Trump administration is bringing back common sense,” said Senator Mullin. “I’m grateful to my colleagues for partnering with me on this effort.”
    “By sending these rules to Congress, Administrator Zeldin and the Trump administration followed the law and addressed the Biden administration’s attempt to circumvent Congress in this process. California’s extreme EV mandate imposes unrealistic and stringent requirements, fails to meet the Clean Air Act’s requirements for a waiver, forces the hand of American consumers, and makes our country more reliant on China for critical minerals. The American people have made it clear that they want consumer choice – not an EV mandate,” said Senator Capito. “I will continue to address all options available to strike down these rules and eliminate the consequential impact they would make across our country.”
    “As we saw under the Biden administration, what happens in California doesn’t stay in California. Their emissions regulation will cripple the truck manufacturing industry nationwide, overloading companies and truckers with expensive, heavy-handed requirements. This inevitably leads to increased prices for families across the nation. My resolution will overturn the Biden administration’s waiver allowing the ACT regulation to take effect without congressional review,” said Senator Fischer.
    The ‘Omnibus’ Low NOx Regulation is supported by the following groups: American Trucking Association, American Petroleum Institute, National Automobile Dealers Association.
    Full text of the resolution can be found here.
    Background:
    In December 2024, EPA granted California’s “Omnibus” low-NOx regulation waiver for heavy-duty highway and off-road vehicles and engines.
    In February 2025, EPA Administrator Zeldin sent over to Congress three of the Biden Administration’s rules granting waivers that allowed California to preempt federal car and truck standards approved by EPA and DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Zeldin’s decision to send over the rules are part of EPA’s “Powering the Great American Comeback” initiative to protect human health and the environment while restoring our economy.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Kamlager-Dove, Ossoff Reintroduce Bipartisan, Bicameral Bill to Notify Loved Ones When Inmates Suffer Health Complications or Pass Away in Custody

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager California (37th District)

    Legislation will ensure families receive timely notifications should an incarcerated family member pass away or suffer health complications while in prison

    Washington, D.C. — Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37) and U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) led Senator Kennedy (R-LA) and Reps. John Rutherford (FL-05), Barry Moore (AL-01), and Glenn Ivey (MD-04) in reintroducing a bipartisan bill to help notify family members in a timely and compassionate manner in the event of a death, serious illness or injury of a loved one in custody.  

    The Family Notification of Death, Injury, or Illness in Custody Act would require the U.S. Department of Justice to implement policies and procedures for family notification by issuing central guidance to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The bill would also direct the Attorney General to develop and distribute model notification policies and procedures to state and local detention agencies.

    “In 2016, when Wakiesha Wilson tragically died while incarcerated, her family members–my constituents–were never directly informed of her passing. It took 18 days for Wakiesha to be reunited with her family, compounding their agony of experiencing the death of a loved one. No one should have to go through that pain,” said Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove. “It is shameful that our correctional facilities are not required to notify the families of incarcerated people if their loved ones are seriously ill, injured, or deceased. I’m proud to introduce this legislation to change that.”

    “Too often, the families of those incarcerated never find out about a serious illness, a life-threatening injury, or even the death of a loved one behind bars. That’s why Senator Kennedy and I are introducing this bipartisan reform legislation,” Sen. Ossoff said.  

    “Every family member deserves to be notified if their loved one has passed away, is injured, or becomes ill,” said Rep. Rutherford. “As a former sheriff, I understand the importance of notifying families about the health challenges their loved ones are facing while in custody. No parent, spouse, or child should be left in the dark. That’s why I am proud to join my colleagues in the House and Senate to introduce bipartisan legislation to ensure compassionate notification of a detainee’s health status to their family members.” 

    “Families deserve to be informed when their loved one has died, has a serious illness, or sustains an injury while in custody. In FY21 alone, the Department of Justice failed to identify at least 990 prison and arrest related deaths,” said Moore. “This legislation requiring the Department of Justice and Bureau of Prisons to implement clear procedures for notifying families if these events occur is a step toward transparency and accountability that ensures no family is left in the dark.”

    “This bipartisan bill would ensure that the Department of Justice develops policies to notify family members about the well-being of their loved ones in custody,” said Rep. Glenn Ivey. “I am proud to partner with my House and Senate colleagues in introducing this important legislation.” 

    In 2016, Los Angeles’ resident Wakiesha Wilson was found deceased inside her prison cell at the LAPD Metropolitan Detention Center. Wakiesha’s family was never directly contacted regarding her death, sending them on an agonizing journey to discover information about her whereabouts. It wasn’t until 18 days later that Wakiesha’s family was finally able to see her at the L.A. morgue. On March 28, Rep. Kamlager-Dove participated in a press conference to mark nine years since Wakiesha’s tragic death.

    “We worked hard for many years on this with BLMLA support and are encouraged to see it finally re-introduced. Wakiesha’s Law will help to ensure that no other family has to endure the agony our family did,” said Lisa and Sheila Hines, mother and aunt of Wakiesha Wilson.  

    “Across the United States, deaths in prisons and jails are an unacceptable crisis. When someone in custody dies or is seriously ill, their family has a right to know what has happened in a timely and compassionate manner. Incarcerated people’s lives matter, and they should be treated with the utmost care and respect,” said the Prison Policy Initiative.

    Click here to read the Family Notification of Death, Injury, or Illness in Custody Act. 

    # # #

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Our ancestors didn’t eat 3 meals a day. So why do we?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Richardson, Senior Lecturer in Culinary Arts & Gastronomy, Auckland University of Technology

    Shutterstock

    Pop quiz: name the world’s most famous trio? If you’re a foodie, then your answer might have been breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s an almost universally accepted trinity – particularly in the Western world.

    But how did it come about?

    The first meals

    Early humans were nomadic. Forming small communities, they would travel with the seasons, following local food sources.

    While we can only guess what daily mealtimes rhythms looked like, evidence dating back 30,000 years from the South Moravia region, Czech Republic, shows people visited specific settlements time and again. They gathered around hearths, cooking and sharing food: the first signs of human “commensality”, the practice of eating together.

    One of the best-preserved hunter-gatherer sites we’ve found is Ohalo II – located on the shores of the modern-day Sea of Galilee (also called Lake Tiberias or Lake Kinneret) in Israel, and dating back some 23,000 years.

    In addition to several small dwellings with hearths, it provides evidence of diverse food sources, including more than 140 types of seeds and nuts, and various birds, fish and mammals.

    The development of agricultural knowledge some 12,000 years ago gave rise to permanent settlements. The earliest were in the Levant region (across modern-day Iraq, southwestern Iran and eastern Turkey), in an area called the “Fertile Crescent”.

    The fertile crescent covers the rich, biodiverse valleys of the Tigris, Euphrates and Jordan rivers.
    Shutterstock

    Permanent agriculture led to the production of a surplus of food. The ability to stay in one place with food on-hand meant the time it took to cook no longer mattered as much.

    It quickly became common to eat one light meal early in the day, followed by a larger hearth-prepared meal later on. The specific timings would have varied between groups.

    Eating together as a rule

    The communal nature of foraging and hunting, and later farming, meant humans almost always ate their meals in the company of others. In the ancient city-state of Sparta, in the 4th century BCE, these practices were codified as common main meals called syssitia (meaning “eating together”).

    These meals were consumed at the end of the day in communal dining halls. Food was served by young boys to tables of 15 or so men who lived together and fought in the same military division. The men gradually shared generational knowledge with the young boys, who themselves would join the tables by age 20.

    In the 5th century BCE, Greek historian Herodotus wrote about how syssitia evolved from a Spartan military practice to having deep political meaning in society. Similarly, Plato wrote common meals were an integral component of civil society, and that missing a meal without good reason was a civic offence.

    By dining in full view of the rest of society, citizens were compelled to maintain self-discipline. Mealtime was also an opportunity for social linkage, and important discussions ranging from business deals to politics.

    The eating habits of Spartan women are missing in the texts, although it is implied they ate at home.

    Bunches of lunches

    Counter to the tough Spartan way of life, the Romans enjoyed their main meal, cena, earlier in the day, followed by a lighter meal just before bed.

    The northern European tribes tended towards two larger meals per day, as more sustenance is required in colder climes. To the Vikings, these meals were known as dagmal and nattmal, or day meal and night meal. Nattmal was the cooked evening meal, while dagmal usually consisted of leftover nattmal with the addition of bread and beer or mead.

    In Australia, evidence suggests Aboriginal peoples tended toward a daily single meal, which aligns with the predominant method of cookery: slow-cooking with hot coals or rocks in an earth oven. This underground oven, used by Aboriginal and also Torres Strait Islander communities, was referred to as a kup murri or kap mauri by some groups.

    This is similar to other Indigenous preparations throughout the Pacific, such as the New Zealand Māori hāngī, Hawaiian imu, Fijian lovo, and even the Mayan píib.

    The once-daily meal would have been supplemented with snacks throughout the day.

    Three’s the magic number

    The timing of meals was heavily influenced by class structure, local climate and people’s daily activities. Practicality also played a part. Without reliable lighting, meals had to be prepared and eaten before dark. In settled parts of Northern Europe, this could be as early as 3pm.

    So how did we go from one or two main meals, to three? The answer may lie with the British Royal Navy.

    Since its inception in the 16th century, the navy served three regular meals to align with the shipboard routine. This included a simple breakfast of ship’s biscuits, lunch as the main meal, and dinner as more of a light supper.

    Some sources suggest the term “square meal” may have come from the square wooden trays meals were served in.

    Initially, sailors recieved a daily gallon of beer with meals. This was later changed to watered-down rum, the infamous ‘grog’, which is being handed out in this 1940 photo taken aboard HMS King George V.
    Imperial War Museums, CC BY-NC

    The Industrial Revolution, which started around 1760, arguably also played a role in formalising the concept of three specific mealtimes across the Western world.

    The cadence of breakfast, lunch and dinner matched the routine of the longer, standardised workdays. Workers ate breakfast and dinner at home, before and after work, while lunch was eaten with coworkers at a set time.

    With minimal breaks, and no time for snacking, three substantial meals became necessary.

    The fall of the holy trinity

    Today, many factors impact the time and frequency of our meals, from long work commutes to juggling hobbies and social obligations.

    The ways in which we eat and share food continue to evolve alongside our societies and cultures.
    Shutterstock

    The COVID pandemic also impacted how and what we eat, leading us to eat larger amounts of higher calorie foods. The rapid growth of delivery services also means a meal is no more than a few minutes away from most people.

    All of this has resulted in mealtimes becoming less rigid, with social meals such as brunch, elevenses and afternoon teas expanding how we connect over food. And mealtimes will continue to evolve as our schedules become ever more complicated.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Our ancestors didn’t eat 3 meals a day. So why do we? – https://theconversation.com/our-ancestors-didnt-eat-3-meals-a-day-so-why-do-we-250773

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Here’s how a ‘silent’ tax hike is balancing the budget – with the heaviest burden on the lowest paid

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Murphy, Visiting Fellow, Economics (modelling), Australian National University

    With just over three weeks to go until the federal election, both major parties are trying to position themselves as Australia’s better economic managers.

    Labor was able to hand down two consecutive budget surpluses in its current term. But the most recent federal budget shows a return to deficit this financial year.

    After the deficit peaks – at 1.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) next financial year – it will then take a decade to balance the budget. My own economic forecasts also imply the budget can return to balance in this time frame.

    However, this slow budget repair work is done silently by “bracket creep”, not by policy actions of the government.

    Under a progressive tax system, as incomes rise with inflation, the additional income is taxed more heavily.

    For example, a worker on average, annual wages of A$79,000 pays 20.3% of that in tax. But they pay tax of 32% (including the medicare levy) on any wage increases, even if those wage increases are only just enough to keep pace with inflation.

    The higher tax rate on additional wages pushes up average tax rates – known as bracket creep. This piece explains it well.

    Bracket creep has the political advantage of being a silent way of gradually increasing average tax rates. Both major parties are heavily relying on it. But is it good economic policy?

    The ‘silent’ tax hike

    Though Australia’s personal income tax system is progressive, it’s possible to work out the average tax rate faced by Australians collectively. This is total personal income tax paid as a percentage of total taxable income.

    In the first two decades of this century, personal income tax accounted for an average of 22.9% of taxable incomes. There was no clear trend.

    Since then, the trend has been up, because announced tax cuts haven’t been enough to offset silent bracket creep.

    The average tax rate this financial year, 2024-25, is estimated to be 24.3%.

    In the latest budget, the government reduced the lowest marginal tax rate – from 16% to 15% in 2026-27, then to 14% in 2027-28 and beyond.

    This almost stabilises the average tax rate for two years. However, it then resumes its upward trend under the silent influence of bracket creep, reaching 28.1% in 2035-36.

    This will be an all-time high average tax rate. Living standards will be squeezed and incentives to work and save will diminish.

    Some countries limit bracket creep by indexing personal income tax brackets to price inflation. This stops price inflation alone pushing workers into higher tax brackets.

    To illustrate how indexing could work, if inflation was 2%, all of the tax thresholds would move up by 2%. For example, the tax free threshold of $18,200 would increase to $18,564.

    A worker whose pay had increased by 2% would similarly pay only 2% extra tax, keeping their average tax rate unchanged.

    However, most of the time wages rise faster than prices because of productivity growth.

    Why bracket creep is unfair

    The unfairness of bracket creep can be illustrated with examples.

    Under the budget, the average rate of tax (for everyone) rises over the next 11 years by 3.8% points of income.

    The average wage earner with an annual income of $79,000 fares a little better. Their average tax rate goes from 20.3% in 2024-25 to 23.6% in 2035-36, an increase of 3.3% points of income, as noted in the recent budget.

    However, a low wage earner, with an annual income of $45,000 fares worse. Their average tax rate jumps from 10.8% to 17.3%, an increase of 6.5% points of income.

    Do we think it is fair that someone with an annual income of only $45,000 today should have to pay about 17% of their income in income tax in 11 years time?

    While this is an extreme example, it illustrates the fact that bracket creep is regressive and has serious unintended consequences.

    Less of a “Robin Hood” effect

    All of this has implications for the fairness of our tax system overall.

    To measure how much a country’s personal income tax system reduces inequality in income distribution, economists use something called the “Reynolds-Smolensky redistribution index”. Let’s call it the “R” index.

    A higher R index for a country means a stronger “Robin Hood” element in its tax system – that the system is doing more to redistribute income.

    Bracket creep disproportionately affects those on low incomes.
    muse studio/Shutterstock

    The International Monetary Fund reports that in 2018, the R index for Australia was 6.8%, compared to the average for OECD countries of under 5%. In 2024-25, the Australian R index is already a little lower at 6.5%.

    The R index can also be used to measure how benefits reduce inequality, but here, we’re only using it for personal income tax.

    Without any budget measures, the regressive nature of bracket creep would have caused the R index to fall further to a value of 6.3% in 2035-36.

    However, this budget’s “top-up tax cut” to the lowest marginal tax rate limited this fall to 6.4%, because it was a progressive tax change.

    Time for indexation

    Politicians from both major parties should stop relying so much on their silent partner, bracket creep, to slowly repair budget deficits.

    Instead of misleading announcements of tax cuts in only some budgets, my modelling shows how we could benefit from automatically indexing the tax brackets to prices in every budget.

    This will mean that the average rate of personal income tax will rise more modestly over the next 11 years, from 24.3% to 25.5%, instead of to 28.1%. Indexation also limits the fall in the R index to a value of 6.4%.

    The resulting revenue shortfall could be filled in ways that are more transparent, efficient and fairer than bracket creep.

    Possible ways include better priorities and higher efficiency in government spending, more reliance on indirect taxes such as the GST and expanding the tax base itself through reforms to boost productivity.

    Chris Murphy 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. Here’s how a ‘silent’ tax hike is balancing the budget – with the heaviest burden on the lowest paid – https://theconversation.com/heres-how-a-silent-tax-hike-is-balancing-the-budget-with-the-heaviest-burden-on-the-lowest-paid-253442

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: 1 in 10 tunnel workers could develop silicosis, our new research shows

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Cole, Occupational Hygienist, PhD Candidate, University of Sydney

    Around 10% of underground tunnel workers in Queensland could develop silicosis, our new study has found.

    Silicosis is a serious, incurable lung disease caused by inhaling small particles of silica dust. You might have heard about it in people who work with engineered stone. But silica is more widespread.

    Silica is found in rocks and concrete, so workers in industries such as construction, mining and tunnelling are at high risk if proper safety measures aren’t in place.

    When silica dust is breathed in, it gets trapped in the lungs, causing inflammation and scarring. Over time, this scarring makes it harder to breathe and can be fatal.

    As symptoms of silicosis can take decades to appear, workers may not realise they’re sick until long after they’ve started working, or even after they stop.

    But silicosis is preventable.

    When silica dust is breathed in, it gets trapped in the lungs in tiny air sacs (the alveoli), causing inflammation and scarring.
    Pikovit/Shutterstock

    How does silicosis affect tunnel workers?

    Thousands of people are involved in tunnelling projects in Australia.

    Tunnelling involves breaking up large amounts of silica-containing rock with heavy machinery.

    Tunnel workers rely on advanced ventilation systems to provide fresh air underground, water systems to keep the rocks wet and suppress dust, and they wear respirators on their face to keep the air they breathe clean. But some people have raised concerns these measures do not always work properly.

    There are also national legal limits in place for silica dust exposure, currently 0.05 milligrams per cubic metre over an eight-hour work day.

    However, a media investigation last November revealed one-third of air monitoring tests from a Sydney tunnel project were above legal limits.

    While air monitoring tests are required by law, the results of routine air monitoring tests are often not made public.

    An expert taskforce has recently been set up in New South Wales to address the silica-related health risks for tunnel workers, promising to make high silica results above legal limits publicly available.

    But while attention has been focused on tunnel workers in Sydney, the problem of lung disease in underground workers is more widespread.

    Our Queensland study

    The results of air monitoring tests are important because they show whether legal silica dust limits are being adhered to.

    Another valuable use of this data is it can help us predict future disease risk. Instead of waiting to see how many workers develop silica-related diseases such as silicosis and lung cancer, this data can be used to estimate cases in advance.

    In 2017, a Queensland parliamentary inquiry raised concerns about the health of Brisbane’s tunnel workers, particularly regarding the harmful effects of exposure to silica dust.

    We worked through the parliamentary inquiry documents to uncover the results of hundreds of individual air monitoring tests conducted on three major Queensland tunnel projects between 2007 and 2013.

    We analysed this data to estimate how many workers were exposed to silica dust and at what levels. We then modelled how many cases of silicosis and lung cancer would occur over the workers’ lifetimes.

    We estimated that in a group of around 2,000 workers involved in these Queensland tunnel projects, 200 to 300 would develop silicosis over their lifetime as a result of silica dust exposure (roughly one in every ten workers).

    We also estimated between 20 to 30 workers would develop lung cancer due to their exposure.

    We had limited information on workplace conditions in the specific projects, so we made a number of assumptions based on publicly available information and our own experience. These included assumptions around the use and protective nature of masks. The fact we had to make some assumptions could be a limitation of our study. Due to the lack of data transparency we don’t know if these figures apply more broadly to tunnel workers throughout Australia.

    Silicosis can appear decades after occupational exposure.
    Marco Di Stefano/Shutterstock

    Our projected rate of silicosis, 10%, is the same as the rate of silicosis recorded by a government inquiry in 1924 which investigated silicosis among workers who built Sydney’s sewers.

    So it doesn’t seem things are any better in terms of silicosis risk in underground work than a century ago.

    We need to do more to protect tunnel workers

    Continued secrecy around silica dust data reduces our ability to understand the scale of the problem and respond effectively. Nonetheless, the small amount of data that has been made available supports the need for urgent action.

    With Australia’s ongoing infrastructure expansion, policymakers must act now. This should include enforcing stricter legal limits for silica dust exposure. There is concern among health experts that current limits don’t sufficiently protect workers’ health.

    Policymakers should also ensure protective measures such as advanced ventilation and dust suppression systems are in place for all tunnel projects, set up national tunnel worker health surveillance, and make exposure data available to workers and the public.

    There are several examples where things are done better. Internationally, Norway and Switzerland have strong systems to protect tunnel workers’ health such as air and health monitoring being conducted by an independent government agency. In Switzerland, this agency also insures the project. Noncompliance results in higher insurance premiums or, in some cases, the withdrawal of insurance, effectively stopping the project.

    Nationally, Australia’s mining industry is more heavily regulated than tunnelling, with stricter enforcement of compliance.

    Without immediate intervention, thousands of tunnel workers will continue to face serious health risks and Australia will face a growing wave of preventable occupational diseases.

    Kate Cole receives higher degree by research funding from The University of Sydney; is a member of the Asbestos and Silica Safety Eradication Council; the NSW Dust Diseases Board; the Chair of the External Affairs Committee for the Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists; and acts as an expert witness for law firms concerning silica-related diseases in tunnel workers.

    Renee Carey has previously received funding from the Australian Council of Trade Unions. She is a member of the Occupational Lung Disease Network Steering Committee formed by Lung Foundation Australia.

    Tim Driscoll has acted as an expert witness, and written government reports, in relation to silica exposure but not specifically connected to tunnelling. He chairs the Occupational and Environmental Cancer Committee of Cancer Council Australia and chairs the Occupational Lung Disease Network Steering Committee of Lung Foundation Australia.

    – ref. 1 in 10 tunnel workers could develop silicosis, our new research shows – https://theconversation.com/1-in-10-tunnel-workers-could-develop-silicosis-our-new-research-shows-252186

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Australia urgently needs to get serious about long-term climate policy – but there’s no sign of that in the election campaign

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frank Jotzo, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy and Head of Energy, Institute for Climate Energy and Disaster Solutions, Australian National University

    The federal election should be an earnest contest over the fundamentals of Australia’s climate and energy policies.

    Strong global action on climate change is clearly in Australia’s long-term national interest. But it has fallen prey to US President Donald Trump’s disruption of the world order, which has drained global attention from other crucial issues, including climate change.

    The Trump administration’s anti-climate actions might energise some to counteract it, but its overall affect will be chilling.

    Election reality

    A comprehensive platform to strengthen and broaden Australian climate policy towards net zero is needed more than ever.

    But the political reality playing out in the election campaign is very different, with the overriding focus on the cost of living, and the usual emphasis on electoral tactics rather than long-term strategies.

    Even a policy like Labor’s subsidised home batteries is being framed as a hip-pocket measure, rather than as a small contribution to energy infrastructure.

    Likewise, the Coalition’s pledge to halve fuel excise is aimed squarely at easing price pressures at the pump. In fact, the policy would slightly delay progress towards low emissions transport.

    The vexed question of how to ensure sufficient gas supplies for south eastern Australia is also cloaked in energy affordability. We are already seeing industry push back against the Coalition’s policy to require gas companies to withhold a share of production for the domestic market.

    Off target

    Regardless of who wins the election, Australia’s 43% emissions reduction target by 2030 will be difficult to achieve unless there is a change of pace.

    The government’s projections assume sharp
    cuts during 2027–30. But national emissions have flatlined at around 28% below 2005 levels for four years.

    Labor will subsidise the cost of solar batteries if its re-elected on May 4.
    Kathie Nichols/Shutterstock

    Under the Paris Agreement, a 2035 target commitment is required this year. The Climate Change Authority will give its advice to the new government after the election. It has previously floated a reduction range of 65–75%

    This would be compatible with the global goal of keeping warming below 2°C. Yet it might look highly ambitious under current political and international circumstances.

    Renewables reloaded

    The shift from coal to clean energy sources in the power sector is well underway. In 2024, renewables accounted for 39% of the national energy market, three times the share a decade ago.

    But progress has slowed at the same time as older coal plants have become unreliable and costly to run.

    It is clear that the future of an affordable, secure power supply in Australia is mostly wind and solar, supported by energy storage and some gas.

    But progress needs to be much faster. Many renewable projects, transmission lines and also Snowy 2 energy storage, are behind schedule. This is due to supply chain constraints, regulatory clogging and community opposition.

    Blueprint for action

    Deep emission reductions can still be achieved over the next ten years, but only if we pull out all the stops. That would mean:

    • going much faster on electricity transition
    • strengthening incentives and regulation to cut industrial and resource sector emissions
    • getting serious about a transition to clean transport
    • meaningful action towards low-emissions agriculture including changes to land use.

    A re-elected Labor government would likely do more on renewable power, while also strengthening action on industrial and resource emissions through the Safeguard Mechanism.

    But more will be needed to prepare for the 2030s. If the Teals hold the balance of power in a hung parliament, they would push Labor to be more ambitious.

    By contrast, a Dutton government might dial back the existing ambition and adopt a lower 2035 target than labor.

    Nuclear means more coal

    The initial focus of the Coalition’s energy policy going into the campaign has been to build nuclear power stations.

    Nuclear power would be far more expensive than the alternatives, costing hundreds of billions of dollars for only a small share of future power supply. It would need enormous subsidies, probably through government ownership.

    Deployment would inevitably be a very long time off. The near term affect would be to delay the transition to more renewable energy.

    The Coalition’s modelling assumes ageing coal-fired power plants would keep running beyond their announced closure dates. That would mean burning more coal and keeping Australia’s national carbon emissions higher for longer.

    The future of resource exports is green

    Australia’s intrinsic interest in limiting climate change remains urgent. Our opportunity as a green commodity producer and exporter remains solid.

    Green industry policy has been on the rise under the Albanese government, through support for green hydrogen and green iron. But we will not be able to subsidise our way to greatness in clean export industries.

    What is needed is international green commodity markets for Australian supplies of green ammonia, iron and other products. This is best achieved through carbon pricing in commodity importing countries, coupled with border carbon adjustments which give exporters of cleanly produced products an edge in those markets.

    A strong Australian 2035 emissions target would help send a signal to investors and overseas markets that we are serious about the transition.

    A COP in Australia

    Australia has a strong chance of hosting the 2026 UN climate conference. Labor wants it, but the Coalition doesn’t.

    COP31 would be a big chance for Australia to demonstrate positive leadership. It would also create pressure to do more for developing countries, given the conference would be hosted jointly with Pacific island states.

    Disappointment is likely, as rich countries will probably fail to meet expectations. In any case, Australia will be pushed by our Pacific neighbours to do more on climate change.

    We could do with the encouragement.

    This is the fourth article in our special series, Australia’s Policy Challenges. You can read the other articles here

    Frank Jotzo leads various research projects on climate policy. He is a commissioner with the NSW Net Zero Commission, chairs the Queensland Clean Economy Expert Panel and led the federal government’s Carbon Leakage Review.

    – ref. Australia urgently needs to get serious about long-term climate policy – but there’s no sign of that in the election campaign – https://theconversation.com/australia-urgently-needs-to-get-serious-about-long-term-climate-policy-but-theres-no-sign-of-that-in-the-election-campaign-250637

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Labor made plenty of promises at the last election. Did they deliver?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frank Rindert Algra-Maschio, PhD Candidate, Social and Political Sciences, Monash University

    Election promises are a mainstay of contemporary politics. Governments cite kept commitments as proof they can be trusted, while oppositions pounce on any failure to deliver.

    But beyond the politics, campaign pledges are also central to representative democracy. They telegraph what to expect from a party in government and create a moral obligation for it to follow through.

    Democratic governments across the globe fulfil, on average, roughly two-thirds of their promises, but most voters believe it is far fewer. Since voters will punish governments for breaking promises, it’s vital they have accurate information on their government’s record.

    We set out to provide Australians with that information through RMIT’s Election Promise Tracker. We assessed 66 major promises made by Labor before the last election.

    By presenting evidence through an interactive timeline that follows all the twists and turns since 2022, the tracker allows voters to form their own judgements during the 2025 campaign.

    Tracking election promises

    Our team compiled a long list of promises during the last election campaign by scouring public statements made by both major parties.

    For this, we kept to the definition of an “election promise” used by the Comparative Pledges Project, a research network that employs a common approach to studying promises.

    After the election, we narrowed Labor’s list to 66 promises — based on newsworthiness, coverage of policy areas and, later, feedback from the audience of ABC News.

    The tracker was originally launched as a project of RMIT ABC Fact Check, and it applies a methodology of fact-check journalism that prioritises impartiality and transparency.

    We laid out, from the start, the criteria by which we would eventually assess each promise, to ensure only those that could be assessed by the end of the electoral term were included.

    Three years on, we determined whether those criteria had been met, marking promises as “delivered”, “thwarted” or “broken”. In a few cases, some remain “in progress” or “stalled”.

    Mostly good news for the government

    Overall, the government delivered at least 46 of the promises (roughly 70%) we tracked. Many of these are in areas typically seen as Labor strengths.

    These include key promises in health and aged care, such as funding pay rises for aged care workers, requiring aged care homes to keep a registered nurse on site 24/7, and mandating minimum “care minutes” for their residents.

    On education, employment and social services, the government boosted childcare subsidies and increased workplace protections for gig workers. It also delivered funding for 450,000 fee-free TAFE places and for the states to hire 500 support workers for women in crisis.

    Integrity was a key theme of the 2022 election, and the government has since followed through on establishing an anti-corruption commission, delivering a royal commission into Robodebt and implementing all the recommendations of the Respect@Work report that fell within its remit.

    And on the all-important cost of living, Labor cut the maximum price for Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) scripts, boosted payments for disabled veterans, increased the low-and-middle income tax offset by $420 and – following a Senate standoff with the Greens and Coalition — established a $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund.

    And some bad news

    But it was not all smooth sailing for the government. It failed to deliver on at least 14 pledges (roughly 20%), including a promise to increase real wages above pre-election levels. It’s pledged to address real wages through a submission to the Fair Work Commission this time around.

    Arguably, it was unlucky on defence spending. Despite injecting $10 billion over its first three years, Labor is poised to miss its target of spending “at least” 2% of gross domestic product on defence, due to an uptick in GDP.

    In other cases, the government never really got close. After promising to deliver 450 gigalitres of environmental water under the Murray Darling Basin Plan, it only managed 27.5GL.

    And some deadlines were simply missed, with the government belatedly establishing 50 urgent care clinics and introducing a new Pacific Engagement Visa.

    Among the most controversial issues was Labor’s restructuring of the stage three tax cuts, having previously pledged to implement the cuts exactly as the Coalition had formulated them. But polling showed voters may forgive the “breaking” of a pledge if they agree with the outcome.

    The government also retreated from its promise to establish a Makarrata Commission following the defeated Voice referendum, providing an example of how changed political circumstances can come to haunt promises made years earlier.

    Not always an easy answer

    Despite the best intentions, some promises don’t fit neatly into the “delivered” or “broken” binary.

    For example, Labor promised Australia would make a joint bid with Pacific Island countries to host a United Nations climate conference. But the government can’t formally submit a bid unless Turkey bows out of the race, meaning this pledge has been “thwarted”.

    And it remains to be seen whether households will receive a much-touted $275 cut to their annual electricity bill (on 2021 levels) by mid-2025. The necessary data won’t arrive until after the election, and Labor’s energy rebates have complicated the picture.

    Prime Minister Anthony Albanese may not have delivered on “every single thing” he promised, but of the promises we tracked, far more were kept than broken.

    This suggests the Albanese government has performed on a fairly level footing with other comparative countries, as well as with the Gillard Labor government.

    But voters will have different views on which promises are most important, so as ever, it’s the details that matter.

    Lisa Waller receives funding from The Australian Research Council

    David Campbell and Frank Rindert Algra-Maschio do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Labor made plenty of promises at the last election. Did they deliver? – https://theconversation.com/labor-made-plenty-of-promises-at-the-last-election-did-they-deliver-251481

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI: Magnite to Announce First Quarter 2025 Financial Results on May 7, 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, April 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Magnite (Nasdaq: MGNI), the largest independent sell-side advertising company, will announce its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025 after the market close on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. The Company will host a conference call at 1:30 PM (PT) / 4:30 PM (ET) the same day to discuss its financial results and outlook.

    Live conference call      
    Toll free number:     (844) 875-6911 (for domestic callers)
    Direct dial number:     (412) 902-6511 (for international callers)
    Passcode:     Ask to join the Magnite conference call
    Simultaneous audio webcast:     http://investor.magnite.com, under “Events and Presentations”
     
    Conference call replay      
    Toll free number:     (877) 344-7529 (for domestic callers)
    Direct dial number:     (412) 317-0088 (for international callers)
    Passcode:     4251284
    Webcast link:     http://investor.magnite.com, under “Events and Presentations”
           

    About Magnite

    We’re Magnite (NASDAQ: MGNI), the world’s largest independent sell-side advertising company. Publishers use our technology to monetize their content across all screens and formats including CTV, online video, display, and audio. The world’s leading agencies and brands trust our platform to access brand-safe, high-quality ad inventory and execute billions of advertising transactions each month. Anchored in bustling New York City, sunny Los Angeles, mile high Denver, historic London, colorful Singapore and down under in Sydney, Magnite has offices across North America, EMEA, LATAM, and APAC.

    Investor Relations Contact
    Nick Kormeluk, 949-500-0003
    nkormeluk@magnite.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Midland States Bancorp, Inc. receives expected notification of deficiency from Nasdaq related to delayed filing of Annual Report on Form 10-K

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    EFFINGHAM, Ill., April 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Midland States Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: MSBI) (the “Company”) today announced that it received an expected deficiency notification letter from the Listing Qualifications Staff of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) on April 3, 2025 (the “Notice”). The Notice indicated that the Company was not in compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1) (the “Listing Rule”) as a result of its failure to timely file its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 (the “Form 10-K”), as described more fully in the Company’s Form 12b-25 Notification of Late Filing (the “Form 12b-25”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on March 17, 2025. The Listing Rule requires Nasdaq-listed companies to timely file all required periodic reports with the SEC.

    The Notice has no immediate effect on the listing or trading of the Company’s common stock or depositary shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

    In accordance with Nasdaq’s listing rules, the Company has 60 calendar days after the Notice to submit a plan to regain compliance with the Listing Rule. Pursuant to the Notice, Nasdaq has the discretion to grant the Company up to 180 calendar days from the filing’s due date, or until September 29, 2025, to regain compliance. The Company intends to take the necessary steps to regain compliance with Nasdaq’s listing rules as soon as practicable.

    As discussed in the Form 12b-25, the Company requires additional time and effort required to finalize its evaluation of the accounting and financial reporting of a third party lending and servicing arrangement, including obtaining third party documentation and analysis. Additionally, the Company is evaluating the impact related to its internal control over financial reporting. The Company expects to file the Form 10-K as soon as practicable.

    Safe Harbor Statement

    This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company’s expectations as to the anticipated timing of filing the Form 10-K, completion of the Company’s audit for fiscal year 2024, any impact on the Company’s previously reported financial results for the year ended December 31, 2024, and statements relating to the Company’s plan to regain compliance with Nasdaq’s listing rules, as well as all statements that are not historical facts. These forward-looking statements are subject to change, and actual results may materially differ from those set forth in this press release due to certain risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause or contribute to changes in such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the expected timing and results of the Company’s audit for fiscal year 2024; the risk that the completion and filing of the Form 10-K will take longer than expected; uncertainties about the timing of the Company’s submission of a compliance plan; Nasdaq’s acceptance of any such plan; the duration of any extension that may be granted by Nasdaq; and the risk that the Company will be unable to meet Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements. The foregoing review of important factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements set forth in reports filed with the SEC. Undue reliance should not be placed on any forward-looking statement contained herein. These statements reflect the Company’s position as of the date of this Current Report. The Company expressly disclaims any undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any statements to reflect any change in the Company’s expectations or any change of events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

    About Midland States Bancorp, Inc.

    Midland States Bancorp, Inc. is a community-based financial holding company headquartered in Effingham, Illinois, and is the sole shareholder of Midland States Bank. As of December 31, 2024, the Company had total assets of approximately $7.53 billion, and its Wealth Management Group had assets under administration of approximately $4.15 billion. The Company provides a full range of commercial and consumer banking products and services and business equipment financing, merchant credit card services, trust and investment management, insurance and financial planning services. For additional information, visit https://www.midlandsb.com/ or https://www.linkedin.com/company/midland-states-bank.

    CONTACTS:
    Eric T. Lemke, Chief Financial Officer, at elemke@midlandsb.com or (217) 342-7321

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Glacier Bancorp Receives Final Regulatory Approvals for Its Acquisition of Bank of Idaho Holding Co.

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    KALISPELL, Mont., April 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Glacier Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: GBCI) today announced that all regulatory approvals required in connection with its previously announced acquisition of Bank of Idaho Holding Co. (“BOID”) (OTCQX: BOID), and its bank subsidiary, Bank of Idaho, have been received. The transaction is scheduled to be completed April 30, 2025, subject to the satisfaction of remaining conditions to closing set forth in the merger agreement, including approval by BOID shareholders at a special meeting of shareholders now scheduled for April 21, 2025.

    About Glacier Bancorp, Inc.
    Glacier Bancorp, Inc. is the parent company for Glacier Bank and its bank divisions: Altabank (American Fork, UT), Bank of the San Juans (Durango, CO), Citizens Community Bank (Pocatello, ID), Collegiate Peaks Bank (Buena Vista, CO), First Bank of Montana (Lewistown, MT), First Bank of Wyoming (Powell, WY), First Community Bank Utah (Layton, UT), First Security Bank (Bozeman, MT), First Security Bank of Missoula (Missoula, MT), First State Bank (Wheatland, WY), Glacier Bank (Kalispell, MT), Heritage Bank of Nevada (Reno, NV), Mountain West Bank (Coeur d’Alene, ID), The Foothills Bank (Yuma, AZ), Valley Bank (Helena, MT), Western Security Bank (Billings, MT), and Wheatland Bank (Spokane, WA).

    Visit Glacier’s website at www.glacierbancorp.com.

    Important Information and Where You Can Find It
    This communication relates to the proposed merger transaction involving Glacier and BOID. This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities.

    In connection with the proposed merger transaction, Glacier filed with the SEC a Registration Statement on Form S-4 (the “Registration Statement”) that included a Proxy Statement of BOID and a Prospectus of Glacier, as well as other relevant documents concerning the proposed transaction. Shareholders of BOID are urged to read carefully the Registration Statement and the Proxy Statement/Prospectus included therein regarding the proposed merger transaction and any other relevant documents filed with the SEC, as well as any amendments or supplements to those documents, because they will contain important information. A free copy of the Proxy Statement/Prospectus included in the Registration Statement, as well as other filings containing information about Glacier, may be obtained at the SEC’s Internet site (http://www.sec.gov). You will also be able to obtain these documents, free of charge, from Glacier at www.glacierbancorp.com under the tab “SEC Filings” or by requesting them in writing or by telephone from Glacier at: Glacier Bancorp, Inc., 49 Commons Loop, Kalispell, Montana 59901, ATTN: Corporate Secretary; Telephone (406) 751-7706.

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as “estimate,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “will,” and similar references to future periods. Such forward-looking statements include but are not limited to statements regarding the expected closing of the transaction and its timing and the potential benefits of the business combination transaction involving Glacier and BOID, including future financial and operating results, the combined company’s plans, objectives, expectations and intentions, and other statements that are not historical facts regarding either company or the proposed combination of the companies. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside of our control, that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those projected, including but not limited to the following: risks that the merger transaction will not close when expected or at all because shareholder approval or other conditions to closing are delayed or not received or satisfied on a timely basis or at all; risks that the benefits from the transaction may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected, including as a result of changes in general economic and market conditions, interest and exchange rates, monetary policy, laws and regulations and their enforcement, and the degree of competition in the geographic and business areas in which Glacier and BOID operate; uncertainties regarding the ability of Glacier Bank and Bank of Idaho to promptly and effectively integrate their businesses, including into Glacier Bank’s existing division structure; changes in business and operational strategies that may occur between signing and closing; uncertainties regarding the reaction to the transaction of the companies’ respective customers, employees, and contractual counterparties; and risks relating to the diversion of management time on merger-related issues. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made and reflect management’s current estimates, projections, expectations and beliefs. Glacier undertakes no obligation to publicly revise or update the forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date of this report. For more information, see the risk factors described in Glacier’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, and other filings with the SEC.

    CONTACT: Randall M. Chesler
    (406) 751-4722

    Ron J. Copher
    (406) 751-7706

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SBA Offers Relief to Texas Small Businesses and Private Nonprofits Affected by Winter Drought

    Source: United States Small Business Administration

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the availability of low interest federal disaster loans to small businesses and private nonprofit (PNP) organizations in Texas who sustained economic losses due to the drought beginning Jan. 28.

    The declaration includes the counties of Aransas, Austin, Bee, Brooks, Calhoun, Colorado, Concho, DeWitt, Dimmit, Duval, Fayette, Goliad, Gonzales, Hidalgo, Jackson, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Karnes, Kimble, Kleberg, La Salle, Lavaca, Live Oak, Mason, Matagorda, Maverick, McCulloch, McMullen, Menard, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Schleicher, Starr, Sutton, Tom Green, Victoria, Webb, Wharton and Zapata.

    Under this declaration, SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, nurseries, and PNPs with financial losses directly related to the disaster. The SBA is unable to provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers, except for small aquaculture enterprises.

    EIDLs are available for working capital needs caused by the disaster and are available even if the small business or PNP did not suffer any physical damage. The loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills not paid due to the disaster.

    “Through a declaration by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, SBA provides critical financial assistance to help communities recover,” said Chris Stallings, associate administrator of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the SBA. “We’re pleased to offer loans to small businesses and private nonprofits impacted by these disasters.”

    The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates as low as 4% for small businesses and 3.625% for PNPs, with terms up to 30 years. Interest does not accrue, and payments are not due, until 12 months after the date of the first loan disbursement. The SBA sets loan amounts and terms based on each applicant’s financial condition.

    To apply online, visit sba.gov/disaster. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

    Submit completed loan applications to SBA no later than Dec. 1.

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    About the U.S. Small Business Administration

    The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.

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