NewzIntel.com

Category: Australia

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Police dog unscathed after arson in Oakden

    Source: South Australia Police

    Police are investigating after a Dog Operations vehicle was set alight over the weekend.

    Just before 10.30pm on Sunday 16 February, police were called to Sussex Court at Oakden in response to a disturbance.

    A Dog Operations patrol was called in to assist and the officer parked the vehicle on Sussex Court.

    PD Jax and his handler exited the car and began searching the area, while PD Gus remained in the rear of the vehicle.

    About 15 minutes later the officer noticed a dark figure near the rear of the vehicle and saw something impact the rear open tailgate and burst into flames.

    The officer quickly approached the vehicle and put the fire out. Thankfully, PD Gus did not require treatment and was unaffected by the fire.

    MFS crews attended and checked the utility and advised only minor damage was caused and it was safe to continue driving.

    Crime Scene officers attended to examine the car and the scene.

    Police are investigating the incident and ask anyone who saw any suspicious activity in the area, has CCTV or dashcam footage or has information that may assist to please contact Crime Stoppers.

    You can anonymously provide information to Crime Stoppers online at www.crimestopperssa.com.au or call 1800 333 000.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Grants available to boost First Nations digital inclusion

    Source: Australian Executive Government Ministers

    The Albanese Government is continuing its work to close the digital divide for First Nations people and communities, with three new programs aimed at boosting First Nations digital inclusion now accepting applications.
     
    The new programs are part of the Government’s $68 million investment in First Nations digital inclusion measures announced in the 2024-25 Federal Budget and will contribute to achieving equal levels of digital inclusion for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people under Target 17 of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.
     
    The $20 million First Nations Community Wi-Fi Program will fund eligible projects to roll-out free community Wi-Fi solutions in remote and very remote First Nations communities. Successful grantees will be required to work closely in consultation with communities to deliver place-based solutions for a minimum period of five years.
     
    This program will build on the success of the Government’s NBN Community Wi-Fi Program announced in February 2024, which is delivering free Wi-Fi connectivity in 23 remote First Nations communities in partnership with NBN Co. 
     
    Applications are also being sought for the First Nations Digital Support Hub Program and Network of Digital Mentors Program, which will support First Nations Australians to be online safely and effectively, and determine which connectivity options are best for them.

    A total of $4 million over two years is available for the development and delivery of a Digital Support Hub to provide national assistance online and over the phone to First Nations peoples and communities to help them develop their digital and connectivity literacy.

    The Digital Support Hub is complemented by $18 million in funding over three years to support the establishment of a Network of Digital Mentors, delivered in remote First Nations communities. The Digital Mentors will provide mentorship and training to improve digital literacy and assist community members to safely participate in the digital economy.

    Collectively, these programs work to support digital inclusion for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities by providing accessible, place‑based and culturally safe solutions that are tailored to the needs of individual communities.
     
    All three programs have been established on the recommendation of the First Nations Digital Inclusion Advisory Group, who has provided an initial report and Roadmap to Government on ways to close the digital divide.
     
    Applications for the First Nations Digital Support Hub and Network of Digital Mentors Programs close on 13 March 2025. 

    Applications for the First Nations Community Wi-Fi Program close on 24 April 2025.
     
    To apply, visit: GrantConnect
     
    For more information on First Nations Digital Inclusion, visit www.infrastructure.gov.au/FNDI
     
    Quotes attributable to the Minister for Communications, the Hon Michelle Rowland MP:
     
    “We’re committed to bridging the digital divide for First Nations Australians, including those living in regional, remote and very remote communities. 
     
    “Access to fast and reliable connectivity is absolutely essential for communicating, working, accessing healthcare and education – and for fully participating in today’s world.
     
    “Which is why, through these programs, we hope to see stronger access to services and opportunities for First Nations communities across Australia. 
     
    “I encourage all eligible organisations to apply for these programs and work with us to close the gap on digital inclusion.” 
     
    Quotes attributable to the Minister for Indigenous Australians, Senator the Hon Malarndirri McCarthy: 
     
    “Digital inclusion is about ensuring all Australians are able to access and benefit from digital technologies – no matter where they live.
     
    “That is why we are committed to working with First Nations people to bridge the digital divide, provide access to information and services and address the barriers to participating online.
     
    “I look forward to seeing these programs commence their roll out this year – empowering remote and very remote communities across the country through digital connectivity.” 
     

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Westminster visit to the UK a learning success for National MPs

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    The visit was part of Westminster Foundation for Democracy’s partnership with the National Parliament of Solomon Islands which began in 2022.

    The MPs also met the Speaker of the House of Commons, Rt. Hon. Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP.

    It has been a learning experience for three National Members of Parliament from Solomon Islands who toured Westminster and Tynwald (Isle of Man) Parliament in the UK last month.

    The MPs included Member of Parliament for Maringe Kokota Constituency Hon. Cathy Launa Nori; Member of Parliament for Ngella Constituency Hon. Choylin Yim Douglas and Member of Parliament for Central Kwara’ae Constituency Hon. Ricky Fuo’o.

    The visit was part of Westminster Foundation for Democracy’s partnership with the National Parliament of Solomon Islands which began in 2022 with the aim to strengthening parliamentary profile, practices and procedures towards enhanced democratic capacity and resilience.

    The Member of Parliament for Central Kwara’ae, Ricky Fuo’o shared his experience in London saying:

    Democracy is not just about elections but about a system of governance that respects human rights, allows for genuine political competition and holds leaders accountable. It is up to all of us leaders, institutions, and citizens to safeguard democracy and prevent it from sliding into authoritarian rule disguised as ‘democratic governance.

    While I was there, I had to opportunity to be invited to the parliament to witness the questioning of the Prime Minister. What really surprised me is that it was not just the opposition doing the questioning, but the Ministers and Backbenchers of the ruling government were also questioning the prime minister.

    The MPs also had meetings with Rt. Hon the Lord Bruce of Bennachie and Dr. Victoria Hasson, who work closely with the Westminster Foundation for Democracy and have visited Solomon Islands for the programme on several occasions. 

    Clerk to the National Parliament of Solomon Islands, Jefferson Hallu, accompanied the MPs who also observed a Westminster Hall Debate. They had the opportunity to observe the Prime Minister’s Question Time at the House of Commons Chamber at the Palace of Westminster.

    The MPs also met with the Speaker of the House of Commons, Rt. Hon. Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP; Liam Laurence Smyth, Clerk of Legislation, House of Commons, Bob Blackman MP, Backbench Business Committee Chair amongst others at Westminster and held a meeting with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

    Westminster Foundation for Democracy is the UK public body dedicated to strengthening democracy around the world.

    Updates to this page

    Published 17 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-Evening Report: We’ve told this story for 2,500 years: how Hadestown playfully brings alive an ancient Greek myth

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Louise Pryke, Honorary Research Associate, Department of Classics and Ancient History, University of Sydney

    Lisa Tomasetti/Opera Australia

    “It’s an old song”, Hermes (Christine Anu) sings at the opening of Hadestown, but “we’re gonna sing it again and again”.

    Based on a myth first told in Greece over 2,500 years ago, Hadestown is a modern retelling of the story of lovers Orpheus and Eurydice.

    In ancient Greece, Orpheus was considered the greatest of all musicians, due to his divine heritage. His musical ability makes Orpheus uniquely well suited as the lead for a musical.

    In the myth and the musical, Orpheus descends into the Underworld to retrieve his wife, Eurydice, after her untimely death. Moved by his powerful song, the king and queen of the Underworld, Hades and Persephone, allow Orpheus to leave their realm with Eurydice.

    One condition: Orpheus must not look back at his wife until they have fully emerged from the underworld.

    It’s a tale of a love from long ago

    The story of Orpheus and Eurydice is one of the most retold myths from antiquity, likely due to its narrative focus on love, loss, and the human condition.

    The ancient story of Orpheus and Eurydice is best known from Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Virgil’s Georgics. While Ovid places Orpheus in a world governed by unpredictable gods, Virgil’s focus on natural order means that the tragic events feel predetermined.

    Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Orpheus Leading Eurydice from the Underworld, 1861.
    The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

    There are numerous other ancient versions, including a mention in Plato’s Symposium, where the philosopher (somewhat unfairly) suggests the musician lacked commitment to his lover.

    During the Middle Ages, Eurydice was paralleled with biblical Eve. Eurydice and Eve were both figures known to have unfortunate encounters with snakes, and both were viewed as vulnerable to sin (in Eurydice’s case, being carried away by Hades).

    Orpheus was sometimes seen as a Christ-like figure, with his descent to hell compared to Christ’s journey to save souls. Indeed, Orpheus is referenced by his fellow traveller to Hell, Dante, in his Inferno.

    Jean Raoux, Orpheus and Eurydice, about 1709.
    Getty Museum

    The lovers’ story inspired artists such as Rubens and Titian, and many operas, such as L’Orfeo by Monteverdi (1607). Indeed, operas featuring Orpheus are sufficiently numerous to have their own Wikipedia page.

    The love story of Orpheus and Eurydice recently featured in the Netflix series Kaos (2024). The story is referenced in video games Don’t Look Back (2009) and Hades (2020).

    Orpheus’ desperate journey to reconnect with his lost love holds continued relevance, thousands of years after its first telling.

    Our lady of the underground

    In the musical, the story of Orpheus and Eurydice is paralleled with the story of Hades and Persephone.

    In ancient myth, the union of Hades and Persephone in the Underworld was said to cause the changing of the seasons.

    Evelyn De Morgan, Demeter Mourning for Persephone,1906.
    Wikimedia Commons

    Persephone’s divine mother, Demeter, goddess of the harvest and fertility, was so devastated by her daughter’s abduction by Hades that no plants would grow.

    Zeus offered the solution: Persephone would spend half the year below ground and half above.

    When Persephone was with Hades, the world would enter winter. The new life connected with the coming of spring signalled Demeter’s joy at the return of her beloved daughter.

    Way down Hadestown

    The musical, written by Anaïs Mitchell, is largely faithful to the broad arc of the ancient story of Orpheus and Eurydice. A notable exception is seen in the death of Eurydice. In the ancient myth, this is often attributed to snakebite; in the musical she chooses to descend to the Underworld due to economic desperation.

    Having Eurydice choose to sign her life over to Hades arguably lends her a limited amount of agency, although she almost immediately regrets her decision.

    The choice to give Eurydice a more distinctive voice is reminiscent of the works of Victorian poets Edward Dowden and Robert Browning, as well as later poems by Margaret Atwood and Carol Ann Duffy.

    While in the ancient myth, Eurydice’s speech is limited to her whispered farewell, these poets all give us an insight into Eurydice’s thoughts and feelings. The musical continues this tradition of giving agency, hopes and opinions.

    The story of Orpheus and Eurydice is paralleled in the musical with the story of Hades and Persephone.
    Lisa Tomasetti/Opera Australia

    The dangers posed by unpredictable seasons, seen in the ancient myth of Hades and Persephone, is used in the musical to reflect modern concerns over climate change and environmental decline.

    Rising seas and poor harvests threaten the lives of those inhabiting the industrialised world of Hadestown.

    Orpheus attempts to bring a dystopian world “back in tune” through restoring environmental harmony, bringing a hopeful note to the tragic story.

    Anu is a reassuring presence as the narrator and Orpheus’ confidant, the god Hermes.
    Lisa Tomasetti/Opera Australia

    Nothing changes

    In this Australian restaging of the hit Broadway production, Noah Mullins rises to the significant challenge of portraying Orpheus, the greatest of all musicians. Abigail Adriano’s raw portrayal of Eurydice’s confinement in the underworld is genuinely moving.

    Anu is a reassuring presence as the narrator and Orpheus’ confidant, the god Hermes. Adrian Tamburini’s powerful bass-baritone adds to the authority of Hades, and Elenoa Rokobaro gives a dazzling performance as Persephone. The chorus and mostly on-stage band are excellent.

    The story of Orpheus and Eurydice has been told for thousands of years.
    Lisa Tomasetti/Opera Australia

    At its heart, the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice confronts one of the defining challenges of mortality: the reality that death can separate us from those we love and value most.

    In retelling the myth, Hadestown offers timely meditations on the power of creativity and human connection, bringing this ancient love story alive again for modern audiences.

    Hadestown is in Sydney until April 26, then touring to Melbourne.

    Louise Pryke 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. We’ve told this story for 2,500 years: how Hadestown playfully brings alive an ancient Greek myth – https://theconversation.com/weve-told-this-story-for-2-500-years-how-hadestown-playfully-brings-alive-an-ancient-greek-myth-249718

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Would Sidney Nolan be cancelled for painting Ned Kelly today? That’s what Creative Australia has done to Khaled Sabsabi

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ella Barclay, Senior Lecturer, School of Art and Design, Australian National University

    Despite the perceived outrage at Khaled Sabsabi’s depiction of Hassan Nasrallah in his 2007 work You, Australian art has long made subjects of outlaws and questionable figures. And it is all the richer for it.

    On Thursday, Shadow Arts Minister and self-described defender of free speech Claire Chandler asked Senator Penny Wong:

    Why is the Albanese government allowing a person who highlights a terrorist leader in his artwork to represent Australia on the international stage at the Venice Biennale?

    Without seeing the work, Senator Wong said

    I agree with you that any glorification of the Hezbollah leader Nasrallah is inappropriate.

    This was followed by disapproval from Arts Minister Tony Burke. Within 24 hours, Creative Australia’s board announced Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino, the nominated artistic team for the Australian Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, had been scratched.

    The news sparked shock resignations at Creative Australia, private funding retractions and widespread outrage across the Australian and international arts sectors.

    The work in question, You, isn’t related to Sabsabi’s proposed 2026 Biennale work. It is an experimental video artwork which engages with the complexities of the 2006 Lebanon War and how Sabsabi, who was born in Tripoli and migrated to Australia in 1978, may have experienced this war remotely via newsfeed.

    The work features images of now-deceased Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. It should be noted the work was made in 2007, 14 years before Australia determined Hezbollah to be a terrorist organisation. It resides in the prestigious collection of Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art.

    A double standard

    Prior to Sabsabi, a number of prominent Australian artists have depicted outlaws and controversial figures in their work. So how were those works received?

    Let’s look at Sidney Nolan’s Ned Kelly series as an example. These 27 famous paintings depict the notorious bushranger Edward (Ned) Kelly’s final days in 1880. Nolan painted the series between 1946 and 1947, in the aftermath of the catastrophic second world war.

    The works can be understood as an effort to investigate homegrown violence in Australia’s history, wherein the outlaw is a metaphor used to explore conflicting migrant/settler cultures among the bright and dusty central Victorian landscape.

    Similarly, late Australian painter and 2000 Archibald Prize winner Adam Cullen did not meet much controversy when his 2002 portrait of convicted violent criminal Mark “Chopper” Read was installed in the Art Gallery of NSW. That same year, Cullen illustrated Mark Read’s children’s book, Hooky the Cripple.

    An acclaimed artist, Cullen is revered for depicting violence and darkness in Australian culture. His works reside in most state and national collections.

    Art thrives through diverse perspectives

    Marri Ngarr artist Ryan Presley’s 2018 series Blood Money revises Australian banknotes to feature historical First Nations figures, and forms part of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s art collection.

    Works in the series include First Nations colonial resistance fighters and outlaws Jandamarra (1873–97), Woloa (1800-31), Pemulwuy (1750-1802) and Dundalli (circa 1820-55).

    These individuals waged violence against the Crown and were classified as enemy combatants in their time. Yet it’s fair to say they make compelling and appropriate subjects for Presley’s art, which helps us better understand Australia’s complex and violent history.

    Iranian-born Australian photographer Hoda Afshar’s Agonistes (2020), an award-winning portrait series with accompanying video, features various Australian whistleblowers, including Witness K Lawyer Bernard Collaery and the incarcerated Afghan Files whistleblower David McBride.

    Each figure depicted in Afshar’s portraits has faced punishment and persecution by local authorities, in part due to Australia’s weak whistleblower protection laws.

    Khaled Sabsabi is a distinguished Australian artist whose Biennale proposal won a rigorous open tender to be exhibited in Venice 2026. Spanning 30 years, his work examines spiritualism, optimism and the intricate beauty of a migrant Australian experience that’s particularly unique to the global microcosm of Western Sydney.

    If artists are to be cancelled for making works that spark “divisive debate”, as Creative Australia has called it, there won’t be much art left to see.

    Ella Barclay has previously received funding from Creative Australia.

    – ref. Would Sidney Nolan be cancelled for painting Ned Kelly today? That’s what Creative Australia has done to Khaled Sabsabi – https://theconversation.com/would-sidney-nolan-be-cancelled-for-painting-ned-kelly-today-thats-what-creative-australia-has-done-to-khaled-sabsabi-249952

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Lethal second-generation rat poisons are killing endangered quolls and Tasmanian devils

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Davis, Associate Professor in Conservation, Edith Cowan University

    Adwo/Shutterstock

    Humans have been poisoning rodents for centuries. But fast-breeding rats and mice have evolved resistance to earlier poisons. In response, manufacturers have produced second generation anticoagulant rodenticides such as bromadiolone, widely used in Australian households.

    Unfortunately, these potent poisons do not magically disappear after the rodent is dead. For example, it’s well known owls who eat poisoned rodents suffer the same slow death from internal bleeding.

    Our new research shows the problem is much bigger than owls. We found Australia’s five largest marsupial predators – the four quoll species and the Tasmanian devil – are getting hit by these poisons too.

    Half of the 52 animals we tested had these poisons in their bodies. Some had died from it. These species are already threatened by foxes and feral cats. Rat poison is yet another threat – and one they may not be able to survive. Other countries have moved to ban these poisons. But in Australia, they’re widely available.

    How does rat poison end up in a Tasmanian devil?

    Quolls and Tasmanian devils are carnivores. They eat mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles, finding food by hunting – or by scavenging dead bodies, including rats and mice. But do they eat enough poisoned rats and mice to be at risk?

    To find out, we analysed liver samples from all four of Australia’s quoll species as well as the iconic Tasmanian devil. The samples came from dead animals from a range of sources, including animals dying in veterinary care, found as roadkill, or simply found dead.

    Each of these species is endangered or vulnerable. Together, they represent the largest remaining Australian carnivorous marsupials – native animals at the top of their food chains.

    We tested samples from 52 animals. Half of these were positive for second generation anticoagulant rodenticides. Of these, 21% tested positive for more than one rodenticide.

    Unfortunately, many animals we tested had consumed doses high enough to kill. Around 15% of the Tasmanian devils, 20% of the eastern quolls, 22% of chuditch (western quolls) and 20% of the spotted-tailed quolls tested were very likely to die either from the poison itself or a related cause such as longer-term sickening.

    Tasmanian devils often scavenge from carcasses – exposing them to poisoned rats.
    Vaclav Matous/Shutterstock

    We found one chuditch from a Perth suburb had been exposed to three different second-generation rodenticides. It had levels of one poison, brodifacoum, at 1.6 milligrams per kilo, far above the rate presumed to be lethal to mammals. This is likely the highest recorded exposure rate in an Australian marsupial.

    Some 5% of Tasmanian devils had also been exposed to lethal levels of these second-generation poisons and a further 10% were exposed to potentially lethal levels.

    Even when these poisons don’t directly kill the quoll or devil, they can leave it worse off.

    All five species are threatened, meaning their populations are a fraction of what they used to be. Even small changes to populations can trigger more rapid decline.

    Our analysis indicates an increase in deaths of just 2–4% of the chuditch population could increase extinction risk by 75%. This figure is dwarfed by how many chuditch are at risk from rat poisons, which we estimate at 22% of any given population in each generation, based on the exposure rates here.

    So, exposure to rat poison alone is likely enough to tip the species towards extinction – even without other threats such as being killed by foxes and cats.

    The release of an eastern quoll during a translocation. Rat poisons may pose a real risk to the species.
    Judy Dunlop, CC BY-NC-ND

    Can poisons be too potent?

    After the poison kills a mouse or rat, it remains lethal for some time.

    The poisons we examined take several months to halve in toxicity, meaning during this time they can kill owls, reptiles, frogs and small and medium-sized mammals such as possums.

    In Australia and around the world, evidence is mounting that these second-generation rodenticides are killing many more animals than those targeted. The poisons are hitting a wide range of carnivores including otters, wolves, foxes and raccoons. Even the famous Californian condor is threatened by rodenticides.

    Efforts to use thousands of litres of bromadiolone to stop a mouse plague in New South Wales triggered strong criticism. But to date, criticism has done little to curb their use in Australia.

    Second generation anticoagulant poisons are extremely effective at killing rats and mice – but the poison doesn’t stop there.
    speedshutter Photography/Shutterstock

    Australia is an outlier on this issue. In European and North American nations, these products are restricted to use by licensed pest controllers and banned for home use. Some nations have gone further and banned these poisons altogether. But here, you can buy them at Bunnings, Coles or Woolworths.

    Last year, a delegation of Australian researchers lobbied politicians to do more to regulate the use of these poisons.

    The institution responsible for ensuring poisons are safe is the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicine Authority. At present, the authority is weighing a decision on whether to introduce restrictions on these second-generation poisons, expected in April.

    Four other threatened Australian species – the Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle, Tasmanian masked owl, powerful owl and Carnaby’s black cockatoo – have previously been found to be exposed to these rodenticides. Our research takes this tally to nine threatened species.

    In the absence of regulation, you can make a difference at home. Don’t use second-generation poisons which rely on brodifacoum, bromadiolone, difethialone, difenacoum or flocoumafen. Get rid of your mouse or rat problem with first-generation poisons containing warfarin, coumatetralyl or other chemicals.

    If you only have a mouse or two, consider looking at non-poison alternatives.

    Taking a moment to consider these alternatives could save Australia’s most threatened native predators from an agonising death.

    Acknowledgements: Michael Lohr (Birdlife Australia) was the lead author on the research behind this article. Cheryl Lohr (Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Western Australia) contributed to the research.

    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. Lethal second-generation rat poisons are killing endangered quolls and Tasmanian devils – https://theconversation.com/lethal-second-generation-rat-poisons-are-killing-endangered-quolls-and-tasmanian-devils-250035

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Disaster support for Hilltops after severe storm

    Source: New South Wales Government 2

    Headline: Disaster support for Hilltops after severe storm

    Published: 17 February 2025

    Released by: Minister for Emergency Services

    The Albanese and Minns Governments are activating disaster recovery support for communities in the Hilltops Local Government Area (LGA) following a severe storm on 10 February 2025.

    Assistance measures that may be provided to communities through the Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) include:

    • Support for eligible residents to help meet immediate needs like emergency accommodation.
    • Grants for low income, uninsured residents to replace lost essential household items to maintain a basic standard of living.
    • Grants for low income, uninsured residents to undertake essential structural repairs to restore their homes to a safe and habitable condition.
    • Support for affected local councils and other agencies to help with the costs of cleaning up, keeping the community safe and restoring damaged essential public assets.
    • Concessional interest rate loans for small businesses, primary producers, and nonprofit organisations and grants to sporting and recreation clubs to repair or replace damaged or destroyed property.
    • Freight subsidies for primary producers to help transport livestock and fodder.

    Federal Minister for Emergency Management Jenny McAllister said the funding will help the community clean up sooner and recover faster.

    “Right now communities right across Australia are preparing for, or cleaning up from, the impacts of wild weather, and we are there supporting the,” Minister McAllister said.
    “In NSW, we are working with the Minns Government to ensure communities across Hilltops get the support they need to clean up and recover.”

    NSW Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib said the hail storm left significant damage and the SES have been on the ground assisting the community with the cleanup.

    “The NSW SES and emergency services have been helping the people of Harden get back to their daily lives as soon as possible. Emergency services have been assisting the community to make their homes and businesses safe, ensuring they can access groceries
    and essential supplies, and supporting Council in the cleanup and restoration of essential public assets.” Minister Dib said.

    “As a result of this storm there has been a high number of calls to the NSW SES and emergency responders for help, and I would like to thank our volunteers and emergency workers who provided critical support to the community during this time.”

    “I am also pleased that NSW Reconstruction Authority staff are on the ground, providing information, advice and referrals to local services so that people get the support they need.”

    Further information on disaster assistance can be found on the Disaster Assist website.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: New data shows lift in high school retention rates and teacher numbers

    Source: Australian Ministers for Education

    New data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows the number of school students staying in school until year 12 has gone up for the first time in almost 10 years.

    The former Liberal Government ripped $30 billion out of schools. Since then, the number of students finishing high school in public schools dropped from 83 per cent to 73 per cent. The Liberal Party also attacked our teachers and called them “duds”.

    The Albanese Labor Government has a different approach which is about fixing the funding of our schools, tying it to reform and backing our teachers.

    According to the ABS:

    “The overall growth in the proportion of students staying from year 10 until year 12 was largely driven by students at government schools, which was up 1.3 percentage points to 74.3 per cent in 2024.”

    This is good news. We want more young people to finish school and then go on to TAFE or university. We are now finally seeing this head in the right direction for the first time in almost a decade.

    We are also seeing more teachers in the classroom and more people wanting to become a teacher.

    The ABS data highlights a rise in teacher numbers across the country, with the average student-to-teacher ratio falling to a new low since 2006 of 12.9 students to one teacher.

    Australian schools had 320,377 full-time equivalent teaching staff in 2024, a 2.8 per cent rise from 2023.

    This follows recent analysis of preliminary data from the Department of Education that showed both applications and offers are up for people wanting to study an undergraduate course in education.

    Overall, preliminary results from tertiary admission centres are showing a 7 per cent increase in applications and a 14 per cent increase in offers compared to 2024.

    These positive results come after the Albanese Labor Government and state and territory governments have been working together to tackle the teacher workforce shortage through the National Teacher Workforce Action Plan.

    Many states and territories have delivered significant pay increases for the teaching profession over the past two years. They have also taken important steps to help reduce teacher workload.

    We have brought back teaching scholarships worth up to $40,000 each to encourage more people to study teaching.

    And for the first time ever, the Australian Government is introducing a Prac Payment for teaching students which provides financial support while they do the practical part of their course.

    These initiatives come on top of the biggest reforms to teacher training in a generation, which include a stronger focus on how to teach children to read and write and do maths and manage behaviour.

    Comment attributable to Minister for Education, Jason Clare:

    “This is good news. We are starting to see things heading in the right direction for the first time in almost a decade.

    “The Liberals ripped the guts out of school funding, called our teachers duds and did nothing to lift standards.

    “We are starting to turn this around but there is a lot more to do.” 

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: 41-2025: Change to the release conditions for live marine ornamental fish sharing a recirculating system

    Source: Australia Government Statements – Agriculture

    17 February 2025

    Who does this notice affect?

    1. Biosecurity industry participants who hold a Class 7.1 approved arrangement for the import of live ornamental fish.
    2. Importers of live marine ornamental fish.
    3. Departmental staff who attend the class 7.1 approved arrangement, to inspect and release live ornamental fish undergoing the post arrival quarantine period.

    What has changed?

    The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has…

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: $30 million to support conservation tourism

    Source: New Zealand Government

    The Government is investing $30 million from the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy to fund more than a dozen projects to boost biodiversity and the tourist economy, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says.

    “Tourism is a key economic driver, and nature is our biggest draw card for international tourists,” says Mr Potaka.

    “Improving tourism infrastructure is good for the economy, and investing in conservation tourism is a win win.

    “Around 50 per cent of visitors cite natural landscapes and environment as their primary reason for traveling, and about 50 per cent of international tourists visit national parks.

    “While visitor satisfaction remains high, work is needed to ensure Aotearoa New Zealand continues to deliver on its promise to visitors.”

    To manage pressures at Aotearoa New Zealand’s most popular visitor sites, the Government is investing $11 million including:

    • Upgrades to huts, car parks and facilities at Aoraki Mt Cook, Rangitoto Island and Motutapu Island
    • Safety upgrades to 116 cable structures including suspension and swing bridges
    • Investment at Goat Island / Te Hāwere a Maki to improve beach access, carparking, and reflect the area’s significant cultural heritage.

    “These investments will help deliver a top-notch visitor experience at some of our most popular natural heritage sites.

    “Some will complement the Hauraki Gulf Bill that will deliver the highest ever level of environmental protection for this precious moana when it passes later this year.

    “New Zealand’s first marine reserve, Goat Island / Te Hāwere a Maki (Cape Rodney – Ōkakari Point), will be 50 years old later this year. It is among the top 10 most visited natural heritage areas with 350,000 visitors per year and has real potential for improved visitor experiences,” says Mr Potaka.

    “The benefits this will bring to the shops in Leigh, Matakana, and the surrounding area can be substantial.

    “Today’s announcement follows the Government’s launching of a new campaign to gear-up tourism for 2025 by encouraging Australians to pick New Zealand for their next holiday. We are also supporting the continued development of Māori tourism, which now contributes more than $1 billion a year to New Zealand’s economic growth,” Mr Potaka says.

    The Government is investing $19 million from the IVL into protecting biodiversity by reducing the spread of predators and invasive plant species. Investments include:

    • Stopping the spread of wallabies and managing deer and goat populations in National Parks and popular visitor areas to allow nature to thrive
    • Targeted predator control to protect native species especially the critically endangered Southern Dotterel birds in Rakiura National Park
    • Stopping and removing wilding pines from our iconic landscapes.

    “By expanding predator control, we will improve the protection of critically endangered species in national parks and grow the number of iconic birds for visitors to enjoy.

    “Wallabies have a terrible impact on indigenous forests such as at the popular Lakes Tarawera and Okataina, and down in Canterbury.

    “These investments funded from the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy will deliver better visitor experiences and improved environmental outcomes and ultimately provide a boost for sustainable tourism and growth,” Mr Potaka says.

    The funding covers work across the next three years and comes from money raised under the previous $35 IVL rate.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Appointments – Simon Davies announced as new SAP Regional President, Asia Pacific

    Source: SAP

    AUCKLAND, 17 February 2025 – SAP Asia Pacific (APAC) announced Simon Davies as President for the newly-created APAC region, effective immediately. Based in Singapore, Davies will oversee strategy, operations, people, sales, services, partners, and profitability across Asia Pacific for SAP SE (NYSE: SAP). After five years in the role, Paul Marriott returns to Europe to be closer to family.

    With SAP market units operating in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), Greater China, India, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia, Davies will be responsible for overseeing more than 31,000 employees across 78 offices. Across the APAC region, SAP services leading customers including NEC Corporation, Coles Group, Wipro, Fujitsu Limited, Shiseido, Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Corporation, Himalaya, Cochlear, and Japan Airlines.

    Prior to this appointment, Davies has spent 25 years building, selling, and implementing IT solutions in Asia Pacific, working with some of the world’s leading software companies, including Microsoft, Salesforce, and Oracle. Most recently, he was Senior Vice President and General Manager of Asia Pacific and Japan at Splunk, a position he held for over three years. Davies also serves on the board of several pre-IPO technology companies and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (MAICD).

    Manos Raptopoulos, Chief Revenue Officer for APAC, EMEA, and MEE, said “Our next chapter is being fuelled by accelerated cloud and AI innovation, underpinned by our purpose, our people, and our partnerships. Simon combines experience in Asia’s fast-growth, innovation-hungry markets with proven expertise in building high-performance, diverse, and inclusive teams. I’m confident that, under Simon, SAP APAC will build on the tremendous momentum established during Paul’s leadership and continue to be a catalyst for innovation and supporting customer success.”

    Simon Davies said, “I’m very excited for this new chapter to begin. Across Asia Pacific and Japan, we see forward-thinking businesses accelerating strategic transformation supported by SAP. Establishing a solid foundation in the cloud and leveraging business data is the gateway to exploring new avenues of growth in areas like artificial intelligence, data analytics, and sustainability.”

    About SAP
    As a global leader in enterprise applications and business AI, SAP (NYSE:SAP) stands at the nexus of business and technology. For over 50 years, organizations have trusted SAP to bring out their best by uniting business-critical operations spanning finance, procurement, HR, supply chain, and customer experience. For more information, visit www.sap.com.

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Free speech failures come home to roost

    Source: ACT Party

    After a rainbow event at Te Atatū Community Centre was stormed and shut down over the weekend, ACT Justice spokesperson Todd Stephenson is calling for cross-party commitment to free speech, freedom of assembly, and the rule of law.

    “A group of Kiwis should be able to get together at a private event to share values and ideas. On Saturday, a group was denied that right. Brian Tamaki’s mob used sheer numbers to push past library staff and shut down a rainbow event.

    “Activists on the political left have spent years embracing cancel culture, deplatforming, and the thug’s veto. Now their conservative opponents are using the exact same tactics.

    “Two years ago, a left-wing mob shut down a transgender-critical event in Albert Park, assaulting some of the attendees. Labour and Green MPs celebrated the success of the thug’s veto – the same MPs who are now aghast at Tamaki’s successful use of the same tactic.

    “When it comes to free speech, you don’t get to pick and choose. Parties on both sides of politics need to loudly and consistently stand up for the rights of not just their allies, but their political opponents, to peacefully assemble and speak.

    “Supporters of the thug’s veto often justify violence on the basis of safety. Brian Tamaki has suggested children at the Te Atatu event were being put at risk. If you think that’s the case, you should call the Police, not call up your mates to deal out vigilante justice. And if it’s found the speaker isn’t breaking any law, you can use your democratic rights to get the law changed. That’s how things work under rule of law and democracy.”

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Interview with Natarsha Belling, National News at Noon, Channel 7

    Source: Australian Treasurer

    Natarsha Belling:

    Good afternoon, Treasurer. Thanks for joining us this afternoon.

    Jim Chalmers:

    Thanks very much, Natarsha.

    Belling:

    Surely you are hoping for a rate cut tomorrow.

    Chalmers:

    Because I respect the independence of the Reserve Bank, its governor, and its board, I try not to make predictions or pre‑empt the discussions that are going on right now in Sydney about future movements in interest rates. I know that the independent Reserve Bank has a job to do and some issues to consider. I’m focused on my job. And because we’ve been working so hard on the cost of living and fighting inflation, what we’ve been able to do in Australia is get inflation down and wages up and keep unemployment low. That’s my job and I’m focused on that.

    Belling:

    Inflation is down now, but it certainly hasn’t been. And wages may be increasing, but the cost of living is hurting millions of Australians. Surely you have to admit that.

    Chalmers:

    I do, Australians are under pressure. That is still the case. Even though we have made very substantial progress together on inflation and now sustained progress on inflation, we know that Australians are still doing it tough and that’s why the cost of living is the Albanese government’s primary focus. But when it comes to inflation, even just last week a couple of the major bank economists released new forecasts for inflation. They lowered them substantially. So, we have made that very significant progress together as Australians when it comes to inflation. We have been delivering lower inflation, higher wages and low unemployment. But we know that the job’s not done and people are still under the pump.

    Belling:

    So, in regards to inflation at the moment, if inflation is coming under control and if there is a cut to the official rate tomorrow, we know that is going to take a long time to actually really dent into those family budgets. If people do have a mortgage, it will take many months to take effect and they’re still dealing with skyrocketing costs.

    Chalmers:

    First of all, again, I don’t want to engage in a hypothetical. We’ll know tomorrow afternoon whether the independent Reserve Bank’s decided to cut interest rates or not. But I do accept your broader point and that is that these cost‑of‑living pressures are pretty widespread and that’s why we’ve got the tax cuts rolling out, the energy bill relief, cheaper medicines, cheaper early childhood education, it’s why we’re getting wages moving again, more rent assistance, fee‑free TAFE – all of these things are about recognising that people are under substantial pressure. The government’s got a role to play in easing that pressure wherever it responsibly can. And that’s what we’ve been doing, really, over the course of the 2 and a half years, almost 3 years that we’ve been in office. The cost of living has been the number one focus of this government. And that will continue to be the case no matter what the Reserve Bank decides independently tomorrow.

    Belling:

    Now, the cost‑of‑living crisis is number one at the top of the agenda with how Australians will vote on the upcoming federal election. Do you concede that they won’t vote you in because they are having to deal with this cost‑of‑living crisis?

    Chalmers:

    Look, I don’t obsess over the polls, and that’s because my job is to – my job is to focus on a different set of numbers in the economy. And to the extent they’re related, I think it just reflects the fact, as you and I have been talking about today, that people are under pressure and they express that sometimes in the political system. But my focus as the Treasurer, our focus as the government, is on a different set of numbers in the economy: inflation, unemployment, wages, all of the things that you and I have been talking about today.

    Belling:

    Ok, Treasurer, there is speculation that you have been privately telling MPs not to speculate on what the Reserve Bank may do. Is that true?

    Chalmers:

    I say the same thing to my colleagues behind closed doors that I say publicly, and that is not to take any outcome from the Reserve Bank for granted, and I mean that. I have so much respect for the Reserve Bank, its governor and its board, that I don’t engage in a running commentary on what they might decide. I don’t predict or pre‑empt those discussions that are underway right now, I say that to my colleagues as well. They will announce their decision in due course. Our job as the Cabinet in the Albanese Labor government is to alleviate the cost‑of‑living pressures wherever we responsibly can, to work around the clock as we have been, on getting inflation down at the same time as we get wages up and keep unemployment low. And we have made some really good progress there, but we don’t pretend that there isn’t more work to do.

    Belling:

    Treasurer, a Budget is scheduled for March, but can you commit to that at this stage? Surely you’ll then have some more sweeteners and then go into a May election. So, can you say that Budget is locked and loaded for March?

    Chalmers:

    That’s what we’re working towards. The final decision on the timing of the election will be up to the Prime Minister, as is always the case. But Katy Gallagher and I are working very hard with the Expenditure Review Committee to put together that Budget for March. And what people can expect in our fourth Budget is what they saw in the first 3. We will continue to take the right economic decisions for the right reasons. We’ll continue to prioritise getting on top of inflation without ignoring the risks to growth in our economy. It’s been that combination, that balance that we’ve struck in the first 3 Budgets that has helped us get inflation down and wages up and keep unemployment low. And that’s the approach that we’ll continue to take in the fourth Budget.

    Belling:

    Treasurer, if Labor does lose the federal election, will you be the next Labor leader?

    Chalmers:

    I’m not even thinking about that – 100 per cent of my time is spent putting together the Budget, putting together our economic policies with our colleagues, working around the clock not just to see the return of the Albanese Labor government, but also to make sure that we can continue to make progress in the economy. The alternative to that, the big risk posed to progress in the economy, would be a change of government. We know that Australians would already be thousands of dollars worse off if Peter Dutton had his way, worse off still if he wins the election. And so my job is to work as hard as I can as Anthony Albanese’s Treasurer in this Labor government to keep making the right economic decisions to win the next election so we can continue to deliver for the Australian people, particularly when it comes to the cost of living.

    Belling:

    Jim Chalmers, thank you for joining us this afternoon.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: AUSTRAC campaign targets remitters and digital currency exchanges

    Source: Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre

    AUSTRAC recently took action against 13 remittance and digital currency exchange providers with more than 50 others still in its sights.
    The anti-money laundering regulator is wrapping up a year-long blitz to target non-reporting and under reporting, issuing another round of alerts to the industry’s potentially non-compliant operators.
    AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said alerts are a precursor to potential regulatory action and identify AUSTRAC’s concerns that operators may not be reporting suspicious matters and transactions to AUSTRAC. 

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: NSW Government marks 60 years since the Freedom Ride

    Source: New South Wales Government 2

    Headline: NSW Government marks 60 years since the Freedom Ride

    Published: 17 February 2025

    Released by: Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Treaty, Minister for Environment and Heritage

    The Minns Labor Government has marked the 60th anniversary of the 1965 Freedom Ride with the announcement of funding to complete a community pavilion in Walgett and a new program to commemorate significant steps along the Freedom Ride route.

    Minister for Heritage Penny Sharpe and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Treaty David Harris are in Walgett today to announce the grant for the Walgett Aboriginal Medical Service to complete the Freedom Ride Pavilion in Freedom Ride Memorial Park in Walgett.

    The Ministers also unveiled a blue plaque in the town, to formally recognise the Freedom Ride. It’s one of several blue plaques to be installed in key locations along the Freedom Ride route. NSW Blue Plaques are a popular heritage program recognising the events, groups and people who contributed to the rich history of NSW.

    The 1965 Freedom Ride was instrumental in raising awareness of racial injustice and building momentum for reconciliation action in Australia.

    Inspired by a set of bus trips by the civil rights movement in the US, a group of 30 University of Sydney students hired a bus, hung a banner across the front and set off on a two-week journey through regional NSW.

    Led by Indigenous rights activist Charles Perkins, the group rode through Wellington, Gulargambone and Walgett, before passing Moree, Boggabilla, Tenterfield, Lismore, Grafton, Bowraville and Kempsey.

    Their efforts were not well-received by locals, who pelted them with fruit and stones, and even chased the bus in a convoy of cars. In one town, police officers had to escort the students to safety.

    The Freedom Ride Blue Plaque Trail will capture the stories and events that took place at the key stops on the Freedom Ride journey. In Walgett, they protested a ban on Indigenous ex-servicemen entering the Returned Services League (RSL) Club. In Moree and Kempsey, they called out local laws barring Indigenous children from swimming pools. In Bowraville, they attempted to ‘gatecrash’ the cinema to protest the inequity in ticketing for Indigenous people.

    The widely publicised Freedom Ride contributed significantly to changes in Australians’ attitudes towards Aboriginal rights. Subsequently, in 1967, more than 90% of Australians voted ‘Yes’ in a landmark referendum that gave Indigenous Australians full rights as citizens.

    The Minns Labor Government is committed to reconciliation and working together with Aboriginal communities and organisations to improve the lives of and opportunities for Aboriginal people living in NSW.

    For more information on the Freedom Ride blue plaque visit https://blueplaques.nsw.gov.au/blue-plaques/locations/1965-freedom-ride

    The community will be consulted on the locations of future plaques.

    Quote attributable to Minister for Heritage, Penny Sharpe:

    “NSW has profoundly changed as a result of Charles Perkins and the students who drew attention to racial injustice in our state.

    “It is fitting that the Blue Plaques program will join up from Sydney to Walgett to mark the journey and tell the stories of the Freedom Ride and the changes that happened as a result of it.

    “In Walgett, the Freedom Ride will also be recognised through the addition of a Freedom Ride Pavillion in the Freedom Ride Memorial Park in Walgett, drawing visitors to the town.”

    Quote attributable to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, David Harris:

    “It is crucial we celebrate the courage, resilience and strength of the original Freedom Riders and of all Aboriginal people who, now and in the past, have led the way for racial equality in Australia. 

    “The NSW Government is committed to reconciliation and working together with Aboriginal communities and organisations to close the gap and improve the lives and opportunities for Aboriginal people living in NSW.

    “By listening to Aboriginal voices, supporting Aboriginal-led initiatives, and committing to real action, we can follow in the footsteps of the Freedom Riders to build a more just and equal Australia.”

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: The threat of 3D-printed ‘ghost guns’ is growing, but NZ is yet to act on these 3 big legal gaps

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato

    It’s an unfortunate fact that bad people sometimes want guns. And while laws are designed to prevent guns falling into the wrong hands, the determined criminal can be highly resourceful.

    There are three main ways to source an illegal weapon: find a lawful owner willing to provide one unlawfully, buy one from another criminal, or make your own.

    The first two options aren’t as easy as they sound. The buyer might “know a guy” willing to sell, but the seller generally has good reason to be cautious about who they sell to.

    The price of the right firearm can be high, too, as is how “clean” its history is. No criminal wants to be connected to someone else’s crimes by their weapon’s history.

    Which leads us to the third option. Privately made firearms, manufactured to avoid detection by the authorities, are nothing new. What has grown is the computer-aided manufacture, of which 3D-printing technology is the best known form, enabling manufacture without traditional gunsmithing skills.

    The resulting “ghost guns” will potentially become more prevalent in New Zealand, and are already posing a significant challenge in overseas jurisdictions. With public submissions on the planned rewriting of the Arms Act closing at the end of February, it’s an issue we can’t ignore.

    No room for complacency

    Although blueprints of fully 3D-printed firearms are most common, hybrid designs, conversion kits, and firearms components sold as a kit or as separate pieces, are all gaining ground.

    These are all far more advanced and deadly than the homemade wood and metal weapon used in 2022 to kill former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

    Their ease of manufacture, improved reliability and performance, non-traceability and lower cost all appear to be driving demand. There is also the ideological attraction of avoiding state scrutiny that makes 3D-printing popular with far-right extremist groups.

    New Zealand authorities seized their first 3D-printed firearm in the middle of 2018. As of the end of last year, 58 3D-printed guns and between 200 and 300 firearms parts had been seized.

    This growth mirrors overseas trends. But it’s important to keep the numbers in perspective. Of the 9,662 firearms (including airguns) the New Zealand Police seized between August 2016 and July 2022, the most common were conventional rifles and shotguns.

    However, that is no cause for complacency. If proposed firearms law reforms – such as a new registry – help shrink the black market, we can expect the ghost gun market to grow.

    3D printed guns and gun conversion devices held by the US National Firearm Reference Vault.
    Getty Images

    Gaps in the law

    Legislation passed in 2020 makes the crime of illegal manufacturing (by unlicensed people) punishable by up to ten years’ imprisonment.

    Additional penalties can be added for making certain prohibited items, such as large-capacity magazines. In October last year, an Otago man became the first to be imprisoned in New Zealand for 3D-printing firearms.

    Despite this, and the foreseeable risk, there are several significant gaps in New Zealand law.

    1. Making guns detectable

    Unlike the US and some other countries, New Zealand does not mandate that every gun be detectable by containing enough metal to set off X-ray machines and metal detectors.

    The US also prohibits any firearms with major components that do not show up accurately in standard airport imaging technology.

    2. Penalties for obtaining blueprints

    While the manufacture of 3D-printed firearms is illegal, there is nothing specific in New Zealand law about downloading blueprints.

    There may be scope within existing censorship laws around downloading objectionable material. But this may be limited by the need to classify each plan or blueprint as objectionable. And artificial intelligence means these plans can change and evolve rapidly.

    More wholesale laws covering the computer-aided manufacture of firearms or their individual parts would be preferable.

    Canada, for example, introduced recent changes to firearms law making it a crime to access or download plans or graphics. Knowingly sharing or selling such data online for manufacturing or trafficking is also a crime, with penalties of up to ten years in prison.

    New South Wales, Tasmania and South Australia are all making new laws in this area. In the case of South Australia, offenders face up to 15 years in prison for the possession of 3D-printer firearms blueprints.

    3. Preventing ‘ghost ammunition’

    Privately manufactured firearms still require ammunition to be effective, and the Arms Act is only partly effective in this area.

    Only firearms licence holders can lawfully possess non-prohibited ammunition, and all firearms dealers and ammunition sellers must keep a record of those transactions.

    But that obligation does not apply when firearms licence holders give, share or otherwise supply ammunition among themselves. Furthermore, there are only limited regulations around obtaining the precursors or tools for making ammunition, with only a few key ingredients, like gunpowder, restricted to licence holders.

    This is similar to the Australian approach. But Australia also requires licensed owners to purchase only the type of ammunition required for their specific firearms type.

    Trying to the correct balance here is tricky: the law must be practical to work but also ensure a potential ghost gun market does not create a “ghost ammunition” market, too.

    The ability to privately manufacture firearms, by computer-aided methods in particular, is a foreseeable and potentially hard-to-police problem. But by learning from other jurisdictions and making a few simple law changes, New Zealand can move now to make communities safer.

    The author thanks Clementine Annabell for assisting with the research for this article.

    Alexander Gillespie is a recipient of a Borrin Foundation Justice Fellowship to research comparative best practice in the regulation of firearms. He is also a member of the Ministerial Arms Advisory Group. The views expressed here are his own and not to be attributed to either of these organisations.

    – ref. The threat of 3D-printed ‘ghost guns’ is growing, but NZ is yet to act on these 3 big legal gaps – https://theconversation.com/the-threat-of-3d-printed-ghost-guns-is-growing-but-nz-is-yet-to-act-on-these-3-big-legal-gaps-248541

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Directors appointed to Ferry Holdings Limited

    Source: New Zealand Government

    Minister for Rail Winston Peters has announced director appointments for Ferry Holdings Limited – the schedule 4a company charged with negotiating ferry procurement contracts for two new inter-island ferries.

    Mr Peters says Ferry Holdings Limited will be responsible for negotiating long-term port agreements on either side of the Cook Strait and ensuring the seamless and integrated delivery of cost-effective replacement Interislander ferries.

    “The new chair Chris Mackenzie, deputy chair Heather Simpson, and director Greg Lowe bring substantial and specific expertise for the no-nonsense delivery of cost-effective infrastructure,” he says.

    Chris Mackenzie led the negotiations to buy back New Zealand’s rail assets in the late 2000s and was also Independent Chair of the Horizontal Infrastructure Governance Group involved in the Christchurch Rebuild.

    Heather Simpson, a former Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister and an economics lecturer brings significant experience in executing complex tasks. 

    Greg Lowe is the former global Chief Executive of Beca, former Managing Director of Beca Australia and a qualified marine engineer with previous shipbuilding experience. 

    “The new board will manage the contractual negotiations with shipyards, ports, and any other party required to deliver safe, reliable and resilient Interislander services into the future – working closely with us as shareholding Ministers.

    “The board will undertake the procurement process for new ferries and report back to Ministers for final decisions and similarly engage in the landside development planning and funding agreements with ports with decisions taken by Ministers.

    “This won’t be cost-plus infrastructure like Project iReX – it will be a pragmatic appreciation of infrastructure that can continue in service while replacing only what is needed to safely and reliably operate new Interislander ferries,” Mr Peters says

    Cabinet will take decisions on further director appointments soon.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Summary of the 10th DSCOVR EPIC and NISTAR Science Team Meeting

    Source: NASA

    Introduction
    The 10th Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) Earth Polychromatic Camera (EPIC) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Advanced Radiometer [NISTAR] Science Team Meeting (STM) was held October 16–18, 2024. Over 50 scientists attended, most of whom were from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), with several participating from other NASA centers, U.S. universities, and U.S. Department of Energy laboratories. There was one international participant – from Estonia. A full overview of DSCOVR’s Earth-observing instruments was published in a previous article in The Earth Observer and will not be repeated here. This article provides the highlights of the 2024 meeting. The meeting agenda and full presentations can be downloaded from GSFC’s Aura Validation Data Center.
    Opening Presentations
    The opening session of the 10th DSCOVR STM was special. Former U.S., Vice President Al Gore attended the opening session and gave a presentation at the panel discussion “Remote Sensing and the Future of Earth Observations” – see Photo. Gore was involved in the early days of planning the DSCOVR mission, which at that time was known as Triana. He reminisced about his involvement and praised the team for the work they’ve done over the past decade to launch and maintain the DSCOVR mission. Following the STM Opening Session, Gore spoke at a GSFC Engage session in Building 3 later that afternoon on the same topic, but before a wider audience. [Link forthcoming.]
    Following Gore’s remarks, the remainder of the opening session consisted of a series of presentations from DSCOVR mission leaders and representatives from GSFC and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Thomas Neumann [GSFC, Earth Sciences Division (ESD)—Deputy Director] opened the meeting and welcomed Vice President Gore and the STM participants on behalf of the ESD. Adam Szabo [GSFC—DSCOVR Project Scientist] briefly reported that the spacecraft was still in “good health.” The EPIC and NISTAR instruments on DSCOVR continue to return their full science observations. He also gave an update on DSCOVR Space Weather research. Alexander Marshak [GSFC—DSCOVR Deputy Project Scientist] briefly described DSCOVR mission history and the science results based on DSCOVR observations from the first Sun–Earth Lagrange point (hereinafter, the L1 point). He also summarized the major EPIC and NISTAR results to date. At this time, more than 125 papers related to DSCOVR are listed on the EPIC website. Elsayed Talaat [NOAA, Office of Space Weather observations—Director] discussed the future of Earth and space science studies from the L1 point.

    Updates on DSCOVR Operations
    The DSCOVR mission components continue to function nominally. The meeting was an opportunity to update participants on progress over the past year on several fronts, including data acquisition, processing, and archiving, and release of new versions of several data products. The number of people using DSCOVR data continues to increase, with a new Science Outreach Team having been put in place to aid users in several aspects of data discovery, access, and user friendliness.
    Amanda Raab [NOAA, DSCOVR Mission Operations and Systems] reported on the current status of the DSCOVR mission. She also discussed spacecraft risks and issues such as memory fragmentation and data storage task anomalies but indicated that both these issues have been resolved.
    Hazem Mahmoud [NASA’s Langley Research Center (LaRC)] discussed the work of the Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC), which is based at LaRC. He showed DSCOVR mission metrics since 2015, focusing on data downloads and the global outreach of the mission. He noted that there has been a significant rise in the number of downloads and an increasing diversity of countries accessing ozone (O3), aerosol, and cloud data products. Mahmoud also announced that the ASDC is transitioning to the Amazon Web Services cloud, which will further enhance global access and streamline DSCOVR data processing.
    Karin Blank [GSFC] covered the discovery of a new type of mirage that can only be seen in deep space from EPIC. The discussion included the use of a ray tracer in determining the origin of the phenomenon, and under what conditions it can be seen.
    Alexander Cede [SciGlob] and Ragi Rajagopalan [LiftBlick OG] gave an overview of the stability of the EPIC Level-1A (L1A) data over the first decade of operation. They explained that the only observable changes in the EPIC calibration are to the dark count and flat field can – and that these changes can be entirely attributed to the temperature change of the system in orbit compared to prelaunch conditions. No additional hot or warm pixels have emerged since launch and no significant sensitivity drifts have been observed. The results that Cede and Rajagopalan showed that EPIC continues to be a remarkably stable instrument, which is attributed to a large extent to its orbit around the L1 point, which is located outside the Earth’s radiation belts and thus an extremely stable temperature environment. Consequently, in terms of stability, the L1 point is far superior to other Earth observation points, e.g., ground-based, low-Earth orbit (LEO), polar orbit, or geostationary Earth orbit (GEO).
    Marshall Sutton [GSFC] discussed the state of the DSCOVR Science Operation Center (DSOC). He also talked about processing EPIC Level-1 (L1) data into L2 science products, daily images available on the EPIC website, and special imaging opportunities, e.g., volcanic eruptions.
    EPIC Calibration
    After 10 years of operation in space, the EPIC instrument on DSCOVR continues to be a remarkably stable instrument. The three presentations describe different ways that are used to verify the EPIC measurements remain reliable.
    Conor Haney [LaRC] reported on anomalous outliers during February and March 2023 from the broadband shortwave (SW) flux using EPIC L1B channel radiances. To ensure that these outliers were not a result of fluctuations in the EPIC L1B channel radiances, both the EPIC radiance measurements and coincident, ray-matched radiance measurements from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) platform, were processed using the same deep convective cloud invariant target (DCC-IT) algorithm. This analysis confirmed that the anomalous behavior was due to the DCC-IT algorithm – and not because of fluctuations in the EPIC L1B channel radiances. The improved DCC-IT methodology was also applied to the EPIC L1B radiances. The results indicate that the EPIC record is quite stable with a lower uncertainty than when processed using the previous DCC-IT methodology.
    Igor Geogdzhaev [NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS)/Columbia University] reported that EPIC Visible–Near Infrared (VIS-NIR) calibration based on VIIRS (on Suomi NPP) data has showed excellent stability, while VIIRS (on NOAA-20 and -21) derived gains agree to within 1–2%. Preliminary analysis showed continuity in the gains derived from Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) data. (ABI flies on NOAA’s two operational Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite–Series R satellites – GOES-17 and GOES-18.
    Liang–Kang Huang [Science Systems and Applications, Inc. (SSAI)] reported on updates to the EPIC ultraviolet (UV) channel sensitivity time dependences using Sun-normalized radiance comparisons between EPIC and measurements from the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) Nadir Mapper (NM) on Suomi NPP, with coinciding footprints and solar/satellite angles. Huang’s team determined vignetting factors in the sensitivity calibration between 2021–2024, as a function of charge coupled device (CCD) pixel radius and pixel polar angles, using special lunar measurement sequences.
    NISTAR Status and Science with Its Observations
    The NISTAR instrument remains fully functional and continues its uninterrupted data record. The NISTAR-related presentations during this meeting included more details on specific topics related to NISTAR as well as on efforts to combine information from both EPIC and NISTAR.
    Steven Lorentz [L-1 Standards and Technology, Inc.] reported that the NISTAR on DSCOVR has been measuring the irradiance from the sunlit Earth in three bands for more than nine years. The three bands measure the outgoing total and reflected-solar radiation from Earth at a limited range of solar angles. To compare the long-term stability of EPIC and NISTAR responses, researchers developed a narrowband to wideband conversion model to allow the direct comparison of the EPIC multiband imagery and NISTAR SW – see Figure 1 – and silicon photodiode channels. Lorentz presented daily results spanning several years. The comparison employed different detectors from the same spacecraft – but with the same vantage point – thereby avoiding any model dependent orbital artifacts.

    Clark Weaver [University of Maryland, College Park (UMD)] used spectral information from the SCanning Imaging Absorption spectroMeter for Atmospheric CartograpHY (SCIAMACHY), which flew on the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Envisat satellite from 2002–2012, to fill EPIC spectral gaps. He reported on construction of a composite height resolution spectrum that was spectrally integrated to produce SW energy. Weaver explained that he compared the EPIC reflected SW with four-hour averages from Band 4 on NISTAR. He used spectral information from SCIAMACHY to fill in gaps. Weaver also discussed results of a comparison of area integrated EPIC SW energy with observations from NISTAR . 
    Andrew Lacis [GISS] reported on results of analysis of seven years of EPIC-derived planetary albedo for Earth, which reveal global-scale longitudinal variability occurring over a wide range of frequencies – with strong correlation between nearby longitudes and strong anticorrelation between diametrically opposed longitudes. This behavior in the Earth’s global-scale energy budget variability is fully corroborated by seven years of NISTAR silicon photodiode measurements, which view the Earth with 1º longitudinal resolution. This analysis establishes the DSCOVR mission EPIC/NISTAR measurements as a new and unmatched observational data source for evaluating global climate model performance– e.g., see Figure 2.

    Wenying Su [LaRC] discussed global daytime mean SW fluxes within the EPIC field of view produced from January 2016–June 2024. These quasi-hourly SW fluxes agree very well with the Synoptic data product from the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) instruments (currently flying on the Terra and Aqua, Suomi NPP, and NOAA-20 platforms) with the root mean square errors (rmse) less than 3 W/m2. This SW flux processing framework will be used to calculate NISTAR SW flux when Version 4 (V4) of the NISTAR radiance becomes available. Su noted that SW fluxes from EPIC are not suitable to study interannual variability as the magnitude of EPIC flux is sensitive to the percentage of daytime area visible to EPIC.
    Update on EPIC Products and Science Results
    EPIC has a suite of data products available. The following subsections summarize content during the DSCOVR STM related to these products. The updates focus on several data products and the related algorithm improvements. 
    Total Column Ozone
    Jerry Ziemke [Morgan State University (MSU), Goddard Earth Sciences Technology and Research–II (GESTAR II)] and Natalya Kramarova [GSFC] reported that tropospheric O3 from DSCOVR EPIC shows anomalous reductions of ~10% throughout the Northern Hemisphere (NH) starting in Spring 2020 that continues to the present. The EPIC data, along with other satellite-based (e.g., Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on NASA’s Aura platform) and ground-based (e.g., Pandora) data, indicate that the observed NH reductions in O3 are due to combined effects from meteorology and reduced pollution, including reduced shipping pollution in early 2020 (during COVID) – see Figure 3. EPIC 1–2 hourly data are also used to evaluate hourly total O3 and derived tropospheric O3 from NASA’s Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) geostationary instrument. Ziemke explained that comparison of TEMPO data with EPIC data has helped the researchers characterize a persistent latitude-dependent offset in TEMPO total O3 data of ~10–15% from south to north over the North American continent.

    Algorithm Improvement for Ozone and Sulfur Dioxide Products
    Kai Yang [UMD] presented a comprehensive evaluation of total and tropospheric O3 retrievals, highlighting the long-term stability and high accuracy of EPIC measurements. He also validated EPIC’s volcanic sulfur dioxide (SO2) retrievals by comparing them with ground-based Brewer spectrophotometer measurements and summarized EPIC’s observations of SO2 from recent volcanic eruptions.
    Simon Carn [University of Michigan] showed the first comparisons between the EPIC L2 volcanic SO2 product and SO2 retrievals from the Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) on the Korean GEO-Kompsat-2B satellite. GEMS observes East Asia as part of the new geostationary UV air quality (GEO-AQ) satellite constellation (which also includes TEMPO that observes North America and will include the Ultraviolet–Visible–Near Infrared (UVN) instrument on the European Copernicus Sentinel-4 mission, that will be launched in 2025 to observe Europe and surrounding areas) – but is not optimized for measurements of high SO2 columns during volcanic eruptions. EPIC SO2 data for the 2024 eruption of Ruang volcano in Indonesia are being used to validate a new GEMS volcanic SO2 product. Initial comparisons show good agreement between EPIC and GEMS before volcanic cloud dispersal and confirm the greater sensitivity of the hyperspectral GEMS instrument to low SO2 column amounts.
    Aerosols
    Alexei Lyapustin [GSFC] reported that the latest EPIC aerosols algorithm (V3) simultaneously retrieves aerosol optical depth, aerosol spectral absorption, and aerosol layer height (ALH) – achieving high accuracy. He showed that global validation of the single scattering albedo in the blue and red shows 66% and 81–95% agreement respectively, with Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) observations – which is within the expected error of 0.03 for smoke and dust aerosols. Lyapustin also reported on a comparison of EPIC aerosol data collected from 2015–2023 by the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP), which flew on the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) mission. The results show that ALH is retrieved with rmse ~1.1 km (0.7 mi). ALH is unbiased over the ocean and is underestimated by 450 m (1470 ft) for the smoke and by 750 m (2460 ft) for the dust aerosols over land. 
    Myungje Choi and Sujung Go [both from University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s (UMBC), GESTAR II] presented results from a global smoke and dust characterization using Multi-Angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction (MAIAC) algorithm. This study characterized smoke and dust aerosol properties derived from MAIAC EPIC processing, examining spectral absorption, ALH, and chemical composition (e.g., black and brown carbon). Regions with smoldering wildfires, e.g., North America and Siberia, exhibited high ALH and a significant fraction of brown carbon, while Central Africa showed lower ALH with higher black carbon emissions.
    Omar Torres [GSFC] discussed how L1 DSCOVR-EPIC observations are being used to study air quality (i.e., tropospheric O3 and aerosols) globally. Torres noted that this application of EPIC-L1 observations is of particular interest in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) where, unlike over the NH, there are currently no space GEO-based air quality measurements – and no plans for them in the foreseeable future.
    Hiren Jethva [MSU, GESTAR II] presented the new results of the aerosol optical centroid height retrieved from the EPIC Oxygen-B band observations. He described the algorithm details, showed retrieval maps, and reviewed the comparative analysis against CALIOP backscatter-weighted measurements. The analysis showed a good level of agreement with more than 70% of matchup data within 1–1.5 km (0.6–0.9 mi) difference.
    Jun Wang [University of Iowa] presented his team’s work on advancing the second generation of the aerosol optical centroid height (AOCH) algorithm for EPIC. Key advancements included: constraining surface reflectance in aerosol retrieval using an EPIC-based climatology of surface reflectance ratios between 442–680 nm; incorporating a dynamic aerosol model to characterize aged smoke particles; and employing a spectral slope technique to distinguish thick smoke plumes from clouds. Results show that both atmospheric optical depth (AOD) and AOCH retrievals are improved in the second generation of AOCH algorithm.
    Olga Kalashnikova [NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)] reported on improving brown carbon evolution processes in the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) model with EPIC products. She indicated that DSCOVR product evaluation, using lidar aerosol height measurements from CALIOP, led to an improved operational brown carbon product. To better resolve the temporal evolution of brown carbon, chemical transport models need to include more information about near-source fires.
    Mike Garay [NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)] discussed constraining near-source brown carbon emissions from 2024 Canadian ‘zombie’ fires with EPIC products. He reported that fires in British Columbia, Canada showed differences in brown carbon emission near the sources.  Garay explained that their investigation has revealed that these differences were related to fire intensity and variations in vegetation/soil content.
    Yuekui Yang [GSFC] presented work that examined the impact of Earth’s curvature consideration on EPIC cloud height retrievals. Biases under the Plane Parallel (PPL) assumption is studied by comparing results using the improved pseudo-spherical shell approximation. PPL retrievals in general bias high and for a cloud with height of 5 km (3 mi), the bias is about 6%.
    Alfonso Delgado Bonal [UMBC] stated that the EPIC vantage point offers a unique opportunity to observe not only the current state of the Earth but also its temporal evolution. By capturing multiple observations of the planet throughout the day, EPIC enables statistical reconstruction of diurnal patterns in clouds and other atmospheric parameters. Bonal’s team focused their research on O3 (primarily tropospheric) over the U.S. to demonstrate the presence of a diurnal cycle in the western regions of the continental U.S. However, ground-based data from PANDORA for specific locations do not support these diurnal variations – underscoring the critical role of space-based O3 retrievals. The proposed methodology is not limited to clouds or O3 but is broadly applicable to other EPIC measurements for the dynamic nature of our planet.
    Elizabeth Berry [Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER)] presented results from a coincident DSCOVR–CloudSat dataset [covering 2015–2020]. Cloud properties (e.g., cloud height and optical depth) from DSCOVR and CloudSat are moderately correlated and show quite good agreement given differences in the instruments sensitivities and footprints. Berry explained that a machine-learning model trained on the coincident data demonstrates high accuracy at predicting the presence of vertical cloud layers. However, precision and recall metrics highlight the challenge of predicting the precise location of cloud boundaries.
    Anthony Davis [JPL] presented a pathway toward accurate estimation of the cloud optical thickness (COT) of opaque clouds and cloud systems, e.g., supercells, mesoscale convective complexes, and tropical cyclones (TCs). He described the approach, which uses differential oxygen absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) that has resolving power greater than 104 – which is comparable to that of the high-resolution spectrometers on NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory–2 (OCO-2) – but is based upon the cloud information content of EPIC’s O2 A- and B-band radiances. Unlike the current operational retrieval of COT – which uses data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Terra and Aqua – the DOAS-based technique does not saturate at COT exceeding ~60. According to a popular TC model with two-moment microphysics, COT in a tropical storm or hurricane can reach well into the hundreds, sometimes exceeding 1000. Davis said that once the new COT estimates become available, they will provide new observational constraints on process and forecast models for TCs.
    Ocean
    Robert Frouin [Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California] discussed ocean surface radiation products derived from EPIC data. He explained that significant advancements have been achieved in processing and evaluating ocean biology and biogeochemistry products derived from EPIC imagery. V1 updates enhanced accuracy by integrating Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications V2 (MERRA-2) ancillary data and refining calculations for atmospheric and surface parameters. Frouin introduced several diurnal products, including hourly photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) fluxes, spectral water reflectance, and chlorophyll-a concentrations. He said that these new MODIS-derived products have been validated through comparisons with data from the Advanced Himawari Imager on the Japanese Himawar–8 and –9 satellites. In order to address the gaps in these diurnal products, Frouin explained that the team developed a convolutional neural network that has been used effectively to reconstruct missing PAR values with high accuracy.
    Vegetation
    Yuri Knyazikhin [Boston University] reported on the status of the Vegetation Earth System Data Record (VESDR) that provides a variety of parameters including: Leaf Area Index (LAI), diurnal courses of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Sunlit LAI (SLAI), Fraction of incident Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FPAR) absorbed by the vegetation, Directional Area Scattering Function (DASF), Earth Reflector Type Index (ERTI), and Canopy Scattering Coefficient (CSC). Knyazikhin discussed analysis of the diurnal and seasonal variations of these quantities. EPIC LAI and FPAR are consistent with MODIS-derived measurements of the same parameters.
    Jan Pisek [University of Tartu/Tartu Observatory, Estonia] discussed efforts to derive leaf inclination information from EPIC data. The very first evaluation over Tumbarumba site (in New South Wales, Australia) showed that the angular variation in parameters obtained from EPIC reflects the expected variations due to the erectophile vegetation present at the site.
    Sun Glint
    Tamás Várnai [UMBC, JCET] discussed EPIC observations of Sun glint from ice clouds. The cloud glints come mostly from horizontally oriented ice crystals and have strong impact in EPIC cloud retrievals. Várnai reported that the EPIC glint product is available from the ASDC – see Figure 4. Glint data can help reduce the uncertainties related to horizontally oriented ice crystals and yield additional new insights about the microphysical and radiative properties of ice clouds.

    Alexander Kostinski [Michigan Technology University] explained that because they detected climatic signals (i.e., longer-term changes and semi-permanent features, e.g., ocean glitter), they developed a technique to suppress geographic “noise” in EPIC images that involves introducing temporally (monthly) and conditionally (classifying by surface/cover type, e.g., land, ocean, clouds) averaged reflectance images – see Figure 5. The resulting images display seasonal dependence in a striking manner. Additionally, cloud-free, ocean-only images highlight prominent regions of ocean glitter.

    Jiani Yang [Caltech] reported that spatially resolving light curves from DSCOVR is crucial for evaluating time-varying surface features and the presence of an atmosphere. Both of these features are essential for sustaining life on Earth – and thus can be used to assess the potential habitability of exoplanets. Using epsilon machine reconstruction, the statistical complexity from the time series data of these light curves can be calculated. The results show that statistical complexity serves as a reliable metric for quantifying the intricacy of planetary features. Higher levels of planetary complexity qualitatively correspond to increased statistical complexity and Shannon entropy, illustrating the effectiveness of this approach in identifying planets with the most dynamic characteristics.
    Other EPIC Science Results
    Guoyong Wen [MSU, GESTAR II] analyzed the variability of global spectral reflectance from EPIC and the integrated broadband reflectance on different timescales. He reported that on a diurnal timescale, the global reflectance variations in UV and blue bands are statistically similar – and drastically different from those observed in longer wavelength bands (i.e., green to NIR). The researchers also did an analysis of monthly average results and found that temporal averaging of the global reflectance reduces the variability across the wavelength and that the variability of broadband reflectance is similar to that for the red band on both timescales. These results are mainly due to the rotation of the Earth on diurnal timescale and the change of the Earth’s tilt angle. 
    Nick Gorkavyi [Science Systems and Applications, Inc. (SSAI)] reported that EPIC – located at the L1 point, 1.5 million km (0.9 million mi) away from Earth – can capture images of the far side of the Moon in multiple wavelengths. These images, taken under full solar illumination, can be used to calibrate photographs obtained by lunar artificial satellites. Additionally, he discussed the impact of lunar libration – the changing view of the Moon from Earth, or it’s apparent “wobble” – on Earth observations from the Moon. 
    Jay Herman [UMBC] discussed a comparison of EPIC O3 with TEMPO satellite and Pandora ground-based measurement. The results show that total column O3 does not have a significant photochemical diurnal variation. Instead, the daily observed diurnal variation is caused by weather changes in atmospheric pressure. This measurement result agrees with model calculations.
    Conclusion
    Alexander Marshak, Jay Herman, and Adam Szabo led a closing discussion with ST participants on how to make the EPIC and NISTAR instruments more visible in the community. It was noted that the EPIC website now allows visitors to observe daily fluctuations of aerosol index, cloud fraction, cloud height, and the ocean surface – as observed from the L1 point. More daily products, (e.g., aerosol height and sunlit leaf area index) will be added soon, which should attract more users to the website.
    Overall, the 2023 DSCOVR EPIC and NISTAR STM was successful. It provided an opportunity for participants to learn the status of DSCOVR’s Earth-observing instruments, EPIC and NISTAR, the status of recently released L2 data products, and the science results being achieved from the L1 point. As more people use DSCOVR data worldwide, the ST hopes to hear from users and team members at its next meeting. The latest updates from the mission can be found on the EPIC website. 
    Alexander MarshakNASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centeralexander.marshak@nasa.gov
    Adam SzaboNASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centeradam.szabo@nasa.gov

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Newsom announces judicial appointments 2.14.25

    Source: US State of California 2

    Feb 14, 2025

    SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced his appointment of 14 Superior Court Judges: seven in Los Angeles County; one in Modoc County; two in Riverside County; one in San Diego County; one in San Mateo County; one in Tulare County; and one in Ventura County.
     

    Los Angeles County Superior Court

    Phu Nguyen, of Los Angeles County, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Nguyen has served the Los Angeles County Superior Court as Court Counsel since 2017. She has been a Lecturer in Law at UCLA School of Law since 2022. Nguyen served as Senior Counsel at Dykema Gossett from 2014 to 2017, an Associate at Fayer Gipson from 2013 to 2014, and an Associate at Huron Law Group from 2008 to 2012. Nguyen was an Associate at Irell & Manella from 2006 to 2007. She received a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Louise Suzette Clover. Nguyen is a Democrat.

    Sonia Dujan, of Ventura County, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. She has served as a Commissioner at the Los Angeles County Superior Court since 2024. Dujan has been a sole practitioner since 2004. She received a Juris Doctor degree from University of San Francisco School of Law. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Margaret Oldendorf. Dujan is a Democrat.

    Mike Madokoro, of Los Angeles County, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Madokoro has been a Partner at Bowman and Brooke LLP since 1999, served as a Managing Partner or Co-Managing Partner from 2006 to 2024. He previously worked as an Associate at Morgan, Wenzel and McNicholas from 1990 to 1994. Madokoro served as a Law Clerk and Associate at Adams and Kirkpatrick from 1989 to 1990. Madokoro received a Juris Doctor degree from McGeorge School of Law. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Gergory Keosian. Madokoro is a Republican.

    James Montgomery Jr., of Los Angeles County, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Montgomery has served as a Commissioner at Los Angeles County Superior Court since 2023. He was a Partner at Gibbs Giden Locher Turner Senet & Wittbrodt LLP from 1999 to 2023. He served as an attorney at Daniels, Fine, Israel, Schonbuch & Lebovits, LLP from 1982 to 1999. Montgomery received a Juris Doctor degree from UCLA School of Law. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Yvette Palazuelos. Montgomery is a Democrat.

    Jacob Yim, of Los Angeles County, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Yim has served as the Deputy-in-Charge of the Real Estate Fraud Section in the White Collar Crime Division of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office since 2022. Yim has served as a deputy in several roles and units of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office from 2000 to 2008 and 2009 to 2022. He was a Special Assistant United States Attorney at the United States Attorney’s Office – Domestic Security and Immigration Crimes Section from 2008 to 2009. Yim received a Juris Doctor degree from Southwestern University School of Law. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Carol Elswick. Yim is a Democrat.

    Helen Yang, of Los Angeles County, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Yang was a Partner at Squire Patton Boggs since 2016 and an Associate at Squire Patton Boggs from 2005 to 2008 and 2009 to 2016. She was Deputy in the Riverside County Counsel’s Office from 2008 to 2009. Yang received a Juris Doctor degree from Cornell Law School. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Michael Linfield. Yang is registered as no party preference.

    Louis Parise, of Los Angeles County, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Parise has served various roles as a Deputy District Attorney at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office since 1998. He was an Associate Attorney at Ferrari, Olsen, Ottoboni, and Bebb from 1997 to 1998. Parise received a Juris Doctor degree from Santa Clara School of Law. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Martin L. Herscovitz. Parise is registered as no party preference.

    Modoc County Superior Court

    Randall Harr, of Shasta County, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Modoc County Superior Court. Harr was a Partner at Maire & Deedon since 2022. He worked at the Law Office of Randall Harr from 2011 to 2022. Harr served as a Partner at Gifford & Harr from 2009 to 2011. He was a Partner at Harr Arthofer & Ayres from 2001 to 2009. Harr worked at Borton Petrini & Conron as a Partner from 1985 to 2000 and an Associate Attorney from 1982 to 1985. Harr received a Juris Doctor degree from McGeorge School of Law. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Francis W. Barclay. Harr is registered as no party preference.

    Riverside County Superior Court

    Mickie Reed, of Riverside County, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Riverside County Superior Court. Reed has served as a Commissioner in the Riverside County Superior Court since 2014. She previously worked as a Professor of Professional Responsibility at the California Desert Trial Academy from 2014 to 2018. Reed was a sole practitioner from 1996 to 2014. She worked as a Planning Commissioner at the City of Indio from 2004 to 2010. Reed received a Juris Doctor degree from Western State University School of Law. She fills the position created by the retirement of Judge Gregory Olson. Reed is a Democrat.

    Michael Martin, of Riverside County, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Riverside County Superior Court. Martin previously served as Lead Appellate Court Attorney at the Second District Court of Appeal, Division 6 since 2017. Martin worked as an Adjunct Professor at The Santa Barbara and Ventura Colleges of Law from 2017 to 2022. He was an Adjunct Professor at the University of California College of Law, San Francisco in 2021. Martin was a Legal Research Assistant at the San Francisco County Superior Court from 2014 to 2017. He served as a Contract Attorney at Valdez Todd & Doyle LLP in 2014. Martin was a Contract Attorney at Harowitz & Tigerman LLP in 2014. He served as a Contract Attorney at Podo Legal in 2013. Martin worked as a Contract Attorney at the Law Office of E. Craig Moody in 2013. He was a Bridge Fellow at Legal Services of Northern California in 2012. Martin received a Juris Doctor degree from University of California College of Law, San Francisco. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Irma Asberry. Martin is a Democrat.

    San Diego County Superior Court

    Chandra Reid, of San Diego County, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the San Diego County Superior Court. Reid has served as a Commissioner at the San Diego County Superior Court since 2021. She served as a Deputy District Attorney in several roles at the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office from 2005 to 2021. She served as a Deputy City Attorney at the San Diego City Attorney’s Office from 2001 to 2004. Reid received a Juris Doctor degree from Catholic University Law School. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Kenneth Medel. Reid is a Democrat.

    San Mateo County Superior Court

    Mark McCannon, of San Francisco County, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the San Mateo County Superior Court. McCannon has served at Alameda County Superior Court as a Superior Court Judge since 2013. He worked as a Deputy District Attorney at the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office from 1997 to 2013. McCannon received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Marie S. Weiner. McCannon is a Democrat.
     

    Tulare County Superior Court

    Jason Taylor, of Kings County, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Tulare County Superior Court. Taylor has worked as a sole practitioner since 2014. He worked at the Tulare County Public Defender Conflict Panel as a Contract Attorney from 2018 to 2025. Taylor served at the Kings County Public Defender’s Office as a Contract Attorney from 2019 to 2022. He worked at the Tulare County Public Defender’s Office as a Deputy Public Defender in 2014. Taylor received a Juris Doctorate degree from the San Joaquin College of Law. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Walter L. Gorlick. Taylor is registered as no party preference.
     

    Ventura County Superior Court

    Amy Van Sickle, of Ventura, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Ventura County Superior Court. Van Sickle has served as a Commissioner at the Ventura County Superior Court since 2023. She worked at the Law Office of Amy Van Sickle as an Attorney from 2012 to 2023. Van Sickle worked as an Attorney at Van Sickle & Rowley, LLP from 2003 to 2012. Van Sickle received a Juris Doctorate degree from the Ventura College of Law. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Patricia M. Murphy. Van Sickle is a Republican. 

    The compensation for each of these positions is $244,727.

    Press Releases, Recent News

    Recent news

    Feb 14, 2025

    News What you need to know: Governor Newsom today announced that the Delta Conveyance Project has received a required permit to advance the project, which will upgrade the State Water Project to allow the state to capture and move more water efficiently.  SACRAMENTO —…

    Feb 13, 2025

    News What you need to know: Governor Newsom today issued an executive order to cut more red tape and continue streamlining rebuilding, recovery, and relief for survivors of the Los Angeles area firestorms.  SACRAMENTO — Today, Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive…

    Feb 12, 2025

    News Kate Hoit, of Sacramento, has been appointed Deputy Secretary of Communications at the California Department of Veterans Affairs. Hoit has been the PACT Act Enterprise Program Management Office Communications and Outreach Lead at the U.S. Department of Veterans…

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Newsom marks new milestone in Delta Conveyance Project

    Source: US State of California 2

    Feb 14, 2025

    What you need to know: Governor Newsom today announced that the Delta Conveyance Project has received a required permit to advance the project, which will upgrade the State Water Project to allow the state to capture and move more water efficiently. 

    SACRAMENTO — Governor Newsom announced today another important step in the state’s work to modernize its water infrastructure through the Delta Conveyance Project. Passing yet another critical milestone, the project received a required Incidental Take Permit. The permit includes measures to minimize, avoid, and fully mitigate impacts on threatened or endangered species as a result of the construction, operation, and maintenance of the Delta Conveyance Project.

    “California doesn’t have to choose between safeguarding endangered species and protecting our water supply — this permit demonstrates we can do both.” 

    Governor Gavin Newsom

    The Delta Conveyance Project will upgrade the State Water Project, enabling California’s water managers to capture and move more water during high-flow atmospheric rivers to better endure dry seasons. The tunnel, a modernization of the infrastructure system that delivers water to millions of people, would improve California’s ability to take advantage of intense periods of rain and excess flows in the Sacramento River.

    By developing infrastructure – including intake and tunneling facilities – on the Sacramento River in the Delta region, the Delta Conveyance Project would better equip the State Water Project to take advantage of the types of atmospheric rivers that are becoming more common. This would expand the state’s ability to improve water supply reliability, while maintaining fishery and water quality protections. During atmospheric rivers last year, the Delta Conveyance Project could have captured enough water for 9.8 million people’s yearly usage.

    California is expected to lose 10% of its water supply due to hotter and drier conditions, threatening the water supply for millions of Californians. Extreme weather whiplash will result in more intense swings between droughts and floods – California’s 60-year-old water infrastructure is not built for these climate impacts. 

    “We are proceeding with confidence towards implementing this critical project to protect our state’s primary supply of clean, affordable water,” said Karla Nemeth, Director of California’s Department of Water Resources.

    Safeguarding protected species

    The Incidental Take Permit was issued to the Department of Water Resources by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Incidental take permits are most commonly issued for construction, utility, transportation, and other infrastructure-related projects. Permittees must implement species-specific minimization and avoidance measures and fully mitigate the impacts of the project including:  

    • Erecting protective fencing around sensitive habitat within construction sites.
    • Limited operating periods to avoid species breeding, migration, etc.
    • Pre-construction surveys to identify and mark sensitive or suitable habitat features.
    • Onsite construction personnel education programs covering species identification, protected status, and measures to take if one is found.

    The Delta Conveyance Project is critical to the Governor’s build more, faster agenda to modernize our water infrastructure and increase resilience to protect communities in the face of extreme droughts and floods. Learn more at build.ca.gov.

    Press Releases, Recent News

    Recent news

    Feb 14, 2025

    News SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced his appointment of 14 Superior Court Judges: seven in Los Angeles County; one in Modoc County; two in Riverside County; one in San Diego County; one in San Mateo County; one in Tulare County; and one in Ventura…

    Feb 13, 2025

    News What you need to know: Governor Newsom today issued an executive order to cut more red tape and continue streamlining rebuilding, recovery, and relief for survivors of the Los Angeles area firestorms.  SACRAMENTO — Today, Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive…

    Feb 12, 2025

    News Kate Hoit, of Sacramento, has been appointed Deputy Secretary of Communications at the California Department of Veterans Affairs. Hoit has been the PACT Act Enterprise Program Management Office Communications and Outreach Lead at the U.S. Department of Veterans…

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Newsom cuts more red tape by further streamlining permitting laws to accelerate rebuilding Los Angeles

    Source: US State of California 2

    Feb 13, 2025

    What you need to know: Governor Newsom today issued an executive order to cut more red tape and continue streamlining rebuilding, recovery, and relief for survivors of the Los Angeles area firestorms. 

    SACRAMENTO — Today, Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order to further cut red tape and streamline the rebuilding and recovery of homes in communities impacted by the recent Los Angeles area firestorms. The order clarifies existing exemptions, further facilitates local streamlining efforts, and implements additional recommendations by state agencies.

    “We will not let overly strict regulations get in the way of rebuilding these communities. The state stands with its local partners to ensure that we cut red tape and make recovery as easy as possible.”

    Governor Gavin Newsom

    Expanding on previous executive orders to suspend California Coastal Act and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) permitting requirements and expand the availability of temporary housing, today’s order further clarifies and expands the scope of those suspensions under the Coastal Act and CEQA, in close coordination local governments and to provide the full scope of flexibility those governments have requested. The order also provides additional flexibility to facilitate rebuilding, including extending the duration of permits, ensuring homeowners can access the building plans for their homes, and allowing homes recently approved for development under modern building safety standards, including fire protection standards, to be rebuilt to the approved specifications.

     Additionally, the order implements recommendations by state agencies provided in response to the Governor’s January 12 executive order, which directed agencies to identify state permitting requirements that may be suspended to accelerate recovery efforts.

    “I will not allow red tape to stand in the way of Angelenos who want to rebuild their homes,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. “From allowing LA to automatically reissue permits for homes built in the last few years to quickly getting copies of building plans in the hands of residents who lost theirs in the fire, I am proud to partner with Governor Newsom to help Angelenos get back home.”

    “I deeply appreciate Governor Newsom’s action to expedite the rebuilding process for families impacted by the devastating Los Angeles wildfires,” said Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger. “His executive order provides much-needed regulatory relief, ensuring that homeowners can rebuild their homes efficiently and without unnecessary delays. By clarifying permit waivers, streamlining access to original plans, and extending key deadlines, the state is demonstrating its commitment to being a critical partner in our local recovery efforts. Los Angeles County stands ready to work alongside the Governor and state agencies to ensure a smooth and swift rebuilding process for our affected residents.”

    “Governor Newsom is once again stepping up for Los Angeles County in our moment of greatest need by working with us to alleviate every hurdle possible in the rebuild process,” said Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath. “We will continue this successful, coordinated partnership to deliver results our communities deserve. Our focus remains on our residents, and their ability quickly and safely rebuild their homes and communities.”

    The executive order issued today:

    • Updates the Governor’s previous executive orders waiving permitting requirements under the Coastal Act and CEQA by clarifying the scope of the waivers and that local planning or permit approval is determinative of eligibility for these suspensions.
    • Expedites rebuilds of recently constructed homes by allowing them to be rebuilt to approved specifications. 
    • Helps speed access to original plans held by local planning and building departments, to minimize delays in rebuilding. 
    • Extends deadlines for construction permits, to limit the administrative burden for homeowners seeking to rebuild. 

    Extends deadlines related to local housing element rezoning requirements for Los Angeles County so local government staff can focus fully on issuing permits for rebuilding efforts.

    Historic recovery and rebuilding efforts — faster than ever before 

    • Cutting red tape to help rebuild Los Angeles faster and stronger. Governor Newsom issued an executive order to streamline the rebuilding of homes and businesses destroyed — suspending permitting and review requirements under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the California Coastal Act. The Governor also issued an executive order further cutting red tape by reiterating that permitting requirements under the California Coastal Act are suspended for rebuilding efforts and directing the Coastal Commission not to issue guidance or take any action that interferes with or conflicts with the Governor’s executive orders. The Governor also issued an executive order removing bureaucratic barriers, extending deadlines, and providing critical regulatory relief to help fire survivors rebuild, access essential services, and recover more quickly.
    • Providing tax and mortgage relief to those impacted by the fires. California postponed the individual tax filing deadline to October 15 for Los Angeles County taxpayers. Additionally, the state extended the January 31, 2025, sales and use tax filing deadline for Los Angeles County taxpayers until April 30 — providing critical tax relief for businesses. Governor Newsom suspended penalties and interest on late property tax payments for a year, effectively extending the state property tax deadline. The Governor also worked with state– and federally-chartered banks that have committed to providing mortgage relief for survivors in certain zip codes.
    • Fast-tracking temporary housing and protecting tenants. To help provide necessary shelter for those immediately impacted by the firestorms, the Governor issued an executive order to make it easier to streamline construction of accessory dwelling units, allow for more temporary trailers and other housing, and suspend fees for mobile home parks. Governor Newsom also issued an executive order that prohibits landlords in Los Angeles County from evicting tenants for sharing their rental with survivors displaced by the Los Angeles-area firestorms.
    • Mobilizing debris removal and cleanup. With an eye toward recovery, the Governor directed fast action on debris removal work and mitigating the potential for mudslides and flooding in areas burned. He also signed an executive order to allow expert federal hazmat crews to start cleaning up properties as a key step in getting people back to their properties safely. The Governor also issued an executive order to help mitigate risk of mudslides and flooding and protect communities by hastening efforts to remove debris, bolster flood defenses, and stabilize hillsides in affected areas. 
    • Safeguarding survivors from price gouging. Governor Newsom expanded restrictions to protect survivors from illegal price hikes on rent, hotel and motel costs, and building materials or construction. Report violations to the Office of the Attorney General here.
    • Directing immediate state relief. The Governor signed legislation providing over $2.5 billion to immediately support ongoing emergency response efforts and to jumpstart recovery efforts for Los Angeles. California quickly launched CA.gov/LAfires as a single hub of information and resources to support those impacted and bolsters in-person Disaster Recovery Centers. The Governor also launched LA Rises, a unified recovery initiative that brings together private sector leaders to support rebuilding efforts. Governor Newsom announced that individuals and families directly impacted by the recent fires living in certain zip codes may be eligible to receive Disaster CalFresh food benefits.
    • Getting kids back in the classroom. Governor Newsom signed an executive order to quickly assist displaced students in the Los Angeles area and bolster schools affected by the firestorms.
    • Protecting victims from real estate speculators. The Governor issued an executive order to protect firestorm victims from predatory land speculators making aggressive and unsolicited cash offers to purchase their property.
    • Helping businesses and workers get back on their feet. The Governor issued an executive order to support small businesses and workers, by providing relief to help businesses recover quickly by deferring annual licensing fees and waiving other requirements that may impose barriers to recovery.

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Breathing Threads : Fashion Show at Bharat Tex 2025

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 16 FEB 2025 12:37PM by PIB Delhi

    The office of the Development Commissioner for Handlooms Ministry of Textiles, Government of India organized a fashion event titled “Breathing Threads” to feel the pulse of craftsmanship, to honour a living legacy, to witness the timeless elegance of Indian handlooms in modern silhouettes.

    The event was organized at amphitheatre in Bharat Mandapam on the sidelines of Bharat Tex 2025 in association with Vaishali S Couture, Vaishali S Threadstories Private Limited, Mumbai and in coordination with Handloom Export Promotion Council.Vaishali S Couture is a 24-year-old brand dedicated to reviving old and dying hand weaving techniques and bringing them to the top global luxury stages by inserting innovation, creativity, and a very high level of quality.

    The beauty of Handloom and the mission of the brand is also its sustainability and zero waste strategy, in line with what are the living habits of Indian villages.

    The Indian hand-woven textiles are the untapped wealth of the country, and it is just a question of showcasing them in a more modern and global language that will set them back to the most admired luxury fashion stages around the globe.

    The show carried fabrics woven in the villages from 5 different states viz. West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka & Rajasthan and 20 models in 30 looks showcased these weaves, draped in 7 different weaving techniques: Chanderi, Maheshwari, Jamdani, Khun, Benarasi, Kota Doria, Murshidabad. Each weave was creatively embellished with unique textures and cording.

    The show was the testament of how much skill and hard work, together with creativity is needed to make a hand-woven fabric, and at the same time how a craft can be elevated to being one of the global luxury brands.

    The show was a great success and demonstration of the power of Indian heritage textiles when given a global language, to the mesmerised eyes of buyers from overseas countries such as Australia, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Srilanka, Bangladesh, Kuwait, Chile etc. besides the stake holders of Indian textile industry with the unwavering support of the Development Commissioner for Handlooms, the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India.

    ***

    Dhanya Sanal K

    (Release ID: 2103763) Visitor Counter : 13

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Australia-Indonesia Institute board appointments

    Source: Australian Government – Minister of Foreign Affairs

    Today I announce the appointment of Ms Lydia Santoso as Chair of the Australia-Indonesia Institute.

    The Australia-Indonesia Institute has long championed initiatives that strengthen personal, institutional and cultural ties between Australia and Indonesia. Our relationship with Indonesia is grounded in a history of friendship and cooperation between our people and governments.

    The Board sets the strategic direction for the Institute’s programs and activities, which support partnerships in business, the arts, education, health, science, technology and sport.

    Ms Santoso has been a Board Member since 2015 and long been an advocate for forging cultural connections and deepening Australia’s economic engagement with Indonesia. She is currently Chair of the Australia Indonesia Business Council (NSW) and serves on the board of the Australian Consortium for ‘In-Country’ Indonesian Studies.

    I am also pleased to announce the appointment of three new board members, who each bring a wealth of experience to support the goals of the Institute, including the broadening and deepening of Australian-Indonesian relations:

    • Dr Jemma Purdey is an Adjunct Fellow at the Australia Indonesia Centre, Monash University, the editor of Inside Indonesia magazine and a founding Director of the ReelOzInd! Australia Indonesia Short Film Festival.
    • Mr Robert Law is a Director at Asialink Business, advising businesses on engagement with Asia.
    • Mr Robbie Gaspar was the first Australian to play professional soccer in Indonesia and is President of the Indonesia Institute.

    Ms Amanda Hodge, Southeast Asia correspondent for The Australian newspaper, and Ms Armina Rosenberg, portfolio manager at Minotour, an AI-powered hedge fund, have also been reappointed for a second three-year term.

    I would like to thank outgoing Chair, Emeritus Professor Greg Fealy AM, and fellow Board Member, Franchesca Cubillo, for their contributions to the work of the Institute.

    To find out more, see Australia-Indonesia Institute.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Coalition leading narrowly in four polls and would likely win an election held now

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne

    A national Newspoll, conducted February 10–14 from a sample of 1,244, gave the Coalition a 51–49 lead, unchanged from the previous Newspoll, three weeks ago. Primary votes were 38% Coalition (down one), 31% Labor (steady), 12% Greens (steady), 7% One Nation (steady) and 12% for all Others (up one).

    Newspoll previously used 2022 election preference flows, but they have adjusted for stronger One Nation preferences to the Coalition at the Queensland state election. The one-point drop in the Coalition’s primary vote suggests Labor gained, but preference flow changes affected the unchanged two-party estimate.

    The graph below shows Labor’s two-party vote for each pollster’s headline voting intentions. As the pollsters are making adjustments to the 2022 election preference flows, I don’t think it’s useful anymore to use the 2022 flows as a baseline.

    I’ve revised some of the previous iterations of Morgan and Essential so they use their headline respondent preferences. The four new polls included since the last federal update are Newspoll, the YouGov MRP below and last week’s Morgan and Redbridge polls.

    All polls have the Coalition leading by about 51–49. Labor had a better result (a 50–50 tie) from Morgan two weeks ago, but last week it reverted to a Coalition lead. Labor can recover this lead by the election that is due by May, but they’re currently losing.

    In Newspoll, Anthony Albanese’s net approval slid one point to a new low of -21, with 58% dissatisfied and 37% satisfied. Peter Dutton’s net approval was up one point to -10. Albanese led Dutton by 45–40 as better PM (44–41 previously).

    The graph below shows Albanese’s deteriorating ratings in Newspoll. The plus signs mark the data and a smoothed line has been fitted.

    In more bad news for Labor, just 34% said they deserved to be re-elected, while 53% said it’s time to give someone else a go.

    YouGov has Coalition winning the most seats

    YouGov conducted a national MRP poll (multi-level modelling with post-stratification) from January 22 to February 12 from an overall sample of over 40,000. MRP polls are used to estimate the outcome in each House of Representatives electorate using huge samples and modelling.

    YouGov’s central forecast if the election were held now is the Coalition winning 73 of the 150 lower house seats, three short of a majority. Labor would win 66 seats, independents eight, the Greens one and others two. At lower limits, the Coalition could win 65 seats and Labor 59, while at higher limits the Coalition could win 80 and Labor 72.

    The overall vote share in this MRP poll was 51.1–48.0 to the Coalition, a 3.2% swing to the Coalition since the 2022 election. Primary votes were 37.4% Coalition, 29.1% Labor, 12.7% Greens, 9.1% One Nation, 8.9% independents and 2.8% others.

    YouGov is using respondent preferences for its MRP polls, and it has a weakening of flows to Labor from both Green and One Nation voters compared with 2022. By 2022 election preference flows, this poll would be 50.2–49.8 to Labor.

    Labor’s primary vote is down most in its once safe working-class seats. But the Coalition is not likely to regain any of the seats taken by teal independents at the last election.

    Redbridge and Morgan polls

    The Poll Bludger reported last Tuesday that a national Redbridge poll, conducted February 3–7 from a sample of 1,013, gave the Coalition a 51.5–48.5 lead, a 1.5-point gain for the Coalition since early November. Primary votes were 40% Coalition (up two), 31% Labor (down three), 11% Greens (steady) and 18% for all Others (up one).

    Coalition supporters were more firm in their voting intentions (61% solid, 34% soft) than Labor supporters (51% solid, 39% soft). The poll suggested a 9% two-party swing against Labor in the outer suburbs, but this would have been based on a small subsample. Other swings were 5% against Labor in inner and middle suburbs, no change in provincial cities and a 3% swing to Labor in rural areas.

    The Poll Bludger reported Sunday that a Redbridge and Accent Research poll of 20 marginal seats, conducted February 4–11 from a total sample of 1,002, gave the Coalition a 52–48 lead (51–49 to Labor across these seats in 2022). Primary votes were 43% Coalition, 33% Labor, 12% Greens and 12% for all Others.

    A national Morgan poll, conducted February 3–9 from a sample of 1,688, gave the Coalition a 51.5–48.5 lead by headline respondent preferences, a 1.5-point gain for the Coalition since the January 27 to February 2 poll.

    Primary votes were 40.5% Coalition (up two), 29% Labor (down one), 11% Greens (down 0.5), 4% One Nation (down 1.5), 9.5% independents (down one) and 6% others (up two). This is the lowest support for the Greens in this poll since November 2022. By 2022 election preference flows, the Coalition led by 51.5–48.5, a two-point gain for the Coalition.

    UAP can’t register for election

    Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party (UAP) voluntarily deregistered during this term, and were unable to re-register under this name. Palmer and the UAP’s only federal parliamentarian, Victorian Senator Ralph Babet, challenged this law, but the High Court last Wednesday denied the challenge.

    Babet was elected in 2022 and won’t be up for election as his six-year term expires in June 2028. The coming election will be a normal one for the full House and half the Senate, not a double dissolution where all senators are up for election.

    The UAP could still register under a different name, but their registration would need to be completed before writs are issued for the election. If the election is on May 17, the latest possible date, writs would need to be issued by April 14.

    Victorian Labor retains Werribee at byelection

    I previously covered the February 8 Victorian state byelections for Werribee and Prahran. On the election night count, Prahran was a Liberal gain from the Greens, with Labor ahead in Werribee but not certain to hold.

    Over 2,000 additional postals have been counted in Werribee, and Labor increased its lead, and now leads by 50.8–49.2 against the Liberals, a 10.2% swing to the Liberals since the November 2022 state election.

    Left-wing parties will do badly in Germany

    I covered next Sunday’s German election for The Poll Bludger on Saturday. The conservative CDU/CSU and far-right AfD are the top two parties in the polls, with the governing centre-left SPD and the Greens trailing.

    In Canada, Mark Carney is almost certain to be elected Liberal leader, replacing Justin Trudeau. In recent weeks, the Liberals have closed the gap on the Conservatives, but still trail by a large margin. US and UK polls were also covered.

    Adrian Beaumont 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. Coalition leading narrowly in four polls and would likely win an election held now – https://theconversation.com/coalition-leading-narrowly-in-four-polls-and-would-likely-win-an-election-held-now-249694

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Seven talented musicians to shine on City stage

    Source: Government of Western Australia

    The City’s Search for a Star competition has uncovered a gold mine of talented local artists who will share the stage with Joondalup Symphony Orchestra at a blockbuster event on 22 February.

    The winners will perform at the City’s fourth Symphony Under the Stars event, being held at Kingsway Regional Sporting Complex this month.

    This year’s winners are Alkimos resident Meagen Reyes (28), Wangara performing arts student Sofia Gale (16), Banksia Grove resident Caoimhe Power (16), Wangara dance student Krystal Biddulph (18), Kingsway student Jade Alexander (16), Hocking resident Emily Mackenzie (18) and Yanchep resident Tegan Mumba (16).

    The 70-piece Joondalup Symphony Orchestra (JSO) will headline the concert, with each of the winners performing a musical number with the ensemble.

    The winners were selected after a careful audition process, with the number of winners growing to seven – up from four last year.

    Kingsway last hosted the event in 2023, drawing a crowd of over 12,000 people.

    Wanneroo Mayor Linda Aitken said the concert, part of the City’s summer calendar of free community events, provided an impressive platform for the lucky residents to display their talent to a crowd of thousands.

    “Search for a Star gives local artists the chance to perform at one of the City’s largest events in front of thousands, alongside some impressive and established musicians,” she said.

    “Our Symphony event has become a community favourite. It’s the perfect opportunity for families to sit back and enjoy an impressive evening of music and entertainment for free.”

    JSO Principal Music Director, Michaela Jones, said the winners will have the opportunity to share the night with Australian Idol finalist, Chris Murphy, and singer, Rachael Coltrona, along with last year’s Search for a Star champions, Kade De Luca and Emma Loveland.

    “For the first time in its history, Symphony Under the Stars will feature a full symphony orchestra, with JSO taking centre stage in a thrilling 70-piece performance,” she said.

    “The event will showcase the incredible talent of local performers through the Search for a Star competition.

    “Seven outstanding winners, selected from an impressive pool of talent, will join the orchestra on stage, delivering show-stopping performances.

    “For these rising stars, the opportunity to sing alongside a 70-piece symphony orchestra is such a unique and wonderful experience—one that enhances their artistry and provides a thrilling taste of performing on a grand scale.”

    Event details:
    5pm to 9pm, Saturday February 22 2025 Kingsway Regional Sporting Complex, 130 Kingsway, Madeley

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Progress towards recycled water plant in Orange

    Source: New South Wales Government 2

    Headline: Progress towards recycled water plant in Orange

    Published: 17 February 2025

    Released by: Minister for Water

    Orange residents are closer to seeing a new innovative water supply solution roll into town as a preliminary business case gets underway to look at constructing the first purified recycled water treatment demonstration plant in regional NSW.

    It’s thanks to a $400,000 partnership between the Albanese and Minns Labor Governments and Orange City Council to explore the feasibility of building pioneering new infrastructure that will showcase how this technology works and whether it will provide another option for long-term water security in the Central West.

    The plant will use cutting-edge technology to treat and recycle wastewater to an extremely high standard that will be used by the Cadia Gold Mine for industrial purposes.

    It’s estimated the plant will produce approximately 3.5 megalitres of water per day, which is roughly a quarter of Orange’s daily needs.

    Using purified recycled water (PRW) is a great way to increase water supply resilience and takes the pressure off existing water sources.

    The design will allow for future expansion down the track if the plant proves to be successful and the community supports this move.

    A learning centre is in scope to be built alongside the demonstration plant to enable locals to come along and get a better understanding of the benefits of recycled water and how the process works.

    If approved, the plant will be the second groundbreaking water security solution for the region following the introduction of stormwater harvesting in 2009 which can deliver up to a quarter of the town’s water needs.

    The funding for the preliminary business case includes $200,000 from the Australian Government’s National Water Grid Fund, $100,000 from the NSW Government and $100,000 from Orange City Council.

    Work will begin shortly and is expected to be complete by June 2025.

    The NSW Government’s draft Recycled Water Roadmap outlines actions to address barriers and pave the way for increased and expanded recycled water use in the future, including drinking and non-drinking purposes, where it is safe, beneficial and cost-effective.

    For more information, consult the Recycled Water Roadmap.

    Senator for New South Wales, Senator Deborah O’Neill:

    “This $400,000 investment is a bold step toward increasing water security for the Central West, offering a pioneering solution to the region’s water challenges. The collaboration highlights the Albanese Government’s commitment to innovative infrastructure solutions that improve resilience in the face of climate challenges.”

    “It’s exciting to see the Albanese Government’s National Water Grid Fund supporting Orange’s water security future. It’s another example of how federal and state Labor governments are working together to support communities in regional NSW.”

    “Through a joint effort between the federal and state governments and Orange City Council, we’re working to bring cutting-edge water technology to the region. The proposed purified recycled water treatment plant will not only help secure a sustainable water supply for industrial use at Cadia Gold Mine but also serve as a vital demonstration of how this technology can support the region’s long-term water needs. The investment reflects our dedication to finding practical, forward-thinking solutions that benefit local communities and bolster water resilience across New South Wales.”

    NSW Minister for Water Rose Jackson MLC said:

    “I’m proud to announce that we’ve come together with the Federal Government and Orange City Council to explore the possibility of using purified recycled water.

    “This is an ingenious solution that makes the most of the water we already have and increases our resilience to challenges such as drought and a changing climate.

    “Recycled water is already being used in 35 cities across the globe and is currently being tested at Quakers Hill in Sydney’s west.

    “It is still early days for New South Wales, and we have to do our due diligence first, but it’s exciting to think of the possibilities this cutting-edge technology could offer as we progress work on the draft Recycled Water Roadmap.”

    Member for Orange Phil Donato MP said:

    “Orange is one of the fastest growing regional towns in the state with tourism, agriculture and mining and that’s one of the reasons water security is so critically important for the Central West.

    “I’m pleased that this business case is progressing thanks to support from all levels of Government. If it goes ahead, this demonstration facility can play an important role in long-term work to improve regional water security and can also unlock jobs and greater economic development in the area.”

    Mayor of Orange City Council, Tony Mileto said:

    “Orange has proven it’s on the front foot when it comes to water solutions, such as our award-winning stormwater harvesting scheme – we’ve always been forward thinking when it comes to looking at alternative ways to secure and use water.

    “We’re looking forward to becoming the first regional city in NSW to look at trialing purified recycled water to safeguard our resources, and ensure our community is in a stronger position to withstand the next drought.

    “Because of our experience using stormwater harvesting for potable use, survey results show that residents are open to exploring the use of using recycled water, and having a demonstration plant will enable them to see how the technology works up close and in action.”

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: $5.5 million for health worker accommodation in Coffs Harbour

    Source: New South Wales Government 2

    Headline: $5.5 million for health worker accommodation in Coffs Harbour

    Published: 17 February 2025

    Released by: Minister for Regional Health

    The Coffs Harbour community is set to benefit from new Key Worker Accommodation which will help attract, recruit and retain more healthcare workers to the region.

    The Minns Labor Government will invest $5.5 million in health worker housing in Coffs Harbour as part of the Key Health Worker Accommodation program.

    The $200.1 million program supports more than 20 projects across rural, regional and remote NSW.

    The funding will secure approximately 120 dwellings across regional NSW, which includes the building of new accommodation, refurbishment of existing living quarters and the purchase of suitable properties such as residential units.

    The four-year program will support the recruitment and retention of more than 500 health workers and their families by providing a range of accommodation options.

    The program is one of a number of investments the Minns Labor Government is making to strengthen the regional, rural and remote health workforce and builds on the success of the NSW Government’s $73.2 million investment in key health worker accommodation across five regional local health districts (Far West, Murrumbidgee, Southern NSW, Hunter New England and Western NSW).

    Quotes attributable to Minister for Regional Health, Ryan Park:

    “The Minns Labor Government is committed to investing in modern, sustainable accommodation options for key health workers who are the backbone of our regional, rural and remote communities.

    “Strengthening our regional health workforce is a key priority for our government and this $5.5 million investment in accommodation will support the attraction of key healthcare workers to Coffs Harbour.

    “The Key Health Worker Accommodation program will support the Mid North Coast Local Health District in continuing to provide high-quality health services to the community.”

    Quote attributable to Labor Spokesperson for Coffs Harbour, Cameron Murphy MLC:

    “The Mid North Coast is among the state’s fastest growing regions and demand for housing is only increasing.

    “Coffs Harbour is already a fantastic place to live and work, but the Minns Labor Government’s investment in health worker housing here will just make it that little more attractive to prospective employees and their families.”

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: $250,000 investment in key health staff accommodation at Barraba

    Source: New South Wales Government 2

    Headline: $250,000 investment in key health staff accommodation at Barraba

    Published: 17 February 2025

    Released by: Minister for Regional Health

    The NSW Government is investing $250,000 to upgrade key health worker accommodation at Barraba Multipurpose Service (MPS).

    The funding boost is part of the Minns Labor Government’s $12 million investment in 61 projects as part of the Regional Health Minor Works Program.

    The funding will modernise the Barraba MPS staff accommodation, including ensuites for the three bedrooms to improve privacy and comfort, and help incentivise and attract staff to the region.

    Quotes attributable to Minister for Regional Health Ryan Park:

    “One of the key issues we face in the healthcare system is staffing our facilities, and this issue is even more present in regional, rural and remote locations.

    “Having modern, fit for purpose accommodation on site at healthcare facilities is a major drawcard in recruiting and retaining staff.

    “Key Health Worker Accommodation is so important to this government, we’ve invested $200.1 million to increase the availability in critical locations.”

    Quotes attributable to Labor Spokesperson for Tamworth, Anthony D’Adam MLC:

    “We welcome this investment in Barraba MPS, and it’s great to be part of a government that is making working and living in rural areas more attractive to health workers.

    “This upgrade to staff quarters at Barraba MPS will provide our health workers with modern and comfortable facilities.”

    Quotes attributable to Acting Executive Director of Infrastructure, Planning, and Sustainability Anna Styles-Tape:

    “This funding will provide staff with better amenities and will support our recruitment efforts and offerings to new and existing staff.”

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Generative AI is already being used in journalism – here’s how people feel about it

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

    Indonesia’s TVOne launched an AI news presenter in 2023. T.J. Thomson

    Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has taken off at lightning speed in the past couple of years, creating disruption in many industries. Newsrooms are no exception.

    A new report published today finds that news audiences and journalists alike are concerned about how news organisations are – and could be – using generative AI such as chatbots, image, audio and video generators, and similar tools.

    The report draws on three years of interviews and focus group research into generative AI and journalism in Australia and six other countries (United States, United Kingdom, Norway, Switzerland, Germany and France).

    Only 25% of our news audience participants were confident they had encountered generative AI in journalism. About 50% were unsure or suspected they had.

    This suggests a potential lack of transparency from news organisations when they use generative AI. It could also reflect a lack of trust between news outlets and audiences.

    Who or what makes your news – and how – matters for a host of reasons.

    Some outlets tend to use more or fewer sources, for example. Or use certain kinds of sources – such as politicians or experts – more than others.

    Some outlets under-represent or misrepresent parts of the community. This is sometimes because the news outlet’s staff themselves aren’t representative of their audience.

    Carelessly using AI to produce or edit journalism can reproduce some of these inequalities.

    Our report identifies dozens of ways journalists and news organisations can use generative AI. It also summarises how comfortable news audiences are with each.

    The news audiences we spoke to overall felt most comfortable with journalists using AI for behind-the-scenes tasks rather than for editing and creating. These include using AI to transcribe an interview or to provide ideas on how to cover a topic.

    But comfort is highly dependent on context. Audiences were quite comfortable with some editing and creating tasks when the perceived risks were lower.

    The problem – and opportunity

    Generative AI can be used in just about every part of journalism.

    For example, a photographer could cover an event. Then, a generative AI tool could select what it “thinks” are the best images, edit the images to optimise them, and add keywords to each.

    Computer software can try to recognise objects in images and add keywords, leading to potentially more efficient image processing workflows.
    Elise Racine/Better Images of AI/Moon over Fields, CC BY

    These might seem like relatively harmless applications. But what if the AI identifies something or someone incorrectly, and these keywords lead to mis-identifications in the photo captions? What if the criteria humans think make “good” images are different to what a computer might think? These criteria may also change over time or in different contexts.

    Even something as simple as lightening or darkening an image can cause a furore when politics are involved.

    AI can also make things up completely. Images can appear photorealistic but show things that never happened. Videos can be entirely generated with AI, or edited with AI to change their context.

    Generative AI is also frequently used for writing headlines or summarising articles. These sound like helpful applications for time-poor individuals, but some news outlets are using AI to rip off others’ content.

    AI-generated news alerts have also gotten the facts wrong. As an example, Apple recently suspended its automatically generated news notification feature. It did this after the feature falsely claimed US murder suspect Luigi Mangione had killed himself, with the source attributed as the BBC.

    What do people think about journalists using AI?

    Our research found news audiences seem to be more comfortable with journalists using AI for certain tasks when they themselves have used it for similar purposes.

    For example, the people interviewed were largely comfortable with journalists using AI to blur parts of an image. Our participants said they used similar tools on video conferencing apps or when using the “portrait” mode on smartphones.

    Likewise, when you insert an image into popular word processing or presentation software, it might automatically create a written description of the image for people with vision impairments. Those who’d previously encountered such AI descriptions of images felt more comfortable with journalists using AI to add keywords to media.

    Popular word processing and presentation software can automatically generate alt-text descriptions for images that are inserted into documents or presentations.
    T.J. Thomson

    The most frequent way our participants encountered generative AI in journalism was when journalists reported on AI content that had gone viral.

    For example, when an AI-generated image purported to show Princes William and Harry embracing at King Charles’s coronation, news outlets reported on this false image.

    Our news audience participants also saw notices that AI had been used to write, edit or translate news articles. They saw AI-generated images accompanying some of these. This is a popular approach at The Daily Telegraph, which uses AI-generated images to illustrate many of its opinion columns.

    The Daily Telegraph frequently turns to generative AI to illustrate its opinion columns, sometimes generating more photorealistic illustrations and sometimes less photorealistic ones.
    T.J. Thomson

    Overall, our participants felt most comfortable with journalists using AI for brainstorming or for enriching already created media. This was followed by using AI for editing and creating. But comfort depends heavily on the specific use.

    Most of our participants were comfortable with turning to AI to create icons for an infographic. But they were quite uncomfortable with the idea of an AI avatar presenting the news, for example.

    On the editing front, a majority of our participants were comfortable with using AI to animate historical images, like this one. AI can be used to “enliven” an otherwise static image in the hopes of attracting viewer interest and engagement.

    A historical photograph from the State Library of Western Australia’s collection has been animated with AI (a tool called Runway) to introduce motion to the still image.
    T.J. Thomson

    Your role as an audience member

    If you’re unsure if or how journalists are using AI, look for a policy or explainer from the news outlet on the topic. If you can’t find one, consider asking the outlet to develop and publish a policy.

    Consider supporting media outlets that use AI to complement and support – rather than replace – human labour.

    Before making decisions, consider the past trustworthiness of the journalist or outlet in question, and what the evidence says.

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

    Michelle Riedlinger receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada’s Global Journalism Innovation Lab. She is an affiliate with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision Making & Society.

    Phoebe Matich receives funding from the Australian Research Council. She is a post-doctoral research fellow within the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision Making and Society.

    Ryan J. Thomas 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. Generative AI is already being used in journalism – here’s how people feel about it – https://theconversation.com/generative-ai-is-already-being-used-in-journalism-heres-how-people-feel-about-it-247232

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Australian National Maritime Museum Council Appointment

    Source: Australian Ministers 1

    The Albanese Labor Government has appointed Ms Nataliya Dikovskaya to the Australian National Maritime Museum Council for a three year term.

    Minister for the Arts, Tony Burke, said Ms Dikovskaya has extensive experience in the financial sector and has worked with and supported a number of arts and cultural institutions.

    “Having served on boards for various cultural institutions, Nataliya’s knowledge will be a great asset to the Museum. 

    “Nataliya has also worked for many years in the financial sector and is equipped with extensive insight in the industry.”

    The Australian National Maritime Museum is dedicated to exploring Australia’s maritime history through topics of migration, archaeology, ocean science, commerce, culture and lifestyle, and honours the stories of First Nations peoples’ living cultural connection to ancestral waters. 

    Natalia Dikovskaya has worked in the financial services industry for over 17 years and is currently a Senior Adviser at Minchin Moore Private, and the Director of financial planning firm NASHAUS Consulting.

    Ms Dikovskaya is the Chair of the Adelaide Park Lands Art Prize and is a member of the Finance, Audit and Risk sub-committee of the State Theatre Company of South Australia.

    Since 2024, Ms Dikovskaya has been a member of the Collectors Committee of the Art Gallery of South Australia and previously served as a member on the Helpmann Academy Foundation Board, which develops pathways for emerging creatives in the performing and visual arts. 

    Ms Dikovskaya holds a Masters of Applied Finance and is a Certified Financial Planner through the Financial Planning Association. 

    MIL OSI News –