The first round of negotiations for the India–New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) concluded successfully on Friday in the national capital. The talks, held from May 5 to May 9, represent a significant milestone in the growing economic relations between the two nations.
The initiative builds on the visit of New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to India in March 2025, where he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed expanding economic cooperation. The FTA was formally launched during a meeting on 16 March 2025, between Piyush Goyal, India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, and Todd McClay, New Zealand’s Minister for Trade and Investment.
Groundwork and Key Areas of Negotiation
Prior to the in-person talks, both countries held a series of virtual discussions to lay the groundwork for the negotiations. The first round of face-to-face talks covered a wide range of crucial areas, including Trade in Goods and Services, Trade Facilitation, and mutually beneficial sectors of economic cooperation. These constructive discussions underline the strategic importance both nations place on creating a balanced, fair, and mutually advantageous trade agreement.
The two sides focused on creating a framework that will not only boost trade but also address the changing global economic landscape. The FTA negotiations are designed to foster a more robust and predictable trading environment, enhancing economic cooperation and fostering deeper ties between the two nations.
Bilateral Trade Growth and FTA Expectations
The bilateral trade relationship between India and New Zealand has witnessed a remarkable growth trajectory in recent years. Merchandise trade between the countries reached an impressive USD 1.3 billion in the financial year 2024–25, marking a strong year-on-year growth of 48.6%. This surge in trade underscores the growing potential of the India-New Zealand economic partnership.
The FTA is expected to further elevate this partnership by improving supply chain integration, reducing trade barriers, and enhancing business opportunities on both sides. It will provide a solid framework for fostering cross-border investment, creating new avenues for businesses, and aligning trade policies with global aspirations.
Looking Ahead
Both countries have reaffirmed their mutual understanding and commitment to working towards a future-ready framework and aim to conclude the FTA by the end of this year. The second round of negotiations will take place in July 2025, with both sides aiming to build on the progress made in the first round.
India’s growing network of trade agreements, including this one with New Zealand, reflects its steadfast commitment to enhancing economic partnerships in line with its national priorities. As the global trade landscape evolves, this FTA holds the potential to be a transformative agreement, positioning both nations for greater economic success in the years to come.
Paris, May 12, 2025 – Jeito Capital (“Jeito”), a global leading independent Private Equity fund dedicated to biopharma, is pleased to announce the promotion of Mehdi Ainouche to Partner and Julien Elric to Senior Principal.
These promotions represent the next phase of Jeito’s growth and reflect the continued strengthening of its team. They also underscore the firm’s commitment to developing talent and supporting career progression from within.
Mehdi Ainouche, PharmD, joined Jeito as Principal in 2020, shortly after the fund’s inception and was promoted to Senior Principal in 2024. With over a decade of experience in life sciences investment, Mehdi has been instrumental across the full investment cycle—from deal sourcing and due diligence to closing and exit—most notably with EyeBio, which was successfully sold to Merck & Co [NYSE: MRK] for up to $3 billion. He has also shown a strong ability to spot emerging innovations with the potential to significantly improve outcomes for patients with unmet medical needs. He has supported several investments and portfolio companies, particularly in ophthalmology, oncology, cardiometabolic and neuromuscular diseases, as well as fibrosis. and He currently serves on the boards of CDR-Life and Augustine Therapeutics, and is a board observer at NMD Pharma.
Before joining Jeito, Mehdi was an Associate within the healthcare venture team, of Turenne Capital, a French investment group with over €2Bn under management, where he worked on numerous biotech and medtech investments. He holds a Doctorate in Pharmacy from the University of Rennes and a Master’s in Business from ESCP Europe. As Partner, he will contribute further to building Jeito portfolio diversification and performance.
Julien Elric joined Jeito in September 2021, bringing strong experience in deal sourcing, portfolio support, and healthcare investment. From Associate (2021) to Senior Associate in 2023 and Principal in early 2024, he has played a key role within Jeito’s investment team. Julien has contributed to financing efforts, clinical development strategies across the portfolio and was strongly involved in the investment up to exit of HI-Bio™ acquired by Biogen Inc. [Nasdaq: BIIB] for up to $1.8 billion. He currently serves as a board observer at Alentis Therapeutics and XyloCor Therapeutics.
Before joining Jeito, Julien led the startup incubator iPEPS at the Paris Brain Institute, where he helped establish it as a key hub for life sciences innovation in France. He supported early-stage biotechs and medtechs in their growth and advised major pharmaceutical companies on corporate–startup collaborations. Earlier in his career, he was responsible for business development and industrial partnerships at Institut Curie. Julien holds a PhD in Cell Biology from Institut Pasteur and is a graduate of INSEAD Business School.
Dr. Rafaèle Tordjman, MD, PhD, Founder and CEO of Jeito Capital, said: “I’m delighted to announce these promotions, which reflect two outstanding career paths and significant contributions to Jeito. Mehdi and Julien’s dedication to unlocking the potential of our portfolio companies perfectly captures the spirit of Jeito and our commitment to accelerating progress for patients. By bringing together leading scientific and industry expertise across Europe and the US, we are entering an exciting new phase of growth. I wish Mehdi and Julien every success and look forward to seeing them thrive in their new roles.”
About Jeito Capital
Jeito Capital is a global leading Private Equity fund with a patient benefit driven approach that finances and accelerates the development and growth of ground-breaking medical innovation. Jeito empowers and supports managers through its expert, integrated, multi-talented team and through the investment of significant capital to ensure the growth of companies, building market leaders in their respective therapeutic areas with accelerated patients’ access globally, especially in Europe and the United States. Jeito has built a diversified portfolio of clinical biopharmas with cutting-edge innovations addressing high unmet needs. Jeito Capital is based in Paris with a presence in Europe and the United States.
For more information, please visit www.jeito.life or follow us on LinkedIn.
Contacts:
Jeito Capital Rafaèle Tordjman, Founder & CEO Jessica Fadel, EA Tel: +33 6 33 44 25 47
Tim Wilson’s victory over independent MP Zoe Daniel to reclaim his Melbourne seat of Goldstein has grabbed post-election headlines.
He is the only Liberal to achieve such a feat since six Teals stormed inner-city blue-ribbon seats at the 2022 election. Wilson’s return to parliament has triggered talk of a possible tilt for the Liberal Party leadership.
How remarkable was his victory in Goldstein? Could his successful campaign be a template for other Liberals hoping to seize back territory from the Teals?
Coalition fightback
Other coalition candidates also triumphed over high-profile independents.
The Liberal Party has retained Bradfield, with Gisele Kapterian edging out Teal candidate Nicolette Boele.
Frontbencher Dan Tehan held off a strong challenge from Alex Dyson in Wannon. Likewise, backbencher Pat Conaghan, who was challenged by Caz Heise in Cowper.
Meanwhile in Kooyong, Amelia Hamer fell just short of Teal MP Monique Ryan.
Growing support
Despite the setbacks in some seats, the community independents movement is stronger than ever in 2025.
Curtin’s Kate Chaney was widely tipped to lose her seat, but she was returned with a small two-party preferred swing.
Independent Dai Le who is not aligned with the Teals, was returned in Fowler. So, too, Andrew Gee in Calare.
Independents received strong support from a number of quarters.
Climate 200 funded 35 candidates, up from 22 three years ago. The Regional Voices Fund supported 13 non-metropolitan independents. The volunteer armies knocking on doors were larger than ever before.
Voters responded. On the latest count, Labor’s primary vote was less than 35%, while support for the Liberal Party declined to around 32%. Minor parties and independents picked up 33% of the vote, with the Teals doing particularly well, according to ABC election analyst Antony Green:
All these Teals won from second place last time. This time they are winning from first place.
Wilson’s success in Goldstein bucked these national trends. So how did he do it?
Learning the lessons from 2022
At the last electon, Wilson ran using the same messaging as the national campaign – national security and the economy.
Wilson repeatedly referred to Daniel as a Climate 200 “fake independent” and reframed the local focus of independents as “parochial”. His campaign was negative and unsuccessful.
Wilson’s 2025 campaign had a distinct shift in tone. It is clear that he learned many lessons from his Teal rival.
This time around, he embraced social media with a focus on community and “listening”. Despite a reputation for being combative, his posts showed a positive, hyper-local campaign that did not mention his rival at all.
When he tapped into national themes, he focused on low inflation, affordable homes and community safety.
Tim Wilson campaign advertisement for the seat of Goldstein.
Like the Teals, he also managed to muster an army of volunteers. These grassroots efforts began almost a year before the election, kicked off with forums to hear from the community. Door knocking and high visibility across the electorate made a difference.
The Jewish vote
Goldstein is home to a significant concentration of Jewish voters and securing their vote was vital.
The Israel-Gaza conflict, and the firebombing attack on the orthodox Adass Israel synagogue in nearby Ripponlea, brought the issue of antisemitism to the fore in the lead up to the campaign.
For Wilson, this was the only issue on which he went negative. Daniel’s campaign described his line of attack as “brutal, hostile and abusive”.
But it paid off with Wilson recording swings of up to 7.56% across Caulfield and Elsternwick, where the Jewish population is largest. This enabled him to recover much of the ground lost in 2022.
Teal campaign more negative
Daniel’s task as an independent MP was to convince voters she delivered for her community. But this was difficult to showcase, given the crowded nature of the crossbench in the 47th parliament.
Daniel still had a strong grassroots movement behind her. But her messages about Dutton, emphasising his hard man, “Trumpian” character, brought a more negative tone to her campaign.
Daniel recorded large swings of up to 10% in suburbs such as Moorabbin and Bentleigh, which have a lower socio-economic base than the other parts of the electorate and have traditionally voted Labor.
But the “Golden Mile” that stretches along the bay from Brighton to Black Rock swung heavily toward Wilson. In wealthier suburbs, such as Hampton, he secured swings of up to 10% in the two-party preferred count.
With such narrow margins, these shifts were enough to change the outcome.
Building momentum
Wilson won in part by adopting the campaign strategies used by the Teals. We should expect to see more candidates – including from the major parties – using these tools in future elections.
Despite Daniel’s defeat, support for community candidates grew in 2025. But to overcome institutional barriers and the vagaries of preferences, independents will need to continue to build on their momentum.
In 2028, the new election donations laws will also be in effect, which will limit the war chests raised by community independents.
Campaigning skills and strategy will prove more important than ever.
Phoebe Hayman receives funding from the Department of Education via a Research Training Scholarship.
Amy Nethery 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.
These plays focused on armed conflict and displacement in Tamil Eelam, Sri Lanka. Shakthidharan’s new play shifts settings across the Palk Strait to the contemporary struggles of a remote Indian village fending off the ravages of modernity.
The Wrong Gods, directed by Shakthidharan with Hannah Goodwin, is an ambitious play with an all-female and brown cast. It traces the triumphs and tribulations of single mother Nirmala (Nadie Kammallaweera), fighting to protect her family and valley from the “new” world built on the promise of progress.
In an era of multiple crises, the play draws attention to global Indigenous connections to the natural world – in striking contrast to the extractive and capitalist logics of most modern development.
The ‘old’ and the ‘new’
Nirmala is worried as her daughter, Isha (Radhika Mudaliyar), is loosing interest and confidence in Indigenous practices. Nirmala is determined to ensure Isha not only remembers what to do in the valley but understands why.
Isha is a curious girl with a soaring imagination. Her dreams appear wild: she wants to finish school and become a scientist. A few school lessons in the city open Isha to a new world, to “new gods”, unlike the gods she’s used to of the river and her natural surroundings.
Nirmala insists her daughter remain in the valley; Isha seeks to venture out and discover a different world. Brett Boardman/Belvoir
When Lakshmi (Vaishnavi Suryaprakash) arrives uninvited, Nirmala and Isha are cautious and weary. But Lakshmi has big plans for the valley. She introduces Nirmala to new farming methods and crop varieties. To sweeten the deal, Lakshmi offers to pay for Isha’s university education.
Nirmala and Isha are both initially doubtful about Lakshmi’s intentions. To mark their differences, Isha points out to Lakshmi she is an upper caste woman from the city whose entire world view is different to hers.
This is the only reference to caste in the play, and its introduction here feels tokenistic. The reference points to longstanding social inequalities in which lower caste groups have been denied greater access to employment, education and cultural capital, but Shakthidharan passes over it too quickly. This aspect of the plot warranted further attention.
Nirmala accepts Lakshmi’s offer. Isha is overwhelmed with joy at the thought of pursuing an education. Armed with enthusiasm and a thirst for “new” knowledge, she immediately departs for the city.
Personal and political battles
The Wrong Gods speaks to the harms of “saviours” whose actions are masked under the guise of progress and empowerment.
Nirmala and her village are viewed by Lakshmi as backward, vulnerable and in need of protection. Lakshmi is cast in a paternalist role: she sees her intervention not only as justified economically, but as the morally correct thing to do.
Lakshmi’s words – however promising and life changing they sound – reproduce elite and exclusionary ideas that ignore ways of living that have survived thousands of years.
The Wrong Gods speaks to the harms of ‘saviours’ whose actions are masked under the guise of progress and empowerment. Brett Boardman/Belvoir
After several years, Isha returns to the valley as the scientist for the organisation her mother has been mobilising against. With Lakshmi by her side, Isha tells her mother the dam project will flood the valley and displace the farmers. Nirmala is devastated and furious.
After a few tense moments that see Nirmala and Isha locked in an aruval (machete variety) battle, they realise Lakshmi had known about this outcome from the beginning. This realisation is far too late.
Nirmala decides to stay in the valley and fight – even if it means dying. She tells her daughter to return to the city to inform people about their plight and prevent the further depletion of native lands and waterways.
‘Development’ for whom?
The Wrong Gods is a critique of progress and modernity, and Shakthidharan carefully strikes the right balance between the personal, structural and political.
As Nirmala’s protest actions grow stronger, she must face the reality her daughter is trying to negotiate the needs of two worlds. The interactions between characters and their competing views moves seamlessly across the unfolding scenes, while the audience gets a clearer sense of the entanglements of the challenges playing out in Nirmala and Isha’s lives.
Costumes by Keerthi Subramanyam, who also designed the set, contribute to the play’s critique of progress. Nirmala wears a saree and carries a small purse for food. While Lakshmi wears a churidar set during her first meeting when she is trying to woo favour, she wears a suit on her second visit. Like Lakshmi, Isha returns to the valley wearing a power suit, evoking a sense of authority and upward economic mobility.
Costumes by Keerthi Subramanyam contribute to the play’s critique of progress. Brett Boardman/Belvoir
The Wrong Gods grapples with the more-than-human worlds at stake amid multiple crises. Through his play, Shakthidharan suggests we should begin addressing the growing needs of our planet by overcoming structural challenges. Doing so may prevent us from reaching solutions which do not displace people or deplete natural resources. Brilliant acting by the cast makes clear the profound emotions of bearing witness to an environmental destruction that is entirely preventable.
We must prioritise and embed local knowledges to address some of the biggest challenges facing us today. Failure to do so will only worsen both man-made and natural crises – and there will be no gods, right or wrong, to save us.
The Wrong Gods is at Belvior Theatre, Sydney, until May 31, then Melbourne Theatre Company from June 6 to July 12.
Niro Kandasamy 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.
Nearly 76% of Indians trust and feel confident in using Artificial Intelligence (AI), significantly higher than the global average of 46%, according to a new report by KPMG.
The report, titled “Trust, Attitudes and Use of Artificial Intelligence: A Global Study 2025”, surveyed over 48,000 people across 47 countries, identifying India as a global frontrunner in public trust and adoption of AI technologies.
According to the findings, 90% of Indian respondents believe AI has enhanced accessibility and effectiveness in various domains, underlining its transformative impact on the country. Furthermore, 97% said they intentionally use AI in their workplace, and 67% admitted they couldn’t complete their tasks without it. In contrast, globally, only 58% of respondents reported actively using AI at work, and just 31% said they use it regularly.
The study was led by Professor Nicole Gillespie and Dr. Steve Lockey of Melbourne Business School in collaboration with KPMG.
Akhilesh Tuteja, Partner at KPMG India, stated that the findings highlight India’s readiness to lead the world in ethical and innovative AI usage. However, he stressed the need for robust governance and regulatory frameworks to ensure responsible deployment.
Professor Gillespie echoed similar concerns, emphasizing that trust and transparent governance are vital to achieving widespread acceptance and sustainable use of AI technologies.
The report also found that 86% of Indian respondents have personally witnessed positive outcomes from AI, including increased productivity, greater innovation, and reduced time on repetitive tasks.
AI literacy is also higher in India compared to many advanced economies. About 78% of respondents said they feel confident in their AI skills, 64% reported having received formal AI training, and 83% believe they can effectively use AI tools.
The study positions India as a promising global leader in AI integration, not just in usage but also in public sentiment, education, and workplace applications.
OpenAI has dialed back a significant restructuring plan, with its nonprofit parent retaining control in a move that is likely to limit CEO Sam Altman’s power over the pioneering maker of ChatGPT.
The announcement follows a storm of criticism and legal challenges, including a high-profile lawsuit filed by rival and co-founder Elon Musk, who has accused OpenAI of straying from its founding mission to develop artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity.
“OpenAI was founded as a non-profit, is today a non-profit that oversees and controls the for-profit, and going forward will remain a non-profit that oversees and controls the for-profit. That will not change,” Altman said in a blog post on Monday.
OpenAI had outlined plans in December to convert its for-profit arm into a public benefit corporation, a structure designed to balance shareholder returns with social goals, unlike nonprofits, which are solely focused on the public good. Under that proposal, the nonprofit parent would have been a big shareholder in the PBC but would cede control over the startup.
On Monday, OpenAI said the nonprofit parent would continue to control the PBC and become a big shareholder in it. The company will push ahead with plans to change the structure of its for-profit arm to allow more capital-raising to keep pace in the AI race.
The move to an outright for-profit was intended to help OpenAI raise more capital and ease restrictions tied to its nonprofit parent. But it sparked concerns over whether the company would fairly allocate assets to the nonprofit and how it would balance profit-making with its mission to develop AI for the public good.
“We made the decision for the nonprofit to stay in control after hearing from civic leaders and having discussions with the offices of the Attorneys General of California and Delaware,” Bret Taylor, chairman of OpenAI’s board, said in a blog post, adding that the new announcement meant the startup would continue to have a structure “extremely close” to the current one.
Altman called the move a compromise “that (works) well enough for investors that they’re happy to continue to fund us to a degree we think we will need.” He said OpenAI would work with major backer Microsoft, regulators and newly appointed nonprofit commissioners to finalize the updated plan, and decide how much equity stake in the for-profit business each party would receive.
“We believe this is well over the bar of what we need to be able to fundraise,” Altman said, adding there were “no changes to any existing investor relationships” and that the company would proceed with the earlier plan to remove caps on the profit that investors can earn.
But questions remain over what exactly was changing, and what level of control the non-profit will have under the newly proposed plan, which lacks details. Currently, OpenAI’s nonprofit fully owns the for-profit entity, and the nonprofit board’s mission is ensuring that “artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity,” instead of providing value for shareholders.
“We’re glad that OpenAI is listening to concerns from civil society leaders … but crucial questions remain,” said Page Hedley, OpenAI’s former policy and ethics adviser, and lead organizer of the group Not For Private Gain.
“Will OpenAI’s commercial goals continue to be legally subordinate to its charitable mission? Who will own the technology that OpenAI develops? The 2019 restructuring announcement made the primacy of the mission very clear, but so far, these statements have not,” he said. He added he was concerned that in the PBC structure, the board would be obligated to maximize shareholder value.
MUSK SUIT TO PROCEED
As the expensive pursuit of artificial general intelligence, or AI that surpasses human intelligence, heats up, OpenAI has been looking to make changes to attract further investment.
It announced in March it would raise up to $40 billion in a new funding round led by SoftBank Group at a $300 billion valuation. The round was contingent on the AI firm transitioning to for-profit status by the end of the year, a structure that drew attention in November 2023 during one of the biggest boardroom dramas in Silicon Valley, where members of the nonprofit board ousted Altman over a breakdown in communication and loss of trust. He was reinstated after five days, following an outpouring of support from employees and investors.
Altman said OpenAI would still be able to receive funding from the Japanese tech investor after Monday’s move.
SoftBank did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while Microsoft declined to comment.
The announcement also came amid a bitter legal battle brought by OpenAI co-founder Elon Musk, which sought to block OpenAI’s transition away from nonprofit control, among other claims. A jury trial had been scheduled for March 2026.
Musk’s lawyer said there was no plan to drop the lawsuit against OpenAI.
“The announcement obscures critical details about the supposed ‘non-profit control’ arrangement, and particularly the sharply reduced ownership stake the non-profit will receive in Altman’s for-profit enterprise – where the non-profit currently holds majority equity.”
A consortium led by Musk had also made an unsolicited $97.4 billion bid for OpenAI earlier this year that was swiftly rebuffed by Altman with a “no thank you.”
Union Minister of Communications and Development of North Eastern Region, Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, inaugurated Bharat Telecom 2025 in New Delhi on Tuesday, highlighting India’s rising profile as a global hub for telecom manufacturing, services, and exports.
Organised by the Telecom Equipment and Services Export Promotion Council (TEPC) in collaboration with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the two-day event aims to showcase India’s capabilities in telecom equipment and next-generation digital technologies. The event also features an exclusive International Business Expo, with participation from over 130 foreign delegates representing more than 35 countries.
Speaking at the inauguration, Scindia described Bharat Telecom as “a declaration of India’s intent to shape the future of global connectivity through innovation, collaboration, and inclusive growth.”
He underlined India’s recent achievements in telecom infrastructure, noting that 99% of villages have been connected with 5G and 82% of the population is now on the network. “In just 22 months, we deployed 4.7 lakh telecom towers. This is not evolution—it is a telecom revolution,” he said. He added that the telecom sector now functions as a foundational layer for healthcare, education, governance, and economic empowerment.
Scindia also credited India’s rapid digital transformation to the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating, “We have moved from being digital followers to becoming global digital leaders.”
Minister of State for Communications, Dr. Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar, who was also present at the event, echoed similar sentiments. “India is no longer just a participant in global discussions—it is defining them. We have transitioned from being a consumer to a creator of world-class telecom solutions,” he said.
Dr. Sekhar attributed this shift to the Digital India initiative and supportive government policies, including production-linked incentive schemes, spectrum reforms, and the Telecom Technology Development Fund. He noted that India now plays a growing role in global supply chains, producing about 15% of the world’s iPhones, and outlined future ambitions in 6G, satellite broadband, and quantum communication.
Arnob Roy, Chairman of TEPC, welcomed delegates and emphasized India’s emergence as a reliable destination for telecom exports. “Bharat Telecom showcases the transformative power of India’s indigenous telecom ecosystem,” he said, inviting international stakeholders to explore innovations on display.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Following is the speech by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, at the plenary session themed “Flexible and Vibrant Labour Market” at the Seventh Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Human Resources Development Ministerial Meeting in Jeju, Korea, today (May 12):
Good morning, chair and distinguished fellow Ministers.
Let me start off first of all by expressing my heartfelt gratitude to Korea for your warm hospitality and the very thoughtful arrangement over every detail this meeting. Flexibility and vibrancy have long been embedded in the DNA of Hong Kong, China. However, in the face of changing landscapes, we cannot stand still and must evolve and improve.
In a world where social media and artificial intelligence keep on reshaping the scope and meaning of work, it is all the more important for policymakers to focus on making employment more flexible, boosting labour productivity, and putting in place sustainable protection for workers. Today I will highlight Hong Kong, China’s initiatives to address the challenges posed by the platform economy, and our efforts to enhance protection for employees across various sectors.
The platform economy is developing rapidly around the world. In Hong Kong, China, platform workers engaging in food and goods delivery services are common. Similar to other economies, their mode of co-operation with platform providers involves complex and various modes of work, which are not entirely akin to the traditional employment relationship.
Hong Kong, China attaches great importance to protecting the rights and benefits of platform workers. We have set up a tripartite liaison group to explore possible measures for strengthening protection for platform workers in collaboration with platform companies and labour organisations. We are glad to see that members of the liaison group are working together to forge consensus. The general directions are to enhance communication between platform companies and workers, increase the level of compensation for work-related accidents, and crack down on illegal workers. The aim is to enhance protection for platform workers through tripartite consultation while at the same time facilitating the sustainable development of the industry to achieve win-win outcome.
In parallel, the Government of Hong Kong, China has conducted a thematic household survey to collect major data of local platform workers. We have also conducted an opinion survey and focus groups among platform workers. Platform workers in Hong Kong, China are mostly concerned about the protection for work-related accidents and urged platform providers to provide them with protection comparable to the work injury compensation offered to employees in general. Capitalising on the work of the liaison group and the survey findings, we will map out the way forward within this year and enact necessary legislation once we have decided on the direction.
At the same time, we are addressing broad concerns through refining the scope of the Employment Ordinance in Hong Kong, China. At present, all employees covered by the Employment Ordinance are entitled to basic protection, including wage payment and granting of statutory holidays. Employees who are employed under a continuous contract are further entitled to benefits such as holiday pay, paid annual leave, sickness allowance, maternity leave, etc.
Under the current law, an employee is required to work at least 18 hours a week for four weeks in a row so as to remain engaged in continuous contract. This means an employee who occasionally works less than 18 hours in a week will fall short of the continuous contract requirement.
We have recently introduced legislative amendment to revise the threshold of the continuous contract requirement. First of all, we lower the weekly work hour threshold from 18 to 17 hours. More importantly, we make it clear that even if an employee works less than 17 hours a week, the continuous contract still remains valid if the aggregate work hours reach 68 hours or more in a designated four week period including the week in issue.
We expect that the legislative amendment will soon be passed into law. The expanded coverage of continuous contract will enable more employees with shorter and flexible work hours to enjoy full employment benefits. We believe the relaxation will also encourage more people to join the labour market.
Hong Kong, China is facing a shrinking workforce against our ageing population. To sustain the development of our workforce, we have been incentivising older people to rejoin the labour market and employers to hire older people.
First of all, we have introduced a Re-employment Allowance Pilot Scheme for three years. The aim is to encourage persons aged 40 or above who have not been employed for three months or more to work again. Eligible participants will be given an allowance of HK$10,000, which is equivalent to around US$1,300, if they remain employed for six months in a row. If they remain employed for a full year, they will receive an additional allowance of HK$10,000. Up to March this year we have received 38 000 participants with 16 000 placements recorded.
Turning to employers, we are rewarding those who hire and provide on-the-job training to older people. Eligible employers will receive a monthly allowance of HK$5,000 per employee per month for six to 12 months if they hire persons aged 60 or above. A smaller allowance and shorter period will be given to those employing persons aged 40 to 59.
To conclude, Hong Kong, China remains steadfast in its commitment to enhance the protection for the workforce and raise labour productivity. We will continue to explore innovative solutions and engage in meaningful and pragmatic dialogue with all stakeholders to create a fair and equitable labour market that empowers all individuals to thrive.
Despite high volatility during the trading session on Wednesday, Indian stock markets managed to close in the green.
The Sensex erased all the early losses and closed with a gain of 105 points, or 0.13 per cent at 80,746.
Similarly, the Nifty closed the intra-day trading session with a 0.14 per cent gain at 24,414, reclaiming the crucial 24,400 mark.
“Regarding Nifty, the highest open interest on the call side is concentrated at the 24,500 and 24,400 strike prices, while the highest open interest on the put side is seen at 24,300 and 24,400,” said Sundar Kewat of Ashika Institutional Equity.
The Put-Call Ratio (PCR) stands at 0.98, indicating a relatively balanced market sentiment, he added.
The markets opened on a weak note, with early losses triggered by uncertainty in the region. However, confidence returned as the day progressed.
The recovery came as easing global trade tensions, the finalisation of a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United Kingdom, and strong foreign inflows helped offset concerns stemming from rising geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan.
Support from key sectors such as auto, real estate, and metals helped the indices recover, turning the mood positive by mid-session.
Tata Motors led the rally on the Sensex with a strong 5.2 per cent jump, followed by Bajaj Finance, which gained 2.02 per cent.
Eicher Motors rose 1.41 per cent, matching the gains of Adani Ports, while Titan added 1.27 per cent.
The other notable gainers on the index include Eternal (formerly Zomato), Mahindra and Mahindra, Tata Steel and more.
On the losing side, Asian Paints fell the most, shedding 4 per cent. Sun Pharma declined by 1.95 per cent, ITC lost 1.3 per cent, Nestle India dropped 1.06 per cent, and Reliance Industries slipped 1.01 per cent.
Broader markets also showed strong recovery. After suffering sharp losses in the previous session, both the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap indices bounced back sharply, each posting gains of around 1.5 per cent.
Among the sectoral indices, all sectors ended in the green, except for FMCG, pharma, and healthcare.
Leading the gains were auto, media, realty, and consumer durables, each rising over 1 per cent.
Meanwhile, market volatility remained elevated as the India VIX — also known as the fear index — rose 3.58 per cent to end at 19.
The Indian benchmark indices erased early losses and began rising on Wednesday as India carried out ‘Operation Sindoor’ at nine terror locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in the wake of the barbaric Pahalgam attack that took 26 lives.
At around 9.34 a.m., Sensex was 160 points up at 80,800, while Nifty was up 56 points at 24,435.35. Both indices pared early losses.
On NSE, eight sectoral indices advanced and seven declined out of twelve. The NSE Nifty Media declined the most, and the NSE Nifty PSU Bank rose the most.
Tata Motors, Shriram Finance, Apollo Hospitals, Bajaj Finance, and Hindalco were among the major gainers on the Nifty, while losers were Asian Paints, Titan Company, TCS, L&T, and Tech Mahindra.
According to analysts, what stands out in ‘Operation Sindoor’ from the market perspective is its focused and non-escalatory nature.
“We have to wait and watch how the enemy reacts to these precision strikes by India. The market is unlikely to be impacted by the retaliatory strike by India since that was known and discounted by the market,” said V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments.
The main catalyst of market resilience in India is the sustained FII buying of the last fourteen trading days, which has touched a cumulative figure of Rs 43,940 crore in the cash market.
FIIs are focused on global macros like a weak dollar, slower growth in the US and China in 2025, and India’s potential outperformance in growth. This can keep the market resilient. However, investors have to watch the developments on the border, said market experts.
The big shift in market preference in favour of large-caps, away from overvalued segments of mid and small-caps, is significant. FIIs, as always, are mainly buying large-caps, and this trend can continue.
Additionally, geopolitical tensions are expected to introduce further volatility, influencing short-term market movements.
Meanwhile, US stocks fell on Tuesday as the Federal Reserve kicked off its two-day policy meeting. Investors are watching closely to see how President Trump’s tariffs could influence the Fed’s stance on interest rates and the broader economic outlook. (IANS)
Samuel Beckett is justly regarded as one of the greatest playwrights of the 20th century – and unquestionably one of the most demanding. Few of his works illustrate this more clearly than Happy Days, first performed in 1961, and currently playing at the Sydney Theatre Company.
The premise of this visually arresting two-act play – notable as Beckett’s first play to feature a central female character – is simple and simultaneously astonishing.
A middle-aged woman, Winnie, is buried in a low mound of scorched earth in a barren, sun-blasted landscape. She is buried up to her waist in the first act, and up to her neck in the second.
Her near-silent and largely unseen husband, Willie, isn’t buried himself but appears to lack the means (and possibly the desire) to dig her out. No explanation is ever given for Winnie’s predicament.
Each day starts and ends with the piercing ring of a bell. These are Winnie’s only markers of time. She fills the interminable hours with relentless chatter: an increasingly hopeless attempt to hold despair at bay, while clinging desperately to a sense of routine.
She rations out her dwindling resources and ritually inspects her few remaining possessions: a toothbrush, a lipstick, a mirror, a parasol, a magnifying glass, a comb and, more disturbingly, a small revolver.
Tackling a psychologically complex character
Beckett’s authorised biographer, James Knowlson, points out that when Happy Days premiered, its “starkness and boldness” surprised and bewildered audiences more accustomed to naturalistic forms of theatre.
Critics were initially divided on the play. But with its existential exploration of universal themes such as isolation, time and endurance, it has since become regarded as not only one of the most significant works in Beckett’s oeuvre, but one of the greatest achievements in theatre history.
Indeed, the esteem in which Happy Days is now held can be seen in comparisons made between Winnie and Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
This parallel isn’t nearly as far-fetched as it might seem at first. For one thing, Winnie directly quotes from Shakespeare’s famous tragedy early in the first act.
Pamela Rabe was initially hesitant to take on the role of Winnie when approached by former artistic director Kip Williams. Brett Boardman//Sydney Theatre Company
Also, much like Hamlet, she is a character of great psychological complexity, prone to lengthy reflections on the nature of existence, the passage of time and mortality. Her monologues, like Hamlet’s, are freighted with irony, melancholy and flashes of mordant humour.
That such a link can be made speaks not only to the strength of Beckett’s writing, but also to the extraordinary challenge – and opportunity – presented by the role of Winnie, for any actor brave enough to take it on.
Pamela Rabe delivers a truly mesmeric performance as Winnie in the Sydney Theatre Company’s outstanding rendition of Happy Days. She seems highly aware of the role’s magnitude:
People talk about it being the kind of female Hamlet. I think, well, Jesus, in Hamlet there’s at least another 12 people on the stage.
Initially approached by former artistic director Kip Williams, Rabe was hesitant to take on the part. She admits playing Winnie was “definitely not on my bucket list”. However, the challenge ultimately proved irresistible.
Rabe described the process of getting to grips with Beckett’s “meticulous” dramatic prescriptions and constructing Winnie’s world as
part maths, part archaeology, part slapstick, and very much a privilege. She’s endearing, mercurial, resourceful, wilful, occasionally a bit silly but always full of life.
Winnie’s monologues are laced with both melancholy and biting humour. Brett Boardman//Sydney Theatre Company
A contemporary spin with wit and pathos
The production, conceived and directed by Rabe and renowned lighting designer Nick Schlieper, does justice to Beckett’s original vision, while offering a new spin on this most canonical of plays.
Consider, for instance, the creative team’s striking decisions when it came to set design and staging. While their choices honour Beckett’s stated demand for “maximum simplicity”, they also depart in key visual respects. Gone are the “scorched earth” and “blazing sun” Beckett called for in his original stage directions.
Instead, Schlieper offers us something approximating a post-apocalyptic tableau: the stage is framed by a narrow proscenium-like window, behind which Winnie, and occasionally Willie (played excellently by Markus Hamilton) appear. This window is set against a monochromatic and featureless void.
The ash-coloured mound, which brings to mind Mark Rothko’s desolate final abstract expressionist canvases, is amorphous and otherworldly – a monstrous fusion of congealed lava and nuclear slag. Everything is beautifully rendered and deeply unsettling.
These eerie abstractions heighten the play’s existential stakes, forcing the audience to reckon with the sheer horror of Winnie’s situation, while showcasing the talents of an actor capable of infusing the bleakest of scenarios with wit and pathos.
They also ensure the production feels contemporary and resonant – particularly in an age haunted by environmental catastrophe and ecological collapse – without retroactively imposing present day values and concerns onto the past.
Something tells me Beckett, who consistently eschewed easy and all too often reductive interpretations of his work, would have approved.
Alexander Howard 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.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Following is the pre-recorded video speech by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, at the HKQAA International Sustainability Forum – Hong Kong 2025 today (May 12):
Chairman Ho (Chairman of the Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency (HKQAA), Mr Ho Chi-shing), Chin-wan (Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning. It is my great pleasure to address you at the HKQAA’s annual international sustainability forum, a platform gathering relevant stakeholders from both the public and private sectors to discuss important issues of sustainability. This year’s theme, “Seizing Green Finance Opportunities in the Low-Carbon Transition of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Greater Bay Area (GBA)”, is highly relevant and timely amid the global shift and increasing awareness towards sustainability, and the rising importance of green and sustainable finance in supporting green transition and achieving carbon neutrality for the world. Pursuing the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind, both our country and our city look beyond the current geopolitical environment and the instability it brings, and are committed to promoting a low-carbon economy, green finance, and supporting green development in the Belt and Road region.
Hong Kong as a premier international financial centre
Being a premier international financial centre, Hong Kong also plays a part in supporting green development and transition in the region by mobilising cross-border investments to address climate and sustainability challenges. The Government, along with financial regulators and stakeholders, has been making efforts in enhancing the ecosystem of the green and sustainable finance market through a multipronged approach, namely (i) providing diversified green investment products; (ii) aligning with international standards; and (iii) supporting market development.
Providing diversified green investment products
Our capital market provides a wide range of green and sustainable investment products. In 2024, the volume of green and sustainable bonds arranged in Hong Kong amounted to around US$43 billion, ranking first in the Asian market for seven consecutive years since 2018 and capturing around 45 per cent of the regional total. As of March this year, the number of ESG (environmental, social and governance) funds authorised by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) was around 220 with assets under management of around HK$1.1 trillion – an increase of 80 per cent over the past three years.
The Government Sustainable Bond Programme, formerly known as the Green Bond Programme, continues to play a leading role in funding local green initiatives. Since 2019, we have issued an equivalent of over HK$220 billion in green bonds across multiple currencies and tenors, including institutional, retail and tokenised tranches. Last year, we expanded the programme to include sustainable projects, reinforcing our commitment to broader environmental and social goals while setting important benchmarks for the market.
We are also building the market infrastructure needed to connect capital with carbon-related products in Hong Kong, the Mainland, Asia and beyond. In 2022, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) launched the Core Climate, an international carbon marketplace. It facilitates transparent, efficient trading of high-quality carbon credits from certified projects across Asia, South America, and West Africa. Sectors such as forestry, wind, solar, and biomass are represented, offering opportunities for enterprises in the GBA and Belt and Road economies to support their own Net Zero transitions.
Alignment with international standards
Sustainability reporting
As global awareness of sustainability grows, consistent and reliable information becomes essential for investors and businesses to manage risk and allocate capital effectively. We launched in December last year the Roadmap on Sustainability Disclosure in Hong Kong. This provides a clear path for large publicly accountable entities to adopt the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) – Sustainability Disclosure Standards (ISSB Standards) by 2028. This move places Hong Kong among the first jurisdictions to align local reporting requirements with the global baseline, enhancing transparency and comparability in sustainable finance. The roadmap not only reflects our commitment to the global green transition but also offers clarity and guidance to market participants.
Taxonomy
A shared understanding of what constitutes “green” is vital. In May 2024, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) published the Hong Kong Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance. This important tool supports the market by offering a standardised classification of green activities, aligned with the Common Ground Taxonomy to ensure interoperability with taxonomies in Mainland China and the European Union. The initial phase of the taxonomy covers 12 activities across four key sectors: power generation, transportation, construction, and water and waste management. As a living framework, the taxonomy will continue to evolve. The HKMA has embarked on the next phase development to expand the scope of sectors and economic activities, including transition activities.
Supporting market development
To promote the green financing activity in Hong Kong, we launched the Green and Sustainable Finance Grant Scheme in 2021. The scheme offers subsidies to eligible bond issuers and loan borrowers to help cover issuance and external review costs. Extended to 2027, its scope now also includes transition bonds and loans. This expansion will help encourage industries across the GBA and Belt and Road economies to leverage Hong Kong’s platform to finance their low-carbon transitions and contribute to global sustainability goals.
We are also investing in innovation. Green fintech is an important enabler of scalable sustainability solutions. We launched the Green and Sustainable Fintech Proof-of-Concept Funding Support Scheme in June last year to provide early-stage funding to support technology companies or research institutes conducting green fintech activities to collaborate with local enterprises, and to co-develop new projects in the market addressing industry pain points. So far, 60 projects have been approved, reflecting the vibrant potential of Hong Kong’s green fintech ecosystem.
Hong Kong’s unique position to support countries of the Belt and Road Initiative
Hong Kong continues to serve as a bridge between Mainland China and the wider Belt and Road region. We actively promote regional co-operation through strategic platforms and exchanges. In April this year, the HKEX and the SFC co-hosted the inaugural International Carbon Markets Summit. The event brought together more than 200 global participants, including regulators, carbon trading platforms, corporates, and investors. The Summit marked a step forward in building trusted, effective carbon market ecosystems that support the sustainable development goals of Belt and Road economies.
We also continue to convene the annual Asian Financial Forum (AFF) to foster international dialogue. In January this year, the 18th AFF featured a new milestone: the launch of a dedicated chapter co-hosted with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). This marked an important milestone in fostering collaboration in financial services such as investments in green energy between Hong Kong and GCC member states.
Climate change presents one of the greatest risks to our global economy. The increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters require new financial tools to build resilience. Hong Kong is taking a leading role in this area by developing the insurance-linked securities (ILS) and catastrophe bonds market.
Since the launch of our ILS framework in 2021, seven catastrophe bonds have been issued in Hong Kong, raising over US$800 million in coverage against risks such as typhoons and earthquakes. These instruments provide critical risk mitigation solutions for both corporates and governments. To further support this market, we extended our Pilot ILS Grant Scheme to 2028, providing subsidies to issuers of ILS and supporting the growth of Hong Kong-based service providers. These efforts reinforce Hong Kong’s position as a centre for innovative risk management in the face of climate change.
HKQAA’s contributions
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the HKQAA for its contributions to the development of green finance in Hong Kong. The HKQAA has been participating in the development of international standards for sustainable finance and launched the Green and Sustainable Finance Certification Scheme (formerly called Green Finance Certification Scheme) in 2018.
I am delighted to know that the HKQAA also supports the development of a roadmap for sustainability disclosure in our country by contributing to the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Finance and Economy’s pilot project for sustainability disclosure and talent development. At home, it has supported Hong Kong’s own disclosure roadmap by establishing industry-specific climate risk tools to help local businesses prepare for future reporting requirements.
The HKQAA has also forged partnerships with the Belt and Road International Green Development Alliance, helping regional partners access global capital markets and implement green financing solutions. Its work exemplifies the kind of cross-sector, cross-border collaboration that is essential for sustainable growth.
Closing
Looking forward, I am confident that the opportunities in green finance – particularly in supporting the low-carbon transition of the Belt and Road region and the GBA – will continue to expand. Today’s forum offers valuable insights into the path toward sustainability, a journey that calls for steadfast commitment, continuous innovation, and deep cross-regional collaboration. As we move forward, the Government remains committed to working hand in hand with the industry and all stakeholders to build a greener, more resilient future for Hong Kong and the wider region. Thank you.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Uber has deepened its ties with China’s leading autonomous driving companies as the US-based ride-hailing giant prepares to deploy robotaxi services across international markets.
Analysts said the move underscores how Chinese firms are emerging as key players in the race to commercialize driverless mobility on a global scale.
In a series of strategic announcements, Momenta, Pony.ai and WeRide have each struck deals with the US ride-hailing group to bring self-driving vehicles onto the Uber platform, with services slated to launch in regions including Europe and the Middle East.
Momenta, backed by investors such as Mercedes-Benz and SAIC, said on May 3 it would begin rolling out robotaxi services on the Uber network in early 2026, starting in Europe.
The initial deployments will include safety operators onboard. “This partnership completes a critical piece of our global scaling puzzle,” said Cao Xudong, Momenta’s founder and CEO.
“We will integrate our autonomous technology into mass-production vehicles and deliver it efficiently to international markets,” said Cao.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi described the deal as a significant step toward delivering “more reliable and affordable autonomous mobility” to users worldwide, adding that the companies will combine Momenta’s AI-driven driving stack with Uber’s global reach and operational experience.
Just days later, Toyota-backed Pony.ai announced a similar agreement. Its robotaxis will begin operating on Uber’s platform in the Middle East from the second half of this year.
“This is a key milestone in Pony.ai’s global strategy,” said CEO James Peng.
Pony.ai, which unveiled its seventh-generation automotive-grade system at the Shanghai auto show in April, said the Uber collaboration would allow it to scale operations while maintaining cost efficiency.
The seventh-generation robotaxi solution, with a designed life of 10 years or 600,000 kilometers, features a 70 percent reduction in hardware costs compared with the previous edition, said the autonomous driving firm.
According to the companies, Uber users in selected markets will soon be able to book Pony.ai robotaxis directly through the app.
WeRide, another major player in China’s autonomous driving ecosystem, announced on May 6 that it would expand its existing cooperation with Uber to 15 additional cities outside China and the US over the next five years.
The two companies started their cooperation in September 2024, then launched commercial robotaxi operations in Abu Dhabi in December, with the fleet to include 50 vehicles by mid-2025.
WeRide and Uber expanded their partnership to cover Dubai in April.
“We are taking this partnership to a new level,” said Tony Han, CEO of WeRide. “This reflects our joint ambition to make autonomous mobility accessible and affordable across the globe.”
The flurry of announcements signals a new phase in the globalization of China’s autonomous driving sector, said analysts.
For Uber, which has wound down its own in-house autonomous driving unit, the partnerships represent a strategic bet on outsourcing core technology while focusing on network scale and user engagement.
According to the McKinsey Center for Future Mobility, robotaxis are expected to become commercially available on a large scale by 2030.
“First, it must be affordable for consumers, but at the same time, it also needs to be profitable for service providers,” said Philipp Kampshoff, a senior partner at McKinsey.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
A doctor talks with patients at a hospital in Hunchun, northeast China’s Jilin province, June 28, 2023. Hunchun is located at China’s border with Russia and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Traditional Chinese medicine treatments such as acupuncture and Tuina remedial massage have drawn Russian tourists to the city. [Photo/Xinhua]
Traditional Chinese medicine is fueling a growing wave of inbound medical tourism in China’s border regions, particularly in cities such as Heihe and Suifenhe in Heilongjiang province.
At the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital in Heihe, the scent of moxa wafts through the outpatient corridors. Consultation rooms feature traditional Chinese decor, with bilingual signage in Chinese and Russian.
Vladimir Andriushenko, a 56-year-old from Russia’s Amur Oblast, found relief from chronic neck and shoulder pain after undergoing massage therapy at the hospital.
“I have suffered from neck and shoulder pain for quite a long time,” he said. “When I first experienced traditional Chinese massage, I felt its magical effect.”
Andriushenko said he discovered TCM through books and online research and has developed a strong interest in it since his first treatment years ago.
“In many parts of Russia, where it’s cold, people often suffer from bone and joint diseases,” he said. “In Russia, rehabilitation mainly depends on medical equipment, but TCM therapies such as massage, acupuncture, cupping and herbal tea have become popular because they’re gentle and effective.”
During his two-day trip to Heihe in April, Andriushenko also bought acupuncture needles and herbal cough medicine.
“Most Russian patients prefer pulse diagnosis and herbal medicine,” said Liu Xuesong, director of the hospital. “The revisit rate for conditions such as rheumatism and neck pain is quite high.
“As trust in TCM grows, many patients refer their relatives and friends,” he said. “To better serve Russian patients, we established an international medical department last year, trained our staff in Russian and hired professional translators to ensure smooth communication.”
In 2024, the hospital provided acupuncture, cupping and other TCM therapies to more than 600 Russian patients and prescribed over 300 herbal formulas.
The hospital has signed a cooperation agreement with a rehabilitation center in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia, Liu said.
“We plan to send four medical staff members there to help set up a TCM experience hall and offer massage therapy,” he said.
Beyond hospital visits, Heihe has also leveraged its natural volcanic magnetic field and cold mineral springs in the Wudalianchi scenic area to attract older Russian visitors.
Last year, the scenic area welcomed 210,000 health tourists, 40 percent of whom were from Russia.
“The cold mineral springs are effective for rheumatism and spinal diseases, which are common among the Russians who visit,” said Yuan Xiaobo, head of the scenic area’s culture and tourism bureau. “We offer seven- to 14-day health packages combining spring water therapy and TCM — a good fit for short-term medical tourists.”
The scenic area has also attracted investment from major companies like Yiling Hospital Management Group to build high-end therapeutic hospitals, offering personalized care plans and international-standard equipment.
A similar trend is emerging in Suifenhe, another Heilongjiang city on the Russian border.
At the People’s Hospital of Suifenhe, signage in Chinese, Russian and English helps guide patients through the facility.
Last year, the hospital treated over 10,000 foreign patients. Since the start of this year, it has served more than 600, mostly from Russia’s Far East, according to hospital officials.
“To better serve Russian patients, we’ve set up a dedicated reception room with traditional Chinese health exercises,” said Liu Ximing, director of the national TCM service export base at the hospital. “We’ve also upgraded our salt therapy room to blend treatment with leisure.”
The hospital has established a remote consultation center and an international emergency dispatch center, using an “internet plus medical” model to efficiently meet the healthcare needs of Russian patients.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
China’s railway construction gathers pace in first 4 months
Xinhua | May 12, 2025
The construction of China’s railway projects has accelerated in the first four months of this year, injecting new impetus into the sustained recovery and improvement of the Chinese economy, according to the country’s railway operator on Sunday.
The fixed-asset investment in China’s railway sector gained 5.3 percent year on year and reached 194.7 billion yuan (about 27 billion U.S. dollars) from January to April this year, according to China State Railway Group Co., Ltd.
During the period, the country’s railway sector focused on network connection and supplementation, strengthened control over safety and quality as well as ecological and environmental protection, and advanced railway engineering construction in a high-quality and efficient manner, according to the operator.
Railway construction projects have made positive progress across various regions in the country, including the Lanzhou-Hezuo Railway in northwest China’s Gansu and a river tunnel project in north China’s Tianjin, it said.
In the future, China will engage in the planning and construction of railway projects in a scientific and orderly manner, improving investment efficiency to accelerate the construction of a modern railway infrastructure system, according to the company.
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on May 12, 2025.
Victoria’s planning reforms could help solve the housing crisis. But they are under threat Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Coates, Program Director, Housing and Economic Security, Grattan Institute An aerial drone view of northern Melbourne suburbs. Elias Bitar/Shutterstock The federal election campaign was dominated by the housing crisis. But the real power to solve it rests with the states. In Victoria, reforms are underway that
Footy’s ‘code wars’ are back, but which is actually the No. 1 Australian sport: the NRL or AFL? Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Harcourt, Industry Professor and Chief Economist, University of Technology Sydney NRL Photos, Matt Turner/AAP, Wikimedia, The Conversation, CC BY Every now and then, so-called “code wars” erupt between the major Australia winter football codes: the National Rugby League (NRL) and the Australian Football League (AFL). This
A prisoner voting ban shows again how few checks there are on parliamentary power Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Winter, Associate Professor in Political Theory, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith’s recent announcement that the government would reinstate a total ban on prisoners voting was in keeping with the coalition’s overall tough-on-crime approach. The move was called “ridiculous” and
‘We’re just doing our best’ – cultural backlash hits Auckland kava business By Coco Lance, RNZ Pacific digital journalist A new Auckland-based kava business has found itself at the heart of a cultural debate, with critics raising concerns about appropriation, authenticity, and the future of kava as a deeply rooted Pacific tradition. Vibes Kava, co-founded by Charles Byram and Derek Hillen, operates out of New Leaf Kombucha
‘Fighting more frequent now’ – researcher warns of escalating West Papua conflict By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist The escalation of violence in West Papua is on par with some of the most intense times of conflict over the past six decades, a human rights researcher says. The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) claims that Indonesia killed at least one civilian and severely injured another
Homer’s Iliad is a rap battle Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Forstenzer, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Co-Director of the Centre for Engaged Philosophy, University of Sheffield The Anger of Achilles by Jacques-Louis David (1819). Kimbell Art Museum Homer’s Iliad is one of the foundational stories of European civilisation. The Iliad is a long poem – an
Major brands don’t need to kowtow to Trump: they have the power to bring people together Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Beverland, Professor of Brand Management, University of Sussex Business School, University of Sussex Whatever you think of his personality or politics, it’s impossible to deny the success of Donald Trump as a brand. Supporters and detractors across the world are transfixed by his second term as
Meteorites and marsquakes hint at an underground ocean of liquid water on the Red Planet Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hrvoje Tkalčić, Professor, Head of Geophysics, Director of Warramunga Array, Australian National University UAESA / MBRSC / Hope Mars Mission / EXI / Andrea Luck, CC BY Evidence is mounting that a secret lies beneath the dusty red plains of Mars, one that could redefine our view
Why doesn’t Australia make more medicines? Wouldn’t that fix drug shortages? Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Coomber, PhD Candidate, Pharmaceutical Supply Chains, The University of Queensland IM Imagery/Shutterstock About 400 medicines are in short supply in Australia. Of these, about 30 are categorised as critical. These are ones with a life-threatening or serious impact on patients, and with no readily available substitutes.
Farmers fear dingoes are eating their livestock – but predator poo tells an unexpected story Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Mason, PhD candidate in Conservation Biology, Deakin University Kristian Bell/Shutterstock Killing carnivores to protect livestock, wildlife and people is an emotive and controversial issue that can cause community conflict. Difficult decisions about managing predators must be supported by strong scientific evidence. In Australia, predators such as
‘Cutting off communications’ – did Trump really just turn his back on Israel? ANALYSIS: By Robert Inlakesh Israel is in a weak position and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s extremism knows no bounds. The only other way around an eventual regional war is the ousting of the Israeli prime minister. US President Donald Trump has closed his line of communication with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to various
View from The Hill: if Jacinta Nampijinpa Price became Liberal deputy it would be a wild ride Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s confirmation she will run for Liberal deputy has put the members of an already shell-shocked party into a new spin. Tuesday’s leadership contest, where the numbers are said to be tight, is a battle for the direction
Dumped minister Ed Husic labels Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles ‘factional assassin’ Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Industry Minister Ed Husic, dumped from the frontbench ahead of Anthony Albanese’s announcement of his new ministry, has made an excoriating attack on Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, describing him as a “factional assassin”. Marles, chief of the Victorian right,
Philippine advocacy group condemns NZ military pact with Manila, rejects election violence Asia Pacific Report The Aotearoa Philippines Solidarity national assembly has condemned the National Party-led Coalition government in New Zealand over signing a “deplorable” visiting forces agreement with the Philippine government “Given the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ appalling human rights record and continuing attacks on activists in the Philippines, it is deplorable for the New
Jeremy Hirschhorn, Second Commissioner, Client Engagement Group Speech delivered at the Australian Shareholders’ Association Investor Conference Sydney, 6 May 2025 (Check against delivery)
Large company investing – what the T(ax) says about the E(arnings)
Thank you for having me here today.
I will firstly give some background as to the health of the Australian tax system, in particular as it relates to large corporations, and the strategies of the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) in further improving that performance.
I am then hoping to highlight to you why you should be interested in the tax performance of your investee companies (and potential signals that further questions are required), as well as some other sources of information which, directly or indirectly, may help in your investment decisions and also when, as investors, you are seeking to influence the behaviours of the companies in which you invest.
Of course, I come here as a mere tax administrator, not as a tax policy maker or a financial adviser, let alone a sophisticated investor, so please take my comments in that context!
The performance of the Australian tax system is fundamentally healthy, but there is more to do
Firstly, the good news is that the Australian tax system is fundamentally healthy from an administrative perspective and compares very favourably globally. This is due in part to a competent and well-resourced administrator (I would say that!), but also due to the fact that most Australians are fundamentally honest, see the relationship between the taxes they pay and the services they seek from Government, and so willingly comply with their tax obligations (albeit not always exuberantly!).
This is not just anecdotal: the ATO dedicates significant resources to estimating the ‘tax gap’, which is the difference between the tax payable according to current law and the tax actually collected. Our most recent estimates (published in our annual report each year) are that the overall system is operating at 90% performance at lodgment and 92.5% after compliance activity.
This also means that the ATO doesn’t just focus on the non-compliant. The ATO puts significant effort into supporting the vast bulk of Australians (from individuals to the largest listed companies) who just want to meet their tax obligations (with as little time, cost and stress as possible) with initiatives like myTax (for individuals with simple affairs), to services for tax agents, to proactive guidance and transparency for the largest taxpayers.
In relation to large business, despite some commentary that suggests otherwise, overall performance actually exceeds the overall system, but this is after significant dedication of compliance resources. Our estimate of compliance at lodgment is circa 92% to 93%, increasing to 96% after compliance activity. By far the major driver of the large market income tax gap relates to international issues, in particular where intra-group transfers are mis-priced. Our medium to long term aspiration is to move this to 96% correct at lodgment and 98% after compliance activity.
Although in a good place, there is more to be done:
The residual tax gap over the entire tax system is approximately $45 billion, which could pay for a lot of services.
In relation to large companies, at least until tax performance at lodgment (92% to 93%) is higher than that of individuals at lodgment (circa 94%), ordinary Australians rightly ask the ATO to hold large companies to account (and indeed it is healthy for overall confidence that the ATO maintains vigilance with large companies regardless of performance level).
Social licence and the silent ‘T’ in ESG
Tax is inextricably linked to social licence. In one sense, the tax system is really the ‘sharing rules’ whereby citizens come together to pool resources to fund the things that they cannot achieve by themselves. An individual or company which aggressively avoids (or worse evades) their obligations is effectively repudiating the rules of engagement of that community and puts its social licence at risk.
I refer to a speech by a colleague of mine, Faith Harako, entitled ‘Tax: the silent T in ESG’. In that paper, Faith noted:
at a societal level, tax pays for a lot of the ‘S’ and ‘E’ in ESG (being environment, social and governance): a company may really focus on its own S and E, but if it is not contributing fairly to the overall society’s initiatives, is it really pulling its weight?
tax transparency gives confidence to a company’s commitment to the ‘S’
corporate tax governance is a very important part of any company’s ‘G’.
So, to the extent that you, as investors, consider a company’s ESG contribution as relevant to the long-term healthiness, social licence and investability of that company, it is important not to overlook the ‘silent T’.
Not so relevant today, but Faith also made the point that tax has already addressed many of the challenges of the ‘E’ in ESG and ESG reporting, particularly relating to differences between regimes in different countries.
Warning signs in financial statements
If you are interested in the ESG performance of your investee companies, or merely the maintainability of after-tax earnings (accounting or cash), here are a few things (not exhaustive or prescriptive!) that you may wish to consider:
Low accounting effective tax rate
A low accounting effective tax rate is not necessarily problematic of itself, but it is important to understand what is driving this, for example:
significant operations in low (headline) tax rate jurisdictions (but even then, can that country maintain low effective tax rates?)
significant operations in jurisdictions where tax ‘holidays’ are provided (are these maintainable in the longer term?)
artificial allocation of profits to low tax rate jurisdictions (‘transfer mis-pricing’) (how long before one or more tax jurisdictions challenges this?) (A big clue to this one is where the company mostly operates in high tax jurisdictions but in its tax note has a substantial reduction in effective tax rate ‘due to overseas operations’.)
significant concessions under incentive schemes (e.g. patent box, research and development (R&D)) (are these schemes stable in the longer term in all jurisdictions?)
tax arbitrage transactions generating ‘free’ deductions (e.g. intellectual property (IP) migration schemes allowing extra deductions in another jurisdiction for internally generated IP).
Normal accounting effective tax rate, but low cash tax rate
Where a profitable company discloses a relatively normal effective tax rate, but is paying minimal cash tax, it is again important to understand the drivers, some examples being:
a ‘deferred tax liability’ or ‘DTL’ in relation to income recognised for accounting purposes (but not yet for tax) (if the earnings are not high quality enough for the tax system to tax them, are they high quality enough for your valuation models?)
a DTL in relation to assets for accounting purposes which have been deducted for tax (unless there is an explicit accelerated deduction regime) (if the tax system thinks the benefit of the asset has been used enough to allow a deduction, what is the quality of the accounting asset?)
a DTL in relation to profit repatriation from a low tax jurisdiction to a high tax jurisdiction (have profits been artificially allocated to (and retained in) low tax jurisdictions, and is this structuring sustainable?)
use of deferred tax assets (DTAs) for tax losses (in the best case, the DTAs exist and can be used, but even then the cash flow benefit will be lost when they are exhausted. But how/why did the company generate the tax losses in the first place?).
Disclosure and accounting for tax disputes
We have found that disclosure and accounting for tax disputes is often opaque to investors, with different companies taking different approaches to both disclosure and quantification.
Some things to look out for and perhaps ask for more information from the company:
a note under contingent liabilities that there is a dispute but that it is not possible to quantify it at this stage
a part payment of an amended assessment has been paid (usually a ‘50%/50%’), but this is accounted for as a current receivable (effectively assuming that the matter will be fully won by the taxpayer) (the history of the ATO’s disputes with large corporates is that matters, even if settled, usually result in at least the 50/50 payment being retained by the ATO)
a note that the company has strong legal advice as to their position, and as such has made no provision for the dispute as it is more likely that the company’s position will prevail (again, the ATO’s track record demonstrates that these assertions are often ‘optimistic’)
whether there are any ‘buffer’, ‘hollow log’ or ‘tax contingency’ provisions embedded in the current tax provision.
Sometimes tax disputes are a one-off but more often they are on an on-going issue (e.g. on-going pricing or mis-pricing of intra-group transfers). In these cases, the ATO will usually only settle the ‘back years’ if the ‘forward years’ are also resolved. This will usually result in increased taxation and a higher effective tax rate going forward.
Sources of insight in addition to financial statements
In addition to financial statements, over recent times we have seen an increase in tax transparency frameworks and reporting standards globally and in Australia. These frameworks provide further information to the public about the tax contribution and compliance of large business.
Known as the corporate tax transparency data, annually the ATO publishes certain limited details (total income, taxable income and tax payable) of all corporate entities with a turnover of more than $100 million. The ATO publishes contextual analysis to explain the data at a population and industry level. We also update Tax and Corporate Australia, which is a guide about the tax landscape for large business operating in Australia.
In a similar vein, last year we also published the first annual R&D tax incentive (R&DTI) transparency report providing transparency on the claims made by entities claiming R&D in the 2021–22 income year. Publishing this data encourages voluntary compliance with the requirements of the R&DTI program and increases public awareness of which companies have claimed the tax incentive.
From mid-2026, we will see a meaningful increase in the level of tax data published in Australia with the first publication of public country-by-country reports. Introduced by the Government as part of its election 2022 election platform, this is a new reporting regime that will see large multinational enterprises publish selected tax information on a country-by-country basis through an ATO facilitated website. This will allow greater visibility of the global activities of multinationals as well as key tax characteristics such as where they book revenues.
Many organisations supplement public information by voluntarily releasing a Tax Transparency Report. Developed by the Board of Taxation (a separate organisation from the ATO), the tax transparency codeExternal Link is designed to encourage greater transparency by the corporate sector and to enhance the community’s understanding of the corporate sector’s compliance with Australia’s tax laws. A number of organisations can be said to have achieved global best practice with their publications and set the standard for their peers, however take-up has been limited – perhaps an opportunity for an ‘if not, why not?’ question at the next AGM!
The ATO also voluntarily publishes a raft of information about our programs covering large business. Annually we publish aggregate findings reports for our assurance (justified trust) programs, reportable tax position schedule, advice and disputes. These reports show the level of compliance, prevalence of key tax risks, where we have been able to provide tax certainty for the large market population and insights as to our disputes and how we resolve these. These reports provide deep insights into the state of large business tax compliance and the extent of ATO intervention.
I also take this opportunity to flag one particular piece of information that could be very useful to companies (and potentially their investors) in understanding where they stand on their tax affairs. Under our ‘justified trust’ program, we provide tax assurance ratings to the largest Australian companies, with both detailed findings and overall ratings. Under taxpayer secrecy rules, the ATO cannot separately publish these ratings, but the companies can. As a result, some leading companies are now publicly disclosing their high assurance ratings, providing confidence to stakeholders such as investors, shareholders, customers and employees. Some high-profile examples include Telstra, BHP, Woolworths, Origin and BUPA. Again, as investors (or potential investors) interested in the sustainability of an investee company’s tax settings, you may wish to ask for further information about a company’s tax assurance rating.
Conclusion
In summing up, it is important to understand the starting point, which is that most Australians (including most large Australian companies) are doing the right thing in relation to their tax affairs.
As investors or potential investors, whether a company is meeting its tax obligations goes to its social licence – I would argue that if a company is not contributing fairly to the community in which it operates, its social licence is at risk, perhaps in unpredictable ways.
There are a range of information sources from which an investor can glean information as to a company’s tax performance and I have today suggested a few things that you might be interested in looking at and indeed asking of your investee companies.
Thank you again for the opportunity to present at today’s conference and I welcome your observations or questions.
Source: Police investigating after shots fired at Hastings house
Surprise, surprise, the Great Walks booking opening is the biggest event in our booking calendar, with thousands of people from all around the world logging in on each opening day to nab spaces for Great Walks huts and campsites, high demand lodges, sole occupancy and popular campsites. – How to book and what’s new?
📷: Trampers and Mount Balloon, Mackinnon Pass – Strother, John T
To recap, all DOC facilities for the 2025/26 Great Walk season bookings open between 13 May and 4 June 2025. The booking system opens at 9:30 AM, each opening morning. You need to create an account and have a login ready, if you want to book for this season (make sure you do this ahead of time).
This year, we’ve introduced a new booking system (details below) and since announcing how this new booking system works, we’ve had loads of questions come through to us asking for more clarity and details.
❓Where do I book? ❓What is this booking lobby you mentioned? ❓How does this queueing process work? ❓If I login in early, do I get closer to the front of the queue? ❓Is this system fair? ❓Can the system cope with the demand this year?
👇 All these answers and more below. 👇
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Routeburn Flats seen from Routeburn Track within Mt Aspiring National Park on New Zealand’s South Island.
To read about the great places we have been go to www.panafoot.com
📷; Routeburn Flats seen from Routeburn Track Strother, John T
The booking system has been improved with a new industry-leading lobby system, modelled after the major concert-booking companies. it means that not only will this system and process be somewhat familiar, but it should also be able to handle large increases of traffic on opening days and run smoothly for all users.
What does this mean for me and how does it work?
Users jumping on the booking system on opening morning will be redirected to a waiting lobby (elevator music may or may not be a part of this experience) and when bookings open at 9:30am, users in the lobby will be transferred to a queue and released into the booking system in a controlled manner. At 9:30 all users already in the lobby will be randomly assigned a place in the queue, meaning there’s no advantage to arriving any earlier to the lobby and that the system is fair and randomised.
We highly recommend you log in around 9-9:15, sit back with your morning cuppa and wait until you’re processed through. Anyone logging in after 9:30am will be added to the back of the queue.
Even though this new system should be comfortable handling higher volumes of traffic and process bookings quicker, please be patient and mindful that even though it may feel a little ride or die to get your spot, it isn’t, and that you’re not the only one trying to book at the same time. Try going into this year’s bookings with flexible dates or have multiple date options agreed upon with your group before attempting to book.
📷: Heaphy Hut – Liz Carlson
Also, as reassurance, on booking opening days our team doesn’t pack up and go on vacay -job done, we’ll be keeping an eye on things and adjusting the queue flow as we go, with the aim being to make sure there’s no hiccups in the system and that things run quickly and as smoothly as possible.
Here’s another tip for you – summer holidays are most people’s first pick, so for the best chance of getting a spot at high demand places, consider whether your trip can happen outside those peak weeks – especially for the Milford Track (there’s a good chance of rain regardless of whether you go in January or April!)
Here’s what we recommend people should do to be fully prepared when bookings open for your experience of choice:
Create an account on the DOC booking system well in advance, if you don’t already have one.
Test out your login details before the opening day (one of the main reasons people miss out on opening days is forgetting their password!).
Read up on the DOC website for the place you’re trying to book – some have rules and restrictions that are important to know before you book, and it’s good to double-check the opening dates.
Familiarise yourself with the booking system – search for availability, even test out making a booking (just empty your cart at the end, rather than paying).
Finally – get online on the opening day at around 9:15 a.m., and we’ll see you in the lobby!
Finally – get online on the opening day at around 9:15 a.m., and we’ll see you in the lobby!
📷: Mountain bikers Pike29 Memorial Track – Owen Kilgour
Key Booking Opening Dates
Get ready for Great Walks bookings to open!
The Great Walks bookings opening dates are staggered between 13th – 28th May
for the 2025/2026 season.
Great Walks can book out quick so make sure to mark these key dates and times in your calendar!
Great Walk accommodation bookings
15th May, 9:30am – Heaphy Track
15th May, 9:30am – Kepler Track
15th May, 9:30am – Rakiura Track
15th May, 9:30am – Hump Ridge
22nd May, 9:30am – Whanganui Journey
22nd May, 9:30am – Routeburn Track
22nd May, 9:30am – Tongariro Northern Circuit
27th May, 9:30am – Lake Waikaremoana Track
27th May, 9:30am – Abel Tasman Coast Track
27th May, 9:30am – Paparoa Track
28th May, 9:30am – Milford Track
All other accommodation bookings
13th May, 9:30am – Backcountry huts
13th May, 9:30am – lodges,
13th May, 9:30am – sole occupancy facilities
20th May, 9:30am – Conservation campsites, except Tōtaranui, Momorangi, Anaura Bay campsites
The federal election campaign was dominated by the housing crisis. But the real power to solve it rests with the states.
In Victoria, reforms are underway that promise a bigger boost to the housing aspirations of younger generations than anything that occurs in the federal parliament.
Yet these reforms are now under threat of being killed off in the Victorian parliament. If that happens, Victoria will have fewer homes and they will be more expensive, and many more younger Melburnians will be locked out of home ownership.
We need to build more homes
At the heart of our housing problem is the fact we just haven’t built enough homes.
Australia has among the least housing stock per person in the developed world. This is especially true in places where people most want to live: close to jobs, transport, schools and parks.
The reason is simple: we’ve made it hard to build more townhouses and apartments in the most desirable parts of our biggest cities.
And the politics of land-use planning – what gets built and where – favour those who oppose change. The people who might live in new housing in established suburbs – if it were to be built – don’t get a say.
The result is a vast “missing middle”: prime inner-city land, close to jobs and transport, with housing rising only one or two storeys. Melbourne, like Sydney, is one of the least-dense cities of its size in the world, despite the city’s population having risen by 875,000 in the past decade alone. That is the equivalent of almost two Canberras.
It’s a myth that most Victorians want a quarter-acre block if that means living a long way from jobs, transport, shops and parks. Research by both Grattan Institute and Infrastructure Victoria shows there is substantial demand for townhouses and apartments in established suburbs, if only we built more of them.
If Melbourne’s middle suburbs – those between two and 20 kilometres from the CBD – were as dense as those of Toronto, that increase in density alone could accommodate all of the 800,000 extra homes the state government plans to build over the next decade.
The flow-on effect is high prices and rents, a stagnating economy because fewer people can live close to jobs, and further expensive and environmentally damaging sprawl into farmland and floodplains.
Recent research showed that 8,000 completed apartments in Melbourne remain unsold. Yet this is less than 3% of all apartments in Melbourne, and is unsurprising given past sharp rises in interest rates and increased barriers in selling to foreign buyers.
That some newly built homes have taken longer to sell is not a reason to prevent the building of those extra homes that so many future Melburnians want to live in.
Victoria’s planning reforms are our best chance
Housing can become more affordable if we allow more homes to be built where residents most want to live.
Victoria’s new Townhouse and Low-Rise Code will streamline development approval processes for developments of three storeys or less in residential zones across the state. Where developments meet the code, those new homes will no longer need a planning permit and will be exempt from third-party appeals. This is already the case for knock-down rebuilds.
These reforms have the potential to unlock hundreds of thousands of extra homes in the coming decades in areas with some of the best infrastructure, amenities and public spaces.
These changes do not dictate where housing must be built in Melbourne: they simply permit more housing where demand is highest.
Yet these reforms are now under threat. The Victorian Liberals and the Greens have teamed up to launch an inquiry into the state Labor government’s reforms. The inquiry is scheduled to report on Tuesday, just one day before the deadline for disallowing the reforms lapses.
Together, the Liberals and the Greens have the power to revoke the changes in the upper house of the Victorian parliament. That would be a disaster for housing affordability in Victoria.
The Victorian parliament shouldn’t stand in the way of young families who want to buy a townhouse in the suburb they grew up in, or seniors downsizing to an apartment in their local neighbourhood.
These reforms are about allowing more homes, and creating a better, healthier, and more vibrant Melbourne.
Grattan Institute began with contributions to its endowment of $15 million from each of the federal and Victorian governments, $4 million from BHP Billiton, and $1 million from NAB. In order to safeguard its independence, Grattan Institute’s board controls this endowment. The funds are invested and contribute to funding Grattan Institute’s activities. Grattan Institute also receives funding from corporates, foundations, and individuals to support its general activities, as disclosed on its website.
Joey Moloney and Matthew Bowes 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.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
A worker works at an assembly line of Voyah, a Chinese NEV brand, in Wuhan, central China’s Hubei Province, April 9, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
China’s passenger car sector recorded a surge in retail sales in April as the country’s policies to boost consumption continued to take effect, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) on Sunday.
Retail sales of passenger cars in China grew by 14.5 percent year on year and reached about 1.76 million units last month, data from the CPCA shows.
This retail sales number is only slightly below the April 2018 peak of 1.81 million units — marking one of the highest April levels in recent years, the association noted.
Since the beginning of 2025, total retail sales of passenger cars have reached about 6.87 million units, representing year-on-year growth of 7.9 percent.
Fueled by policies to boost consumption, provinces and cities across the country have rolled out favorable policies for purchasing cars, the CPCA said.
Additionally, improved financial support and the launch of offline activities such as auto shows, have also helped China’s auto market register a solid performance in April, the association said.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
This photo taken on May 10, 2025 shows a scene of the main forum of the 2025 World Brand Moganshan Conference, held in Deqing County, east China’s Zhejiang Province. [Photo/Xinhua]
Across diverse sectors, Chinese companies are turning inclusive and self-driven innovation into a common pursuit: building global brands through accessible technology and self-reliant strength.
“Technology should be a public good that is accessible to every individual and affordable for every small business,” Wang Jing, general manager of public affairs at Alibaba Group, said on the sidelines of the 2025 World Brand Moganshan Conference.
Held from May 9 to 11 in east China’s Zhejiang Province, the conference, themed “Brands Bring Better Future for the World,” is aimed at creating a Chinese platform for global cooperation, shared development and mutual benefit.
On April 29, Alibaba unveiled Qwen3, the latest iteration of its open-source large language model family. All Qwen3 models are freely available to developers worldwide, underscoring the company’s commitment to inclusive innovation in the AI space.
“As of the end of March, downloads of Qwen models on collaborative AI platform, Hugging Face, had surpassed 200 million, accounting for more than 20 percent of all model downloads,” said Wang. “Behind this surge is the rising global influence of China’s homegrown technology in the AI landscape.”
Even robotic dogs are stepping up, and not just in terms of speed and agility, but in embodying a vision of technology designed to serve all.
At DEEP Robotics, the “AI for All” vision is materializing through four-legged machines. Under its “AI+” initiative, the Hangzhou-based company combines software training systems with massive datasets to enable autonomous learning in quadruped robots.
Enhanced by proprietary algorithms, these robots can now navigate complex environments, adapt to unstructured terrain, and support rescue teams by swiftly entering disaster zones and relaying real-time data for decision-making.
“AI-powered robots can help humans work more safely and efficiently in diverse scenarios — from power facility inspections to emergency response,” said Meng Yuan, a media manager at DEEP Robotics. “They’re built to take on repetitive and high-risk tasks, and may one day assist with everyday needs in the home.”
The company’s global footprint now covers Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Middle East, Europe and North America — with international demand rising. “In Singapore, a local power company is using our robotic dogs to inspect underground utility tunnels, reducing labor costs and boosting urban efficiency,” said Meng.
Meanwhile, in Zhejiang’s textile industrial heartland, Hangzhou Hangmin Damei Dyeing and Finishing Co., Ltd., a fabric supplier to global fashion brands including Zara, is grappling with rising green trade barriers.
Confronted with a maze of carbon policies and mounting compliance costs tied to carbon tariffs and clean energy transition, the company has joined a new alliance that turns compliance into a competitive advantage.
The “Green Energy To” initiative, led by the Xiaoshan Power Supply Company under the State Grid Corporation of China, in partnership with government agencies, financial institutions and exporters, offers a three-pronged solution — policy guidance, carbon-reduction services, and tailored financial support.
With the alliance’s support, Hangmin Damei analyzed carbon footprints across eight production lines, built a digital monitoring platform, and now generates monthly energy-efficiency reports. Equipped with real-time carbon data and smart low-carbon solutions, the company is exporting to the European Union under a new label, namely “Green Energy To” — thus symbolizing China’s emerging brand story.
“As global trade undergoes a green transformation, the ‘Green Energy To’ initiative aims to give Chinese exporters a green passport to navigate mounting carbon-based tariffs,” said Lai Hanbin, deputy director of the marketing department at Xiaoshan Power Supply Company. Lai served as a “zero-carbon engineer” for the 19th Asian Games held in Hangzhou in September 2023.
“I think the time has now come for Chinese people to start to really appreciate their own brands,” said Michael Levitt, 2013 Nobel laureate in chemistry and vice chairman of the World Laureates Association. “I believe that Chinese brands will spread to the rest of the world.”
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith’s recent announcement that the government would reinstate a total ban on prisoners voting was in keeping with the coalition’s overall tough-on-crime approach.
The move was called “ridiculous” and “stupid” by opposition spokespeople, largely because it contradicted findings by the Supreme Court and the Waitangi Tribunal.
But behind those concerns about the ban placing an “unreasonable limit on the electoral rights guaranteed under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act” lies a broader constitutional question to do with parliament’s relationship with the courts.
In short, removing prisoner voting rights will damage a critical but fragile check on government power – what is known as the “judicial declaration of inconsistency”.
An ‘executive paradise’
New Zealand has been described as an “executive paradise” by constitutional lawyer and former prime minister Geoffrey Palmer. There is no upper house, no federal structure, and the courts lack the power to strike down unconstitutional legislation.
The constitution itself is a collection of statutes and conventions that, for the most part, can be changed by a simple parliamentary majority. The 1990 Bill of Rights Act is a cornerstone of that constitution, but is an ineffectual check on government power.
When parliament considers a bill that is potentially inconsistent with “the human rights and fundamental freedoms” set out in the Bill of Rights, the attorney-general delivers a report explaining the inconsistencies.
This is supposed to be a deterrent, and one might think it would be the end of the matter. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Adverse attorney-general reports have appeared regularly (there have been 15 since 2021) without blocking legislation.
Parliament’s habit of passing legislation that does not comply with the Bill of Rights is why the recently developed judicial declaration of inconsistency is constitutionally important.
The declaration is a “soft” legal power. It doesn’t strike down laws or rewrite them. Rather, it is a “weak form” of review that enables affected citizens to petition the court to declare a law inconsistent with the Bill of Rights. This should then spur parliament to fix the problem.
The declaration aims to start a constitutional dialogue between the two branches of government. Enabling citizens to hold parliament accountable, it is a vital instrument in a system otherwise heavily dominated by the executive branch.
Constitutional dialogue in action
The High Court issued the first such declaration in the case of Taylor vs Attorney-General in 2015, declaring a total ban on prisoners voting was inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act. The government appealed, but the Supreme Court affirmed the declaration in a landmark 2018 decision.
What happened next, however, was just as important. If the declaration was to initiate a constitutional dialogue, it was up to parliament to respond – which it did. In 2020, it rescinded the ban on voting for prisoners incarcerated for less than three years.
Then, in 2022, it amended the Bill of Rights to require the attorney-general to notify parliament when a superior court issues a declaration of inconsistency. And it required a ministerial report to parliament on the government’s response within six months.
Those measures put in place a framework for constitutional dialogues. And this process played out in the next (and to date only) declaration of inconsistency. This was in 2022, when the Supreme Court declared prohibiting 16-year-olds from voting was inconsistent with the Bill of Rights.
In 2023, the government tabled its response and introduced a bill to enable 16-year-olds to vote in local elections. The government initially announced it would do the same for parliamentary elections. But that idea was dropped when it became clear this wouldn’t get the necessary super-majority support of 75% of MPs.
Chief Justice Helen Winkelmann: courts and parliament could work together. Getty Images
An over-powered parliament
Although modest, parliament’s responses were constitutionally important because they modelled a new framework for accountability. Chief Justice Helen Winkelmann suggested the process illustrated how courts and parliament could work together in the “gradual and collaborative elaboration” of New Zealand’s constitution.
An evolving constitutional dialogue would enable the courts to pose a modest check on New Zealand’s over-powered parliament. So, those who hoped they were seeing the dawn of a new constitutional convention will be disheartened by the move to ban all prisoners from voting.
The current government has already terminated the bill enabling 16-year-olds to vote, without mentioning this contradicted the Supreme Court’s declaration of inconsistency.
Should parliament now ban prisoner voting, it will have nullified all substantial responses to declarations of inconsistency. That would be a profound constitutional setback.
Parliament regularly flouts the Bill of Rights. We are now seeing it double down by rolling back its previous responses to judicial declarations.
New Zealanders already have comparatively little constitutional protection from parliament. Reinstating a total ban on prisoner voting will undermine the practice of constitutional dialogue between the two branches of government. And it will weaken a fragile check on government power.
Stephen Winter 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.
NRL Photos, Matt Turner/AAP, Wikimedia, The Conversation, CC BY
Every now and then, so-called “code wars” erupt between the major Australia winter football codes: the National Rugby League (NRL) and the Australian Football League (AFL).
This animosity likely stems from a phenomenon known as “the Barassi Line”, a cultural and geographical divide based on football preference which runs from Eden, NSW, through Canberra and up to Arnhem Land.
Recently, NRL chair Peter V’Landys claimed victory over the AFL in a strongly worded salvo:
Rugby league has reaffirmed its standing as the No. 1 sporting code in Australia and the Pacific after the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) announced record-breaking attendances, TV audiences, participation, revenue and assets.
But is he right to state the NRL as Australia’s No. 1 sport?
A uniquely Australian battle
The battleground in Australia is unique: most nations have only one major football code, soccer. Australia though has four – Australian rules football (AFL), rugby league (NRL), soccer and rugby union.
More competition is good for the consumer and, in this case, the consumer is the Aussie sports fan.
The way these fans watch, play and pour money into each sport is closely tracked by each league. And the competition for talent, fans, sponsors and eyeballs via TV, digital media and streaming grows every year.
Thanks to Australian sports media experts SportsIndustryAU, we can now make a direct comparison between the codes.
What the numbers say
It’s important to note the NRL’s recent chest-beating refers to audiences in Australia and the Pacific, explaining the code’s push into Papua New Guinea (PNG) and potentially further expansion in New Zealand.
In terms of revenue, the AFL earned 39% more than the NRL in 2024: $1.04 billion compared to the NRL’s $744.8 million.
In terms of profit, the NRL’s was 51% higher than the AFL in 2024. This was in large part due to the NRL having only half the operational expenses of the AFL.
However, if we look at operating profit (gross profit minus operating expenses), the AFL was 13% higher than the NRL before it made its annual distributions to clubs. The AFL distributes its profits among its 18 clubs, with smaller clubs receiving more than the more powerful teams.
In terms of TV audience, the NRL was 10% larger in terms of average aggregated audiences for free-to-air and paid subscription services in 2024: 153.7 million to the AFL’s 140.3 million. However, AFL matches go longer and the season features more games than the NRL. Also, these figures do not include streaming numbers, which will be part of future broadcast deals.
In terms of attendance and membership, the AFL is a clear winner.
The AFL welcomed 8.4 million fans through the gate in 2024, compared to 4.3 million for the NRL.
For membership, the AFL’s clubs boasted 1.32 million collectively in 2024. In the NRL, there are slightly more than 400,000 club members (based on club data – the NRL does not release membership data).
In terms of participation, Ausplay – a national tracking survey led by the Australian Sports Commission – estimates 641,390 Aussie rules players, compared to 531,323 for rugby league (which includes touch football and Oztag).
No clear-cut answer
While more of the numbers point to an AFL advantage, this heavyweight battle will never be completely settled, and both codes’ future expansion plans will further muddy the waters.
The NRL has just announced the Perth Bears will join in 2027 or 2028. This team revives the old North Sydney Bears with a new Western Australia base. This will bring the number of NRL clubs to 19.
A possible 20th team is slated for New Zealand, or Ipswich in the western Brisbane corridor.
Similarly, the AFL is expanding, first to Tasmania, which is set to become its 19th club in 2028.
Beyond that, it’s possible the league will look to the Northern Territory, Canberra or another team in Western Australia or South Australia to join as the 20th team.
One key advantage for the NRL is its international appeal.
For two years, it has hosted games in Las Vegas. And after the NRL’s successful Magic Round in Brisbane, CEO Andrew Abdo floated the possibility of taking the event overseas, with Hong Kong and Dubai reportedly expressing interest.
Of course, as a domestic game, Australian rules football cannot logically expand beyond our shores.
But whether beyond our boundaries or within, the NRL vs AFL rivalry will continue, and an unequivocal winner will never really be settled on.
Tim Harcourt 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.
Source: United States Senator for Tennessee Bill Hagerty
NASHVILLE, TN—Today, United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Appropriations, Banking, and Foreign Relations Committees and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, joined Sunday Morning Futures on Fox News to discuss President Donald Trump’s ongoing trade negotiations, what to do about the debt ceiling, and the efforts to cut spending in the federal government via budget reconciliation.
*Click the photo above or here to watch*
Partial Transcript
Hagerty on the trade negotiations with China: “I worked on trade deals extensively. Not only the two trade deals we did with the U.S. and Japan, but also with the team that negotiated the phase one China trade deal, which China did not abide by. David’s right. I’m so glad he’s going to his post now. He’s going to be a great ambassador representing the America’s interest with China. What’s happening in Switzerland right now, I’m very excited about. I think there’s great potential there. It has to get resolved. And with ambassadors or leaders like David in the field, I think we’re going to have every opportunity then to hold China to account, because that’s going to be a critical aspect of this. They have not followed through on their prior agreements with us. We need to make certain that what we strike with them today, what we strike over the weekend and in the days to come, is something that we can ascertain, we can hold them accountable to, and that we can verify.”
Hagerty on the debt ceiling: “I have a lot [of] faith in President Trump’s ability to get long-term effect achieved here. You’ve seen the DOGE effort. There’s a massive deregulation thrust underway. Every conversation is about efficiency, cutting costs, getting more for less. It’s going to take President Trump a little bit of time, though. You know how much stimulus was unleased into this economy. We’ve got to give President Trump the headroom to sort this out. And so, President Trump has asked for an extension of the debt ceiling. I’m more than inclined to grant him what he needs to give him the time and the runway to actually get our economy to a far better place, a much more efficient and effective place. At the same time, shoring up some of the problems that have been left to us by this Biden administration. That’s been outgoing.”
Hagerty on the need to cut wasteful, fraudulent, and abusive spending in the federal government: “From my standpoint, and certainly having been a senator who served on the executive branch in the State Department and have seen the actual dispensation of this foreign aid, there’s a tremendous amount of opportunity to clean this up. And I think if I talk to my constituents here in Tennessee, they’ve been very clear to me. We need to be fixated on and focused on America right now, shoring up what’s wrong here, rather than sending our aid dollars overseas. And when you looked at some of the specifics of where our aid dollars were going, it was absolutely disgraceful. This organization has run amok. I applaud Secretary of State [Marco] Rubio for getting his arms around this, for taking control of it. And we certainly do need to start cutting back. We need to cut back there. We need many other places where President Trump is fixated. Again, he needs a little bit of headroom to get that done. I’m willing to support that. But this is exactly the type of thing that the American public expects to see from us […] I think as more information comes out and more of my colleagues see the abject waste that has gone on in places like USAID, I think it’s going to become easier and easier for them to realize and get their arms around cutting some of these programs. Now granted, these programs have constituencies that are very vocal in Washington. They’ve been lobbying very hard. But again, transparency will make a big difference for my colleagues. I certainly hope to see even more of it. I think that’ll make it a lot easier to get to where we need to be. That takes time.”
Hagerty on Japan’s opportunity for a trade deal: “Japan certainly has the opportunity to be next. They’re the third largest economy in the world. They have every incentive to step up and take part in what I think will be a transformative situation across the globe. Japan could be a real leader here if you think about their opportunity to join us from an economic standpoint, from a national security standpoint, again, our largest presence in Indo-Pacific region is our partnership with Japan. We have more U.S. Military station there than anywhere else in the region. Again, I can’t put myself in their shoes.”
Hagerty on the India-Pakistan conflict: “That’s a top shelf issue. When you see two nuclear powers like Pakistan and India going at it, it’s top concern. That’s why President Trump was immediately on it. JD Vance stepped up in a remarkably admirable way to leverage his personal relationship with [Prime Minister] Modi. I’ve seen President Trump and Modi together. They have a great personal relationship, but it’s these relationships and also the gravity of the situation that, I think, has helped bring this to a quick resolve. I only wish [former President] Joe Biden had used his political capital to do the same thing with Ukraine and Russia.”
Hagerty on the need for major spending cuts in the reconciliation package: “The Senate is actually talking more like two trillion in cuts. We’re very focused on it. The reason the threshold is lower in the Senate is because there’s certain rules there that you can’t exceed or you can’t fall below. Again, we’re leaving ourselves leeway to get it done, but every one of my colleagues that I’ve spoken with wants to see an even greater number of cuts in this package.”
A new Auckland-based kava business has found itself at the heart of a cultural debate, with critics raising concerns about appropriation, authenticity, and the future of kava as a deeply rooted Pacific tradition.
Vibes Kava, co-founded by Charles Byram and Derek Hillen, operates out of New Leaf Kombucha taproom in Grey Lynn.
The pair launched the business earlier this year, promoting it as a space for connection and community.
Byram, a Kiwi-American of Samoan descent, returned to Aotearoa after growing up in the United States. Hillen, originally from Canada, moved to New Zealand 10 years ago.
Both say they discovered kava during the covid-19 pandemic and credit it with helping them shift away from alcohol.
“We wanted to create something that brings people together in a healthier way,” the pair said.
However, their vision has been met with growing criticism, with people saying the business lacks cultural depth, misrepresents tradition, and risks commodifying a sacred practice.
Context and different perspectives Tensions escalated after Vibes Kava posted a promotional video on Instagram, describing their offering as “a modern take on a 3000-year-old tradition” and “a lifestyle shift, one shell at a time”.
On their website, Hillen is referred to as a “kava evangelist,” while videos feature Byram hosting casual kava circles and promoting fortnightly “kava socials.”
The kava they sell is bottled, with tag names referencing the effects of each different kava bottle — for example, “buzzy kava” and “chill kava”.
Their promotional content was later reposted on TikTok by a prominent Pacific influencer, prompting an influx of online input about the legitimacy of their business and the diversity of their kava circles.
The reposted video has since received more than 95,000 views, 1600 shares, and 11,000 interactions.
In the TikTok caption, the influencer questioned the ethical foundations of the business.
“I would like to know what type of ethics was put into the creation of this . . . who was consulted, and said it was okay to make a brand out of a tradition?”
Criticised the brand’s aesthetic Speaking to RNZ Pacific anonymously, the influencer criticised the brand’s aesthetic and messaging, describing it as “exploitative”.
“Their website and Instagram portray trendy, wellness-style branding rather than a proud celebration of authentic Pacific customs or values,” they said.
“I feel like co-owner Charles appears to use his Samoan heritage as a buffer against the backlash he’s received.
“Not to discredit his identity in any way; he is Samoan, and seems like a proud Samoan too.
“However, that should be reflected consistently in their branding. What’s currently shown on their website and Instagram is a mix of Fijian kava practice served in a Samoan tanoa. That to me is confusing and dilutes cultural authenticity.”
Fiji academic Dr Apo Aporosa said much of the misunderstanding stems from a narrow perception of kava as simply being a beverage.
“Most people who think they are using kava are not,” Aporosa said.
‘Detached from culture’ “What they’re consuming may contain Piper methysticum, but it’s detached from the cultural framework that defines what kava actually is.”
Aporosa said it is important to recognise kava as both a substance and a practice — one that involves ceremony, structure, and values.
“It is used to nurture vā, the relational space between people, and is traditionally accompanied by specific customs: woven mats, the tanoa bowl, coconut shell cups (bilo or ipu), and a shared sense of respect and order.”
He said that the commodification of kava, through flavoured drink extracts and Western “wellness” branding, is concerning, and that it distorts the plant’s original purpose.
“When people repackage kava without understanding or respecting the culture it comes from, it becomes cultural appropriation,” he said.
He added that it is not about restricting access to kava — it is about protecting its cultural integrity and honouring the knowledge Pacific communities have preserved for upwards of 2000 years.
Fijian students at the Victoria University of Wellington conduct a sevusevu (kava ceremony) to start off Fiji Language Week. Image: RNZ Pacific/Koroi Hawkins
‘We can’t just gatekeep — we need to guide’ Dr Edmond Fehoko, is a renowned Tongan academic and senior lecturer at Otago University, garnered international attention for his research on the experiences and perceptions of New Zealand-born Tongan men who participate in faikava.
He said these situations are layered.
“I see the cultural appreciation side of things, and I see the cultural appropriation side of things,” Fehoko said.
“It is one of the few practices we hold dearly to our heart, and that is somewhat indigenous to our Pacific people — it can’t be found anywhere else.
“Hence, it holds a sacred place in our society. But, we as a peoples, have actually not done a good enough job to raise awareness of the practice to other societies, and now it’s a race issue, that only Pacific people have the rights to this — and I don’t think that is the case anymore.”
He explained that it is part of a broader dynamic around kava’s globalisation — and that for many people, both Pacific and non-Pacific, kava is an “interesting and exciting space, where all types of people, and all genders, come in and feel safe”.
“Yes, that is moving away from the cultural, customary way of things. But, we need to find new ways, and create new opportunities, to further disseminate our knowledge.
‘Not the same today’ “Our kava practice is not the same today as it was 10, 20 years ago. Kava practices have evolved significantly across generations.
“There are over 200 kava bars in the United States . . . kava is one of the few traditions that is uniquely Pacific. But our understanding of it has to evolve too. We can’t just gatekeep — we need to guide,” he said.
Dr Edmond Fehoko . . . “Kava practices have evolved significantly across generations.” Image: RNZ Pacific/ Sara Vui-Talitu
He added that the issue of kava being commercialised by non-Pacific people cannot necessarily be criticised.
“It’s two-fold, and quite contradictory,” he said, adding that the criticism against these ventures often overlooks the parallel ways in which Pacific communities are also reshaping and profiting from the tradition.
“We argue that non-Pacific people are profiting off our culture, but the truth is, many of us are too,” he said.
“A minority have extensive knowledge of kava . . . and if others want to appreciate our culture, let them take it further with us, instead of the backlash.
“If these lads are enjoying a good time and have the same vibe . . . the only difference is the colour of their skin, and the language they are using, which has become the norm in our kava practices as well.
“But here, we have an opportunity to educate people on the importance of our practice. Let’s raise awareness. Kava is a practice we can use as a vehicle, or medium, to navigate these spaces.”
Vibes Kava co-founder Charles Byram . . . It’s tough to be this person and then get hurt online, without having a conversation with me. Nobody took the time to ask those questions.” Image: Brady Dyer/BradyDyer.com/RNZ Pacific
‘Getting judged for the colour of my skin’ “I completely understand the points that have been brought up,” Byram said in response to the criticism.
Tearing up, he said that was one of the most difficult things to swallow was backlash fixated on his cultural identity.
“I felt like I was getting judged for the colour of my skin, and for not understanding who I was or what I was trying to accomplish. If my skin was a bit darker, I might have been given some more grace.
“I was raised in a Samoan household. My grandfather is Samoan . . . my mum is Samoan. It’s tough to be this person and then get hurt online, without having a conversation with me. Nobody took the time to ask those questions,” he said.
The pair also pushed back on claims they are focused on profit.
“We went there to learn, to dive into the culture. We went to a lot of kava bars, interviewed farmers, just to understand the origin of kava, how it works within a community, and then how best to engage with, and showcase it,” Byram said.
“People have criticised that we are profiting — we’re making no money at this point. All the money we make from this kava has gone back to the farmers in Vanuatu.”
Representing a minority Hillen thinks those criticising them represent a minority.
“We have a lot of Pasifika customers that come here [and] they support us.
“They are ecstatic their culture is being promoted this way, and love what we are doing. The negative response from a minority part of the population was surprising to us.”
Critics had argued that the business showcased confusing blends of different cultural approaches.
Byram and Hillen said that it is up to other people to investigate and learn about the cultures, and that they are simply trying to acknowledge all of them.
Byram, however, added that the critics brought up some good points — and that this will be a catalyst for change within their business.
“Yesterday, we joined the Pacific Business Hub. We are [taking] steps to integrate more about the culture, community, and what we are trying to accomplish here.”
They also addressed their initial silence and comment moderation.
‘Cycle so self-perpetuating’ “I think the cycle was so self-perpetuating, so I was like . . . I need to make sure I respond with candor, concern, and active communication.
“So I deleted comments and put a pause on things, so we could have some space before the comments get out of hand.
“At the end of the day . . . this is about my connection with my culture and people more than anything, and I’m excited to grow from it. I’m learning, and I’m utilising this as a growth point. We’re just doing our best,” Byram said.
Hillen added: “You have to understand, this business is super new, so we’re still figuring out how best to do things, how to market and grow along with not only the community.
“What we really want to represent as people who care about, and believe in this.”
Byram said they want to acknowledge as many peoples as possible.
“We don’t want to create ceremony or steal anything from the culture. We really just want to celebrate it, and so again, we acknowledge the concern,” he added.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
ADB has partnered with countries in Asia and the Pacific since 1968 to improve urban services and living conditions. With a With a portfolio of $1.7 billion in 2024,, ADB focuses on making cities green, competitive, inclusive, and resilient, tackling complex urban challenges through integrated approaches.
ADVISORY – SCHUYLKILL COUNTY – Governor Shapiro to Highlight His Administration’s Efforts to Support Pennsylvania Farmers Through Key Investments in Agriculture Innovation
Governor Josh Shapiro will visit Sterman Masser Potato Farm in Schuylkill County to highlight how his Administration is supporting farmers by investing agriculture innovation – and call for an additional $13 million in the Agricultural Innovation Grant Program in the 2025-26 budget to help build the future of American agriculture right here in Pennsylvania.
Last year the Shapiro Administration created the first Agriculture Innovation fund in the nation. In the first year, the Department of Agriculture received 159 applications for nearly $70 million worth of innovation projects – but only had enough funding for $10 million worth of projects. To meet this demand, Governor Shapiro is proposing to more than double the funding for agriculture innovation to help more farmers embrace the latest technologies and farming techniques.
WHO: Governor Josh Shapiro Dave Masser, President & CEO of Sterman Masser, Inc. Lela Reichert, Vice President of New Business Development at Sterman Masser, Inc. Kent Heffner, President of the Schuylkill/Carbon County Farm Bureau
WHEN: TOMORROW, Monday, May 12, 2025 at 11:45 AM *Press Conference to begin at 12:00 PM
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
The construction of China’s railway projects has accelerated in the first four months of this year, injecting new impetus into the sustained recovery and improvement of the Chinese economy, according to the country’s railway operator on Sunday.
The fixed-asset investment in China’s railway sector gained 5.3 percent year on year and reached 194.7 billion yuan (about 27 billion U.S. dollars) from January to April this year, according to China State Railway Group Co., Ltd.
During the period, the country’s railway sector focused on network connection and supplementation, strengthened control over safety and quality as well as ecological and environmental protection, and advanced railway engineering construction in a high-quality and efficient manner, according to the operator.
Railway construction projects have made positive progress across various regions in the country, including the Lanzhou-Hezuo Railway in northwest China’s Gansu and a river tunnel project in north China’s Tianjin, it said.
In the future, China will engage in the planning and construction of railway projects in a scientific and orderly manner, improving investment efficiency to accelerate the construction of a modern railway infrastructure system, according to the company.
“The Odyssey 3D marks the beginning of a new era of experiences.”— Taekwan Lee, Samsung Electronics
3D content has often been associated with inconvenience. Enjoying it typically required specialized equipment such as 3D glasses or head-mounted displays (HMDs). Imperfections in the delivery of 3D images caused crosstalk, potentially leading to dizziness. These discomforts would chip away the immersion of 3D content.
Samsung Electronics is changing that narrative with the introduction of the Odyssey 3D (G90XF) — a finely tuned glasses-free 3D gaming monitor. Featuring eye-tracking and view-mapping technology, the Odyssey 3D marks a paradigm shift in immersive viewing and gaming experiences.
Samsung Newsroom sat down with Donghwa Lim from the Enterprise R&D Lab and Taekwan Lee from the Product Innovation Lab, both part of the Visual Display (VD) Business at Samsung Electronics, to discuss how the Odyssey 3D is redefining perceptions of 3D.
The Three Core Technologies Behind Odyssey 3D
3D displays create a sense of dimension using binocular disparity, in which the brain perceives depth by processing the slightly different images seen by each eye. Leveraging this principle, the Odyssey 3D delivers a glasses-free 3D experience by precisely presenting different images to each eye without the need for external equipment. The eye-tracking technology is designed to recognize users’ eyes even when they are wearing glasses.
“It’s incredibly rewarding to bring to market a technology that once seemed out of reach.”— Donghwa Lim, Samsung Electronics
At the heart of the Odyssey 3D are three key technologies — eye tracking, view mapping and a lenticular lens.
▲ Odyssey 3D features a myriad of technologies to deliver an immersive, glasses-free 3D experience
Eye tracking is enabled by a stereo camera mounted at the top of the monitor, detecting and tracking the user’s eye movements in real time.
“Because the two cameras capture different images, much like human eyes, they can determine the exact position of the user’s eyes and distance between the eyes and the monitor in real time,” said Lim. “This real-time eye position detection allows us to deliver a precise 3D image, even when the user moves.”
▲ (From left) View mapping and the lenticular lens
Based on this data, the system calculates the correct pixel positioning for each eye and reconstructs a single image through a process called view mapping. The final mapped images are then separately delivered to each eye through the lenticular lens, allowing the images from the display panels to be visible to each eye by utilizing light refraction.
What’s more, the Odyssey 3D isn’t limited to 3D gameplay alone. Since the Odyssey 3D was developed as a gaming monitor, it performs exceptionally well in terms of picture quality and response speed, even when used for 2D gameplay. The lenticular lens activates only when a 3D mode is enabled by Reality Hub.
Minimizing Crosstalk With Samsung’s Advanced Display Technology
While 3D effects offer new levels of immersion, even minor visual inconsistencies can disrupt the experience. Samsung has dedicated significant resources to ensuring premium 3D visuals.
“Crosstalk occurs when the images perceived by the left and right eyes aren’t properly aligned,” said Lim. “It can lead to dizziness and other visual discomforts, so we developed several techniques to reduce it.”
▲ Donghwa Lim, Enterprise R&D Lab, Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics, explains how technologies were meticulously put together to minimize crosstalk
“Even the slightest misalignments during the production or assembly of camera and display components can affect image accuracy,” he noted. “To address this, Samsung applies post-assembly calibration for both the camera and display panel and stores unit-specific data into a dedicated chip inside the monitor.”
In addition to hardware calibration, the Odyssey 3D features a deep learning-based eye-tracking algorithm and a specially engineered display cell coating designed to reduce light distortion and glare — all contributing to minimizing crosstalk and delivering a refined 3D experience.
Driving 3D Gaming Innovation Through Industry Partnerships
The true strength of the Odyssey 3D comes to life during gameplay. To bring immersive and personalized gaming experiences to users, Samsung is actively collaborating with industry partners to optimize games for glasses-free 3D.
“When industry-leading companies join forces, the benefits are ultimately passed on to gamers.”— Taekwan Lee, Samsung Electronics
In partnership with Microsoft and virtual reality (VR) company Zero Density, Samsung has made high-quality 3D gaming content available through Reality Hub — a Windows-based 3D content platform that also supports the conversion of 2D photos and videos into 3D.
▲ Taekwan Lee, Product Innovation Lab, Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics, explains that cross-industry efforts are key in expanding the 3D market
Joint efforts are also underway to expand 3D gaming content.
“Game developers are constantly exploring ways to offer new experiences to users,” said Lee. “One of those directions is 3D gaming.”
While the 3D gaming market is still emerging, Lee emphasized that industry-wide collaboration is key to accelerating its growth.
“The First Berserker: Khazan” — a recently published game developed by Nexon Korea and Neople — stands as a notable example of how 3D immersion can come to life through collaboration with Samsung during development.
“Through this partnership, Nexon, Neople and Samsung have been working closely to tailor the 3D visuals, carefully adjusting them based on the composition of characters and backgrounds. We ensured that everything from scene-specific factors to cinematic transitions could be presented more vividly on Odyssey 3D monitor,” he explained.
▲ A scene from “The First Berserker: Khazan”
“Creating effects like drifting particles, fast-moving flames and cinematic cutscenes1 was technically challenging, but I’m proud of what we achieved through teamwork,” Lee added. “In particular, the snowy mountain scene in Khazan gives the impression that snowflakes are flying directly toward the player when played on the Odyssey 3D. It’s an experience I would strongly recommend trying firsthand.”
“Our research is a journey to connect users to the future.”— Taekwan Lee, Samsung Electronics
With the Odyssey 3D, Samsung is elevating the gaming experience to new levels of immersion.
“We are in discussions with local and global game developers to expand the 3D gaming market,” he emphasized. “Our goal is to collaborate with more developers to bring a broader range of 3D games to users. When industry-leading companies join forces, the benefits are ultimately passed on to gamers.”
From Impossible to Possible: Leading the Future of 3D Monitors
Lim reflected on how far technology has come over the past decade.
“Way back when I first joined Samsung, I attended a meeting on 3D technology where the lenticular lens was deemed ‘not feasible’ with existing technology,” he said. “Now, years later, we’ve not only made it possible, but we’ve also brought it to market. It’s incredibly remarkable and deeply rewarding to see a product launch built on technology that once seemed out of reach.”
▲ Donghwa Lim and Taekwan Lee are excited about the market potential of 3D content and monitors
“Our research to create new experiences is a journey to connect users to the future. The Odyssey 3D marks the beginning of a new era in expanding the boundaries of technology-driven experiences,” said Lee. “Games played on the Odyssey 3D are sure to deliver a ‘wow’ factor — not just at specific moments, but throughout the entire experience.”
As Samsung continues to lead the gaming monitor market, the Odyssey 3D stands as a powerful example of how the company is redefining immersive experiences and pushing the limits of display innovation.
1 Short storytelling clips shown between stages during gameplay.
