The Highland Council is set to hold public drop-in sessions over four days at the end of the September and into early October 2024, to help inform the creation of an Area Place Plan for the Lochaber area. These sessions will allow the public to contribute, have their say and leave comments.
Members of the public are invited to attend the engagement drop in events which will take place as follows:
Monday 30 Sept – Fort William Library 4-7pm
Tuesday 1 October – Fort William Library 11am-4pm
Thursday 3 October – Mallaig Library 5-8pm
Tuesday 8 October – Ardnamurchan Library 12-4pm
In attendance on the day will be members of the Community Support and Engagement Team who will be on hand to greet people as they arrive and ensure their opinions are captured and reflected within the data gathered.
An online survey and ideas board will go live on Monday 30 September and will remain live until 31 October 2024. The survey will be available from the following link here (external link)
Lochaber Area Committee Chair, Cllr Kate Willis said: “Area Place Plans (APP) are important for Lochaber as they are community led plans, offering the opportunity to shape the vision, ambition and key priorities for both people and place across Lochaber. They help to target resources, service delivery and with clear area specific plans, assist in attracting investment.
“I encourage as many local residents as possible across Lochaber to take the opportunity to drop in on one of these sessions, have a chat with the team facilitating the event, learn more about the process and leave comments for consideration in the wider APP.”
In Highland, sub-regional Area Place Plans are being developed to bring together an overview of existing strategies and projects, and making sure that a clear vision is captured of what the community aspirations are for their area.
The Plans will help The Highland Council, partners, and communities to secure funding by evidencing the impact of every pound spent and the actions associated will provide clarity and manage expectation around how and where resources are prioritised. They will also provide a stronger framework for communities to prepare plans for their own community, empowering them to drive and deliver change.
Community engagement will build a shared understanding of how ‘Place’ underpins development, service delivery and how organisations and communities work together. These plans will be a future guide to get the best impact for people living in an area, based on a shared understanding of local need.
Postal ballot papers for the contested Ardgay and District Community Council were posted out yesterday (Monday 23 September 2024). The Highland Council is reminding voters that ballot papers need to be completed and returned by the deadline of 12 noon on Monday 14 October 2024 in the pre-paid envelope provided.
Candidates standing were invited to submit a statement to support their candidacy and these statements are provided in the envelopes mailed out along with the ballot papers to all eligible voters.
Community Councillors shall be elected on a simple majority basis. The successful candidates will be those with the highest number of votes, with the number of successful Candidates equalling the number of vacancies.
The counting of the votes will be broadcast live by The Highland Council on Monday 14 October 2024 from 12noon onwards.
Similar to supporting a political party, sports fandom aids in the formation of social identity. This happens when people look to form attachments with other individuals who they believe are similar to them in some way to cultivate positive self-esteem.
My preliminary research into these issues has shown that in men’s professional sports, there has often been hostility towards the introduction of newer, more inclusive causes into sporting events. In the National Hockey League, for example, some players refused to participate in Pride Night events on religious grounds.
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) and outside linebacker Eli Harold (58) kneel during the playing of the national anthem before an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Essentially, that means those who say athletes should “stick to sports” or “shut up and dribble” aren’t suggesting they don’t want any politics in sports. What they’re really saying is that they don’t want to see political views they oppose being represented in professional sports.
The patriotic causes that have routinely been championed by sports leagues and used for nation-building, such as the military, are viewed as apolitical and therefore appropriate in sports settings. Conversely, messages that are critical of a country or focus on historic inequalities have been deemed “inappropriate” and are excluded by sports because of potential fan backlash.
Can sports influence politics?
More recently, however, sports leagues and teams have begun to engage with social justice causes, such as LGBTQ+ rights in the U.K., Canada and the U.S..
As sports organizations adapt to changing social norms and embrace newer social causes, they hold tremendous potential to impact political attitudes. They can showcase the acceptance of marginalized groups in previously hostile spaces, and provide valuable representation.
The representative and psychological value of sports fandom suggests sport is an understudied area of political science, one I hope to build on in my future research.
For example, we do not yet fully understand the impact that sports teams holding Pride Nights has on attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community.
Nor do we know how soccer clubs in England, as local symbols of a migrant workforce, may impact immigrant attitudes.
Finally, we do not know why certain women’s national soccer teams, like Canada, have been successful in protesting for equal pay while others, like the Spanish team, have failed.
Sport could have a valuable role to play in unpacking these political questions about protest and identity — and represents an exciting emerging research area in political behaviour.
Noah Eliot Vanderhoeven 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.
Commerce and Industry Minister Shri Piyush Goyal attends 22nd CREDAI National Conference on second day of Australia visit Shri Goyal attends reception hosted by Parliamentary Friends of India and Australia-India Business Council at NSW Parliament
Posted On: 24 SEP 2024 6:07PM by PIB Delhi
In his ongoing visit to Australia from September 23-26, 2024, Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Commerce & Industry, had a number of productive engagements on the second day (September 24). He was the Chief Guest at the 22nd National Conference of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI) in Sydney. The Conference brought together about 1100 real estate developers from India to Australia.
In his address, the Minister urged the real estate industry to adopt even more effective measures for the well being of millions of workers employed in it. He appreciated the contribution of the real estate sector to the growth of the Indian economy and encouraged them to consider expanding their operations in international markets such as Australia.
The Minister met Hon. Chris Minns MP, Premier of New South Wales at NSW Parliament and discussed the growing business and community linkages between India and Australia and the contribution of NSW to these ties. Minister attended a reception hosted in his honour by the Parliamentary Friends of India and Australia-India Business Council (AIBC) at the Parliament in which Ministers and Parliamentarians from NSW, including The Hon Anoulack Chanthivong MP, Minister for Industry and Trade of NSW and the Co-chairs of the NSW Parliamentary Friends of India, participated.
Several prominent business leaders based in Australia were also present. Minister thanked them for the warm reception and highlighted that the bipartisan support for close India-Australia ties gave strength to the bilateral partnership & deepening economic engagement.
The Minister addressed a gathering of various key stakeholders in the bilateral economic relationship organized by Asia Link Business (ALB), Australia India Institute and KPMG. He participated in a fireside chat with the CEO of ALB, Mr. Leigh Howard, and answered a range of questions. Discussions focussed on fostering stronger India-Australia partnership in key sectors viz renewable energy, digitisation, infrastructure, education, critical minerals, tourism, fintech, agritech, space etc. Minister was presented with a copy of the report on ‘Doing Business in India’ by ALB which will help Australian businesses in leveraging the vast opportunities presented by the Indian market.
Minister met several emerging Indian origin and Australian leaders in different sectors at an event organized by the High Commission of India and the India-Australia Business Community Alliance (IABCA). Addressing the gathering, the Minister said that these success stories were a reflection of the opportunities that strong India-Australia relations present for the mutual benefit of their people.
Minister interacted with the Committee members of the Australian (Sydney) Chapter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and encouraged them to act as a living bridge to promote business ties between India and Australia.
In the forenoon, the Minister participated virtually in the meeting of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. He emphasised that collective efforts and forward-thinking action plans in critical sectors such as semiconductors, critical minerals for clean energy, chemicals and healthcare are crucial for unlocking the framework’s full potential.
After concluding his productive 2-day visit to Sydney focussed on business and community interactions, Minister travelled to Adelaide where he will Co-chair with Senator The Hon Don Farrell, Minister for Trade and Tourism of Australia, the 19th Joint Ministerial Commission meeting scheduled for September 25, 2024.
SYDNEY, Sept. 24, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Leading online FX and CFD broker Axi is attending this year’s Dubai Forex Expo, taking place on October 7-8, 2024, at the Dubai World Trade Center.
Event attendees will have the opportunity to learn about Axi Select, the innovative capital allocation program, designed to empower ambitious traders on their trading journey. “We invite all traders to visit our team at Booth 2 and uncover the future of trading with Axi,” says Louis Cooper, Chief Commercial Officer at Axi, before adding “We look forward to networking with follow traders and showcase the exceptional benefits of Axi Select. Our program features zero registration fees, capital funding of up to $1,000,000 USD, the opportunity to earn up to 90% of the profits, and advanced tools to accelerate traders’ trading potential.”
Additionally, visitors can explore their Introducing Broker (IB) and Affiliate programs or learn more about Axi’s longstanding partnership with Man City, Premier League Champions. The championship trophy will be on display for photos and attendees stand the chance to win exciting prizes from the broker.
Recently, the broker has renewed its collaboration with LaLiga club, Girona FC, and their Brand Ambassador, England international John Stones. They’ve also recently launched their biggest global trading competition ever, with a total prize pool of $250,000 USD. Over 45 prizes were given to traders including the grand prize of $100,000 USD.
About Axi
Axi is a global online FX and CFD trading company, with thousands of customers in 100+ countries worldwide. Axi offers CFDs for several asset classes including Forex, Shares, Gold, Oil, Coffee, and more.
At Axi, we are proud of our reputation as an honest, and fair broker, providing our customers with outstanding service and trading conditions since 2007. We also work with leading regulatory governing authorities globally to ensure we exceed the highest standards in the industry.
The Axi Select programme is only available to clients of AxiTrader Limited. CFDs carry a high risk of investment loss. In our dealings with you, we will act as a principal counterparty to all of your positions. This content is not available to AU, NZ, EU and UK residents. For more information, refer to our Terms of Service. Standard trading fees apply.
Agenda for Change pay offer accepted by trade unions.
Almost 170,000 nurses and healthcare workers in Scotland will receive a 5.5% salary increase this year, ensuring they have the best reward package in the UK.
Unions representing NHS Agenda for Change staff – which includes nurses, midwives, paramedics, allied health professionals, porters and others – unanimously agreed to an investment of more than £448 million for improved pay conditions.
The pay rise, backdated to 1 April 2024, will come into effect from next month.
Health Secretary Neil Gray said:
“I am pleased that trade unions have unanimously agreed to accept this pay offer, which ensures that nurses and healthcare staff in Scotland, who are part of Agenda for Change, will have the best reward package in the UK.
“I want to express my thanks again to Scotland’s hardworking healthcare staff for the care they provide to patients, day in, day out. They are the very backbone of the NHS and we are committed to ensuring they feel supported and valued.”
BACKGROUND
A total of £448 million has been invested in Agenda for Change pay in 2024-25. This equates to an uplift of 5.5% for all staff.
Examples of increases for 2024-25:
experienced porters (band 2) will receive £1,395
experienced healthcare support workers (band 4) will receive £1,651
experienced staff nurses (band 5) will receive £2,072
experienced paramedics (band 6) will receive £2,535.
In July the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a historic advisory opinion concluding that Israel’s decades long occupation and annexation of Palestinian territory is unlawful because it violates some of the most fundamental tenets of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and denies Palestinians their human rights.
The ICJ opinion also concludes that all states have an “obligation not to recognize as legal the situation arising from the unlawful presence of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory” and “not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel’s illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” Meanwhile, the virtually unconditional transfer and sale of weapons, parts, and ammunition by governments where there is clear risk of use in harming civilians and violating international law has continued.
As the UN General Assembly prepares to vote on a resolution this week that would seek to bring the occupation to an end, the undersigned organizations call on all governments, including the UN Security Council and its members, to adhere to the ICJ’s advisory opinion, including through the halting the transfer and sale of weapons, parts and ammunition.
Humanitarian, development and human rights organizations, many of us with decades of experience working throughout the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, delivering lifesaving assistance and other services, have witnessed first-hand the humanitarian consequences of Israel’s occupation, and its devastating impact on the Palestinian population, including the well-being of children.
This includes but is not limited to:
● the use of weapons, by Israeli forces and settlers in attacks, including in apparent violations of international law, resulting in the killing and permanent disabilities of Palestinian civilians, including children, and instances of gender based violence;
● the arbitrary detention and systematic prosecution of Palestinians, including children, in Israeli military courts, often held in horrific conditions;
● the forced displacement of Palestinians through demolitions of Palestinian homes and property, Israeli settlement expansion, Israeli settler violence, and so-called “evacuation” orders amid Israeli bombardment in Gaza;
● a discriminatory permit regime that denies freedom of movement to Palestinians, depriving them of basic services, including vital medical assistance.
These practices have taken place without accountability for decades, but the intensification over the last 11 months has led to a staggering humanitarian catastrophe for Palestinians throughout the occupied Palestinian territory, fuelled by the virtually unconditional supply of weapons, parts, and ammunition.
More than 40,000 people in Gaza have been killed, and tens of thousands face life-altering injuries and potentially irreversible mental harm, including as a result of apparent violations of IHL. Meanwhile, the situation in the West Bank is deteriorating at a rapid pace, with large-scale Israeli military ground incursions and airstrikes killing and injuring people almost every day this year. The violence and restrictions under Israeli occupation have rendered the mandates of humanitarian, human rights, and development organizations almost impossible to fulfill.
Humanitarian support provided by Member States is regularly obstructed and destroyed by Israeli authorities. Assistance that humanitarian organizations have managed to provide has been insufficient to address the needs and does not address the root causes of the humanitarian consequences created by Israel’s decades-long occupation that the international community has allowed to continue for too long.
Failure to adhere to the ICJ’s advisory opinion will send a message that states can be selective in their application of international law. It is imperative that states reinforce and show their commitment to international institutions and the international order that has been in place for nearly 80 years. The time for empty statements has passed. All Member States must act decisively to adhere to the ICJ Advisory Opinion before more lives are irreparably destroyed.
Undersigned:
1. ActionAid
2. American Friends Service Committee
3. Amnesty International
4. BePax
5. CCFD-Terre Solidaire
6. Center for Peace Education (Miriam College, Philippines)
7. Christian Aid
8. Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
9. DanChurchAid 10.Danish Refugee Council
11. Finn Church Aid
12.Franciscans International
13.Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS) (Secretariat)
14.Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
As winter approaches there will be a change to operating hours for Household Recycling Centres across the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough, effective from Tuesday, 1 October.
The annual seasonal change in opening hours for all nine recycling facilities in the borough will continue until March 31.
The winter opening hours (October 1 – March 31) are:
Residents and businesses are encouraged to download the ABC Council App, which offers information on the operating hours of Household Recycling Centres and provides useful recycling tips. The app can be downloaded through the App Store and Google Play Store.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Students from England can use their online account to get their questions answered.
Students from England can use their online account to get their questions answered without needing to pick up the phone.
The account feature ‘Common questions’ is located in the menu section of their online account, with a library of over 50 articles to answer questions students, parents and partners are asking us.
Since SLC launched Common questions in August 2022, the articles have been viewed over 2.4 million times, supporting students, their parents and partners going through the application journey.
Common questions topics
Some of the topics we cover are:
How to view your payment schedule
How to make a change to your application
How long will an application take
How to upload evidence
How to support an application
Help with residency and identity evidence
Tips for getting help
Our advice to all students who need help with their student finance is to:
Login to their online account
Check the progress of their application
Check ‘Common questions’ to find out more and get help
Other account features
Students can do more in their online account, like:
Apply and re-apply for student finance
Make changes to their application details, like their university, college or course details if they changed through Clearing.
Upload evidence using their online account instead of posting
Check their payment dates and amounts using their payment schedule
View and download copies of their letters and emails we send them, including their Notification of Entitlement letter which they’ll need when registering with their university or college.
Students are urged to be aware of the dangers of fire. Fire safety advice could be one of the most important lessons for students during their time at university or college.
Smoke alarm and fire escape plan
All students should take personal responsibility for looking after themselves and their housemates to protect them from the dangers of fire.
Living away from home, especially if it’s for the first time, can be very exciting and it’s easy to get caught up in student life and forget about fire safety.
Check your student accommodation to make sure it’s fire safe and fire safety checks should always be part of your routine.
It’s important to have a working smoke alarm fitted on each level of accommodation and to test them once a week. This will alert you and your housemates to the earliest stage of a fire, giving vital extra time to escape.
You should follow a good fire safe bedtime routine – checking a few things before going to bed can reduce the risk of fire. It only takes a minute and could save lives, so:
make sure all electrical appliances not designed to be left on are disconnected
fully put out cigarettes
close all doors
Also, take some time to agree a fire escape plan to make sure everyone is clear what to do in an emergency. This means knowing where the fire exits are and making sure furniture or stored items do not block them.
If there is no fire exit, plan an alternative escape route other than by the main entrance door.
You can find out more about fire safety at this link:
If you go home at weekends, make sure that accommodation is safely secured and protected from the risk of fire.
Student fire safety advice
You should:
test your smoke alarm every week
prepare a fire escape plan and know where your door keys are
carry out a night-time fire safe check routine
never leave cooking unattended, not even for a minute
never cook, light candles or use electric heaters when under the influence of alcohol
turn off all electrical appliances not designed to be left on
avoid overloading sockets
make sure you don’t leave phone, tablet and laptop on their chargers longer than necessary
put a guard on open fires
put out all cigarettes and empty ashtrays into a non-combustible container
never smoke in bed
You should also check that any fire alarm system in your accommodation is working. If it is showing a fault, contact the landlord or the Estates Officer at the university immediately.
The Government recently announced a number of measures to ensure that the country achieves its ambition of becoming Smokefree by 2030, including the provision of a million ‘Swap to Stop’ kits as a way to support people to quit smoking.
The City of Wolverhampton Council is working to make these kits available at a range of community venues, including the city’s 8 Family Hubs, the 3 WV Active leisure centres and Bilston, Warstones and Wednesfield libraries.
The service will be delivered by trained members of staff, who will offer free vape starter kits alongside support and weekly ‘check-in’ sessions delivered from the convenience of local community venues to help people on their quitting journey over a period of 12 weeks.
The new service was officially launched this week. To sign up for free, please visit Swap to Stop.
Councillor Jasbir Jaspal, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Cabinet Member for Adults and Wellbeing, said: “Stopping smoking is the best thing you can do for your health and the health of those around you.
“Smoking is still the single largest preventable cause of death in England, accounting for around for 64,000 deaths annually. Almost every minute of every day someone is admitted to hospital with a smoking related disease – but, when you stop smoking, there are almost immediate improvements to your health.
“And it’s not just your body which will benefit, your purse or wallet will too. On average smokers spend £38.59 a week on tobacco – and that means you could have around £2,000 more to spend a year by quitting, and even more if you are a really heavy smoker.
“Nicotine vaping is substantially less harmful than smoking and is also one of the most effective tools for quitting, so we are delighted to deliver this Swap to Stop support in the community in Wolverhampton. If you want to quit, please sign up today.”
For more help and support to stop smoking, please visit Quit Smoking.
Meanwhile, the council announced last week that a new healthy lifestyles service, Live Well Wolverhampton, is being launched, offering people information, advice, guidance, self help tools and lifestyle interventions to enable them to make and maintain positive lifestyle choices.
Initially, the service is being trialled on a small scale, providing support to help people quit smoking, while an adult weight management scheme is also expected to be launched in the near future. It will strengthen the existing support available in Wolverhampton and will be accessible to all those who live or are registered with a GP in the city. More information about Live Well Wolverhampton will be provided once the service is launched city wide.
Artist Susan Connolly pictured at the opening of her exhibition GROUND (100+one) at the FE McWilliam Gallery
The F.E. McWilliam Gallery and Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council are delighted to present GROUND (100+one), an exhibition by Belfast based painter Susan Connolly which is now on view at the Banbridge arts venue.
GROUND (100+one), an exciting new body of work, responds to the specific context of the F.E. McWilliam Gallery and is informed by Connolly’s research into Mainie Jellett’s groundbreaking artwork, Decoration (1923), the first modern abstract painting exhibited in Ireland.
Connolly pushes painting to its limits through processes that include layering, scoring, cutting and peeling paint from its support. The title GROUND refers to the one thing shared by every painting – a surface, on which to apply the pigment. (100+one) references the number of years since Jellett’s piece Decoration was first exhibited in Ireland and also the one hundred paintings and collages that Connolly set herself the task of producing for this exhibition.
Jellett’s approach to painting was shaped by the time that she spent in Paris studying and collaborating with the Cubist artist Albert Gleizes. Decoration provoked confusion and hostility when it was first exhibited in Dublin in 1923. Connolly’s interest in Jellett is both as a pioneer and an abstract painter who challenged preconceptions of painting.
Curator of the FE McWilliam Gallery, Dr Riann Coulter said; “Susan is one of our most innovative painters and her engagement with Mainie Jellett’s iconic piece, Decoration, which now hangs in the National Gallery of Ireland, has produced a fascinating body of work that is both a homage to Jellett and a contemporary continuation of her efforts to expand definitions of painting.”
Originally from Kildare, Susan is now based between Belfast and Waterford where she is a lecturer and Course Leader in the Visual Art Department of South East Technological University. She studied at Limerick College of Art and Design, the National College of Art and Design, Dublin and Belfast School of Art where she was awarded an MFA and PhD. Susan is a member of Queen Street Studios and her work is in public and private collections throughout Ireland including the Arts Council of Ireland the Office of Public Works.
The exhibition is accompanied by a limited-edition art book designed by Alex Synge with texts by Sarah Long, Craig Staff and Riann Coulter.
GROUND (100+one) continues at the FE McWilliam Gallery until 2 November 2024. For further information including opening times go to FE McWilliam Gallery
People in Leeds are being encouraged to have their say on the possible introduction of a new regulatory licensing scheme for private sector rented housing.
Leeds City Council began operating a system known as ‘selective licensing’ in Beeston and Harehills in 2020 with the aim of driving up the standard of privately-rented homes and boosting wider efforts to tackle social and health inequalities in the two communities.
Positive results have been achieved but – under the terms of the Housing Act 2004 – selective licensing schemes in England can only run for a period of five years.
The council is therefore now considering plans for a new and expanded scheme that would again include much of Beeston and Harehills but would also take in parts of Armley, Holbeck, Cross Green and East End Park.
All private landlords – with certain limited exceptions – would be required by law to obtain a licence for any residential property they are seeking to let in the designated area.
The licence conditions would include ensuring the safe working of gas or electric appliances, providing smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors and keeping the property in a decent state of repair, both inside and out.
A public consultation on the proposed scheme was launched yesterday (Monday, September 23), with the council keen to gather a wide cross-section of views before it decides whether to press ahead with its plans.
And interested parties across the city – including landlords, tenants and other stakeholders – are being urged to take the opportunity to share their thoughts between now and the end of the consultation period on December 13.
Councillor Jess Lennox, Leeds City Council’s executive member for housing, said:
“Privately rented properties are a key source of housing in Leeds and it’s vitally important that they are safe, warm and well managed places to live.
“We want to explore options for protecting and improving the quality of every type of home in our city, with the newly-launched consultation on selective licensing forming part of that work.
“I would encourage as many people as possible to let us know their views over the course of the next few months.”
More than 4,500 inspections and other visits have been conducted at properties in Beeston and Harehills under their existing schemes, which both come to an end next year.
Landlords have had to carry out improvement work on more than 1,500 homes where issues were identified during these checks.
The visits have also given council officers increased opportunities to identify situations where tenants are facing non-housing related problems, with more than 1,700 referrals being made to partner agencies for support with health, financial and other challenges.
The areas provisionally earmarked for the new scheme all sit within the Armley, Beeston & Holbeck, Burmantofts & Richmond Hill, Gipton & Harehills and Hunslet & Riverside council wards.
These wards have higher levels of deprivation than the city as a whole and an above-average concentration of private rented housing.
A decision on whether to bring in the new Selective Licensing in East, South & West Leeds scheme is expected in the first half of 2025.
To learn more about the consultation and how to submit feedback, click here. Further information can also be obtained by e-mailing ESWselective.licensing@leeds.gov.uk or ringing 0113 378 2899.
OeNB | SUERF | Joint Vienna Institute | Yale Program on Financial Stability Conference on Building Resilience and Managing Financial Crises Vienna, Austria Tobias Adrian, IMF Financial Counsellor and Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department
September 18, 2024
It is a great pleasure to speak to you today on a policy area at the forefront of our work at the IMF in helping our members prepare for, and deal with, financial instability. I will provide a snapshot of the progress that has been made and what remains to be done to deal effectively with bank runs and bank failures. I will also explain what we are doing at the IMF to help our membership make further progress in this critical area.
The bank failures in 2023 in the US and Switzerland presented the most significant test since the global financial crisis of the reforms taken collectively to end “too-big-to-fail.” It’s not often that policymakers get to field test plans for dealing with failing systemic banks, let alone one for a global systemically important bank (G-SIB).
In our view, the failures of Credit Suisse in Switzerland and SVB, Signature, and First Republic in the US, showed that while significant progress has been made, further progress is still required to deliver on the too-big-to-fail reform agenda and reduce the risk that taxpayers bail out shareholders and creditors when banks fail.
On the one hand, the actions the authorities took last year successfully avoided deeper financial turmoil. In addition, unlike many of the failures during the global financial crisis, significant losses were shared with the shareholders and some creditors of the failed banks. However, taxpayers were once again on the hook as extensive public support was used to protect more than just the insured depositors of failed banks.
In Switzerland, amid a massive creditor run, the Credit Suisse acquisition was backed by a government guarantee and liquidity facilities nearly equal to a quarter of Swiss economic output. While the public support was ultimately recovered, it entailed very significant contingent fiscal risk, and created a larger, more systemic bank. Indeed, UBS now has the largest ratio of assets to home country GDP of any individual G-SIB.
The use of standing resolution powers to transfer ownership of Credit Suisse, after bailing in shareholders and creditors, rather than relying on emergency legislation to effect a merger, would have fully wiped out the equity of Credit Suisse shareholders and limited the need for public support.
What lessons have we learnt?
Domestic and international authorities have published extensively on the lessons learnt and we share many of the conclusions. The key points I would highlight include:
The importance of intrusive supervision and early intervention. Credit Suisse depositors lost confidence after prolonged governance and risk management failures. The banks which failed in the US pursued risky business strategies and very rapid growth with inadequate risk management. Supervisors in both jurisdictions should have acted faster and been more assertive and conclusive. Policymakers need to empower supervisors with both the ability and the will to act.
Even relatively small banks can prove systemic. A lesson from many past crises, including the US bank failures in 2023, is that you can’t always judge in advance which banking problems will become systemic. In many countries, including the US and Switzerland, we think authorities should do more to be ready for crises affecting their medium-sized banks. Banking supervisory and resolution authorities should ensure that sufficient recovery and resolution planning takes place across the banking sector as a whole. This should include, on a proportional basis, banks that may not be systemic in all circumstances, but that could certainly be systemic in some.
Central banks should be prepared to provide extensive liquidity support during a crisis. Banks should be familiar with the central bank’s operations and facilities and be ready to use them at short notice. Who can access central bank lending is also an important question as liquidity risks have partially moved away from the usual central bank counterparties. While widening the counterparty list could help central banks intervene more broadly in a crisis, it runs the risk of rewarding regulatory arbitrage, giving raise to difficult trade-offs and requiring careful assessment. Central banks may well have to lend against illiquid collateral in a crisis. In that context, prepositioning would help to ensure operational preparedness especially to ascertain the legal claim on the collateral and to calibrate appropriate haircuts. An open question is whether the prepositioning should be voluntary or required, and how much counterparties should preposition if required. The benefits of enhanced lending “fire power” would have to be compared with the cost that prepositioning entails for the banks and the costs to the central bank, including risks to its balance sheet. If propositioning is directly linked with risk (e.g., a percentage of uninsured deposit), the impact on intermediation and the interaction with other prudential regulation would need to be carefully assessed.
Resolution plans and regimes need sufficient flexibility. We very much support the conclusion of the Financial Stability Board’s lessons learned report that resolution authorities need to “better operationalize a range of resolution options for different circumstances.” Every bank failure presents different challenges and resolution authorities need to be flexible enough to deal with the actual crisis that presents itself, balancing risks to financial stability with those to taxpayers. Authorities should make sure that they carefully balance rules versus discretion and detailed planning versus optionality in designing their resolution regimes. The rapid sale of Credit Suisse should prompt us to think about what would be needed for the successful sale in resolution of even the largest banking groups, at least in some circumstances.
Strikingly, every one of the cases I mentioned from Spring 2023, involved the transfer of the failing bank’s business lines to an acquiring bank, even where this had not been the focus of prior resolution planning. Two of the US cases also involved the intermediate step of transfer to bridge banks. So, we have timely and high-profile reminders that transfer powers should be a core part of the resolution toolkit and should be duly planned for and readily implementable, including at short notice.
Cooperation and effective implementation of resolution powers across borders is imperative. One notable feature of last year’s bank failures was the degree of international cooperation between regulators and resolution authorities in their handling of these cases. The Swiss authorities worked intensively with international counterparts to prepare for a resolution of Credit Suisse, which would have needed supportive actions from the supervisors and resolution authorities responsible for Credit Suisse’s main foreign operations, including in the US, UK, and EU. SVB’s UK subsidiary was resolved by the Bank of England, ultimately being sold to HSBC, and the FSB report highlights that the UK relied on the deep relationships built over the years with their US counterparts to help implement this. This cooperation seems to have begun earlier and worked a lot better than in similar cases during the global financial crisis, such as the failure of Lehman Brothers.
That experience highlights how global financial stability depends on authorities being able to work together across borders and to build in peacetime the routine contacts and good understanding ex ante of what each authority would be likely to do to make that possible. However, there was a wrinkle in this otherwise positive experience, as highlighted in the Financial Stability Board’s report on the bank failures, which relates to the importance of the US securities markets to most major foreign banks. Credit Suisse and most other major banks have debt securities issued in US dollars and/or under New York law, the holders of which may incur losses in a resolution. As a recent report of the Financial Stability Board highlighted, there remain significant open questions about how disclosure and other US securities legal requirements would be applied in the circumstances where securities issued in the US are envisaged to be converted in a short period, for example, over a resolution weekend. This is an important issue where further work is needed and this is being taken forward by the Financial Stability Board, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and others.
Finally, effective deposit insurance regimes are crucial. Banks typically fail when creditors lose confidence, even before their balance sheet reflects potential losses. Authorities in many countries need to strengthen deposit insurance regimes. New technology like 24/7 payments, mobile banking, and social media have accelerated deposit runs. Last year’s failures followed rapid deposit withdrawals, and deposit insurers and other authorities should be ready and able to act more quickly than many currently can.
IMF staff are working actively to support efforts in member countries to strengthen their supervision, resolution, liquidity assistance, and deposit insurance frameworks including through FSAPs and technical assistance. In the US, we have seen lessons learned reports and policy proposals from many of the US banking authorities, several of which pick up on issues and recommendations that were discussed in the IMF’s assessment of the US financial sector (“FSAP”) in 2020. Our next FSAPs for Switzerland and the Euro Area will be published next year, and as we start work on that we will be taking a close look at the authorities’ and the FSB’s findings and will likely reiterate many of our previous findings, including on strengthening deposit insurance regimes. We are also contributing to policy formulation at the international level, including a recently announced review of the international deposit insurance standard, and by earlier this year hosting with the Financial Stability Board a workshop for policymakers on the use of transfer powers in resolution.
The bottom line is that progress has been made, but there is still further to go in putting an end to too-big-to-fail. Most of the areas where further progress is needed are already well known; last year’s bank failures should provide the impetus for policymakers to cover the remaining ground.
This post originally appeared on theTransform with Google Cloud blog. It was first published April 12, 2024; last updated with new use cases September 24, 2024.
Since generative AI first captured the world’s attention, there’s been a vigorous discussion about what, exactly, the new technology is best used for. While we all enjoyed those early funny chats and witty limericks, we’ve quickly discovered that many of the biggest AI opportunities are clearly in the enterprise, government, and with exciting new companies.
When we first published this post during Google Cloud Next ‘24, we showcased 101 of the best use cases out of the hundreds featured across the event. Now, we’re adding another 84 to the list as customers across the globe continue to put generative AI to work.
[If you’ve visited this post in the past, you can find the newest use cases listed at the top of each section.]
In a matter of months, organizations have gone from AI helping answer questions, to AI making predictions, to generative AI agents. What makes AI agents unique is that they can take actions to achieve specific goals, whether that’s guiding a shopper to the perfect pair of shoes, helping an employee looking for the right health benefits, or supporting nursing staff with smoother patient hand-offs during shifts changes.
In our work with customers, we keep hearing that their teams are increasingly focused on improving productivity, automating processes, and modernizing the customer experience. These aims are now being achieved through the AI agents they’re developing in six key areas: customer service; employee empowerment; code creation; data analysis; cybersecurity; and creative ideation and production.
Hundreds of Google Cloud customers have now put AI agents and gen-AI solutions into production throughout their businesses and the world — with many seeing a tangible return on investment. They have come to rely on Google Cloud technologies that include our AI infrastructure, Gemini models, Vertex AI platform, Google Workspace, and Google Distributed Cloud.
Here’s a snapshot of how 185 of these industry leaders are putting AI to use today, creating real-world use cases that will transform tomorrow.
Customer agents
Similar to great sales and service people, customer agents are able to listen carefully, understand your needs, and recommend the right products and services. They work seamlessly across channels including the web, mobile, and point of sale, and can be integrated into product experiences with voice and video.
1.Alaska Airlines is developing natural language search, providing travelers with a conversational experience powered by AI that’s akin to interacting with a knowledgeable travel agent. This chatbot aims to streamline travel booking, enhance customer experience, and reinforce brand identity.
2. Bennie Health uses Vertex AI to power its innovative employee health benefits platform, providing actionable insights and streamlining data management in order to enhance efficiency and decision-making for employees and HR teams.
3. Beyond 12, a tech-enabled nonprofit focused on student empowerment, has developed an AI-powered college coach to offer scalable coaching to first-generation students that’s available over text, app, and the web.
4. CareerVillage is building an app called Coach to empower job seekers, especially underrepresented youth, in their career preparedness; already featuring 35 career development activities, the aim is to have more than 100 by next year.
5. Character.ai built its realistic conversational chat platform using the full stack of Google Cloud AI services, including for model training and daily operations, allowing it to manage terabytes of conversations each day without interruption.
6. Click Therapeutics develops prescription digital therapeutics designed to treat disease. Its Clinical Operations team leverages Gemini for Google Workspace to transform complex operations data into actionable insights, so they can quickly pinpoint ways to streamline the patient experience in clinical trials.
7. Formula E can now summarize a two-hour long race commentary into a 2-minute podcast in any language, incorporating driver data and ongoing seasonal storylines.
8. General Motors’ OnStar has been augmented with new AI features, including a virtual assistant powered by Google Cloud’s conversational AI technologies that are better able to recognize the speaker’s intent.
9. Gojek, an Indonesia-based super app, launched “Dira by GoTo AI,” a Bahasa Indonesia AI-powered voice assistant integrated into their GoPay service, allowing customers to use voice command to eliminate typing and scrolling, and complete tasks like bill payments and money transfers with fewer steps.
10. GroupBy, an ecommerce service provider, developed an AI-first Search and Discovery Platform powered by Vertex AI Search for Retail. This solution is meticulously designed to optimize revenue, strengthen brand loyalty, and drive sales growth for B2C and B2B retailers.
11. Hotelplan Suisse built a chatbot trained on the business’s travel expertise to answer customer inquiries in real-time, and, following that success, it plans to use gen AI to create travel content.
12. Justicia Lab is developing an AI-powered assistant that will simplify legal processes for asylum seekers and immigrants; by uploading a picture from a legal letter or document, users can extract valuable information and then receive personalized guidance and next steps.
13. Mercado Libre has incorporated semantic search into its digital shopping platforms, using AI embeddings from the Vertex AI Agent Builder, which greatly improved product recommendations and discoverability for more than 200 million consumers across Latin America.
14. Motorola’s Moto AI leverages Gemini and Imagen to help smartphone users unlock new levels of productivity, creativity, and enjoyment with features such as conversation summaries, notification digests, image creation, and natural language search — all with reliable responses grounded in Google Search.
15. mRelief has built an SMS-accessible AI chatbot to simplify the application process for the SNAP food assistance program in the U.S., featuring easy-to-understand eligibility information and direct assistance within minutes rather than days.
16. Personal AI offers a “personal language model” using only the data of one individual or brand and allowing them to control and own how it is used. Built on your own data, facts, and opinions, it creates a responsive and interactive messaging experience that helps people be more productive and deepen relationships.
17. PODS worked with the advertising agency Tombras to create the “World’s Smartest Billboard” using Gemini — a campaign on its trucks that could adapt to each neighborhood in New York City, changing in real-time based on data. It hit all 299 neighborhoods in just 29 hours, creating more than 6,000 unique headlines.
18. Quora developed Poe, its own generative AI platform for people to discover and chat with AI-powered bots, including Gemini, Anthropic’s Claude, Meta’s Llama, and Mistral’s Large 2 — many of which are hosted on Google Cloud’s purpose-built AI infrastructure.
19. ScottsMiracle-Gro built an AI agent on Vertex AI to provide tailored gardening advice and product recommendations for consumers.
20. Snap has deployed the multimodal capability of Gemini within its “My AI” chatbot and has since seen over 2.5-times as much engagement within Snapping to My AI in the United States.
21. Tabiya has built a conversational interface, Compass, that helps young people find employment opportunities; the platform asks questions and requests information, drawing out skills and experiences and matching those to appropriate roles.
22. Telecom Italia (TIM) implemented a Google-powered voice agent to address many customer calls, increasing efficiency by 20%.
23. UPS Capital launched DeliveryDefense Address Confidence, which uses machine learning and UPS data to provide a confidence score for shippers to help them determine the likelihood of a successful delivery.
24. Volkswagen of America built a virtual assistant in the myVW app, where drivers can explore their owners’ manuals and ask questions, such as, “How do I change a flat tire?” or “What does this digital cockpit indicator light mean?” Users can also use Gemini’s multimodal capabilities to see helpful information and context on indicator lights simply by pointing their smartphone cameras at the dashboard.
25. ADT is building a customer agent to help its millions of customers select, order, and set up their home security.
26. Alaska Airlines is developing a personalized travel search experience using advanced AI techniques, creating hyper-personalized recommendations that engage customers early and foster loyalty through AI-generated content.
27. Best Buy is using Gemini to launch a generative AI-powered virtual assistant this summer that can troubleshoot product issues, reschedule order deliveries, manage Geek Squad subscriptions, and more; in-store and digital customer-service associates are also gaining gen-AI tools to better serve customers anywhere they need help.
28. The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority is using Vertex AI to modernize transportation operations for a smoother, more efficient journey.
29. Etsy uses Vertex AI training to optimize their search recommendations and ads models, delivering better listing suggestions to buyers and helping sellers grow their businesses.
30. IHG Hotels & Resorts is building a generative AI-powered chatbot to help guests easily plan their next vacation directly in the IHG One Rewards mobile app.
31. ING Bank aims to offer a superior customer experience and has developed a gen-AI chatbot for workers to enhance self-service capabilities and improve answer quality on customer queries.
32. Magalu, one of Brazil’s largest retailers, has put customer service at the center of its AI strategy, including using Vertex AI to create “Lu’s Brain” to power an interactive conversational agent for Lu, Magalu’s popular brand persona (the 3D bot has more than 14 million followers between TikTok and Instagram).
33. Mercedes Benz will infuse e-commerce capabilities into its online storefront with a gen AI-powered smart sales assistant. Mercedes also plans to expand its use of Google Cloud AI in its call centers and is using Vertex AI and Gemini to personalize marketing campaigns.
34. Oppo/OnePlus is incorporating Gemini models and Google Cloud AI into their phones to deliver innovative customer experiences, including news and audio recording summaries, AI toolbox, and more.
35. Samsung is deploying Gemini Pro and Imagen 2 to their Galaxy S24 smartphones so users can take advantage of amazing features like text summarization, organization, and magical image editing.
36. The Minnesota Division of Driver and Vehicle Services helps non-English speakers get licenses and other services with two-way real-time translation.
37. Pepperdine University has students and faculty who speak many languages, and with Gemini in Google Meet, they can benefit from real-time translated captioning and notes.
38. Sutherland, a leading digital transformation company, is focused on bringing together human expertise and AI, including boosting its client-facing teams by automatically surfacing suggested responses and automating insights in real time.
39. Target uses Google Cloud to power AI solutions on the Target app and Target.com, including personalized Target Circle offers and Starbucks at Drive Up, their curbside pickup solution.
40. Tokopedia, an Indonesian ecommerce leader, is using Vertex AI to improve data quality, increasing unique products being sold by 5%.
41. US News saw a double-digit impact in key metrics like click-through rate, time spent on page, and traffic volume to its pages after implementing Vertex AI Search.
42-45. IntesaSanpaolo, MacquarieBank, and Scotiabank are exploring the potential of gen AI to transform the way we live, work, bank, and invest — particularly how the new technology can boost productivity and operational efficiency in banking.
Employee agents
Employee agents help workers be more productive and collaborate better together. These agents can streamline processes, manage repetitive tasks, answer employee questions, as well as edit and translate critical communications.
46. 2bots offers technology solutions, such as chatbots and virtual agents, built with Google Cloud’s AI solutions; these intelligent chatbots and content generation tools are transforming the way companies interact with their customers.
47. Augment is building an AI personal assistant that offers enhanced note-taking and collects information across your apps, including calendar, email, texts, and social media, so users can more quickly and easily find personal information and keep their lives organized.
48. Bayes Impact builds AI products to support nonprofits, and its flagship product, CaseAI, is a digital case manager that integrates with an NGO’s current system to add smart features to draft action plans tailored to a beneficiary’s unique history; caseworkers have saved 25 hours of work per week on average.
49. Bell Canada has built customizable contact center solutions for its business customers that offer AI-powered agents to address callers, and Agent Assist, which listens when a human agent is on, offering suggestions and sentiment analysis. AI has contributed $20 million in savings across customer operations.
50. Best Buy can generate conversation summaries in real time using Contact Center AI, allowing live agents to give their full attention to understanding and supporting customers, resulting in a 30-to-90-second reduction in average call time and after-call work. Both customers and agents have cited improved satisfaction.
51. Camanchaca, a Chilean seafood company, took only six weeks to develop Elon, a virtual assistant that aims to provide more efficient customer service through digital channels, enhancing Camanchaca’s customer interactions.
52. Certify OS is automating credentialing, licensing, and monitoring of medical providers for healthcare networks, relieving the burden of time-consuming and often siloed information.
53. Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs widely uses Gemini for Google Workspace, estimating that employees are saving an average five hours per week just with AI capabilities in Gmail. Gemini is also streamlining time-consuming, manual processes through uses like AI-generated transcriptions and auto-formatting of pharmaceutical lab results or FDA compliance documentation.
54. Dun & Bradstreet built an email-generation tool with Gemini that helps sellers create tailored, personalized communications to prospects and customers for its research services. The company also developed intelligent search capabilities to help users with complex queries like, “Find me all the companies in this area with a high ESG rating.”
55. England’s Football Association is training Vertex AI on the FA’s historical and current scouting reports so they can be transformed into concise summaries, helping national teams discover future talent.
56. Fireflies.ai can transcribe, summarize, and analyze meetings, recordings, and other voice conversations to save time and improve collaboration and information sharing across teams.
57. Fluna, a Pan-African digital services company, has automated the analysis and drafting of legal agreements using Vertex AI, Document AI, and Gemini 1.5 Pro, achieving an accuracy of 92% in data extraction while ensuring security and reliability for sensitive information.
58. Hemominas, Brazil’s largest blood bank, partnered with Xertica to develop an omnichannel chatbot for donor search and scheduling, streamlining processes and enhancing efficiency. The AI solution has the potential to save half-a-million lives annually by attracting more donors and optimizing blood supply management.
59. Hiscox used BigQuery and Vertex AI to create the first AI-enhanced lead underwriting model for insurers, automating and accelerating the quoting for complex risks from three days down to a few minutes.
60. LiveX AI delivers AI Agents that swiftly enhance product education, boost customer conversion, reduce churn, and provide personalized customer support, with the goal of offering everyone a seamless VIP experience across their customer journey.
61. Opportunity@Work is applying gen AI to scale a suite of software tools and APIs that help employers identify “STAR” job candidates — “skilled through alternative routes” such as community college, military service, and on-the-job experience — helping fill roles in a tight market and expand opportunities.
62. QuantumMetric has introduced Felix AI, powered by Gemini Pro, to simplify digital analytics and decision making. Felix AI automatically summarizes a user’s web or mobile session and consolidates the moments that matter most into short, readable summaries for customer service workers.
63. Randstad, a large HR services and talent provider, is using Gemini for Workspace across its organization to transform its work culture, leading to a more culturally diverse and inclusive workplace that’s seen a double-digit reduction in sick days.
64. Sprinklr built Sprinklr AI+ into its unified customer experience management platform, giving brands gen-AI capabilities for customer service, insights, social media management, and marketing that has enterprise-grade governance, security, and data privacy built-in.
65. Thomson Reuters added Gemini Pro to its suite of large language models approved for employee use; with its 2-million-token context window, Gemini makes some tasks as much as 10-times faster to process and can process entire documents in context.
66. Warner Bros. Discovery built an AI captioning tool with Vertex AI and saw a 50% reduction in overall costs, and an 80% reduction in the time it takes to manually caption a file without the use of machine learning.
67. The U.S. Air Force built a new proof-of-concept portal for searching, browsing, and reading e-published PDFs — all within a 90-day deadline that leveraged the prebuilt tools and speed of Vertex AI Search and Conversation.
68. Avery Dennison empowered their employees with generative AI to enable secure, flexible, and borderless collaboration for enhanced productivity to drive growth.
69. Bank of New York Mellon built a virtual assistant to help employees find relevant information and answers to their questions.
70. Bayer is building a radiology platform that will assist radiologists with data analysis, intelligent search, and to create documents that meet healthcare requirements needed for regulatory approval. The bioscience company is also harnessing BigQuery and Vertex AI to develop additional digital medical solutions and drugs more efficiently.
71. Bristol Myers Squibb is transforming its document processes for clinical trials using Vertex AI and Google Workspace. Now, documentation that took scientists weeks now gets to a first draft in minutes.
72. BenchSci develops generative AI solutions empowering scientists to understand complex connections in biological research, saving them time and financial resources and ultimately bringing new medicine to patients faster.
73. Cintas is using Vertex AI Search to develop an internal knowledge center for customer service and sales teams to easily find key information.
74. Covered California, the state’s healthcare marketplace, is using Document AI to help improve the consumer and employee experience by automating parts of the documentation and verification process when residents apply for coverage.
75. Dasa, the largest medical diagnostics company in Brazil, is helping physicians detect relevant findings in test results more quickly.
76. DaVita leverages DocAI and Healthcare NLP to transform kidney care, including analyzing medical records, uncovering critical patient insights, and reducing errors. AI enables physicians to focus on personalized care, resulting in significant improvements in healthcare delivery.
77. Discover Financial helps their 10,000 contact center representatives to search and synthesize information across detailed policies and procedures during calls.
78. HCA Healthcare is testing Cati, a virtual AI caregiver assistant that helps to ensure continuity of care when one caregiver shift ends and another begins. They are also using gen AI to improve workflows on time-consuming tasks, such as clinical documentation, so physicians and nurses can focus more on patient care.
79. The Home Depot has built an application called Sidekick, which helps store associates manage inventory and keep shelves stocked; notably, vision models help associates prioritize which actions to take.
80. Los Angeles Rams are utilizing AI across the board from content analysis to player scouting.
81. McDonald’s will leverage data, AI, and edge technologies across its thousands of restaurants to implement innovation faster and to enhance employee and customer experiences.
82. Pennymac, a leading US-based national mortgage lender, is using Gemini across several teams including HR, where Gemini in Docs, Sheets, Slides and Gmail is helping them accelerate recruiting, hiring, and new employee onboarding.
83. Robert Bosch, the world’s largest automotive supplier, revolutionizes marketing through gen AI-powered solutions, streamlining processes, optimizing resource allocation, and maximizing efficiency across 100+ decentralized departments.
84. Symphony, the communications platform for the financial services industry, uses Vertex AI to help finance and trading teams collaborate across multiple asset classes.
85. Uber is using AI agents to help employees be more productive, save time, and be even more effective at work. For customer service representatives, they’ve launched new tools that summarize communications with users and can even surface context from previous interactions, so front-line staff can be more helpful and effective.
86. The U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs is using AI at the edge to improve cancer detection for service members and veterans. The Augmented Reality Microscope (ARM) is deployed at remote military treatment facilities around the world. The prototype device is helping pathologists find cancer faster and with better accuracy.
87. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has improved the quality and efficiency of their patent and trademark examination process by implementing AI-driven technologies.
88. Verizon is using generative AI to help teams in network operations and customer experience get the answers they need faster.
89. Victoria’s Secret is testing AI-powered agents to help their in-store associates find information about product availability, inventory, and fitting and sizing tips, so they can better tailor recommendations to customers.
90. Vodafone uses Vertex AI to search and understand specific commercial terms and conditions across more than 10,000 contracts with more than 800 communications operators
91. WellSky is integrating Google Cloud’s healthcare and Vertex AI capabilities to reduce the time spent completing documentation outside work hours.
92. Woolworths, the leading retailer in Australia, boosts employees’ confidence in communications with “Help me write” across Google Workspace products for more than 10,000 administrative employees. It’s also using Gemini to create next-generation promotions, as well as for quickly assisting customer service reps in summarizing all previous customer interactions in real time.
93-97. Box, Typeface, Glean, CitiBank, and Securiti AI discuss developing AI-powered apps across the enterprise, with measurable returns on investment for marketing, financial services, and HR use cases.
98-99. Highmark Health and Freenome join Bristol Myers Squibb to explore how AI can improve efficiency and innovation across care delivery, drug discovery, clinical trial planning, and bringing medicines to market.
Code agents
Code agents are helping developers and product teams to design, create, and operate applications faster and better, and to ramp up on new languages and code bases. Many organizations are already seeing double-digit gains in productivity, leading to faster deployment and cleaner, clearer code.
100. Labelbox has built a fully managed AI model evaluation solution directly integrated into the Vertex AI platform, allowing Google Cloud users to seamlessly launch human evaluation jobs and set specific criteria for evaluation, such as question-answering and summarization; this eases and accelerates the ability to deploy human-in-the-loop AI systems with higher levels of trust and authority.
101. Leroy Merlin, a global home improvement retailer, developed its Pull Request Analyzer using Vertex AI. This generative AI solution summarizes code changes, helping developers understand projects faster and improve code review efficiency.
102. Linear, a product development platform, built Similar Issues, a feature that uses AI to detect and prevent duplicate or overlapping tickets and ensures cleaner and more accurate data representation.
103. Magic is building a developer platform with a 100-million-token context window, so organizations can upload extremely large code bases and more easily query and build on them using gen AI assistance.
104. Pinecone provides infrastructure for developers to build accurate, secure, and scalable AI applications, allowing companies to easily ground gen AI apps in their proprietary data for use in AI search, retrieval-augmented generation, coding agents, and more.
105. Regnology built its Ticket-to-Code Writer tool with Gemini 1.5 Pro to automate the conversion of bug tickets into actionable code, significantly streamlining the software development process.
106. Weights & Biases, a creator of AI tools for developers, created W&B Weave, a lightweight toolkit to track, evaluate, and debug gen AI applications built with Gemini, so teams can confidently go from demo to production.
107. Capgemini has been using Code Assist to improve software engineering productivity, quality, security, and developer experience, with early results showing workload gains for coding and more stable code quality.
108. Commerzbank is enhancing developer efficiency through Code Assist’s robust security and compliance features.
109. Quantiphi saw developer productivity gains of more than 30% during their Code Assist pilot.
110. Replit developers will get access to Google Cloud infrastructure, services, and foundation models via Ghostwriter, Replit’s software development AI, while Google Cloud and Workspace developers will get access to Replit’s collaborative code editing platform.
111. Seattle Children’s hospital is using AI to boost data engineering productivity and accelerate development.
112. Turing is customizing Gemini Code Assist on their private codebase, empowering their developers with highly personalized and contextually relevant coding suggestions that have increased productivity around 30 percent and made day-to-day coding more enjoyable.
113. Wayfair piloted Code Assist, and those developers with the code agent were able to set up their environments 55 percent faster than before, there was a 48 percent increase in code performance during unit testing, and 60 percent of developers reported that they were able to focus on more satisfying work.
Data agents
Data agents are like having knowledgeable data analysts and researchers at your fingertips. They can help answer questions about internal and external sources, synthesize research, develop new models — and, best of all, help find the questions we haven’t even thought to ask yet, and then help get the answers.
114. 180Seguros is powering its data management platform for employees with Google Cloud AI and BigQuery to improve operational metric tracking, allowing for 3X faster query times.
115. Addy AI is helping mortgage lenders and banks automate their lending processes with custom AI models trained on Vertex AI. For example, the platform can extract loan opportunity details from lengthy email threads with numerous attachments.
116. Bayer Crop Science has developed Climate FieldView, a comprehensive agricultural platform with more than 250 layers of data and billions of data points; AI-powered recommendations allow farmers to design and monitor their fields for greater yields and efficient fertilization, with the added benefit of reduced carbon emissions.
117. CME Group is building a first-of-its-kind cloud-based commodities trading platform with AI tools built-in, offering CME’s trading customers access to deeper insights and smarter trades as well as rapid experimentation on new trading strategies that won’t interrupt existing trade flows.
118. Digits is developing next-gen accounting software for startups and small businesses; using AI-driven bookkeeping, expense management, and financial analysis, Digits enables business owners to achieve financial clarity and focus on growth.
119. Elanco, a leader in animal health, has implemented a gen AI framework supporting critical business processes, such as Pharmacovigilance, Customer Orders, and Clinical Insights. The framework, powered by Vertex AI and Gemini, has resulted in an estimated ROI of $1.9 million since launching last year.
120. Full Fact, a UK-based nonprofit working in 18 countries to combat misinformation, is now using gen AI to actively monitor stories so its 30 fact-checking partner organizations can focus on addressing specific claims and harmful information.
121. Fullstory, a digital behavioral data platform, is building the ability to analyze and summarize user behavior on a site to create more informed and enriching chatbot experiences; responses are more relevant and accurate, ultimately improving virtual agent performance and customer experience
122. GamudaBerhad, a Malaysian infrastructure and property management company, has integrated a Gemini-powered conversational agent into its cloud-based Tunnel Insight platform, providing faster information and insights during construction projects.
123. IntelligenciaAI is using AI models to research novel new drugs, relying on Google Cloud’s AI-optimized infrastructure to deliver scalable research that is accurate and transparent to meet the stringent needs of medicine.
124. IPRally built a custom machine-learning platform that uses natural language processing on the text of more than 120 million global patent documents, creating an accurate, easily searchable database that adds more than 200,000 new sources a week.
125. Ipsos built a data analysis tool for its teams of market researchers, eliminating the need for time-consuming requests to data analysts, which is powered by Gemini 1.5 Pro and Flash models as well as Grounding with Google Search to enhance real-world accuracy from contemporaneous Search information.
126. Materiom, a startup researching zero-waste, bio-based alternatives to fossil-fuel-made products like plastics, is creating a gen AI tool that enables entrepreneurs to develop novel compostable materials with broad applications; AI offers faster research and information gathering to speed up the development process.
127. Mendel has built a clinical AI system designed to break down the longstanding silos in medical data, boosting accuracy, accessibility, and ultimately patient health outcomes.
128. NeuroPace, a medical device company, built a solution to quickly identify effective epilepsy treatment options best suited to different patients; by analyzing brainwave patterns, it can find similar patients and apply successful therapies, streamlining personalized care.
129. NotCo, a Chilean food tech company, partnered with Eleven Solutions to develop a conversational AI chatbot powered by Gemini; the chatbot has revolutionized data access, allowing employees to instantly query their SAP system and gain real-time insights for faster, data-driven decision-making.
130. SURA Investments, the largest asset manager in Latin America, developed an AI-based analysis model for employees that allows them to better understand customer needs and improve customer experience and satisfaction.
131. AI21 Labs offers a BigQuery integration called Contextual Answers that allows users to query data conversationally and get high-quality answers quickly.
132. Anthropic has partnered with Google Cloud to offer its family of Claude 3 models on Vertex AI — providing organizations with more model options for intelligence, speed, cost-efficiency, and vision for enterprise use cases.
133. The Asteroid Institute is using AI to discover hidden asteroids in existing astronomical data. This is a major focus for astronomers researching the evolution of the Solar System, investors and businesses hoping to fly missions to asteroids, and for all of us who want to prevent future large asteroid impacts on Earth.
134. Contextual is working with Google Cloud to offer enterprises fully customizable, trustworthy, privacy-aware AI grounded in internal knowledge bases.
135. Cox 2M, the commercial IoT division of Cox Communications, is able to make smarter, faster business decisions using AI-powered analytics.
136. Essential AI, a developer of enterprise AI solutions, is using Google Cloud’s AI-optimized TPU v5p accelerator chips to train its own AI models.
137. Generali Italia, Italy’s largest insurance provider, used Vertex AI to build a model evaluation pipeline that helps ML teams quickly evaluate performance and deploy models.
138. Globo, one of Brazil’s largest media networks, is using Service Extensions and Media CDN to fight piracy during live events by blocking pirated streams in real time.
139. Golden State Warriors are using AI to improve the fan experience content in their Chase Center app.
140. Hugging Face is collaborating with Google across open science, open source, cloud, and hardware to enable companies to build their own AI with the latest open models from Hugging Face and Google Cloud hardware and software.
141. Kakao Brain, part of Korean technology company Kakao Group, has built a large-scale AI language model that is the largest Korean language-specific LLM in the market, with 66 billion parameters. They’ve also developed a text-to-image generator called Karlo.
142. Mayo Clinic has given thousands of its scientific researchers access to 50 petabytes worth of clinical data through Vertex AI search, accelerating information retrieval across multiple languages.
143. McLaren Racing is using Google AI to get up-to-the-millisecond insights during races and training to gain a competitive edge.
144. Mercado Libre is testing BigQuery and Looker to optimize capacity planning and reservations with delivery carriers and airlines to fulfill shipments faster.
145. Mistral AI will use Google Cloud’s AI-optimized infrastructure, to further test, build, and scale up its LLMs, all while benefiting from Google Cloud’s security and privacy standards.
146. MSCI uses machine learning with Vertex AI, BigQuery and Cloud Run to enrich its datasets to help our clients gain insight into around 1 million asset locations to help manage climate-related risks.
147. NewsCorp is using Vertex AI to help search data across 30,000 sources and 2.5 billion news articles updated daily.
148. Orange operates in 26 countries where local data must be kept in each country. They are using AI on Google Distributed Cloud to improve network performance and deliver super-responsive translation capabilities.
149. Spotify leveraged Dataflow for large-scale generation of ML podcast previews, and they plan to keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with data engineering and data science to build better experiences for their customers and creators.
150. UPS is building a digital twin of its entire distribution network, so both workers and customers can see where their packages are at any time.
151. Workday is using natural language processing in Vertex Search and Conversation to make data insights more accessible for technical and non-technical users alike.
152. Woven — Toyota‘s investment in the future of mobility — is partnering with Google to leverage vast amounts of data and AI to enable autonomous driving, supported by thousands of ML workloads on Google Cloud’s AI Hypercomputer. This has resulted in resulting in 50% total-cost-of-ownership savings to support automated driving.
152-153. Broward County, Florida, and Southern California Edison are using geospatial capabilities and AI to improve infrastructure planning and monitoring, generate new insights, and create regional resilience for communities facing climate challenges today and tomorrow.
154-155. Kinaxis and Dematic are building data-driven supply chains to address logistics use cases including scenario modeling, planning, operations management, and automation.
156-157. NOAA and USAID are among the U.S. government agencies using Google Cloud AI to unlock critical data insights to streamline operations and improve mission outcomes — all with an emphasis on responsible AI.
Security agents
Security agents assist security operations by radically increasing the speed of investigations, automating monitoring and response for greater vigilance and compliance controls. They can also help guard data and models from cyberattacks, such as malicious prompt injection.
158. Apex Fintech is using Gemini in Security to accelerate the writing of complex threat detections from hours to a matter of seconds.
159. Exabeam has built a generative AI copilot for security analysts into its New-Scale Security Operations Platform.
160. Fiserv, a developer of financial services technology, can now summarize threats, find answers, and detect, validate, and respond to security events faster with the Gemini in Security Operations platform.
161. NetRise developed Trace to provide software supply chain security by introducing AI-powered intent-driven searches; these allow users to search their assets based on the underlying motives or purposes behind the code and configurations, rather than solely relying on signature-based methods.
162. Palo Alto Networks is using Gemini to create a grounded AI assistant for 24/7 security platform support in order to improve agent efficiency and response time; grounding the assistant in organizational data and security protocols has greatly improved the accuracy of responses.
163. BBVA uses AI in Google SecOps to detect, investigate, and respond to security threats with more accuracy, speed, and scale. The platform now surfaces critical security data in seconds, when it previously took minutes or even hours, and delivers highly automated responses.
164. Behavox is using Google Cloud technology and LLMs to provide industry leading regulatory compliance and front office solutions for financial institutions globally.
165. Charles Schwab has integrated their own intelligence into the AI-powered Google SecOps, so analysts can better prioritize work and respond to threats.
166. Fiserv’s security operations engineers create detections and playbooks with much less effort, while analysts get answers more quickly.
167. Grupo Boticário, one of the largest beauty retail and cosmetics companies in Brazil, employs real-time security models to prevent fraud and to detect and respond to issues.
168. Palo Alto Networks’ Cortex XSIAM, the AI-driven security operations platform, is built on more than a decade of expertise in machine-learning models and the most comprehensive, rich, and diverse data store in the industry. Backed by Google’s advanced cloud infrastructure and advanced AI services, including BigQuery and Gemini models, the combination delivers global scale and near real-time protection across all cybersecurity offerings.
169. Pfizer can now aggregate cybersecurity data sources, cutting analysis times from days to seconds.
Creative agents
Creative agents can expand your organization with the best design and production skills, working across images, slides, and exploring concepts with workers. Many organizations are building agents for their marketing teams, audio and video production teams, and all the creative people that can use a hand. With creative agents, anyone can become a designer, artist, or producer.
170. AdoreMe marketers write differentiated product descriptions in one hour, a tedious task which used to take 30-40 hours a month thanks to Gemini for Google Workspace.
171. Globo, the largest media group in Latin America, is using Google Cloud’s AI to hyper-personalize content for its streaming users, and create a better experience for spectators.
172. Higgsfield.ai built a number of text-to-video apps for consumers, including Diffuse 2.0, which can combine users photos, videos, and texts through AI models to create more realistic avatars.
173. Jasper trains its suite of creativity-, writing-, and marketing-focused AI models on Google’s AI infrastructure, delivering on-brand, data-optimized assets faster and at scale to teams large and small.
174. Puma is using Imagen to customize product photos on its website, saving time and ensuring they are locally relevant across markets; PUMA India has already seen a 10% increase in click through rate.
175. RadissonHotel Group personalized its advertising at scale in collaboration with Accenture and using Vertex AI and Gemini models, training them on extensive datasets stored in BigQuery; ad teams saw productivity rise around 50% while revenue increased from AI-powered campaigns by more than 20%
176. SquareEnix is using customer data to develop AI-optimized marketing assets to keep its gamers engaged, sharing personalized emails suited to each player’s preferences, leading to a 20% increase in email opens and a 10% increased retention rate.
177. Urmobo, a mobile-device management platform, created a virtual agent, Odin, that significantly improved user experience and reduced support tickets by enabling clients to interact with the platform using natural language.
178. The World Bank is developing a tool to extract key information from research literature on the causal impact of development interventions, with the ultimate goal to empower decision-makers to allocate the $220B in annual aid and trillions in annual impact investing more effectively.
179. Belk ECommerce is using generative AI to craft better product descriptions, a necessary yet time-consuming task for digital retails that has often been done manually.
180. Canva is using Vertex AI to power its Magic Design for Video, helping users skip tedious editing steps while creating shareable and engaging videos in a matter of seconds.
181. Carrefour used Vertex AI to deploy Carrefour Marketing Studio in just five weeks — an innovative solution to streamline the creation of dynamic campaigns across various social networks. In just a few clicks, marketers can build ultra-personalized campaigns to deliver customers advertising that they care about.
182. Major League Baseball continues to innovate its Statcast platform, so teams, broadcasters, and fans have access to live in-game insights.
183. Paramount currently relies on manual processes to create the essential metadata and video summaries used across its Paramount+ platform for showcasing content and creating personalized experiences for viewers. VertexAI Text Bison is now helping to streamline this process.
184. Procter & Gamble used Imagen to develop an internal gen AI platform to accelerate the creation of photo-realistic images and creative assets, giving marketing teams more time to focus on high-level planning and delivering superior experiences for its consumers.
185. WPP will integrate Google Cloud’s gen AI capabilities into its intelligent marketing operating system, called WPP Open, which empowers its people and clients to deliver new levels of personalization, creativity, and efficiency. This includes the use of Gemini 1.5 Pro models to supercharge both the accuracy and speed of content performance predictions.
To find even more customers using our AI tools to build agents and solutions for their most important enterprise projects, visit the Google Cloud customer hub.
A planning application for a £15million urban park in Queen Street has been made by Aberdeen City Council.
The park would be a key element in the redevelopment of Queen Street, which is part of the Council’s City Centre and Beach Masterplan to transform Aberdeen.
It would include outdoor seating, informal performance spaces, a terraced garden, a sensory garden and enhanced street greening. The application follows several months of consultation with neighbouring organisations and other stakeholders.
The new park would be located on land on the other side of Queen Street from the former police headquarters building. Options for the former police building are currently being reviewed by the council.
Each space within the urban park would perform a range of environmental and social functions which will be categorised by the overarching themes of urban nature, community, heritage, and arts and culture.
It would also improve pedestrian and cycle movement between the city centre and the beach.
It is also hoped that the new park will help encourage investment by the surrounding private buildings and landowners.
Blind and partially sighted supporters to avail of new commentary service at Brandywell games
24 September 2024
Visually impaired or blind spectators attending Derry City games at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium can now avail of a new service that will give them a live audio description of games.
The new programme has been designed to allow the supporters to listen to descriptive commentary that will be transmitted to a radio receiver through a headset from anywhere within the stadium. The commentary will be provided by Drive 105.
The new service will be available for Derry City’s forthcoming games versus Sligo Rovers, Bohemians and Shelbourne and is available to home and away supporters.
The equipment has been installed by stadium owners Derry City and Strabane District Council following a report on accessibility improvements at the stadium being approved by Elected Members of Council’s Health and Community Committee in May.
Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Councillor Lilian Seenoi Barr, said it will allow more supporters to enjoy the match day experience.
“This is brilliant news for blind and visually impaired supporters who can now be more involved and enjoy an enhanced match day at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium.
“I have had the opportunity to attend a number of games in recent months when I experienced the noise and excitement for myself, and I am so delighted more people can now feel included and part of that.
“I would like to thank Council Officers for bringing the project to fruition so quickly, the RNIB for their input in the project development, Derry City FC who will manage the service at games and Drive 105 for providing commentary from their Match Night Live service.”
The service at the Ryan McBride Stadium is similar to the Soccer Sight programme that was successfully implemented at Windsor Park in Belfast.
Campaigns Officer for RNIB Northern Ireland, Michéal Smith, attended Friday’s match at The Brandywell and said: “RNIB Northern Ireland is delighted to be involved in this initiative.
“Blind and partially sighted fans should be able to enjoy watching a live football match in an accessible environment which welcomes both participants and those who visit sporting facilities to follow the action.
“Too often, access to and within grounds and stadia, the facilities on offer, the accessible communication and the return travel, can be difficult to negotiate or completely absent. In many cases this deters sports fans with sight loss from getting involved.
“Football is for everyone and we commend The Brandywell for introducing Audio Description technology to the stadium. Many thanks to stadium announcer Martin Bradley for all his assistance.
“We thank local RNIB volunteer Rory McCartney and Richard Moore from Derry’s Drive 105 community radio station for their brilliant work together to make this happen. We also thank Derry and Strabane District Council – particularly Councillor Emma McGinley, Councillor Aisling Hutton and Leisure Area Manager Steve Setterfield, for helping bring this project to fruition. This is a great example of the Council’s ongoing partnership with RNIB to help Derry/Londonderry become a ‘Visually Aware City.’”
Derry City’s Robert Martin added: “Derry City FC is delighted to note the success of the new ‘Brandywell Audio Assistant’ service that was trialled in our home game against Shamrock Rovers on Friday night.
“Anything that enhances the match night experience at the ground is warmly welcomed and no doubt our visually impaired supporters will be happy to make use of the headsets going forward.
“We congratulate all involved in the development of this project and encourage anyone who feels they may benefit from the service to speak with stadium stewards.
“The sets will be stored in the Communications room and signed in and out by an appointed club delegate.”
For further information on accessing the new service contact Rory McCartney (RNIB), [email protected].
Record high NHS 24 workforce to meet increased demand.
A record number of NHS 24 call handlers will support the public to access the most appropriate care this winter as services deal with increased demand.
Through the Scottish Government and COSLA’s joint Winter Preparedness Plan, continued investment for NHS 24 will increase service capacity to provide clinical supervision for at least 150,000 additional calls per year and help prevent unnecessary A&E attendances.
Key measures to support services in the face of increased demand, include; improving discharge planning for patients admitted to acute or community hospitals, maintaining established care at home packages and a Government led delayed discharge response team to directly support Boards in need of assistance. Planned care capacity will also be safeguarded with a continued focus on clearing long waits.
The annual winter vaccination programme, which includes respiratory condition RSV for the first time, will support a reduction in severe disease, hospitalisation and mortality – while protecting health and social care service capacity. The joint plan also sets out action to support the mental health and well-being of service staff through increased flexible working options and dedicated mental health resources.
This year’s plan has been published a month ahead of last year, and earlier than ever before, to allow more time for NHS Boards and care providers to prepare for winter surges in demand.
Health Secretary Neil Gray said:
“As winter approaches, the NHS will see surges in demand across all health, social care and social work services. Our joint-plan Winter Plan with COSLA is just one part of a wider programme of work to respond to heightened demand.
“A record number of NHS 24 call handlers will be available this winter to direct people to the most appropriate care, helping reduce unnecessary A&E attendances. We will continue our work to reduce delayed discharge in hospitals with an increased focus on effective discharge planning and protecting care at home packages. We will also ensure planned care capacity is protected as much as possible in the face of winter pressure so patients are seen as quickly as possible.
“We are prioritising frontline services with over £14.2 billion investment in our boards this year – an almost 3% real terms uplift – and also investing £2 billion in social care services.
“I thank all health, social care and social work staff for their continued efforts and dedication to deliver high quality care. It is fundamental we safeguard their wellbeing, and improved options on flexible working and continued access to mental health resources will ensure staff are supported over this challenging period.”
COSLA Health and Social Care Spokesperson, Councillor Paul Kelly said:
“It is our shared responsibility to ensure that people and communities have timely access to quality care and support when they need it most. We know that Local Government and Health and Social Care Partnerships across Scotland are working hard to plan and deliver the essential health and social care services our communities rely on every day.
“The context within which this takes place is increasingly challenging, which is why COSLA have worked jointly with the Scottish Government to produce this plan. Local Government plays a key role in supporting people to experience better wellbeing and better outcomes, so it was only right that this plan reflects the whole system of integrated health and social care, from acute and primary care to social work, our care homes, community settings, and our partners across the sector.
“Winter is often a time of exceptional pressure on our services so I am pleased that this plan, produced with our partners across the sector, reflects the challenges and the opportunities we face.”
A prestigious international convention on Fair Trade and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be hosted in the capital in August next year.
They will take part in a three-day (29 to 31 August) series of discussions themed around the SDGs and the importance of Fair Trade in driving progress towards them. The conference will also highlight the important contributions that Edinburgh has made to Fair Trade.
Fair Trade is an international movement that aims to secure better prices, fair terms of trade, and improved working conditions for farmers, producers and workers in the global south. The movement now works with farmers and workers in more than 1,900 producer organisations across 70 countries.
The event is expected to welcome over 150 representatives from around the world, and to have 100 or more Edinburgh schoolchildren participate.
City of Edinburgh Lord Provost Robert Aldridge said:
It is a great honour that Edinburgh will be hosting this fantastic event. It gives Edinburgh and our friends across the globe the opportunity to share know-how, expertise, and best practice, while showcasing the best our city has to offer. This is a very powerful example of joint working between international partners.
As a Fairtrade City, Edinburgh is dedicated to motivating residents to work towards a common goal and stay on course by advocating for environmental sustainability and supporting local sustainable businesses.
This year Edinburgh marks 20 years as a Fairtrade City, and Scotland has recently celebrated 10 years as a Fairtrade Nation. I look forward to the gathering next year and celebrating yet another milestone in our aim to make this a world in which trade is based on fairness, and where the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are successfully implemented.”
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Reforms to apprenticeship system in England announced, alongside publication of first Skills England report highlighting nationwide skills gaps
The government is boosting opportunities for young people through ambitious apprenticeship reforms in England.
The Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson today announced a new growth and skills levy which will replace the existing apprenticeship levy and include new foundation apprenticeships.
These new apprenticeships will give young people a route in to careers in critical sectors, enabling them to earn a wage whilst developing vital skills.
The new levy will also allow funding for shorter apprenticeships, giving learners and employers greater flexibility over their training than under the existing system – where apprenticeships must run for at least 12 months.
The training eligible for funding under the new levy will develop over time, informed by Skills England’s assessment of priority skills needs.
The Department for Education will set out further details on the scope of the offer and how it will be accessed in due course.
To fund this, employers are being asked to rebalance their funding for apprenticeships, asking them to invest in younger workers. This will also involve businesses funding more of their level 7 apprenticeships – equivalent to a master’s degree and often accessed by older or already well qualified employees – outside of the levy.
The first report from Skills England, the government’s new body for the skills system, has also been published today. It provides an initial assessment of the nation’s working skills, as well as future skills needs and gaps which employers are struggling with across the country.
The report has found that employer investment in training has been in steady decline over the past decade, with training expenditure at its lowest level since records began in 2011, with investment per employee down by 19% in real terms. This highlights the need for government reforms to the skills and apprenticeships system.
It also shows that, across the UK, almost 1 in 10, or over 2.5 million roles are in critical demand, with more than 90% being in roles that require training or education.
The government launched Skills England in July to help identify skills needs. Skills England will play a crucial role in determining which types of training will be eligible for the expanded growth and skills levy and will set out shortly how they will work with stakeholders to inform their advice to DfE.
The need for jobs and skills varies across industries, with the health and social care sector experiencing the highest demand, followed by education, manufacturing, and science and technology.
Coinciding with World Cancer Research Day today, the NSW Government is committing $2.1 million in research grant funding to support the work of the state’s cancer researchers, including world-renowned Professors Georgina Long AO and Paul Timpson.
Co-Australian of the Year Professor Long and the team at Melanoma Institute Australia and The University of Sydney have been awarded almost $700,000 for an imaging system that will allow researchers to better visualise and understand tumour cell interactions across various cancer types, via the Cancer Institute NSW funding.
It is hoped an improved understanding of the tumour microenvironment will assist with cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Professor Timpson and the team at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research were awarded almost $700,000 to purchase a system that will provide unprecedented insights into cell-to-cell interactions, treatment responses and cancer dormancy to enable more effective treatment for cancers, including pancreatic, breast, and prostate cancer.
Three clinical trials grants, valued at $250,000 each, have also been funded to support projects focused on improving access to cancer clinical trials, including:
The Building Capacity in Cancer Clinical Trials across Maridulu Budyari Gumal project aims to address enrolment challenges in clinical trials by targeting populations with lower trial participation rates. This includes socioeconomic disadvantaged, culturally and linguistically diverse and rural and regional communities.
The Sydney Cancer Partners Clinical Trials Support project aims to increase recruitment from priority populations to trials, including Aboriginal, culturally and linguistically diverse and LGBITQ communities.
Targeted Cancer Clinical Trials Support for Regional NSW project aims to deliver targeted initiatives such as increased trial sites and education and training to boost clinical trial participation across the Central Coast, Hunter, New England, Mid North Coast and Northern NSW areas.
The NSW Government, through Cancer Institute NSW, is one of the largest funders of cancer research in NSW, having invested more than $470 million in the past 20 years across nearly 100 competitive research awards and grants.
Minister for Medical Research David Harris said:
“Targeted research is vital to delivering better treatments and interventions that reduce the impact of cancer and ultimately save lives.
“Our researchers strive every day to improve the lives of people in NSW and across the world, and we’re proud to invest in them to continue their work and help improve cancer outcomes for all.”
NSW Chief Cancer Officer and CEO Cancer Institute NSW, Professor Tracey O’Brien AM said:
“While significant progress has been made in understanding and treating cancer, it remains the leading cause of death in NSW with sadly one in two people set to be diagnosed with the disease in their lifetime.
“Investing in and accelerating research and innovation is key to improving our understanding of a disease that continues to devastate communities across NSW.”
Professor Georgina Long AO said:
“Technologies that provide a clear large-scale and detailed view of tumours and enable us to see how cells interact with each other are critical to move the cancer field forward.
“The imaging system, called the Phenolmager HT 2.0, which we have been able to purchase through the research equipment grant, provides the ability to better understand tumour cell interactions.
“This will enable researchers at Melanoma Institute Australia and The University of Sydney to bridge cancer research to clinical use and ultimately deliver more effective cancer treatments.”
Professor Paul Timpson said:
“The cutting-edge Akoya-PhenoCycler Fusion system will concurrently detect and visualise 100 proteins, providing unprecedented insights into cell-to-cell interactions, chemotherapy and immunotherapy responses, cancer dormancy, and novel therapies for cancers like pancreatic, breast, and prostate cancer.
“Proteins drive functional outcomes within cells, and constitute drug targets, yet existing technologies do not accurately reflect protein activity at a specific location or time.”
Transport for NSW has begun market sounding to gather proposals for the next generation Freshwater Class vessels, and how that fleet can incorporate zero-emissions technology. Transport are working with a number of locally based businesses for further development.
The next-generation Freshwaters will pay homage to their iconic forebears and will be designed and built locally. The new vessels will need to replicate the existing Freshwater’s performance in big swells and will utilise dual-level boarding to quickly load and unload big summer crowds.
The length of the new ferries will be subject to ongoing discussions and detailed design. The Freshwaters rely solely on available slots at the Australian Navy’s Captain Cook Graving Dock for major maintenance, smaller vessels are able to utilise alternative dry-docks like the NSW Government-owned Balmain Shipyard.
The NSW Government has also set a requirement that the new ferries be zero-emission, continuing the evolution of ferries on the Manly run. From paddle steamers in the 1850s, to diesel in the 1980s and soon, zero-emission electric propulsion.
The NSW Government will be able to outline an anticipated timeline for the vessels entering service on the harbour at the conclusion of the market sounding process.
This is a marked difference to the previous Government’s approach where three overseas-made vessels were purchased for the Manly run, but couldn’t handle the swell and struggle to maintain the required capacity needed on the popular route.
The Government’s commitment to extend the service life of the Freshwater class with a $71m investment will be continued with the return of the Narrabeen, expected back on the F1 route after a period of dry-docking at Garden Island in early 2025.
Two Freshwater class vessels are currently serving the F1 Manly Ferry route, with Queenscliff’s survey remaining current until November 2027, and Freshwater due to have its survey renewed in mid-2025, allowing it to operate until July 2030.
However, it’s become clear that maintaining MV Collaroy, which was removed from active service on the F1 route last September, for passenger service has become prohibitively expensive. This is due to the Collaroy’s one-of-a-kind build, which made the Collaroy the first and only ferry capable of sailing the open ocean.
Despite looking almost identical from the outside, the Collaroy’s internal and technical design – from the wheelhouse control system to the gearbox and propellors – is significantly different to the other three Freshwater Class vessels, which are virtually identical and use interchangeable parts.
This difference in design requires a different maintenance process for the Collaroy, as well as additional bespoke parts to be fabricated and an entirely separate store of spare parts kept for one vessel.
Transport will open an EOI process next month, so the Northern Beaches community and other maritime stakeholders can put forward proposals for utilising this historic vessel for years to come.
Commuters across the Harbour set to benefit from pipeline of new vessels.
The NSW Government is planning the phased replacement of all diesel-powered craft with modern vessels powered by green energy alternatives by 2035. The new vessels will be built locally, supporting the NSW Government’s commitment to local procurement.
The nine First Fleet vessels, which entered service in the mid-1980s, are set to retire by the end of the decade. Designs for their replacements are due to commence this year, in tandem with the development of charging infrastructure and necessary modifications to shipyards to accommodate electric vessels.
Transport is also preparing a business case to commission an eighth, electric-powered Parramatta River Class vessel that could be ready for trials by early 2026. This eighth vessel would be Sydney Ferries’ first electric vessel and would provide the road map for the introduction of new electric ferries across the harbour.
Sydney’s new fleet of seven Parramatta River Class ferries are currently mid-way through construction in Tasmania and have been built to support conversion to electric propulsion when shore-side charging infrastructure can be put in place.
Quotes attributable to Transport Minister Jo Haylen:
“Sydney’s iconic double-ended Manly vessels started as steam ships, became the diesel ferries we know and love today, and will soon evolve into modern electric vessels.”
“While we’ve extended the life of our Freshwater vessels, it’s important that we continue to plan for our future fleet. Manly needs high-capacity, reliable vessels that can load and unload hundreds of commuters and tourists within minutes of a ferry pulling into Manly or the Quay.
“What we found with the overseas built Emerald IIs was that they weren’t built for the conditions, and people were left on wharves in the summer months because the single gangway couldn’t load these ferries fast enough.
“These new ferries will continue the important legacy of the Freshwaters, provide the capacity the community needs and combine it with new zero-emission propulsion to deliver a next generation ferry that’ll be fit for our harbour for years to come.”
Quotes attributable to Councillor Candy Bingham, Save the Manly Ferry Committee:
“For years, I’ve said we need a long term plan for ferries on the Manly run, and I’m so pleased the Government has listened.
“We’ve called for any Freshwater replacement to be a fully electric ‘look alike’ to the Freshwater Manly Ferries, and I hope this market sounding process delivers us exactly that.
“A ferry that is just a little bit smaller won’t have to go into the Navy’s dry dock to be certified every 5 years. This will keep ferries in service on the Manly run, instead of being tied up at Balmain or Cockatoo Island waiting for maintenance.
“The Manly Ferry has always been iconic to Sydney. This next generation zero-emissions look-alike ferry will continue that history.”
Released by: The Premier, Minister for Housing, Minister for Lands and Property
The Minns Labor Government is today announcing a further 10 government-owned properties have been confirmed to deliver almost 1100 new homes as part of the government’s land audit.
The NSW Government is identifying surplus land no longer required by government in both metropolitan and regional areas that will now be made available for much needed housing.
This is part of the NSW Government’s commitment in the recent budget to deliver up to 30,000 well-located homes, close to infrastructure and transport including through a historic $5.1 billion investment in new public housing.
The latest sites identified as suitable for housing include 9 sites across Sydney and one site in Newcastle.
Three sites across Woolloomooloo, Sydney Olympic Park, and Hurstville will be transferred to Homes NSW and will deliver nearly 600 homes with more than 50 per cent anticipated to be social homes.
Sites at Marsfield, Seaforth, Minto, Newcastle and three sites at Arncliffe, will be developed into housing by either Landcom or in partnership with the private sector.
The final mix and quantity of housing on these sites, as well as the development partner, will be confirmed following further due diligence and market sounding, which will take place over the coming months.
Housing is the single largest cost of living issue faced by the people of NSW and a recent Productivity Commission report found between 2016 and 2021, Sydney lost twice as many people aged 30 to 40 as it gained.
The release of these sites is in addition to action already taken by the government to build more homes for families who need them, including the largest ever investments in social and affordable housing, as well as the largest rezoning in our state’s history.
Premier of New South Wales Chris Minns said:
“Getting more homes built for families in well located areas is top priority for our government and releasing surplus land for housing is a key part of our plan to make this a reality.”
“Housing costs are the single largest cost of living pressure faced by people across NSW and we are committed to confronting this head on.
“Young people will continue to up and leave our state because they can’t afford to buy or even rent a home here, if we don’t take action.”
Minister for Lands and Property Steve Kamper said:
“The Minns Labor Government is pulling every lever to unlock the delivery of housing because we understand we need to increase supply. Through the property audit, we are undertaking a process that has never been done before by the state government.
“The property audit is working across departments and agencies to activate surplus government land to deliver the homes our communities need.”
Minister for Housing and Minister for Homelessness Rose Jackson said:
“Unlocking government-owned land for housing is a crucial step in tackling the housing crisis head-on. We’re making sure these homes are built in areas with the infrastructure people need—near transport, schools, and essential services.
“For too long, finding affordable homes in well-located areas has been out of reach for many. This land release is a clear sign that we are committed to delivering real housing solutions for families across NSW.”
Protected zones around abortion services now in place.
Protected zones of 200 meters around all abortion services in Scotland are now in place.
Within these zones, it is now a criminal offence to intentionally or recklessly behave in ways that could influence the decisions of women and staff to access services; impede their access; or otherwise cause alarm, harassment or distress.
Police Scotland are responsible for enforcing the legislation. People who break the law can be fined up to £10,000, or be given an unlimited fine, depending on the court procedure.
Determining whether an offence has been committed will be a matter for Police Scotland, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and the Courts. Depending on the facts and circumstances of each case, some examples of criminal behaviour may include: approaching someone to try and persuade them not to access abortion services, surrounding people as they try to go in or out of the clinic or hospital, handing out leaflets, religious preaching and silent vigils.
Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health Jenni Minto said:
“The introduction of Safe Access Zones is a crucial milestone in protecting women’s abortion rights – no one has the right to interfere in women’s personal medical decisions and the law now makes that abundantly clear.
“I thank Gillian Mackay and all those involved for their work to progress this legislation. I would like especially recognise the women who showed incredible courage in speaking up and sharing their experiences during the Bill process.
“The new zones of 200 meters around all abortion services will help ensure women have safe access to healthcare – free from intimidation. This law is about protection for women at a time when many will feel incredibly vulnerable around taking a deeply personal and difficult decision.”
Background
Full details of the penalties that apply for committing an offence.
Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey
Largest federal award MBTA has won to date
Funding will increase ridership, streamline operations, and improve resiliency along Amtrak’s Downeaster route and regional rail lines
Washington, D.C. – Today, Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), along with Representatives Stephen Lynch (MA-08), Katherine Clark (MA-05), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Lori Trahan (MA-03), Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, and MBTA General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng announced a grant of $472 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) to fully replace the North Station Draw One Bridge and renovate Platform F at North Station. The grant is the largest federal award the MBTA has won to date.
The nearly half a billion dollar grant will provide critical support for one of MBTA’s top priority projects and a vital transportation asset to MBTA’s north-side operations. It will also support more than 14,500 jobs, make the bridge more climate resilient by bringing it above projected sea-level rise, and lower emissions.
Specifically, the new funding for MBTA’s North Station Renovation and the Draw One Bridge Replacement Project will support the full replacement of the existing drawbridge, the extension and activation of a platform with two tracks at North Station, and the replacement of track, signals, and switches to modernize and improve station infrastructure.
“With $472 million to replace the North Station drawbridge, we’re drawing up a new future for rail transit north of Boston. I’m grateful to the Biden-Harris administration, Governor Healey, General Manager Eng, Senator Warren, and our whole federal delegation for securing this funding. Together, we are delivering critical federal dollars to the T and building a modern, safe, and reliable public transit system for all,” said Senator Markey.
“This $472 million investment is a game-changer for the thousands of passengers who pass through North Station every day — and will build a safer, more reliable public transit system for the Commonwealth. Massachusetts leaders worked together to secure the largest ever federal award for the T, and I won’t stop fighting to bring home even more investment to improve transit across the Commonwealth,” said Senator Warren.
“We know that improving our transportation infrastructure is critical for improving quality of life and making sure Massachusetts remains the best place to live, work, raise a family and build a future,” said Governor Maura Healey. “That’s why our administration is competing so aggressively to win federal funding that can be put toward our roads, bridges and public transportation. Congratulations to General Manager Eng and the MBTA team for this award that will improve train service for millions of riders. We’re grateful to the Biden-Harris Administration and U.S. Department of Transportation for their continued investment in Massachusetts’ transportation infrastructure.”
The Draw One railbridge carries the MBTA Commuter Rail and Amtrak trains, serving approximately 11,250,000 passengers per year. It is particularly critical for Amtrak’s Downeaster, an intercity passenger rail service that travels from Maine and New Hampshire into Boston, which is projected to have some of the highest ridership in New England. Draw One is also a vital connection for all of MBTA’s north-side regional rail lines, including Fitchburg, Lowell, Haverhill, and Newburyport/Rockport. The new federal investment will improve service reliability and operations, reduce congestion along a known bottleneck, and increase capacity across the bridge. Additionally, the funding will allow for upgraded signaling and expanded track capabilities, further improving traffic flow.
“I am pleased to join my colleagues in government to announce the State of Massachusetts was awarded over $472 million in federal funding that will help improve MBTA and Amtrak services,” said Rep. Lynch. “This funding is the result of our hard work and partnership with the Biden-Harris administration to ensure we invest into our nation’s transportation and infrastructure. People all over the Commonwealth rely on public transportation every day, and this DOT grant is critical to make the necessary repairs and replacements that will make train service more safe and reliable.”
“This bridge is a critical connection point for the communities north of Boston. This federal investment will improve the quality of life for commuters, reduce traffic for everyone, and bring opportunity to the Commonwealth. We will have a faster, more modern, and more user-friendly public transportation system, and that’s exactly the direction we need to move in,” said Democratic Whip Katherine Clark.
“Transit justice is a racial and economic justice issue, and a matter of public safety – and this massive federal investment helps make the Commonwealth more connected and our transportation system safer and more reliable for commuters,” said Congresswoman Pressley. “I’m glad that families in the Massachusetts 7th who depend on the commuter rail will be better able to access jobs, healthcare, education, and essential services in other parts of the state, and we won’t stop fighting to build the more just, equitable, and accessible transit system our communities deserve. I thank my delegation colleagues and the Healey-Driscoll Administration for their partnership, and the Biden-Harris Administration for continuing to invest in Massachusetts.”
“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law continues to deliver unprecedented federal investments to make our transit systems safer and more efficient,” said Congresswoman Trahan. “This massive award is proof that, thanks to the strong partnership between our federal delegation and the Healey-Driscoll administration, Massachusetts continues to punch above our weight when competing for federal funding.”
“North Station Draw One is a connection point between Boston and Cambridge, and the many cities and towns north who rely on this train bridge to visit and work in our city. Thanks to the leadership of the MA federal delegation and the Healey-Driscoll administration in securing this funding, the Greater Boston area will see benefits from updated infrastructure and more reliable transportation. This funding for a bridge replacement represents our region’s commitment to our local economy and green transit,” said Mayor Michelle Wu.
“I’m proud of the MBTA team that worked diligently to put this project in a strong position to win this highly competitive federal award. I thank the USDOT Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Deputy Secretary of Transportation Polly Trottenberg, and our partners at the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Acting Administrator Veronica Vanterpool, FTA Region 1 Administrator Pete Butler, and their entire team, for this incredible award allowing us to deliver the North Station Draw 1 project, freeing up state capital dollars for other essential needs,” said MBTA General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng. “This award continues to demonstrate our aggressive approach to pursuing all funding opportunities under the lead of the Healey-Driscoll Administration as we pursue every available federal grant. Our Grants and North Station Drawbridge teams deserve all the credit for their exceptional work to secure this funding which allows us to ensure the efficient and reliable movement of all North Station train lines while greatly improving our ability to provide more frequent, regional rail-style service across the entire northside corridor to serve future generations to come.”
Uber launch new kerbside pick-up zone at Sydney Airport’s T1 International terminal
__Tuesday 24 September 2024 __
Sydney Airport’s opens new Uber kerbside pick-up zone located 20 metres from doors to the T1 International terminal
Pick-up zone leverages Uber’s PIN technology, only available at Sydney Airport and a first for NSW
New arrangements will set new standard for modern travel at Australia’s gateway
Starting today, passengers arriving at Sydney Airport’s T1 International terminal will be able to book an Uber trip on their smartphone and walk to the new dedicated pick-up zone located 20 metres from the terminal doors.
The new dedicated kerbside Uber pick-up zone features Uber’s PIN technology, with Sydney Airport’s T1 International terminal the first location in New South Wales to offer the new technology, delivering a faster and smoother journey for passengers arriving at Australia’s global gateway.
The new arrangements will also help ensure a more organised flow of both taxis and rideshare vehicles, while a new holding area for Uber vehicles located closer to the terminal will provide drivers with a dedicated space to wait for passengers.
Mark Zaouk, Sydney Airport’s Group Executive Commercial, said: “The popularity of rideshare has surged over the past few years¹, and it’s great to give passengers what they’ve been asking for which an Uber zone which is much closer to the terminals, in line with the experience at other major Australian and global airports.
“This innovation will redefine airport accessibility and set a new standard for modern travel at Australia’s gateway.”
Emma Foley, Managing Director, Uber ANZ said: “We are proud to partner with Sydney Airport to create an innovative, dedicated space for Uber pick-ups at the international terminal. This new zone will provide a smoother and more efficient experience for riders and drivers alike, and by using PIN, we can help Sydney Airport ease congestion at busy periods – perfect timing ahead of the peak school holiday travel period.”
Passengers using other rideshare providers will continue to access rides via the existing rideshare pick-up area, and arrangements for dropping off passengers remains the same. There are no changes for passengers being picked up by limousines or private cars.
Additionally, all ground transport operators who have passengers with mobility needs or disabilities will be able to use any one of four accessible pick-up spaces across the international precinct.
Notes to editor
¹Mode share changes over time at the T1 International terminal – ground transport
Rideshare pick-ups and drop offs
Taxi pick-ups and drop offs
Six months to June 2018
10%
57%
Six months to June 2023
32%
41%
Six months to June 2024
41%
27%
Uber kerbside pick-up zone at T1 International terminal
New Uber pick-up zone located in the south end of the T1 taxi area There will be seven pick-up bays at the T1 kerbside Disability access bay for taxis remains in place at Taxi Rank B, parallel to Uber pick-up bays
New arrangement will:
Improve the customer experience at T1 and provide more choice;
Improve pedestrian safety and provide a shorter distance between the terminal and Uber pick-up area;
Reduce congestion in the existing rideshare pick-up location; and reduce recirculation times.
Uber PIN Technology:
Uber PIN technology allows Uber driver-partners and riders to be connected via the app with a PIN rather than by a rider finding a pre-assigned vehicle.
How it works:
Request an Uber trip to receive a six-digit personal identification number (PIN).
Walk to the Uber pick-up zone in front of the International terminal, and either go to the first available car, or at busier times, join the queue.
Share your unique PIN with the driver-partner and verify vehicle and driver-partner details before you get into the vehicle.
Sydney Airport Uber pick-up maps can be accessed here.
Released by: Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Regional NSW, Minister for Western New South Wales
The Minns Government is continuing work to support Western NSW communities with the announcement today the $2 million subsidy scheme for commercial flights in Western NSW will continue at least until November 2025.
The agreement will allow for the continuation of subsidies on flights from Dubbo to Bourke, Walgett and Lightning Ridge operated by Air Link and from Sydney to Cobar operated by FlyPelican.
The NSW Government and the Far North-West Joint Organisation (FNWJO) subsidy agreement will provide residents, workers and industry in Western NSW with continued access to air services helping to reduce travel times in rural and remote NSW.
Subsidised air travel is vital for the delivery of essential services such as health, childcare, justice, family and community services, with doctors, specialists, nurses and social workers among the frequent fliers travelling to and from Western NSW.
As part of the Government’s continued commitment to Western NSW, work is also underway to deliver the Regional Development Trust $15 million Airstrips Improvement Package.
The package will upgrade rural and remote airstrips to improve access for emergency services, health professionals and other essential services in some of the most remote parts of the state.
An audit of remote and rural airstrips across 19 local government areas and the unincorporated area in Western NSW is underway to prioritise those most in need of upgrades.
Work on the airstrips and related infrastructure is expected to start before the end of the year.
Minister for Agriculture, Regional NSW and Western NSW, Tara Moriarty said:
“For Sydneysiders, air travel is an easily accessible convenience but for people living in Western NSW it is not so easy.
“This funding will help commercial operators offer a two-way service connecting regional NSW with essential workers, trades, and services that they often depend on.
Independent member for Barwon, Roy Butler said:
“Western Air Services flights provide people in remote areas with much-needed access to health services, social engagements, and major economic benefits to our primary industries.
“For many people in my electorate these flights are not a luxury but an absolute necessity, especially given the vast distances people need to cover in the west of the state.
“I want to thank the Minister for her understanding of the importance of this issue when I raised it with her, and for her following through to ensure the continuation of these vital air services.”
Retiring Far North-West Joint Organisation Chairman, Councillor Barry Hollman said:
“This is a very exciting announcement, and I thank the NSW Government and particularly the Minister for Western NSW, the Hon Tara Moriarty, MLC for her responsiveness.
“Just as commuters on the recently opened Metro in Sydney described the new train service as ‘transformational’ and ‘life changing’, the same can be said about the provision of these air services to the remote far North West area of the State.
“The Government has certainly gone the extra mile to assist our remote communities.
“Today we welcome this announcement from the NSW Government and we look forward to continuing to service these critical flights for the far North West region and its communities.
“Flight services to our remote regions are critical, and we are very pleased with today’s announcement to ensure the far North West region remains connected.”
General Manager, Air Link Airlines, Ron O’Brien said:
“This funding plays a crucial role in maintaining reliable air services that are lifelines for the communities of Bourke, Walgett, and Lightning Ridge.
“Regional air services help to bridge distances and improve quality of life for residents in regional NSW by facilitating economic development and enhanced connectivity for businesses and residents alike.
Headline: NSW Government invests $750,000 to improve coastal fish habitat
Published: 24 September 2024
Released by: Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Regional NSW
The Minns Labor Government is continuing to invest in on-ground activities to improve fish habitat and recreational fishing in NSW, with more than $750,000 in grants awarded to five innovative coastal projects.
The Flagship Fish Habitat Rehabilitation Grant program provides funding for large-scale projects that significantly enhance fish habitat, water quality and fish passage opportunities within the coastal catchments of NSW.
This includes projects to significantly rehabilitate river banks and coastal wetlands, remove or modify barriers to fish passage and construct fishways, re-snag waterways and undertake remediation works including riverbank stabilisation.
After assessing applications for the 2023-24 grants round, a total of $756,947 is being awarded to five projects:
$109,222 to Nambucca Valley Landcare to improve fish habitat and reduce risks to water quality in the Nambucca River by restoring an eroding riverbank;
$169,150 to OzFish Unlimited to rehabilitate an area of critical fish habitat in the Bellinger River catchment together with recreational fishers;
$158,000 to Rous County Council to restore 1,600m2 of complex fish habitat and a popular bass fishing destination on Bungawalbyn Creek;
$261,275 to Port Macquarie Hastings Council to stabilize an eroded area, improve shoreline vegetation and enable access for recreational fishers on the Hastings River estuary;
$59,300 to Shoalhaven City Council to complete design and plans for a living shoreline including accessible and resilient foreshore, and oyster reef restoration on the Crookhaven River.
The grants are part of the Government’s ongoing work to grow recreational fishing opportunities by enhancing the habitats that fish need to thrive.
Since the inception of the Flagship Grant Program in 2016, almost $3 million from the Recreational Fishing Trust has been invested in coastal aquatic habitat rehabilitation, water quality improvement and fish passage opportunities.
Minister for Agriculture and Regional NSW Tara Moriarty said:
“These Flagship grants allow fishing clubs, non-Government organisations and other agencies to tackle large, complex projects that will safeguard and enhance local fish habitats and recreational fisheries.
“Improved habitat means better opportunities for fish and therefore better opportunities for recreational fishers.
“This program is yet another excellent example of how recreational fishing fees are helping to support and improve sustainable fisheries in NSW.”
More information on Flagship Habitat Rehabilitation Grants is available here.
Headline: Call for more mates to support Port Macquarie’s Sailability
Published: 24 September 2024
Released by: Minister for Agriculture
The Port Macquarie community group, Sailability, is calling for volunteers ahead of this year’s sailing season, as the club prepares to take to the Hastings River again on Wednesday 25 September.
Sailability is a volunteer organisation whose mission is to offer people with varying abilities freedom on the water.
The club uses a fleet of specially designed sailing dinghies with simplified controls and enhanced stability to hold weekly sailing days for people living with physical and mental disability.
The club received $55,920 from the NSW Government to extend its carpark and complete landscaping around its new boat shed and accessible amenities block, as well as to install six accessible picnic tables in McInherney Park.
The not-for-profit club is the only organisation of its kind in the area and its 80 volunteers cater to approximately 60 sailors each week.
The group provides its services at no charge, with sailors coming from disability support units at local schools in Port Macquarie, Wauchope, Laurieton and Kempsey, as well as disability service providers, aged care facilities and private enquiries.
Census statistics for show there are approximately 6,000 people with serious or profound disability in the Port Macquarie area, and the club struggles to meet the demand for its services.
People keen to get involved in volunteering with the club can attend McInherney Park on Wednesdays between September and May to learn more, or go to www.sailabilitypm.com.au and click the Contact Us tab.
Minister for Agriculture and Regional NSW, Tara Moriarty said:
“This fantastic community group is really making waves in terms of improving quality of life for people in the Port Macquarie area with disability.
“It’s wonderful to see people experience a sense of achievement and improved self-confidence and self-esteem through their participation in Sailability’s program.”
Parliamentary Secretary for Disability Inclusion, Liesl Tesch* said:
“Sailability is a beacon of hope and inclusion in Port Macquarie. By fostering a sense of belonging on the water, they’re not only enhancing the lives of people with disability but also enriching the entire community.”
“The amazing volunteers at Sailability do such important work helping build confidence and resilience for so many people in the region each week.”
*Liesl Tesch is a seven-time Paralympian including winning two gold medals in sailing
Sailability Port Macquarie volunteer Rick Eller said:
“The club has come a long way from humble beginnings when it launched in December 2012, we were using two borrowed boats at the time, we had a handful of volunteers, and we were borrowing life jackets from the SES or emergency services here in Port Macquarie.
“The best part about working for Sailability is the expressions and the smiles when the people who’ve been sailing come back to the pontoon, that’s what makes it all worthwhile.”
Sailability Port Macquarie Vice President Julie Constable said:
“It’s extremely important that people are aware that people with a disability are very able and keen to get out into society so something like this is off great benefit to the community.”
Case study: Vision impaired sailor – Kathryn Stephens
Sailability Port Macquarie
Kathryn has been sailing with the Port Macquarie group since it began.
In October, Kathryn will set course for Southport to compete in the Hansa Class Asia Pacific Championships.
Kathryn has previously competed in the state para championships, coming second behind the world champion in the doubles.
She has also placed third in the Middle Harbour Yacht Club inclusive classes regatta alongside a sailing partner from another branch of Sailability.
Quotes attributable to Kathryn Stephens:
“Participating in sailing has opened up a whole new world of opportunities for me.
“I love the whole idea of being out on the water, the sensation and the sound and just the feel of sailing because I can’t see what I’m doing so it’s all by sound and feel, and just the freedom of being out on the water, it’s a great sensation.
“The people come from all sorts of different backgrounds and interests and it’s just wonderful to catch up with them as well as meeting other sailing participants every week and we just have a great time and it’s a really lovely community and it’s got a really great feel about it.”
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanna Mendelssohn, Honorary Senior Fellow, School of Culture and Communication. Editor in chief, Design and Art of Australia Online, The University of Melbourne
The Nelson Packer Tank, that cavernous space at the very bottom of the Art Gallery of NSW’s Naala Badu building, has been waiting for art like this.
The former World War II oil storage tank is huge, held together by rows of structural columns. Their dominance means it is just not possible for viewers to have an unimpeded fields of vision for any art on display. Then there are the acoustics. Every sound resonates, but few carry far.
This is a room of echoes, embedded in the dark.
In this space Angelica Mesiti, an Australian living in France, has created The Rites of When: an event that rethinks ancient rituals of seasonal celebrations, while also marking the terrible changes wrought on our heating planet. Her tools are video, performers, music and song – all modified by the unique whispering echoes of the Tank.
The sky, and the snow
As the title implies, Mesiti has used the structure of Stravinski’s The rite of spring as one of the elements in her great design. But she shows a world far removed from mythical Russian peasants.
Each of the two movements are preceded by “Celestial Nebula”, where abstract forms of light dissolve into a vision of the night sky, presented on seven giant video screens.
This is not the sky as seen by city dwellers, where artificial light eliminates the stars, but rather the Milky Way in all its glory, with its hero stars which we call the Seven Sisters, but people in the northern hemisphere call the Pleiades.
Mesiti has said one of her inspirations was that, when COVID came, she and her partner began to spend time away from Paris in rural France. Here she came to know the night sky, and to see both the rhythms and the realities of rural life.
In the first movement, a dazzling starscape is gradually bleached by artificial light, which transforms into sunlight, and the viewer is looking at drone footage of a snow-capped pine forest which we then zoom through.
The dominant columns of The Tank combine with the straight tree trunks of this plantation forest give a sense of visual ambiguity. With the all surrounding sound, it is hard to work out where the screened image ends and where the columns begin.
A sudden shift of mood in the music, and the viewers are plunged into the middle of a Brueghel-like celebration of people dancing in the winter solstice. The colours are warm, the rustic dancers are wearing decorations made of the fruits of the field. They dance around a bonfire made from wooden planks, they form a procession with an effigy of a horned beast, stuffed with fireworks.
The fireworks and the dancers become a frenzy of ever increasing movement of rhythmic sound which explodes into dazzling white silence.
Capturing the summer solstice
When she was discussing The Rites of When at the media preview, Mesiti casually mentioned how hard it had been to film the snowy forest as, for the first time ever, winter was so mild it hardly snowed at all on the pine plantations of the Jura Mountains.
Global heating added an extra element when filming the summer solstice.
At first the viewer sees the seven screens as giant patterns of gold, marked by elegant patterns of vertical lines. Perspective changes when a tiny toy moving up one of the screens is revealed to be a harvester. This is a drone’s eye view of a wheat harvest in modern industrial scale farming. As the fields are slowly stripped of their crop, a puff of smoke appears, then a line of fire, and the gold is steadily eaten away to become charcoal.
This was not planned. Europe was so hot and dry last June that a single spark from a harvester grinding a stray stone turned the wheat to ash. Monoculture, so effectively described by those endless flat golden fields, has no defence against nature.
The mood of the music changes and golden smoke covering the wheat dissolves into golden light. A small, solemn procession appears and moves across each screen in turn. They elevate each member in turn, in a quiet ritual performance.
The colours of the background change with their movement– from gold, to red, to purple, to blue. As they reach the last screen the blue fades to grey, to rain.
In the silence, a single hand on a single screen snaps fingers. On the other side of the room, another responds. Now there is a rhythmic orchestra clicking, clapping and slapping – ever faster, ever louder. The hands become dancers, moving in a wild ecstatic dance of increasing intensity, as the bodies are caught up with the music and the light.
In her notes, Mesiti calls this section “Ecstatic Collectivity”. It seems an apt description.
At the very end, Mesiti returns us to the pure colours of the Celestial Nebula. Perhaps she is saying the folly of humanity may change the moods of the earth, but the stars will endure forever.
The Rites of When lasts just over 30 minutes. Because it is so dependent on its location, this is a piece that cannot travel. It is worth the price of an air fare.
The Rites of When is at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, until May 11 2025.
Joanna Mendelssohn has in the past received funding from the Australian Research Council.
