Category: housing

MIL-OSI New Zealand: Static child poverty stats highlight need for urgent action

Source: Green Party

This morning’s Stats NZ child poverty statistics should act as a wake-up call for the government: with no movement in child poverty rates since June 2023, it’s time to make the wellbeing of our tamariki a political priority.

“Poverty is a political choice we do not have to accept. We can choose to end it–our mokopuna deserve nothing less,” says Green Party co-leader and Child Poverty spokesperson, Hon Marama Davidson.

“Every child in Aotearoa deserves a warm, dry home and a full belly. We have all the tools we need to give them that and more.

“What we need is ambition and commitment to end the cycle of thousands of children across generations falling through the cracks and being set up to fail for the rest of their lives. It is high time we started supporting our children to thrive.

“It’s well understood that the first few years set the stage for the rest of a child’s life. Living in a household mired in poverty has lasting consequences for the wellbeing of our pēpi and tamariki.

“Unfortunately, as we have seen today, 156,000 children are growing up in material hardship. This is a national shame.

“Māori, Pacific and disabled children are disproportionately affected by child poverty, with 1 in 4, 1 in 3, and 1 in 5 children growing up in material hardship respectively. These are the very groups hit the hardest by the policies of a Government which has bent over backwards to hand billions of dollars in tax cuts to wealthy landlords, while ignoring the many struggling.

“The Green Party campaigned to end poverty for all families in Aotearoa by providing everyone with an Income Guarantee that would ensure every household and every child has all they need to thrive.

“We can’t keep tinkering around the edge and watering down child poverty reduction targets like we’ve seen the coalition doing this term. Our plan will put children’s wellbeing at the centre of decision-making and policy, where it should have been all along,” says Marama Davidson.

The Stats NZ report can be found in full here.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

February 20, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Senators Markey, Van Hollen, Whitehouse, and Sanders Demand Answers from Justice Department on Forced Resignation of Assistant U.S. Attorney Over Illegal Pressure to Freeze National Green Bank Funding

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey

Letter Text (PDF)

Washington (February 19, 2025) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) today wrote to Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz about revelations that Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise Cheung was pressured to find evidence of a crime as a justification for freezing the release of billions of dollars in congressionally approved federal funds for the National Clean Investment Fund and the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator. These programs, which are part of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, leverage private capital to cut energy bills for families and small businesses, improve resiliency against climate change-fueled disasters, and create local economic opportunity while combatting climate change. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) also signed the letter.

In the letter, the lawmakers write, “The reports that Ms. Cheung was pressured to circumvent this standard suggest a deliberate attempt to weaponize the Justice Department for political purposes. Indeed, according to one report, ‘Cheung’s resignation came in connection with a Justice Department effort to assist President Donald Trump’s new head of the Environmental Protection Agency, who said last week that he would try to rescind $20 billion in grants awarded by the Biden administration for climate and clean energy projects.’”

The lawmakers continue, “Federal prosecutors have an obligation to comply with the legal ethics rules governing their conduct, including their duty to refuse illegal or unethical orders from superiors. Not even a month into the second Trump administration, several career prosecutors have already resigned rather than participate in legally and ethically questionable actions, igniting a crisis within the Justice Department. The Department must not become an instrument of political retribution or partisan maneuvering.”

The lawmakers urge the Office of the Inspector General, “to immediately open an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Ms. Cheung’s resignation, the directives she received, and the broader pattern of political interference in prosecutorial decisions. The integrity of our justice system depends on the independence of prosecutors and their ability to enforce the law free from political influence. If substantiated, these allegations represent an existential threat to the rule of law and demand swift corrective action.”

Senator Markey secured numerous provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act, including the creation of a $27-billion national climate financing network based on the National Climate Bank Act, which he introduced along with Senator Van Hollen. Following the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, Senators Markey and Van Hollen and Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-06) — the House lead on the climate financing legislation — welcomed the launch of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund in April 2023.

MIL OSI USA News –

February 20, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: CDC layoffs strike deeply at its ability to respond to the current flu, norovirus and measles outbreaks and other public health emergencies

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Jordan Miller, Teaching Professor of Public Health, Arizona State University

The CDC played an instrumental, if imperfect, role in the response to COVID-19. JHDT Stock Images LLC/iStock via Getty Images

In just a few short weeks, the Trump administration has brought drastic changes to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and public health. Beginning with the removal of websites and key public health datasets in January 2025, the Trump administration has taken actions to dismantle established public health infrastructure as part of its second-term agenda.

In addition, the administration has begun a widespread purge of the federal public health workforce. As of Feb. 19, around 5,200 employees at the CDC and the National Institutes of Health had been let go. About 10% of the CDC’s staff have been removed, with plans for additional firings.

As a teaching professor and public health educator, I, like thousands of other health professionals, rely on CDC data and educational resources throughout my work. CDC websites are the first stop for health information for my students and for health care practitioners, and are vital to protecting the U.S. from infectious diseases, like avian flu and COVID-19, as well as noninfectious health conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease.

Here’s a quick look at what the CDC does to protect Americans’ health, and how it’s likely to be affected by the Trump administration’s actions:

Gutting the CDC’s capacity

Prior to the February cuts, the CDC employed over 10,000 full-time staff in roles spanning public health, epidemiology, medicine, communications, engineering and beyond to maintain this critical public health infrastructure.

In addition to the centers’ wide variety of functions to protect and promote public health in the U.S., a vast amount of research in the U.S. relies on CDC data. The CDC obtains data from all 50 states, territories and the District of Columbia, which is collated into widely utilized databases such as the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, National Health Interview Survey and Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

Several of these datasets and CDC websites were removed at the start of the second Trump term, and while they are currently back online due to a federal court order, it remains to be seen if these important sources of information will remain accessible and updated going forward.

The CDC also publishes the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, which allows for ongoing and timely surveillance of key health conditions. The reports cover a wide range of topics, including wildfires, motor vehicle accidents, autism, asthma, opioids, mental health and many others. The CDC plays a central role in monitoring and reporting the spread of flu in winter months through its FluView, which informs clinical practice as well as public health interventions.

Physicians are reporting that their ability to respond to the surges in respiratory viruses they are seeing has been hobbled by the missing data and by prohibitions on CDC staff communicating outside the agency.

The CDC’s famed “disease detectives,” part of the Epidemic Intelligence Service, appear to have been spared following public outcry after more than half of its members were initially told they would be let go as part of the Feb. 14 mass layoffs.

It remains to be seen if this group will remain intact long term. Concerns are growing that shakeups to the nation’s infectious disease surveillance teams will hamper the government’s ability to respond effectively at a time when avian flu and measles are growing concerns in the U.S.

The CDC’s headquarters are in Atlanta.
Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

History of the CDC

The CDC began as a small branch of the U.S. Public Health Service in 1946 as an outgrowth of successes fighting malaria in southern states during World War II and before. Its founder, Dr. Joseph W. Mountin, envisioned that it would come to serve all states, addressing all communicable diseases. Since that time, the CDC has evolved into the nation’s premier public health organization, leveraging both clinical and population health sciences to prevent and mitigate challenges to the nation’s health.

In its first 40 years, the CDC helped eradicate smallpox and identify the causes of Legionnaires’ disease, toxic shock syndrome and HIV.

As the country’s primary health challenges have shifted from communicable diseases to noncommunicable ones over recent decades, the organization has adapted, expanding its reach and priorities to meet changing public health needs. The CDC also has the ability to flex and scale up efforts rapidly when needed to respond to novel outbreaks, which is essential for containing infectious diseases and preventing escalation.

CDC’s global reach

Recognizing that health does not exist in a vacuum, the CDC also operates internationally to mitigate health challenges that could threaten health in the U.S. over time. The agency is active in addressing diseases that are endemic in certain areas, such as tuberculosis and HIV. It also responds to outbreaks from emerging threats, like Ebola and Marburg virus disease.

The CDC played a crucial role in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, coordinating with the World Health Organization, domestic health agencies and others to plan and execute a robust response.

In 2024, the CDC worked with the WHO to respond to a Marburg virus outbreak in Rwanda that lasted for several months. On average, about half of people infected with Marburg virus do not survive, so early detection and effective response are essential to prevent loss of life and contain outbreaks before they spread widely.

On Jan. 20, 2025, the White House announced President Donald Trump’s plans to withdraw from the WHO. This move further weakens the country’s ability to manage and mitigate threats to Americans’ health and national security.

Not only does the WHO do essential work to protect children around the world from needless death due to starvation, but it monitors and responds to infectious diseases. The U.S. has been the largest contributor to the WHO, with approximately 12%-15% of its operating costs coming from the U.S. That means that removal of U.S. support will also affect the WHO’s capacity to respond to international public health issues.

As the COVID-19 pandemic made plain, a delayed response to infectious disease outbreaks can exponentially increase long-term costs and consequences. It remains to be seen what impact the established relationships between the CDC and the WHO will have on their ability to coordinate effectively during times of crisis.

The CDC’s work around the world helps to stop outbreaks before they spread – and reach the U.S.

Future health care workforce threatened

The reach, flexibility, adaptability and robust foundation of relationships developed over the past eight decades enable the CDC to respond to threats quickly, wherever in the world they arise. This is important for protecting health, and it plays a vital role in global and national security as well.

In addition to its direct actions to promote public health, the CDC provides workforce development and training to help create an enduring public health infrastructure in the U.S. and abroad. This is more important than ever, as systemic factors have placed pressure on health professionals. The domestic public health workforce has shrunk drastically, losing 40,000 workers since the start of the Great Recession in 2009 due to economic constraints and social pressures during the pandemic. The CDC’s workforce development efforts help counteract these trends.

Public health workers were reporting high rates of burnout and stress even before the COVID-19 pandemic, which the pandemic worsened. Cuts to the federal workforce, as well as funding for public health programs, will no doubt add to these strains.

Jordan Miller received funding from CDC in the past.

– ref. CDC layoffs strike deeply at its ability to respond to the current flu, norovirus and measles outbreaks and other public health emergencies – https://theconversation.com/cdc-layoffs-strike-deeply-at-its-ability-to-respond-to-the-current-flu-norovirus-and-measles-outbreaks-and-other-public-health-emergencies-248486

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

February 20, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Sen. Scott Charts Path to Combat the Fentanyl Crisis
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for South Carolina Tim Scott

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) reintroduced his Alan Shao II Fentanyl Public Health Emergency and Overdose Prevention Act. The legislation takes a three-fold approach to addressing the fentanyl crisis fueled by the expiration of Title 42 during the Biden administration. This legislation would allow the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to expedite the processing and removal of migrants illegally entering the country in response to the fentanyl-related public health emergency.

“The former president left a disaster on our southern border that infected communities and families across our nation. A couple of years ago, my friend Alan Shao lost his son to the crisis curated by the Biden administration’s open border policies. This legislation is named in honor of his son to remind us that one life lost is one too many and that we can’t continue to sit idly by allowing devastation to rip through our homes,” said Senator Scott. “I am grateful to lead efforts to put an end to this public health crisis and clean up our border. I look forward to working with the Trump administration to ensure more Americans can live in a safer nation.”

“The fentanyl crisis is a national emergency. It was driven by the Biden administration’s open-border policies and will require decisive, sustained, and specific action to stem. This bill will protect American lives and secure our border. I’m proud to work with my colleagues on this critical issue,” said Senator Cruz.

“Sheriffs across North Carolina have told me that every one of our counties is a border county after four years of the Biden administration. To reverse this dangerous situation, I am proud to join Senator Tim Scott’s bill to speed up the removal of illegal aliens who pose safety risks to communities across the nation,” said Senator Budd. “The Trump administration needs more tools to get the southern border under control, and this bill would be another major step in the effort to restore law and order in our country.”

In addition to Senator Scott, the bill is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio).

Expedited processing and removal would apply to migrants who:
- Are attempting to enter the US from Canada or Mexico illegally;
- Do not possess necessary travel documents for admittance into the US; and
- Are being held at a point of entry or a Border Patrol station facilitating immigration processing.
BACKGROUND

The Alan T. Shao II Fentanyl Public Health Emergency and Overdose Prevention Act is named after the son of Dr. Alan Shao, the former Dean of the School of Business at the College of Charleston. Alan T. Shao II passed away at the age of 27 due to a fentanyl overdose.

Senator Scott’s legislation utilizes powers similar to those under Title 42, which allows the Department of Homeland Security to expedite the processing and removal of migrants illegally entering the country, and applies them in response to the fentanyl-related public health emergency.

According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the agency seized more than 367 million deadly doses (2 mg of fentanyl equates to a deadly dose) in 2024. More than 100,000 Americans died from drug overdoses during 2023, with the majority of such deaths caused by fentanyl.

In addition to the Alan T. Shao II Fentanyl Public Health Emergency and Overdose Prevention Act, Senator Scott introduced the Securing Our Border Act, which redirects $22.4 billion of unobligated funding passed by Democrats to hire 87,000 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents and utilizes it to bolster security measures along our southern border.

Furthermore, he introduced the Stifling Transnational Operations and Proliferators by Mitigating Activities that Drive Narcotics, Exploitation, and Smuggling Sanctions Act – or the STOP MADNESS Act, which would also ensure the president can sanction foreign governments that resist efforts to repatriate their citizens who unlawfully enter the United States.

In April 2024, Senator Scott’s FEND Off Fentanyl Act, which directs the Department of Treasury to use U.S. economic national security tools to choke off the profits of the Chinese precursor manufacturers and the Mexican cartels that push fentanyl across the border, was signed into law.
MIL OSI USA News –
February 20, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Gillibrand Introduces Bill To Raise Minimum Age To Buy Assault Weapons; Legislation Would Help Prevent Tragedies Like 2022 Buffalo Supermarket Shooting

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for New York Kirsten Gillibrand

Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced legislation to raise the minimum age to purchase assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines from 18 to 21, the same age requirement that already applies to purchasing handguns from federally licensed dealers. Individuals under 21 have used assault weapons in some of the most devastating shootings in U.S. history, including the 2022 mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, NY, in which 10 people were killed.

Gun violence is a national crisis, claiming over 46,000 lives in 2023 — the third-largest number of gun-related deaths in American history. Assault weapons, originally engineered for military combat to maximize damage, are frequently used in mass shootings because of their ability to inflict catastrophic harm in mere seconds. More than 85 percent of deaths in public mass shootings involving four or more fatalities were caused by assault rifles. Furthermore, shootings involving assault weapons or large-capacity magazines result in more than 2.5 times as many people being shot compared to incidents involving other firearms.

“Guns are the leading cause of death for children and teenagers in America today. Year after year, deadly assault weapons inflict devastating and avoidable harm on our families, schools, and communities, causing children, parents, and teachers to live with the fear that the next school shooting may happen in their community,” said Senator Gillibrand. “The Age 21 Act offers a critical safeguard to prevent such tragedies, decreasing the threat of gun violence against our kids. I am proud to support this legislation, and I will fight hard for its passage this Congress.”

The Age 21 Act’s restrictions on the sale of assault weapons, handguns, large-capacity ammunition feeding devices, and related ammunition to individuals under the age of 21 would apply to both federally licensed and private sellers. Additionally, the legislation would bar most individuals under 21 from possessing these items, with limited exceptions for specific circumstances such as service in law enforcement or the armed forces.

The Age 21 Act was originally introduced by Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.). In addition to Senator Gillibrand, it is cosponsored by 17 senators: Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

Senator Gillibrand is a longtime champion for commonsense gun safety legislation. She wrote the Hadiya Pendleton and Nyasia Pryear-Yard Gun Trafficking and Crime Prevention Act, which formed the centerpiece of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act’s (BSCA) anti-gun trafficking statute. So far, law enforcement has used the statute to take over 3,000 illegal guns off the streets and charge hundreds of suspected traffickers. In 2023, Senator Gillibrand also cosponsored the 3D Printed Gun Safety Act, federal legislation that would ban online distribution of blueprints for the 3D printing of firearms and help prevent the proliferation of “ghost guns,” and the Fair Legal Access Grants (FLAG) Act, which would ensure that any person filing a red flag petition, also known as an extreme risk protection order (ERPO), has access to the legal representation, counsel, and resources needed to be heard and successfully file an ERPO. She has also supported legislation to expand background checks to the sale and transfer of all firearms.

MIL OSI USA News –

February 20, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Major investment to boost growth and cement Britain’s place as cultural powerhouse
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

Over £270 million Arts Everywhere Fund for arts venues, museums, libraries and the heritage sector in major boost for growth
Intervention is next step of Government’s Plan for Change to help boost local economies and increase opportunities to gain creative skills

Comes as Culture Secretary marks the 60th anniversary of the first ever arts white paper

People across the nation will benefit from access to the arts and culture on their doorsteps as a result of a major funding package to boost growth and opportunity.

Hundreds of arts venues, museums, libraries and heritage buildings will receive a share of more than £270 million as part of an Arts Everywhere Fund from the government, supporting jobs and creating opportunities for young people to learn creative skills while helping to boost people’s sense of pride in where they live.

The cash will be targeted at organisations in urgent need of financial support to keep them up and running, carry out vital infrastructure work and improve long term financial resilience.

Today’s announcement will help protect hundreds of jobs in the cultural and heritage sectors. Overall, cultural sectors support 666,000 filled jobs across the country.

Arts and culture are a vital part of our first-class creative industries and are a key part of what makes Britain so great. The creative industries are worth £124 billion to our economy, creating jobs, opportunities and showcasing the best of Britain to the world. That is why the creative industries were identified as one of the eight growth-driving sectors in the government’s Industrial Strategy – with the potential to boost economic growth throughout communities in the UK.

At an inaugural lecture marking the 60th anniversary of the first ever arts white paper by former Minister Jennie Lee, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy will gather leaders from across the arts and culture sectors at the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in Stratford-upon-Avon. She will set out how Jennie Lee’s vision of the ‘arts for everyone, everywhere’ will be made a reality as part of the Government’s Plan for Change.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said:

Arts and culture help us understand the world we live in, they shape and define society and are enjoyed by people in every part of our country. They are the building blocks of our world-leading creative industries and make a huge contribution towards boosting growth and breaking down barriers to opportunities for young people to learn the creative skills they need to succeed.

The funding we are announcing today will allow the arts to continue to flourish across Britain, creating good jobs and growth by fixing the foundations in our cultural venues, museums, libraries and heritage institutions.

As a government that is on your side, our Plan for Change will ensure that arts and cultural institutions truly are for everyone, everywhere.

During the lecture, the Culture Secretary will announce the following funding for the next financial year, beginning in April:

A new £85 million Creative Foundations Fund to support urgent capital works to keep venues across the country up and running;

A fifth round of the popular Museum Estate and Development Fund worth £25 million, which will support museums to undertake vital infrastructure projects, and tackle urgent maintenance backlogs;

A new £20 million Museum Renewal Fund to help keep cherished civic museums open and engaging, protect opening hours and jobs, continue serving communities, and tell our national story at a local level;

An additional £15 million for Heritage at Risk will provide grants for repairs and conservation to heritage buildings at risk, focusing on those sites with most need. This will restore local heritage, such as shops, pubs, parks, and town halls;

A fourth round of the Libraries Improvement Fund worth £5.5 million, which will enable public library services across England to upgrade buildings and technology to better respond to changing user needs;

A new £4.85 million Heritage Revival Fund to empower local people to take control of and look after their local heritage. It will support community organisations to own neglected heritage buildings bringing them back into good use;

An additional £120 million to continue the Public Bodies Infrastructure Fund, which will ensure national cultural public institutions are able to address essential works to their estate;

A 5% increase to the budgets of all national museums and galleries to support their financial resilience and help them provide access to the national collection;

Confirmation that DCMS will be providing £3.2 million in funding for four cultural education programmes for the next financial year to preserve increased access to arts for children and young people through the Museums and Schools Programme, the Heritage Schools Programme, the Art & Design National Saturday Club and the BFI Film Academy.

This package will be integral to ensuring that arts and culture are a catalyst for growth in the Creative Industries and local economies by making sure cultural venues are supported to reach their full potential and attracting more tourists through our cultural institutions.

The Culture Secretary is also set to confirm the advisory panel of experts who will be supporting Baroness Margaret Hodge with her independent review of Arts Council England, as well as the scope of the review within the newly agreed Terms of Reference.

The beneficiaries of the fourth round of the Museum Estate and Development Fund will also be announced, which will see 29 local museums up and down the country receiving a share of almost £25 million to upgrade their buildings.

The news follows another boost for regional growth and regeneration earlier this week, when the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced ten critical culture projects across the UK will receive a total of £67 million. This funding will support exciting projects such as the National Railway Museum in York, the International Slavery Museum and Maritime Museum in Liverpool, and in Leeds, both the National Poetry Centre and the revamping of ‘Temple Works’, paving the way for it to house the British Library North.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said:  

Our Plan for Change promises growth for every corner of the UK, which is why this week I announced more than £67 million for ten major cultural projects that celebrate our nation.

I had the pleasure to visit some of these projects last week and seeing the role they will play in igniting regeneration in their communities and on a national scale. This means more tourism, more growth and more money in people’s pockets.

This comes on top of the £60 million package recently announced by the Culture Secretary at the Creative Industries Growth Summit to support hundreds of creative businesses and projects across the UK. This is the first step towards delivering the Creative Industry Sector Plan, as part of the UK’s modern Industrial Strategy. Today’s announcement will build upon this, ensuring that the culture sector is able to achieve its full potential.

More details on how to apply to each of these funds and schemes will be made available in due course.

Supportive quotes

Daniel Evans, Tamara Harvey and Andrew Leveson from the Royal Shakespeare Company, said:

The RSC welcomes the government’s celebration of the anniversary of Jennie Lee’s White Paper for the Arts and its announcement of the £85m Creative Foundations Fund, an urgently needed intervention. Ageing capital infrastructure remains a tremendous drag on the sector’s ability to create the work for which it is globally celebrated and maximise its economic and social contribution. We stand ready to work with the government and other stakeholders to ensure that theatre buildings are effectively maintained and put to the most effective use in creating impactful programmes of work that, true to Jennie Lee’s legacy, make the arts accessible to as many people as possible.

Arts Council England, Chief Executive, Darren Henley said:

Today’s a good news day for arts organisations, museums and libraries. We know how much cultural places and spaces are valued in towns and cities across the land. For years to come, this new investment will help more people in more places to flourish by finding joy and connection with high quality culture close to home.

Baroness Hodge’s review gives all of us at the Arts Council the chance to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to serve audiences right across England – and that we’re nurturing an environment where artists, arts organisations, museums and libraries can create their best work for those audiences. We’re looking forward to working with Baroness Hodge and her advisory panel to make sure that happens for everyone everywhere every day.

Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive at Historic England, said:

The £15m Heritage at Risk funding will enable us to help regenerate cherished historic buildings in some of our most deprived areas, boosting local pride and wellbeing, as well as stimulating economic growth where it’s really needed.

Kate Varah, Executive Director and Co-Chief Executive, National Theatre, said:

The support announced today shows that, like the visionary Jennie Lee, this Government keenly understands the arts ecosystem and its leading role in boosting the economy, enriching local communities and enhancing soft power. Much-needed capital investment will begin the task of enabling arts venues in towns and cities across our country to upgrade their facilities, providing more jobs and training, improving their financial and environmental sustainability, and offering more opportunities for young people and communities. Today’s announcement is further proof that the Government sees the benefit of working long term, in deep partnership with our sector, to break down barriers to growth and opportunity. Capital isn’t about bricks and mortar, it’s about making space for creativity to flourish.

Alex Beard, CEO of Royal Ballet and Opera, said:

I am delighted that Government has recognised the need to invest in the country’s performing arts infrastructure. This one year programme is a vital first step in ensuring that future generations of audience members can continue to enjoy our world leading performing arts sector, which plays such an important role in the Government’s growth and wellbeing agendas.

Gurinder Chadha, Film Director, said:

Time and time again the creative industries have proved how much income they bring into our economy from box office sales to expertise, skills and jobs. I am proud to be a part of the British arts industry that is respected globally. Anything that helps local communities and local artists build their skills, to fulfil their potential and further the cultural economy is something to be applauded.

Kwame Kwei-Armah, Director and Playwright, said:

Today’s announcement by our government to invest in our world leading cultural sector could not have come sooner or at a better time. From personal inspiration to international soft power I, like many, will be overjoyed that our government has seen the cultural sector who we are and what we contribute to Britain and beyond.

James Graham, Playwright and Writer, said:

This new investment is an extremely welcome acknowledgement of the role culture can play in rebuilding local communities.

The sector has been just-about-surviving for too long and such injections mean much-loved local venues can begin planning for the future.

On a personal note, as someone who grew up in a town with very limited access to the arts, the new funding for education programmes is to be celebrated. I only fell in love with theatre because of the passion of the drama teachers in my comprehensive school. It’s deeply encouraging to see that the collapse of culture in education over the last decade can finally turnaround, and unleash the creativity of all young people everywhere.

Adjoa Andoh, Actress and Writer, said:

Arts and culture belong to all the people of our amazing creative nation.

Our drama, our literature, our music, our painting, our history – it’s what we’re known for across the world, so at home everyone should have access to their heritage with no barriers to participation. I am thrilled that with the announcement of this fantastic injection of targeted funding for arts infrastructure and education, locally and nationally, the government recognises that only with their active support can all the people fully share in our wonderful cultural inheritance. I am sure Jennie Lee whose white paper championed the arts 60 years ago, would be proud.

Tracy-Ann Oberman, Actress and playwright, said:

Lisa Nandy has shown a huge commitment to the arts. She has been incredibly supportive of my production of “The Merchant of Venice 1936” and the need to tell stories through theatre to bring communities together. I think this announcement shows a real commitment to the arts in the UK and investment in the rich cultural heritage of this country.

Lemn Sissay, Author and Broadcaster, said:

Investing in the arts is an investment in our communities, our creativity, and our future. The creation of the National Poetry Centre is a shining example of this commitment, offering a space where creativity can flourish and voices from all backgrounds are celebrated.

Lisa Nandy’s commitment to providing funding for the arts, for everyone everywhere, ensures that the transformative power of culture reaches every corner of our nation, fostering unity, inspiration, and opportunity for all.

Actors Sanjeev Bhaskar and Meera Syal said:

As not only a vital sector for tourism but also for local communities and businesses, it’s encouraging to see British arts and culture being supported in a tangible and constructive way.

Es Devlin, Stage Designer, said:

Now, more than ever, the cultivation of our collective consciousness, our shared imagination, our ability to seek patterns and imagine possible futures is critical, and this investment in the arts and arts education is urgent and most welcome.

Kate Mosse CBT, Novelist, Historian & Playwright, said:

Today marks the 60th anniversary of Jennie Lee’s visionary White Paper that changed everything. The idea – radical at the time and no less important today – that the arts are for everyone, that creativity can be found everywhere and fostered, that books, theatre, dance, music transform lives, these ideas took root because of Lee’s commitment, enthusiasm and passion. She was one of the great transformational politicians of the 20th century and writers – and artists – salute you.

Nicholas Cullinan, British Museum Director, said:

This additional funding is a wonderful investment in the UK’s museums sector. In every corner of the country, our national and civic museums play a vital role protecting our heritage, bringing communities together, and supporting and inspiring the UK’s world-leading cultural sector.

Mary Beard, Trustee of the British Museum:

This is great news. Museums across the country are places where we go to learn, to be challenged, to wonder, to debate and disagree, and to discover times, people and places different from ourselves. They deserve (and need) all the support we can give them.

Doug Gurr, Natural History Museum Director, said:

I really welcome and am grateful for the additional support from the government for the museums sector, providing a vital lifeline to ensure we continue to reach and inspire audiences locally, nationally, globally.

Tom Sleigh, Chair, Norwich Theatre, said:

We really welcome this announcement. There is a pressing need for better investment in cultural infrastructure, and this funding will be incredibly important for many regional arts organisations, who have such an important role to play in their local communities.

Isobel Hunter MBE, chief executive of Libraries Connected, said:

The Libraries Improvement Fund has been transformative in helping library services in England adapt to the changing needs of their users. This new round will broaden that legacy, creating more accessible, sustainable and inclusive libraries across the country. We can’t wait to see the successful projects take shape.

Jenny Mollica, Chief Executive Officer of English National Opera and London Coliseum, said:

We warmly welcome today’s announcement from the Secretary of State of a new Creative Foundations Fund. This will provide critical and transformative support for many performing and visual arts venues across the country, ensuring that they continue to play a vital role at the heart of their communities. These much-needed, urgent interventions in our cultural spaces will support creativity and innovation, locally and nationally – and are an investment in our audiences of today and the future.

Stephen Freeman, Chief Executive, Royal Exchange Theatre said:

Today’s announcement of a new capital fund to support our cultural infrastructure is most welcome. It is deeply encouraging to see the Secretary of State responding to the real and urgent need for support at cultural venues up and down the country. Many of our most iconic institutions are in serious need of capital funds to support the future sustainability of our world class cultural offer.

Sir Ian Blatchford, Director and Chief Executive, Science Museum Group said:

We are delighted with the Government’s continued strong support for national museums and the wider cultural sector. Museums benefit society in many ways, inspiring audiences with engaging stories, contributing to cohesive communities and showcasing creativity that helps drive tourism. The confirmation this week of £15 million Government investment in our ambitious plans for the National Railway Museum is a clear vote of confidence in the transformative work underway across the Science Museum Group.

Jon Finch – Chair of English Civic Museum Network (ECMN) and Head of Culture and Visitor Economy at Barnsley Council said:

On behalf of England’s regional museum sector, the English Civic Museum Network (ECMN) welcomes the Government’s unprecedented announcement of £45M investment to support regional museums. ECMN is delighted that the Government has recognised the compelling case for investment in local museums as part of its growth agenda. Civic museums are a fundamental part of England’s cultural, creative, and social fabric and are a catalyst for growth on our high streets

Michael Eakin OBE, Chief Executive of Royal Liverpool Philharmonic said:

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic welcomes this additional capital funding to support the sector in 2025-26. We are grateful that Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, one of the UK’s great concert halls, has benefitted from such essential support in past years, but we know that it will continue to need investment in the future. Many of this country’s great cultural buildings are urgently in need of capital works to ensure they can continue to function and meet the needs of performances and audiences, and this new funding will be very welcome and helpful in addressing some of those needs.

Jenny Waldman, Director of Art Fund said:

The £20 million Museum Renewal Fund is a vital lifeline for our civic museums, which have a central place in the lives of local communities. It’s a welcome response to the severe financial pressures museums are facing, particularly those reliant on local authority funding. How appropriate that this crucial investment has been announced to mark the 60th anniversary of Jennie Lee’s visionary first White Paper on the Arts. This investment is an important first step to ensuring financial resilience, economic growth and ensuring our public collections remain accessible for future generations.

Grayson Perry, Artist said:

We should be proud of the brilliant museums and galleries that we have all across the country. It is great to hear that the government understands how important they are and is putting a good chunk of money into maintaining them. These cultural powerhouses give our towns and cities a vital part of their identity, art is a central element of who we are.

Sir Alistair Spalding and Britannia Morton, Co CEOs Sadler’s Wells. Artistic and Executive Directors said:

We welcome today’s announcement. It shows that the Culture Secretary is listening to the needs of the sector and is prepared to act to protect our cultural infrastructure for future generations.

Joshua McTaggart, CEO of Theatres Trust:

Theatres Trust is thrilled that the government has announced its £85million Creative Foundations Fund. We know from our research and industry knowledge that this funding is desperately needed by so many theatres across England. Our diligent team is primed to advise and support theatres up and down the country as they begin their journey on developing and delivering new capital projects, and we encourage people to make use of Theatres Trust’s free impartial expert advice service as they begin their applications.

Rebecca Lawrence, Chief Executive Officer:

The British Library welcomes the extension of the Public Bodies Infrastructure Fund for the next financial year. We hope it will be a vital source of support for addressing some of the most urgent pressures on our buildings and estates, which continue to require substantial ongoing investment to ensure they are well maintained for our users and the national collection. We are also pleased to see the extension of the Libraries Improvement Fund for local authority run library services, who we collaborate with all across the country.

Maria Balshaw, Director of Tate and Chair of the National Museum Directors’ Council said:

Today’s funding announcements are fantastic news for the whole museum sector. We are incredibly grateful to see the Government’s recognition of the importance of our world-class museums.

The increase in budgets for national museums and galleries like my own organisation Tate will be vital in supporting our financial resilience, enabling us to continue caring for and providing access to the national collection and the incredible public benefit we deliver. We also warmly welcome the announcement of additional capital investment for national and regional museums through the Public Bodies Infrastructure Fund and the Museum Estate and Development Fund. This investment is urgently needed right across the museum sector for maintenance and repairs.

In particular, we are delighted to see the announcement of new funding for civic museums, who are facing an unprecedented set of economic pressures. They are some of the finest creative and cultural spaces in the world – caring for internationally significant collections, driving regional tourism and providing vital community services. The new Museum Renewal Fund will help bring civic museums back to a more sustainable position, and we are heartened that Government has listened to calls to protect this key part of our cultural and civic infrastructure.

Andrew Lovett OBE, Chief Executive, Black Country Living Museum

We welcome the financial support announced by the Secretary of State, coming as it does at a challenging economic time for many in the sector. A financial decision is a policy decision and we welcome this policy. On the anniversary of the publication of Jennie Lee’s white paper, this is a timely reminder that Museums and the arts are not only crucial to everyday lives and wellbeing, but are also a vital part of the UK economy and merit sustained investment. We make a mistake when we think museums are in the business of collecting and exhibitions; their business is social cohesion and helping us to better understand the world. And it doesn’t get more important than that.

Notes to editors:

On the review of Arts Council England

Arts Council England is set to undergo a transformative review that will reimagine how we support, develop, and celebrate creativity across every corner of our nation. This landmark independent review, led by Baroness Margaret Hodge, will shine a light on how we can break down barriers, amplify diverse voices, and ensure that arts and culture are truly accessible to everyone, regardless of background or postcode. By examining everything from funding mechanisms to community engagement, we’re taking a crucial step towards building a more inclusive, vibrant, and dynamic cultural landscape that reflects the rich creativity of every community in England.

Cultural organisations and other interested parties are invited to participate in a survey to feed in their views as part of the review.

Read the survey, the advisory panel of experts and the full Terms of Reference for the review.

On the fourth round of the Museum Estate and Development Fund

The Museum Estate and Development Fund enables museums across the country to deliver a better experience for visitors and staff, make access and environmental improvements, unlock income-generating opportunities, and continue to protect treasured buildings and collections for future generations. It is open to museums in England accredited by the Arts Council which are not directly funded by DCMS. This fourth round of funding, worth £24.8 million, will benefit 29 local museums across the country:

North West

Queen Street Mill, Burnley, Lancashire – £813,115

Furness Abbey, Barrow-in-Furness, Lancashire – £457,795

Fusilier Museum and Learning Centre, Bury, Lancashire – £81,244

North East

Weardale Museum, Weardale, County Durham – £499,665

Sunderland Winter Gardens, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear – £488,705

Preston Park Museum, Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham – £366,300

Hartlepool Art Gallery, Hartlepool, County Durham – £302,383

Yorkshire

Museum of North Craven Life, Settle, North Yorkshire – £798,500

Land of Iron, Skinningrove, North Yorkshire – £655,907

Bankfield Museum, Halifax, West Yorkshire – £441,978

Pickering Beck Isle Museum, Pickering, North Yorkshire – £388,023

Millennium Gallery, Sheffield, South Yorkshire – £315,684

Midlands

Tamworth Castle, Tamworth, Staffordshire – £1,716,238

Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Wolverhampton, West Midlands – £1,695,75

Newstead Abbey, Ravenshead, Nottinghamshire – £1,482,882

Creswell Crags, Worksop, Nottinghamshire – £499,999

East

Peterborough Museum & Art Gallery, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire – £137,745

Sainsbury Centre, Norwich, Norfolk – £1,276,711

Bressingham Steam Museum, Diss, Norfolk – £429,719

Colchester Castle, Colchester, Essex – £1,293,625

Southchurch Hall, Southend-on-Sea, Essex – £423,105

South East

Bletchley Park, Bletchley, Buckinghamshire – £2,451,350

The Lightbox, Woking, Surrey – £319,000

South West

Russell Cotes Art Gallery and Museum, Bournemouth, Dorset – £1,500,817

Nothe Fort, Weymouth, Dorset – £1,374,763

Dorset Museum and Art Gallery, Dorchester, Dorset – £940,500

Wheal Martyn Clay Works, St Austell, Cornwall – £707,200

London

London Museum of Water and Steam, Brentford, London – £2,626,277

The Foundling Museum, Camden, London – £319,000

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Updates to this page

Published 20 February 2025
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
February 20, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Child Poverty – Save the Children: Urgent investment needed in low-income families, particularly sole parent households – Save the Children

Source: Save the Children

Save the Children is calling on the Government to commit to investing in policies to lift more children and whānau out of poverty following the release of today’s latest child poverty statistics that show no progress on meeting targets over the past year, and particular groups of children more at risk.

Child Poverty Statistics for the year ending June 2024 released today by Stats NZ show the number of children experiencing hardship in their everyday lives has largely remained the same, with specific groups of children – including mokopuna Māori, Pasifika and disabled children and those living in sole parent households – particularly impacted by poverty.

The cost of housing continues to push many families into poverty, with one third of low- income families spending more than 40% of their income on housing, compared to an average of 20% for all households. Today’s figures do not include those children and families living in emergency housing, the hardest end of poverty.

“Child poverty is complex and needs political commitment and investment across all governments if we are to achieve real change and enable all children in Aotearoa to thrive,” says Save the Children New Zealand’s Advocacy and Research Director Jacqui Southey.

“If we are to meaningfully reduce child poverty levels, we must be committed to meaningfully lifting the incomes of low-income families, including lifting welfare levels, and tackle the availability and cost of housing for all New Zealanders whether renting or owning their own homes.

“We cannot be trapped into seeing this as a single term or single government issue. And most importantly, we must not give up.”

Ms Southey says the data across the reporting period from 2018 shows a lift in poverty levels since 2021, although the primary measures remain lower than, or at, the 2018 baseline.

“Although there is no statistically significant difference to report, the graphs show that over time we are no longer moving the dial in the right direction and this is extremely concerning.

“We cannot ignore that one in four of our children are living in material hardship and one in five are living below the poverty line after housing costs in Aotearoa. For each of these numbers, a real child is experiencing the everyday hardships of not having enough.

“For particular groups of children, this number is much higher. Pasifika children continue to experience poverty at a higher rate than other groups of children. It is essential that we understand the why of these statistics so we can make the necessary changes to ensure Pasifika children do not lead lives disadvantaged by poverty.”

Ms Southey says children living in sole parent households are also significantly impacted by child poverty. Nearly 80% of households living on the lowest incomes are sole parent households, on average living on a disposable income of less than $46,000.

“By any measure this is a shockingly low-income level for a family and is directly contributing to levels of child poverty in Aotearoa New Zealand,” she says.

“It is not acceptable that our economic systems are set up to push sole parent families into poverty, this is a critical area for change.”

Save the Children is calling for targeted policies and investment to significantly improve support for sole parent families that would ease the economic burden they are living under.

About Save the Children NZ:

Save the Children works in 120 countries across the world. The organisation responds to emergencies and works with children and their communities to ensure they survive, learn and are protected.

Save the Children NZ currently supports international programmes in Fiji, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Laos, Nepal, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. Areas of work include child protection, education and literacy, disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation, and alleviating child poverty.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

February 20, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Child Poverty – Economic growth alone won’t help 156,600 Kiwi children who live in poverty – CPAG

Source: Child Poverty Action Group

The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) is urging the government to put child poverty back on the agenda after official data showed an increase of children living in hardship over the past two years.

It’s likely an extra 36,300 children are living in material hardship compared to 2022, according to official child poverty statistics from StatsNZ released today.

“Child poverty data was trending down from 2018 but in the past two years we have seen an increase in material hardship rates which is a concerning trend,” CPAG executive officer Sarita Divis said.

Stats NZ figures showed a likely 156,600 New Zealand children – 1 in 7 or 13.4 percent – are living in material hardship where their families cannot afford the basics.

Those numbers were significantly higher for Māori (23.9 percent), Pacific (28.7 percent) and disabled (21 percent) children.

“Colonisation and discrimination are at the root of these disproportionate rates for marginalised groups. The government needs to reverse the cuts made to community-led approaches.”

“We know the broad brush stroke of economic growth benefits those already doing well and doesn’t help raise incomes of those struggling,” Ms Divis said.

“We need to see a concerted effort with policies that we know will help. The government has ignored official advice on introducing measures to help improve child poverty rates and instead has focused on cruel actions that we know hurt children such as benefit sanctions.”

CPAG urged the government to address urgent matters like food insecurity.

“For a long time now, as a country, we have lived with low wages and inadequate welfare, an unfair tax system, high housing costs, and ongoing underinvestment in key services that help the lowest-income families,” Ms Divis said.

“And as our cost of living has increased substantially over recent times, along with increased unemployment, it is no wonder that parents, despite their best efforts, struggle to provide the basics for their children.”

The aim of the Child Poverty Reduction Act (2018) is to address a significant and sustained reduction in child poverty.

While in opposition National supported the implementation of the act. At the time current child poverty reduction Minister Louise Upston said then the targets were not ambitious enough.

The Prime Minister also talked about child poverty in his maiden speech to parliament in 2021 and we urge both to go back to their commitments.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

February 20, 2025
MIL-OSI: OTTAWA BANCORP, INC. ANNOUNCES CASH DIVIDEND

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

OTTAWA, Ill., Feb. 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ottawa Bancorp, Inc. (OTCQX: OTTW), the holding company for OSB Community Bank, announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.11 per share, payable on or about March 19, 2025, to stockholders of record as of the close of business on March 5, 2025.

Ottawa Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company for OSB Community Bank which provides various financial services to individual and corporate customers in the United States. OSB Community Bank offers various deposit accounts, including checking, money market, regular savings, club savings, certificate, and various retirement accounts. Its loan portfolio includes one-to-four family residential mortgage, multi-family and non-residential real estate, commercial, and construction loans as well as auto loans and home equity lines of credit. OSB Community Bank was founded in 1871 and is headquartered in Ottawa, Illinois. For more information about Ottawa Bancorp, Inc and OSB Community Bank, please visit www.myosb.bank.

Contact: Craig Hepner
                President and Chief Executive Officer
                (815) 366-5437

The MIL Network –

February 20, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: NSW Government launches local council grants to combat hate and strengthen community cohesion

Source: New South Wales Premiere

Published: 20 February 2025

Released by: Minister for Local Government, Minister for Multiculturalism

The Minns Labor Government has launched the latest round of the NSW Social Cohesion Grants for Local Government designed to enhance councils’ ability to prevent and respond to hate.

The program strengthens local government capability to foster connection and belonging within and between communities, as well as build trust in local institutions.

Applications for the latest round of grants are now open, with local councils across NSW to share in $500,000 for projects that strengthen social cohesion and deliver stronger and more resilient communities.

Councils may apply for between $50,000 and $150,000 to address a social cohesion challenge in their community, with the current round focused on preventing and responding to the prevalence of hate.

Projects should aim to address the impacts of hate, polarisation and the localised impacts from global crises and events that councils are experiencing.

In previous rounds, the NSW Social Cohesion Grants for Local Government program has funded projects to build community cohesion in high density residential neighbourhoods, support community centre activations in areas impacted by bushfire, and intercultural community leadership programs.

Applications are open until 11:59pm on Friday 28 March and can be made on the grant webpage.

Minister for Local Government Ron Hoenig said:

“The impact of recent hateful events has been felt across the state.

“Local governments are at the heart of their communities, and these grants will help councils create meaningful initiatives that foster inclusion and support communities to feel connected.

“Our strength lies in our unity, our respect for one another and our shared commitment to making NSW a safe and welcoming place for all.”

Minister for Multiculturalism Steve Kamper said:

“This funding will assist with projects to help build community cohesion.

“By supporting Social Cohesion Grants for Local Government, we are investing in the future of our state.

“These grants will contribute towards protecting our society and supporting the true spirit of our multicultural state.”

MIL OSI News –

February 20, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: $10 million for new health worker accommodation to attract more paramedics to regional NSW

Source: New South Wales Premiere

Published: 20 February 2025

Released by: Minister for Regional Health, Minister for Regional NSW

Regional communities across NSW are set to benefit from new Key Health Worker Accommodation which will help attract more paramedics to the bush.

The Minns Labor Government will invest $10 million in health worker housing for paramedics in regional NSW as part of the Key Health Worker Accommodation program.

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

The $200.1 million funding will secure approximately 120 dwellings across regional NSW, which includes the building of new accommodation, refurbishment of existing living quarters and the purchase of suitable properties such as residential units.

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

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

Quotes attributable to Minister for Regional Health, Ryan Park:

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

“Strengthening our regional ambulance workforce is a key priority for our government and this $10 million investment in accommodation will support attraction of paramedics to the regions.”

Quote attributable to Minister for Regional NSW, Tara Moriarty MLC:

“Providing modern, sustainable and secure staff accommodation in regional, rural and remote locations will help to attract and retain paramedics.

“This $10 million boost to accommodation for our paramedic workforce follows the rollout of an additional 500 paramedics for regional and rural NSW and will support NSW Ambulance staff who take on these positions.”

Quote attributable to Gerard Hayes, HSU NSW Secretary:

“The housing crisis can become a healthcare crisis for rural and regional towns if we can’t provide safe and secure housing for essential workers, so we welcome more accommodation for our hard-working paramedics.

“Paramedics are invaluable to regional and rural towns. They deserve to be supported to care for people in those areas. Removing the stress of finding safe, secure and affordable housing is a big part of recognising the value of these essential workers.”

MIL OSI News –

February 20, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: Faster water approvals to supercharge housing delivery
Source: New South Wales Premiere

Published: 20 February 2025

Released by: Minister for Housing, Minister for Water

The Minns Labor Government is slashing red tape to get more homes built faster across the state, unveiling a clear blueprint to speed up approvals and ensure new properties are connected and ready to turn on the tap sooner.
The Housing Approval Reform Action Plan is a joint initiative between the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), Sydney Water, and WaterNSW to streamline approvals and accelerate the delivery of critical infrastructure.

After more than a decade of underinvestment and stalled approvals, the NSW Government is taking action, establishing a cross-government team to fast-track water and wastewater infrastructure, ensuring developments stay on track and homes are delivered sooner.

Every new home requires essential infrastructure. From providing drinking water and wastewater management to handling stormwater, a robust water cycle management plan is a key factor in assessing land use and development proposals in NSW.

Government agencies evaluate a wide range of potential impacts on water quality, including stormwater management, erosion and sediment control during construction and wastewater disposal.

Beyond accelerating housing construction, the plan will focus on protecting, enhancing, and restoring waterways and water sources to ensure long-term sustainability.

The Housing Approval Reform Action Plan streamlines housing delivery and eases system pressure through clear actions, including:
- Expanding risk-based triaging for all referrals to ensure homes that are ready can be connected without delay.
- Streamlining the removal of groundwater process on building sites to ensure construction can commence quickly and safety.
- Revising key performance indicators to mitigate inefficiencies.
- Support developers and Water Servicing Coordinators in getting their applications right from
  the start.
- Facilitating early engagement for smoother applications.
Following an industry forum in August 2024, these reforms were shaped with key stakeholders and construction industry leaders, who highlighted real-world obstacles slowing housing development, to break down barriers and get more homes built faster.

This action plan strengthens the Minns Labor Government’s commitment to building a better NSW, including:
- $2.2 billion infrastructure investment to fund more housing, critical infrastructure and better planning for housing.
- Over $250 million to continue the overhaul of the planning system and planning reforms.
- The development of the NSW Pattern Book and accelerated planning pathway for those who use the pre-approved patterns.
- $5.1 billion to build 8,400 new public homes, the largest investment in social and affordable housing.
- Creation of Housing Delivery Authority that recently announced plans to fast-track the delivery of 6,400 new homes.
To learn more, please visit: https://water.dpie.nsw.gov.au/our-work/plans-and-strategies/housing-approval-reform-action-plan/

Minister for Housing and Water Rose Jackson said:

“Drinking water, wastewater and stormwater might not be front of mind, but they’re make-or-break for getting homes built and ready to live in.

“We’re cutting red tape, speeding up approvals, and pulling every lever we’ve got to get more homes on the ground faster—because NSW can’t afford delays.

“This plan is about fixing the system. The entire NSW water sector has come together with developers to find solutions that actually work and get things moving.

“These are practical changes that will slash approval timeframes and address industry concerns—while still doing the right thing by our water sources and environment.”

NSW Executive Director of the Property Council of Australia Katie Stevenson said:

“When applications for apartment buildings get the stamp of approval from planning, there are often further strings attached where significant excavations need additional sign-off from water authorities and this adds costly further delays to the delivery of new housing.

“Today’s announcement effectively declares 2025 as a year of cultural change for the three water authorities involved in the pre-construction approval of new housing – it is the sort of leadership we need to align all aspects of the government’s activities toward the resolution of the housing crisis.

“We appreciate the priorities outlined in the action plan, along with the specific activities and timelines it includes, which have been created through extensive consultation with the industry.”
MIL OSI News –
February 20, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: Eclipsa Audio: Ushering in a New Generation of 3D Sound With Samsung

Source: Samsung

In video content, audio is just as essential as the visuals, playing a key role in immersion and making viewers feel as if they are part of the scene. To create a truly optimized sound experience, Samsung Electronics collaborated with Google to develop Eclipsa Audio — a cutting-edge 3D audio technology officially introduced through Samsung TVs last month at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2025 in Las Vegas.

Samsung Newsroom took a closer look at the technology behind Eclipsa Audio and how it delivers lifelike 3D spatial audio.

Developing 3D Spatial Audio Technology
In 2023, the Alliance for Open Media (AOM) — a global consortium that includes Samsung, Google, Netflix, Meta and other leading companies — officially adopted Immersive Audio Model and Formats (IAMF) as the industry standard for 3D audio. Developed by Samsung and Google, this innovative 3D audio format is currently available to content creators under the brand name Eclipsa Audio.

Eclipsa Audio establishes a shared protocol between different types of media content and the devices that play them. The format delivers a deeply immersive listening experience by optimizing and adapting audio positioning, intensity, spatial reflections and other sound elements to various output environments, such as cinemas, home theater systems, gaming consoles and mobile devices.

Depending on the output device, the technology can render sound from multiple directions — including from the front, back, left, right, above and below — to create a sense of spatial depth and presence within the scene being watched. In a concert video for instance, Eclipsa Audio presents the artist’s performance in crystal-clear detail while also capturing the energy of the audience, making the viewer feel as if they are physically there.

Designed for Optimal 3D Audio in Everyday Life
Among the growing range of technologies enhancing 3D sound — including surround sound, immersive audio and spatial audio — Eclipsa Audio was specifically designed to provide a 3D audio experience optimized for everyday listening.

Traditionally, 3D audio content is created with the assumption that it will be played in environments equipped with multiple surround speakers. However, most home entertainment setups primarily consist of a TV and a soundbar — making it challenging to accurately replicate the content creator’s intended spatial audio effects. Eclipsa Audio overcomes this limitation by automatically analyzing sound elements in each segment of a film — from whispered dialogue to the roar of fighter jets in the background — and delivering a dynamic 3D audio effect fine-tuned for the viewer’s home environment.

Building a 3D Audio Ecosystem With Open-Source Technology
Eclipsa Audio’s open-source framework sets it apart from other 3D audio technologies by allowing anyone to create 3D audio content without paying royalties. Following its debut at CES 2025, the technology has been met with enthusiasm from content creators and has gained momentum across media platforms and online communities.

In this way, Eclipsa Audio serves as an open vessel in which content creators can integrate 3D audio elements from all directions without restrictions. By democratizing spatial audio, Eclipsa Audio empowers content creators and ensures that consumers experience sound as intended — regardless of their audio setup.

Eclipsa Audio on Samsung TVs
Eclipsa Audio’s immersive 3D sound performs at its best when paired with exceptional hardware. To make that peak performance a reality, Samsung and Google have worked tirelessly to provide consumers with Eclipsa Audio-supported 3D audio content — soon to be available via the YouTube app on Samsung’s latest TVs. Eclipsa Audio is set to roll out across the company’s entire 2025 TV lineup from the Crystal UHD series to the premium flagship Neo QLED 8K models.1

Most Samsung TVs are equipped with stereo speakers at the bottom of the screen, and for QLED 4K models and above, additional speakers are positioned at the top. Flagship models, though, come with extra benefits. Besides surround speakers added to the rear of the sides, their top-positioned speakers are specially designed for height perception. Eclipsa Audio reflects sound off the ceiling with these special speakers, creating an effect that allows viewers to experience upward-directional audio — such as the sensation of an object flying overhead. Pairing the TV with a soundbar further enhances the experience, producing richer and more expansive 3D spatial audio.

Eclipsa Audio has established the foundation for a 3D audio content ecosystem by bringing industry leaders — from device manufacturers to content platforms — together under a unified standard. In an era where streaming services blur the line between content creation and consumption, Eclipsa Audio unlocks new possibilities for immersive sound that Samsung is determined to further expand.

1 Rollout schedule and service details may vary depending on the TV model.

MIL OSI Economics –

February 20, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Action needed now, as child poverty grows

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

Data released today by Statistics New Zealand showed the urgent problem facing Aotearoa New Zealand in tackling child poverty, said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney.

“Child poverty is estimated by Stats NZ on three measures – before housing costs, after housing costs, and material poverty. All three central estimates of poverty rose last year. This is the second year in a row in which the trend is heading in the wrong direction. We need action now to turn this trend around,” said Renney.

“1 in 7 children are estimated to be living in households where they experience material poverty – that means 156,000 kids are missing out on essentials and living in cold and damp housing. That is the highest number since 2015.

“Child poverty is a prison that holds too many children in Aotearoa back. Unless we tackle this problem now, we will be paying the social costs over generations.

“Child poverty is not distributed equally. 1 in 4 tamariki Māori live in material poverty. 1 in 3 Pacific children live in material poverty. Where a household has a disabled person, 1 in 4 children in those households are in material poverty. For all these groups the number of children in material poverty has grown over the past two years.

“The Government is now missing all three of its child poverty targets. The Government’s key response to child poverty has been to water down the targets, reduce the value of welfare support, and cut the real value of the minimum wage.

“There is no plan to help these families living in poverty, instead they are being threatened with further sanctions and penalties.

“The Government is urgently talking up the need for an economic plan, but it doesn’t seem as if it shares the same sense of urgency for child poverty. Children deserve better than this Government’s indifference,” said Renney.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

February 20, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: President of Insurance Brokerage Firm and CEO of Marketing Company Charged in $161M Affordable Care Act Enrollment Fraud Scheme

Source: US State of California

An indictment was unsealed today charging Cory Lloyd, 46, of Stuart, Florida, and Steven Strong, 42, of Mansfield, Texas, in connection with their alleged participation in a scheme to submit fraudulent enrollments to fully subsidized Affordable Care Act insurance plans (ACA plans) in order to obtain millions of dollars in commission payments from insurance companies.

ACA plans offer tax credits to eligible enrollees. These tax credits, or “subsidies,” could be paid by the federal government directly to insurance plans in the form of a payment toward the applicable monthly premium. According to court documents, Lloyd and Strong conspired to enroll consumers in ACA plans that were fully subsidized by the federal government by submitting false and fraudulent applications for individuals whose income did not meet the minimum requirements to be eligible for the subsidies. Lloyd allegedly received commission and other payments from an insurance company in exchange for enrolling consumers in the ACA plans. In turn, Lloyd allegedly paid commissions to Strong in exchange for consumer referrals.

As alleged in the indictment, Lloyd and Strong targeted vulnerable, low-income individuals experiencing homelessness, unemployment, and mental health and substance abuse disorders, and, through “street marketers” working on their behalf, sometimes offered bribes to induce those individuals to enroll in subsidized ACA plans. Marketers working for Strong’s company allegedly coached consumers on how to respond to application questions to maximize the subsidy amount and provided addresses and social security numbers that did not match the consumers purportedly applying. As a result of being enrolled in subsidized ACA plans for which they did not qualify, some of these consumers experienced disruptions in their medical care.

The indictment alleges that Lloyd and Strong used misleading sales scripts and other deceptive sales techniques to convince consumers to state that they would attempt to earn the minimum income necessary to qualify for a subsidized ACA plan, even when the consumer initially projected having no income. Lloyd and Strong also allegedly conspired to bypass the federal government’s attempts to verify income and other information. Lloyd and Strong allegedly engaged in the scheme to maximize the commission payments they received from insurers, resulting in their companies’ receiving millions of dollars in commissions.

As alleged in the indictment, Lloyd and Strong’s scheme caused the federal government to pay at least $161,900,000 in subsidies.

Cory Lloyd and Steven Strong are each charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, three counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and two counts of money laundering. If convicted, each faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud, five years in prison for conspiracy to defraud the United States, and 10 years in prison for each count of money laundering.

Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting Special Agent in Charge Justin Fleck of the FBI Miami Field Office, Acting Special Agent in Charge Isaac Bledsoe of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office, and Special Agent in Charge Emmanuel Gomez of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Miami Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI, HHS-OIG, and IRS-CI are investigating the case.

Assistant Chief Jamie de Boer and Trial Attorney D. Keith Clouser of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

MIL OSI USA News –

February 20, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: As Regional Tensions Escalate, M23 Rebel Group Advances Further in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Top UN Officials Urge Warring Parties to Restart Negotiations

Source: United Nations General Assembly and Security Council

Amid rising regional tensions and the continuous advance of the 23 March Movement, or M23, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, senior UN officials told the Security Council today that the warring parties must return to the negotiating table and seriously work towards peace, while also welcoming regional efforts to resolve the conflict.

Bintou Keita, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), noted that this session is taking place in a context marked by the election of a new President of the African Union. Reporting that M23’s advance has continued to make progress in North and South Kivu, she said that, in two weeks, the Congo River Alliance has established a parallel administration in Goma. On 16 February, M23 took control of Kavumu airport and Bukavu, also seizing the town of Kamanyola two days later.

Since the taking of Goma, the Movement has prevented MONUSCO’s resupply of the troops of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission, and it has taken control of all roads entering and leaving the area. Noting that MONUSCOS’s facilities — which shelter civilians seeking refuge — are under pressure and pointing to deteriorating health and hygiene conditions, she added: “This is being used to amplify anti-MONUSCO sentiments”. Highlighting recorded searches by M23 of hospitals and homes for soldiers and civilians that oppose the group, she also noted the increased vulnerability of girls and women to conflict-related sexual violence.

Further welcoming the conclusion of the joint summit of the East African Community and SADC on 8 February in the United Republic of Tanzania — which insisted on the resumption of direct negotiations and dialogue in the context of the Luanda and Nairobi processes — she added: “It is crucial that what has been achieved won’t be lost.”

“At the end of January, we witnessed history repeating itself worryingly,” said Huang Xia, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region, pointing to M23’s continuous advancement to strategic areas. Stressing that the risk of regional conflagration is more real today than ever before, he called on States to prevent the undoing of efforts over the past decade. He said that the joint summit of southern and East African leaders marks “a key step in emergence of a regional approach” for a consensus-based crisis resolution and called for merging of the Luanda and Nairobi processes.

Highlighting the 14 February meeting of Heads of State of the African Union Peace and Security Council, he stressed that women and girls must be included in peace mechanisms. “As catastrophic as a situation may appear today, it may grow worse,” he warned, calling for resumed dialogue and revitalization of the Addis Ababa Framework Agreement on Peace, Security and Cooperation. Underscoring the need for a regional oversight mechanism, he added: “It is today time to gather around the negotiation table and to candidly discuss the root causes of the conflict.”

…

MIL OSI United Nations News –

February 20, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: Screen Australia and Stan Announce New Comedy-Horror Series Gnomes

Source: Australia Government Statements 4

18 02 2025 – Media release

Gnomes writers Tegan Higginbotham and Paul Verhoeven, and creator/producer Joel Kohn.
Stan and Screen Australia have announced the brand-new Stan Original Series Gnomes, which is slated for production in 2025 in Victoria.
The series is set in a fading country town that finds itself under siege by an army of murderous garden gnomes on the eve of their first Gnome-a-Palooza festival. At the heart of the story are two police officers, Senior Sergeant Arnold Kipps and his ex-partner from the force (and life) Senior Constable Ellie McKay, who has returned to town with the task of shutting down Arnold’s beloved police station. When the town’s gnome population is brought to life by an ancient evil, all hell breaks loose. Arnold and Ellie must team up with a motley crew of locals to try and save their home from a Gnome-apocalypse.
Gnomes has been created by award-winning filmmaker Joel Kohn, who will produce alongside Total Fiction producers John Molloy (Barons, The Gloaming) and Richard Kelly (The Tailings, Jones Family Christmas). The series boasts a stellar creative team, with writers Tegan Higginbotham and Paul Verhoeven penning the scripts.
Screen Australia Director of Narrative Content Louise Gough said, “Gnomes is a thrilling example of the kind of bold, genre-defying storytelling that continues to capture global attention. This series not only showcases the dynamic creativity of Australian talent but also highlights how local and international partnerships can elevate Australian productions to new heights. With a unique blend of horror and comedy, and a stellar creative team, Gnomes has all the ingredients to engage audiences worldwide.”
Stan Chief Content Officer Cailah Scobie said, “Gnomes is set to deliver a darkly comedic treat unlike anything we’ve seen before. Australian audiences adore horror and genre, and this project typifies the kind of audacious and unique productions that we love to show on Stan. We’re thrilled to be partnering with such an exceptional creative team, along with Happy Accidents on their first Australian series.”
Co-CEO of Happy Accidents Holly Hines said, “I fell in love with this concept the moment I heard the pitch and the scripts have been just exceptional. Gnomes is a complete gem – wildly imaginative, hilariously offbeat, and unlike anything else in the comedy-drama space. With Paul and Tegan writing, and our wonderful co-producers, we have created a series that truly stands out in the global marketplace. The enthusiasm from our partners is a testament to how universal its appeal truly is, and we can’t wait to introduce this unique adventure to even more audiences.”
VicScreen CEO Caroline Pitcher said, “Nurturing talented Victorians to bring their bold vision and innovation to the global screen is what we do best, and VicScreen is thrilled to support the Victorian creative force bringing the comedy-horror Gnomes to life.”
Gnomes is produced by Total Fiction and Screen Invaders alongside co-producers Happy Accidents (USA) and Network Movie (Germany). Happy Accidents will handle international distribution, German pre-sale via Network Movie. Major production investment from Screen Australia in association with Stan. Produced in association with VicScreen. Post, digital and visual effects supported by Screen Queensland. Developed with assistance of Screen Australia. Stan Executive Producers are Cailah Scobie and Donna Chang.
The Stan Original Series Gnomes will begin production in 2025.
Stan Media Enquiries
[email protected]
Media enquiries
Maddie Walsh | Publicist
+ 61 2 8113 5915 | [email protected]
Jessica Parry | Senior Publicist (Mon, Tue, Thu)
+ 61 428 767 836 | [email protected]
All other general/non-media enquiries
Sydney + 61 2 8113 5800 | Melbourne + 61 3 8682 1900 | [email protected]

MIL OSI News –

February 20, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: Feisty Feminist Murder Mystery He Had It Coming Announced

Source: Australia Government Statements 4

18 02 2025 – Media release

Stars of He Had It Coming, Lydia West, Natasha Liu Bordizzo and Liv Hewson.
Stan and Screen Australia have announced the brand-new series He Had It Coming, produced by Jungle Entertainment with major production investment from Screen Australia.
Starring Lydia West, Natasha Liu Bordizzo and Liv Hewson, the series is an odd couple comedy-drama of two women accidentally entangled in a murder mystery when their spontaneous feminist art activism is co-opted by a killer.
From Executive Producer Gretel Vella (Totally Completely Fine, The Great), with Chloe Rickard (Population 11, No Activity), Shay Spencer (Wakefield), Bridget Callow-Wright (Population 11), Robert Taylor and Ellie Gibbons. He Had It Coming is a comedic whodunnit following mismatched friends who get caught up in gender politics on campus and murder.
Created and written by Gretel Vella and Craig Anderson (Double The Fist), with writers Emme Hoy (Renegade Nell), Belinda King (Wellmania), Nicholas Cole (Bump) and Hannah Samuel (The Heights). Directed by Rachel House (Mountain) and Anne Renton (The Good Doctor, The Bold Type).
He Had It Coming stars Lydia West (Big Mood, It’s a Sin) and Natasha Liu Bordizzo (Ahsoka: Star Wars, The Voyeurs) who are also Executive Producers, and Liv Hewson (Yellowjackets, Bombshell), with ensemble cast Duncan Fellows (Deadloch), Roxie Mohebbi (Critical Incident), Tom Dawson (Total Control), Alex Campion De Crespigny (Heartbreak High) and Miah Madden (The Sapphires).
Lydia West plays Elise, an awkward English scholarship student (for the bagpipes, she has the shoulders for it) who forms an unlikely alliance with Barbara (Liu Bordizzo), a fashion influencer who posts about girl power all day but is always too busy to attend a protest. After a series of mishaps with men, both decide to take a stand. Barbara spearheads an activist art project in the dead of night and drunk as skunks, the girls deface a statue of the university’s male founder in the University’s Quadrangle.
When the girls wake to discover that the university’s star athlete has been murdered and displayed at the foot of their political statement, they must urgently erase all ties to the crime. With Detective Shepherd (Hewson) following the breadcrumbs they have been trying to sweep up, Barbara and Elise need to find the real culprit amid rising gender tensions on campus and a growing body count.
Screen Australia Director of Narrative Content Louise Gough said, “He Had It Coming is a fun, feminist romp that approaches gender equality in a contemporary, innovative and hilarious way. With a standout cast and powerhouse creative and producing teams, this is must-watch TV.”
Stan Chief Content Officer Cailah Scobie said, “He Had It Coming is a clever and sharp exploration of gender politics led by an extraordinary cast in this vacuum-sealed murder mystery. We celebrate the ongoing collaboration with Gretel Vella who has developed yet another exciting script, attracting an incredible cast to film in Australia. We are also thrilled to continue our ongoing successful collaboration with Jungle Entertainment with support from FIFTH SEASON, Screen Australia and Screen NSW.”
Ava Knight, Director of Acquisitions at FIFTH SEASON said, “We’re thrilled to be partnering with Jungle Entertainment and creator Gretel Vella on He Had It Coming. Gretel expertly uses humour to explore universal themes around gender politics in a way that feels incredibly fresh and timely. We’re excited to bring this brilliant and bold female-led crime caper to audiences around the world – where nothing is quite as it seems.”
Jungle partner and Executive Producer Chloe Rickard said, “We have absolutely loved collaborating again with Stan, Screen Australia and Screen NSW and new partners FIFTH SEASON to bring another unique Australian voice and story to the world. Add Lydia West, Natasha Liu Bordizzo and Liv Hewson to the mix and you’ve got the sizzle for a completely original and fun campus caper.”
Head of Screen NSW Kyas Hepworth said, “Jungle Entertainment continues to produce leading Australian content, and Screen NSW is pleased to support them to bring another first-class project to NSW. With a standout creative team led by NSW-based Gretel Vella and Craig Anderson, the series is a clever and hilarious whodunnit story. I look forward to audiences tuning in when it arrives on Stan.”
The Stan Original series He Had It Coming is produced by Jungle Entertainment. Major production investment from Screen Australia in association with Stan. Financed with support from Screen NSW. International sales by FIFTH SEASON. Post, digital, and visual effects supported by Screen NSW. Developed with the assistance of Screen NSW and in association with The Development Partnership. Stan Executive Producers are Cailah Scobie and Alicia Brown.
The Stan Original Series He Had It Coming has wrapped production and is coming soon, only on Stan.
Stan Media Enquiries
[email protected]
Media enquiries
Maddie Walsh | Publicist
+ 61 2 8113 5915 | [email protected]
Jessica Parry | Senior Publicist (Mon, Tue, Thu)
+ 61 428 767 836 | [email protected]
All other general/non-media enquiries
Sydney + 61 2 8113 5800 | Melbourne + 61 3 8682 1900 | [email protected]

MIL OSI News –

February 20, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Remaking a classic

Source: New Zealand Police (National News)

New Zealand Police is bringing back an iconic advertisement responsible for inspiring thousands of people to join its ranks over the last 30 years.

The classic 1990s ad, set to “He Ain’t Heavy” – a song about a young girl carrying her baby brother – is an important part of New Zealand Police history.

Now, more than 30 years later, a remake is set to inspire the next generation of Police.

Police Commissioner Richard Chambers says the 2025 version showcases a team of professional, effective, and empathetic staff who are working hard to prevent crime and harm.

“I know many officers who were inspired by the original ad to join Police, myself included.

“I was very moved and incredibly proud when I saw the remake.

“It demonstrates how varied, impactful and important policing is while showcasing the amazing work my staff do every day to keep people safe.

“I hope this ad will inspire people to join, just as it did three decades ago.”

The advertisement, a near scene-by-scene recreation of the original, includes Police responses to everything from pub brawls, to family harm, to arson, to fatalities on our roads.

It builds on what made the original so popular, reminding us of the impact policing has on the lives of so many.

“It’s a nod to the journey we’ve been on, incorporating new workgroups such as AOS, Maritime Unit and Community Beat Teams, and highlighting our increased diversity and capability, as well as the evolution of technology,” Commissioner Chambers says.

“The ad encapsulates our focus on core policing and our commitment to being increasingly visible in the communities we serve.”

While part of a recruitment campaign, the remake also represents an opportunity to celebrate Police and build community trust and confidence.

“Supporting each other through the highs and lows of policing is important to our well-being and sense of belonging,” Commissioner Chambers says.

Police staff around the country were eager to take part, with over 100 staff, family, and friends from partner emergency services and agencies featured.

Police families even opened their homes for filming.

Staff were so passionate about this initiative they were involved outside their normal working hours, and others such as Eagle were deployable during filming.

“I’m delighted to support the remake and look forward to the interest that it generates,” Commissioner Chambers says.

“It shows policing and my Police staff at their best, and I’m very proud for New Zealand, and the world, to see that.”

Note to media:
The video is available to view on the New Zealand Police Facebook page.
A short clip of behind the scenes footage is available to media on request.

ENDS

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

February 20, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: New Police campaign welcomed

Source: New Zealand Government

The new Police marketing campaign starting today, recreating the ‘He Ain’t Heavy’ ad from the 1990s, has been welcomed by Associate Police Minister Casey Costello.

“This isn’t just a great way to get the attention of more potential recruits, it’s a reminder to everyone about what policing is and the quality of NZ Police,” Ms Costello says.

“As a serving officer when the original ad came out, I remember the impact it had and how proud I felt and I wasn’t surprised to hear that there was such a positive reaction from Police to the proposal to update it.

“No actors were used. More than 100 Police, their families and colleagues from other emergency services were involved and opened up their homes for filming.

“Our Police is world class and it’s important that the public understands all the work they do to prevent crime and serve their communities.”

The Minister said that the new campaign also provided potential recruits with a picture of what it meant to join the Police.

“Police are doing a huge amount of work to drive recruitment, improving the application and training process and since the Government lifted funding in the Budget there has been an unprecedented number of applications.
“To get 500 extra frontline Police and improve the safety of our communities we need to keep that pipeline going, and I’m sure this new campaign will help keep the number of high-quality applicants flowing.”

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

February 20, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: President of Insurance Brokerage Firm and CEO of Marketing Company Charged in $161M Affordable Care Act Enrollment Fraud Scheme

Source: United States Attorneys General 1

An indictment was unsealed today charging Cory Lloyd, 46, of Stuart, Florida, and Steven Strong, 42, of Mansfield, Texas, in connection with their alleged participation in a scheme to submit fraudulent enrollments to fully subsidized Affordable Care Act insurance plans (ACA plans) in order to obtain millions of dollars in commission payments from insurance companies.

ACA plans offer tax credits to eligible enrollees. These tax credits, or “subsidies,” could be paid by the federal government directly to insurance plans in the form of a payment toward the applicable monthly premium. According to court documents, Lloyd and Strong conspired to enroll consumers in ACA plans that were fully subsidized by the federal government by submitting false and fraudulent applications for individuals whose income did not meet the minimum requirements to be eligible for the subsidies. Lloyd allegedly received commission and other payments from an insurance company in exchange for enrolling consumers in the ACA plans. In turn, Lloyd allegedly paid commissions to Strong in exchange for consumer referrals.

As alleged in the indictment, Lloyd and Strong targeted vulnerable, low-income individuals experiencing homelessness, unemployment, and mental health and substance abuse disorders, and, through “street marketers” working on their behalf, sometimes offered bribes to induce those individuals to enroll in subsidized ACA plans. Marketers working for Strong’s company allegedly coached consumers on how to respond to application questions to maximize the subsidy amount and provided addresses and social security numbers that did not match the consumers purportedly applying. As a result of being enrolled in subsidized ACA plans for which they did not qualify, some of these consumers experienced disruptions in their medical care.

The indictment alleges that Lloyd and Strong used misleading sales scripts and other deceptive sales techniques to convince consumers to state that they would attempt to earn the minimum income necessary to qualify for a subsidized ACA plan, even when the consumer initially projected having no income. Lloyd and Strong also allegedly conspired to bypass the federal government’s attempts to verify income and other information. Lloyd and Strong allegedly engaged in the scheme to maximize the commission payments they received from insurers, resulting in their companies’ receiving millions of dollars in commissions.

As alleged in the indictment, Lloyd and Strong’s scheme caused the federal government to pay at least $161,900,000 in subsidies.

Cory Lloyd and Steven Strong are each charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, three counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and two counts of money laundering. If convicted, each faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud, five years in prison for conspiracy to defraud the United States, and 10 years in prison for each count of money laundering.

Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting Special Agent in Charge Justin Fleck of the FBI Miami Field Office, Acting Special Agent in Charge Isaac Bledsoe of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office, and Special Agent in Charge Emmanuel Gomez of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Miami Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI, HHS-OIG, and IRS-CI are investigating the case.

Assistant Chief Jamie de Boer and Trial Attorney D. Keith Clouser of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

MIL Security OSI –

February 20, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: ICE Dallas removes a 36-year-old citizen of Mexico with convictions for murder in the second degree

Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

DALLAS — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed Pedro Bailon, a 36-year-old citizen of Mexico and convicted felon charged with second-degree murder, to his home country Feb. 12. He was turned over to Mexican authorities without incident.

“Violent criminal aliens, like this one have no place in our communities,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Dallas acting Field Office Director Josh Johnson. “His disregard for our nation’s immigration laws coupled with the violence he perpetrated is unconscionable, demanding his immediate removal.”

Bailon entered the U.S near San Ysidro, California without inspection Aug. 21, 1995.

The Wichita Police Department in Kansas arrested Bailon for first–degree murder March 8, 2007.

The Sedgwick County District Court in Wichita, Kansas, convicted Bailon for second degree murder July 2, 2008, sentencing him to 18 years in prison.

ICE encountered Bailon at the Ellsworth Correctional Facility in Kansas Aug. 21, 2008, and determined he was removable per the Immigration and Nationality Act.

ICE served Bailon with a notice of intent to issue a final administrative removal order, Feb.7.

Members of the public can report crimes and suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.

MIL OSI USA News –

February 20, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: In pushing for Ukraine elections, Trump is falling into Putin-laid trap to delegitimize Zelenskyy

Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Lena Surzhko Harned, Associate Teaching Professor of Political Science, Penn State

President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet on Sept. 25, 2019, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was shut out of the discussions concerning the future of his country, which took place in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 18, 2025. In fact, there were no Ukrainian representatives, nor any European Union ones – just U.S. and Russian delegations, and their Saudi hosts.

The meeting – which followed a mutually complimentary phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin just days earlier – was gleefully celebrated in Moscow. The absence of Ukraine in deciding its own future is very much in line with Putin’s policy toward its neighbor. Putin has long rejected Ukrainian statehood and the legitimacy of the Ukrainian government, or as he calls it the “Kyiv regime.”

While the U.S. delegation did reiterate that future discussions would have to involve Ukraine at some stage, the Trump administration’s actions and words have no doubt undermined Kyiv’s position and influence.

To that end, the U.S. is increasingly falling in line with Moscow on a key plank of the Kremlin’s plan to delegitimize Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian government: calling for elections in Ukraine as part of any peace deal.

Questioning Zelenskyy’s legitimacy

Challenging Zelenskyy’s legitimacy is part of a deliberate ongoing propaganda campaign by Russia to discredit Ukrainian leadership, weaken support for Ukraine from its key allies and remove Zelenskyy – and potentially Ukraine – as a partner in negotiations.

Claims by the Russian president that his country is ready for peace negotiations appear, to many observers of its three-year war, highly suspect given Russia’s ongoing attacks on its neighbor and its steadfast refusal to date to agree to any temporary truce.

Yet the Kremlin is pushing the narrative that the problem is that there is no legitimate Ukrainian authority with which it can deal. As such, Putin can proclaim his commitments to a peace without making any commitments or compromises necessary to any true negotiation process.

Meanwhile, painting Zelenskyy as a “dictator” dampens the enthusiastic support that once greeted him from democratic countries. This, is turn, can translate to the reduction or even end of military support for Kyiv, Putin hopes, allowing him a fillip in what has become a war of attrition.

What Putin needs for this plan to work is a willing partner to help get the message out that Zelenskyy and the current Ukraine government are not legitimate representatives of their country – and into this gap the new U.S. administration appears to have stepped.

Then-candidate Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a polling station during Ukraine’s presidential election in Kiev on March 31, 2019.
Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images)

Dictating terms

Take the narrative on elections.

At the meeting in Saudi Arabia, the U.S. reportedly discussed elections in Ukraine as being a key part of any peace deal. Trump himself has raised the prospect of elections, noting in a Feb. 18 press conference: “We have a situation where we haven’t had elections in Ukraine, where we have martial law.” The U.S. president went on to claim, incorrectly, that Zelenskyy’s approval rating was down to “4%.” The latest polling actually shows the Ukrainian president to be sitting on a 57% approval rating.

A day later, Trump upped the attacks, describing Zelenskyy as a “dictator without elections.”

Such statements echo Russia’s narrative that the government in Kyiv is illegitimate.

The Kremlin’s claims regarding what it describes as the “legal aspects related to his [Zelenskyy’s] legitimacy” are based on the premise that the Ukraine president’s five-year term as president of Ukraine should have ended in 2024.

And elections in Ukraine would have taken place in May of that year had it not been for the martial law that Ukraine put into place when the Russian Federation launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The Martial Law Act – which Ukraine imposed on Feb. 24, 2022 – explicitly bans all elections in Ukraine for the duration of the emergency action.

And while the Ukrainian Constitution only includes language regarding the extension of parliament’s powers until martial law is lifted, constitutional lawyers in Ukraine tend to agree that the implication is that this also applies to presidential powers.

Notwithstanding what the law says, the Kremlin’s questioning of the democratic institutions of Ukraine and its push for elections in Ukraine have found traction in Washington of late. Trump’s special envoy Gen. Keith Kellogg declared on Feb. 1 that elections “need to be done” as part of peace process, saying that elections are a “beauty of a solid democracy.”

The ballot box trap

Zelenskyy is not opposed to elections in principle and has agreed that elections should be held when the time is right. “Once martial law is over, then the ball is in parliament’s court – the parliament then picks a date for elections,” Zelenskyy stated in a Jan. 2 interview.

And he appears to have the backing of the majority of Ukrainians. In May 2024, 69% of Ukrainians polled said Zelenskyy should remain president until the end of marshal law, after which elections should be held.

The issue, as Zelenskyy has said, is the timing and circumstances. “During the war, there can be no elections. It’s necessary to change legislation, the constitution, and so on. These are significant challenges. But there are also nonlegal, very human challenges,” he said on Jan. 4.

Even opposition politicians in Ukraine agree that now is not the time. Petro Poroshenko, Zelenskyy’s main political rival, has dismissed the idea of wartime elections, as has Inna Sovsun, the leader of the opposition Golos Party.

Apart from logistical problems of ensuring free and fair elections in the middle of a war, the conflict would present logistical hurdles to campaigning and accessing polling sites. There is also the question of whether and how to include Ukrainians in Russian-occupied territories and those who are internally displaced, as well as the 6.5 million who fled fighting and currently reside abroad.

Good elections … and bad

Russia did, of course, hold elections during the current conflict. But the 2024 election that Putin won with 87% of the vote was, according to most international observers, neither free nor fair.

Rather, it was a sham vote that only underlined what most political scientists will confirm: Elections are at best a necessary but insufficient marker of democracy.

This point is not wasted on Ukrainians, whose commitment to democracy strengthened in the years leading up to the 2022 invasion. Indeed, a survey taken a few months into the war found that 76% of Ukrainians agreed that democracy was the best form of governance – up from 41% three years earlier.

There are other reasons Ukraine might be wary of elections. The adversarial nature of political campaigns can be divisive, especially among a society in high stress.

Ukrainian politicians have openly argued that holding an election during the war would be destabilizing for Ukrainian society, undermining the internal unity in face of Russian aggression.

Outside influence

And then there is concern over outside influence in any election. Ukrainians have had enough experience with Russian meddling in their politics to take it for granted that the Kremlin will attempt to put a thumb on the scale.

Russia has since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 employed its substantial resources to influence Ukraine’s politics through all available means, ranging from propaganda, economic pressures and incentives to energy blackmail, threats and use of violence.

In 2004, Moscow’s electoral manipulations in favor of the pro-Russian candidate, Viktor Yanukovich, led to the Orange Revolution – in which Ukrainians rose up to reject rigged elections. Nine years later, Yanukovich – who became president in 2010 – was deposed though the Revolution of Dignity, which saw Ukrainians oust a man many saw as a Russian stooge in favor of a path toward greater integration with Europe.

Putin’s history of meddling in elections extends beyond Ukraine, of course. Most recently, the Romanian Constitutional Court annulled the country’s presidential elections, citing an electoral process compromised by foreign interference.

An impossible position

In raising elections as a prerequisite to negotiations, Putin is setting a
“catch-22” trap for Ukraine: The Ukrainian Constitution states that elections can happen only when martial law is lifted; but the lifting of the martial law is possible only when the “hot phase” of the war is over. So without a ceasefire, no election is possible.

But in refusing to agree to elections, Ukraine can be cast as the blockage to any peace deal – playing to a narrative that is already forming in the U.S. administration that Kyiv is the problem and will need to be sidelined for there to be progress.

In short, in seemingly echoing Russian talking points on an election being a prerequisite for peace, the U.S. puts the Ukrainian government in an impossible position: Agree to the vote and risk internal division and outside interference, or reject it and allow Moscow – and, perhaps, Washington – to frame Ukraine’s leaders as illegitimate and unable to negotiate on the behalf of their people.

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

– ref. In pushing for Ukraine elections, Trump is falling into Putin-laid trap to delegitimize Zelenskyy – https://theconversation.com/in-pushing-for-ukraine-elections-trump-is-falling-into-putin-laid-trap-to-delegitimize-zelenskyy-250003

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

February 20, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: In Senate Hearing, Murray Presses Labor Secretary Nominee to Commit to Following Appropriations Law, Raises Conflict of Interest Concerns over DOGE Access to DOL Data, Enforcing Child Labor Laws

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray

*** VIDEO of Senator Murray’s FULL questioning HERE***

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former Chairof the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, questioned former Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Labor (DOL), at a HELP committee hearing on her nomination. Murray pressed Chavez-DeRemer on the Trump administration’s unprecedented and unlawful efforts to hold up federal funding Congress passed into law, and whether it’s appropriate for Elon Musk—whose companies have repeatedly been accused of violating labor laws—to have access to sensitive, market-moving data at the Department of Labor. Murray also asked Chavez-DeRemer about how she would make sure the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division and the Solicitor’s office would enforce our nation’s child labor law, as the number of minors employed in violation of child labor laws has increased dramatically since 2019—something Senator Murray has introduced legislation to combat.

Murray began by pressing Chavez-DeRemer on Trump’s ongoing illegal funding freezes—and whether she will follow the law and ensure that funding passed by Congress and signed into law isn’t illegally held up by the Trump administration. “The Trump administration is flagrantly violating the bipartisan agreements in our appropriations law by refusing to spend money that Congress—in a bipartisan manner—has passed for the American people. I’ve been hearing about it in my home state of Washington. I heard from an organization in Edmonds about whether or not it will now be able to provide support for our veterans who are seeking educational and employment opportunities as they transition to civilian life. I heard from a workforce training program that operates statewide about whether they’ll now be able to continue to pair workers with employers in the grocery industry.”

“You should know that the chaos surrounding these funding freezes is causing real damage to people’s lives. So, I want to know: will you commit to following appropriations laws and the Impoundment Control Act?”

Chavez DeRemer replied that, “The President of the United States has the power to determine what he’s going to do through his executive power. I have not been confirmed. I have not been read into all that.”

“Ok I’m asking you: will you follow the law?,” Murray asked. “There is an Impoundment Control Act—will you follow that law?”

“I will follow the law and the Constitution,” Chavez DeRemer replied.

Murray pressed: “If you receive a directive to violate appropriations laws and withhold funding for workers, what will you do?”

“I do not believe the President is going to ask me to break the law,” Chavez DeRemer said.

Murray followed up: “But we have seen that across the board since he was put into office—where he is violating that law—so you will likely be asked. What will you do?”

“Well it’s a hypothetical, I have not talked to the President on this issue,” Chavez DeRemer replied.

Murray pressed again: “So you won’t commit to following the law if the President tells you to violate it?”

“I will commit to following the law and I do not believe the President would ever ask me to break the law,” said Chavez DeRemer.

Murray continued her questioning by asking about Elon Musk’s DOGE team accessing sensitive information at the Department of Labor—and the serious conflict of interest concerns it raised. “Last week, Elon Musk’s DOGE team came to the Department of Labor and got access to the Department’s sensitive information system. Musk’s companies have, as you must know, been repeatedly accused of violating labor laws—including workplace safety laws, discrimination laws, and wage and hour laws. In fact, OSHA has investigated Tesla and SpaceX. Now, Elon can access those investigations about HIS companies–because he’s gone in and gotten those records. He can also access sensitive, market moving data created by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That gives him tremendous power to manipulate quarterly jobs numbers and other important economic data—to say nothing of raising potential insider trading concerns,” Murray continued.

“Just to make this abundantly clear: Elon Musk is now in a position to use his unelected role to use confidential government data to advance his own corporate interests, while suppressing his competitors. Do you believe it is appropriate for someone with such blatant conflicts of interest to have access to those confidential economic and personal information?”

Chavez DeRemer responded, “Thank you Senator Murray. If I have the honor of being confirmed by this committee and the full Senate, then I will have the opportunity—I have not stepped foot into the Department of Labor. And I understand…”

Murray continued: “Well, my question to you is will you protect the private information of people whose records you will be overseeing? Will you allow anyone—a billionaire, or anyone else—to come in and access that?”

Chavez DeRemer evaded: “Again, because I have not been confirmed, I only see the reports that everybody else is seeing—I have not been read into that. If confirmed, I will…”

Murray pressed: “You’re not answering the question.”

Chavez DeRemer replied that, “If confirmed, I will support the Department of Labor. I think it’s important to support the Department of Labor. But I have not been…”

Murray pressed again: “… the private information that you will be overseeing? Will you protect that?”

“I would protect the private information. On this issue, I have not been privy to those conversations with the President—I have seen that. If confirmed, I commit to you that I will always protect the Department of Labor and those issues,” said Chavez DeRemer, finally.

Murray concluded her questioning by raising awareness of the worrying spike in child labor violations over the last five years. “Well, let me ask you about child labor. It’s an area that I have been very worried about–the rise of child labor violations. The Wage and Hour Division at the department has actually seen a 31 percent increase in minors employed in violation of child labor laws since 2019. In the last administration, the Wage and Hour Division at DOL and the Solicitor’s office worked really hard to secure some really important victories against some really egregious violators. How will you make sure that the Wage and Hour Division and the Solicitor’s office work together to enforce our child labor laws in this country?” Murray asked.

Chavez DeRemer responded, “Well, protecting… child labor is abhorrent. And nobody should stand for child labor exploitation. I will do everything in my power within the Department of Labor to double down on the safety of all American workers that are exploited–but especially child labor. And I would love to work with your office, if this is an important issue–it should be important to everybody, making sure that we protect against any child labor exploitation.”

Throughout her career, Senator Murray has championed workers’ rights and fought to combat employment discrimination, including as the top Democrat on the Senate labor committee from 2015-2022—among other things, Senator Murray fought back against a proposed DOL rule by the Trump administration that would allow federal contractors and subcontractors to justify discrimination against women, LGBTQ+ people, and members of certain religious groups on ideological grounds. Senator Murray first introduced the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act—comprehensive labor legislation to protect workers’ right to stand together and bargain for fairer wages, better benefits, and safer workplaces—in the 116^th Congress. Murray also leads the Paycheck Fairness Act to combat wage discrimination and help close the wage gap, and has helped lead the fight for paid family and medical leave since she first joined Congress.

MIL OSI USA News –

February 20, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Murray Slams Republican Plan for Deep Cuts to Medicaid That Will Rip Away Health Care From Millions

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray

Congressional Republicans poised to make devastating cuts to Medicaid, jeopardizing care for children, elderly, and rural communities

In Washington state, approx. 1.8 million people are enrolled in Medicaid

***VIDEO HERE***

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, joined SenatorsTammy Baldwin (D-WI), Peter Welch (D-VT), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), and Raphael Warnock (D-GA) for a press conference to lay out the dire consequences of Congressional Republicans’ looming cuts to Medicaid to pay for tax breaks for billionaires. Last week, Republicans unveiled budget plans that set up deep cuts to Medicaid, threatening to shut down rural hospitals and rip away health care from tens of millions of Americans, including seniors and kids.

Medicaid is the largest health insurance program in the country, providing health care coverage to more than 70 million Americans, and the consequences of any cuts to Medicaid would touch nearly every household in America. Medicaid covers 1 in 5 people living in the United States, including nearly half of all children, 31.5 million, and over 8 million seniors. Cuts to the program would mean ripping away health care from millions of families who count on it— including over 12 million rural Americans, as cuts would jeopardize rural hospitals and clinics’ ability to keep their doors open.

“Republicans have made clear they will not hesitate to bleed health care programs dry, if it means that they can shower more tax cuts on billionaires and big corporations,” said Senator Murray. “The cold hard reality is that if Republicans are going to cut this deeply and painfully to extend tax cuts for billionaires—they will have to cut things like veterans’ health care, Medicare, and Medicaid. Every time Republicans have tried this—including in Trump’s first term—the American people have made extremely clear: don’t sabotage our health care, and don’t jack up our costs. So, Republicans may be charging down this same dangerous path once again—and once again, Democrats are not going to be silent, and nor will the American people.”

Last month when Senate Republicans released their blueprint for a budget reconciliation bill, Senator Murray blasted it as “a precursor to Republicans giving massive tax cuts to billionaires while blowing up the deficit and grinding services Americans depend on—like Medicaid and SNAP—down to the bone.” At last week’s Budget Committee mark up of Republicans’ budget resolution, Murray—a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Budget Committee—laid out how their resolution is a roadmap to devastating cuts to programs from Medicaid to veterans benefits, and during the markup, Murray put forward six amendments to steer Republicans toward a bipartisan approach to spending, affirm Congress’ power of the purse, reverse massive arbitrary cuts to NIH, deliver transparency into the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and more. Republicans unanimously opposed every amendment Murray and other Democrats offered.

Senator Murray’s full remarks from today’s press conference are below and video is HERE:

“Well, from mass firing public health experts, to freezing funding for our community health centers, to slashing medical research, to ending support to enroll people in health coverage, to putting a vaccine skeptic in charge of the nation’s Health Care Department—Trump is already doing massive damage to health care in America. Massive.

“But Senate Republicans are clearly determined not to be outdone—this week, they are gearing up for phase one of their plan to sell out the health care of working families in order to give tax breaks to billionaires.

“It’s bad enough that they are ignoring the health care cliff coming this year—because remember, right now, we have millions of people, saving thousands of dollars a year on health care because of the tax credits that Democrats passed.

“Have Republicans said a peep about extending that aid with their own signature bill? Of course not. They are perfectly content to let help for working families expire and let health care costs skyrocket.

“But the second a multi-billionaire like Elon Musk is at risk of losing a cent in tax breaks, Republicans, apparently, will move heaven and earth. That’s bad enough—truly. But it gets worse.

“Because the Republican plan isn’t just to let support families need expire—the plan is to cut off their health care. Republicans have made clear they will not hesitate to bleed health care programs dry, if it means that they can shower more tax cuts on billionaires and big corporations.

“House Republicans have already spoken openly about their interest in cutting health care—they have left no doubt Medicaid is on the chopping block.

“Meanwhile, the Senate budget resolution calls for cutting $1 trillion this year alone—and $9 trillion over ten years.

“Where are those cuts going to come from? If billionaires are getting the benefit, we need to ask: who is paying the cost?

“Every day Americans are going to pay—in shuttered community health centers. They are going to pay the cost in canceled clinical trials. They are going to pay with less access to birth control, and cancer screenings, and weaker public health departments.

“And that is just the start—they are also going to pay when millions of families with the tightest budgets have health care ripped away from them.

“The cold hard reality is that if Republicans are going to cut this deeply and painfully to extend tax cuts for billionaires—they will have to cut things like veteran’s health care, Medicare, and Medicaid.

“Every time Republicans have tried this—including in Trump’s first term—the American people have made extremely clear: don’t sabotage our health care, and don’t jack up our costs.

“So, Republicans may be charging down this same dangerous path once again—and once again, Democrats are not going to be silent and nor will the American people. We will stand up, we will fight tooth and nail to protect the health care that families rely on.”

MIL OSI USA News –

February 20, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Murray Blasts Trump and Musk Decimating HHS, Risking Americans’ Health and Livelihoods

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray

ICYMI: Murray releases fact sheet detailing how mass layoffs jeopardize essential services Americans rely on

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a senior member and former chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), responded to the Trump administration’s mass firings of dedicated workers across the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its many subagencies. Thousands of HHS employees on their “probationary” period–i.e. those hired or promoted within the last 1-2 years–have already been fired, and more are expected to be in the coming days and weeks.

ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES (ACF)

ACF is responsible for administering a variety of programs to help children and families thrive–including the primary federal child care grant program, Head Start, and Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), among many others.

Over the weekend, dozens of ACF staff were reportedly fired–including roughly 20% of the staff at both the Office of Head Start and Office of Child Care, which process grants supporting communities across the country, conduct oversight of those grants, and provide technical assistance to grantees.

“It is outrageous that at the same time the child care crisis is holding back parents and hurting our entire economy, Trump is indiscriminately firing the workers who help child care and Head Start centers keep their doors open and ensure kids in their care are safe. You know what doesn’t help parents find and afford child care? Firing the people who help make sure there are more quality, affordable options in every part of the country,” said Senator Murray. “Trump and Elon are making child care more expensive and hard to get for working parents while they focus on passing massive tax cuts for themselves and other billionaires.”

ADMINISTRATION FOR STRATEGIC PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE (ASPR)

ASPR leads our country’s medical and public health preparedness for, response to, and recovery from disasters and public health emergencies–coordinating planning and response for when fires erupt, pathogens like COVID or bird flu emerge, and so much more.

After claiming that employees working in emergency preparedness would be exempt from mass firings, Trump and Musk began firing employees at ASPR this weekend.

“We know all too well just how serious pandemic threats can get and what happens when we are not ready. It is painfully clear we need to be more prepared for public health threats, but Trump is undermining this agency and leaving us less prepared—even as the bird flu presents significant risks to our country. Firing ASPR staff puts our economy and our families in serious danger,” said Senator Murray.

CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC)

CDC is charged with protecting the American people from health threats.

Nonetheless, Trump and Musk have already fired hundreds of CDC employees, including staff responsible for monitoring public health threats and for addressing lab safety failures.

“CDC is the backbone of our public health system–and on the frontlines of outbreaks and health threats across the nation. Trump’s decision to fire hardworking public health experts will make our communities less safe and less prepared to respond quickly and effectively when diseases put lives in danger. We are seeing right now how threats like measles, tuberculosis, and bird flu can spread without strong, trusted public health agencies—and Trump is all but ensuring these challenges will get more dangerous and more deadly,” said Senator Murray.

CENTERS FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SERVICES (CMS)

CMS helps ensure over 100 million Americans have access to health insurance by overseeing Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and Affordable Care Act marketplaces.

The agency has long been understaffed and under resourced–and Trump and Musk have already begun indiscriminate firings at CMS. This includes staff responsible for inspecting nursing homes to ensure that families can have peace of mind that their loved ones are appropriately cared for–and at least 80 employees reportedly cut from the agency’s Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, which oversees the Affordable Care Act and protects Americans from surprise medical bills. Staff have also been fired from the CMS Innovation Center working on improving maternal health outcomes and more.

“Firing the people who help Americans get quality, affordable health care and who help ensure long-term care facilities are safe is as stupid as it is heartless. These firings aren’t some abstraction–they’ll hurt people who need help getting their kid covered or who should be able to trust the nursing home their mom lives in is safe,” said Senator Murray.

FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (FDA)

The FDA is charged with protecting Americans’ health by ensuring the safety and effectiveness of medicines, biologics, and medical devices–and regulating food, cosmetics, tobacco products, and more.

Hundreds of layoffs have been reported at the FDA, which will jeopardize the agency’s ability to fulfill its critical mission. These include layoffs of staff responsible for reviewing medical device products, which could delay new products hitting the market.

“From inspecting food to ensuring drugs are safe and effective to preventing food shortages and so much more, Americans depend on the FDA’s work every time they sit down for a meal or pick up a prescription. Sweeping layoffs will materially undermine this important work, leaving babies at higher risk of consuming contaminated formula, leaving patients waiting longer for lifesaving drugs to be reviewed and approved, and leaving our entire food supply more exposed to shortages, contaminants, or worse,” said Senator Murray.

HEALTH RESOURCES AND SERVICES ADMINISTRATION (HRSA)

HRSA is charged with improving access to care for vulnerable and underserved populations. The agency runs critical programs to bolster the nation’s health workforce, improve maternal and child health, support high-quality care in Community Health Centers and Ryan White HIV/AIDS clinics, address rural health needs, and more.

Trump’s layoffs severely impact HRSA’s ability to deliver on these critical health care programs for communities nationwide. The layoffs reportedly include significant cuts to the staff hired specifically to support the modernization of the nation’s organ transplant system. Congress has worked in a bipartisan manner to strengthen this initiative by providing additional funding to address longstanding system issues and ultimately ensure that more organs are available for transplant. These layoffs will set back this lifesaving work for the 100,000 Americans waiting on an organ transplant.

“HRSA builds the health workforce and helps connect people in every part of the country to the essential health services they need–from routine checkups to maternal care to HIV prevention and so much more. Indiscriminately firing these staff risks putting critical health services out of reach for so many Americans, and it is extremely troubling that staff charged with modernizing our nation’s organ transplant network, which has faced longstanding issues, have been fired,” said Senator Murray.

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH (NIH)

NIH is the nation’s premier medical research agency. Each year, NIH supports biomedical research that produces life-changing and, in many cases, lifesaving treatments and cures.

Over 1,100 NIH employees have already been fired by Trump and Musk, including more than 130 employees at the National Cancer Institute and nearly 20% of the workforce at the National Institute on Aging, which funds Alzheimer’s disease research. This includes the Acting Director of the Center for Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias (CARD), alongside a number of senior scientists and principal investigators at CARD—leaving early career scientists and trainees without principal investigators guiding their work. Additional senior leaders at NIH are expected to be fired soon.

The Trump administration is also continuing to hold up NIH funding, and its illegal and indiscriminate indirect cost rate change would create a massive funding shortfall for lifesaving research that patients and families are counting on. An estimated $1 billion in lifesaving research funding has already been prevented from going out the door to institutions in every state since January 20.

“Trump isn’t just firing the scientists who put us on the cutting edge of biomedical research, he is taking the best hopes for patients desperately counting on new cures and treatments and throwing them in the shredder. Ousting top scientists and leaders at NIH–people who’ve spent decades gaining expertise and working to discover medical breakthroughs–does nothing to help patients searching for treatments that could save their lives. These firings create chaos–and dangerously set back NIH’s lifesaving work. Washington state is a hub for this work, and I’m already hearing from people in my state about how research into cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, heart disease, and so many other deadly conditions will be upended by Trump’s NIH cuts and these reckless–and heartless–layoffs. This is not just going to delay research—it will halt clinical trials in their tracks, cut patients off from care, and hollow out our medical research enterprise in ways that will echo for years to come,” said Senator Murray.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES ADMINISTRATION (SAMHSA)

SAMHSA is charged with improving services and support available to people across the country for substance use disorder and mental health. The agency plays a leading role in tackling the fentanyl and opioid crisis, and it oversees the 988 Lifeline. Nonetheless, Trump and Musk have also begun laying off dozens of SAMHSA employees.

“After years of bipartisan work, we are just starting to make progress getting opioid overdose deaths to trend down nationally—and now Trump is jeopardizing that progress by firing employees at the agency responsible for much of this work. Trump’s decision to fire these workers undermines the work happening on the ground in our communities to improve and save lives,” said Senator Murray.

MIL OSI USA News –

February 20, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Senator Murray Remarks on Senate Republicans’ Budget Resolution at Senate Democrats’ Weekly Press Conference

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray

Murray: “It’s no mystery why billionaires like Donald Trump and Elon Musk love this plan: they are getting all the benefits, but they aren’t the ones footing the bill.”

ICYMI: Senator Murray speaks at Budget Committee markup of resolution, offers common sense amendments rejected by Republicans

***VIDEO HERE***

Washington, D.C. — Today, at Senate Democrats’ weekly press conference, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, spoke about Senate Republicans’ budget resolution that will be considered on the Senate floor this week, which makes middle-class Americans pay for tax cuts for billionaires like President Trump and Elon Musk.

Senator Murray’s remarks, as delivered, are below:

“While Trump is tossing our bipartisan funding laws into the shredder and Elon is decimating agencies with really zero concept of what our federal workers actually do—whether that’s managing the nuclear weapons stockpile or responding to bird flu—Senate Republicans are positively sprinting to make trillions in cuts that will hurt red and blue states so they can shower more tax cuts on the richest people in the world.

“It is no mystery why billionaires like Donald Trump and Elon Musk love this plan: they are getting all the benefits, but they aren’t the ones footing the bill.

“Middle-class Americans will pay for Republicans’ billionaire tax cuts, and the cost will be measured in shuttered family farms, families and kids kicked off Medicaid—losing their health care—and veterans losing out on hard-earned benefits.

“That is so backwards. We should not be taking food off of the family table to put more fuel in private jets.

“I grew up in a family that knew what it was like to fall on hard times. My dad—a WWII veteran. He got too sick to work—he got MS. My mom kept us afloat with Dad’s VA benefits, food stamps, and the new job she got thanks to a federal workforce program.

“It still wasn’t easy. But our government was there for them when the hard times came.

“I know families are struggling now, just like my family struggled then. I hear from them every day. They are working so hard. They play by the rules. And they deserve—at the very least—the same opportunity my parents had when I was growing up.

“And I am not going to stand by silently while Republicans try to sell that opportunity away to pay for even more tax breaks for billionaires.

“Senate Democrats are going to make sure that the American people know this is the most flat-out pro-billionaire, anti-middle class budget we have ever seen.

“There is zero chance we are going to let Republicans pass this pro-billionaire budget the easy way, without a fight. We’re going to put them on the record for everything Trump and Elon are doing to create real fraud, waste, and abuse.

“We are going to make sure the people back home know that Elon Musk is firing VA doctors and food safety inspectors—for no cause whatsoever—and illegally defunding the programs that Americans care about.

“Republicans will have to answer: are they for protecting Medicaid or for letting kids and seniors lose their health care?

“Are they for supporting veterans or for cutting their benefits?

“Because those are real choices they will have to make with the budget they have laid out. They should get ready for a late night and an early morning.”

MIL OSI USA News –

February 20, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Senator Murray, Former WA State Federal Workers at VA, Forest Service, Bonneville Power Lay Out How Trump and Musk’s Reckless Mass Layoffs Hurt People Across WA State

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray

ICYMI: Senator Murray on Trump Indiscriminately Firing Workers at Hanford and Bonneville Power Administration, Threatening Energy Security in Washington State

***VIDEO FROM PRESS CALL HERE***

***NEW FACT SHEET: Impact in Washington State of Trump and Musk’s Reckless Mass Layoffs***

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, held a virtual press conference with federal workers in Washington state who were recently laid off through no fault of their own and with zero justification, as part of Trump and Musk’s unprecedented assault on the federal workforce. The speakers underscored how the mass firings Trump and Musk have ordered over the last few days will severely jeopardize essential services that families in Washington state rely on—and leave us all worse off. A fact sheet compiled by Senator Murray’s office on some of the impacts in Washington state of these reckless mass layoffs is available HERE.

Murray was joined for the press call by Gregg Bafundo, Former Lead Wilderness Ranger at the U.S. Forest Service’s Okanogan Wenatchee National Forest and a former U.S. Marine who lives in Okanogan County; Raphael Garcia, a veteran and former Management Analyst for the US. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) who has served as the only management analyst for the Veterans Benefits Administration’s Disability Rating Activity Site at the Seattle Regional Office for the past 7.5 months; and Liz Krumpp, former Washington Constituent Account Executive at the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), who retired from BPA in 2023 and resides in Olympia. Both Gregg and Raphael were let go last week as part of the Trump administration’s mass firings of federal workers.

“Right now, President Trump, and his co-President Elon Musk are breaking American government. They are firing workers left and right—with no plan, no strategy, and no concern for who gets hurt,” said Senator Murray.“We know Trump’s firing spree isn’t about merit because they are targeting new employees, people who have been recognized for outstanding performance, and people who were recently promoted—who are now getting fired from their newly earned jobs. Trump and Musk are, by design, pushing out, some of our best performers—and fresh blood in the federal workforce. We know Trump’s mass firings aren’t about saving money. Otherwise, there would be no reason for them to fire hundreds of workers at the Bonneville Power Administration. After all, these positions are funded by ratepayers—by all of us in the Northwest—not from federal funding. And these are people who literally help keep the lights on. But no matter—they’re being fired on a whim because two billionaires don’t have a clue about what they do, and don’t care to learn.”

“I swore an oath to serve our country—first in the U.S. Army and then at the VA—only to be abruptly terminated by the very institution that promised to care for those who have served,” said Raphael Garcia of Seattle, who was laid off through no fault of his own and with zero justification from the VA last week. “My termination isn’t just a personal tragedy; it’s a stark reminder that our federal government is dismantling essential support systems for Veterans and vulnerable communities. When cost-cutting means sacrificing dedicated, disabled service members and committed federal employees, it isn’t about efficiency—it’s about eroding the trust and dignity that our nation owes to those who answer the call to serve.”

“For 18 years I have faithfully served the American People—eight as a US Marine and ten as a Wilderness Ranger. I have always put myself between the danger and my fellow citizens and now I have been cast aside as the parasite class or some kind of fraud. These heartless and gutless firings will lead to loss of lives and property,” said Gregg Bafundo of Okanogan County, who was laid off through no fault of his own and with zero justification from the Forest Service last week.

“Bonneville is the source of nearly 50 percent of the electrical power that is consumed in the State of Washington and owns, operates, and maintains over 15,000 circuit miles of high voltage transmission from Montana, across Idaho, Oregon and Washington, extending into Wyoming, Nevada and California. Critically, Bonneville has over a dozen new transmission projects in the planning stages—which its customers are asking for—to serve the increasing demand for electricity and to interconnect new power generators being built. Bonneville is self-funded by selling transmission service or selling electrical power. That’s it. No federal tax revenues fund its work or its employees. Cutting its employees does not save the federal tax payer a dime,” said Liz Krumpp, who worked at BPA for 15 years before retiring in 2023 and resides in Olympia. “These arbitrary lay-offs and hiring freezes will make it increasingly harder for the remaining employees to do their jobs and do them safely. Currently, its customers are asking Bonneville to expand its transmission system, not shrink it. Bonneville helps keep the lights on in the Northwest. Its work costs taxpayers nothing.”

Late last week, Senator Murray released a fact sheet detailing how Trump and Musk’s mass firings at all manner of federal agencies will hurt families, veterans, small businesses, farmers, and so many others across the country who need a government that works for them. Senator Murray has spoken out on the Senate floor against this administration’s attacks on federal workers, and recently sent an open letter to federal workers and a newsletter to her constituents in Washington state outlining her concerns with the administration’s so-called “Fork in the Road” offer. Senator Murray has also sent recent oversight letters demanding answers about indiscriminate staffing reductions across federal agencies including to HUD Secretary Scott Turner on reports of massive staff cuts at HUD, Interior Secretary Doug Burham on National Parks Service staffing cuts, and Acting USDA Secretary Gary Washington on the universal hiring pause for USDA firefighters, among others.

Senator Murray’s full remarks, as delivered on today’s press call, are below and video is HERE:

“Right now, President Trump, and his co-President Elon Musk are breaking American government. They are firing workers left and right—with no plan, no strategy, and no concern for who gets hurt.

“And we know there is no plan because they fired hundreds of people in charge of ensuring the security of our nuclear arsenal—only to desperately turn around and try to hire them back.

“That is the height of incompetence. And these other firings are just as senseless and reckless.

“In the middle of the bird flu threat—they are firing public health experts.

“Weeks after the deadliest plane crash in years—they are firing FAA workers.

“After the devastating wildfires recently—they are firing members of the Forest Service, and we’ll hear from one of them in a minute.

“They are firing people who work in law enforcement, who do food and drug inspections, who research deadly diseases, and who are cleaning up nuclear waste.

“I’ve spent years trying to get the Hanford cleanup the resources it needs. We’ve made so much progress—but it has still been understaffed, even before these pointless layoffs last week cut it down to a skeleton crew.

“We know Trump’s firing spree isn’t about merit because they are targeting new employees, people who have been recognized for outstanding performance, and people who were recently promoted—who are now are getting fired from their newly earned jobs.

“Trump and Musk are, by design, pushing out, some of our best performers—the fresh blood in the federal workforce.

“We know Trump’s mass firings aren’t about saving money. Otherwise, there would be no reason for them to fire hundreds of workers at Bonneville Power. After all, these positions are funded by ratepayers—by all of us in the Northwest—not from federal funding. And these are people who literally help keep the lights on.

“But no matter—they’re being fired on a whim because two billionaires don’t have a clue about what they do, and don’t care to learn.

“And Trump is not tossing workers out on the street to make government more efficient.

“VA researchers are being fired as well—VA Puget Sound workers are being fired despite doing lifesaving research to prevent veteran suicide, build lifechanging prosthetics, address opioid addiction, and more.

“That is not just a betrayal of these public workers—it is a betrayal of our women and men in uniform who trust we will take care of them when they come home.

“Especially considering they have laid off many veterans as well—people who served their country and wanted to keep serving their country. And that really underscores an important point about exactly who Trump is firing.

“These are people who love their country and love their communities. They are people who work hard, make an honest living, and have families to support. And I’m so grateful to be joined by some of them today, who will speak about what they have been through.

“And I’d like to say to them all—thank you for the work you’ve done for our country. You deserve so much better than how you’ve been treated.

“What Elon and Trump are doing is going to set our country back. But we are not powerless—and your decision to share your stories today is proof of that.

“We each have a voice, and we can all speak out for a government that works for middle-class families, regular people—not just billionaires who will never need to call about their Social Security benefits or file a disability claim at VA.

“So I want to thank everyone for joining this call today—and now I’ll turn it over to Gregg.”

MIL OSI USA News –

February 20, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Child Poverty statistics show challenges remain

Source: New Zealand Government

No significant change to child poverty rates under successive governments reinforces that lifting children out of material hardship will be an ongoing challenge, Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston says.
Figures released by Stats NZ today show no change in child poverty rates for the year ended June 2024, reflecting the impact of a prolonged cost of living crisis.
Stats NZ data for the three primary measures show that in 2023/24:

13.4 per cent of all children (156,600) were in material hardship – with no statistically significant change compared to 2022/23
17.7 per cent of children (208,000) were in poverty, based on household income after housing costs have been paid – with no statistically significant change compared to 2022/23
12.7 per cent of children (149,900) were in poverty, based on household income before housing costs have been paid – with no statistically significant change compared to 2022/23.

“It’s encouraging that there has been no significant increase year-on-year, however if we look at what has happened over the previous two years we can see that rates are trending upwards,” Louise Upston says.
“Todays’ figures do reflect the challenges of a prolonged cost of living crisis which began under the previous administration and which we are tackling head-on.
“We know there are some Kiwi families and their kids still doing it tough. Our Government is working to fix that.
“We are committed to changing the circumstances which trap people in poverty, and to addressing the long-term drivers of child poverty.
“Our Government has lifted the incomes of working households experiencing hardship by providing tax relief, reducing inflation and making childcare more affordable by introducing the FamilyBoost childcare tax rebate.
“We’re also providing lunches to around 242,000 learners every day so Kiwi kids have access to food.
“Reducing material hardship is a priority in our Child and Youth Strategy which is why we have a target to lift 17,000 more children out of material hardship by 2027, compared to 2023.
“We recognise that child poverty is a long term issue and our strategy of tackling the deeper causes of poverty, including reducing long-term benefit dependency and lifting education and skills, will make a big difference in driving down child poverty rates.
“It’s encouraging that inflation has continued a downward trend and pressure on families is starting to ease but there is still more to do,” Louise Upston says.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

February 20, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Memphis Man Sentenced to 270 Months for Sex Trafficking Conspiracy

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that MACEO ROBERTS (“ROBERTS”), age 25, from Memphis, Tennessee, was sentenced on February 12, 2025 before United States District Judge Susie Morgan for conspiring to commit sex trafficking, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1594(c).

According to court documents, in about Summer 2020, ROBERTS told his co-conspirators, Dominique Peeples and Jeremy Talbert, that he was making a lot of money acting as a pimp, and offered to teach them how to be pimps, as well. After Peeples and Talbert agreed, ROBERTS “gave” Minor Victim 2, a minor female born in 2003 who had previously performed commercial sex acts under ROBERTS’s direction, to Peeples. Thereafter, Minor Victim 2 introduced Talbert to Minor Victim 3, a minor female born in 2003, who began performing commercial sex acts under Talbert’s direction.

During Summer 2020, ROBERTS, Peeples, and Talbert travelled throughout the southern United States, including the New Orleans area, with multiple females, including Minor Victim 2, Minor Victim 3, and Adult Victim 1, for the purpose of having the females engage in commercial sex acts. ROBERTS taught Peeples and Talbert techniques to oversee and advertise a prostitution operation, including the amount to charge. ROBERTS also reminded them to keep all of the proceeds. During this time period, including while in New Orleans, Adult Victim 1 engaged in commercial sex acts at the direction and supervision of ROBERTS, while Minor Victim 2 worked for Peeples and Minor Victim 3 worked for Talbert.

In about October 2020, ROBERTS assumed control over Minor Victim 3, and required her, not only, to work approximately fifteen hours per day performing commercial sex acts, but also to give him all the money she earned. ROBERTS beat Adult Victim 1 in front of Minor Victim 3 to show Minor Victim 3 the consequences for not following his instructions. ROBERTS also provided drugs and alcohol to the victims to control their behavior.

In about October 2020, Talbert recruited Minor Victim 1, a fourteen-year-old female, to engage in commercial sex acts under his direction. In about late October 2020, ROBERTS, Peeples, Talbert, Adult Victim 1, Minor Victim 1, and Minor Victim 2 travelled to New Orleans, where they stayed for several months. During this time, ROBERTS, Peeples, and Talbert supervised the commercial sex work of Adult Victim 1, Minor Victim 2, and Minor Victim 1, respectively. ROBERTS imposed rules and quotas that Adult Victim 1 had to follow and, when she did not meet those quotas or expressed reluctance, ROBERTS threatened to beat and shoot her.

In January 2021, ROBERTS beat Adult Victim 1 so badly that she required hospitalization in a New Orleans area facility. After Adult Victim 1’s hospital discharge, ROBERTS and Peeples told Adult Victim 1 and Minor Victim 2 that they would bring them home to Memphis. Instead, ROBERTS and Peeples drove them to Houston and forced them to engage in commercial sex acts until they finally escaped. ROBERTS and Peeples then returned to Memphis to look for Adult Victim 1 and Minor Victim 2 to punish them for escaping. ROBERTS located Adult Victim 1, hiding in a hotel bathtub, and choked her. He also threatened Minor Victim 2.

Additionally, in about late January 2021, ROBERTS met and began recruiting Adult Victim 2 to perform commercial sex acts under his direction. Adult Victim 2 did so until about April 2022. During that time, ROBERTS repeatedly beat, threatened, and victimized Adult Victim 2, including in November 2021 at a New Orleans area hotel. In about April 2022, shortly before his arrest, ROBERTS punched Adult Victim 2 so hard that he shattered her front teeth.

U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan sentenced ROBERTS to 270 months’ imprisonment. Judge Morgan ordered that this sentence be run consecutively to any sentence imposed on a pending case for attempted murder and robbery in Marion County Superior Court in Indianapolis, Indiana. Judge Morgan imposed a fifteen year term of supervised release following imprisonment. ROBERTS was ordered to pay $666,000 in restitution to the victims. ROBERTS must also participate in the sex offender registration and notification program. In addition, Judge Morgan imposed a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.

Peeples and Talbert previously pleaded guilty to sex trafficking offenses. Peeples’s sentencing is set for April 9, 2025, before Judge Sarah S. Vance, and Talbert’s sentencing is set for March 12, 2025, before Judge Lance M. Africk.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office would like to acknowledge the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New Orleans Police Department, and the Memphis Police Department with this matter. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Maria Carboni of the Financial Crimes Unit and Jordan Ginsberg, Supervisor of the Public Integrity Unit.

MIL Security OSI –

February 20, 2025