Category: housing

MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Government accepts MediShield Life Council’s recommendations to enhance MediShield Life scheme, Government support more than offsets premium increases

Source: Asia Pacific Region 2 – Singapore

The Government has accepted the MediShield Life Council’s recommendations for the MediShield Life 2024 review. The recommendations will enhance the MediShield Life scheme, to better protect Singaporeans against major health episodes that result in large medical bills. They will also enable Singaporeans to afford new types of care. The changes will be implemented progressively from April 2025.

2. To support the enhancements to MediShield Life, premiums will need to increase, starting from April 2025 upon policy renewal. The total premium increases will amount to $1.8 billion over the next review cycle of three years. To help Singaporeans manage the premium increases, the Government will provide an additional $4.1 billion in support measures, comprising $3.4 billion in MediSave top-ups and $0.7 billion in premium subsidies for the next three years.

3. For the great majority of Singaporeans – more than nine in ten – the additional MediSave top-ups, and premium subsidies and support, will more than offset the premium increases over the next three years.

MediShield Life Council’s recommendations

4. There are a few key considerations in this review. First, as a national health insurance scheme, MediShield Life was designed to fully cover nine in ten subsidised bills in public healthcare institutions, with the deductible and co-insurance covered by patients’ MediSave. However, rising medical bills have eroded the coverage of the existing claim limits, and MediShield Life currently fully covers just under eight in ten subsidised bills.

5. Second, there has been an increased shift in healthcare delivery from hospitals to the outpatient, community and home settings, which MediShield Life mostly does not cover. Finally, advances in medical technologies have resulted in new, potentially life-saving therapies, such as Cell, Tissue, and Gene Therapy Products (CTGTPs), which MediShield Life also does not cover.

Enhancements to benefits and revisions to scheme parameters

6. With these factors in mind, the MediShield Life Council has recommended the following changes to the scheme, after considering both the need for better coverage and the impact on premiums.

a. Increase claim limits and refresh scheme parameters. This comprises:

i. Increase in existing inpatient and day surgery claim limits to fully cover nine in ten subsidised bills. For example, the daily claim limits for the first two days of a normal ward stay will go up from $1,000 to $1,630. The daily claim limits for Intensive Care Unit ward stays will more than double, from $2,200 to $5,140.

ii. Increase in the policy year claim limit from $150,000 to $200,000, to provide greater assurance for patients with exceptionally large bills.

iii. Increase in the inpatient deductible by up to $1,500, to keep coverage focused on larger bills and moderate the extent to which premiums need to increase.

iv. Revision of the pro-ration factors for private unsubsidised bills, to prevent cross-subsidisation of private bills by subsidised bills.

b. Enhance outpatient coverage significantly. This comprises:

i. Refresh of outpatient claim limits to fully cover nine in ten subsidised bills. For example, the claim limits for kidney dialysis will increase from $1,100 per month to $1,750 per month.

ii. Expansion of coverage to new outpatient treatments and home-based medical care, to enable access to more convenient care options beyond the traditional hospital setting. One such treatment is the repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation used to treat depression.

iii. Introduction of a new outpatient deductible of $500 per year, to keep coverage focused on larger bills and moderate premium impact.

iv. Decrease in co-insurance for outpatient treatments – from a flat 10% to a tiered structure ranging from 3% to 10% – to be consistent with how co-insurance is computed for inpatient bills and make larger outpatient bills more affordable.

c. Expand coverage to high-cost treatments that are clinically effective and cost-effective, to improve affordability and access. This covers two areas:

i. CTGTPs that have demonstrated the potential to treat cancers and serious diseases effectively.

ii. High-cost drugs for blood conditions and conditions with childhood onset.

Adjustment to premiums

7. With higher claims and expansion of coverage, premiums will need to increase. The Council has worked with the scheme’s actuaries to determine the premium adjustments needed to ensure the scheme remains sustainable. Older Singaporeans in particular, will see larger increases. Hence the Council has recommended several measures to cushion the premium increases:

a. Cap the total premium increase at 35%, and phase in the increases evenly over three years, from April 2025 to March 2028. With this, premiums will increase by an average of 22% per policyholder by the end of the third year. This can be funded through a one-off release of capital from the MediShield Life Fund. Due to the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s adoption of the Risk-Based Capital Framework 2, there is a change in the MediShield Life Fund’s risk model which will enable some excess capital to be released, so as to cap the total premium increase at 35% and phase it in evenly. The Fund will remain in a healthy position after this release of capital.

b. For the Government to consider:

i. Enhancing existing premium subsidies to provide more assistance to the lower- and middle-income groups.

ii. Providing MediSave top-ups to support Singaporeans through the Pioneer Generation, Merdeka Generation and Majulah Packages. This will be especially helpful to Singaporeans with low MediSave balances, such as homemakers and informal workers.

iii. Providing premium discounts to policyholders who lead healthy lifestyles, such as exercising regularly and going for recommended health screenings.

Government accepts the recommendations, adjusts MediSave withdrawal limits accordingly

8. The Government has reviewed the Council’s recommendations on the MediShield Life scheme and agrees that these will ensure that MediShield Life continues to provide adequate and meaningful protection to Singaporeans.

9. The Government will also adjust the MediSave withdrawal limits so that patients can use MediSave to cover the co-insurance and the revised deductibles.

10. The revised MediShield Life benefits and MediSave limits will be implemented progressively from 1 April 2025, together with the first phase of the increase in inpatient deductible. The outpatient deductible will be introduced on 1 January 2026, followed by the second phase of the increase in inpatient deductible on 1 April 2027. All other changes will be made progressively from 1 April 2025 onwards. Please refer to Annex A for details of changes to MediShield Life claim limits and MediSave withdrawal limits, and Annex B for bill examples that reflect the changes to the MediShield Life scheme.

Government provides premium subsidies and MediSave top-ups, which will more than offset premium increases

11. The Government accepts the Council’s recommendation to release capital from the MediShield Life Fund to cap and phase in the premium increases. This will require a release of around $600 million from the Fund, and will not affect the scheme’s ability to meet its claim obligations.

12. In addition, over the next three years, the Government will provide an additional $4.1 billion in premium support measures, which will more than offset the cumulative $1.8 billion increase in additional premiums over the next three years. The offset package comprises:

a. Increases in premium subsidies, including enhancements to means-tested premium subsidies amounting to $ 0.7 billion. The Government will increase premium subsidies by five to ten percentage points for lower-income and middle-income Singaporeans in older age groups. From 1 April 2025, they will be able to receive premium subsidies of up to 60%, from up to 50% today.

b. Additional MediSave top-ups of $ 3.4 billion. The Government will:

i. Increase annual MediSave top-ups for the Pioneer Generation. The Government will increase this annual top-up by up to $300, bringing the maximum annual top-up to $1,200. Under the Pioneer Generation Package, those who are above the age of 90 in 2025 will continue to have their MediShield Life premiums fully covered by these annual MediSave top-ups and their existing special subsidies, while younger Pioneer Generation seniors will continue to see about two-thirds of their premiums covered.

ii. Enhance the one-time Majulah Package MediSave Bonus. The Majulah Package was announced in August 2023 to provide greater assurance over healthcare costs for seniors, including Young Seniors in their 50s and early 60s. Under the Majulah Package, the Government announced that Singaporeans born in 1973 or earlier will receive a one-time MediSave Bonus of up to $1,500. This MediSave Bonus will be enhanced by $500. The MediSave Bonus will be paid in December 2024.

iii. Provide an additional MediSave Bonus for Young Seniors and the Merdeka Generation with lower MediSave balances. Recognising that some Young Seniors and Merdeka Generation seniors born between 1950 and 1973 (inclusive) may not have been able to accumulate enough savings in their MediSave account, the Government will give a further MediSave Bonus of $500 in 2025 to help cover the rise in premiums for those with low MediSave balances.

iv. Enhance the one-time Budget 2024 MediSave Bonus. At Budget 2024, the Government announced that Singaporeans born between 1974 and 2003 (inclusive) will receive a one-time MediSave Bonus of up to $300. This MediSave Bonus will be enhanced by $200, and will be paid in December 2024.

v. Increase MediSave Grant for Newborns. From 1 April 2025, the Government will increase this grant from $4,000 to $5,000. With the increase, a Singapore Citizen newborn’s MediShield Life premiums will continue to be fully covered up till age 21.

c. Expansion of Additional Premium Support amounting to $80 million. Additional Premium Support is for Singaporeans who are unable to afford their MediShield Life premiums after premium subsidies, and have limited family support. The Government will expand the eligibility criteria to cover more lower-income Singaporeans.

13. The package will offset the cumulative increase in MediShield Life premiums over the next three years for almost all ages and income levels.

14. No one will be denied coverage due to an inability to pay their premiums. Please refer to Annex C for details of the Government’s premium support measures, Annex D for details of the revised premiums, and Annex E for household archetypes and worked examples.

Redemption of premium discounts using Healthpoints

15. The Government also agrees with the Council’s recommendations to offer premium discounts for those who lead a healthier lifestyle. This can be done through the Health Promotion Board’s (HPB) Healthy 365 programme, which already awards Healthpoints in exchange for rewards.

16. In support of Healthier SG, policyholders aged 40 and above may redeem MediShield Life premium discounts via HPB’s Healthy 365 app, at a conversion rate of 150 Healthpoints to $2, higher than the regular conversion rate of 150 Healthpoints to $1. To earn Healthpoints, they can participate in healthy lifestyle programmes and challenges on the Healthy 365 app, or enrol with a Healthier SG clinic and complete the first Health Plan consultation. For instance, an individual who, on average, does 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity almost daily for the entire year, could redeem $80 worth of discounts off his or her MediShield Life premiums.

17. This programme will commence in the third quarter of 2025, and will run as a pilot for three years. The Government will review the outcomes of the pilot before deciding whether to make it a permanent feature of MediShield Life.

Pilot financing framework for CTGTPs

18. While CTGTPs have the potential to transform healthcare and treat serious diseases, they have high upfront costs. Without financing support, patients may not be able to access these potentially effective treatments.

19. However, such financing must also be designed in a sustainable manner given the high cost of CTGTPs and uncertainty around their longer-term effectiveness. Hence the Government has introduced a pilot financing framework to focus support only on CTGTPs that have been assessed to be both clinically effective and cost-effective. The first CTGTP to be listed on the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) CTGTP list is tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah), for the treatment of relapsed/refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, and relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Over time, more CTGTPs will be added to the list.

20. Since 1 August 2024, eligible patients who require the use of CTGTPs that are included on MOH’s CTGTP List have been able to receive means-tested subsidies of up to 75%, capped at $150,000 per treatment course, at public healthcare institutions.

21. From October 2025, the Government will also extend MediShield Life and MediSave coverage to CTGTPs on MOH’s CTGTP List. Given the high costs of CTGTPs, MediShield Life and MediSave limits will be sized to fully cover two in three subsidised patients initially. Please refer to Annex F for details.

22. The Government thanks the MediShield Life Council for the significant time and effort they have committed to review MediShield Life. We note that the Council has carefully considered all aspects of the scheme, and engaged many Singaporeans and stakeholders for their input along the way. The Council’s recommendations strike a good balance between providing greater protection for Singaporeans against large medical bills and keeping premiums affordable and sustainable.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH

15 OCTOBER 2024

Annex A

Changes to MediShield Life Claim Limits and MediSave Withdrawal Limits

Table A-1: Revised MediShield Life claim limits and MediSave withdrawal limits for treatments currently covered by MediShield Life

Table A-2: MediShield Life claim limits and MediSave withdrawal limits for
new treatments to be covered by MediShield Life

Annex B

Bill Examples Incorporating MediShield Life Scheme Changes

Illustration 1: Higher payouts for subsidised patients seeking inpatient care

Illustration 2: Higher payout for subsidised patient seeking dialysis treatment

Annex C

Details of the MediShield Life 2024 Review Premium Support Measures

Table C-1: Summary of the Premium Support Measures

Table C-2: Enhanced Means-Tested Premium Subsidies for Singapore Citizens

Table C-3: Additional Merdeka Generation Subsidies

Table C-4: Pioneer Generation Special Subsidies and MediSave Top-Ups

Table C-5: Revised Majulah Package MediSave Bonus

Table C-6: Additional MediSave Bonus

Table C-7: Revised Budget 2024 MediSave Bonus

Table C-8: MediSave Grant for Newborns

Annex D

Revised MediShield Life Premiums

Table D-1: MediShield Life Premium Schedule for Singapore Citizens in 2025
After Phased Increase

Table D-2: MediShield Life Premium Schedule for Singapore Citizens in 2027
After Increase Has Been Fully Phased In

Annex E

Household Archetypes and Worked Examples

The following figures illustrate the premium impact on various groups.

Illustration 1: Mr A

• Single Merdeka Generation (MG) senior, 67 years old

• 2-room HDB

• Per capita household income of $1,000 monthly

Mr A would enjoy means-tested subsidies of 40%, additional MG subsidies of 5%, and support to phase the increase evenly over the next three years.

Note: Figures in brackets refer to the increase in premiums using 2024 as the base year. Cumulative increase over 2025 to 2027 refers to the sum of the figures in brackets.

After subsidies and phasing, Mr A’s cumulative net premium increase over 2025 to 2027 of $109 will be fully offset with the enhanced MediSave Bonus of $1,250 under the Majulah Package.

If he has a low MediSave balance, he may also be eligible for the additional MediSave Bonus of $500 in 2025 which could further help him pay his annual premiums and other healthcare expenses.

Illustration 2: Mrs B

• Single Pioneer Generation (PG) senior, 87 years old

• 2-room HDB

• No household income

Mrs B would enjoy special PG subsidies of 59% and an annual PG MediSave top-up of $700. She would also receive support to phase in the increase evenly over the next three years. As a younger PG, she will continue to see at least two-thirds of her premium covered.

Note: Figures in brackets refer to the increase in premiums using 2024 as the base year. Cumulative increase over 2025 to 2027 refers to the sum of the figures in brackets.

After subsidies and phasing, Mrs B’s cumulative net premium increase of $574 will be fully offset with the enhanced MediSave Bonus of $1,250 under the Majulah Package.

Any remainder could be used to further help her pay her annual premiums and other healthcare expenses.

Illustration 3: Mr and Mrs C

• MG senior couple, 67 years old

• Private residential property

• Per capita household income of more than $3,600

Mr and Mrs C would enjoy MG subsidies of 5% and support to phase in the increase evenly over the next three years.

Note: Figures in brackets refer to the increase in premiums using 2024 as the base year. Cumulative increase over 2025 to 2027 refers to the sum of the figures in brackets.

After subsidies and phasing, Mr and Mrs C’s cumulative net premium increase of $758 will be fully offset with the enhanced MediSave Bonus of $2,500 (i.e. $1,250 each) under the Majulah Package which they will both receive.

Any remainder could be used to pay for their annual premiums and other healthcare expenses.

Illustration 4: The D family

• Grandfather and grandmother (both 67-year-old MGs)

• Husband and wife, 42 years old, both working

• Primary school-going daughter and son

• 5-room HDB

• Per capita household income of $2,500 monthly

The D family would benefit from means-tested subsidies of up to 35%, additional MG subsidies of 5%, and support to phase in the increase evenly over three years.

Note: Figures in brackets refer to the increase in premiums using 2024 as the base year. Cumulative increase over 2025 to 2027 refers to the sum of the figures in brackets.

After subsidies and phasing, this family’s cumulative net premium increase of $722 will be fully offset with the enhanced MediSave Bonus of $3,500 which the grandparents (i.e. $1,250 each) and parents (i.e. $500 each) will receive, and the MediSave Grant for Newborns which the children had received previously.

Any remainder could further help the D family to pay their annual premiums and other healthcare expenses.

Annex F

Details of CTGTP Pilot Financing Framework

Illustration 1: Reduced out-of-pocket cash payment for subsidised patient

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Great Oregon Camp-In Activities

Source: US State of Oregon

he Great Oregon Camp-In offers Oregonians a chance to dedicate a few hours or a couple of days working on their emergency plan. It is a time to practice day-to-day activities as if a large disaster has occurred. Whether you’re just starting your preparedness journey, or you’ve been doing this awhile, the Great Oregon Camp-In is for everyone.

Emergency planning starts with a simple conversation. Make sure everyone in your household knows basic, essential details:
Where to meet: Choose a meeting spot for your family. Take a walk together from your kids’ school and from your house to the meeting location, so that everyone is familiar with the route.
Primary contact: Identify a point of contact. This should be a person out of town (if possible) who will be less likely to be affected by a large disaster and can act as an information hub for your household. This person should know their role, and everyone in the family should have that person’s contact information memorized.
Alert subscriptions: All adults should be subscribed to http://www.oralert.gov and have Wireless Emergency Alerts activated on their cell phones.

Following these three steps can set you on the path to success after a disaster. If you’re ready to take your preparation a few steps further, check out the activities below that can help you and your community be better prepared to respond in emergencies. We also have an article on Making Preparedness Fun offering kid-friendly tips, and the Red Cross has an entire website Prepare with Pedro that will help you make the Camp-In fun.

Here are some additional activities you can do during the Camp-In:
Download the Be 2 Weeks Ready toolkit and complete Unit 2, Activity 6: Build Your Emergency Plan on page 45.
Talk to your neighbors about your different plans, and how you can work together during a disaster.
Identify and walk to an emergency meeting place away from your home.
Prepare a go-bag for everyone in your family, (including your pets) – include an extra pair of shoes and clothes you won’t miss and customize them with comfort items.
Store copies of legal identifications, medical insurance cards, prescription RXs, immunization records, mortgage paperwork, homeowner/renter’s insurance, emergency contacts, birth certificates, marriage certificates, and any other legal papers like wills or power of attorney—in a waterproof container in your go-bag.
Create an inventory of your belongings for insurance purposes using Unit 2, Activity 7: Catalog and Insure Belongings on page 55 in the Be 2 Weeks Ready toolkit.
Identify an out-of-area contact, make sure everyone has their number memorized, and call them to let them know they are part of your emergency plan.
Practice how you will evacuate your home and make any necessary changes.
Sign up for emergency alerts at Follow Oregon Emergency Management on social media:
Facebook: Oregon Department of Emergency Management
X: OregonOEM
Instagram: @oregonoem
Threads: @oregonoem
Follow Take inventory of your emergency supplies and identify any gaps.
Set up a “campsite” inside your home, with blankets, pillows, and other supplies.
Cook meals using a camping stove or grill or prepare no-cook meals.
Practice using your emergency radio and add extra batteries to your kit.
Learn how to shut off utilities in your home (please, do not turn off your gas unless absolutely necessary).
Play games, read books, or do other activities that don’t require electricity.

A prepared household is a resilient one, and every effort you make strengthens your ability to respond to whatever challenge the future may bring. As you participate in the Great Oregon Camp-In, share your activities on social media using the hashtag #GreatOregonCampIn2024.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: DOORSTOP INTERVIEW BY MR ONG YE KUNG, MINISTER FOR HEALTH, AT THE MEDISHIELD LIFE 2024 REVIEW, 11 OCTOBER 2024

Source: Asia Pacific Region 2 – Singapore

Appreciation to Council

I want to first thank the MediShield Life Council for working so hard. I think they did a very thorough analysis and came up with very comprehensive recommendations. I want to thank Mrs Fang Ai Lian and the team for their contributions. Also not forgetting the Secretariat, who has been working very hard for over one year to support the Council.

2. Let me just go through some salient points of this package of measures, which I think is quite a significant one.

Package of Measures in a Glance

3. Number one is to recognise the rising healthcare costs. In particular we are most concerned about unexpected health episodes that require you to stay in hospital for a long time, maybe even in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Some unfortunate things happen, and you chalk up a big bill that is unexpected. And that bill is rising and therefore we are increasing the claim limits for such bills.

4. It is quite a significant increase. For two-day normal ward charges, the claim limits have gone up from $1,000 to about $1,600 – a 50 percent increase. The increase for ICU is significant. It does not happen very often but should it be needed, daily claims have gone up from $2,200 to over $5,000 or more than double. So it is a very good safety net and peace of mind.

5. The second salient point is outpatient treatment. That is also rising, and I think it is hurting the pockets of patients, so we are also raising the claim limits for outpatients. In particular, one area we are quite concerned about is kidney dialysis. The costs have been going up. If nothing is done, it is only a matter of time before kidney dialysis patients have to pay cash out of their own pockets for dialysis. So we are increasing the claim limits from $1,100 per month to about $1,700 per month.

6. Third area is out-of-hospital bills. One major trend in healthcare is that more and more treatments are done outside the hospital, in the community and home settings. We are increasing coverage for such treatments, such as wound dressing, and treatment for depression. This is being done for the first time and some of the services that are done in home settings are now also covered.

7. Number four is technological advances. New and novel drugs, such as cell, tissue, gene therapy products (CTGTP), can be very expensive, but they are breakthroughs. They are one-time expensive treatments that promise to cure severe diseases like cancer. If we do nothing, chances are, in time only the rich can access these treatments. So we need to bring some of them into both our subsidy as well as MediShield Life framework.

8. We have done so for subsidies, provided they are proven to be clinically effective and cost-effective. So just very few drugs but it is a starting point. Today we agree with the recommendations of the Council to also bring these same drugs into the MediShield Life framework. That way, at least for these drugs, all Singaporeans can access them.

9. Number five is that we are increasing the deductibles. I think it is necessary to do that because that way, we focus the resources and help on the bigger bills which is what we are most concerned about. Your smaller bills will rise a little bit, deductibles will go up, but you can pay for it with MediSave.

10. And finally, the Council recommended that with all these changes, strengthening of the claim system and the safety net, premiums will have to go up by quite a significant number. But we should have a comprehensive package of measures to support these increases so that the great majority of Singaporeans can continue to pay for these increases using their MediSave and they do not have to come up with cash from their own pocket.

11. We agree with that, and we are doing so. If we take the cumulative increase in premiums across the population, it is $1.8 billion. We have come up with a package that costs $4.1 billion over the next review cycle, which is about three years. So the package far exceeds the increase in premiums. Therefore, in other words, we are taking this opportunity to also build up the MediSave balances for Singaporeans.

Support Package

12. What is this package? Let me elaborate. There are two parts to this.

13. Out of this $4.1 billion, $700 million or $0.7 billion, is to increase MediShield Life premium subsidies. Another $3.4 billion is for MediSave top-ups. So added together, it is $4.1 billion.

14. First on the $700 million of MediShield Life premium subsidies. This will be focused especially on those who are older. The increase is about 5 to 10 percentage points. In the past, the maximum subsidy was 50%, meaning 50% of premiums is subsidised, paid for by the government. That will now increase to 60%, so it will help many people and cost us $700 million.

15. The MediSave top-ups are much more complicated. What we have done, actually is quite a long exercise. Essentially, we identified every single MediSave Life top-up initiative and tried to strengthen every one of them. Why did we do it that way? I think by so doing, we try to cover as many age groups as possible, practically all age groups. So what are they?

16. Let me start with the oldest which is Pioneer Generation (PG). As you know, PG can get MediSave top-ups every year throughout their life. For the older PG who are 90 years this year, born in 1934 or earlier, they will have top-ups that will basically offset all the premium increases. Their top-ups are enough for them to pay their MediShield premiums throughout their lives. For the younger PG, their top-ups will be sufficient to cover two-thirds of the premium increases.

17. At last year’s National Day Rally, then-Prime Minister Lee announced the Majulah Package. Basically for all those born in 1973 or earlier – that means it covers PG, Merdeka Generation (MG), as well as the new term, Young Seniors who are in their 50s and 60s – will receive MediSave top-ups. For this whole group, the MediSave top-ups will be enhanced by $500. In the past, the MediSave top-up was $1,500 maximum. Now, the maximum goes up to $2,000.

18. Third, within a subset of this group, there is a group which is born between 1950 and 1973. These are the MG, as well as the young seniors. They, unlike the PG, do not have any more MediSave top-ups. So, some of them, because of their work history, do not have sufficient MediSave balances. So, for this group we will do something extra for them – an extra $500 per person.

19. Number four, at Budget 2024 this year, Finance Minister and current Prime Minister announced that a younger group born between 1974 and 2003 will get MediSave top-ups. We will enhance their MediSave top-ups by another $200. For this group, their premiums are not as high because they are relatively younger, so their top-ups are less.

20. Finally, newborns get a newborn grant of $4,000. The newborn grant will be enhanced to $5,000, so this is sufficient to pay for their MediShield Life premiums up to the age of 21.

21. So, this is the package that we are putting out – $4.1 billion over the next few years.

Encouraging Healthier Lifestyles

22. The Council has always recommended that we should encourage Singaporeans to lead healthier lifestyles. This year, they went a bit further. Since we have Healthier SG, they asked why not link the two together.

23. It makes a lot of sense, because adopting a healthier lifestyle is something we can choose to do. We can do more exercises, eat healthy, sleep better, quit smoking, sign up for Healthier SG and go for regular screenings. All these are within our control, and if we do them, we get a discount on our MediShield Life premiums.

24. We decided to try this out. After all, many Singaporeans have already joined the Health Promotion Board’s Healthy 365 programme to collect Healthpoints.

25. From the third quarter of 2025, we will start to allow Singaporeans 40 and above to use their Healthpoints and convert them to discounts or deductions in MediShield Life premiums.

26. We will work in a fairly favourable conversion rate. All in all, this means that if you are someone who is quite active, who exercises for about 30 minutes every day, you should have enough Healthpoints to receive a discount of about $80 per year off your annual MediShield Life premium. For a young person, this discount is slightly less than or almost half of their premium. So this is the whole package.

Multiple Layers of Safety Net

27. It has been many months in the making. Late last month, I announced the change in our effective date of the change in our subsidy system.

28. Essentially we are changing the per capita household income (PCHI) thresholds, such that more Singaporeans are eligible for higher subsidies. 1.1 million Singaporeans will benefit.

29. Today, we are strengthening our MediShield Life system as well as the MediSave system. This is our classic S+2M framework. We are strengthening both and it is very important that these two safety nets work hand in hand.

30. There are many countries that focus a lot on subsidies. When you focus a lot on subsidies, it is funded by taxation. When funded by taxation, things tend to be cheap or free and this causes excess demand, so waiting time becomes very long in the hospitals and the clinics. While it is very affordable, it is not very accessible.

31. Then there are other countries who focus a lot on insurance. Insurance has much less of a problem of excess demand, because when you fall sick, you have to file a claim, and there is a certain discipline in the application process around it. It is accessible, but, if you do not have insurance, it is not affordable. So all countries, in the end, realise you have to have both subsidy and insurance.

32. That is what we have done. S+2M has worked well for us and we will continue to improve our system.

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Economy – The cost of living crisis is coming to an end, with inflation close to 2%. We’re back in band – The cost of living crisis is coming to an end, with inflation close to 2%. We’re back in band – Kiwibank

Source: Kiwibank

Pay rises are finally running above inflation. The cost of living crisis is coming to an end, slowly. It may not feel like it, yet, but inflation has eased, and will ease further.

* The RBNZ engineered a long, harsh recession in order to get inflation back within its 1-to-3% target band. They focus on the 2% mid-point. And we’re close… very close. At 2.2%, inflation has fallen from a rapid peak of 7.3%.

* The RBNZ can declare victory in the war on inflation. And they have acknowledged the success, with rate cuts.

* There is more disinflationary pressure in the pipeline as the economy continues to operate below its productive capacity. Tradables is the reason we have returned to 2%. And the eventual normalisation in domestic price pressures is why we see 2% sustained in the medium-term. It’s the two phases of 2%. Phase 1, imported. Phase 2, domestic.

* The light at the end of the tunnel is burning brighter. Cost pressures are easing. Great news for businesses and households, and interest rate relief is coming thick and fast. Policy settings are still restrictive, but more interest rate cuts are coming. Falling inflation, and falling interest rates will help household budgets, and business opex.

The good news – deflationary pressures are becoming more broad based. There were more goods and services recording declines in prices. And there were fewer goods and services recording hikes in prices.
The bad news – there’s still some very chunky prices hikes in council rates and insurance premiums to pay. The $5 fee for prescriptions also hurt.

Importantly, core inflation recorded a 1% gain on the quarter, and eased to 3.1% over the year.

Beneath the surface, there was some (welcomed) weakness in housing related costs. Despite a sharp 12% increase in council ratees over the quarter, lower labour costs and cheaper materials costs helped on the construction front.

Earlier this year, we had forecast inflation falling back within the RBNZ’s 1-3% target band in the September quarter – but only just (2.8%) given the persistent strength in domestic inflation. While that remains the case, inflation has now fallen to 2.2%. And we still have cheaper imported prices to thank for bringing inflation closer to the RBNZ’s 2% target.

The two phases of deflation.

The first phase is the deflation of prices for imported goods. Known as tradables inflation, imported prices are falling, and are DOWN -1.6% over the year. Imported prices peaked at a whopping 8.7%, and have fallen swiftly with the decline in global inflation rates.

The second phase is the deflating of domestic prices. Domestic inflation is a slow-moving beast. The good news is that it is moving in the right direction (south). Non-tradables prices have eased from 5.4% to 4.9%. It’s fallen some distance from the 6.8% peak, although it is still sitting high above the long-term average (~3%).

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: Minister Rishworth interview on the Newschat on the Today Show

Source: Ministers for Social Services

16 October 2024

Program:

Today Show

Interviewer:

Sarah Abo

E&OE TRANSCRIPT

Topics: Cost of living; Prime Minister’s property; Housing; Rent to Build Scheme; Help to Buy Bill; Debit card surcharges, ABBA concert.

SARAH ABO, HOST: Welcome back. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is defending his decision to purchase a $4.3 million beach house in Copacabana on the NSW Central Coast. Joining us to discuss today’s headlines is Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth and Nine News and 3AW presenter Heidi Murphy in Melbourne. All right, ladies [Copacabana by Barry Manilow plays]. Sing it. Come on, Amanda. It’s nice for some, isn’t it?

SARAH ABO: Are you gonna be invited over or what, Amanda?

HEIDI MURPHY, JOURNALIST: Can’t wait for that first party. Yeah Amanda, can we all come?

AMANDA RISHWORTH, MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES: It’s bringing back a lot of memories from, you know, some bad wedding that I went to.

SARAH ABO: We’ve all heard it at a bad wedding, haven’t we? All right, but seriously, Amanda, is this purchase completely okay or is it completely tone deaf?

AMANDA RISHWORTH: Well, first, I’d say it’s entirely a matter for the Prime Minister and his fiancé. He wouldn’t be the first politician, or indeed person, in Australia to buy and sell property. But, you know, when we look at the issue of concern around getting access to housing, it is a big issue and that’s why our Government has made a real focus on it. That’s why we have legislation in the Senate at the moment talking about a shared equity scheme so more people can buy property and that’s being blocked by the Liberals and Nationals and the Greens. So, we have a very big housing agenda, more social, more affordable housing.

HEIDI MURPHY: Amanda, Amanda, you’ve undermined it. But you’ve undermined it entirely.

SARAH ABO: It’s a total stalemate. And especially now. I mean, some people in your own ranks are calling this Albo’s Hawaii moment.

AMANDA RISHWORTH: Well, I would say again, plenty of, whether they’re politicians or ordinary people, buy and sell property in Australia. I’m not sure that the Australian people want us talking about politicians and their private properties. They want us to be getting on and doing the job.

SARAH ABO: Exactly, but you are, this is the point. We are talking about it Amanda because of this decision that he has made.

AMANDA RISHWORTH: Well, we want to get on and do the job…

HEIDI MURPHY: [Interrupts] But we can’t pretend the PM is just any other, any other Australian. He is about to wage a campaign in an election on housing affordability and cost of living. He is not just any ordinary Australian. A $4.3 million house purchase stinks.

SARAH ABO: And that’s the thing, isn’t it, Heidi? I mean, you know, you talk about that cost of living crisis. The Government can’t get that housing bill that Amanda’s talking about through the parliament for whatever reason, it’s not getting through. There are 1.2 million homes that are apparently going to be built by 2029, but we need some 80,000 extra tradies here to actually build them. And yet, amidst all of that, the Prime Minister is splashing out. The leader of this nation.

HEIDI MURPHY: I mean, good luck to him. I hope he enjoys the home, but he cannot stand in front of an open microphone in front of a voter and say, I understand the cost of living crisis. I understand how housing affordability is affecting you. You’ve undermined any message to the outer suburbs and to people trying to get into the housing market, I reckon.

SARAH ABO: Do you see that point, Amanda?

AMANDA RISHWORTH: Well, no, I don’t accept that point. I think you have to judge us by the actions that we’ve taken in public policy, and that is doing the largest rent assistance increase in the last 30 years, $32 billion to build more social and affordable homes. Our Rent to Build Scheme, which is about building long term rental accommodation, our Shared Equity Scheme, I mean, we, through our actions, through our policy, whether it’s what we did with tax cuts, whether it’s what we did when it came to energy bill relief, our actions are demonstrating we understand cost of living, at the same time delivering budget surpluses that are putting downward pressure on inflation, so we’ve got to look out our policy.

HEIDI MURPHY: But the PM’s actions, his personal actions, are saying something else, aren’t they?

AMANDA RISHWORTH: Like I said, he’s not the first person in Australia to buy and sell property.

SARAH ABO: I know, but Amanda, I think, look, I think we can all agree that the rules are different for a sitting Prime Minister, especially when it comes to a housing crisis that works experiencing this country. Let’s move on. Small businesses are pushing back on the Government’s plan to ban debit card surcharges. Concerned they’ll be the ones to absorb the extra costs. Amanda, businesses say it’ll end up costing them and their customers more. Is this a bit short sighted by the Government?

AMANDA RISHWORTH: What we’re saying, firstly, is our immediate action is to get the ACCC to have a crackdown on surcharges. But I think many ordinary Australians would be really frustrated at the fact that when they use their own money, including a debit card, they get charged a surcharge and there’s no way out of it. And that is really unfair for many people, there’s circumstances where you have to pay with your debit card and you can’t pay any other way and you get hit with those surcharges. So, this is about looking at this in terms of competition, about what are the profits being made here by the banks, by the card owners, and making sure that it’s a fair for consumers?

SARAH ABO: All right, let’s hope it doesn’t get passed on to consumers. Just finally, Melbourne Lord Mayor hopeful Aaron Wood has pledged $10 million to help bring ABBA’s spectacular 3D virtual concert to Docklands. Heid, do you reckon it’ll work and Amanda, will the Federal Government show them the money, money, money they need?

HEIDI MURPHY: We so want this show in Melbourne. We’ve been trying for it for a while. I think we’re competing with Sydney, maybe a few other cities. I can’t quite remember where it’s gotten to, but any money we can put towards it. It’s by all accounts a phenomenal show.

SARAH ABO: Amanda, will the Federal Government help out here? Make it happen?

HEIDI MURPHY: Come on, come on.

AMANDA RISHWORTH: I can’t make any commitments on this, but what I would say is I think this would be a real coup for the country to have a show like this.

HEIDI MURPHY: Especially for Melbourne.

AMANDA RISHWORTH: Well, I’d like it in Adelaide personally, but not sure we quite get over the line for that.

HEIDI MURPHY: We’ll share the love.

AMANDA RISHWORTH: A lot of people love ABBA.

SARAH ABO: Absolutely they do. Thank you both so much for joining me today, appreciate it.

MIL OSI News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Grassley Demands VP Harris Own Up for Failures as Border Czar
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Iowa Chuck Grassley

BUTLER COUNTY, IOWA – U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) wrote Vice President Kamala Harris asking questions about the policy decisions she has made in her role overseeing border issues for the Biden administration, as well as the dangerous consequences and crimes that have ensued as a result.

“Every community is a border community because the Biden-Harris administration has refused to enforce our immigration laws,” Grassley today said of his letter. “The federal government’s number one job is to keep its citizens safe. By reversing the effective border security policies of the Trump administration, the Biden-Harris administration has done the very opposite of protecting American citizens.”

Grassley on a radio call this morning cited the following actions, among others, the Biden-Harris administration has taken that have weakened U.S. national security and made innocent Americans targets of otherwise preventable crimes:
- Ordering the Defense Department to stop building the southern border wall;
- Blocking $2 billion previously allocated for barrier construction; and
- Ending the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” program.
Click HERE for audio of Grassley discussing his letter to Vice President Harris. The full letter is available HERE and below.

Vice President Kamala D. Harris

The White House

Office of the Vice President

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Vice President Harris:

In one of your first official public appearances, you joined President Biden in the Oval Office when he opined on the Trump administration’s immigration and border policies. President Biden dismissed the previous administration’s policies as “counterproductive to our security,” “harmful,” and a “moral and national shame.”

Since your first day in office, you and President Biden have worked to dismantle the Trump-era border policies and halted further construction of the border wall. The presidential proclamation terminating construction read, in part: “It shall be the policy of my Administration that no more American taxpayer dollars be diverted to construct a border wall.” This initiated a so-called “careful review of all resources appropriated or redirected to construct a southern border wall.” By April 2021, the Department of Defense (DOD) announced the cancellation of border barrier projects. In June of the same year, the Biden-Harris administration returned $2 billion to the DOD previously allocated for the purpose of border wall construction. Your administration also initiated a review of the Remain in Mexico policy, which Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Mayorkas subsequently ended in June 2021.

Meanwhile, every fiscal year throughout your engagements, crossings from Mexico and the

Northern Triangle markedly exceeded any year of the Trump administration. Despite the stark increase from those nations and many others, deportations and returns overall have decreased as a share of crossings.

Now, you are engaging in a numbers racket, telling Americans modest decreases in encounters from soaring, record highs is somehow proof that what your administration has been doing all along is working. It is not.

President Biden’s executive order—more than three years after your administration’s reckless reversal of key policies—is an implicit admission that he and you bear ultimate responsibility for this crisis and this disastrous approach. As a result of these slow-walked changes, our national security has been undermined and the safety of our communities has been threatened all across the country.

Due to the Biden-Harris administration’s failure to achieve adequate border security, illegal immigrants, including those entering from Mexico and the Northern Triangle, have been able to perpetrate heinous acts against innocent American citizens. For example:
- On May 14, 2024, an 18-year-old Honduran national, who purportedly entered the United States illegally in April 2022, pled guilty to sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl in Waterloo, Iowa.
- On April 2, 2024, a Honduran national, who was previously convicted of sexual assaulting a woman in Connecticut and deported, was charged for failing to register as a sex offender. He was reportedly able to re-enter the United States undetected by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and subsequently was arrested twice before being charged.
- On February 25, 2024, a 19-year-old Honduran national was arrested for the alleged rape and aggravated assault of a 14-year-old girl at knifepoint in Louisiana. He entered the United States illegally in October 2023.
- On May 4, 2024, a Guatemalan national was arrested for allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl in a van in Palm Beach County, Florida. He reportedly entered the United States illegally in January 2024, was given an immigration hearing date in 2027, and was released by DHS.
- On June 26, 2024, a Guatemalan national was charged with alleged sexually battery of a 14-year-old girl in Okaloosa County, Florida. He was deported on February 9, 2024, before this incident, but was able to re-enter the United States untraced days later.
- On May 8, 2024, an El Salvadoran migrant was arrested for allegedly murdering a woman and the malicious assault of two homeless individuals with a baseball bat in West Virginia. He had an extensive criminal history and was in prison in El Salvador for over twenty years for “DUI [driving under the influence], sexual assault/murder, aggravated robbery, and narcotics related crimes.” Law enforcement believes he illegally entered the United States shortly after his release from prison.
This is just a snapshot from this year alone of the sorts of preventable tragedies, which have become all too common across the United States.

The Biden-Harris administration’s policies—pulling resources, reversing Remain in Mexico, and stopping wall construction—are largely to blame for our open and unsafe border over the last three-and-a-half years. Because of your actions and inactions, every state is now a border state and every community is a border community.

Given your role as the leader of engagement with this region, which the media has colloquially dubbed as “Border Czar” or “Root Causes Czar,” I ask that you provide answers to the following immigration and border policy questions by October 24, 2024.
1. Have you engaged with your international counterparts regarding violence perpetrated against innocent Americans by citizens of their countries? Have you raised this concern with any counterpart(s)? If so, what concerns were raised and when? What was their response?
2. In light of the Biden-Harris administration’s ending of Remain in Mexico in 2021, what data can you provide suggesting migration from Mexico has been “stemmed” as you were tasked with accomplishing prior to 2024?
3. In February 2024, the Biden-Harris administration endorsed a proposal that, among other provisions, included a requirement that a few hundred million dollars in unspent funds be used specifically for border wall construction. As noted above, the Biden-Harris administration previously returned $2 billion allocated for the purpose of building a border wall. Did the Biden-Harris administration ever consider reversing course regarding this funding? If not, why not? If so, why has no discernable action been taken to that end?
4. The Biden-Harris administration has auctioned off some $300 million worth of unused border wall materials for mere pennies on the dollar. Why did the Biden-Harris administration endorse a proposal asking Congress to require them to use hundreds of millions of unspent dollars for border wall construction after deciding to sit on hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of unused supplies instead of building the wall?
-30-
MIL OSI USA News –
January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Major crackdown on NHS waste
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

A new strategy is being published to radically cut the number of single-use medical devices in the health service.
Move to scrap single-use MedTech as Health and Social Care Secretary launches waste blitz

Tens of millions of disposable items are binned after just one use

MedTech companies incentivised to produce sustainable products – pumping millions back to NHS frontline and cash into economy

The government is launching a major crackdown on waste in the NHS to save millions of pounds a year, helping to divert more resources to frontline care.

A new strategy – the Design for Life Roadmap – is being published to radically cut the number of single-use medical devices in the health service and reduce our reliance on foreign imports.

Disposable medical devices substantially contribute to the 156,000 tonnes of clinical waste that the NHS produces every year in England alone. The roadmap paves the way to slashing this waste and maximising reuse, remanufacture and recycling in the NHS.

Doing so will create thousands more UK jobs and help transform the country into a life sciences superpower. As it stands, millions of devices like walking aids and surgical instruments are thrown away after just one use.

Harmonic shears – surgical devices which seal patients’ wounds using ultrasound waves – each cost more than £500 and around 90% of them are binned after a single use. Innovative companies are already purchasing these used devices and safely remanufacturing them at a lower price.

The government will encourage more of this kind of innovation to safely remanufacture a wider range of products and drive costs down, including by changing procurement rules to incentivise reusable products and rolling out examples where hospitals are already leading the way on cutting wasteful spending and practices.

Approximately £10 billion each year is spent on medical technology like this in the NHS, but too much of it is imported via vulnerable routes that risk disrupting patient care.

A Circular Economy Taskforce has already been created to foster more highly skilled green jobs and smarter use of our resources. An economy wide shift to a circular economy could add £75 billion to the economy and create 500,000 jobs by 2030.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said:

The NHS is broken. It is the mission of this government to get it back on its feet, and we can’t afford a single penny going to waste.

Because the NHS deals in the billions, too often it doesn’t think about the millions. That has to change. This government inherited a £22 billion blackhole in the public finances, so we will have a laser-like focus on getting better value for taxpayers’ money.

Every year, millions of expensive medical devices are chucked in the bin after being used just once. We are going to work closely with our medical technology industry, to eliminate waste and support homegrown medtech and equipment.

The below case studies illustrate the potential savings:

Mid Yorkshire Trust uses 330,000 single use tourniquets in a year, but a single reusable tourniquet can be used 10,000 times. In a one-year trial, reusable alternatives saved £20,000 in procurement costs and 0.75 metric tonnes of plastic waste.

In Northampton Hospitals NHS Trust, a single Ophthalmology department saved 1,000 pairs of disposable scissors and £12,000 in a year by switching to reusable pairs. Single-use scissors are often used in surgical settings. NHS procurement data shows that several million pairs of single-use scissors were purchased by the NHS in a single year (2022-23). That is the equivalent of hundreds of pairs of scissors thrown away every hour.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust saved £76,610 in costs purchasing 604 remanufactured Electrophysiology (EP) Catheters, and generated a further £22,923 for selling used devices for collection. If the same approach were to be scaled up across the UK, the NHS could save millions of pounds per year on EP catheters alone, just a few product lines among hundreds of thousands.

Harmonic shears are complex devices for performing surgical procedures and cost more than £500 each, yet around 90% are binned after a single use. Leeds University Teaching Hospitals Trust has demonstrated that companies can safely remanufacture them, giving up to 50% cost savings.

The Design for Life programme will reduce this kind of waste and achieve an NHS-wide move to sustainable alternatives– also supporting the government’s net zero goals.

A new roadmap sets out 30 actions to achieve this shift – including how the government will work with companies to encourage the production of more sustainable products, along with training for NHS staff on how to use them.

Taking this approach will mean more money can be spent in the UK, driving growth, creating more engineering, life sciences and research jobs – all while securing savings for the NHS budget.

Many of these products include precious metals such as platinum and titanium which are in high demand but go to landfill when they could be recovered and sold. A reduction in the amount of disposed single-use devices will also reduce the country’s carbon footprint and plastic pollution.

The government will encourage industry figures to innovate by making sure benefits of reusable MedTech are part of how the NHS chooses the products it buys.

Baroness Merron visited University College London Hospital on Tuesday, 15 October. The hospital is a member of the Circular Economy Healthcare Alliance, which advocates for sustainable practices within the NHS.

Health Minister Baroness Gillian Merron said:

Design for Life doesn’t just deliver on the Health Mission, to build an NHS fit for the future, it also delivers on our Growth Mission to make the UK a life science superpower and our commitment to get the NHS to net zero by 2045.

She toured a mock operating theatre and was shown various sustainable products its NHS staff use – from simple products like gowns and scissors to sophisticated, expensive products like harmonic shears.

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, National Medical Director of NHS England, said:

While the NHS is treating record numbers of patients, we know there is much more to do to ensure taxpayers get value for money.

The NHS made a record £7.25bn worth of efficiency savings last year and is targeting a further £9bn of savings for 2024/25. But we are rightly still looking for ways to get our money’s worth for every penny we spend.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

The Design for Life programme was developed with more than 80 stakeholders from the UK MedTech industry, the health and care system, and research organisations.

It forms part of the government’s ambition to transform the UK into a life sciences superpower and ensure sustainability.

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Published 16 October 2024
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI: EBC Financial Group Expands Asset Management Capabilities with Second Australian Financial Services Licence

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

SYDNEY, Oct. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In a significant move toward expanding its global asset management footprint, EBC Financial Group (EBC) has successfully obtained an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) for Asset Management from the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC). This acquisition strengthens EBC’s ability to provide sophisticated investment solutions to institutional investors, professional investors, and high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) worldwide. By securing the AFSL, EBC is not only deepening its presence in Australia but also enhancing its capacity to serve clients across global markets, aligning with its broader strategy to offer diversified and regulated asset management services on a global scale.

The new licence, issued to EBC Asset Management Pty Ltd, strengthens the group’s existing offerings. It complements EBC’s existing AFSL for General Financial Advice, enhancing the group’s ability to deliver a comprehensive range of investment strategies across asset classes such as real estate, fixed income, equities, and alternative investments, including private equity and venture capital funds. This marks a key milestone in EBC’s continued effort to expand its global financial ecosystem.

Global Strategy: Addressing an Evolving Investment Landscape
As global economic uncertainties and market volatility increase, more HNWIs and institutional investors are seeking stable asset management solutions. EBC’s acquisition of the AFSL for Asset Management is a strategic response to these changing dynamics, enabling the company to offer flexible investment options and enhanced market access. By securing this licence, EBC is well-positioned to address the growing demand for reliable, diversified investment strategies, not just in Australia but across global markets, ensuring clients worldwide can benefit from EBC’s expertise in regulated and transparent environments like Australia’s.

Previously, under the AFSL for General Financial Advice, EBC provided a wide range of financial products and services to both retail and wholesale clients. The new licence empowers EBC to offer specialised services exclusively for wholesale clients globally. These services include general financial product advice on managed investment plans (excluding investor-directed portfolio services) and securities. Additionally, EBC is now authorised to facilitate financial product transactions, including issuing, applying for, acquiring, varying, or disposing of interests in managed investment schemes and securities. This also extends to offering custodial services that provide enhanced protection and transparency for client assets.

Kris Wang, Country Head of EBC Financial Group in Australia, stated, “The acquisition of this licence reflects our commitment to maintaining the highest regulatory standards while broadening our asset management capabilities. We are dedicated to delivering a diversified and robust investment portfolio designed to meet the varied requirements of high-net-worth individuals and institutional investors.”

Strategic Expansion into Australia’s High-Net-Worth Market
Australia is home to a substantial number of HNWIs, with approximately 400,000 individuals whose assets exceed USD 1 million. By obtaining the AFSL for Asset Management, EBC is positioned to capitalise on this market, offering investment strategies that cater specifically to the wealth management needs of Australia’s growing high-net-worth population, including family office solutions and international investment products. EBC’s global experience will also help clients navigate regulatory complexities and optimise cross-border investments.

“We see immense potential in Australia’s growing high-net-worth segment,” added Wang. “Our goal is to leverage our global expertise to help investors optimise their portfolios through diversified and innovative investment strategies. We also plan to expand our services to include family office management and other global investment products in the near future.”

Custody and Family Office Services: Core to Future Growth
Custody services, which are a core component of EBC’s long-term strategy, are a vital addition to EBC’s Australian service offerings. Through custodial services, EBC ensures the segregation of client funds, enhancing asset transparency and compliance. EBC’s planned family office services will offer bespoke wealth management support to HNWIs and institutional clients, addressing complex cross-asset and cross-border wealth management needs, including tax optimisation and wealth inheritance, further strengthening EBC’s ability to serve clients worldwide.

With the new asset management licence, EBC Financial Group continues to solidify its global presence, offering premium financial services to wholesale clients in both developed and emerging markets. This strategic move aligns with EBC’s broader mission of delivering sophisticated investment solutions that meet the evolving demands of investors worldwide.

About EBC Financial Group
Founded in the esteemed financial district of London, EBC Financial Group (EBC) is renowned for its comprehensive suite of services that includes financial brokerage, asset management, and comprehensive investment solutions. EBC has quickly established its position as a global brokerage firm, with an extensive presence in key financial hubs such as London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney, the Cayman Islands, and across emerging markets in Latin America, Southeast Asia, Africa, and India. EBC caters to a diverse clientele of retail, professional, and institutional investors worldwide.

Recognised by multiple awards, EBC prides itself on adhering to the leading levels of ethical standards and international regulation. EBC Financial Group’s subsidiaries are regulated and licensed in their local jurisdictions. EBC Financial Group (UK) Limited is regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), EBC Financial Group (Cayman) Limited is regulated by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA), EBC Financial Group (Australia) Pty Ltd, and EBC Asset Management Pty Ltd are regulated by Australia’s Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

At the core of EBC Group are seasoned professionals with over 30 years of profound experience in major financial institutions, having adeptly navigated through significant economic cycles from the Plaza Accord to the 2015 Swiss franc crisis. EBC champions a culture where integrity, respect, and client asset security are paramount, ensuring that every investor engagement is treated with the utmost seriousness it deserves.

EBC is the Official Foreign Exchange Partner of FC Barcelona, offering specialised services in regions such as Asia, LATAM, the Middle East, Africa, and Oceania. EBC is also a partner of United to Beat Malaria, a campaign of the United Nations Foundation, aiming to improve global health outcomes. Starting February 2024, EBC supports the ‘What Economists Really Do’ public engagement series by Oxford University’s Department of Economics, demystifying economics, and its application to major societal challenges to enhance public understanding and dialogue.

https://www.ebc.com/

Media Contact:
Susindhraseghar Chandrasekar
Global Public Relations (APAC, LATAM)
susindhra.c@ebc.com

Chyna Elvina
Global Public Relations Manager (APAC, LATAM)
chyna.elvina@ebc.com

Douglas Chew
Global Public Relations Lead
douglas.chew@ebc.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2ef43b93-2ecf-4d4c-a6ca-8c91ff2aa721

The MIL Network –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: Joint doorstop interview, Brisbane

Source: Australian Treasurer

JIM CHALMERS:

Welcome to the most important electorate in Australia, the People’s Republic of Rankin. Welcome to the PM, Clare, Meaghan, this is our home patch. Cameron Dick and I and Shannon Fentiman, we’re really proud to represent this part of South East Queensland. We’ve got really 2 fantastic announcements to be making today.

The first one which Clare will elaborate on is that we are announcing more money for this part of the world for more housing. More housing for Meadowbrook, more housing for South East Queensland, more housing for middle Australia, and most importantly, more housing for essential workers and social housing tenants near where the jobs and essential services are being provided. The wonderful thing about this part of South East Queensland – we’ve got a university there, a hospital and a TAFE there, a retail centre there, 2 motorways, a train station – and this is all about making sure that we build more homes for Australians where the jobs and essential services are. And so it’s a really important day to be making this announcement. This kind of funding is at risk with the worst combination of David Crisafulli and Peter Dutton and we make that clear as well today.

More homes for our local community. Our highest priorities are housing and the cost of living and the Albanese Labor government, the Miles Labor government, we work together really closely to do whatever we can to build more homes and to ease the cost of living for more people. And a really important part of what we’re announcing today are our efforts to crack down on excessive charges when it comes to using credit cards and debit cards and tapping your phone. Too many Australians are paying too much when they tap their phone or use their credit cards. Too many Australians are paying too much when it comes to excessive fees on debit cards, in particular. We are cracking down on excessive fees for debit cards and we are funding the ACCC to do their important work in this regard as well. We are prepared to ban surcharges on debit cards subject to the important work that the RBA is doing, and also making sure that there aren’t unintended consequences for small businesses and for consumers. This is all about a better deal for consumers and small businesses. People are paying surcharges which are too high just to use their own money, and we want to see what we can do to crack down on that. We are prepared to ban the surcharges on debit cards subject to making sure that consumers and small businesses are the beneficiaries of any change. This is a really complex system. There are a number of fees at play in this system. It’s why the RBA’s work is so important, and it’s why it’s so important that this Albanese Labor government is taking action to crack down on excessive fees. While this work is being undertaken, we will provide $2.1 million to the ACCC for their education and monitoring and to make sure that businesses are doing the right thing when it comes to the charging of these fees and surcharges. We are making it really clear today. This Albanese Labor government is about easing the cost of living and building more homes. Whether it’s excessive surcharges using debit cards, whether it’s building more homes in communities, just like the Miles government, we are focused on the main game for middle Australia and that’s why we’re here today. I’ll throw you over to the Deputy Premier and Treasurer of Queensland, Cameron Dick.

CAMERON DICK:

Well, thanks, Jim. It is terrific to have the Prime Minister, Jim, Clare and Meaghan in Logan here today to announce more homes for Queenslanders. And this is what happens when you have a State Labor government and a Federal Labor government working together to deliver for the people of Queensland. This isn’t something you get from the Greens and it is certainly something you would never get from the LNP. It’s also great to have 2 Queensland based institutions, the Australian Retirement Fund and the Brisbane Housing Company, collaborating together to deliver on this project. We’ve already got homes through that collaboration coming out of the ground in Redcliffe, Chermside and Southport and now we will see more homes right here in Logan for hardworking Queenslanders. And so we very much welcome this announcement today and we thank the Prime Minister and his federal team for supporting Queensland.

I just wanted to say something briefly before I hand over to the Prime Minister on David Crisafulli and the LNP’s election commitments, their costings and of course, their plan for cuts. Yesterday, David Crisafulli said he wouldn’t borrow for the operational costs of government. That would mean David would have to cut $3 billion as soon as he took office in October. It means David Crisafulli would have to cut $10 million a day, each and every day until the 30th of June next year to deliver on his promise. That means there are 17,000 Queenslanders whose jobs are now on the line under David Crisafulli and the LNP. And that is before he even finds one cent to pay for the $18 billion in election commitments that are unfunded and that he has already announced in this campaign. David Crisafulli won’t even tell Queenslanders the total of the election commitments he’s made in this campaign so far. That’s because he would have to tell Queenslanders what he would have to cut to deliver on those promises.

I’ll hand over to the Prime Minister and thank him again for coming to Queensland and making this important announcement for the people of our state.

ANTHONY ALBANESE:

Well, thanks very much, Treasurer. And it’s great to be here with 2 treasurers and 2 housing ministers and I think 3 local members here in Logan. It’s fantastic to be, particularly to be in my friend, the Treasurer’s electorate of Rankin, and to show what happens when good Labor governments work together. This is about 1,100 new homes for Queenslanders – 1,100 new homes that will be built, including right here on this site, but throughout South East Queensland as well. It comes on top of, just a couple of weeks ago, the announcement we made in Cairns with about 500 new affordable and social homes being built there. This is about increasing housing supply, which is what our commitment is to do.

It’s also about easing the cost of living and the measures that the Treasurer spoke about before in outlawing debit card surcharges, having a real crack at making sure that people, when they use their own money, there shouldn’t be surcharges on them using their money. And that’s why we are providing additional funds – $2.1 million for the ACCC – but also the Reserve Bank doing their inquiry to make sure that the details of this are got right, that small businesses looked after on the way through. This is my government’s priority, looking after the cost of living whilst also delivering on housing supply in partnership with state and territory governments. And it stands in stark contrast to our opponents. Be it David Crisafulli, who doesn’t seem to have too many policies I’ve got to say, at the Queensland election, and certainly no costed ones, and the Federal Opposition that today Michael Sukkar was out there once again just being opposed to our investment in new housing. They said they’ll get rid of the Housing Australia Future Fund. They’ve said they’re against the targets that we’ve set in partnership with state and territory governments, with those financial incentives for better planning for state and territory governments to make sure that we increase the supply. This project here as well is about our support for infrastructure in order so that homes can be built. It’s one of the missing pieces in the puzzle of housing supply that we are addressing. Making sure that energy, sewerage, water can all be connected so that new homes can be built. Something that we are providing that was never provided under the former government that didn’t for a while even bother to have a Housing Minister. I’ll turn to Clare and then we’re happy to take questions.

CLARE O’NEIL:

Thank you, PM and Treasurer, can I thank you for welcoming us to your beautiful electorate. We all know a bit about Jim Chalmers and one way to get the guy talking is to ask him about his community here in Rankin and you won’t hear the end of it. He is a huge advocate for this local area, he’s very proud of where he comes from, and it’s fantastic to be here. This is a really big and important announcement for South East Queensland where the Albanese government and the Miles Labor government here are announcing 1,100 new homes for Queenslanders. Five hundred will be constructed on this site here in Meadowbrook and 600 others will be scattered around some of the nearby suburbs. This is a reflection of what gets done when state and federal governments identify something that matters hugely to our constituents and that’s housing, and then works together to make a difference to that problem. We are, without question, one of the boldest and most ambitious Commonwealth governments on housing that we have seen for a generation in this country. We came from a standing start. The Prime Minister here mentioned that for most of the time the Coalition were in power, they didn’t even have a Housing Minister. Didn’t even have a Housing Minister. That’s how tapped out they were on this critical problem. Well, we have changed all that. Our country, led as it is by a Prime Minister whose access to housing in his childhood totally transformed the rest of his life. So, what are we doing? We’re building more homes. An ambitious target to build 1.2 million homes around the country over the coming 5 years. We’re helping renters through the work we’re doing with National Cabinet and lifts to the Commonwealth Rent Assistance payment. And we’re making sure that more Australians can own their own homes. We’ve helped 120,000 citizens get into home ownership in the time we’ve been in government. And we would be able to do more if other parties in the Parliament would come together and work with us. Now, we’ve got boldness and we’ve got ambition. But what do I see when I look at other parties in the Parliament? Well, I see the Greens who say some of the right things about housing. But when it comes time to make real progress for real people, instead of helping childcare workers and aged care workers get into housing, they instead try to play politics and stand in their path. And then I see the Liberals who have not a shred of credibility when it comes to housing. We heard this morning the Shadow Housing Minister, Michael Sukkar, make extraordinary admissions in a radio interview where, firstly, he said that the government is being too ambitious about housing. He says that if the Liberals are elected federally, they will scrap having a housing target altogether. Well, it’s that kind of low ambition that got us to where we are right now. And that is in a housing crisis where this is affecting the lives of millions of people in our country and the Liberals want us to lower our ambitions. The second thing he told us is that they want to make more cuts to states and territories in the funding that we’re giving them to make housing possible. Well, this is where we are right here. 1,100 new homes that’s made through that partnership that we’ve worked through with National Cabinet and we know with the Liberals we’ll get what we always get. That is cuts, cuts, cuts that hurt real people.

ALBANESE:

Happy to take questions.

JOURNALIST:

PM, on the banking surcharge, it’s been welcomed by some, but others are saying that a few cents here and there might not save people that much in a cost living crisis. I guess, how do you expect it to assist people if they’re only saving small amounts on these surcharges?

ALBANESE:

We think it’ll make a difference. And when people go and they see a price up on the board at the business where they’re making a purchase – that should be the purchase price. There shouldn’t be hidden charges and surcharges there when people are using their own money. Bear this in mind – a debit card is taking money directly from people’s accounts. It is their money and there shouldn’t be surcharges on it.

JOURNALIST:

Prime Minister, this is a housing announcement, do you think it’s a good look to be buying a $4.2 million home during a cost‑of‑living crisis?

ALBANESE:

Well, Jodie and I are getting married, as is known, and I’m pleased about that. And Jodie’s a Coastie. She’s a proud Coastie. She’s as proud of being a Coastie as Jim is here, of being a Logan lifelong resident. There are 3 generations of Haydons on the coast there. And when your relationship changes, your life changes and you make decisions. But what I’m focused on is making sure that everyone can get a roof over their head. I’m focused on increased public housing and social housing investment. That’s why we have our Housing Australia Future Fund. We’re focused on increased rentals, which is why we have our Build to Rent scheme. And we’re focused, in addition to that, in getting more housing supply, such as the 1,100 homes for Queenslanders that we’re announcing right here.

JOURNALIST:

PM, buying a $4 million dollar home is very different to buying a modest family home or living on a block like this. Do you think it’s a good look?

ALBANESE:

I have – of course, I am much better off as Prime Minister. I earn a good income. I understand that. I understand that I’ve been fortunate, but I also know what it’s like to struggle. My mum lived in the one public housing that she was born in for all of her 65 years. And I know what it’s like, which is why I want to help all Australians into a home, whether it be public homes or private rentals or home ownership.

JOURNALIST:

PM, it’s been reported that Australia is seeking an assurance from PNG it won’t sign new security agreements with China in return for the $600 million assistance package for its NRL bid. Can you confirm if there is a security element in this agreement and what exactly it says?

ALBANESE:

This is a relationship between friends and what we don’t do is have our security arrangements out there in public. What we do is to work with our friends and partners. Papua New Guinea has made it very clear that Australia is their security partner of choice.

JOURNALIST:

PM, do you plan to retire at that house on the New South Wales Central Coast?

ALBANESE:

Sorry?

JOURNALIST:

Are you planning to retire there?

ALBANESE:

I’m planning to be in my current job for a very long period of time.

JOURNALIST:

Are you going to rent it out in the meantime?

ALBANESE:

I’m planning to be in my current – I haven’t bought it yet. To be clear, it hasn’t settled yet, these arrangements, I’m very transparent. I declare everything. I’ve declared, some time ago, if you followed the story that I was selling a house in the Inner West that will make a contribution towards this.

JOURNALIST:

There’s been a lot of commentary around the hope from Federal Labor that some of the frustration may be taken out on October 26 and then maybe go easy at the federal election. What do you make of this and are you concerned about support for Labor in Queensland?

ALBANESE:

I want people to vote Labor in Queensland and to return Steven Miles as the Premier and this bloke here as the Deputy Premier, because I want a government that actually cares about Queenslanders. It’s a government that’s committed to increasing housing supply, that’s committed to dealing with cost‑of‑living pressures, including the 50 cent fares. I had the privilege of going on Gold Coast Light Rail yesterday. It’s committed to the free school lunches to make sure that people are looked after. This is a government that is getting things done and is worthy of re‑election and I’m very pleased to campaign with them.

JOURNALIST:

PM, Canada has expelled 6 Indian diplomats, accusing them of being part of a criminal network targeting the Sikh diaspora. Have you spoken, or do you plan to speak with Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau about this?

ALBANESE:

I speak with the Prime Minister of Canada all the time.

JOURNALIST:

Does Australia –

ALBANESE:

I speak with the Prime Minister of Canada all the time. And what I do in my relationships with international leaders is I have proper discussions with them and that’s how we get things done. And that’s why – one of the reasons why my government has been so effective in international diplomacy.

JOURNALIST:

On the Bruce Highway, why won’t you match Peter Dutton’s commitment for an 80/20 split.

ALBANESE:

He hasn’t done anything. His commitment? He was part of a government that didn’t fund things, that was good at media releases. I’ll give you the big clue. You can’t drive on a media release. What you can drive on is a road. And to build a road, you need money. So, Rockhampton Ring Road, for example, was $700 million short in terms of its funding. The former government made announcements with $0 attached to it, from time to time. When we came into government last time, we put record funding into the Bruce Highway. $1.3 billion under the Howard government, $7.6 billion under us, and we have $10 billion in our plan for the Bruce Highway, including additional money that we put in in the last Budget.

JOURNALIST:

So, those accusations are credible that we were talking about just before?

ALBANESE:

I’ve answered your question.

JOURNALIST:

Queensland has – you took a 50 cent fare yesterday. Obviously it’s a fair bit more expensive in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, to take a light rail, in Canberra. Should it not be? I mean, it’s increased our patronage in Queensland and would not do the same thing elsewhere?

ALBANESE:

Well, it’s a matter for state and territory governments. But I say this, that the Queensland government – and Cameron or Meaghan might want to comment on this as well – it’s been a huge success. Increasing patronage gets cars off the road, saves people money and also it’s good for people’s health. It’s good for a range of reasons to increase public transport patronage and from a Commonwealth government perspective, I make this point, when it comes to infrastructure. Gold Coast Light Rail, $365 million in the 2009 budget from the government when I was the Infrastructure Minister and now stage 3 underway, will be completed next year. It was opposed by the LNP – state and federal. You had federal LNP members like Steve Ciobo collecting petitions against Gold Coast Light Rail. Cross River Rail, major project to increase the whole capacity of the network was funded $715 million from the Commonwealth with an availability payment going forward each year in partnership with what was the Queensland LNP government then, originally started under the Labor government. Tony Abbott got elected, the whole thing crashed, and then they came up with this ridiculous plan that didn’t go anywhere. Cross River Rail would be open today if Labor governments had kept being elected. That’s why we believe in this. That’s why we’re funding Sunshine Coast Rail as well.

JOURNALIST:

Question for Mr Dick, please.

ALBANESE:

Sure.

JOURNALIST:

Credit rating agency S&P Global has warned Queensland’s AA+ credit rating is in danger of being downgraded due to your spending. How concerning is that?

DICK:

Well, S&P Global and Moody’s went through the Queensland Budget books top to bottom, left to right, up and down after our Budget, and they reaffirmed our AA+ credit rating. And when you look at our competitor states, our comparative states in New South Wales and Victoria, we are streets ahead of them when it comes to budget management and fiscal management in this state. Just a week ago, I announced the unaudited financial results for Queensland. Our net debt for last financial year has been halved from $12 billion to just under $6 billion. Our surplus went up from $600 million to $1.7 billion. And let’s put that in comparison to New South Wales and Victoria. So, our net debt at the end of last financial year was $5.7 billion. In New South Wales , it was $97 billion. In Victoria it was $136 billion. So, that means New South Wales debt is 16 times higher than Queensland and Victoria’s debt is 22 times higher. And so we are in a really strong position to make commitments and deliver on them because our commitments are fully funded. And the question for David Crisafulli and David Janetzki, who did 2 train wreck interviews today, the Shadow Treasurer who’s been in an LNP witness protection program, has not been seen with the Leader on the campaign trail for 2 weeks. And that is disrespectful to train wrecks because a train needs momentum and forward movement before it can run off the rails. We haven’t seen or heard from that bloke. And when he came out today, he didn’t say to Queenslanders – he couldn’t even tell Queenslanders what the total cost of their commitments would be, nor how they would pay for them. Now, their election commitments in this campaign are twice as high as ours. The LNP election commitments in this campaign now total $18 billion, twice as high as Labor. We’ve been upfront about how we’re paying for that. The only way that David Crisafulli can deliver on his promise of not borrowing for operational costs of government, by spending more, reducing taxation, lowering debt, delivering balanced budgets, not having a fiscal deficit, having a fiscal surplus. He has promised all of those things in this campaign. The only way he can deliver that is by cutting and that is what he is going to do. And that should put a shiver down the spine of every Queenslander, because the last LNP leader who offered to the community that he would look after the money of the people of Queensland, the last LNP leader who said that he would deliver a fiscal surplus was Campbell Newman. And 14,000 Queenslanders paid for that promise with their jobs. They built nothing for 3 years. So, they cut operating expenditure and they cut infrastructure expenditure. And the hide of David Crisafulli to say to Queenslanders that he respects money. The hide of David Crisafulli. David Crisafulli doesn’t respect public or private money. This is a man who was responsible for a training company that collapsed under $3 million of debt and owed the Australian Taxation Office $750,000. That’s not a man who respects money. That’s a man who disregards every single creditor of that company, including creditors that came from this community. And so we are fighting hard for the future of Queensland. Fully costed, fully funded plans, our promises will be delivered within the budget envelope and the funding envelope we’ve set aside. You cannot say the same for David Crisafulli.

JOURNALIST:

He wouldn’t have said what they’d said if they didn’t have concerns, though, surely?

DICK:

Well, let’s see what happens when I do – if I have that privilege – when I do the Budget update in December and when I do the Budget next year. Because there are 2 aspects to budgets, one’s expenditure and one’s revenue. And so you have to look at the budget position in total before we go to the ratings agencies and before they look at us. And so we’ll continue to deliver as we’ve delivered for every budget, except my first one, we’ve beaten our debt projections in every budget that I’ve delivered as Treasurer and we’ll continue to work hard to maintain that AA+ credit rating. We are the only state of the big 3 states that didn’t have a credit rating downgrade during or subsequent to COVID. That was because of our effective and appropriate financial and budgetary management and we’re going to continue on that path and people can trust us to deliver on our promises. The only thing you can trust David Crisafulli to do if he’s elected Premier is to cut. Anything else?

JOURNALIST:

Mr Janetzki was on radio this morning that he would release his costings once they make their final announcement. Is that the typical convention? Are you aware of that? And do you think it’s good enough considering voters already going to the polls?

DICK:

Look, this is all just a smokescreen for David Crisafulli to hide his plan for cuts. Our Party, Queensland Labor, has been the most transparent of any political party in any election in history. We put our costings live 2 weeks ago. We said upfront what we would do and how we would pay for it. And I released a budget economic and tax plan 2 weeks ago. Two years ago, David Crisafulli promised to release a tax and debt plan for Queensland. It is now 11 days until the election. David Crisafulli has been the Leader of the LNP now for more than 1,200 days and he still won’t be honest with the people of Queensland. And look, it’s just obvious the reason they won’t tell Queenslanders the total of their election commitments is because they would have to reveal to Queenslanders what they need to cut to deliver those election commitments. Which is why they’re hiding their costings, hiding their funding sources, because their single biggest funding source is to cut. And that’s why they’re not being honest with you.

JOURNALIST:

Amy McMahon from the Greens reckons you’re a hypocrite for recommending a preference for the Katter Australia Party in North Queensland. Are you not assisting an anti‑abortion party here by putting them above the Liberal Party?

DICK:

I don’t take political advice from the Queensland Greens Political Party. I never have and I never will. Anything else?

JOURNALIST:

What have you made of voter sentiment on the ground?

CHALMERS:

I don’t like being called the other Treasurer, but sure, you go ahead.

JOURNALIST:

What have you made of voter sentiment around the area? How closely will you be watching the result, particularly around this area?

CHALMERS:

Oh, look, Queenslanders right around our state desperately need a re‑elected Miles Labor government. You know, I was listening to Cameron and to the PM a moment ago. You know, Cameron is running one of the strongest budgets in the Commonwealth and that’s because we have a couple of things in common. You know, we are all about responsible economic management so that we can afford to provide cost‑of‑living relief for people who really need it, whether it’s in our community right around Queensland or indeed right around Australia. So, we have that in common and we want to work with the Miles Labor government after the election in a couple of weeks’ time. Now, as Cameron rightfully pointed out a moment ago, David Crisafulli and Peter Dutton have got something in common as well. Neither of them will come clean on their secret cuts. And those cuts that Peter Dutton and David Crisafulli won’t tell us about will make Queenslanders and Australians personally financially worse off. They’ll come after wages, they’ll come after housing, they’ll come after health. They will absolutely gut the joint. And we know this because Peter Dutton did that last time with Medicare when he was the Health Minister. And we know this because David Crisafulli is essentially Campbell Newman 2.0. And that was devastating for our local community. That has been a real low point for this part of the world seeing the way that Campbell Newman slashed and hacked at the essential services that local people desperately need. You asked a moment ago about our surcharging change and what it will mean for the cost of living. Now, that’s an important step that we are taking to help ease the cost of living, but it’s not the only step. Tax cuts for every taxpayer, Energy Bill Relief for every household, cheaper medicines, Rent Assistance, cheaper early childhood education, getting wages moving again. And here we have an enthusiastic and willing partner in the Miles Labor government. Cheaper fares for these communities in the outer suburbs are absolutely transformational. I’ve lost count of the amount of times that people have come up to me and said, ‘if you run into Cameron, or if you run into Steven, can you tell him how much we value those 50 cent fares?’ So, I’ll do that in front of all of our friends now, Cam. People appreciate the Energy Bill Relief that we’re working together with Steven and Cameron and Meaghan to provide. And so we desperately need a Miles Labor government re‑elected. We love working with these guys, not because we always have an identical view about every single issue, but because we’ve got a heart for local people. And that shows when it comes to housing, when it comes to health, and when it comes to cost of living.

JOURNALIST:

Sorry, just on the sentiment, you pick up anything on the ground around you?

CHALMERS:

Yeah, well, in our communities, people are desperately relying on the cost‑of‑living help that the Miles government and the Albanese government are providing. Now, we know that people are under pressure. You know, we know that people are doing it tough, but more than acknowledge that, we’re doing something about it. In all of the ways that I ran through a moment ago. And today, in addition, when it comes to surcharging on people’s debit cards, people shouldn’t be paying huge fees to use their own money. The Prime Minister has made that clear and we’ve made that clear today. So, in these local communities, we take no votes for granted. We don’t take any outcome for granted in this election. But I know I’ve seen what it’s like to have mostly state LNP members around here. I’ve seen what it’s like to have mostly Labor state members around here. We desperately need Labor members in this part of the world to look after the interests of the people and to work with Albo and I to make sure we’re rolling out that cost‑of‑living help.

JOURNALIST:

So, Queensland has – the Liberal National Party in Queensland has 21 of the federal seats in Queensland. Do you think that a plebiscite on nuclear power might change that?

CHALMERS:

Oh, we need to do better federally in Queensland. We’ve made that clear. You know, Anthony is an honorary Queenslander. You know, he spends a lot of time here in Queensland and I think Queenslanders understand because he is a practical, pragmatic leader and we are practical and pragmatic people in Queensland. And so, we need to do better, we’ve acknowledged that. Queensland is front and centre when it comes to our efforts as a Federal Labor government, including in the upcoming federal campaign. But first, we’ve got to re‑elect these guys because 2 Labor governments working together are better for local communities like this one.

JOURNALIST:

Queensland Labor has announced help for GP clinics that bulk bill. Isn’t that a tacit admission that Federal Labor hasn’t done enough to stop the gap, the Medicare gap, which has led to this?

CHALMERS:

No, I think it’s a tacit admission that both Labor governments are investing, in our case, billions and billions of dollars in strengthening Medicare. Now, there’s an Urgent Care Clinic down the road in Browns Plains which is making a major difference, taking the pressure off Logan Hospital, which is just next door. These are the investments that Labor governments make in local communities in getting out of pocket health costs down. And we welcome the contribution that the Miles Labor government comes to the table with when it comes to providing more money for health, so that we can get out of pocket costs down, so we can get the waiting times down, so that we can take pressure off local hospitals. But most importantly, make sure that we’re providing the healthcare that local families and pensioners need.

JOURNALIST:

When you were in Opposition, how many days before the election did you announce your costings?

CHALMERS:

Well, we did, unfortunately, we had a couple of goes at it when we were in Opposition and the timing of that varied. The difference was, you know, we didn’t have a big agenda for secret cuts like David Crisafulli does, and like Peter Dutton has. You know, Peter Dutton and Angus Taylor say that there’s $315 billion of spending in the Commonwealth Budget that they don’t support. That includes pension indexation, that includes Medicare funding, that includes funding for veterans, it includes funding for housing. And David Crisafulli and Peter Dutton are joined at the hip when it comes to their secret plans for cuts. I don’t think Queenslanders are asking too much when they say to David Crisafulli, ‘come clean in time for us to make an informed decision.’ And when they do, and if they do, they will understand that the Miles Labor government is providing cost‑of‑living relief, investing in housing and health, and David Crisafulli will cut all of those things as sure as night follows day.

JOURNALIST:

Why upgrade the travel advice to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories?

ALBANESE:

It’s a dangerous place at the moment. We know that that’s the case. So, what we do is we take advice from our security agencies and the government then implements that advice. We know that travelling into an area where there is conflict is a dangerous thing to do and it’s appropriate that the federal government make announcements in accordance with that advice from the security agencies. Can I just make one further point before we wrap up, which is that I was noticing – Clare probably noticed as well this morning – Michael Sukkar actually speak about the delay in implementing the Housing Australia Future Fund roll out and Help to Buy scheme that’s stuck in the Senate. Well, Labor are the builders, they’re the blockers. Between the LNP and the Greens, they blocked the Housing Australia Future Fund and now they’re still blocking the Help to Buy scheme. They could vote for it tomorrow or the next day that Parliament sits, but they don’t. So, they vote against it, block it and then complain that there’s a delay in its implementation. That says it all about how hopeless the Opposition are when it comes to policies that will actually deliver more housing supply. Thanks very much.

MIL OSI News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Socially distanced layout of the world’s oldest cities helped early civilization evade diseases

Source: The Conversation – USA – By R. Alexander Bentley, Professor of Anthropology, University of Tennessee

Excavations at Çatalhöyük show how closely people lived before the settlement collapsed. Mark Nesbitt/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY

In my research focused on early farmers of Europe, I have often wondered about a curious pattern through time: Farmers lived in large dense villages, then dispersed for centuries, then later formed cities again, only to abandon those as well. Why?

Archaeologists often explain what we call urban collapse in terms of climate change, overpopulation, social pressures or some combination of these. Each likely has been true at different points in time.

But scientists have added a new hypothesis to the mix: disease. Living closely with animals led to zoonotic diseases that came to also infect humans. Outbreaks could have led dense settlements to be abandoned, at least until later generations found a way to organize their settlement layout to be more resilient to disease. In a new study, my colleagues and I analyzed the intriguing layouts of later settlements to see how they might have interacted with disease transmission.

Modern excavations at what was once Çatalhöyük, where inhabitants lived in mud-brick houses that weren’t separated by paths or streets.
Murat Özsoy 1958/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

Earliest cities: Dense with people and animals

Çatalhöyük, in present-day Turkey, is the world’s oldest farming village, from over 9,000 years ago. Many thousands of people lived in mud-brick houses jammed so tightly together that residents entered via a ladder through a trapdoor on the roof. They even buried selected ancestors underneath the house floor. Despite plenty of space out there on the Anatolian Plateau, people packed in closely.

Homes at Çatalhöyük were so tightly packed that people entered through the roof and even buried some ancestors beneath the floor.
Illustration by Kathryn Killackey and The Çatalhöyük Research Project

For centuries, people at Çatalhöyük herded sheep and cattle, cultivated barley and made cheese. Evocative paintings of bulls, dancing figures and a volcanic eruption suggest their folk traditions. They kept their well-organized houses tidy, sweeping floors and maintaining storage bins near the kitchen, located under the trapdoor to allow oven smoke to escape. Keeping clean meant they even replastered their interior house walls several times a year.

These rich traditions ended by 6000 BCE, when Çatalhöyük was mysteriously abandoned. The population dispersed into smaller settlements out in the surrounding flood plain and beyond. Other large farming populations of the region had also dispersed, and nomadic livestock herding became more widespread. For those populations that persisted, the mud-brick houses were now separate, in contrast with the agglomerated houses of Çatalhöyük.

Was disease a factor in the abandonment of dense settlements by 6000 BCE?

At Çatalhöyük, archaeologists have found human bones intermingled with cattle bones in burials and refuse heaps. Crowding of people and animals likely bred zoonotic diseases at Çatalhöyük. Ancient DNA identifies tuberculosis from cattle in the region as far back as 8500 BCE and TB in human infant bones not long after. DNA in ancient human remains dates salmonella to as early as 4500 BCE. Assuming the contagiousness and virulence of Neolithic diseases increased through time, dense settlements such as Çatalhöyük may have reached a tipping point where the effects of disease outweighed the benefits of living closely together.

A new layout 2,000 years later

By about 4000 BCE, large urban populations had reappeared, at the mega-settlements of the ancient Trypillia culture, west of the Black Sea. Thousands of people lived at Trypillia mega-settlements such as Nebelivka and Maidanetske in what’s now Ukraine.

If disease was a factor in dispersal millennia before, how were these mega-settlements possible?

Geophysical plot of Nebelivka settlement shows its circular layout, divided into neighborhoods.
Duncan Hale and Nebelivka Project, CC BY-NC

This time, the layout was different than at jam-packed Çatalhöyük: The hundreds of wooden, two-story houses were regularly spaced in concentric ovals. They were also clustered in pie-shaped neighborhoods, each with its own large assembly house. The pottery excavated in the neighborhood assembly houses has many different compositions, suggesting these pots were brought there by different families coming together to share food.

This layout suggests a theory. Whether the people of Nebelivka knew it or not, this lower-density, clustered layout could have helped prevent any disease outbreaks from consuming the entire settlement.

Archaeologist Simon Carrignon and I set out to test this possibility by adapting computer models from a previous epidemiology project that modeled how social-distancing behaviors affect the spread of pandemics. To study how a Trypillian settlement layout would disrupt disease spread, we teamed up with cultural evolution scholar Mike O’Brien and with the archaeologists of Nebelivka: John Chapman, Bisserka Gaydarska and Brian Buchanan.

Simulating socially distanced neighborhoods

To simulate disease spread at Nebelivka, we had to make a few assumptions. First, we assumed that early diseases were spread through foods, such as milk or meat. Second, we assumed people visited other houses within their neighborhood more often than those outside of it.

Would this neighborhood clustering be enough to suppress disease outbreaks? To test the effects of different possible rates of interaction, we ran millions of simulations, first on a network to represent clustered neighborhoods. We then ran the simulations again, this time on a virtual layout modeled after actual site plans, where houses in each neighborhood were given a higher chance of making contact with each other.

Based on our simulations, we found that if people visited other neighborhoods infrequently – like a fifth to a tenth as often as visiting other houses within their own neighborhood – then the clustering layout of houses at Nebelivka would have significantly reduced outbreaks of early foodborne diseases. This is reasonable given that each neighborhood had its own assembly house. Overall, the results show how the Trypillian layout could help early farmers live together in low-density urban populations, at a time when zoonotic diseases were increasing.

The residents of Nebilevka didn’t need to have consciously planned for their neighborhood layout to help their population survive. But they may well have, as human instinct is to avoid signs of contagious disease. Like at Çatalhöyük, residents kept their houses clean. And about two-thirds of the houses at Nebelivka were deliberately burned at different times. These intentional periodic burns may have been a pest extermination tactic.

Re-creation of a Trypillian house-burning, with additional straw and wood necessary to burn hot enough to match archaeological evidence.
Arheoinvest/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY

New cities and innovations

Some of the early diseases eventually evolved to spread by means other than bad foods. Tuberculosis, for instance, became airborne at some point. When the bacterium that causes plague, Yersinia pestis, became adapted to fleas, it could be spread by rats, which would not care about neighborhood boundaries.

Were new disease vectors too much for these ancient cities? The mega-settlements of Trypillia were abandoned by 3000 BCE. As at Çatalhöyük thousands of years before, people dispersed into smaller settlements. Some geneticists speculate that Trypillia settlements were abandoned due to the origins of plague in the region, about 5,000 years ago.

The first cities in Mesopotamia developed around 3500 BCE, with others soon developing in Egypt, the Indus Valley and China. These cities of tens of thousands were filled with specialized craftspeople in distinct neighborhoods.

This time around, people in the city centers weren’t living cheek by jowl with cattle or sheep. Cities were the centers of regional trade. Food was imported into the city and stored in large grain silos like the one at the Hittite capital of Hattusa, which could hold enough cereal grain to feed 20,000 people for a year. Sanitation was helped by public water works, such as canals in Uruk or water wells and a large public bath at the Indus city of Mohenjo Daro.

These early cities, along with those in China, Africa and the Americas, were the foundations of civilization. Arguably, their form and function were shaped by millennia of diseases and human responses to them, all the way back to the world’s earliest farming villages.

R. Alexander Bentley 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. Socially distanced layout of the world’s oldest cities helped early civilization evade diseases – https://theconversation.com/socially-distanced-layout-of-the-worlds-oldest-cities-helped-early-civilization-evade-diseases-239586

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Submissions: Tech – Lenovo’s Hybrid AI Advantage with NVIDIA Accelerates Smarter Decision Making and Enhances Operations Processes for Improved Business Outcomes

Source: Lenovo

At Lenovo Tech World, Companies Expand Collaboration to Deliver Full-Stack Hybrid AI Capabilities and Customized Generative AI Agents Leveraging Enterprise Data to Unlock Intelligence Across Platforms

SEATTLE – Lenovo Chairman and CEO Yuanqing Yang, in his keynote presentation with NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang, unveiled Lenovo Hybrid AI Advantage with NVIDIA at this year’s Lenovo Tech World—Lenovo’s annual global technology innovation event. Enabled by Lenovo’s full-stack capabilities and Lenovo AI Library, together with NVIDIA AI software, accelerated computing, and networking, Lenovo Hybrid AI Advantage with NVIDIA empowers organizations to turn data and intelligence into business outcomes faster and more efficiently, accelerating AI adoption and delivering greater return on investment (ROI).

Lenovo Hybrid AI Advantage with NVIDIA debuts at a time when businesses are increasingly focused on proven solutions to drive innovation and address unique business challenges. A recent Lenovo survey found that 61% of CIOs find it very challenging to demonstrate ROI from their AI investments. Lenovo Hybrid AI Advantage with NVIDIA enables customers to benefit from pre-validated and industrialized solutions for accelerated deployment.

“Delivering Hybrid AI requires leveraging a purpose-built portfolio and AI services expertise that simplifies the path to AI and enables real-world applications for businesses. Our collaboration with NVIDIA brings together the best of both companies to ensure rapid and reliable AI outcomes for businesses across industries. Lenovo Hybrid AI Advantage with NVIDIA helps customers achieve outcomes faster by enabling their people to access relevant intelligence across personal, enterprise and public AI platforms,” said Yang.

“AI is reinventing computing and accelerating businesses and industries globally,” said Huang. “Lenovo and NVIDIA’s collaboration is revolutionizing enterprise computing, helping transform companies into platforms of AI agents and digital intelligence that drive incredible speed, innovation, and productivity.”

Lenovo Hybrid AI Advantage with NVIDIA combines full-stack AI capabilities optimized for factory-like industrialization and reliability with a library of ready-to-customize AI use-case solutions that help customers break through the barriers to ROI from AI. The two companies have partnered closely to integrate NVIDIA accelerated computing, networking, software, and AI models into the modular Lenovo Hybrid AI Advantage with NVIDIA solution framework for optimized performance. On the Tech World keynote stage, Lenovo and NVIDIA announced solutions designed to help customers maximize speed, innovation, productivity, and energy efficiency:

Lenovo AI Fast Start: Accelerated Deployment

Lenovo AI Fast Start helps organizations prove the business value of use cases on Personal AI, Enterprise AI, and Public AI platforms within weeks. Leveraging the NVIDIA AI Enterprise software platform, which includes NVIDIA NIM microservices and NVIDIA NeMo for building AI agents, Lenovo AI Fast Start gives customers access to AI assets, experts, and partners that help organizations rapidly build generative AI use case solutions with their own data and tailor them to meet the unique needs of their businesses, maximizing relevance in real-world environments and speeding progress to deployment at scale.

Lenovo AI Library

The Lenovo AI Library brings Hybrid AI to life with proven AI use case accelerators, including domain-specific language models and functional and vertical agents. Spanning key use cases across multiple domains, including marketing, IT operations, legal, product development, and customer service, the pre-validated solutions in the Lenovo AI Library help customers speed deployment to accelerate outcomes from AI. Lenovo and NVIDIA are building ready-to-customize functional and vertical AI solution accelerators on the NVIDIA AI Enterprise and, in the future, NVIDIA Omniverse platforms for the Lenovo AI Library. Together with a curated ecosystem of AI Innovators and partners, Lenovo AI Services will also customize and integrate the recently announced NVIDIA NIM Agent Blueprints, also part of the NVIDIA AI Enterprise software platform.

Data and Technology Foundations for AI

Many organizations are carrying a technology debt and need help to modernize their platforms to realize value from AI. The Lenovo Data and Tech Foundations for AI service helps customers assess the readiness of their platforms, then take pragmatic and cost-effective actions to modernize their data, apps, and cloud technologies with proven accelerators, tools, and methodologies. Across the full stack, Lenovo will leverage NVIDIA accelerated computing, networking, software, and AI models to enable customers to drive maximum value from their data and technology investments.

AI-Ready Infrastructure and Lenovo Neptune Liquid Cooling

As AI demands surge, enterprise computing must evolve to meet the need for processing more data everywhere while addressing increasing power demands. Since first announcing Lenovo’s hybrid AI approach with NVIDIA in October 2023, the Lenovo portfolio has expanded to include 80+ higher performance, energy-efficient platforms1. With more than a decade of leadership in liquid-cooling innovation, the sixth generation of Lenovo Neptune delivers supercomputing to organizations of all sizes with water cooling that efficiently powers the NVIDIA Blackwell platform and AI at scale. Lenovo Hybrid AI Advantage with NVIDIA ensures greater energy efficiency2 with a portfolio of powerful AI-ready infrastructure, workstations, PCs, and management software.

Lenovo Hybrid AI Advantage with NVIDIA represents a new era of AI deployment for businesses worldwide by effectively resolving a primary obstacle to AI ROI. Lenovo Hybrid AI Advantage with NVIDIA gives organizations access to relevant intelligence from Hybrid AI platforms so they can make smarter decisions – optimizing processes, increasing productivity, improving efficiency, and maximizing innovation for growth. By simplifying the deployment process and unlocking intelligence with AI agents, Lenovo and NVIDIA help organizations achieve faster, more reliable AI outcomes that allow them to modernize and stay competitive in today’s fast-paced and evolving digital landscape.

For more information about Lenovo’s Hybrid AI Advantage with NVIDIA, visit: https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/services/ai-services/

1. Based on Lenovo data from internal Lenovo ISG research

2. Based on Lenovo data

LENOVO and NEPTUNE are trademarks of Lenovo. NVIDIA is a trademark of NVIDIA Corporation, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2024 Lenovo Group Limited.

About Lenovo

Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is a US$62 billion revenue global technology powerhouse, ranked #217 in the Fortune Global 500, employing 77,000 people around the world, and serving millions of customers every day in 180 markets. Focused on a bold vision to deliver smarter technology for all, Lenovo has built on its success as the world’s largest PC company by further expanding into growth areas that fuel the advancement of ‘New IT’ technologies (client, edge, cloud, network, and intelligence) including server, storage, mobile, software, solutions, and services. This transformation together with Lenovo’s world-changing innovation is building a more inclusive, trustworthy, and smarter future for everyone, everywhere. To find out more visit https://www.lenovo.com.

MIL OSI – Submitted News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Falling Inflation Reflects a Falling Economy

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

Data released by Stats NZ today showed inflation slowed to an annual rate of 2.2%, reflecting lower petrol prices and a weaker economy, said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney.

“The data shows that petrol prices fell 8% annually, and vegetable prices fell 18% annually. These reflect both softer global demand and a return to normal harvests after Cyclone Gabrielle. Prices for discretionary spending items such as furniture, electronics, or second-hand vehicles fell. This suggests weak demand and low consumer confidence, which is exactly what you would expect when unemployment is rising,” said Renney.

“Inflation and rising costs that can’t be avoided by households kept rising much faster than the headline rate. Electricity costs are up 7.4% a year. Rates bills rose 12% last year. Pharmaceutical products rose 17% with the reintroduction of prescription fees. Housing insurance was up 20% from last year.

“Rents were the biggest contributor to annual inflation, up 4.5%. It’s clear that the landlord tax cuts aren’t working to reduce rents. Low-income households, struggling after real terms cuts to the minimum wage this year, will still be feeling the pinch of these increases.

“One of the biggest drivers of the fall in inflation was the reduction in early childhood costs associated with the new family boost payment. Without that change quarterly inflation would have risen from 0.6% in September to 0.9%. Yet we know that more than half of all eligible households aren’t claiming that support – meaning that fall is unlikely to be translating into families’ pockets for many. Petrol pricing was supported by the one-off removal of the Auckland Fuel Tax, and with rising oil prices globally that fall is unlikely to be sustained.

“Inflation is falling right now, but low-income workers might not be feeling the benefit as inflation they can’t escape keeps rising. Lower inflation is good news if it doesn’t come at a cost of much higher unemployment, which every forecast tells us will be happening.

“With inflation now being back in the target band, the Government has no reason to not invest in making sure that unemployment doesn’t happen. Anything else is a choice,” said Renney.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Auckland Police target road safety ahead of summer

Source: New Zealand Police (National News)

Auckland City Police have begun a series of operations targeting drink and drug effected drivers as the evenings get warmer and lighter.

Last week, Police spent two days conducting more than 20 checkpoints across the district.

Auckland City’s Relieving Road Policing Manager, Acting Inspector Scott Jones, says more than 12,000 drivers were breath tested across Wednesday and Thursday last week.

“The vast majority of motorists had made the responsible decision to drive sober, however disappointingly 18 drivers were found to be over the limit and are facing enforcement from Police.

“It’s great to see so many people driving drink-free, but that result is still too many to be drinking and then driving on our roads.”

Acting Inspector Jones says one driver was found to be more than double the legal limit.

“His licence was suspended on the spot and he will be appearing in the Auckland District Court facing a charge of driving with excess breath alcohol.

“The decision made by all 18 of these drivers has put themselves and other members of the community at enormous risk.”

Police also issued a number of infringement notices to motorists for a variety of high-risk driving behaviours, including speeding, no restraints or driving while using a mobile phone.

“With the summer season approaching, Police will have an increased focus on drink and drug related driving.

“We ask that people plan ahead and make the responsible decision to appoint a sober driver or arrange other options such as public transport to get them home safely.

“We know your whānau and friends will appreciate this, and so will we.”

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: Allens advises TPG Telecom on $5.25bn sale of fibre network and Enterprise, Government and Wholesale fixed line business to Vocus

Source: Allens Insights

Allens has advised TPG Telecom on an agreement to sell its fibre network infrastructure and its enterprise, government and wholesale (EGW) fixed line business to Vocus Group Limited for an enterprise value of $5.25 billion.

The sale will include all of TPG Telecom’s fibre and fixed line network infrastructure, its EGW fixed line business, its PPC-1 international submarine cable system and its wholesale broadband business, Vision Network.

The sale price is inclusive of a potential $250 million contingent value payment related to subscriber targets for the Vision Network business.

TPG will retain its mobile and radiocommunications network infrastructure, consumer and EGW mobile business and its consumer and small office/home office fixed retail business, including fixed wireless.

The deal also includes a long-term strategic partnership between TPG and Vocus, with Vocus to provide TPG with ongoing access to its fibre infrastructure.

Allens acted for TPG Telecom on the strategic review of its Vision Network business in 2022. The firm then advised TPG Telecom on negotiations with Vocus and its owners, Macquarie Asset Management and Aware Super, when the parties decided to explore a larger transaction.

‘This transaction demonstrates that telecommunications infrastructure continues to be a highly attractive asset class for financial investors,’ said co-lead Partner and Head of Allens’ Technology, Media & Telecommunications group, Gavin Smith.

‘The pace of digitisation, and the continued growth in requirements for data transmission and storage, means that the physical infrastructure underpinning that trend is highly valued.

‘Allens has had a long-standing relationship with TPG Telecom. We are delighted to advise it on this transformational transaction which allows it to unlock the value of its fixed line networks.’

Co-lead Partner Julian Donnan said: ‘This deal will allow TPG Telecom to focus on its mobile and its consumer and small office/home office fixed retail business, including fixed wireless. We congratulate the teams at TPG Telecom and its financial adviser, Bank of America, with which we worked closely. We also congratulate the Vocus, Macquarie Asset Management and Aware Super teams’.

The deal cements Allens’ position as the leading advisor on telecommunications M&A activity in Australia.

The firm advised on all major Australian and New Zealand telecommunications tower transactions between 2021 and 2024, including: the Morrison and Future Fund investment into Amplitel (Telstra towers); the sale by TPG Telecom of its towers portfolio to OMERS/Waveconn; AustralianSuper on its acquisition of a majority stake in ATN (Optus towers) and the acquisition by ATN of Axicom; Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan’s acquisition of a majority stake in Connexa, the Spark New Zealand tower company; Connexa’s acquisition of the 2degrees NZ tower portfolio; and NorthLeaf Capital Partners and InfraRed Capital Partnerson their acquisition of Fortysouth, the Vodafone New Zealand towers business. Allens also advised Morrison and Brookfield on its acquisition of Uniti Group.

Allens legal team

Lead partners

Gavin Smith, Julian Donnan

M&A and Capital Markets

Tom Story (Partner), Kimberley Lowrie (Managing Associate), Stephanie Rowan (Senior Associate), Harry Martin (Associate), Will Brown (Senior Associate), Sophie Stitch (Lawyer)

Technology, Media & Telecommunications

Jessica Mottau (Partner), Isabelle Guyot (Managing Associate), David Liao (Senior Overseas Practitioner), Alexandra Martin (Senior Associate), Isaac Nankavill (Associate), Isabelle Orazio (Lawyer), Tasnim Ahsan (Lawyer), Matilda Winnell (Lawyer)

Competition, Consumer and Regulatory

Rosannah Healy (Partner), Robert Walker (Partner), John Yiannakou (Managing Associate), Edison Wang (Senior Associate), Tom Hodgson (Lawyer)

Real Estate & Development

Victoria Holthouse (Partner), Tom Wilson (Senior Associate), Jayne Williams (Senior Associate), Alex Jeffares (Associate)

Banking & Finance

Alan Maxton (Partner), Sarah Denton (Senior Overseas Practitioner), Robert Lau (Senior Associate)

Intellectual Property

Tommy Chen (Managing Associate), Max Jones (Senior Associate)

Employment & Safety

Veronica Siow (Partner), Sikeli Ratu (Partner), Eden Sweeney (Associate)

Contact for further information

Public Relations & Social Media Manager

MIL OSI News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: Care for others and pre-plan this fire season
Source: Victoria Country Fire Authority

This National Carers Week (Oct 13-19) CFA is urging Victorians who care for others living in high bushfire risk areas to make a fire plan using CFA’s online module ahead of summer.

The learning module Bushfire Planning: You and the person you care for, developed with Carers Victoria, is for anyone who provides informal unpaid care or support to family members or friends with a disability, mental illness, chronic health issue or age-related condition.

The one-hour online lesson dives into who needs to be prepared, important roles played, how to start a conversation and build a plan, when to choose to stay or go, how to make it all work and what resources are available.

Dromana Fire Brigade member Tim Marchinton, who informally cares for his mum who lives rurally and remotely in a high-risk area said the module has been a valuable tool in setting her up for any type of emergency.

“Sometimes mum is on her own, and she lives in an area surrounded by a lot of natural bush, so we needed to have something that she could enact if I wasn’t here,” Tim said.

“Every summer she is concerned about the what if, having previously lived in another part of Gippsland that was affected by the Black Saturday bushfires.

“It’s been challenging to chat through this, because up until Black Saturday, mum was of the mindset that you can stay and do what you need to do on your own.

“I’ve now got her to think differently by doing this plan and reassured her that we’ve got insurance and it’s not worth trying to stay and fight.”

Tim and his mum watched the module together, then went through what they learnt, condensing it into a checklist and a survival plan that she has nearby at all times.

“She now has a packed bag, with everything essential by the door as recommended, and we re-check that every summer. We make sure the batteries are fresh, that radios are in there with bottled water and a bowl is there for the dog,” Tim said.

“A really important factor for mum throughout this process was incorporating contingencies so she could take her dog with her, otherwise she wasn’t prepared to continue creating the plan.

“She knows on a Total Fire Ban (TFB) day to listen to the radio continuously, and to make sure her phone is always charged.

“It’s been a great conversation starter, her exit road has two choices, so we’ve talked about where she would go if she was to leave early as her house is wooden and more vulnerable.”

Due to the gravity of the information, Tim took a person-centred approach when working through the online learning with his mum and completed it over a number of sessions.

Ahead of and during summer Tim and his mum spend time cleaning up the property, emptying gutters and clearing leaves anything surrounding the area.

“We’ve put a ring sprinkler around the house so that there is some barrier against ember attack when she needs to leave, it has a 50,000L tank that is preserved for this purpose to create some sort of ember wash,” Tim said.

“If she needs to leave quickly there is a safe spot for her on the neighbours’ property surrounded by low cut grass. However, mum and her neighbours have already agreed that leaving early to go and stay with friends on a TFB day is the best course of action.

Since launching, 580 people have completed the module, with a further 184 currently in progress and another 107 enrolled to begin. Visit CFA’s website at http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/carers for a step-by-step guide on how to complete it. To learn more about Carers Victoria, visit http://www.carersvictoria.org.au
- Dromana Fire Brigade member Tim Marchinton often attends expos in a Community Education Officer role
Submitted by CFA media

MIL OSI News –
January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Release: Cuts to Apprenticeship Boost will fail future NZ

Source: New Zealand Labour Party

The Government’s cuts to the Apprenticeship Boost programme will leave New Zealand without the workforce it needs to build homes, schools and hospitals.

“As we see more and more skilled workers leaving the country, Penny Simmonds has cut the very tool that would ensure more people are trained to fill the gap,” Labour tertiary education spokesperson Dr Deborah Russell said.

“Apprentices in road construction and maintenance, drinking/wastewater treatment, welding and mechanical engineering are just some of the industries where the Apprenticeship Boost no longer applies.

“New Zealand continues to grapple with a growing infrastructure deficit that has been generations in the making. If the Government was truly serious about tackling it, you would think having a skilled workforce would be critical.

“With the economy stagnating, now is the time to support more businesses to take on apprentices to stimulate employment.

“After the global financial crisis, the previous National Government let apprenticeship numbers plummet and did nothing to support businesses to continue to put resource into training. Labour did the opposite during COVID-19 and supported businesses to keep people in work.

“Cutting the Apprenticeship Boost is only adding to rising unemployment, as thousands of Kiwis leave or lose their jobs in construction under National.

“Labour was proud to support businesses to keep on more than 62,000 apprentices through the Apprenticeship Boost programme.

“This is another example of Penny Simmonds taking the tertiary sector backwards. She will go down as the Minister who set polytechnics up to fail and failed New Zealand’s future workforce,” Dr Deborah Russell said.

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MIL OSI New Zealand News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Beijing explores new growth avenues by nurturing high-tech industries

Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

A technician operates a device at a workshop of Beijing CRS Medical Device Co., Ltd., a precision manufacturing company specializing in the research, production and sales of sterile dental implants in Beijing, Oct. 13, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING, Oct. 15 — In a sleek, automated workshop at the Daxing International Airport Economic Zone in southern Beijing, technicians from dental implant manufacturer CRS are meticulously checking their implants for any defects under microscopes.

CRS, a precision manufacturing company specializing in the research, production and sales of sterile dental implants, began production here last month. The firm aims to produce one million implants annually. Its products are designed to be competitive by minimizing stress on bone and soft tissues, improving structural stability and simplifying clinical procedures.

Su Hanqi, general manager of Beijing CRS Medical Device Co., Ltd., recalls that it took just an hour to choose the economic zone for their operations. “The one-stop services offered by the zone significantly reduced our efforts in navigating processes and approvals, while a range of supportive policies has fostered an exceptionally conducive entrepreneurial environment for us,” Su said.

To promote the development of the medical and health industry, the economic zone and Daxing District offer policies that include monetary incentives for R&D, innovation application, mass production and space rentals.

Su said that due to the support, overall operating costs are estimated to decrease by 30 percent. “For a manufacturing enterprise like ours, being able to focus on production and R&D is crucial.”

The economic zone where Su’s firm operates aims to develop a series of industrial clusters in sectors such as life sciences, health, medical devices, logistics and international aviation. This aligns with the city’s broader goal of becoming a global hub for scientific and technological innovation.

Data from the Beijing municipal government shows that, from January to August this year, investment in high-tech manufacturing and high-tech services grew by 72.7 percent and 19.4 percent year on year, respectively, driven by policies aimed at accelerating the development of new quality productive forces. This surge has fostered deeper integration between technological and industrial innovation, aligning with the national push for new quality productive forces.

According to the resolution adopted at the third plenum of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held in July this year, the country seeks to establish a mechanism for ensuring funding increases for industries of the future, and improve the policy and governance systems to promote the development of strategic industries such as next-generation information technology, AI, aviation and aerospace, new energy and biomedicine, among others.

The picture taken on Aug. 20, 2024 shows the Daxing International Hydrogen Energy Demonstration Zone in Beijing. [Photo/Xinhua]

A 20-minute drive from Daxing airport is the Daxing International Hydrogen Energy Demonstration Zone, home to Hypower, one of the world’s largest hydrogen refueling stations. With a maximum daily capacity of 4.8 tonnes, the station can meet the hydrogen needs of 800 hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicles.

Nearby, a workshop of SinoHytec, a Chinese high-tech company specializing in the R&D and commercialization of hydrogen fuel cells, showcases fuel cells of various capacities to visitors.

A technician is pictured working at a hydrogen fuel cell manufacturing company located at Daxing International Hydrogen Energy Demonstration Zone in Beijing, Aug. 20, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

According to Bao Jianpeng, deputy director of production operations at SinoHytec, the company’s fuel cells have been used in more than 15,000 vehicles.

“All the components of our fuel cell systems are home-grown. Another significant breakthrough is that the fuel cells we produce, which previously could only operate above zero degrees Celsius, can now function at temperatures as low as minus 35 degrees Celsius,” he said.

The demonstration zone is focused on creating an industrial ecosystem incorporating hydrogen production, storage, transportation and refueling, fuel cell and components production, as well as testing and certification services for fuel cell vehicles and core components.

The demonstration zone has already attracted over 20 enterprises in the hydrogen industry, including Hypower and SinoHytec, according to the Daxing district government.

MIL OSI China News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI China: 11 killed, 19 wounded in Israeli airstrikes on different areas of Lebanon

Source: China State Council Information Office

At least 11 people were killed and 19 others wounded on Tuesday in Israeli airstrikes on different areas of Lebanon, local media reported.

Five people were killed and 16 others wounded, while two children went missing in an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in Riyaq, a Lebanese town in the Bekaa governorate, according to an al-Jadeed local TV channel.

The channel reported that civil defense teams are still searching for missing people under the rubble.

In a separate incident, two nurses were injured in an Israeli airstrike on Mortada Hospital in Baalbek in eastern Lebanon, and they were transported to Dar al-Amal Hospital, according to al-Jadeed.

Meanwhile, an Israeli airstrike on the southern village of Jarjouh killed an Amal Movement member and three of his family members.

On a separate note, a violent Israeli raid targeted a house in the village of Jennata in the Tyre district, killing two people and wounding one, according to the National News Agency.

Lebanese military sources told Xinhua that Israeli warplanes and drones carried out 17 raids on towns and villages in southern Lebanon and 11 raids on towns and villages in eastern Lebanon on Tuesday afternoon.

For its part, Hezbollah announced that in support of the Palestinian people and in defense of Lebanon and its people, its fighters bombed the occupied city of Safed on Tuesday afternoon with a rocket salvo.

It also announced a second attack on Marbad al-Zaoura in the occupied Syrian Golan, using a salvo of rockets and the Naftali base near the occupied city of Safed.

Since Sept. 23, the Israeli army has been launching an unprecedented, intensive air attack on Lebanon in an escalation with Hezbollah.

Since Oct. 8, 2023, Hezbollah and the Israeli army have been exchanging fire across the Lebanese-Israeli border amid fears of a broader conflict as the war between Hamas and Israel continues in the Gaza Strip.

MIL OSI China News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Large-scale debt swap eyed to boost economy

Source: China State Council Information Office

A worker counts Chinese currency renminbi at a bank in Linyi, East China’s Shandong province. [Photo/Xinhua]

China is likely to approve a debt swap program worth trillions of yuan as the beginning of a broader plan to decisively forestall any downward economic spiral, economists and policy advisers said.

The debt resolution program — set to be the biggest of its kind in recent years — reflects policymakers’ priority not only to stimulate short-term growth, but also to proactively tackle major structural challenges, opening the door to further substantive policy support, they said.

The policy focus for the coming quarters should include further addressing local governments’ delayed payments to businesses, acquiring idle housing and helping struggling real estate developers overcome difficulties, they said.

The economists and advisers added that by alleviating debt pressures facing local governments, the debt swap plan will improve corporate performance, reinvigorate business expectations and serve as an important stepping stone to economic stabilization.

Noting that this approach is as essential as direct demand stimulus, Robin Xing, chief China economist at Morgan Stanley, said, “Resolving the debt issue is a critical step in stopping a key deflationary downward spiral.”

Xing added that the debt swap program would go beyond merely reducing interest payments. “It can improve the liquidity and balance sheets of local businesses (as local governments honor payables), but more fundamentally, restore stability in the regulatory environment and thus business expectations.”

He estimated that the debt swap program will be no less than 6 trillion yuan ($843 billion) over multiple years, with the central government taking over some local debt burdens, and added that this year may see a 2 trillion yuan supplementary fiscal package for local debt resolution and bank recapitalization.

Finance Minister Lan Fo’an said on Saturday that the Finance Ministry plans to increase the debt limit by a large scale at once and replace the hidden debt of local governments, without disclosing the specific size of the plan.

The market is waiting for the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the country’s top legislature, to convene in late October or early November to approve the specifics of the plan.

Sheng Zhongming, a research fellow at the CF40 Institute, which is affiliated with the China Finance 40 Forum think tank, said that a debt swap would convert high-cost and structurally complex implicit debt into more sustainable low-cost and standardized government bonds, reflecting a policy orientation of securing this year’s growth target while tackling persistent structural problems.

China must confront the key structural issues of local debt risks, outstanding government payments to businesses, real estate concerns and the recapitalization needs of banks, Sheng said, which will require at least 10 trillion yuan in additional public funds over several years in order to be effectively addressed.

Wang Yiming, vice-chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, suggested leveraging central government funding to address local governments’ overdue payments to businesses that accumulated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To further address the real estate downturn, a feasible solution could be establishing a special fund, financed by fiscal funds, to acquire housing stock and convert it into government-subsidized rental housing for new urban residents, said Wang, who also serves as a monetary policy committee member of the nation’s central bank.

Li Daokui, director of Tsinghua University’s Academic Center for Chinese Economic Practice and Thinking, said it is imperative to address the situation in which local governments face extremely tight cash flows while banks are flush with liquidity.

Li suggested that local debt at least equivalent to 20 percent of the country’s GDP, or around 30 trillion yuan, should be replaced with longer-term treasury bonds.

MIL OSI China News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Standardising rubbish collections

Source: Auckland Council

Aucklanders out west will no longer need to use prepaid bin tags from 2 December 2024 as council rubbish collections will be funded by residential property rates.

West Auckland is moving from pay-as-you-throw collections to rates-funded as part of a regionwide move towards a standardised waste service for Auckland.

Auckland Council General Manager Waste Solutions Justine Haves says that standardising waste services across Auckland will give everyone access to the same service at the same cost, wherever they live.

“Having everyone on a unified collection service that includes recycling and food scraps, gives us the best chance to minimise waste and reduce emissions as we work towards Auckland’s goal of zero waste by 2040,” says Ms Haves.

“We want to protect Auckland’s natural environment by reducing reliance on landfills, while keeping costs for Aucklanders as low as possible. A universal rates-funded rubbish collection helps us to deliver a more consistent and cost-effective service and makes it easier to engage with Aucklanders on how we can all reduce waste,” she says.

The targeted rates charge for a property’s rubbish collection will depend on the size of the bin. With a choice of three bin sizes, Aucklanders can choose the size that best meets their individual household’s needs.

“If households use their food scrap bins and recycling bins regularly, most will find that a smaller rubbish bin than they have now will work for them. Many people don’t realise that food scraps contribute significantly to harmful greenhouse gas emissions from landfills, and prior to the introduction of the food scraps collection, waste audits found that up to half of the weight of rubbish bins consisted of this waste,” says Ms Haves.

“For larger households that require a larger bin even after they are using all three waste bins correctly, there is an option for the ratepayer to request a larger bin from Auckland Council, for a slightly higher cost to that household’s rates.”

Bin tags will be accepted on council bins until Friday 29 November in West Auckland. After this date, West Auckland residents can get a refund from local libraries for any unused bin tags for a limited time – from Sunday 1 December 2024 to Friday 31 January 2025.

The changes are being rolled out in pay-as-you-throw areas over the next 12 months. After Waitākere, the next areas to move to rates-funded rubbish collections are: North Shore, Papakura, Franklin and Rodney. Central Auckland and Manukau already have rates-funded rubbish services.

Anyone living in a rural zone who would like to continue using bags should email ratesfunded@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz. Rural residents will still have options on the number of waste bags they would like to use, depending on their household requirements, and this is reflected in the targeted waste rate for each household.

For more information, including how to request a refund for unused bin tags, please visit aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/ratesfunded

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Senator Markey Maps Need for Climate Action and Highlights Federal Investments in Massachusetts Climate Resilience, Following Extreme Weather Events Across the Country

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey

Calls for more investment in resilient schools and hospitals and for a federal climate emergency declaration

WATCH: Senator Markey, advocates discuss climate resilience

Senator Markey joined by City Councilor Gabriela “Gigi” Coletta Zapata; Brian Swett, Boston’s Chief Climate Officer; Dwaign Tyndal, Executive Director of Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE); and John Walkey, Noemy Rodriguez, and Roseann Bongiovanni from GreenRoots.

Boston (October 15, 2024) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today was joined in Boston by local officials and advocates to call for increased federal investment to bolster the climate resilience of regions at risk of sea level rise – exacerbated by devastation from climate change-fueled storms, as well as highlight ongoing resiliency projects in Massachusetts, following two devastating hurricanes in the southeastern United States that are expected to cost $300 billion and have resulted in more than 250 deaths. Senator Markey announced that over the past two years, Boston, Chelsea, and Revere have already secured more than $75 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act for resiliency projects that include building resilient transportation corridors in Roxbury, greening the Chelsea Creek waterfront, and making the MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority) Blue Line more flood resistant. In total, Massachusetts has secured approximately $200 million for climate resiliency projects from those two laws so far. Senator Markey was joined by Brian Swett, Chief Climate Officer for the City of Boston; Boston City Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata; Roseann Bongiovanni, Noemy Rodriguez, and John Walkey from GreenRoots; and Dwaign Tyndal, Executive Director of Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE).

“If we don’t drive down our emissions as a country, we could see more than six feet of sea level rise by the end of the century. That’s sunny-day flooding in neighborhoods from East Boston to Back Bay. TD Garden wouldn’t be flooded with a sea of fans—it would be flooded by the sea itself. Back Bay will go back to the bay,” said Senator Markey. “Our task is twofold. One, cut climate pollution by ushering in a clean energy revolution unlike any we’ve seen before, dismantling our dependence on fossil fuels. And two, prepare for the future by investing in resilient buildings and strong communities. Thanks in part to the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are well on our way to meet that second goal. In Massachusetts, we don’t wait, we create.”

“Chelsea and East Boston, the two communities that we serve at GreenRoots, are frontline environmental justice communities that are disproportionately impacted by environmental assault. On a daily basis, environmental justice communities throughout the United States and in the Global South face increased frequency of severe storms, storm surge, sea level rise, drought, heat island impacts, wildfires and much more. We need federal leadership like that of Senator Markey’s to prioritize policies and investments in climate resilience and climate justice, an end to fossil fuel use, and implementing greater renewable, resilient energy,” said Roseann Bongiovanni, Executive Director of GreenRoots.

“Many of the people here have immigrated as a result of natural disasters in their home countries, and with climate change, we know that natural disasters are only going to be increasing in number. When this happens, we need to ask the questions, ‘Where are we going to go? What is going to happen to us?’ These are the questions and worries that many of us have, not just for East Boston, but all over the country. We are the first generation feeling the effects of climate change and we may be the last generation that can do something about it,” said Noemy Rodriguez, Waterfront Initiative Organizer at GreenRoots.

“We know that when climate change happens, the least among us are the first affected and the worst affected. We frequently say that people are a paycheck away from disaster. According to FEMA, just an inch of floodwater in a home causes roughly about $25,000 in damages. There are over 400,000 Massachusetts residents living in the hundred-year flood zone which means more than a one in four chance of having a flood during a 30-year mortgage period. If home ownership is the route to generational wealth that we would leave to the next generation, we need to be planning and prepared for this,” said John Walkey, Director of Climate Justice & Waterfront Initiatives.

“Boston is deeply grateful for Senator Markey’s unwavering leadership in securing critical federal funds that are bolstering our city’s climate resilience. Thanks to our partners in the federal government, Boston has secured over $60 million in grants for coastal resilience projects helping us protect our neighborhoods from rising sea levels and extreme storms. However, with the increasing frequency of extreme weather, much more work remains, and additional funding is essential to fully safeguard our city and its most vulnerable communities,” said Brian Swett, Chief Climate Officer for the City of Boston.

“We have a moral obligation to move quickly to identify all strategies and tools that are at our disposal to ensure that Boston’s forty-seven-mile coastline is resilient and to protect these residents. I want to thank Senator Markey for his leadership in the Senate, and President Biden’s leadership in securing these necessary federal funds that Boston is now being awarded, which will help protect our communities. This is our next big challenge. We need the resources, capital, and collaboration to adequately protect Boston. We need the vital investments coming down the pike from the federal government in both green and gray infrastructure to protect our future. I am hopeful, with the level of partnership and leadership on display here across all levels of government, advocacy groups and philanthropy, and I know that we will continue to lean in and get it done,” said Boston City Councilor Gabriela “Gigi” Coletta Zapata.

“This is a reminder, a call to arms, a warning and a reality check. We may have more resources than imagination to deal with this issue. We have all the policy, the information, and the possible solutions. The struggle now is to push beyond our imagination to do what we need to get this done. This is not going to be a part of the political cycle, or fundraising cycles, but part of the continual struggle and persistence that many of us are here today are taking part in,” said Dwaign Tyndal, Executive Director of Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE).

The destruction of extreme weather events is disproportionately felt by Black, Brown, low-income, and immigrant communities, who are burdened by historical disinvestment and the compounded effects of legacy pollution and dangerous infrastructure sited in their neighborhoods. Under the Biden-Harris administration, including through the historic Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, federal funding has come to Massachusetts to help prevent the worsening impacts of climate change and support the Commonwealth’s climate resilience efforts, but continued federal investment in resiliency and clean energy will be needed to help avoid worsening disasters and billion-dollar storm recoveries in the future.

Senator Markey has been working to ensure that Massachusetts is climate resilient and prepared for extreme weather events, which are only increasing in frequency due to climate change. On October 4, Senator Markey joined Mayor Jennifer Macksey for a briefing on the Hoosic River Flood Mitigation Study, a project that aims to evaluate potential flood risk reduction measures and support development of a new flood mitigation system built with 21st-century engineering standards. Senator Markey led the effort to get the study included in the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), advocated for $750,000 in funding for the Army Corps of Engineers this year, and has secured $950,000 in the pending appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25).

In September, Senator Markey announced a grant of $472 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to the MBTA to fully replace the North Station Draw One Bridge and renovate Platform F at North Station. The grant is the largest federal award the MBTA has won to date. The nearly half a billion-dollar grant will provide critical support for one of MBTA’s top priority projects and a vital transportation asset to MBTA’s north-side operations. It will also support more than 14,500 jobs, make the bridge more climate resilient by bringing it above projected sea-level rise, and lower emissions.

In August, on the second anniversary of the historic Inflation Reduction Act, Senator Markey launched his Climate Hub, a centralized site with resources to help stakeholders navigate opportunities from both the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Together, these two laws have created the largest and most significant climate and clean energy investments in history, putting the United States on a path to address the climate crisis, repair historic harms to disadvantaged communities, create good-paying union jobs in the clean energy economy, and work towards a Green New Deal future.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Cramer Attends Send-Off Ceremony for Members of the 142nd Engineer Battalion

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)

***Click here for media resources.***

VALLEY CITY, N.D. – The North Dakota National Guard (NDNG) held a ceremony today to send off members of the 142nd Engineer Battalion being deployed to Fort Bliss, Texas, in support of Joint Task Force North. The joint service command is tasked with supporting federal law enforcement agencies in the “identification and interdiction of suspected criminal activities conducted within and along the approaches to the continental United States.”

U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, participated in the ceremony and expressed his gratitude for the members of the unit.

“Protecting the homeland is the highest priority of the United States Armed Forces, and no one protects ours better than the soldiers of the North Dakota National Guard,” said Cramer. “Helping send off the heroes of the storied 142nd Engineer Battalion as they deploy for their mission in support of federal law enforcement agencies is an honor of a lifetime, and I get to do it on behalf of grateful North Dakotans and Americans everywhere. As I do for all of our service members and their families, I pray for a successful mission and a safe return home. They are the best of the best, and I look forward to their homecoming.”

MIL OSI USA News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: NAMRU INDO PACIFIC Grows Partnership in Malaysia

Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia –

Capt. Andrew Letizia, science director of Naval Medical Research Unit (NAMRU) INDO PACIFIC, has described the command’s collaborations with partner nations as the lifeblood of Navy Medicine’s OCONUS research and development.

“The best part of my job is sitting down with excellent researchers from a host nation, putting our goals and concepts on paper, designing a project, and then watching the project help meet the needs of the partners as it comes to life,” Letizia explained. “Since I first started playing with Legos many years ago, I have enjoyed building things. Watching NAMRU INDO PACIFIC build new partnerships and strengthen the previous ones brings back that same joy I felt as a kid, making all of the pieces fit together correctly to make a great creation.”

NAMRU INDO PACIFIC partners with 10 different countries within the area of responsibility (AOR). This network of collaborators continues to grow as the scope of Navy Medicine research expands to meet the ever-evolving needs of U.S. service members. Malaysia, home to many of the U.S. Navy’s partners, is the latest of these countries to see an expansion in collaboration.

KUALA LUMPUR
Like many Sailors, Lt. Cmdr. Dawn Weir wakes up early to make her way to the office. Unlike other Sailors, Weir’s walk to work takes her through the bustling metropolis of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. From her office at the U.S. Embassy, she oversees research projects in Malaysia for NAMRU INDO PACIFIC, one of Navy Medicine’s three OCONUS research commands.

Weir, a microbiologist, is the first person to fill this brand-new billet. NAMRU INDO PACIFIC has been building partnerships within Malaysia for almost 15 years, and Weir is the first active-duty U.S. Sailor stationed in-country.

“The best part of my job is working with our Malaysian partners,” Weir said, “to foster and strengthen existing collaborative research endeavors, as well as to expand and create new efforts to achieve both their and our research needs and objectives. I also enjoy sharing space and working with my Office of Defense Cooperation and other U.S. Embassy colleagues to support various medical lines of effort and other global health security initiatives.”

In 2007 NAMRU INDO PACIFIC, then known as NAMRU-2, initiated a partnership with the University of Malaysia. In the years since, the partnership has grown into a much bigger relationship, spanning multiple projects and interoperability.

“We have been working with [NAMRU INDO PACIFIC] for the past 16 years,” explained Dr. Sazaly Abu Bakar, professor and executive director of the Tropical Infectious Diseases Research & Education Centre (TIDREC) at the University of Malaysia, “and this relationship has really grown over the years. We are now at a transition point that is going to take this relationship to the next level.”

Part of that next level involves Weir as an active-duty researcher and in-country liaison.

“We used to have just a few projects,” added Abu Bakar. “Now we have more activities, focused on biomedical research. This shows how the relationship between the two has grown over the years.”

NAMRU INDO PACIFIC also partners with the National Defense University of Malaysia. Brig. Gen. Mohd Arshil Moideen, dean of the university’s medical facility and defense health division, spoke highly of the partnership.

“The collaboration includes capacity building in our research, specifically in diagnostic laboratory capabilities,” Moideen explained. “We are currently running a few major research collaborations with tropical disease, as well as entomology studies. Lt. Cmdr. Weir is here specifically for this research cooperation, and this has never happened before. This means that Malaysia is now a significant partner in term of research collaboration.”

“A permanent NAMRU presence within Malaysia will not only enhance our ability to achieve our mission, but also demonstrates to our Malaysian partners our commitment to continue to work together to enhance health security in the region for years to come,” said Weir. “In my experience thus far, the biggest challenges have been overcoming various administrative challenges often outside of our control that impede the progress of our collaborative research goals and objectives.”

BORNEO
NAMRU INDO PACIFIC is also partnering on research in collaboration with The University of Malaysia Sabah, located in the Malaysian state Sabah, which lies on the island of Borneo.

Borneo is an island east of Kuala Lumpur, and the third largest in the world. It is home to one of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth, with native flora and fauna that includes the world’s biggest flower and world’s smallest elephant. Borneo is also one of the few places where orangutans live in the wild.

Borneo is also home to East Malaysia, comprised of 2 states and 1 federal territory, the country of Brunei and 5 provinces of Indonesia. The university has over 100 lecturers and more than 500 students, as well as a medical and nursing school.

“We have a lot of diseases in Sabah,” explained Dr. Yosof Ibrahim, dean of UMS. “The number of research that has been done is limited, because of manpower and expertise. There are a lot more diseases that need to be discovered, identified and to be explored. Sabah has many different ethnicities. We have 32 different ethnicities. This is a challenge. Topography is a challenge. Dialect is a challenge. The way we [in Sabah] live and look at things are very different.

“This collaboration is beneficial,” Ibrahim added, “not only to NAMRU, but to us. In a way, it opens an avenue for us to expand our research and design what our protective measures should be for rural people. 70 percent of our people are in a rural area. There is a difficulty in access to medical facilities.”

“Malaysia is rich in culture,” said Weir, “with Malay, Chinese, Indian, and indigenous communities. This diversity fosters a vibrant social scene and a diverse and unique culinary experience! Malaysia is also home to diverse and beautiful landscapes perfect for outdoor activities like hiking, diving, and exploring national parks. I personally love the year-round warm tropical environment. Anyone who is fortunate enough to have the opportunity to visit or work in Malaysia should not pass it up.”

NAMRU INDO PACIFIC plays an important role in the heath of those in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) AOR. One of the most culturally, socially, economically and geopolitically diverse regions, the Asia-Pacific region is home to 38 nations and 60% of the world’s population. More than one-third of these nations are smaller, island nations, where many tropical diseases are prevalent.

NAMRU INDO PACIFIC collaborates with partners in Singapore, Mongolia, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Australia, Papua New Guinea and the U.S. to conduct research efforts throughout the USINDOPACOM area.

The command’s “hub and spoke” model of operations from its headquarters in Singapore, its wide array partners in the INDOPACOM AOR and the over 375,000 U.S service members stationed in the Pacific allow the NAMRU INDO PACIFIC scientific portfolio to shift, as needed, to align with host nation and sponsor priorities while maintaining focus and efforts on U.S. health security objectives.

MIL Security OSI –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI NGOs: Up to 21,000 people are dying each day from conflict-fuelled hunger around the world

Source: Oxfam –

On World Food Day, hunger has reached an all-time high exposing the flaws in global peacebuilding and conflict recovery efforts

Between 7,000 to as many as 21,000 people are likely dying each day from hunger in countries impacted by conflict, according to a new Oxfam report published on World Food Day.

The report, Food Wars, examined 54 conflict-affected countries and found that they account for almost all of the 281.6 million people facing acute hunger today. Conflict has also been one of the main causes of forced displacement in these countries, which has globally reached a record level today of more than 117 million people.

It argues that conflict is not only a primary driver of hunger, but that warring parties are also actively weaponizing food itself by deliberately targeting food, water and energy infrastructure and by blocking food aid.

“As conflict rages around the world, starvation has become a lethal weapon wielded by warring parties against international laws, causing an alarming rise in human deaths and suffering. That civilians continue to be subjected to such slow death in the 21st century, is a collective failure”.

Emily Farr, Oxfam’s Food and Economic Security Lead

Oxfam

“As conflict rages around the world, starvation has become a lethal weapon wielded by warring parties against international laws, causing an alarming rise in human deaths and suffering. That civilians continue to be subjected to such slow death in the 21st century, is a collective failure”, says Emily Farr, Oxfam’s Food and Economic Security Lead.

“Today’s food crises are largely manufactured. Nearly half a million people in Gaza – where 83% of food aid needed is currently not reaching them – and over three quarters of a million in Sudan, are currently starving as the deadly impact of wars on food will likely be felt for generations.”

The report also found that the majority of the countries studied (34 out of 54) are rich in natural resources, relying heavily on exporting raw products. For example, 95% of Sudan’s export earnings come from gold and livestock, 87% of South Sudan’s come from petroleum products, and nearly 70% of Burundi’s come from coffee.

In Central America, meanwhile, mining operations have led to violent conflicts, uprooting people from their homes as they no longer become able to live in degraded and polluted environments.

Oxfam argues that current peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction efforts are too often based on encouraging more foreign investment and export-related economies. However, this focus on economic liberalization can instead create more inequality, suffering and the potential for conflict to resume.

“It is no coincidence that the lethal combination of war, displacement and hunger has often occurred in countries rich in natural resources. The exploitation of these raw commodities often means more violence, inequality, instability, and renewed conflict. Too often, large-scale private investment—both foreign and domestic —has also added to political and economic instabilities in these countries, where investors seize control over land and water resources forcing people out of their homes,” said Farr.

Conflict often compounds other factors like climate shocks, economic instability and inequalities to devastate people’s livelihoods. For example, climate shocks like droughts and floods, coupled with the surge in global food prices associated with pandemic shut-downs and additional food-chain disruptions connected to the Russia-Ukraine war, have fueled the hunger crises in East and Southern Africa.

Many of those fleeing are women and children. Aisha Ibrahim, age 37, told Oxfam that she had to walk four days with her four children, leaving their home in Sudan for Joda, across the border in South Sudan. She left her husband behind to protect their home. “I used to live in a proper home. I could never imagine myself in this situation,” she said.

The international community’s pledge of “zero hunger” by 2030 remains out of touch. Oxfam says that states and institutions globally, including the UN Security Council, must hold to account those committing “starvation crimes” in accordance with international law.

“To break the vicious cycle of food insecurity and conflict, global leaders must tackle head-on the conditions that breed conflict: the colonial legacies, injustices, human rights violations, and inequalities – rather than offering quick band-aid solutions.”

“We cannot end conflict by simply injecting foreign investments in conflict-torn countries, without uprooting the deep inequalities, generational grievances, and human rights violations that fuel those conflicts. Peace efforts must be coupled with investment in social protection, and social cohesion building. Economic solutions must prioritize fair trade and sustainable food systems,” said Farr.

MIL OSI NGO –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI NGOs: Urgent joint statement: Northern Gaza is being erased – global leaders must act now to end Israel’s atrocities
Source: Oxfam –

Oxfam and 37 other humanitarian organisations are raising the alarm about the catastrophic situation in Northern Gaza

The Israeli forces’ assault on Gaza has escalated to a horrifying level of atrocity. Northern Gaza is being wiped off the map. Under the guise of “evacuation,” Israeli forces have ordered the forced displacement of an estimated 400,000 Palestinians trapped in northern Gaza, including Gaza City. This is not an evacuation—this is forced displacement under gunfire. Since 1 October, no food has been allowed into the area, and civilians are being starved and bombed in their homes and their tents.

Hospitals, already overwhelmed, are being ordered to evacuate. They are running out of fuel and essential supplies, while doctors and nurses battle to save lives with what little they have left. The wounded flood in – children, older people, victims of Israeli airstrikes – but with no resources to treat them.

Dr. Mohammed Salha, acting director of Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza, described the dire situation: “The Israeli military has contacted us more than once to evacuate the hospital… [All] the departments are full of wounded people and we are discharging even the wounded who have minor or moderate injuries, because we do not have [enough] beds for them. I [told the Israeli military] clearly that we would not evacuate the hospital unless there are ambulances that can preserve the lives of the wounded people we have and reach another hospital that provides better service to the wounded.”

The world cannot continue to stand by as the Israeli government commits these atrocities. Global leaders have both a legal and moral duty to act now. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of Article II of the Genocide Convention including “killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; and imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group”. There is no evidence that Israel has adhered to these orders, and the killing of Palestinians has only intensified.

Any attempt to alter the territorial integrity of Gaza constitutes a blatant violation of international law. This is especially egregious in light of the recent ICJ advisory opinion, which significantly heightens the obligation of third states to take decisive action. Failure to do so risks their complicity in perpetuating the illegal occupation.

All parties must allow unimpeded access for humanitarian organisations to deliver aid based on need, without restricting types, volumes, or locations. Aid delivery must remain impartial and independent of military objectives to prevent its instrumentalisation or politicisation. Civilians must not be forced to flee to receive aid; those choosing to stay in their homes must be protected under international law.

We demand an immediate ceasefire and an end to Israel’s illegal occupation. Global leaders must act in line with the UN General Assembly Resolution on the ICJ Advisory Opinion and fulfil their obligation not to facilitate or support Israel’s illegal occupation. Third states must halt now the transfer of all weapons, parts and ammunition that could be used to commit further violations of international humanitarian law.

This is not a time for silence – this is a time for action. The people of Gaza cannot wait. The world must intervene now before more innocent lives are lost.
The forcible transfer of Palestinian civilians in Gaza is a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention and does not amount to a permissible evacuation. Relocation areas have not provided safety, adequate shelter or essential services, and there has also been no guarantee that displaced populations will be able to return once hostilities end.

Signatories:

ActionAid

Action For Humanity

Afri (Action from Ireland)

Amos Trust

Bloody Sunday Trust

Centre for Global Education

CESVI

Children Not Numbers

Christian Aid

Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP)

Comhlamh Justice for Palestine

Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu)

Embrace the Middle East

Feminist Humanitarian Network (FHN)

Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS)

Global Justice Now

HelpAge International

Interpal

Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign

Islamic Relief

KinderUSA

Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP)

Médecins du Monde Spain

Middle East Children’s Alliance

Muslim Aid

Novact Institute for Nonviolence

Oxfam

Plan International Jordan

Sabeel-Kairos UK

Sadaka-The Ireland Palestine Alliance

TDH Italy

Trócaire

Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union/ Aontas Mac Léinn Choláiste na Tríonóide (TCDSU/AMLCT)

Vento di Terra

War Child

War on Want

WeWorld

Welfare Association
MIL OSI NGO –
January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Two giant pandas from China arrive in Washington, D.C.

Source: China State Council Information Office 3

An airplane transporting giant pandas arrives at the Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C., the United States, on Oct. 15, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

A pair of giant pandas, Bao Li and Qing Bao, arrived at Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, after an approximately 19-hour trans-Pacific trip from Sichuan Province in southwest China.

A dedicated “FedEx Panda Express” Boeing 777F aircraft landed at the Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C. at around 10:00 a.m. local time (1400 GMT).

The pandas were loaded onto trucks and were sent to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI). The three-year-old pandas will make their new home at the zoo, as part of a 10-year international giant panda protection cooperation program.

“Our team has worked tirelessly to prepare for the pandas’ arrival, and we’re thrilled to welcome Bao Li and Qing Bao to Washington, D.C.,” Brandie Smith, NZCBI’s John and Adrienne Mars director, said in a statement.

“I am appreciative of our Chinese colleagues for our collaborative conservation and research efforts, to FedEx for providing them with safe transportation and to our donors and members whose philanthropic contributions makes our giant panda conservation program possible,” said Smith.

Bao Li, male, whose name means “treasure” and “energy” in Chinese, was born in August 2021. He shares a special bond with the zoo, as he is the son of Bao Bao and the grandson of Tian Tian and Mei Xiang — all former residents of the zoo.

Qing Bao, female, whose name means “green” and “treasure” in Chinese, was born in September 2021.

Per standard procedure, the pandas will be quarantined in the panda house for a minimum of 30 days, according to the zoo.

This is the second time this year that China has sent giant pandas to the United States. Two giant pandas, Yun Chuan and Xin Bao, landed in California from China on June 27, and made their public debut on Aug. 9.

MIL OSI China News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Blogging taxi driver takes road to fame

Source: China State Council Information Office 3

Donning a cowboy hat, Ge You, one of the most renowned actors in the country, takes on the role of an ambassador of justice in his latest film, The Hutong Cowboy.

However, unlike the typical cowboy archetype, the “weapon” of Ge’s character, Zhang Beijing, isn’t a sixgun holstered at his side. Instead, it’s the essential tools of the digital age — a smartphone and a selfie stick.

In the movie, Zhang, a Beijing taxi driver in his 50s, unexpectedly becomes an internet sensation after a video capturing his moment of anger goes viral online. He seizes this newfound fame to start his own video blog, where he helps everyday individuals defend their rights.

The footage shows the irate protagonist riding a sightseeing mini-train, chasing a soap seller dressed as a Transformers-like robot portrayed by actress Li Xueqin. The protagonist is triggered by the seller’s violation of his image rights. Earlier, the “robot” claw snags his wig, revealing his bald head, and this embarrassing moment is subsequently showcased on a large screen aimed at attracting more passersby to buy her soaps.

As the latest directorial effort of veteran director Ning Hao and emerging talent Xu Lei, the 113-minute comedy was released across domestic theaters on Oct 1.

Starring actress Gong Beibi as Zhang’s former wife and actor Wu Lei as his son, the movie unfolds with Zhang’s determination to deliver a parental speech at the upcoming wedding, rather than allowing his son’s wealthy entrepreneur stepfather to do so.

Despite his efforts, including trying to rent luxury cars for the wedding and purchasing an expensive wig, Zhang eventually conceives a plan to become an internet influencer, aiming to demonstrate that he too can achieve success after the incident. However, the situation takes an unexpected turn.

Director Ning, one of the most renowned figures among China’s “sixth-generation directors”, tells China Daily that he has been considering shooting a feature-length film centered on Zhang, a chatty yet warmhearted taxi driver representing the Chinese capital’s unique hutong culture, since 2019.

Zhang’s character was initially introduced in Ning’s Nihao Beijing (Hello Beijing), one of the six standalone short stories featured in the 2019 anthology blockbuster My People, My Country. The narrative of Zhang was revisited in Beijing Haoren (A Kind-hearted Beijing Native), also directed by Ning, and one of the five separate stories of the 2020 anthology My People, My Homeland, a sequel to the 2019 film.

Ning unveils that the inspiration for Zhang stems from the uncle of Wang Ang, the film’s scriptwriter.

“We had interviewed his uncle before developing the storyline for the 2019 film,” recalls Ning.

The archetype individual, characterized by his helpful, hospitable, and talkative nature, embodies a subset of native Beijing taxi drivers, who enjoy exchanging perspectives on international and domestic affairs with passengers and typically possess a broad spectrum of knowledge, Ning says.

After being invited on board to codirect the film, Xu, who shot to fame for the award-winning suspense comedy Summer Detective, recalls that he and the cameraman Cheng Ma sought out the ideal filming locations in Beijing’s hutong areas.

Living in a community near the East Fifth Ring Road, Xu shares that the journey has helped him realize the unique charm of Beijing — from its labyrinthine alleyways to the close-knit relationships among neighbors and the picturesque courtyards adorned with gray tiles, gray walls and red doors.

“The preservation of hutong houses within the Second Ring Road represents a preservation of traditional and classical ways of living,” Ning adds.

A native of Taiyuan, Shanxi province, Ning says that he believes Beijing locals, especially those residing in hutong, are renowned across the country for their wit and convivial dispositions, shaped by their distinctive living environment.

“For many families, they share one courtyard with neighbors and have to go out to use communal toilets. Residents frequently run into each other. If nobody speaks, it can create pressure and lead to anxiety. Therefore, they rely on conversations and jokes to navigate life more smoothly,” Ning explains.

Moreover, the film aims to capture how everyday individuals navigate the challenges of embracing a modern era dominated by livestreams, short videos and online commerce.

Ning, seeking insights through his observations of daily life, recalls several instances that shed light on this dynamic. Intrigued by late-night livestreamed plant sales, Ning watched sellers diligently maneuvering electric bikes across fields to fulfill customers’ requests for close-ups of saplings. Similarly, he observed a grill restaurant owner fervently promoting her dishes to just a few online viewers. Even Ning’s shy and introverted nephew, who is recruited as a livestreamer to sell vehicles, found his primary audience to be Ning’s own relatives, who needed to support the young man as he struggled to attract enough customers.

“Though the internet has reshaped our lives, it’s heartening to witness the resilience and fervor of ordinary individuals in the face of difficulties and challenges. Every single one of them is working hard to keep pace with the changes of the era,” reflects Ning.

Interestingly, the courtyard of Zhang, the protagonist, was filmed within a hutong near Zhihua Temple, a Buddhist temple constructed during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The backdrop of the sweeping and fluid Galaxy SOHO complex, designed by the late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, adds a metaphorical depth to the film.

Director Xu explains that this deliberate contrast aims to convey a message about the potential for harmonious coexistence between tradition and modernity in a vibrant metropolis like Beijing.

MIL OSI China News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Paintings explore odyssey of vision

Source: China State Council Information Office 3

Gazing at the paintings of Chang Shuhong (1904-94), founding director of the Dunhuang Academy, people can still feel the fundamental draw of the Mogao Caves that brought him back from France in the 1930s, leaving behind a prospect of an emerging classical oil painter.

The following five decades saw him immerse in the charm of the treasure trove of Buddhist murals and painted sculptures as a wholehearted protector of the grottoes in the Gobi Desert of Northwest China.

His later works, therefore, were largely influenced by murals in the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, Gansu province — a UNESCO World Heritage Site — and a more down-to-earth, local artistic expression of China popular at that time, says Zhang Yiqing, research librarian at the Zhejiang Provincial Museum in Hangzhou, Chang’s hometown.

In commemoration of the 120th anniversary of Chang’s birth, some of his oil paintings, watercolors and sketches are on show at the museum through to Sunday.

The exhibits also include Chang’s copies of the murals in the Mogao Caves, as well as zhongcai (heavy-color) paintings, an important genre of Chinese painting with fine, precise delimitation and the layering of pigmented hues.

Through Chang’s own depiction, the exhibition gives a display of early conservation efforts of the Dunhuang Academy, while tracing Chang’s artistic exploration and achievements before and after he went back from France.

Chang was born in Hangzhou, a warm, wet and picturesque city along the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. In his early 20s, he went to France to study oil painting and fabric pattern design.

His graduation work at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, Portrait of Madame G, ranked top among his peer graduates. He later entered the prestigious Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris with a scholarship funded by the city of Lyon.

In France, Chang was active in salons, official art exhibitions sponsored by the French government. Having received several awards, some of his works were included among the collections of French cultural and artistic institutions, such as the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

An encounter on the bank of the Seine changed his life.

From a bookseller Chang got to read French explorer and Sinologist Paul Pelliot’s photo catalog, the six-volume Les Grottes de Touen-Houang (The Grottoes of Dunhuang). He then visited the Guimet Museum, or the National Museum of Asian Arts, to see the relics of Dunhuang taken by Pelliot.

Chang marveled at the beauty and profoundness of the caves, first built more than 1,600 years ago, while mourning the loss of or damage to the cultural relics.

He then made up his mind to go back to his home country and devote his life to the preservation of the grottoes and the promotion of Dunhuang studies.

Chang came back in 1936. Amid the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45), he managed to arrive in Dunhuang after a month’s arduous journey in 1943 and prepared for the establishment of what is known today as the Dunhuang Academy.

This year also marks the 80th anniversary of the founding of the academy, which currently oversees the Mogao Caves and several other relics sites in Gansu.

In the late 1990s, Chang’s second wife Li Chengxian (1924-2003) and their children donated more than 200 paintings of Chang to the Zhejiang Provincial Museum, a small part of which are displayed at the museum’s permanent Chang Shuhong Gallery.

Zhang, who is also curator of the ongoing temporary exhibition, says its more than 80 paintings serve as a larger presentation of Chang’s works housed at the museum, alongside the collection of Shanghai-based Long Museum and the private collection of Chang Jiahuang, Chang Shuhong’s second son.

Sincere creativity

With his subtle brush, Chang Shuhong recorded the Mogao Caves and the Dunhuang city in different seasons: the trees and blossoms in spring; the frozen Daquan River in front of the caves during winter, children playing on ice, a white stupa in the distance; and birds in snow against the backdrop of the landmark timber-structured nine-floor building that houses the tallest statue of Maitreya Buddha, or the Buddha of the Future, at the Mogao Caves.

Upon his arrival, Chang Shuhong and colleagues pioneered a systematic conservation of the relics, planting trees and building protective walls, reinforcing the cliffs, constructing pathways, cleaning up the caves buried in sand, investigating and numbering them. Many of his paintings feature these efforts carried out at the windy and sandy Gobi Desert.

He also depicted several times the bustling temple fair in front of the caves, falling annually around the eighth day of the fourth month on the Chinese lunar calendar, in celebration of the birthday of Siddhartha Gautama (better known as the Buddha).

During the nine years in France, Chang Shuhong focused mainly on classical realistic oil painting, constantly exploring what could possibly become a “Chinese style of oil painting” and integrating it with his generation of artists’ reflection of life and concern about society.

Hence, the art of Dunhuang particularly resonated with Chang Shuhong, as it was, in his own words, “created by ordinary people and for the ordinary people”. He saw in it exuberant, sincere creativity that he realized would have a significant impact on the creation of art in the coming decades, Zhang says.

Two paintings of fresh produce Chang Shuhong created in different periods exemplify his transformation in artistic style. One was painted in 1933 in Paris, displayed at the Chang Shuhong Gallery, and the other in 1976, on show at the temporary exhibition.

The earlier painting, conforming to the classical style, is overall of a gray tone with low saturation, whereas in the latter one, the painter used bold and clear lines, large red and green blocks to create striking contrast, though like before, the fish glisten in subtle light.

Zhang adds that such transformation reflects the influence of the art of Dunhuang.

Highlights of the exhibition also include one of Chang Shuhong’s facsimiles of a mural from Cave 254, dating back to the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534), depicting a well-known piece of the Jataka tales, narratives of former incarnations of the Buddha. In his lifetime, Chang Shuhong copied this mural many times.

He once wrote, the creators of this mural, featuring Prince Sattva sacrificing himself to feed a hungry tigress, so cleverly and skillfully combined different scenes of different times in the space of a single picture — his trip to the jungles, his offering of his own blood and flesh to the tigress, as well as his two brothers’ discovery of his remains, their grief, and how they bury their sibling and build a stupa for him.

A solemn and heavy atmosphere is strengthened with the lines and colors, the contours and content, as well as the deep brown hue, he added.

Chang Shuhong wrote in 1948 that conservation of the caves required detailed, accurate and systematic facsimile of the murals with a faithful attitude, which is a matter of patience and sacrifice of one’s own style and personality. His devotion to protecting the Mogao Caves largely cut down the time and effort paid to his own painting.

In 1951, staff members of the academy co-authored an article introducing their facsimile project, which said that over the past four decades, many of the murals presented in Pelliot’s photo catalog had been destroyed or faded. With limited scientific knowledge and facilities, facsimile had become their priority and urgency.

According to Chang Jiahuang, since the 1950s, his father had been frequently inviting art majors from across the country to copy the murals and sculptures of the Mogao Caves, while learning the traditional arts of Dunhuang.

In 1979, he also replicated the mural featuring Prince Sattva of Cave 254, when he and a dozen classmates at the Lanzhou-based Academy of Fine Art and Design of Northwest Normal University joined this program under the strict supervision of his father, who, nevertheless, would sometimes visit them without notice late at night in the caves where they were working, bringing pears he himself grew.

Chang Jiahuang says: “It was only after a long time that I learned from my father’s memoir why he had such an attachment to this mural and why he wanted me to copy it.

“During his most difficult times, this painting inspired him, generating courage for him to persevere. In those three months, I deeply felt the dedication of ancient painters of Dunhuang and my own parents.”

This year also marks the 100th anniversary of his mother’s birth, who joined in the research and conservation of the Mogao Caves in 1947. In April, the son donated their family’s 1,500 boxes of belongings to Zhejiang University, his father’s alma mater, for research and digitalization.

Embracing technology

As early as in the 1980s, Chang Shuhong had foreseen the potential of digitalization in cultural relics conservation.

Pan Yunhe, academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and former principal of Zhejiang University, who joined the initial digitalization exploration of the Mogao Caves, recalls his first meeting with Chang Shuhong in 1982.

At that time, Chang Shuhong was among the jury of Pan’s first academic program, which pioneered in generating patterns with artificial intelligence. Chang Shuhong expressed interest in preserving the murals of Dunhuang with a digital approach, visiting Pan’s laboratory and discussing the feasibility.

“He was open-minded and very sensitive to new things. Ahead of his time, he could always absorb new things into his own creation,” Pan says, adding that Chang Shuhong was very kind and gentle to young people like him, who was at that time in his 30s.

In 1998, the Dunhuang Academy and Zhejiang University launched an academic program led by Pan and sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China to explore preservation, research and utilization of the Mogao Caves on a digital basis.

Pan says, the launch of the program resulted from years of endeavor with the Chang family — the parents, firstborn daughter Chang Shana, who was director of what is now Academy of Arts and Design of Tsinghua University, and Chang Jiahuang — as well as Fan Jinshi, who took charge as director of the Dunhuang Academy that year.

“Chang Shuhong was well-established in oil painting. It’s a pity he painted so little in the latter part of his life,” Pan said while visiting the exhibition at the Zhejiang Provincial Museum on Sept 29.

That day, Chang Jiahuang said at the exhibition’s opening ceremony that as his parents’ student, secretary and assistant, he witnessed their twists and turns, their creation and research, and experienced their art and spirits, following which he grew to become introspective, modest and rigorous.

According to him, the ongoing exhibition is the largest display of Chang Shuhong’s paintings since 1990 and a good presentation of the master’s spirits conveyed through his works.

MIL OSI China News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Beijing People’s Art Theatre showcases Chinese theatre in Shanghai

Source: China State Council Information Office 3

The star-studded cast of the play Tea House, a celebrated repertoire of Beijing People’s Art Theatre, announced the start of the theater’s residential project in Shanghai on Oct 13.

Arguably the most esteemed theater company in China, Beijing People’s Art Theatre built a repertoire of more than 300 productions since its founding in 1952. The ongoing residential project is part of the program of the 24th China Shanghai International Arts Festival.

Starting from the performance of Tea House at Shangyin Opera House on Oct 14 to 16, the company will present five plays altogether in Shanghai until Nov 9, and hold a series of workshops, lectures, and other public educational events.

Since the company’s first large-scale tour to Shanghai in 1961, Beijing People’s Art Theatre has made several important visits to the city. Tea House is one of the most renowned productions featuring household names of actors such as Pu Cunxin, Yang Lixin, Wu Gang, Feng Yuanzheng, and so on. The play premiered in 1958 and is known to “encapsulate the history of theater art in China,” said Feng, director of the theater. The touring version, starring the second-generation cast of the show, alongside with a group of young actors, reflected the “inheritance of the theatrical tradition of the company,” he said.

The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, a play adapted from the Pulitzer-prize winning novel by Herman Wouk, will be performed on Oct 20 to 22, and Sunrise, a play by modern Chinese theatrical master Cao Yu, who was also the first director of the Beijing People’s Art Theatre, will be presented from Oct 26-28.

Poet Du Fu by playwright Guo Hongqi, depicting the life-story of the poet in the Tang Dynasty, will be shown from Nov 1 to 3, and Beneath the Red Banner, a new interpretation of the unfinished novel of the same title by Lao She, will be staged on Nov 7 to 9.

MIL OSI China News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI China: 26 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza

Source: China State Council Information Office

An injured man is transferred to a hospital in Gaza City, following an Israeli airstrike in the city, on Oct. 15, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

At least 26 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian medical and security sources.

Medical sources said 11 Palestinians were killed in Israeli shelling near the al-Faluja area in Jabalia refugee camp, while at least 10 others were killed in an airstrike targeting an inhabited house east of Khan Younis city in southern Gaza.

They added five more were killed in the Israeli bombing of a house in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, noting they were all transferred to Al-Aqsa Hospital.

According to Palestinian security sources, Israeli tanks continue to besiege the Jabalia refugee camp for the 11th day in a row, as residents of Jabalia, its camp, and the nearby cities of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia were ordered to evacuate southward.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Tuesday that the IDF continues its operations in the Jabalia area targeting militant infrastructure and operatives embedded inside civilian areas.

The IDF added it acted in line with international law to facilitate humanitarian aid to Gaza residents, particularly assistance concerning the health system, including the transfer of patients, accompanying personnel and hospital staff, as well as fuel delivery for operating hospitals.

Israel has been conducting a large-scale offensive against Hamas in Gaza to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which 1,200 people were killed and about 250 others taken hostage.

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza has risen to 42,344, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Tuesday.

MIL OSI China News –

January 23, 2025