NewzIntel.com

Category: housing

  • MIL-OSI Security: Boxer Celebrates Navy’s 249th Birthday

    Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND

    PHILIPPINE SEA  –  

    Sailors assigned to the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4) and embarked Marines, assigned to the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), held a ceremony on the mess decks to celebrate the Navy’s 249th birthday, Oct. 13, 2024.

    The theme of this year’s celebration is warfighting, strength and readiness, highlighting the Navy’s ability to operate anywhere, at any time, to promote security, deter aggression, and defend shared ideals.

    For the last 249 years, the United States Navy has been there to answer the call. From the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, and from the skies around the world, we continue to operate in support of our Allies and Partners, defending our protected interests, bringing lifesaving supplies to those in need, and countless other missions.

    During Boxer’s celebration ceremony, Capt. Brian Holmes, commanding officer, recalled the story of Lt. Cmdr. John D. Bulkeley, a Medal of Honor recipient who showed extraordinary heroism during World War II as the commander of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three in the same waters that Boxer is currently operating in today.

    Under Bulkeley’s command, the PT boats of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three severely damaged and destroyed multiple Japanese enemy planes, surface combatants and merchant ships, and dispersed landing parties and enemy forces for over four months in the waters surrounding the Philippines. His team was also responsible for safely bringing General Douglas MacArthur and his family out of the island of Corregidor in the Philippines, sailing through heavily-patrolled enemy waters, allowing him to evade capture and lead the counteroffensive in the Pacific that ultimately changed the course of WWII.

    “That same courage and that same determination that Lt. Cmdr. Bulkeley showed in World War II, we still celebrate today,” said Holmes. “I take great pride in knowing that we are the same Navy today that we were 249 years ago – strong, capable, and ready. I am incredibly proud to be sailing in the same waters, with the crew of Boxer and the embarked 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, where Lieutenant Commander Bulkeley and those who have gone before us so bravely operated in defense of our nation’s security.”

    The United States Navy was born through the sacrifice and determination of the men and women who served a noble cause to defend the people of the United States of America, tracing its origins back to the American Revolution.

    “Soon after the War on Independence, the U.S. Constitution empowered the new Congress to provide and maintain the Navy,” said Chief Aviation Ordnanceman Corey Gadson during the ceremony. “Acting on this authority, Congress established the Department of the Navy on April 30, 1798, and in the years that followed, the first ships were constructed: the Constellation, Constitution, Congress, Chesapeake, United States and the President, known as the six frigates.”

    In the last 249 years, the Navy has since grown to become a symbol of freedom for both the American people and the world, protecting the air and seas, deterring aggression and operating alongside our Allies and Partners in support of shared interests of peace and stability.

    “Today, we have more than 280 ships – with 77 more under construction or on order – manned and backed by more than 300,000 Sailors,” said Aviation Electronics Technician 2nd Class Alana Reyes. “We are our nation’s vital maritime maneuver force – persistent, versatile, and capable of winning any fight and ready for the challenges of the future.”

    Boxer and embarked elements of the 15th MEU are conducting routine operations in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations. U.S. 7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

    Boxer is a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship homeported in San Diego. Commissioned February 11, 1995, Boxer is the sixth ship to bear the name. Boxer’s crew is made up of approximately 1,200 officers and enlisted personnel and can accommodate up to 1,800 Marines.

    For more information or imagery for USS Boxer visit: https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/LHD-4
    Follow us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/ussboxer/
    Follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/ussboxer/

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Interview with Paul Taylor, 3BA 102.3FM, Ballarat

    Source: Australian Treasurer

    PAUL TAYLOR:

    It’s nice to have in studio in person the federal Treasurer of Australia Jim Chalmers. Good morning to you, my friend.

    JIM CHALMERS:

    Good morning to you Paul, thanks for having me.

    TAYLOR:

    Well, we’ve only met once but I feel like I’m –

    CHALMERS:

    We’re old mates.

    TAYLOR:

    Well we have met, we’re old mates, aren’t we?

    CHALMERS:

    That’s how Australia works.

    TAYLOR:

    Once upon a time I got to speak to a Prime Minister, he of the budgie smuggler fame, and now I get to speak to the federal Treasurer. How are you?

    CHALMERS:

    There you go. I’m really good thanks, and I wanted to shout out from the outset the wonderful people at the George Hotel for one of the best coffees I have ever had. Thank you so much.

    TAYLOR:

    I’ll have to go and get one now, now you’ve put that in my head. We only have Nescafe downstairs. But see the thing is, Jim, it’s free and I’m a bit of a tight person.

    CHALMERS:

    Oh, right. Yeah, the moths fly out of your wallet when you open it kind of guy.

    TAYLOR:

    Yeah, they do. I’m rather rapt that you joined us here today because today’s is a special day and, Jim Chalmers, it’s World Banana Day. So I went to our local fruit and veg, Wilsons Fruit and Veggies just up the road in Mair Street and I got you a banana.

    CHALMERS:

    You got me a nana.

    TAYLOR:

    I got you a banana for World Banana Day. Can I just say I probably, if I were you, would start to eat that because to get through this interview you’re going to need all the energy you can muster.

    CHALMERS:

    Oh, I see. You’re buttering me up at the start with a nana.

    TAYLOR:

    I’m trying to.

    CHALMERS:

    You know I saw that banana in front of me and I thought, ‘I wonder if Paul’s going to tuck into that while we’re talking’.

    TAYLOR:

    I’ve got one for me, don’t worry. There we go, we’ve got one each.

    Where do we start? Well you and the Prime Minister, Mr Albo, must be, I don’t know, shaking in your boots at the moment. Coalition are ahead two‑party preferred basis, 2 points, 51 per cent. Behind in the primary vote as well, 38 to 31. It seems that Albo’s setting himself up for retirement, just bought himself a $4.3 million on the beach pad. What’s happening here, Jim?

    CHALMERS:

    Well I think when it comes to the opinion polls what I try and do, and I think what we try and do collectively, is we don’t get too carried away when they’re really good, we don’t get too carried away when they’re really tight. The truth is, when you’re in my line of work, you learn not to take anyone’s vote for granted, and particularly when people are doing it tough. There’s a lot going on around the world and around the country. we don’t take any outcome for granted. I think the polls are reflecting the fact that people are under pressure, and we understand that.

    When it comes to the other part of your question, I work as closely if not more closely than anyone with the PM, with Anthony, and I’ve seen for myself his total focus is on how we roll out this cost‑of‑living help, how do we build more houses for people to rent and buy, how do we take some of this pressure off people where we can? And I understand there’s interest in the place that he bought. I do understand that, and I think we all understand that when you’re in our line of work, people will have an interest in those sorts of private decisions that you take. In this case, he and Jodie wanted somewhere a bit closer to Jodie’s family in that beautiful part of Australia on the Central Coast. But I want to assure your listeners and anyone who checks out our interview, I see how focused he is on the cost of living, on housing for more Australians because those are the main issues that are putting pressure on people right now, and I think that’s reflected in our politics.

    TAYLOR:

    Would you agree it’s bad timing on the Prime Minister’s behalf?

    CHALMERS:

    I’m not going to give him free advice or kind of second‑guess –

    TAYLOR:

    You are a money man though. Surely you can give him free monetary advice?

    CHALMERS:

    I don’t give him free advice about these sorts of things. He’s very fortunate that he has Jodie and Jodie’s very fortunate that she has that loving family on the Central Coast and they want to be nearer to them. I’m not pretending that people don’t have a legitimate interest in the sorts of things that Prime Ministers do.

    TAYLOR:

    This is the talk of Australia at the moment.

    CHALMERS:

    I understand that. I think he understands that too. I spent yesterday with him in my own community just south of Brisbane around Logan City. He understands that too. But really the assurance that I can give your listeners and the country beyond is, he is extremely focused on all of the things that we’re doing to try and ease some of these cost‑of‑living pressures that people are confronting. That’s his focus.

    TAYLOR:

    There’s a couple of things out of that answer that you’ve given me. You’ve mentioned cost‑of‑living crisis, you’ve mentioned the housing crisis. Jim Chalmers, are we still the lucky country or are we not the lucky country any more?

    CHALMERS:

    Well I believe you make your own luck. I’m not the first one to say that but I really believe that this country has not just an amazing history, and being in Ballarat is really to be struck by the incredible history of our country, but our future is even brighter, and when Donald Horn wrote that book about Australia being a lucky country it was tongue‑in‑cheek. He was saying we were lucky despite the leadership that was being shown at the time. And so how I think about the future of this place is I think we’ve got enormous potential, we’ve got almost limitless opportunity. It matters how we share that opportunity. And the decisions we take now about the energy transformation and how we adapt and adopt technology and how we provide good services to people and how we make sure regions like this one are part of our story of economic success, these are the big challenges that we confront. We can be more than lucky. We can be successful not by accident but by design.

    TAYLOR:

    I’ve got some stats that I want to give to you and throw your way which make it extremely difficult to see the brighter light here in Australia that you speak of going forward. Eighty‑five per cent of Australians, 85 per cent, are now convinced, convinced, they’ll never be able to buy their own home except maybe through the bank of mum and dad. Eighty‑five per cent.

    CHALMERS:

    There’s a real intergenerational element to this. I’m off to Ballarat High shortly and I anticipate that one of the questions I’ll get will be about housing because there’s a real sense in Australia, and not an unwarranted one, that it’s harder to get a toe hold in the housing market and that’s why probably the biggest, if not the biggest, and certainly one of the biggest investments we’ve been making as a government is the $32 billion we found in 3 budgets to try and build more homes. Because the best thing we can do to make it easier for people to find somewhere to rent or somewhere to buy, somewhere to raise a family, is to build more homes. We don’t have enough homes in this country. We’re starting from a long way back. We’ve got a lot of investment flowing right now and that’s really important because we need to turn this ship around.

    TAYLOR:

    Housing Accord, 1.2 million homes by 2029. The HIA have come out today and said we need 22,000 carpenters, 17,000 sparkies, 1,200 plumbers. Now we’re going to import a heap of doctors into the country. Should we be doing the same with our plumbers and our carpenters and our sparkies? I don’t know. Is immigration the way to go? Because once they get here they’re not going to be living in swags, they need homes to live in, don’t they, Jim?

    CHALMERS:

    The first priority, the most important thing we can do is train more tradies. The housing pipeline is nowhere near what we want it to be. We agree with some of the analysis from the industry and from others that says we’re starting from a long way back but that doesn’t mean you kind of throw your hands in the air and say, it’s all too hard. We’re investing a bunch of money, but we do need the tradies. We need the carpenters and the plumbers and the sparkies to be able to build these homes. And so it’s not talking out of school to say that a big part of the conversations we’ve been having with the new Housing Minister, Clare O’Neil, a proud Victorian, is how we actually build the capacity to build all these homes and the most important part of that is skills. There will be a role for migration in that but the primary role is for TAFE and training, making sure that we can get the skills that we need to build the homes that we need.

    TAYLOR:

    Yeah, there’s a lot of work ahead for the Albanese government, the Prime Minister saying he wants to be there for a long time to come. Is that the charter of this government, to dig in, to show Australia that we can find the light at the end of the tunnel?

    CHALMERS:

    That’s our objective because we want to bed down the changes that we’re making. We want to build the homes, build the skills base, all of these important things that you’ve been asking me about this morning and that sometimes takes time, takes more than one term.

    If you think about the story of this government, we have done a lot, we’ve got a lot more to do, and the country has a lot to lose if we go back to the worst aspects of the government that preceded us.

    We don’t pretend that we have every issue fixed in this country, but if you think about – in my part of the shop – the progress that we’ve made together, and I don’t claim 100 per cent of the credit for this, this is to Australia’s credit – we’ve halved inflation, we’ve got real wages growing again, we’ve created a million jobs in a soft economy, we’ve got tax cuts flowing to everyone, and yet we’ve still delivered a couple of surpluses and we’ve avoided $150 billion in debt which means we pay less interest on it. So we’ve made a heap of progress as a country together, working together, but we know that there is more to do and that’s why we need another term to do it.

    TAYLOR:

    Just quickly, direct you to a feature in our local paper, the Ballarat Courier this morning, a story that says growing numbers of Ballarat families are facing ‘relentless poverty’, quote unquote, with parents being forced to choose between buying food and paying for other essentials, including medication, bills and school costs because times are tough out there and it’s not easy. Families are suffering. I see it first‑hand. I volunteer for an organisation called the Soup Bus and the Soup Bus goes out and helps the homeless, those in need, and now it’s families in crisis who are showing up. We’ve now got a community house that I do a lot for up in Wendouree West and we are seeing more and more families come in for a feed because they simply can’t afford to put food on the table.

    CHALMERS:

    Yes. I don’t disagree that there are a lot of people doing it really tough, and if you think about those 3 budgets that we’ve handed down, really the most important part of those budgets, really the government’s reason for being, is in the near‑term to try and take pressure off people and in the longer term to build more opportunities for people.

    If you think about the things that we’re doing which are motivated by what you’re raising with me, I don’t dispute what you’re raising with me, I see it in my own community and around Australia that people are doing it tough, so that’s why the tax cuts are so important, the energy bill relief for every household, cheaper medicines, rent assistance, cheaper early childhood education, fee‑free TAFE, getting wages moving again. All of those things are motivated by what we see with our own eyes around Australia, which is people doing it tougher than we would like them to do.

    We have to get on top of this inflation and cost‑of‑living challenge and we are. We’re rolling out a bunch of help in the most responsible way that we can, but we acknowledge that even with that help that we’re rolling out, billions of dollars of assistance for people who are doing it tough, we know that that the pressures are still there and as a Labor government, we take our responsibilities to the people that you’re referencing very seriously.

    TAYLOR:

    I know you can’t tell the RBA what to do but in your mind how soon before we see interest rates drop?

    CHALMERS:

    Well the first part of your question’s right. I try not to pre‑empt or predict or second‑guess the decisions that are taken rightly and independently by the Reserve Bank. They do their job, and I do mine. My job is to help them in the fight against inflation and we made a heap of progress as a country in the fight against inflation, and they’ll weigh that up. They’ve got a meeting in November, another one in December, and then not ‘til February. I know there’s a lot of interest in that and the decisions that they might take, but I try and mind my own business and focus on what I can control and leave them to do their job.

    TAYLOR:

    All right, great to see the government backing the ACCC where price gouging is concerned with the supermarkets, the big 2, Woolies and Coles. How much, is it talk, is it rhetoric, that the government are now going to take the big banks to task about fees where credit and debit cards are concerned? Is it really going to happen? Are we going to see the end of that gouging when it comes to the big banks?

    CHALMERS:

    We don’t want to see people charged these big fees just to use their own money, that’s why our primary focus is on debit cards. Debit cards are now actually most of the payment system. I think it’s just edged over 50 per cent of payments are from debit cards, so that’s people using their own money, and you shouldn’t get slugged just to use your own money, so we do want to crack down on that.

    We’ve got some work to do with the Reserve Bank and others to make sure that we do it the right way and one of the things we want to be really careful about there is the impact on small business and consumers. We want to make sure consumers and small businesses are beneficiaries of any change that we make but we are prepared to ban surcharges on debit cards subject to that work.

    TAYLOR:

    Jim Chalmers, it’s been an absolute pleasure to have you here in person. Great to see you getting out and about and into the regional areas given you’re the federal Treasurer. I want to thank you for your time, for your candid answers and enjoy your banana on World Banana Day.

    CHALMERS:

    Well thanks for having me on your show, Paul, and thanks for the nana as well. I’ll eat that shortly, it looks terrific.

    TAYLOR:

    Thank you very much. The federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Should King Charles apologise for the genocide of First Nations people when he visits Australia?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebe Taylor, Associate Professor of History, University of Tasmania

    King Charles and Queen Camilla will visit Australia from Friday on a five-day tour of Canberra and Sydney.

    The king will be the second ruling British monarch to visit Australia, after Queen Elizabeth II’s 16 visits over 57 years.

    These visits showcase Australians’ evolving relationship with the monarchy and our colonial past.

    Changing attitudes

    An estimated 75% of Australians greeted Elizabeth on her first tour in 1954, at events that celebrated Australia’s growth as a prosperous nation.

    Historical milestones remained central to the queen’s subsequent visits.

    In 1970, she attended the re-enactment of Captain Cook’s arrival at Botany Bay. This included depictions of shooting at First Nations actors.

    The queen’s 1986 visit included signing the Australia Act that severed Britain’s formal powers over Australia.

    Her 1988 visit coincided with the Australian bicentenary of the arrival of the First Fleet carrying convicts and officials from Britain. But by this time, many Australians had lost their royal fervour.

    Her final tour, in 2011, came 12 years after Australia had attempted to become a republic by referendum.

    The queen’s death in 2022 not only reignited questions over the future of the monarchy in Australia, it instigated a public discussion over the monarchy’s role in imperial colonialism.

    Genocide in Australia?

    On the eve of Charles’ coronation in 2023, Indigenous leaders from 12 settler states including Australia and New Zealand cosigned a letter calling on the new monarch to apologise for the genocides that British colonisation brought to their territories.

    Australia was settled in the name of the Kingdom of Great Britain. Did that settlement result in genocide?

    Recent research led by Ben Kiernan for The Cambridge World History of Genocide has investigated this question using the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide as a framework.

    The convention defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”.

    The term “genocide” itself is modern; coined by Raphael Lemkin in 1944. The colonisation of Tasmania by the British provided Lemkin with one of the clearest examples.

    The prosecution of crimes before 1951 is not permissible under the convention, which provides a definitional framework to evaluate past events as constituent acts of genocide.

    The Cambridge World History of Genocide Volume II and Volume III demonstrate how settlers and government agents committed acts of genocide against First Nations Australians from the beginning of settlement to the late 20th centuries.

    All parts of Australia are considered. Acts conforming to the convention’s clauses include killing, forcibly removing children and inflicting destructive conditions.

    Australian historian Lyndall Ryan’s chapter, Frontier Massacres in Australia, draws on her research for a Massacre Map showing how British troops and settlers committed more than 290 massacres across Australia between 1794 and 1928.

    These massacres killed more than 7,500 Aboriginal people.

    Ryan found the massacres were not sporadic and isolated – they were planned and sanctioned killings, integral to the aims of the Australian colonial project.

    Rebe Taylor’s chapter on genocide in Tasmania details a pattern of government-sanctioned mass killings in a colony where an estimated 6,000 Palawa (Tasmanian Aboriginal) people were reduced to about 120 by 1835.

    Raymond Evans shows how as colonisation moved northward in Australia, massacres increased in size.

    Evans documents killings that persisted into the 1940s, postdating the 1928 Coniston massacre widely regarded as the last frontier slaughter.

    These findings are underscored by Tony Barta’s insight that colonists’ destructive actions constitute a record of genocidal intent “more powerful than any documented plot to destroy a people”.

    Research by Anna Haebich documents the taking of Indigenous children during the 19th century.

    Joanna Cruikshank and Crystal Mckinnon explain how these state-sanctioned removals in the 20th century were intended to eliminate First Nations people from Australia’s national life.

    The 1997 Bringing Them Home report, commissioned by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, concluded the “Australian practice of Indigenous child removal involved […] genocide as defined by international law”.

    A significant moment of resistance

    The colonial governor of Tasmania began to exile Palawa people from their land in 1829.

    More than 200 survivors of the “Black War” were removed to Flinders Island and subjected to life-threateningly harsh conditions. High death rates were caused by ill-treatment, disease and insufficient care.

    In 1846, the Palawa petitioned Queen Victoria to honour the agreement made when they were removed: that in exchange for temporarily leaving their country, they would regain their freedom.

    In this bold petition, Tasmanian Aboriginal people initiated a historic appeal to the British monarchy.

    Aware of Queen Victoria’s sovereign authority across the vast British Empire, this action marked a significant moment in their continued resistance to genocide.

    An acknowledgement of wrongs

    British sovereignty over Australia was imposed without the required consent of its First Nations. The result has been continued dispossession and suffering.

    Despite the Crown’s deferral of power to its parliament, the call for an apology from the king has immense symbolic importance.

    It is rooted in the desire for acknowledgement of wrongs. These include genocide and the continuing destructive effects of colonisation across Australia.

    Rebe Taylor receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

    Greg Lehman receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. He is a member of the Board of the Tasmanian Land Conservancy.

    – ref. Should King Charles apologise for the genocide of First Nations people when he visits Australia? – https://theconversation.com/should-king-charles-apologise-for-the-genocide-of-first-nations-people-when-he-visits-australia-239092

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: CPI figures show rents continuing to soar

    Source: Green Party

    Stats NZ has confirmed that higher rent prices were the biggest contributor to the annual inflation rate. Almost a fifth of the 2.2 per cent annual increase in the CPI was due to rent prices. 

    “Housing is a human right, but this Government is treating it like a game of Monopoly,” says the Green Party’s Housing spokesperson, Tamatha Paul. 

    “Everyone deserves a warm and affordable place to call home. We have everything we need to make this happen. All we need to do is start treating housing as the public good it really is instead of exploiting it for profit. 

    “Successive governments have turned housing into a business venture, locking people out from having a home while a privileged few benefit at the expense of everybody else. 

    “The current landlord Government has only inflamed the situation by handing landlords $2.9 billion in tax cuts while punching down on renters with no cause evictions and allowing rents to spiral out of control.  

    “The current system is forcing people into making the impossible choice of either buying essentials like food or paying rent. 

    “The Government is entrenching the imbalance between tenant and landlord to the point where people are too afraid to ask for leaks to be fixed or smoke alarms to be replaced out of fear of being kicked out of their home. 

    “We deserve better than this. We need rent controls which will limit the amount that landlords can increase rent and how often they can do this. We also need a Rental Warrant of Fitness to ensure quality, and for the Government to commit to building more public housing to make sure that our most marginalised and vulnerable can also have affordable, secure homes.

    “Everyone deserves to live in a warm and healthy home,” says Tamatha Paul. 

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Council appoints Craig Pauling as Chair

    Source: Environment Canterbury Regional Council

    There were no other nominations for the role.

    Councillor Deon Swiggs has been appointed as Deputy Chair.

    Councillor Pauling, who represents the Christchurch West/Ōpuna constituency, said it will be an honour and a privilege to lead the Council.

    “We have an ambitious work programme for the next 10 years, and I am proud of that. Now we just need to get on with it.”

    Pauling was nominated by Ngāi Tahu Councillor Tutehounuku ‘Nuk’ Korako and this was seconded by Ngāi Tahu Councillor Iaean Cranwell.

    Deputy Chair Deon Swiggs (left) and Chair Craig Pauling

    “We are all on the same waka and we are paddling hard for our communities, most importantly for the precious place we call home, for our water and our land and our air and sea,” Pauling said shortly after his appointment.

    “A lot of our work goes unnoticed but it is happening – from the thousands of bus trips taken on our public transport each month to the 26,000 consents we manage. We have been a leader in setting rules for land use and farming consents.

    “We protect homes, farms and businesses through our river flood protection systems. We protect towns across Canterbury. Our regional parks provide multiple benefits, including sediment control, flood protection, biodiversity as well as being used for recreation. We clean up wrecked vessels and ensure safe use of our harbours and waterways.

    “We don’t always get it right, but at the end of the day, we’re doing a lot of good work for a lot of people,” Pauling said.

    Deputy Chair Swiggs, who represents Christchurch West/Ōpuna, said he’s looking forward to working alongside Chair Pauling.

    “I’m humbled to be appointed to this role of Deputy. For me, the priority will be ensuring we focus on our core services, and do it well.”

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Parliament Hansard Report – Wednesday, 16 October 2024 – Volume 779 – 001421

    Source: New Zealand Parliament – Hansard

    Question No. 2—Prime Minister

    2. Rt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his Government’s statements and actions?

    Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON (Prime Minister): Yes, and especially our actions to get on top of inflation. This morning Stats New Zealand confirmed that inflation fell to 2.2 percent in the September quarter, the lowest rate in more than 3½ years, and it is clear that our plan, our economic plan, is working, which is why under our Government we’re getting on top of inflation fast. Just before the election last year, Treasury picked that inflation would have only fallen to 3.1 percent by this time and wouldn’t have reached 2.2 percent until the end of next year. And that’s despite all the scaremongering from the Opposition that fully funded tax relief, which Labour didn’t support, for supporting working families with the cost of living would actually push inflation higher. It didn’t do that. But, instead, our economic plan is delivering lower inflation, lower interest rates, two interest rate cuts in 10 months versus, I think, six or seven increases over the last six years. Importantly, what we’re seeing is that the foundations for economic growth to get New Zealand back on track are in place.

    Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Why did his Government cut funding for apprenticeships in critical infrastructure sectors when apprentice numbers are already in decline, compounding the skills shortages in the trades sector?

    Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: Well, what I’d say to the member is the Apprenticeship Boost was actually another case of Labour leaving behind another fiscal cliff. We’ve made funding for Apprenticeship Boost permanent so the programme wouldn’t expire like it would under Labour and, at the same time, we’re targeting it at the skills that we need.

    Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Why has he and his Government cut funding for apprenticeships in areas such as pipeline construction, bitumen resurfacing, road construction and maintenance, and drinking and waste-water treatment when this country is facing major challenges in those areas and this will only exacerbate skill shortages?

    Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: Well, we have to make sure we are spending money carefully. That’s what we do on the side of the House; we don’t waste money. That’s only a very small proportion of those that are actually using Apprenticeship Boost, and what I’d say to you is that we are making sure that we’ve got support for the skills we need like building and agriculture and manufacturing, forestry, food, and hospitality.

    Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Why was providing over $200 million in tax breaks to the tobacco company Philip Morris more important to his Government than keeping people in apprenticeships?

    SPEAKER: Just a moment. I think there’s a word there that probably shouldn’t have been in it. Do you want to ask that question again.

    Hon Member: What’s that?

    SPEAKER: I think you referred to the entity belonging to someone, which it didn’t. So just ask the question again.

    Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Why was providing over $200 million in tax breaks to companies like Philip Morris, the country’s largest supplier of cigarettes, more important to his Government than keeping people in apprenticeships?

    Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: Well, I reject the characterisation of that question. What I would say to that member is that on this side of the House we are very committed to lowering daily smoking rates. We are determined to deliver on Smokefree 2025 and we’re going to make alternatives available. Also what I’d say is, with respect to the so-called tax that he talks about, what we’ve done is make sure Treasury is conservatively estimating the loss of excise tax by any shift that happens to an alternative product other than cigarettes.

    Rt Hon Winston Peters: Prime Minister, how often have you met someone whose logic is that when the tax on cigarettes go up, as it did December last year, it somehow is a concession to some business?

    Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: It’s just prudent to actually set money aside. And for the most extreme scenario, if we get a shift from cigarettes to alternative products—that’s what we’re accounting for.

    Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Why should the construction sector have trust in his Government when they are cutting apprenticeships and, in their first 10 months in power, they have spent their time gutting school building programmes, shelving State housing projects, cancelling major infrastructure projects, and leaving the industry staring down a pipeline that’s looking more like an empty barrel?

    Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: Again, what you see is you see a business confidence at a 10-year high. Why is that? Because they know this is a Government dealing with and improving the economic fundamentals. We are making sure there is financial discipline and no wasteful spending. We’re making sure that inflation now, for the first time in 3½ years, is within the band. Interest rates cuts are coming down; confidence is up. That leads to economic growth and people in work.

    Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: If things are so good for the building and construction sector, why are there 10,000 fewer people employed in the building and construction sector now than there were the day he became Prime Minister?

    Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: Because this economy is dealing with the lag effects of woeful economic mismanagement by that member and his former Government. What is good news is that consents are up 2 percent; the Infrastructure Commission’s latest pipeline estimates a total of over 6,000 projects—$147 billion worth; and the Transport Government policy statement put in $33 billion for the next three years. If the member cares a lot about it, I look forward to his support of our fast-track legislation, because that was a great idea from David Parker. We’ve built on it; there’s 149 fantastic projects: 55,000 potential new homes, 30 percent increase in electricity generation, and 180 kilometres of new roads, rail, and public transport.

    Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Why won’t he admit that his Government doesn’t care about the damage it causes to New Zealand’s infrastructure, workforce, and economy, as long as his favourite pet projects like tax breaks for landlords and tobacco companies get billions of dollars that could so desperately be spent elsewhere?

    Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: Aww, it’s a terribly sad day for the Leader of the Opposition. We have good news, which is we have inflation in the bands, we’ve delivered income tax relief for low and middle income working New Zealanders—people the Labour Party used to care about but don’t any more—we’ve got fast-track legislation sitting there, and he refuses to support it. Come on board, do something positive.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Universities – Conference addresses the systemic causes of poverty – Vic

    Source: Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

    Media are invited to attend ‘Pakukore: Poverty, by Design—Addressing the systemic causes of poverty and options for change,’ an upcoming conference which will analyse the interconnected web of economic, governmental, legal, and institutional systems that have locked poverty in.

    Hosted by the Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, the conference runs from 21‒23 November. It features speakers from research backgrounds and the front lines, who will provide evidence, present joined-up thinking, and examine where hope lies for eradicating poverty and assisting those who suffer its harms.

    “Should a developed nation continue to tolerate poverty and inequality? The conference invites speakers who work at the front lines in the fight against poverty to tell us of the lasting and severe harms it inflicts on people’s lives,” says Rebecca Macfie, JD Stout Research Fellow and co-organiser.  

    The programme will be ordered around the systems that have played, and continue to play, key roles in underpinning and maintaining the crisis of poverty: economic management, the housing, health, welfare, and education systems, the courts and corrections, and short-term political thinking.  

    The conference will also look at where hope lies, and how we can choose to redesign Aotearoa New Zealand to eradicate poverty and heal those who suffer its harms.

    Confirmed speakers include:

    Murray Edridge, Maria English, Philippa Howden-Chapman, Judge Ida Malosi, Professor Lisa Marriot, Max Rashbrooke, Professor Tracey McIntosh, Professor Māmari Stephens, Associate Professor Anna Matheson, Dr Jin Russell, Craig Renney, Jennie Smeaton, Pat Hanley, Brooke Pao Stanley, Agnes Magele, Rebecca Macfie, Dr Huhana Hickey, Sue Bradford, Bill Rosenberg, Dr Kay Saville-Smith, James Te Puni, Miriana Stephens, Professor Nikki Turner, Associate Professor Sarah-Jane Paine, Dr Avataeao Junior Ulu, Dr Hana O’Regan, Amanda Coulston, Jess Berentson-Shaw, MPs Carmel Sepuloni, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, and Kassie Hartendorp. Journalist and commentator Bernard Hickey will be the conference rapporteur.

    The conference opens on Thursday 21 November 2024 at 5 pm with the JD Stout Memorial Lecture from Rebecca Macfie, and then runs from 9 am to 5 pm on Friday 22 and Saturday 23 November. A full programme can be viewed here.  https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/stout-centre/about/events/poverty-by-design-addressing-the-systemic-causes-of-poverty-and-options-for-change

    Venue:  
    Lecture Theatre 1
    Rutherford House
    Pipitea Campus
    Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: CE’s speech in delivering “The Chief Executive’s 2024 Policy Address” to LegCo (1)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

         Following is the translation of the speech made by the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, in delivering “The Chief Executive’s 2024 Policy Address” to the Legislative Council this morning (October 16):

    Mr President, Honourable Members and fellow citizens,

    I. Reform and Embrace Changes to Achieve Prosperity

    1. This is my third Policy Address.

    2. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC Central Committee) adopted the Resolution of the CPC Central Committee on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese Modernization. The Resolution calls on Hong Kong to fully harness the institutional strengths of “One Country, Two Systems” while consolidating and enhancing its status as an international financial, shipping and trade centre. It also supports Hong Kong’s position to become an international hub for high-calibre talents, to exert a greater role in our country’s opening up to the world, and to deepen collaboration within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) through better harmonisation of rules and mechanisms.

    3. In running for office, more than two years ago, I stated that “we must embrace a reform mind-set” and we “need further revamping”. I proposed to build a “result-oriented” government, setting key performance indicators (KPIs) to create a new government culture. I put forward a series of reform measures, including the establishment of Care Teams to enhance district services, introduction of the Advance Allocation Scheme to shorten the waiting time for public housing, and assistance to junior secondary students living in subdivided units (SDUs) for tackling intergenerational poverty. I believe that we must maintain our development momentum and self-renewal, and that we must embrace changes while staying principled, innovative and flexible in meeting challenges and opportunities.

    4. Regarding system reforms, I work on the principle that anything essential but lacking in the system must be established; any serious shortcomings must be rectified; any bottlenecks, weaknesses or hurdles must be overcome; and any areas in need of consolidation must be reinforced and improved. In the reform process, we have to decide what should be built from scratch, what should be overhauled to set things right, and what should be consolidated and bolstered. In taking forward reforms, we must have a systemic mind-set and manage the relationships between overall and local interests, between the present and the future, between macro and micro concerns. While we may make reference to the successful experiences of other places, we cannot adopt them directly given the differences in the basis and structure of our systems. Our reform proposals must take heed of the prevailing circumstances and be tailored to local conditions.

    5. Since becoming Chief Executive, I have carried out reforms along the above principle.

    6. On implementation of “One Country, Two Systems”, we fulfilled the constitutional responsibility to enact local legislation for Article 23 of the Basic Law; we reformed the institutional set-up of the District Councils by implementing the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong”; we enacted a new legislation to enable an essentially automatic extension of land leases in an orderly manner for a term of 50 years to beyond 2047, manifesting the long-term adherence to “One Country, Two Systems”.

    7. On governance, we reformed the government structure and reshuffled the duties among policy bureaux, increasing their number from 13 to 15. We created three new Deputy Secretaries of Department to strengthen co-ordination of work across bureaux, setting up task forces led by the Deputy Secretaries to enhance implementation. We cultivated a government culture focusing on results. We also introduced a mechanism mobilising the Government at all levels to respond to major incidents.

    8. In economic development, we established the Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited (HKIC) to optimise the use of government funds for the development of industries and our economy. We pressed ahead with the development of the “eight centres” and the Northern Metropolis, taking an industry-oriented approach. We set up the Hong Kong Talent Engage (HKTE) and the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES) to strengthen our efforts in trawling for talents and enterprises. We also established Hong Kong as a regional hub for higher education.

    9. As for people’s livelihood, we implemented healthcare reform and took steps to build our primary review mechanism for drugs and medical devices. We set up a system for bringing in healthcare professionals to alleviate manpower shortage in the public healthcare system. We also launched Light Public Housing (LPH) to fill short-term gaps in the supply of public housing, and established the Task Force on Tackling the Issue of Subdivided Units. We pooled resources for targeted poverty alleviation. We established an annual review mechanism for minimum wage protection. We also rationalised traffic flow among the three road harbour crossings.

    10. Reform is a continuous process. Over the past two years, my team and I have focused on economic growth and on improving people’s livelihood through development, with the well-being of the people of Hong Kong close to our hearts. This Policy Address will deepen our reforms and explore new growth areas. Measures include building an international gold trading market, promoting high value-added maritime services, and building a commodity trading ecosystem and internationally-accredited metal warehouses. We will promulgate the Development Outline for the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park in the Loop, building a testing ground for policy and institutional innovation. We will also set up a working group on developing the low-altitude economy.

    11. In this Policy Address, I will continue to follow through the “four proposals” put forward by President Xi Jinping in his important speech delivered on 1 July 2022. I will also outline our vision and objectives for reforms and changes, as well as the related key measures and KPIs. A Supplement offering more details on the policy measures and related matters has also been compiled.

    (To be continued.)

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Health – Nursing students rally across the country

    Source: New Zealand Nurses Organisation

    On Saturday (19 October), New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) nursing students take their struggle to the streets calling on the Government to invest in their futures with paid training.
    Students need assistance while they study but are being ignored and exploited by those in charge, NZNO spokesperson and former National Student Unit co-chair Shannyn Bristowe says.
    They are given no additional financial help during clinical placements which sees them working full time without pay for up to 12 weeks – and often away from their hometown, she says.
    “Existing student allowances aren’t enough to cover even the most basic necessities.
    “Tauira (students) are stressed both financially and mentally. They are living in sheds, in cars, or in cramped, temporary spaces, just to get by. Some can’t afford to keep the lights on or put kai on the table for their whānau. The financial burden of studying weighs heavily on us all, forcing some of us to make impossible choices between paying bills, buying food, or continuing our education.
    “This burden is even heavier for Tauira Māori, as existing inequities create additional barriers, leading to the continued under-representation of Māori in the nursing workforce.
    “This is the reality we face every day. And we endure it because we want to serve, we want to help, we want to be the faces of care for our communities.”
    Ms Bristowe says with a high student drop-out rate of 33 percent, paid training is essential to keep students focused on studying and professional development instead of perpetually struggling.
    “Aotearoa cannot wait. Our people need nurses who are well-prepared, culturally safe, and emotionally resilient. Nurses who have not been broken by the journey to get there but have been supported along the way.
    “We ask the Government: Is this not a worthy investment? Because this isn’t just about us-it’s about the health and future of Aotearoa. We’ll be calling on the public to support us by signing our petition to the Government calling for paid training,” Ms Bristowe says.
    Rallies take place at nine centres across the country.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: CE’s speech in delivering “The Chief Executive’s 2024 Policy Address” to LegCo (3)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    III. Consolidate and Enhance Our Status as an International Financial, Shipping and Trade Centre

    29. The development of international financial, shipping and trading centres are closely intertwined. Besides expanding and strengthening our existing businesses, we will also explore new growth areas, specifically by creating a commodity trading ecosystem to attract relevant enterprises to establish presence in Hong Kong, turning our city into an operation centre for international commodity trading, storage and delivery, shipping and logistics, risk management, and more. This will help develop the markets in international gold, non‑ferrous metal, green transportation, and others, further promoting the integrated development of Hong Kong as an international financial, shipping and trade centre.

    30. Hong Kong ranks among the world’s largest import and export markets for gold by volume. The current complexity in geopolitics underscores our city’s edge in security and stability, and hence an attractive location for investors for gold storage, spurring relevant activities such as gold trading, settlement, and delivery. We will capitalise on our strengths as an international financial centre to build Hong Kong into an international gold trading centre.

    31. The Government will facilitate an international commodity exchange to set up accredited warehouses in Hong Kong. We will also introduce measures such as a preferential tax regime to attract enterprises to expand their business in Hong Kong, and to increase storage and trade volume of commodities.

    32. Green shipping and aviation is a global trend. The Government will nurture industrial development of sustainable aviation fuel and green maritime fuel, and establish a fuel bunkering centre, leveraging the development opportunities in finance, trading and maritime sectors stemming from new energy.

    (A) International Financial Centre

    33. Hong Kong is an international financial centre, ranking third globally and first in investment environment. The Government will continue with reforms to reinforce and enhance our status as an international financial centre.

    Deepen Mutual Market Access and Enrich Offshore Renminbi Business

    34. We will continue to enhance the mutual market access regime and reinforce our status as the world’s largest offshore Renminbi (RMB) business hub, contributing to the internationalisation of RMB. Key measures include continuously improving our infrastructure and upgrading the Central Moneymarkets Unit to facilitate the settlement of various assets in different currencies by international investors. We will also develop the fixed income market infrastructure by, for instance, setting up a central clearing system for RMB‑denominated bond repurchase (repo) transactions, making RMB sovereign bonds issued in Hong Kong a more popular choice of collateral in offshore markets. We will look to enhance the Cross‑boundary Wealth Management Connect Scheme as well.

    35. We will also strive to bolster offshore RMB liquidity and make good use of the currency swap agreement between the HKSAR and our country, enabling the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) to better support Hong Kong’s economic and trade development; expand the night‑time, cross‑boundary service capability of Hong Kong’s RMB Real Time Gross Settlement System to facilitate global settlement in offshore RMB markets; and explore the provision of more diversified channels for obtaining offshore RMB financing.

    36. We will provide more RMB‑denominated investment products –

    (i) the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) to encourage more listed companies to have shares listed in the RMB stock trading counter, and expand the scope of RMB equities;

    (ii) to increase issuance of RMB bonds and support issuance of more green and sustainable offshore RMB bonds in Hong Kong;

    (iii) to seek support from the Ministry of Finance for boosting the size and frequency of issuing RMB sovereign bonds, and launching offshore RMB sovereign bond futures as soon as possible, in Hong Kong; and

    (iv) to actively liaise with the Mainland authorities to expand the Bond Connect (Southbound Trading) as appropriate, including expanding the scope of eligible Mainland investors to non‑bank financial institutions such as securities firms and insurance companies; and enriching liquidity management tools that facilitate offshore investors’ investment in onshore bonds by actively exploring and introducing, at appropriate juncture, various bond repo and collateral products and arrangements using onshore RMB bonds.

    Further Enhance Our Status as an International Risk Management Centre

    37. Hong Kong has the highest concentration of insurance companies and the highest insurance density in Asia. To further strengthen Hong Kong’s position as a global risk management centre, the Insurance Authority will initiate a review next year. We will examine capital requirements for infrastructure investment, enriching insurance companies’ asset allocation for risk diversification and driving investment in infrastructure such as the Northern Metropolis. We will also continue to invite Mainland and overseas enterprises, including large state‑owned enterprises in the Mainland, to establish captive insurers in Hong Kong.

    Further Enhance Our Status as an International Asset and Wealth Management Centre

    38. There are 2 700 single‑family offices in Hong Kong, and the industry has predicted that Hong Kong will become the world’s largest cross‑boundary wealth management centre by 2028. We will make every effort to attract more global capital to be managed in Hong Kong, including facilitating the opening of new distribution channels for private equity funds through HKEX’s listing, and:

    (i) collaborating with sovereign wealth funds in regions along the Belt and Road (B&R) – We will strive to collaborate with large‑scale sovereign wealth funds in regions such as the Middle East, in financing the setting up of funds to invest in assets in the Mainland and other regions;

    (ii) enhancing the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme – Effective today, investment in residential properties is allowed provided that the transaction price of the residential property concerned is no less than $50 million, with the amount of real estate investment to be counted towards the total capital investment capped at $10 million. In addition, investments made through an eligible private company wholly owned by an applicant will be counted towards the applicant’s eligible investment with effect from 1 March 2025; and

    (iii) expanding the scope of tax concessions – The Government will consult the industry on the proposal to add qualifying transactions eligible for tax concessions for funds and single‑family offices.

    Proactively Expand Markets and Deepen Overseas Networks

    39. We will continue to actively expand and deepen our overseas networks, including forging financial co‑operation with the Middle East and the region of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), organising more international financial mega events, and exploring further collaboration with Islamic markets in the area of finance.

    Further Enhance the Securities Market

    40. Relevant measures include:

    (i) opening up new sources of capital overseas – Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) tracking Hong Kong stock indices will be launched in the Middle East, seeking to attract allocation of capital in the market to Hong Kong stocks;

    (ii) striving for more listing of enterprises in Hong Kong – We will leverage the advantages brought about by our mutual access with the Mainland’s financial markets to attract international enterprises to list in Hong Kong. We will also encourage large‑scale Mainland enterprises to list here, particularly aiming to have more prominent initial public offerings in the near term;

    (iii) optimising vetting of listing applications – The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the HKEX will announce specific measures for further optimising relevant procedures to provide greater certainty regarding the time required for vetting of listing applications; and

    (iv) boosting market efficiency – The SFC and the HKEX will boost market efficiency and lower transaction costs, including reviewing the arrangement for deposit of margin, and refining the requirements on placement of margin and collateral.

    Provide Convenient Cross-boundary Financial Services Arrangement

    41. To promote financial inclusion, we will facilitate members of the public in making cross‑boundary transactions and payments.  The HKMA and the People’s Bank of China are pushing forward the linkage of fast payment systems in the two places, i.e. the Faster Payment System (FPS) in Hong Kong and the Internet Banking Payment System (IBPS) in the Mainland, to facilitate real‑time, cross‑boundary small‑value payments by residents on both sides; and they will implement the arrangement enabling issuance of bank cards by Mainland branches of Hong Kong‑incorporated banks in the Mainland.

    Build an International Gold Trading Market

    42. Hong Kong ranks among the world’s largest import and export markets for gold by volume. Amidst the increasingly complicated geopolitics, our city’s security and stability gives us a clear edge as an attractive place for physical gold storage, driving more gold trading, settlement and delivery activities, and potentially propelling Hong Kong into a gold trading centre. This will spur development of the related industry chain, ranging from investment transactions, derivatives, insurance, storage, to trading and logistic services.

    43. The Government will promote the development of world‑class gold storage facilities, facilitating the storage and delivery of spot gold by users and investors in Hong Kong, and driving demand for related services such as collateral and loan businesses, opening up new growth areas of the financial sector.

    44. The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) will set up a working group to take forward the establishment of an international gold trading centre. This will include, among other things, strengthening the trading mechanism and regulatory framework, promoting application of cutting‑edge financial technology, and actively exploring with the Mainland authorities on the inclusion of gold‑related products in the mutual market access programme.

    Enhance the Green Finance Ecosystem

    45. Hong Kong is a leading sustainable finance hub in Asia. The international carbon market (Core Climate) launched by the HKEX is the world’s only carbon market to offer Hong Kong dollar (HKD) and RMB settlement for trading of international voluntary carbon credits.

    46. The HKMA will roll out the Sustainable Finance Action Agenda. In addition, the FSTB will launch a roadmap on the full adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards – Sustainability Disclosure Standards (ISSB Standards) this year, leading Hong Kong to be among the first jurisdictions to align its local requirements with ISSB Standards.

    (B) International Shipping Centre

    47. Hong Kong is one of the world’s busiest and most efficient ports, and ranks fourth in the International Shipping Centre Development Index (ISCDI). The average length of stay of container vessels in the Hong Kong port is 0.95 days, about half the average of 1.85 days for the world’s top 20 container ports, earning our city the reputation as a “catch‑up port” for vessels to make up for delays in other ports.

    48. The shipping business is composed of the port sector and maritime services, in which maritime services (including professional services such as ship broking, financing and leasing, maritime insurance, maritime law and arbitration) are the high‑value‑added segment of shipping business and the source of growth, having grown by nearly 40% over the past three years (from 2019 to 2022) in terms of economic contribution. We will step up our efforts in fostering Hong Kong’s maritime industry while taking a multi‑pronged approach to consolidate our status as an international shipping centre.

    Establish the Hong Kong Maritime and Port Development Board

    49. The existing Hong Kong Maritime and Port Board will be reconstituted into the “Hong Kong Maritime and Port Development Board”, a high‑level advisory body to assist the Government in formulating policies and long‑term development strategies. To be chaired by a non‑official member, with other members largely from the maritime sector, the new body will be underpinned by dedicated staff to undertake research and publicity work. Additional funding will be provided to enhance its research capabilities, strengthen its Mainland and overseas promotional work and step up manpower training, supporting the Government in policy implementation more effectively and promoting the sustainable development of Hong Kong’s maritime industry.

    Promote Development of High Value-added Maritime Services

    50. We will strive to promote the development of high value‑added maritime and professional services. Indeed, the Government has been encouraging more shipping commercial principals and maritime service enterprises to establish presence in Hong Kong by providing tax exemptions for ship leasing business and offering half‑rate tax concessions for marine insurance, ship management, ship agency and ship broking. We will continue to boost Hong Kong’s maritime strengths. Relevant measures include:

    (i) enhancing and promoting tax concessions – To strengthen the local maritime ecosystem, we will step up promotion of existing tax concessionary measures for maritime services and enhance the preferential tax regime (including introducing new tax deduction arrangements for ship lessors pursuant to international tax rules);

    (ii) attracting maritime service enterprises to establish presence in Hong Kong – We will encourage leading or high‑potential marine insurance business operators to establish presence in our city to broaden the range of marine insurance products; and

    (iii) developing maritime services talents – We will strengthen collaboration with international marine insurance organisations to promote the training of marine insurance talents, and expand the scope of the Maritime and Aviation Training Fund to cover more green energy courses, marine insurance examinations, and others.

    Advance Development of Green Maritime Centre

    51. We will develop Hong Kong into a green maritime centre through:

    (i) promoting the green transformation of registered ships – The Marine Department earlier this year began offering cash incentives to ships meeting relevant international standards on decarbonisation, and it will step up promotion of this initiative;

    (ii) developing a green maritime fuel bunkering centre – We will promulgate the Action Plan on Green Maritime Fuel Bunkering by the end of this year. We will take forward the related infrastructural development such as green maritime fuel bunker terminals, promote port emissions reduction, offer incentives to encourage green maritime fuel usage, co‑operate with ports in the GBA, and construct a green shipping corridor with major trading partners; and

    (iii) offering green fuel bunkering facilities – We will provide green ships with smart information concerning navigational safety, and enhance the ship monitoring systems to ensure safety during fuel bunkering.

    Create a Commodity Trading Ecosystem

    52. Commodities including metals and minerals account for more than half of the global shipping trade volume. Shipowners and commodity traders are the key users of shipping routes and maritime services. Their presence and operation in Hong Kong can drive the maritime services industry, and boost demand for related financial and professional services such as hedging activities of related futures products, conducive to consolidating and enhancing Hong Kong’s status as an international financial, shipping and trade centre. We will explore the introduction of tax concessions and support measures to attract relevant enterprises in the Mainland and overseas to set up businesses in Hong Kong, building a commodity trading ecosystem in our city.

    53. There has been an international commodity exchange expressing its intention to establish accredited warehouses in Hong Kong for storage and delivery of commodities, including non‑ferrous metal products. We will capitalise on this opportunity to establish relevant supporting facilities so as to attract Mainland enterprises to engage in commodity trade, especially of non‑ferrous metal, in Hong Kong, further expanding the demand for our maritime and trade services.

    Develop the Smart Port and Conduct International Promotions

    54. The Government will complete installation of a port community system next year. It will be equipped with functions such as shipment tracking, real‑time transport information, electronic information and document retrieval, and port data analysis, enabling the flow and sharing of data among stakeholders in the maritime, port and logistics industries.

    55. The Government will also organise more major events with international maritime organisations and enterprises to showcase to the world Hong Kong’s maritime strengths.

    Expand High Value-added Logistics Services

    56. We are taking forward the Action Plan on Modern Logistics Development, and will release four quality logistics sites for industry to develop modern, high‑end, multi‑storey logistics facilities. The findings of the planning study on the development of modern logistics clusters in the Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen New Development Area (NDA) will be published next year.

    57. The Government will continue to strengthen co‑operation in the logistics sector with the western part of Guangdong and other neighbouring areas, making good use of the Hong Kong‑Zhuhai‑Macao Bridge (HZMB) to expand the catchment area of our cargo services and facilitate more goods to go through Hong Kong.

    (To be continued.)

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Priorities set for Retirement Villages Act review

    Source: New Zealand Government

    E te huru mā, haramai e noho. E tu te huru pango, hanatu e haere.

    The coalition Government is progressing mahi in the Retirement Villages Act 2003 review and focusing it on the areas of highest importance, Associate Minister of Housing Tama Potaka and Seniors Minister Casey Costello announced today.

    “It’s clear based on the over 11,000 public submissions received in 2023 during consultation that there are some areas with high levels of agreement,” says Mr Potaka.

    “These areas include updating the Act to bring it in line with sector best practice, strengthening transparency such as introducing a plain language version of the Code of Practice, and looking at changes to increase protections for residents, for example restricting operators from passing on insurance excesses to residents if the damage was not their fault. 

    “Additionally, I have agreed the next steps of the review should focus on three key priority areas that support residents. These involve receiving advice on:

    • Maintenance and repairs of operator-owned chattels and fixtures. 
    • Managing complaints and disputes.
    • Options for incentivising or requiring earlier capital repayments when residents move out of a village.

    “The objectives of the review remain the same including ensuring adequate consumer protection, balancing the rights and responsibilities of operators and residents, and ensuring the ongoing viability of the sector.

    “The continuation of the Retirement Village Act review reflects the coalition Government’s agreement to work with the sector and safeguard the interests of the residents living in retirement villages.

    “I expect to receive a series of briefings and kōrero from agencies next year, before seeking Cabinet agreement for legislative change in 2026. At this stage, any amendment Bill will likely be introduced in the next Parliamentary term,” Mr Potaka says.

    “New Zealand’s population is ageing and it’s essential we have a range of housing options available for older people,” Ms Costello says.

    “Retirement villages play an important role in this mix, and around two-thirds of them also provide aged care facilities, so we need to continue the review and to get it right.”

    It is estimated that more than 53,000 people currently live in retirement villages and the industry forecasts that close to 113,000 retirees will be wanting to live in this type of accommodation by 2048.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: A Layered Approach to Stealthier Undersea Vehicles

    Source: Australian Government – Minister of Defence

    Dr Chirima (left) and fellow researcher Dr Matthew Ibrahim with DSTG’s ultrasonic immersion system which is able to measure the speed of sound, transmission loss and reflection coefficients of Dr Chirima’s material samples which are immersed in the water.

    Acoustic materials researcher Dr Gleny Chirima hopes to make our submarines disappear. In her recently-announced Chief Defence Scientist Fellowship, Dr Chirima will investigate an innovative layered viscoelastic coating that could dramatically reduce the signature of undersea vehicles.

    Dr Chirima has Masters and PhD qualifications related to polymer materials and composites, and is a member of DSTG’s Acoustic Materials research domain which focuses on making undersea vehicles stealthier.

    ‘We study how underwater sound interacts with materials and seek ways to modify materials for controlling sound behaviour in our underwater structures,’ says Dr Chirima. The challenging aim is to make platforms invisible to external sensors, while also reducing the acoustic signature emanating from the platforms.

    ‘When sound moves from water to a different material, it will get reflected off that material’s surface,’ she explains. ‘Why? Because of what we call impedance mismatch. Impedance is the resistance of a material to the propagation of sound. If sound is travelling from water to water, it will just go through it like it’s invisible. We want to make a multi-layered material, with a first layer matched to the impedance of water so the sound is not reflected. And then we are going to vary the impedances of the subsequent layers gradually until we get to the last layer which matches the impedance of the vessel’s hull (steel, for example).

    ‘Having a minimal impedance mismatch between the layers, only a small fraction of the sound gets reflected. Within the multilayer material we’ll also have sound absorbing material which will reduce sound emissions from within the vessel.’

    Testing teamwork

    In addition to the functional aspects of a material, such as the way sound travels through the layers, there are many parameters that need to be considered when designing materials for the highly complex, hostile undersea environment.
    For example, the coating is going to be affected by the marine environment and likely to degrade over time, how will performance be impacted?

    Working that out is a team effort. While Dr Chirima enjoys the physical testing of potential materials, other team members will be overseeing the modelling of the platform and its environment.

    ‘For my fellowship project we’ll try concepts in the lab, and once we understand our material we’ll take it further to equipment that mimics the harsh conditions that we experience under the sea. The next step then is to work with an industry partner to test it on a bigger scale.’

    Lots of laboratory work ahead

    The concept of a matched, multi-layered material has been brewing in the team for a while, and Dr Chirima’s fellowship is an opportunity to investigate the game-changing type of material, modify some aspects and verify and understand its potential.
    Using raw resin ingredients, Dr Chirima is geared up for a heavy laboratory schedule preparing and casting the viscoelastic material samples in-house at DSTG.

    ‘There are so many parameters that we need to play around with in order to optimise the qualities that we want in the material,’ she says. ‘Obtaining quality samples through good preparation is crucial, because that determines the quality of results you’re going to get at the end of the day.

    ‘The other big challenge I foresee is designing the experimental setup to measure the speed of sound through the materials; we want accurate measurements but the material is designed to stop sound propagation. And a final challenge will be collaborating with an industrial partner to scale up samples to sizes of relevance to real platforms (and then testing those samples).

    ‘I find this work intensely interesting, it keeps me on my toes and makes me look forward to what’s coming tomorrow,’ says Dr Chirima. ‘The ultimate aim would be to cover entire platforms in this material, and if we are successful I’m sure all Defence underwater vessels could benefit from a coating.’

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Qantas and Jetstar increase capacity at Sydney Airport

    Source: Sydney Airport

    Wednesday 16 October 2024

    Qantas has revealed that it will resume the A380 service on its Sydney to Dallas route for the first time since COVID, providing passengers with greater options to this sought-after destination.

    Commencing 11 August 2025, the flights will enhance capacity on the route and are due to be operate on Qantas’ A380 configured with 70 Business Class seats and 341 Economy Class seats and 787 aircraft configured with 42 Business Class seats and 166 Economy Class seats.

    At the same time, Jetstar has announced it will increase flights between Sydney and the South Korean capital, Seoul from four per week to daily from 17 June 2025, adding 100,000 seats a year on the route to better serve strong leisure demand.

    With daily flights from Sydney, Jetstar will operate a total of 10 return flights between Australia and Seoul each week, making it the largest carrier between the two countries.

    Once the new flights begin in mid-2025, Jetstar will offer more than 240,000 low fares seats a year between Sydney and Seoul.

    Greg Botham, Group Executive, Aviation Growth & Group Strategy, Sydney Airport, stated, “The A380 has always been a passenger favourite so it’s great news that Qantas are returning it to their Sydney to Dallas route, and the increased capacity will provide more choice for passengers travelling to and from the USA.

    “We’re equally excited to announce that Jetstar is enhancing its services to Seoul, increasing its flights from four to a daily schedule, making it the largest carrier to Korea from Australia.

    “Korean travellers ranked as the fifth largest group passing through Sydney Airport in Q3, a 54 per cent increase compared to 2019 figures, so we know this will be welcome news for passengers.

    “These developments highlight our commitment to supporting airline growth and options for passengers at Australia’s global gateway.”

    Cam Wallace Qantas International CEO stated, “As part of our historic fleet renewal program, these changes are about having the right aircraft on the right route and responding to growing customer demand. 

    “One of the benefits of our dual brand strategy is the flexibility we have with our combined Qantas and Jetstar fleets. 

    “Qantas launched flights to Seoul after the pandemic, and now that demand has normalised, it’s grown substantially as a leisure market, opening up a great opportunity for Jetstar to increase its frequencies and allow Qantas to redeploy its aircraft to other routes where we are seeing strong demand.”

    Jetstar Executive Manager, Customer Jenn Armor stated, “We were the first low-cost carrier to launch direct flights between Australia and South Korea’s capital Seoul from Sydney in November 2022.

    “Demand has grown significantly since then, and with the launch of daily flights from Sydney adding 100,000 seats a year, we’ll become the largest carrier between the two countries.

    “It’s no wonder Seoul is becoming increasingly popular. Its vibrant nightlife and food scene, combined with rich history, famous K-pop culture and shopping, means there’s something for every traveller to enjoy.

    “We’d like to thank Sydney Airport for supporting the additional flights.”

    Notes to Editor

    To celebrate the expansion of its Sydney to Seoul service, Jetstar is offering fares from $309^ one-way for selected travel dates on its Deals page at jetstar.com.

    Jetstar flight schedule between Australia and South Korea (from 17 June 2025)

    Frequency From To Depart Arrive
    JQ47 Mon, Tue*, Wed, Thu*, Fri, Sat*, Sun Sydney Seoul (ICN) 10:45 20:15
    JQ48 Mon, Tue*, Wed, Thu*, Fri, Sat*, Sun Seoul (ICN) Sydney 21:50 10:05 +day
    JQ53 Tue, Thu, Sat Brisbane Seoul (ICN) 11:30 20:15
    JQ54 Tue, Thu, Sat Seoul (ICN) Brisbane 21:50 08:20 +day

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: CE’s speech in delivering “The Chief Executive’s 2024 Policy Address” to LegCo (6)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    V. Build Hong Kong into an International Hub for High‑calibre Talents(A) Co‑ordinate and Promote Integrated Development of Education, Technology and Talents103. Education nurtures our future, technology denotes our strength, and talents lead our development. The Government will set up the Committee on Education, Technology and Talents. Led by the Chief Secretary for Administration, the committee will co‑ordinate and drive the integrated development of education, technology and talents, expand connections, formulate policies to attract and cultivate talents, foster the development of technologies, and also promote Hong Kong as an international hub for high-calibre talents.(B) Attract Talents104. Hong Kong boasts five of the world’s top 100 universities and is an international hub for exchange and collaboration among high‑calibre talents.Trawl for Talents105. The Government implemented a new talent admission regime in late 2022. More than 380 000 applications have been received to date, and around 160 000 talents have arrived in Hong Kong with their families.106. In the next five years, there will be a projected shortage of around 180 000 workers across different sectors. To build a quality talent pool for development, we will reform various aspects of the talent admission regime, including:(i) updating the Talent List to include talents required for development of the “eight centres”;(ii) expanding the list of universities under the Top Talent Pass Scheme to 198 universities by adding 13 top Mainland and overseas universities, and extending the validity period of the first visa of high‑income talents under the scheme from two years to three years;(iii) enhancing the General Employment Policy and the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals, providing new channels to attract experienced specialists in specific skilled trades facing acute manpower shortage to come to Hong Kong.  There will be a quota under the new arrangement;(iv) introducing a new mechanism under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, proactively inviting top‑notch talents to come to our city for development, promoting Hong Kong as the focal point of international high‑calibre talents; and(v) extending for two years the pilot arrangement of including graduates from the GBA campuses of Hong Kong universities under the Immigration Arrangements for Non‑local Graduates.Assist Talents in Pursuing Development in Hong Kong107. The HKTE will step up promotion of its online platforms to offer comprehensive information on salaries, taxation, education, visas and so on, in addition to providing personalised assistance. The HKTE will expand its network of collaborative partners and organise online and in‑person job fairs with industries and employer organisations, so that employers can directly match jobs with talents. It will also organise another international talent forum and conduct overseas promotion.Promote Development of an International Hub for Post-secondary EducationNurture Future Talents and Establish the “Study in Hong Kong” Brand108. The Government is committed to developing Hong Kong into an international hub for post‑secondary education.  Relevant measures include:(i) incentivising more local students to pursue advanced studies – We will set up the Hong Kong Future Talents Scholarship Scheme for Advanced Studies, beginning in the 2025/26 academic year, offering scholarships each year to up to 1 200 local students enrolling in designated postgraduate programmes;(ii) creating the “Study in Hong Kong” brand – We will strive to host international education conferences and exhibitions. We will also encourage local post‑secondary institutions to enhance collaboration and exchange with their counterparts around the world in promoting the “Study in Hong Kong” brand on a global scale, and to attract more overseas students, especially those from ASEAN and other B&R countries, to study in our city through the provision of scholarships and other incentives; and(iii) improving hostel facilities – We will launch a pilot scheme to streamline the processing of application in relation to planning, lands and building plans, so as to encourage the market to convert hotels and other commercial buildings into student hostels on a self‑financing and privately‑funded basis, increasing the supply of student hostels. The Government will also make available suitable sites for the private sector to build new hostels, having regard to market demand. The Development Projects Facilitation Office under the Development Bureau (DEVB) will provide one‑stop advisory and facilitation services for these projects.Promote Quality Development of Self-financing Institutions109. We will introduce a bill next year to amend the Post Secondary Colleges Ordinance, to improve the regulatory and quality assurance mechanisms of self‑financing post‑secondary institutions.Develop the Northern Metropolis University Town110. The Government has earmarked over 80 hectares of land in the Northern Metropolis for the Northern Metropolis University Town, and will encourage local post‑secondary institutions to introduce more branded programmes, research collaboration and exchange projects with renowned Mainland and overseas institutions in a flexible and innovative manner. We will retain flexibility in the planning process to facilitate development of student hostels. We plan to publish the Northern Metropolis University Town Development Conceptual Framework in the first half of 2026.(C) Nurture TalentsPromote Multiple PathwaysAdvance the Development of Universities of Applied Sciences111. The Hong Kong Metropolitan University has been recognised as the first university of applied sciences (UAS) in Hong Kong. The UAS alliance will be established this year to, among other things, embark on joint promotion and strengthen collaboration with UASs around the world. The Government has allocated a start‑up fund of $100 million for the alliance.Expand Our Vocational Talent Pool112. The Government will build a campus for the newly established Hong Kong Institute of Information Technology, under the Vocational Training Council, and develop its Lift and Escalator Technology Centre.Promote STEAM Education in Primary and Secondary Schools113. The EDB will establish the Steering Committee on Strategic Development of Digital Education to promote digital education, renew the Junior Secondary Science Curriculum and provide support for teachers in using AI in teaching.Enhance Support for Schools, Teachers and Students114. The Government will allocate $2 billion to set up the Teacher Professional Development Fund to support the long‑term development of the teaching profession, and to enhance the training and exchange programmes for teachers. A provision of about $470 million will be allocated to enhance the learning and teaching of English, Putonghua and other languages. We will also strengthen support for students with special educational needs and continue to provide subsidies such as textbook assistance for students with financial needs.Expedite Youth Hostel Projects115. In response to our young people’s aspirations to have their own living space, the Government launched the Youth Hostel Scheme and expanded it two years ago by subsidising non‑governmental organisations (NGOs) to rent suitable hotels and guesthouses for use as youth hostels. We have also set up a task force to offer targeted support and technical advice, including providing relevant NGOs with assistance in negotiating with hotel owners to expedite agreements. The number of hostel places has now increased to about 3 000.Support Young People to Purchase Subsidised Sale Flats116. The HKHA will allocate an extra ballot number to young family applicants and one‑person applicants aged below 40 with White Form status for the purchase of Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) flats from the next HOS sale exercise onwards. Starting from the next White Form Secondary Market Scheme (WSM) exercise, the WSM quota will increase by 1 500, all of which will be allocated to young family applicants and one‑person applicants aged below 40.Strengthen Support for Youth Development117. We will create, among others, the “Youth Post” hostel and spaces for cultural and arts exchanges for youths in the Kai Tak Community Isolation Facility. We will also set up a physical platform for interaction in the Nam Cheong District Community Centre for “Youth Link” members. Communication with young people will be augmented through various means, including leveraging the new mobile application “HKYouth+” and other online media.118. To strengthen support for unleashing the potential of young people, the Government will establish a new interactive space and set up a video studio at the Youth Square. We will also launch a new round of the Funding Scheme for Youth Life Planning Activities to sponsor NGOs in providing enhanced services and strengthening national affairs content. The Hong Kong Jockey Club will contribute $300 million to support these initiatives.119. We will continue to promote the Mainland and overseas exchange and internship programmes and enhance the GBA Youth Employment Scheme by relaxing eligibility requirements to allow young people aged 29 or below with sub‑degree or higher qualifications to join the scheme, increasing the limit of monthly allowance granted to enterprises to $12,000, and exploring reciprocal arrangements.120. The Youth Employment and Training Programme will be refined and its Chinese title renamed, with the upper age limit for participants raised to 29. Additional workplace attachment opportunities will be provided in the GBA under the programme.(To be continued.)

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: CE’s speech in delivering “The Chief Executive’s 2024 Policy Address” to LegCo (5)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    IV. Develop New Quality Productive Forces Tailored to Local Conditions

    75. The core element of new quality productive forces is to achieve high‑quality economic development through technological empowerment. Hong Kong is striving to become an international innovation and technology (I&T) centre by promoting the upgrading and transformation of traditional industries while actively nurturing emerging ones. We will spare no effort in developing new quality productive forces tailored to local conditions.

    (A) International I&T Centre

    Optimise the Strategy and Institutional Set-up for the Development of New Industrialisation

    76. We will draw up a medium to long‑term development plan for new industrialisation in Hong Kong. We will also press ahead with the establishment of the Hong Kong New Industrialisation Development Alliance to promote closer collaboration among the Government and the industry, academia, research and investment sectors, building a co‑operative platform for new industrialisation in Hong Kong. This includes providing more financing opportunities and fostering I&T co‑operation between newly‑listed companies in Hong Kong and local universities.

    Establish the Third InnoHK Research Cluster

    77. The InnoHK research clusters have become home to about 2 500 research and development (R&D) personnel from Hong Kong and around the world. The Government has already started preparatory work to establish the third InnoHK research cluster, which will focus on advanced manufacturing, materials, energy and sustainable development. The target is to attract world‑class R&D teams to collaborate with local institutions, promoting R&D and bringing in talents.

    Increase Research Funding

    78. The Government will launch a new round of Research Matching Grant Scheme totalling $1.5 billion to attract more organisations to support research endeavours of institutions.

    Increase Investment for I&T Industries

    79. We will increase investment and guide more market capital to invest in I&T industries, reflecting a revamped approach of Government in this. Relevant measures include:

    (i) setting up a $10 billion I&T Industry‑Oriented Fund – We will set up a fund‑of‑funds to channel more market capital to invest in specified emerging and future industries of strategic importance, including life and health technology, AI and robotics, semi‑conductors and smart devices, advanced materials and new energy. The goal is to systematically build an I&T ecosystem;

    (ii) optimising the Innovation and Technology Venture Fund – We will redeploy $1.5 billion to set up funds jointly with the market, on a matching basis, investing in start‑ups of strategic industries, to further enhance Hong Kong’s start‑up ecosystem; and

    (iii) maximising the impact of the HKIC as “patient capital” – The HKIC will continue to attract I&T enterprises to establish their presence and settle in Hong Kong by channelling and leveraging market capital.

    Attract International Start-up Accelerators to Establish a Presence in Hong Kong

    80. The Government will launch the I&T Accelerator Pilot Scheme with a funding allocation of $180 million at a one‑to‑two matching ratio between the Government and the institution, up to a subsidy ceiling of $30 million. The Scheme aims to attract professional start‑up service providers with proven track records in and beyond Hong Kong to set up accelerator bases in Hong Kong, fostering the robust growth of start‑ups.

    Develop the Low-altitude Economy

    81. Low‑altitude economy, which refers to economic activities in airspace below 1 000 metres, presents a wide array of application scenarios including rescues, surveys and delivery of goods and passengers. Formulating a management system for low‑altitude economy will help drive development in areas such as telecommunication technologies, AI and the digital industry, unlocking the low‑altitude airspace as a new production factor for our economy.

    82. The Government will establish the Working Group on Developing Low‑altitude Economy. Led by the Deputy Financial Secretary, it will formulate development strategies and inter‑departmental action plans, starting with projects on low‑altitude applications. It will designate specific venues for such purposes, draw up regulations and design the institutional set-up, and study and map out plans to develop the required infrastructure and networks. Relevant measures include:

    (i) exploring low‑altitude flying application scenarios – We will press ahead with pilot projects and designate venues to explore deploying drones for delivery, surveys, building maintenance, aerial photography, performances, search and rescue, and other possibilities;

    (ii) amending relevant regulations – This includes relaxing restrictions on beyond‑line‑of‑sight flying activities, as well as those on weight and loading of drones, encouraging market research and investment, facilitating technology tests and developing aerial tours;

    (iii) promoting interface with the Mainland – We will explore with the Mainland authorities the joint establishment of low‑altitude cross‑boundary air routes, immigration and customs clearance arrangements and supporting infrastructure; and

    (iv) studying and planning for low‑altitude infrastructure – In the long run, we need a highly effective, intelligent and digitalised low‑altitude infrastructure system for the real‑time management on networks of low‑altitude activities. It will strategise solutions for complex management and safety issues arising from such activities. The working group will embark on technical studies and planning of support facilities for low‑altitude activities (such as vertiports and charging stations), communications network, air route network, management of low‑altitude flying activities and so on to lay the foundation for the low altitude economy.

    Promote Development of Communications Technology

    83. Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites are less costly than traditional ones. The Government will conduct a study on streamlining the vetting procedures of licence applications for operating LEO satellites. The Government will also make available more suitable radio spectrum to the market in a timely manner.

    Advance R&D of Aerospace Science and Technology

    84. Hong Kong’s research teams have been actively engaged in R&D of aerospace science and technology. This year, a Hong Kong resident was selected as a preparatory astronaut. We are very grateful for our country’s support for Hong Kong in developing aerospace‑related technologies. The Government will set up a research centre under the InnoHK research cluster to participate in the Chang’E‑8 mission, contributing to national aerospace development.

    Promote Development of New Energy

    85. The Government will earmark around $750 million under the New Energy Transport Fund to subsidise the taxi trade and franchised bus companies to purchase electric vehicles, and launch the Subsidy Scheme for Trials of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Heavy Vehicles.

    86. We will further promote the development of new energy by:

    (i) setting a target for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) consumption – We will speed up the reduction of carbon emissions by the aviation industry and cater to the increasing demand of international airlines for SAF;

    (ii) developing SAF and green maritime fuel supply chains – We will formulate the long‑term plan for industry development in respect of fuel supply and demand, storage and bunkering; and

    (iii) promoting green and low carbon hydrogen energy – We will actively support the industry to establish a solar‑to‑hydrogen facility for demonstration, introduce a bill next year to ensure the safe use of hydrogen fuel, and formulate the approach of hydrogen standard certification suitable to Hong Kong.

    (B) Regional Intellectual Property Trading Centre

    87. Hong Kong’s intellectual property (IP)‑intensive industries accounted for about 30% of our Gross Domestic Product and of total employment respectively. We will strengthen our position as a regional IP trading centre by expanding the IP trading ecosystem of the I&T sector and creative industries.

    Enhance the Legislative Framework for IP

    88. The Government will strengthen protection for the products of innovation and creativity yielded by R&D efforts. Measures include putting forward a proposal next year to enhance the Copyright Ordinance regarding the protection for AI technology development, launching a consultation in 2025 on the registered designs regime currently under review, and proposing legislative amendments to streamline IP litigation processes for the High Court to manage and hear these cases more effectively.

    89. Next year, the Trade Marks Registry under the Intellectual Property Department (IPD) will launch a new AI‑assisted image search service to facilitate the public’s search of the trademark database.

    90. With the Central Government’s support, Hong Kong will participate in the World Intellectual Property Organization Lex‑Judgments Database next year, sharing important IP case precedents of local courts, to showcase to the international community the quality of our IP‑related judicial judgments.

    Strengthen Training of IP Talents

    91. The Government will continue to discuss with the patent agent sector and stakeholders to plan for the introduction of regulatory arrangements for local patent agent services, covering qualification, registration, and other areas, aiming to nurture professional talents and enhance service quality.

    92. The IPD will collaborate with the Qualifications Framework Secretariat to develop practical teaching materials for deployment by training providers, benefitting personnel across 23 different industries.

    (C) International Health and Medical Innovation Hub

    93. To expedite patients’ access to advanced diagnostic and treatment services, and to foster new quality productive forces in biomedical technology, the Government will complement technological innovation with institutional innovation, developing Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovation hub.

    Reform the Approval Mechanism for Drugs and Medical Devices

    94. The Government will expedite the reform of the approval mechanism for drugs and medical devices, including:

    (i) extending the “1+” mechanism to all new drugs, including vaccines and advanced therapy products, and improving the approval mechanism to speed up registration, facilitating good drugs for use in Hong Kong;

    (ii) devising the timetable for the Hong Kong Centre for Medical Products Regulation and the roadmap towards adoption of “primary evaluation”, as well as formulating strategies and measures to facilitate R&D of drugs and medical devices; and

    (iii) taking forward preparatory work for legislating for the statutory regulation of medical devices.

    Strengthen Biomedical Technology R&D and Translation

    95. The Government will enhance Hong Kong’s clinical trial capability on all fronts and facilitate the translation of innovative biomedical research results into clinical applications by:

    (i) joining hands with Shenzhen to establish the GBA Clinical Trial Collaboration Platform, extending the R&D network and expediting clinical trials;

    (ii) establishing the Real‑World Study and Application Centre to open up local health and medical databases and promote co‑operation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen to integrate data generated from the “special measure of using Hong Kong‑registered drugs and medical devices used in Hong Kong public hospitals in GBA”. This will accelerate approval for registration of new drugs in Hong Kong, the Mainland and overseas; and

    (iii) supporting R&D, clinical trials and application of advanced biomedical technology in Hong Kong, attracting global top‑notch innovative enterprises and research organisations to set up operations in Hong Kong.

    (D) Promote Integrated Development of Digital Economy and Real Economy

    96. A robust system to promote integration of real economy and digital economy is one of the key drivers of new quality productive forces. The Government will expedite the development of digital economy, which includes accelerating the digital transformation of industries, strengthening digital infrastructure, exploring development of a data‑trading ecosystem, and exploring on a pilot basis facilitation arrangements for cross‑boundary data flow within the GBA.

    Accelerate Development of Digital Trade

    97. The Government will push forward reforms in the digitalisation of enterprises and trade. Measures include fostering participation in discussions among the international community about the development of digital economy and exploring the inclusion of relevant provisions in bilateral trade agreements during the negotiation process, with a view to promoting digital trade and cross‑boundary e‑commerce.

    98. The Commerce and Economic Development Bureau is developing the Trade Single Window to provide a one‑stop electronic platform. It will help the industry lodge import and export trade documents for trade declaration and customs clearance. Separately, the HKMA has established a working group to conduct an in‑depth study into the changes in future supply chains and make recommendations. The scope of study covers promoting the digitalisation of trade through areas such as talents and financial infrastructure, as well as the technology and legal framework, with the goal to lower trade cost and upgrade the trade ecosystem.

    Establish a New Fintech Innovation Ecosystem

    99. The Government will continue to promote the development of innovative financial services including Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), mobile payment, virtual banks, virtual insurance and virtual asset (VA) transactions. The FSTB will shortly issue a policy statement, setting out its policy stance regarding the application of AI in the financial market. Other measures include:

    (i) promoting the use of CBDCs for cross‑boundary payment – The HKMA is actively testing and exploring more add‑on technology solutions and use cases related to cross‑boundary trade settlement on the mBridge platform, and will further widen the participation of both the public and private sectors;

    (ii) enhancing the regulation of VA trading – The FSTB will complete the second round public consultation on the regulatory proposals for over‑the‑counter trading of VA and put forward a proposed licensing regime for VA custodian service providers;

    (iii) promoting real‑world asset tokenisation and developing a digital money ecosystem – The HKMA is taking forward Project Ensemble, a financial market infrastructure project, to explore the application of real‑world asset tokenisation and the use of digital money for interbank settlement, facilitating the development of the relevant asset trading. Separately, the HKMA also allows potential stablecoin issuers to test business plans and use‑cases through the stablecoin issuer sandbox, and will work with the FSTB to introduce a bill on the regulation of fiat‑referenced stablecoin issuers later this year; and

    (iv) promoting the development of the digital securities market – The HKMA will soon launch the Digital Bond Grant Scheme to encourage more financial institutions and issuers to adopt tokenisation technology in capital market transactions.

    Facilitate Cross-boundary E-commerce Logistics Services

    100. To develop Hong Kong into a cross‑boundary e‑commerce logistics and distribution centre, the Government will review existing procedures to enhance the efficiency of cross‑boundary goods’ distribution, strengthening the competitiveness of our city.

    Promote Smart Construction and Management of Public Rental Housing Estates

    101. The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA) has selected 10 Public Rental Housing (PRH) estates as pilot sites for smart estate management. Next year, it will establish a central platform for property management and introduce digital technologies in daily estate management work, enhancing management effectiveness and service quality. The HKHA will also progressively apply the Project Information Management and Analytics Platform in new public housing projects starting next year, enhancing works efficiency by project management digitalisation and adopting three‑dimensional digital maps and virtual digital models, etc.

    Promote LawTech

    102. The DoJ will set up the Advisory Group on Promoting the Development of LawTech to formulate policies and measures on LawTech and promote its application in relevant sectors.

    (To be continued.)

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Interview with Matthew Pantelis, FIVEAA

    Source: Australian Treasurer

    MATTHEW PANTELIS:

    The practice of dynamic ticket pricing will be banned in Australia. This is where you go to buy a concert ticket and it might be advertised, let’s just call it $100. But then there’s all these hidden fees and charges that are added to it and suddenly $100 is, you know, 2, $300. I don’t know if that’s the best example, but it’s how it sort of works. Now, the price might be too low to start with in my example, but you do get the idea. So, you quoted a price, but it turns out that is not the finishing price. Stephen Jones, Assistant Treasurer, the government making moves to cancel this policy, this practice. Thank you for your time, Assistant Treasurer. The issue of dynamic ticket pricing, it is pretty widespread I imagine.

    STEPHEN JONES:

    It is pretty widespread, whether it’s concert tickets, whether it’s sporting events, tennis tickets, the Australian Open was a pretty famous example of that. Most recently, it’s become an increasing feature of it. So, our changes to the Australian Consumer Law, focusing on 3 issues in particular. One is dynamic pricing, which we’ve just been discussing. That’s when you go online, the price might be $150 a ticket, but there’s a surge in demand at the time you go online and all of a sudden you find yourself paying $300 for a ticket. That’s one practice.

    The second one is drip pricing, and that’s when they advertise a charge which a ticket price or a charge for a particular product. It might be $100. You’re finding your way through the transaction and screen by screen, form by form, another price gets added on, another fee gets added on, another fee gets added on, and all of a sudden you see a massive inflation in the price. It’s called drip pricing and it’s going to stop.

    And then the third one is what we call subscription traps. Your listeners would be familiar with this. It’s where you subscribe to a streaming service or a gym, and it’s really easy to subscribe and almost impossible to unsubscribe. So, there are 3 things which are clearly ripping Australian consumers off, and the government is going to introduce new laws to crack down on these behaviours.

    PANTELIS:

    You wonder why this hasn’t been done before, frankly. I mean, it is – it’s just a rip‑off.

    JONES:

    It is a rip‑off. And our government – the Albanese government – is focusing on a raft of changes to Australian consumer and financial services law and other practices. You would have heard us talking about the need to knock these surcharges on the head for using your debit card to access your own money at a coffee shop, or a restaurant, or wherever you’re shopping, and in a range of other areas. I’m doing a lot of work on scams as well. Basically, what we need to do is ensure that Australians are better protected and have more rights and ensure that we can drag the Australian Consumer Law into the 21st century.

    PANTELIS:

    What about the marketing pushes that you get around the place where they say, if you don’t get your ticket now, you’re going to miss out? Reality is they’ve got thousands.

    JONES:

    Yeah. These are creating a false sense of scarcity and there might be a clicking clock on the screen that you’re shopping on, or they might flash up and say, only one left to go. And 5 people are inquiring about this product. In reality, there’s no shortage. It’s just trying to get you to rush in to make a purchase and trying to get you to suspend all the normal caution that you might have or stop you shopping around for a better deal. They’re sharp practices that really are on the edge of misleading and deceptive conduct, which is already outlawed under Australian Consumer Law. But we’re going to make sure that these sort of very specific practices are banned.

    PANTELIS:

    Yeah, all right. You mentioned scams. Any hope for people getting their money back if they’re scammed in the future?

    JONES:

    Yes, there will be. Under the current arrangements, there’s no clear obligations on either the banks, the telecommunications companies, or the social media platforms if people get scammed by using their service. I’m introducing laws in a few weeks time which will create clear obligations and clear avenues for addressing compensation if the banks, the telcos and the social media companies don’t meet those obligations. So, a major uplift in the law in this area and new channels for compensation, fines, and penalties as well.

    PANTELIS:

    All right, while I have you, Stephen Jones, Assistant Treasurer – the Prime Minister, buying a $4 million house on a clifftop in NSW. Is that a good look given many Australians can’t afford a $500,000 house at the moment? In fact, they don’t exist anymore.

    JONES:

    Yeah, look, I won’t comment on whether it’s a good look or not. It’s a private matter that PM and Jodie, his fiancée, getting married next year, and I understand they’ve sold a couple of properties that they own separately and are buying one jointly. But I got to say, the housing policy that I’m focused on is how we build more homes for everyday Australians, how we make it easier for them to get into the housing market, and how we help renters as well. And we’ve got bills before the Senate at the moment. They’re being blocked by the far left and by the Coalition on this, and we’ve just got to get them through parliament. This is the stuff that’s going to make a difference to ordinary Australians.

    PANTELIS:

    Do you think, too, it sends the wrong message on climate change? Buying a house on a clifftop where erosion can occur, all of that. I mean, the PM doesn’t seem to mind.

    JONES:

    Well, I think it’s my understanding in the photo I saw it was on top of the cliff, not down on the beach. So, I’m not sure that that’s the concern. I come from a coastal area. I’ve got to say we’re all pretty –

    PANTELIS:

    Well, you’d know there’s erosion.

    JONES:

    – switched on about the issue of erosion. But like I said, I want to focus on our policies to build more houses, because the biggest problem we have in Australia at the moment is there are not enough houses for the people who are living here. So, more units, more houses, and we’ve got to get it done quickly.

    PANTELIS:

    Appreciate your time. Thank you.

    JONES:

    Good to be with you.

    PANTELIS:

    Stephen Jones, who is the Assistant Treasurer.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Medicare Urgent Care Clinic delivering for Bendigo

    Source: Australian Treasurer

    The Albanese Government is delivering Bendigo better access to free, high‑quality health care, with a new Medicare Urgent Care Clinic now open.

    The Bendigo Medicare Urgent Care Clinic is available for patients who need immediate care for non‑life threatening conditions like sprains, infections, rashes or cuts.

    Treasurer Jim Chalmers MP and the Member for Bendigo Lisa Chesters MP today visited the Bendigo Medicare Urgent Care Clinic to officially open it.

    There have been more than 800 presentations to the Bendigo Medicare Urgent Care Clinic since it started operation last month.

    This is good news for Bendigo Hospital, where one in three presentations to the emergency room have been for non‑urgent and semi‑urgent issues – saving families time, and making sure busy healthcare workers can prioritise patients who badly need beds.

    The largest proportion of presentations to the Bendigo Medicare Urgent Care Clinic have been children, with over 1 in 3 visits from individuals aged under 18 years old. Almost half of these visits occurred after hours.

    Medicare Urgent Care Clinics are open seven days a week, with no appointment needed, and importantly all patients are fully bulk billed.

    Located at 121 Arnold Street, the Bendigo Medicare Urgent Care Clinic is open 10am‑10pm Friday through Tuesday and 10am‑6pm Wednesday and Thursday.

    There are now 76 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics open across Australia, which have seen more than 802,000 presentations since the first sites opened in June 2023.

    This includes over 177,000 presentations to Victorian Medicare Urgent Care Clinics.

    Quotes attributable to Treasurer Jim Chalmers:

    “The Bendigo Urgent Care Clinic is already making a difference in the health of the people of Bendigo by providing cheaper and easier access to a doctor and easing pressure on Bendigo Hospital.

    “From bruises to burns, coughs, colds or cuts, you can head straight to the clinic, free of charge, rather than to the emergency department.

    “This Clinic is delivering quicker care close to home for lots of people, while freeing up the hardworking doctors and nurses at the hospital to focus on saving lives.”

    Quotes attributable to Minister Butler:

    “The Bendigo Medicare Urgent Care Clinic is a game changer.

    “Already it’s delivering urgent care to locals and taking pressure off the Bendigo Emergency Department.

    “The Bendigo Medicare Urgent Care Clinic is open extended hours, seven days a week and importantly all patients need is their Medicare card, not their credit card.”

    Quotes attributable to Lisa Chesters MP:

    “Bendigo is thriving and growing and it’s important that health infrastructure keeps pace.

    “The Albanese Government is delivering better access to urgent care, free of charge and with no appointment needed.

    “There’s very limited access to after‑hours GPs in our region and the Bendigo Medicare Urgent Care Clinic will help ensure that people who need non‑emergency care aren’t sitting at the ED.”

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Chengdu adjusts home purchase policy

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    This photo shows a light show in Chengdu, capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province, Oct. 1, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

    The metropolis of Chengdu, located in southwest China’s Sichuan Province, on Tuesday granted all home-owners and home buyers in the city eligibility to apply for household registration in that city.

    Individuals who purchase commodity housing which is already delivered or second-hand housing within the administrative area of Chengdu, are eligible to apply for the city’s household registration at the location of the housing, according to new regulations issued by city authorities.

    Residential or household registration, referred to as hukou in Chinese, has always been a key attraction for non-natives in major cities, as it leads to opportunities and benefits upon securing permanent residency in a city.

    Chengdu has a population of more than 21 million people, making it one of the most economically dynamic cities in southwest China. The number of people with household registration status in Chengdu currently totals nearly 16 million, according to the Chengdu Municipal Statistics Bureau.

    The new regulations, valid for three years, grant home-owners and home buyers undifferentiated eligibility to apply for residential status in Chengdu — eliminating hukou qualification restrictions prescribed in previous regulations concerning the size of the purchased housing and the amount of time that has passed since the purchase.

    Recently, major Chinese cities including the Chinese capital of Beijing and the likes of Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, have adjusted their real estate policies, with a slew of measures unveiled to boost local property markets.

    Meanwhile, China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development said that it would support municipal governments, especially those in the first-tier cities, to leverage their decision-making powers to regulate the real estate market and adjust policies restricting housing purchases based on local conditions.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: CE’s speech in delivering “The Chief Executive’s 2024 Policy Address” to LegCo (4)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    (C) International Trade Centre58. The global trade landscape is undergoing constant changes, with parts of the supply chains shifting to the Global South and B&R countries, while many Mainland enterprises are also actively establishing their presence abroad.59. Hong Kong topped the global rankings in international trade and business legislation, according to the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2024. We have been the prime destination for Mainland and overseas enterprises setting up international headquarters to manage offshore trading and supply chain businesses.Build a High Value-added Supply Chain Service Centre60. Hong Kong is home to a deep pool of talents and extensive networks in offshore trading and supply chain management, including production chain management, export credit risk management, trade financing, marketing, testing and certification, accounting and other professional services. We will strengthen the provision of high value‑added supply chain services by:(i) establishing a high value‑added supply chain services mechanism – The Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) will set up a mechanism and enhance the interface for attracting Mainland enterprises to establish international or regional headquarters in Hong Kong, providing one‑stop, diversified professional advisory services for enterprises in Hong Kong looking to go global;(ii) providing greater export protection for enterprises – The statutory maximum indemnity percentage of the Hong Kong Export Credit Insurance Corporation (ECIC) will be increased from 90% to 95%. The ECIC will also provide more free buyer credit checks with extended geographical coverage, and enhance financing support for e‑commerce businesses;(iii) providing robust export credit services – We will encourage the China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation to explore setting up businesses in Hong Kong, providing export credit insurance services covering overseas investment with prolonged investment period, offering Mainland enterprises in Hong Kong venturing overseas markets and foreign‑funded companies doing businesses in Mainland market with more comprehensive export credit services;(iv) promoting electronic trade financing – The HKMA is experimenting with tokenised electronic bills of lading through its Project Ensemble Sandbox. The goal is to lower fraud risks through the better use of technology and to facilitate the provision of trade financing by financial institutions. The HKMA will work with other jurisdictions on a pilot basis to develop mechanisms for trade information transmission, promoting cross‑boundary data transfers and the digitalisation of international trade. It will also allow potential stablecoin issuers to test blockchain use cases, including solutions for cross‑boundary payments through the stablecoin issuer sandbox; and(v) enhancing financial services with data – The HKMA expects to connect its Commercial Data Interchange (CDI) with the system of the Land Registry next year to facilitate enhancement of banking services through the better use of data.Expand Our Global Economic and Trade Networks61. In addition to developing the European and American markets, we will continue to expand our economic and trade networks, especially with B&R countries. Relevant measures include:(i) further opening up of trade in services with the Mainland – Under the Second Agreement Concerning Amendment to the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) Agreement on Trade in Services (Amendment Agreement II) signed recently, further liberalisation measures have been introduced across several services sectors. These include the construction, testing and certification, financial services, film, and television sectors. In particular, the period requirement of substantive business operations in Hong Kong for three years has been removed in most services sectors. This will attract more Hong Kong start‑ups, overseas enterprises, and talents from around the world to establish their presence in Hong Kong to tap the Mainland market. We will implement the Amendment Agreement II, step up promotion and provide assistance to enterprises as needed;(ii) reinforcing the interface of trade mechanisms – We will continue to seek early accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). We are also in investment agreement negotiations with Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia, and plan to begin negotiations with Egypt and Peru. Our free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with Peru have been concluded and we expect to sign the FTA this year. We will also expand the global network of our Economic and Trade Offices, focusing on establishing economic and trade ties with emerging markets; and(iii) further exploring priority markets – We will continue to pay visits and lead business and professional services delegations to priority markets such as B&R countries. We will also organise the B&R Cross‑professional Forum to promote Hong Kong’s professional services.Promote Development of a Headquarters Economy62. The Government will step up efforts to bring in strategic enterprises from outside the city to set up headquarters or corporate divisions in Hong Kong. The FSTB will submit a bill this year to introduce a company re‑domiciliation mechanism obviating the need for companies intending to re‑domicile in Hong Kong to be wound up in its original domicile overseas and establish a new company in Hong Kong. The companies will be able to preserve their legal identity and business continuity, saving cost as a result of the simplified procedures.63. The validity period of multiple‑entry visas for foreign staff of companies registered in Hong Kong, including non‑permanent residents, will be extended to a maximum of five years to facilitate their visit to the Mainland, and their applications will enjoy priority processing.64. We will strengthen the range of financial services available for Mainland enterprises in Hong Kong wishing to expand overseas, encouraging Mainland financial enterprises to co‑ordinate and manage their overseas business in Hong Kong and facilitating their internationalisation. The HKMA is exploring ways to enable Mainland enterprises looking to go global to enjoy facilitation of cross‑boundary RMB settlement and financing through enhanced offshore RMB liquidity, utilising technology and promoting international collaboration.Foster Trading of Liquor65. At present, Hong Kong imposes a duty of 100% on the import price of liquor (with alcoholic strength of more than 30%). To promote liquor trade and boost the development of high value‑added industries including logistics and storage, tourism as well as high‑end food and beverage consumption, the Government has made reference to the successful experience of driving the wine trade through exemption of wine duty, and will, starting today, reduce the duty rate for liquor with an import price of over $200 from 100% to 10% for the portion above $200, while the duty rate for the portion of $200 and below, as well as liquor with an import price of $200 or below will remain unchanged.(D) International Aviation Hub66. As an international aviation hub, Hong Kong is connected to nearly 200 destinations worldwide. Our city has topped the global ranking for air cargo throughput for more than a decade.67. The Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) will complete the Three‑Runway System by the end of this year. From 2035, the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA)’s capacity will increase by 50%.Enhance Aviation Development Strategies68. The Government will step up efforts in expanding our aviation network by supporting the HKIA to explore new destinations and flights, particularly enhancing co‑operation with civil aviation counterparts from B&R countries. In parallel, we will combine the strengths of our airport and Zhuhai Airport to improve the Fly‑Via‑Zhuhai‑Hong Kong direct passenger service and jointly develop international air cargo business for greater synergy.Develop a World-leading Airport City69. The Government will plan with the AAHK for expanding the scale of the Airport City by more than double, building a new, world‑leading landmark in the bay area among the Airport Island, the Hong Kong Port Island of the HZMB and Tung Chung East New Town. New projects will be developed to promote high‑end commercial, tourist and leisure activities. These include creating an ecosystem for the arts industry, building the AsiaWorld‑Expo Phase 2, developing a yacht bay with ancillary facilities, opening a food market for imported fresh food and providing more public spaces.Expand Cargo Capacity through the GBA and Enhance Advantages of the Air Cargo Industry70. The AAHK is pressing ahead in full steam with the innovative development of a sea‑air intermodal cargo‑transhipment mode in collaboration with Dongguan. The initial stage of first‑phase construction for the permanent logistics park in Dongguan, the HKIA Dongguan Logistics Park, will be completed by the end of next year, and the cargo‑handling capacity will progressively reach one million tonnes per annum. Advance planning will be made to commence the second‑phase development, introducing more high value‑added logistics, cross‑boundary e‑commerce and courier service facilities.71. The Government will extend arrangements under the Air Transhipment Cargo Exemption Scheme to other intermodal cargo‑transhipment modes to boost competitiveness.(E) Regional Centre for International Legal and Dispute Resolution ServicesCommence Training for International Legal Talents72. The Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy will be officially launched this year, cultivating legal talents to be familiar with international law, common law, civil law, national legal systems and other legal aspects. The dedicated office and expert committee under the Department of Justice (DoJ) are pressing ahead with the related work.Step up Promotion of Mediation Services73. The International Organization for Mediation will have its headquarters set up in Hong Kong upon adoption and entry into force of the relevant international convention. The Government will enhance the system on local accreditation and disciplinary matters of the mediation profession to further strengthen our role as an international mediation centre. We will incorporate mediation clauses in government contracts and encourage private organisations to make reference to and adopt such clauses. We will also launch the Pilot Scheme on Community Mediation to offer more training opportunities for promoting mediation culture.Develop a Sports Dispute Resolution System74. With the development of sports activities and industry, sports disputes have become increasingly complicated. We will explore establishing a sports dispute resolution system and promote sports arbitration, leveraging the institutional advantages of Hong Kong in dispute resolution.(To be continued.)

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Te Ara o Te Ata – Mt Messenger Bypass and Rotokare Scenic Reserve welcome striped skinks to Taranaki

    Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

    Rotokare Scenic Reserve, in South Taranaki, has today welcomed a new resident: the elusive striped skink – with the support of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA), Te Ara o Te Ata – Mt Messenger project partner Ngāti Tama and local mana whenua Ngāti Tupaia.

    This vulnerable taonga species now has a new home, thanks to a partnership between the Rotokare Scenic Reserve Trust and Te Ara o Te Ata – Mt Messenger Bypass project.

    The striped skink (Oligosoma striatum), known for its lightning-quick movements and distinctive pale stripes, is one of the country’s most cryptic and scarcely sighted lizards.

    The team from the Mt Messenger Bypass project has constructed a temporary holding area at Rotokare Scenic Reserve for any striped skinks discovered during the project’s construction.

    The area will provide a safe environment where the skinks can acclimatise to their new surroundings before exploring the broader reserve through the treetops.

    Rotokare Scenic Reserve Trust Conservation Manager Fiona Gordon says striped skinks haven’t been found during formal lizard surveys at Rotokare, but it’s believed they were once present as they’ve been located in pockets around South Taranaki.

    “We are excited to offer a safe home for this at-risk skink species in a space completely free of rodents, one of their main predators,” she says.

    So far three striped skinks have been encountered during Te Ara o Te Ata’s work in Parininihi. Specialist ecologists relocated them to Auckland Zoo temporarily, ahead of rehoming at Rotokare. Any further striped skinks found by the project will be transferred directly to Rotokare.

    The Trust is also working with the Department of Conservation to secure a permit to transfer further striped skinks from other locations across Taranaki if needed. It is hoped that skinks will flourish in their new home, creating a secure population in South Taranaki.

    About the striped skink

    Native to New Zealand, these reptiles are usually found in lowland forests, farmland, and swamps, where they live everywhere from the forest canopy to leaf litter on the forest floor. They are currently listed on the Department of Conservation’s Threat Classification System as ‘At Risk – Declining,’ However, accurate population monitoring remains a challenge due to their secretive habits.

    About Rotokare Scenic Reserve Trust

    The 230-hectare Rotokare Scenic Reserve Trust is a community-led conservation organisation dedicated to the preservation and restoration of native biodiversity within the predator-free Rotokare Scenic Reserve, located in South Taranaki.

    About Te Ara o Te Ata – Mt Messenger Bypass

    Te Ara o Te Ata – Mt Messenger Bypass is a major roading project designed to improve safety and efficiency on State Highway 3 in northern Taranaki. Alongside its construction objectives, the project includes comprehensive environmental initiatives aimed at protecting local ecosystems.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Smoother travels coming on State Highway 6 Kohatu-Kawatiri Highway in Tasman

    Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

    Drivers can expect smoother journeys on State Highway 6 – Kohatu-Kawatiri, with the road to undergo reconstruction next month.

    The work is part of the $147 million 2024/27 National Land Transport Programme investment in state highways across the top of the South Island.

    Contractors will be on the job near Tunnicliff Bridge, between Motupiko and Korere, for six weeks beginning Monday 29 October. The work will continue through to Friday 6 December. 

    Rob Service, System Manager Top of the South, says many residents and drivers are looking forward to seeing this part of State Highway 6 fixed.  

    “We’ve previously carried out a number of temporary patches on this section of road, but the pavement has reached the end of its life. We’re getting in now to do long-term repairs, making the highway safer and travel easier.” 

    For the first three weeks (29 October to 15 November) the work will be carried out during the day from Monday to Friday under stop/go traffic controls. Drivers will need to factor in around 15-minute delays through the area.

    Between 18 and 29 November, the highway will be closed during the day between Motupiko and Korere due to the narrowness of the Tunnicliffe Bridge section of the road. A local road detour will be available during this time, but drivers must allow an extra 20 minutes of travel time.

    From 2 to 6 December, the site will return to daytime stop/go as road crews tidy up and disestablish the site.

    Rob Service says temporary speed limits will be in place to keep road crews and drivers safe while the repairs are underway.

    “We understand it will be a significant disruption this for many people who live on and drive on this road, including people travelling between the West Coast, Tasman and Nelson.”

    “However, it’s a case of short-term pain for long-term gain. Investing in road reconstruction like this significantly reduces the roadworks the highway will need in the future. Yes, there will be delays now – but looking ahead, drivers can expect a much easier drive,” Mr Service says.

    He acknowledges that roadworks occur more frequently during spring, summer, and early autumn and affect people’s travel – but that is the best time to do major roadworks.

    “Road reconstruction and re-sealing must be done during the warmer, drier months. It can’t be done during winter when the weather is wet and cold. Not if you want the work to be durable and effective.”

    “And Mr Service says every effort is being made to minimise disruption for the public

    We’ve timed the work to begin after Labour Weekend and have it completed before the busy Christmas holiday season. That means the road will be clear when traffic is at its busiest.”

    Works schedule

    • Work is from Tuesday, 29 October, to Friday, 6 December 2024.
    • Working hours: 7:00 am to 5.30 pm, Monday to Friday (no night-time or weekend work).
    • Stop/go controls and a reduced temporary speed limit in place from Tuesday, 29 October, to Friday 15 November. Expect delays of up to 15 minutes.
    • Full road closure in place from Monday, 18 November, to Friday, 29 November between Motupiko and Korere.
    • Detour via Korere-Tophouse Rd, Kerr Hill Rd, Stock Rd, and Wai-iti Valley Rd. Traffic lights and 30km/hr speed restrictions will be in place at Jansens Bridge on Kerr Hill Rd. The detour is suitable for all vehicles but approval for permitted vehicles (e.g. O/W or HPMV) will be required from Tasman District Council.
    • Allow an extra 20-minutes travel time for your journey.
    • The site will reopen outside work hours under a reduced temporary speed limit.
    • Traffic management will remain in place during weekends and nights (between 5.30 PM and 7:00 AM Monday to Friday).
    • Access through the works zone will be available for residents, businesses, and emergency services.
    • From Monday, 2 December to Friday, 6 December the site will return to stop/go and a reduced temporary speed limit between 7.00 am and 5.30 pm to allow crews to tidy up and disestablish the site.

    Download PDF containing both maps above [PDF, 2.2 MB]

    Summer maintenance season – tips and advice

    • Drivers need to be aware other summer maintenance and resilience works are happening around the region including on State Highway 6 between Nelson and West Coast. Drivers should check road conditions before they travel as knowing when and where roadworks are happening means you can time your travel to avoid them or allow extra time for your trip.”
    • Whenever you come to a worksite, remember that our road workers are doing their best to complete their work and keep you moving. Please be respectful and follow their advice and instructions.

    More Information

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: CE’s speech in delivering “The Chief Executive’s 2024 Policy Address” to LegCo (7)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    VI. Promote Integrated Development of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Foster Economic Diversification

    (A) East‑meets‑West Centre for International Cultural Exchange and Integrated Development of Culture, Sports and Tourism

    121. The current‑term Government set up the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau (CSTB) to consolidate the integrated development of culture, the creative industry, sports and tourism. To enhance Hong Kong’s role as the East‑meets‑West centre for international cultural exchange, the Government strives to deepen the institutional reform of our cultural system, improve the cultural and economic policies, and further enhance our cultural confidence.

    Enhance Cultural Soft Power and Promote Development of Cultural and Creative Industries

    122. The CSTB consulted the arts and cultural community last year on the formulation of the Blueprint for Arts and Culture and Creative Industries Development. The blueprint will cover four major development directions: promoting the development of diverse arts and culture with an international perspective, promoting Chinese culture, fostering arts and cultural exchange between China and the rest of the world, and driving industry development. The CSTB will consult the Culture Commission shortly and promulgate the blueprint later this year.

    123. Established in June, the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency adopts an industry‑oriented approach to promote the development of the cultural and creative industries. Relevant measures include:

    (i) incubating more cultural and creative projects with potential for industrialisation through the CreateSmart Initiative and strengthening cross‑sectoral collaboration and leveraging market resources, facilitating the industries to explore business opportunities;

    (ii) facilitating more registration of local and non‑local cultural and creative products on the Asia IP Exchange Portal to foster cross‑sectoral exchange, collaboration and business matching, and promoting transactions and transformation of cultural IP; and

    (iii) making the new flagship Hong Kong Fashion Design Week an annual signature event to develop Hong Kong into a fashion design hub in Asia.

    Strengthen Long-term Industry Development in the West Kowloon Cultural District

    124. The West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) is one of the largest arts and cultural projects in the world. The WKCD Authority will take a leading role in establishing an industry chain for the arts and culture and creative industries of Hong Kong, driving cultural and creative tourism, and enhancing its financial sustainability through diverse and innovative industrialisation measures, including:

    (i) further building Hong Kong’s strengths in arts trading – Promote the creation of a comprehensive arts trading ecosystem, and build storage, restoration and exhibition facilities for high‑end private art collections;

    (ii) promoting the WKCD as a prime destination for major international cultural, creative and commercial events – With more than 20 venues for different kinds of mega events, the WKCD Authority will step up efforts to host more major international cultural, creative and commercial events, attracting more inbound visitors and stimulating local spending;

    (iii) exporting more arts, cultural and creative projects – Organise and curate performing arts programmes and exhibitions to be staged as long‑run events locally, in the Mainland and overseas on a commercial basis, and expand the sales channels for cultural and creative merchandise; and

    (iv) branding the WKCD as a must‑visit landmark for cultural and creative tourism – Roll out more special experience activities, and step up worldwide promotion in collaboration with the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) to bring in more tourists.

    Promote Sports Development and Build Hong Kong into a Centre for Mega International Sports Events

    125. In recent years, Hong Kong athletes have achieved outstanding results in international competitions. Hong Kong has abundant resources and support. With our soon‑to‑complete new landmark Kai Tak Sports Park (KTSP), and our co‑hosting of the 15th National Games with Guangdong and Macao late next year, our city has unrivaled advantages for developing itself into a platform for international sports activities. The Government will continue to foster sports development by promoting sports in the community, supporting elite sports, maintaining Hong Kong as a centre for major international sports events, enhancing professionalism, and developing sports as an industry. Relevant measures include:

    (i) enhancing the development of elite athletes and coaches – The Government has invited the Hong Kong Sports Institute to review the mechanism of direct financial support for athletes (including athletes with disabilities) to enhance the training system, and has set up a committee to oversee the development of sports medicine and sports science. The Government will also strengthen training for coaches, and explore the feasibility of establishing a standardised accreditation system for coaches;

    (ii) boosting sports promotion in the community – Provide more sports and recreational facilities, including building a swimming complex suitable for hosting international competitions and a sports arena with fencing training and competition facilities. We will also regularise the Pilot Scheme on Subvention for New Sports;

    (iii) reforming the governance of national sports associations (NSAs) – The Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China will conclude its review on the governance and operation of NSAs, and make recommendations, ensuring the NSAs are operating effectively so that athletes (including athletes with disabilities) can realise their potential in a fair and professional environment; and

    (iv) developing a host city economy in the sports industry – The Government will continue to support athletes to participate in different large‑scale international competitions. We will make full use of the KTSP and other existing venues to host large‑scale international competitions so that Hong Kong teams can compete on home soil, building their own audience. These will be conducive to the long‑term development of the sports industry.

    126. The Government will review the redevelopment plan for the Hong Kong Stadium to ensure its synergy with the KTSP.

    Develop Kai Tak Sports Park into a Sports and Mega Event Landmark

    127. Opening in the first quarter of 2025, the KTSP is the largest sports infrastructure project ever commissioned in Hong Kong. It will boost sports development and inject impetus into related industries such as recreation, entertainment and tourism, and also mega‑event economy.

    128. The inter‑departmental Task Force on KTSP, led by the Chief Secretary for Administration, will ramp up efforts in overseeing the smooth completion and commissioning of the KTSP and its publicity work, fostering the synergistic development of major sports events, innovative entertainment, dining, conventions and exhibitions, as well as tourism activities. The task force will also formulate thorough plans and conduct comprehensive drills on security deployment, crowd management, emergency response, and other areas.

    Enhance Cultural Confidence and Revitalise Hong Kong’s Tourism Industry

    129. We will develop Hong Kong into a premier tourism destination through innovative thinking and making better use of our rich and unique resources such as the Victoria Harbour, outlying islands, rural areas, cultures, cuisines, lifestyles and historic buildings. These elements, combined with our edges in technology, animation and comics, the performing arts, film and television culture, and more, will help to instill the concept of “tourism is everywhere in Hong Kong”.

    130. The CSTB will publish the Development Blueprint for Hong Kong’s Tourism Industry 2.0 (Blueprint 2.0) later this year, with the focus on promoting culture, sports, ecology and mega events, covering such areas as:

    (i) developing eco‑tourism – We will explore more itineraries with characteristics related to the countryside and coastal routes, such as island‑hopping tours in Yan Chau Tong, and enhance related amenities; expedite the development of the South Lantau Eco‑recreation Corridor; develop the ex‑Lamma Quarry site into an area for resort and outdoor recreational uses; and develop Tsim Bei Tsui and Pak Nai into eco‑tourism nodes;

    (ii) developing visitor sources from the Middle East and ASEAN – We will actively encourage various sectors of the community to enhance tourism‑support measures for creating a friendly environment for visitors. They include providing information at the airport in Arabic and encouraging taxi fleets to provide fleet service information in Arabic; compiling a list of restaurants offering halal food; encouraging more commercial establishments to provide appropriate facilities, such as worship facilities in hotels; and stepping up staff training to strengthen their knowledge on receiving visitors from different cultural backgrounds;

    (iii) developing tourism products with characteristics – We will promote yacht tourism in the expansion area of Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter, the ex‑Lamma Quarry area and the development of the waterfront site in the vicinity of the Hung Hom Station. We will also promote panda tourism, horse racing tourism, and the like. The CSTB will promote cultural and eco‑tourism itineraries and products at Sha Tau Kok. The Security Bureau (SB) will increase the daily visitor quota under the Sha Tau Kok opening‑up plan to 3 000 by the end of this year. Facial recognition technology will be adopted to enable people living or working at Chung Ying Street to enter and leave the street unimpededly via a “contactless” mode on a pilot basis. The SB will explore the application of relevant technology to complement the future opening up of Chung Ying Street for tourism;

    (iv) developing mega‑event tourism economy – The Mega Events Coordination Group, led by the Deputy Financial Secretary, will continue to take a proactive role in attracting different mega events to Hong Kong with emphasis on quality and quantity, boosting the retail and hotel industries. We will drive the development of the site above the Exhibition Station in Wan Chai North, as well as the waterfront and pier sites in the vicinity of the Hung Hom Station, into new landmarks providing additional event venues;

    (v) strengthening the appeal of traditional tourism – The HKTB will draw up a gourmet guide covering the 18 districts, organise gastronomic events, and promote gourmet food in different districts. The CSTB will publish the action plan on the development of cruise tourism, alongside the Blueprint 2.0, to enhance the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal’s role as a homeport and a venue for conventions, exhibitions and other events; and

    (vi) promoting smart tourism and enhancing service quality of the tourism industry – The HKTB will strengthen its efforts in developing and promoting tourism products with Hong Kong characteristics to both locals and visitors, making use of technologies such as AI to provide one‑stop assistance and attraction recommendations. We will also launch a new outstanding services award scheme to consolidate our hospitable culture.

    Develop New Tourist Hotspots

    131. The Government will set up a Working Group on Developing Tourist Hotspots. Led by the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration, it will strengthen cross departmental co‑ordination and leverage community efforts, identifying and developing tourist hotspots of high popularity and with strong appeal in various districts.

    Increase Tourist Arrivals

    132. The HKSAR Government has proposed to the Central Government further enhancements on Mainland residents’ tourism visit endorsements to Hong Kong, including resuming the “multiple‑entry” Individual Visit Endorsements for Shenzhen residents and expanding the coverage of pilot cities for implementing policies on the “one trip per week” Individual Visit Endorsements. The Central Government has advised that relevant departments are studying the expedited implementation of the proposal proactively.

    133. To foster closer people ties with ASEAN countries, starting today, the Government will relax the criteria for nationals of Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar applying for multiple‑entry visas for travel and business, and extend the validity period of multiple‑entry visas for these countries from two years to three years. The arrangement also applies to Vietnamese, who have benefitted from the relaxation of the visa policy since last year. Under a fast‑track arrangement, we will expedite the processing of visa applications from group visitors of ASEAN countries submitted via local travel agents. In addition, we will provide self‑service immigration clearance for invited persons participating in business, development and related activities from the 10 ASEAN countries, and provide one‑stop handling of their applications for self‑service immigration clearance and visa through a dedicated desk. Various bureaux will provide assistance in drawing up the list. Effective today, the requirement for visitors to furnish an arrival or departure card is cancelled, facilitating a faster and more convenient immigration clearance.

    (B) Foster Economic Diversification

    Support Small and Medium Enterprises

    134. To address the challenges commonly encountered by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) during economic restructuring, the Government will introduce the following support measures:

    (i) re‑launching the principal moratorium – Borrowing enterprises under the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme (including the existing loans already granted under the 80%, 90% and special 100% guarantee products as well as new loans under the 80% and 90% guarantee products) will be allowed to apply for principal moratorium for up to 12 months. The maximum loan guarantee periods of the 80% and 90% guarantee products will be extended to ten years and eight years respectively, while the partial principal repayment options will be offered to new loans under the two guarantee products. The HKMA is also actively considering to provide flexibility in banks’ capital requirement to facilitate their lending to SMEs;

    (ii) injecting $1 billion into the BUD Fund – Support will be provided for SMEs to upgrade their business operations and develop new markets through the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales (the BUD Fund), including expanding the geographical coverage of E‑commerce Easy to the 10 ASEAN countries, and providing targeted funding support for enterprises to implement green transformation projects;

    (iii) supporting digital transformation of SMEs and capitalising on e‑commerce opportunities – The scope of Cyberport’s Digital Transformation Support Pilot Programme will be expanded to cover the retail and food and beverage sectors, as well as industries such as tourism and personal services, subsidising SMEs for digital transformation on a one‑to‑one matching basis. The Hong Kong Shopping Festival is to be relaunched in the next two years to help SMEs tap into the Mainland e‑commerce sales market, and will be held in the ASEAN market in due course;

    (iv) strengthening brand development of SMEs – The HKTDC will formulate plans for setting up more Hong Kong Pavilions in Mainland and overseas exhibitions to further promote Hong Kong brands. The Trade and Industry Department and the HKTDC will also enhance support for SMEs in developing brands and expanding the sales network of e‑commerce;

    (v) enhancing the services of the Hong Kong Design Centre – The organisation and functions of the Hong Kong Design Centre will be re‑structured, so as to assist SMEs in the design industry to enhance their services in product and brand design, and strengthen collaboration and interface with start‑ups and Mainland enterprises operating in Hong Kong;

    (vi) enhancing incentives for recurrent exhibitions – An additional provision of $500 million will be allocated for launching the Incentive Scheme for Recurrent Exhibitions 2.0, targeting new and international exhibitions of large scale, in order to further promote mega‑event economy and the development of the convention and exhibition industry;

    (vii) supporting participation in government procurement – The HKHA will refine the application procedures for admission to the list of maintenance works contractors, providing more tendering opportunities for contractors; and

    (viii) enhancing security of payment in the construction industry – The Government has introduced the Construction Industry Security of Payment Bill, which prohibits the use of unfair payment terms such as “conditional payment” in contracts and introduces an adjudication mechanism to resolve payment disputes.

    Develop Silver Economy

    135. Given the rapid expansion of the silver market, there is growing demand for products and services catering to the elderly.  Developing new products and services to meet the needs of the elderly will help enhance their quality of life, and also generate business opportunities.

    136. The Government will set up a Working Group on Promoting Silver Economy, led by the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration. The working group will implement measures in five areas:

    (i) boosting “silver consumption” – We will work with all sectors to foster elderly‑friendly consumption, and encourage incorporation of silver economy elements into their business, for example, by offering discounts to the elderly. Efforts will also be made to safeguard the rights and interests of elderly consumers;

    (ii) developing the “silver industry” – We will promote marketisation and industrialisation of products catering to the elderly by consolidating funding resources to support product provision and market expansion by the business sector;

    (iii) promoting “quality assurance of silver products” – We will promote the certification of products catering to the elderly to enhance their recognition and appeal. Standards adopted will be aligned with those of the Mainland and overseas to facilitate sales network expansion;

    (iv) enhancing “silver financial and security arrangements” – We will assist the elderly in making proper financial arrangements and strengthening their financial security. Relevant measures include promoting retirement financial planning products offered by the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited, and providing investor education for the elderly; and

    (v) unleashing “silver productivity” – We will help unleash the productivity of the elderly through retraining, re‑employment and other measures.

    Promote Sustainable Development of the Agriculture and Fisheries Industries

    137. The Government will continue to take forward the Blueprint for the Sustainable Development of Agriculture and Fisheries. Relevant work includes developing deep sea mariculture at Wong Chuk Kok Hoi and Mirs Bay new fish culture zones, conducting preparatory work for the Agricultural Park Phase 2 development, implementing urban farming strategy in NDAs, facilitating the livestock sector to construct modernised and environmental‑friendly multi‑storey livestock farms and promoting leisure farming and fisheries.

    (To be continued.)

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: CE lays out agenda for development

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    This is my third Policy Address.

    The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC Central Committee) adopted the Resolution of the CPC Central Committee on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese Modernization. The resolution calls on Hong Kong to fully harness the institutional strengths of “one country, two systems” while consolidating and enhancing its status as an international financial, shipping and trade centre. It also supports Hong Kong’s position to become an international hub for high-calibre talents, to exert a greater role in our country’s opening up to the world, and to deepen collaboration within the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) through better harmonisation of rules and mechanisms.

    In running for office, more than two years ago, I stated that “we must embrace a reform mindset” and we “need further revamping”. I proposed to build a “result-oriented” government, setting key performance indicators (KPIs) to create a new government culture. I put forward a series of reform measures, including the establishment of Care Teams to enhance district services, introduction of the Advance Allocation Scheme to shorten the waiting time for public housing, and assistance to junior secondary students living in subdivided units (SDUs) for tackling intergenerational poverty. I believe that we must maintain our development momentum and self-renewal, and that we must embrace changes while staying principled, innovative and flexible in meeting challenges and opportunities.

    Regarding system reforms, I work on the principle that anything essential but lacking in the system must be established; any serious shortcomings must be rectified; any bottlenecks, weaknesses or hurdles must be overcome; and any areas in need of consolidation must be reinforced and improved. In the reform process, we have to decide what should be built from scratch, what should be overhauled to set things right, and what should be consolidated and bolstered. In taking forward reforms, we must have a systemic mindset and manage the relationships between overall and local interests, between the present and the future, between macro and micro concerns. While we may make reference to the successful experiences of other places, we cannot adopt them directly given the differences in the basis and structure of our systems. Our reform proposals must take heed of the prevailing circumstances and be tailored to local conditions.

    Since becoming Chief Executive, I have carried out reforms along the above principle.

    On implementation of “one country, two systems”, we fulfilled the constitutional responsibility to enact local legislation for Article 23 of the Basic Law; we reformed the institutional set-up of the District Councils by implementing the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong”; we enacted new legislation to enable an essentially automatic extension of land leases in an orderly manner for a term of 50 years to beyond 2047, manifesting the long term adherence to “one country, two systems”.

    On governance, we reformed the government structure and reshuffled the duties among policy bureaus, increasing their number from 13 to 15. We created three new Deputy Secretaries of Department to strengthen co-ordination of work across bureaus, setting up task forces led by the Deputy Secretaries to enhance implementation. We cultivated a government culture focusing on results. We also introduced a mechanism mobilising the Government at all levels to respond to major incidents.

    In economic development, we established the Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited (HKIC) to optimise the use of government funds for the development of industries and our economy. We pressed ahead with the development of the “eight centres” and the Northern Metropolis, taking an industry oriented approach. We set up the Hong Kong Talent Engage (HKTE) and the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES) to strengthen our efforts in trawling for talents and enterprises. We also established Hong Kong as a regional hub for higher education.

    As for people’s livelihoods, we implemented healthcare reform and took steps to build our primary review mechanism for drugs and medical devices. We set up a system for bringing in healthcare professionals to alleviate manpower shortage in the public healthcare system. We also launched Light Public Housing (LPH) to fill short-term gaps in the supply of public housing, and established the Task Force on Tackling the Issue of Subdivided Units. We pooled resources for targeted poverty alleviation. We established an annual review mechanism for minimum wage protection. We also rationalised traffic flow among the three road harbour crossings.

    Reform is a continuous process. Over the past two years, my team and I have focused on economic growth and on improving people’s livelihoods through development, with the well-being of the people of Hong Kong close to our hearts. This Policy Address will deepen our reforms and explore new growth areas. Measures include building an international gold trading market, promoting high value added maritime services, and building a commodity trading ecosystem and internationally accredited metal warehouses. We will promulgate the Development Outline for the Hong Kong Shenzhen Innovation & Technology Park in the Loop, building a testing ground for policy and institutional innovation. We will also set up a working group on developing the low altitude economy.

    In this Policy Address, I will continue to follow through the “four proposals” put forward by President Xi Jinping in his important speech delivered on 1 July 2022. I will also outline our vision and objectives for reforms and changes, as well as the related key measures and KPIs. A Supplement offering more details on the policy measures and related matters has also been compiled.

    This is the English translation of the opening remarks in Chief Executive John Lee’s 2024 Policy Address, delivered on October 16.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: HK hones its financial edge

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    Chief Executive John Lee unveiled bold plans in his 2024 Policy Address for consolidating and enhancing Hong Kong’s status as an international financial centre.

    Upon highlighting the fact that Hong Kong is an international financial centre, ranking third globally and first in investment environment, he stated that the Government will continue with reforms to reinforce and enhance the city’s status.

    The Chief Executive explained that Hong Kong is an attractive location for investors for gold storage, spurring relevant activities such as gold trading, settlement, and delivery.  

    As such, his administration will capitalise on Hong Kong’s strengths as an international financial centre to build the city into an international gold trading centre.

    The Chief Executive provided details of the objective of building an international gold trading market given the city ranks among the world’s largest import and export markets for gold by volume.

    “The Government will promote the development of world-class gold storage facilities, facilitating the storage and delivery of spot gold by users and investors in Hong Kong, and driving demand for related services such as collateral and loan businesses, opening up new growth areas of the financial sector.”

    He added that the Financial Services & the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) will set up a working group to take forward the establishment of an international gold trading centre.

    “This will include, among other things, strengthening the trading mechanism and regulatory framework, promoting application of cutting-edge financial technology, and actively exploring with the Mainland authorities on the inclusion of gold-related products in the mutual market access programme.”

    Mr Lee also outlined his plan to deepen market access and enriching offshore renminbi business.

    “We will continue to enhance the mutual market access regime and reinforce our status as the world’s largest offshore renminbi business hub, contributing to the internationalisation of RMB. Key measures include continuously improving our infrastructure and upgrading the Central Moneymarkets Unit to facilitate the settlement of various assets in different currencies by international investors.

    “We will also develop the fixed income market infrastructure by, for instance, setting up a central clearing system for RMB-denominated bond repurchase (repo) transactions, making RMB sovereign bonds issued in Hong Kong a more popular choice of collateral in offshore markets. We will look to enhance the Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect Scheme as well.”

    The Chief Executive indicated that the Government will strive to make better use of the currency swap agreement between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region with our country to enhance offshore RMB liquidity.

    In doing so, it will provide more RMB-denominated investment products.

    Part of that plan calls for the Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (HKEX) to encourage more listed companies to have shares listed in the RMB stock trading counter. 

    Apart from increasing the issuance of RMB bonds and supporting issuance of more green and sustainable offshore RMB bonds in Hong Kong, it will also seek support from the Ministry of Finance for boosting the size and frequency of issuing RMB sovereign bonds, and launching offshore RMB sovereign bond futures as soon as possible, in Hong Kong.

    Additionally, the Government will actively liaise with Mainland authorities to expand the Bond Connect (Southbound Trading) as appropriate, including expanding the scope of eligible Mainland investors to non-bank financial institutions, and enriching liquidity management tools that facilitate offshore investors’ investment in onshore bonds by actively exploring and introducing various bond repo and collateral products and arrangements using onshore RMB bonds.

    Mr Lee shared the Government’s plans to enhance Hong Kong’s status as an international risk management centre and an international asset and wealth management centre.

    “Hong Kong has the highest concentration of insurance companies and the highest insurance density in Asia. To further strengthen Hong Kong’s position as a global risk management centre, the Insurance Authority will initiate a review next year. 

    “We will examine capital requirements for infrastructure investment, to enriching insurance companies’ asset allocation for risk diversification and driving investment in infrastructure such as the Northern Metropolis. We will also continue to invite Mainland and overseas enterprises, including large state-owned enterprises in the Mainland, to establish captive insurers in Hong Kong.”

    He added that there are 2,700 single-family offices in Hong Kong, and the industry has predicted that Hong Kong will become the world’s largest cross-boundary wealth management centre by 2028.  

    “We will make every effort to attract more global capital to be managed in Hong Kong, including facilitating the opening of new distribution channels for private equity funds through HKEX’s listing.”

    On top of that, he stressed that the Government will collaborate with sovereign wealth funds in regions along the Belt & Road.

    “We will strive to collaborate with large-scale sovereign wealth funds in regions such as the Middle East, in financing the setting up of funds to invest in assets in the Mainland and other regions.”

    Mr Lee also explained the measures to enhance the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme, effective today. This means that investment in residential properties is allowed provided that the transaction price of the residential property concerned is no less than $50 million, with the amount of real estate investment to be counted towards the total capital investment capped at $10 million.

    Additionally, by expanding the scope of tax concessions, the Government will consult the industry on the proposal to add qualifying transactions eligible for tax concessions for funds and single-family offices.

    The Government is committed to proactively expanding markets and deepening overseas networks, Mr Lee said, as he conveyed its strategy to accomplish such a goal.

    “We will continue to actively expand and deepen our overseas networks, including forging financial co-operation with the Middle East and the region of the Association of South East Asian Nations, organising more international financial mega events, and exploring further collaboration with Islamic markets in the area of finance.”

    Mr Lee expounded on how the Government will accomplish its aim of further enhancing the securities market.

    Relevant measures include opening up new sources of capital overseas, striving for more listing of enterprises in Hong Kong, optimising vetting of listing applications and boosting market efficiency.

    He also noted the Government’s proposal for providing convenient cross-boundary financial services arrangement.

    “To promote financial inclusion, we will facilitate members of the public in making cross-boundary transactions and payments. 

    “The Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the People’s Bank of China are pushing forward the linkage of fast payment systems in the two places, ie the Faster Payment System in Hong Kong and the Internet Banking Payment System in the Mainland, to facilitate real-time, cross-boundary small-value payments by residents on both sides; and they will implement the arrangement enabling issuance of bank cards by Mainland branches of Hong Kong-incorporated banks in the Mainland.”

    Mr Lee revealed that his Policy Address embraces measure to enhance Hong Kong’s green finance ecosystem, due to the fact that the city is a leading sustainable finance hub in Asia.

    “The international carbon market (Core Climate) launched by the HKEX is the world’s only carbon market to offer Hong Kong dollar and RMB settlement for trading of international voluntary carbon credits.

    “The Hong Kong Monetary Authority will roll out the Sustainable Finance Action Agenda. In addition, the FSTB will launch a roadmap on the full adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards – Sustainability Disclosure Standards this year, leading Hong Kong to be among the first jurisdictions to align its local requirements with the standards of the International Sustainability Standards Board.”

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Government News – Retirement Commissioner welcomes commitment to complete the Retirement Villages Act review

    Source: Retirement Commissioner

     

    The Retirement Commissioner is pleased to see the Government’s commitment to progress the review of the Retirement Villages Act 2003.

     

    Associate Minister for Housing Tama Potaka and Seniors Minister Casey Costello announced today (Wednesday) that the Government is taking a more focused approach to the review including considering three priority areas relating to:

     

    • maintenance and repairs of operator-owned chattels and fixtures
    • managing complaints and disputes
    • options for incentivising or requiring earlier capital repayment when residents move out of a village.

     

    This comes following analysis of more than 11,000 submissions on a discussion paper developed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development which tabled a raft of proposals relating to retirement village living.

     

    Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson says the three areas of focus align to the issues that she’s seen regularly raised over the years and part of what she’s been advocating to see updated in the legislation.

     

    “There are longstanding issues that need to be resolved with a holistic look at the system. Changes will ultimately be good, not just for the residents, but those in the industry as well,” she says.

     

    “Having a fit for purpose, independent complaints scheme for example, will help take the onus off village managers from trying to resolve the messier disputes and provide a safety valve for both parties.

     

    “Providing some form of payment to residents or their families, while waiting for the License to Occupy to sell, whether in the form of interest or the capital sum minus the deferred management fee, may make the lives of village managers easier. Villages will deal with fewer distressed families who aren’t sure how they can pay for their parent’s rest-home care.”

     

    The Retirement Commissioner first called for a review of the legislation following the release of her white paper published in 2020 and the response to submissions received in 2021.

     

    “Retirement villages remain an attractive choice for some older New Zealanders, providing a sense of community and a quality option for those who wish to downsize,” says the Retirement Commissioner.

     

    “I look forward to a speedy resolution to address the most significant concerns we have with the current legislation and see the consumer protections for residents strengthened.”

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI: UXLINK Celebrates Milestone of 28 Million Global Users, Reinforcing Its Status as the Largest Web3 Social Platform

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SINGAPORE, Oct. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — UXLINK, the world’s largest Web3 social platform and infrastructure provider, proudly announces a significant milestone of reaching over 28 million users globally. As the leading Web3 platform, UXLINK continues to shape the future of decentralized social networking by seamlessly connecting users, developers, and real-world scenarios in sectors such as food, clothing, housing, and transportation.

    With a mission to build a comprehensive Web3 ecosystem, UXLINK offers an innovative social graph that enhances user engagement through its “link-to-earn” model, allowing users to build connections and groups while earning rewards for their participation. The platform’s intuitive features are designed to guide new users into the world of Web3, making it accessible and user-friendly.

    “Our rapid growth is a testament to the value that UXLINK brings to its community. We are committed to further enhancing the platform by introducing new features that not only serve users but also empower developers to create unique applications,” said Sean, CEO at UXLINK. “By integrating blockchain technology, UXLINK is redefining what it means to connect in the digital age.”

    Empowering Developers Through Social Growth Layer

    In addition to serving users, UXLINK is building a robust Social Growth Layer, which provides app developers with modular services for various application scenarios. The Social Growth Layer offers chain abstraction, unified accounts, social protocols, and rich data integration, enabling developers to focus on delivering exceptional product experiences.

    “Developers are the backbone of the Web3 ecosystem. By providing a flexible and scalable infrastructure, we are lowering the barriers for innovation and enabling developers to achieve rapid success,” Sean added.

    With over 200 partners in the UXLINK ecosystem, the platform is rapidly expanding its reach and capabilities. Several applications have already leveraged UXLINK’s infrastructure to accelerate growth and secure token listings on major centralized exchanges (CEXs).

    For more information, visit http://www.uxlink.io.

    About UXLINK:

    UXLINK is the world’s largest Web3 social platform and infrastructure provider, connecting a wide array of ecosystem partners and users through a seamless and interactive digital experience. By leveraging blockchain technology, UXLINK aims to redefine social networking, ensuring a secure, transparent, and rewarding environment for its global community.

    Contact Details:

    UXLINK: https://www.uxlink.io/
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/UXLINKofficial
    Telegram: https://t.me/uxlinkofficial, https://t.me/uxlinkofficial2
    CMC: https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/uxlink/

    Contact Information:
    UXLINK
    admin@uxlink.io

    Media Contact:
    Rachita Chettri
    MediaX Agency
    contact@mediax.agency

    Disclaimer: This content is provided by “UXLINK”. The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the content provider. The information provided in this press release is not a solicitation for investment, nor is it intended as investment advice, financial advice, or trading advice. It is strongly recommended you practice due diligence, including consultation with a professional financial advisor, before investing in or trading cryptocurrency and securities. Please conduct your own research and invest at your own risk.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c6e40cdd-c017-4e64-ade0-baee64c201a6

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Claims that Qantas is greenwashing build a case for carbon assurance: here’s what it is

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Md Safiullah (Safi), Senior Lecturer in Finance, RMIT University

    ChristianChan/Shutterstock

    Qantas is being taken to Australia’s consumer regulator over its claim it is committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

    The Environmental Defenders Office and the advocacy group Climate Integrity say the claim is “not backed up by credible targets or substantiating strategies” making it potentially misleading and in breach of the Australian Consumer Law.

    The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has yet to decide whether to investigate the complaint, and Qantas has yet to respond.

    The complaint follows a ruling by a Dutch Court earlier this year that the airline KLM had misled consumers by creating the false impression it was sustainable.

    The win has spurred the European Commission to write to 20 airlines identifying potentially misleading claims and inviting them to bring their practices in line.

    Of most concern to the European regulators are claims the carbon emissions caused by flights can be offset by climate projects and the use of sustainable fuels, to which the consumers can contribute by paying additional fees.

    Carbon assurance assesses claims ahead of time

    These kinds of complaints would be much easier for airlines (and other compnies) to deal with if they had submitted themselves to a process known as carbon assurance ahead of time.

    Usually entered into voluntarily, and conducted by an independent assessor in accordance with an international standard, the process verifies the accuracy, transparency, and credibility of an organisation’s carbon emissions claims.

    My own research with Linh Nguyen, just published in Finance Research Letters, finds firms with high carbon assurance scores are more likely to obtain more trade credit from their suppliers.

    Europe and Australia are moving towards making carbon assurance mandatory for large corporations.

    Few firms submit themselves to it

    A survey by KPMG International finds that while nearly all of the world’s 250 largest firms report on the sustainability of their operations, only two-thirds submit themselves to carbon assurance.

    Another survey of 5,183 companies from 42 countries that publish emissions data finds half don’t engage a carbon assuror.

    This could be because they are afraid of what the assuror will find.

    An international survey of 750 companies that sought some level of external assurance found just 14% received a reasonable assurance.

    Many firms aren’t ready

    Assessors are hard to find.
    NattapongPunna/Shutterstock

    Assurors, and the skills within the organisation to handle the process are hard to find. While international standards are in place, there isn’t yet a professional or regulatory body to certify assurors.

    The Australian government intends to make assurance reports for the
    Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions of large firms mandatory from July 2026.

    Scope 1 and scope 2 emissions are the direct and indirect emissions of the corporation itself.

    The government intends to make Scope 3 emissions (those in other parts of the corporation’s supply and distribution chain) mandatory from July 2030.

    It will be important to get the systems in place.

    While what the firms report will matter a lot, what will matter almost as much is an assurance we can believe what they report.

    Md Safiullah (Safi) does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Claims that Qantas is greenwashing build a case for carbon assurance: here’s what it is – https://theconversation.com/claims-that-qantas-is-greenwashing-build-a-case-for-carbon-assurance-heres-what-it-is-239592

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: CE’s speech in delivering “The Chief Executive’s 2024 Policy Address” to LegCo (8)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    VII. Take Forward the Northern Metropolis as Growth Engine and Deepen GBA Collaboration(A) Take Forward Development of the Northern Metropolis138. The Northern Metropolis is the new engine of Hong Kong’s economic development. We will expedite the implementation of economic and housing‑related projects in the Northern Metropolis, while maintaining a prudent fiscal position.139. The Northern Metropolis will gradually enter the maturity phase. In the next five years, some 60 000 housing units involving about 10 new PRH estates will be completed and ready for intake. The first batch of land at the San Tin Technopole will be put to the market, and the new Huanggang Port building with co‑location of immigration and customs clearance arrangement will be completed. In the second five‑year period, the number of new housing units will increase by about 150 000, with over 10 million square metres of gross floor area available for economic uses. The first joint‑user government building in Kwu Tung North will be put to use, and the expanded North District Hospital will be ready for service. As for transport infrastructure, construction of the Northern Link (NOL) Main Line is scheduled for completion in 2034, and the Northern Metropolis Highway (San Tin Section) is set to open in 2036. These developments will significantly boost our economic growth and bolster our R&D and technology industries, while providing a better living environment which will help attract talents and encourage them to settle in Hong Kong for good. It will also enhance the quality of life of the people of Hong Kong, improving their livelihood and well‑being.140. The Government will seek funding for the first‑stage of San Tin Technopole’s infrastructure and begin construction works this year. The target is to deliver about 20 hectares of new I&T sites in phases, beginning in 2026‑27, for the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation’s development and operation. In addition, the second‑phase of the Yuen Long South NDA will begin in mid‑2025. The preliminary development proposal for Ngau Tam Mei will be announced shortly, with land reserved for developing the Northern Metropolis University Town, the third medical school and an integrated teaching hospital. This will be followed by the announcement of the preliminary development proposals for the New Territories North New Town and the Ma Tso Lung area before end this year. The rezoning process for Sandy Ridge in the North District will begin this year, expanding its I&T sites to 10 hectares for use as data centres and related purposes.141. We are exploring the establishment of a pilot industrial park by granting some of the logistics sites in the Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen NDA to a company established and led by the Government. The company will, in accordance with the Government’s industrial policies, be responsible for formulating the park’s development and operation strategies (including considering whether to accept strategic investment), taking up day‑to‑day management and attracting businesses and investment. We will announce the details in the first quarter of next year. Separately, we will consider flexible disposal approaches for industry land to meet the development needs of individual industries, with a view to driving industry development.142. To expedite development of the Northern Metropolis, the Government will adopt, on a pilot basis, a large‑scale land‑disposal approach, under which sizable land parcels with commercial value and earmarked for provision of community facilities will be selected and granted to successful bidders for collective development. This approach can speed up development of the land parcels, enabling a more co‑ordinated design for the area. We have identified three land parcels, each of 10 to 20 hectares, as pilot sites.(B) Promote Development of the Hong Kong‑Shenzhen I&T Park in the Loop143. The Hetao Shenzhen‑Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co‑operation Zone, located on both sides of the Shenzhen River, consists of the Shenzhen Park and the Hong Kong Park. Capitalising on the strengths of “One Country, Two Systems” with the geographic advantages of “one river, two banks”, the Government will develop the Hong Kong Park in the Loop into a world‑class, industry‑academia‑research platform, an internationally competitive R&D transformation and pilot production base for industries, a hub for pooling global I&T resources, as well as a testing ground for institutional and policy innovation.144. I have established the Steering Committee on the Hong Kong‑Shenzhen I&T Park in the Loop, chaired by myself, to lead the HKSAR Government to formulate the overall strategy, planning and layout for the development of the Hong Kong Park. The Development Outline for the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen‑Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co‑operation Zone will be published later this year, setting out innovative policies to facilitate the flow of personnel, materials, capital and data between the two parks, making the co‑operation zone a crucial source of new quality productive forces for our country.145. The Hong Kong Park will be developed in two phases from west to east. The Government is boosting both the speed and quantity, doubling the first‑phase development’s gross floor area to 1 million square metres. Construction of the first three buildings will be completed in phases, from the end of this year. The first batch of tenants, from life and health technology, AI, data science and other pillar industries, will begin to move in next year. The remaining five buildings will be completed in the coming five years.146. We are also exploring with the Mainland authorities the trial implementation of innovative facilitation measures, including facilitating cross‑boundary travel of designated personnel of the two parks, enabling the cross‑boundary movement of materials by using low‑altitude, unmanned aerial vehicles, and facilitating cross‑boundary fund transfers by Mainland enterprises settling in the Hong Kong Park.(C) Leverage the Strengths of the GBA to Foster Mutual Capacity Development147. The GBA is a strategic fulcrum of the new development pattern of our country, a demonstration zone of high‑quality development, and a pioneer of Chinese modernisation. And Hong Kong is an active participant, facilitator and beneficiary.148. To strengthen top‑level planning and steer, I have established the Steering Group on Integration into National Development to lead the HKSAR Government and all sectors of the community to take a more proactive role in promoting the integrated development of Hong Kong and the Mainland, particularly the Mainland cities of the GBA, deepening collaboration through various co‑operation task forces between the two sides. The Government will continue to promote the GBA development by building a higher level of connectivity, facilitating policy innovations and breakthroughs, pursuing wider harmonisation of rules and mechanisms, and expediting co‑ordinated development of I&T and related industries.Capitalise on the Mainland’s Land Resources and Hong Kong’s Advantages in Cargo Flow to Develop a Logistics Industry Circle149. The HKIA Dongguan Logistics Park is an excellent example for the development of an innovative co‑operation mechanism. The park, built with Hong Kong investment, combines our strengths in aviation and logistics with the Mainland’s advantages in terms of land and manpower resources, leading to a reduction in operating costs and cargo handling time. We will work with the Dongguan Municipal Government to jointly develop the permanent logistics park.Promote Collaboration in the Airport Cluster of the GBA to Expand Business Networks150. We will combine the strengths of the HKIA and the Zhuhai Airport, enhancing the Fly‑Via‑Zhuhai‑Hong Kong direct passenger service and promoting the development of the international air‑cargo business in collaboration with the Zhuhai Municipality, to achieve mutual benefits.Enhance the Mechanism on Recognition of Professional Qualifications151. In collaboration with the Guangdong Province, we have established an evaluation mechanism of post titles for the first batch of Hong Kong engineering professionals. We will continue to do so for other construction professions on a gradual basis.  We are also collaborating with the Guangdong Province and Macao to create GBA Standards on the skill level for skilled workers in the construction sector, and will work with the “One Examination, Multiple Certification” arrangement so that those who pass the examinations adopting the GBA Standards can concurrently obtain vocational skill certificates issued by the three places. This will enhance the training quality of the construction industry in the GBA and nurture talents.Mobilise Capital for Joint Investment in the GBA152. The HKIC is proactively exploring with relevant Mainland organisations co‑operation opportunities for joint investment in GBA projects that present the potential to realise economic and social benefits, taking into account market developments.Promote Data Flow for Public Convenience and Business Facilitation153. The Standard Contract for the Cross‑boundary Flow of Personal Information Within the GBA (Mainland, Hong Kong), piloted in the banking, credit referencing and healthcare sectors since last year, has been operating smoothly, streamlining cross‑boundary data flow in compliance with relevant rules. We will extend the measure to all sectors, promoting more cross‑boundary services to benefit the public and businesses while facilitating data flow throughout the GBA.Scale up Medical Collaboration in the GBA154. We will extend the Elderly Health Care Voucher GBA Pilot Scheme to cover nine Mainland cities in the GBA, and expand the sharing of cross‑boundary medical records via the eHealth platform. We will work to enable the cross‑boundary use of data, samples, drugs and medical devices through the GBA Clinical Trial Collaboration Platform and the Real‑World Study and Application Centre in the Hetao Shenzhen‑Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co‑operation Zone. That will accelerate development of the pharmaceutical industry for medical innovation. We will also foster collaboration with the GBA to promote specialist training that aligns with international standards.Strengthen Legal Co-operation155. We will continue to follow up on the implementation of the enhanced arrangement for cross‑boundary service of judicial documents, and promote the establishment of a GBA legal information platform and a dedicated platform for GBA lawyers to facilitate professional exchange and training.Nurture Talents and Create Opportunities for Youth Development156. We have been encouraging local universities to offer education services in the GBA. To date, four GBA campuses have been set up. In addition, we have set up the GBA Youth Employment Scheme to encourage Hong Kong youths to work in the region. We are exploring the provision of a reciprocal arrangement.(To be continued.)

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Countercyclical macroprudential measures for property mortgage loans

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
     
         The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) today (October 16) issued guidelines to banks adjusting the countercyclical macroprudential measures for property mortgage loans.
          
         Following the abolition of the demand-side management measures for residential properties by the Government and the adjustments of the supervisory measures for property mortgage loans by the HKMA in February 2024, sentiment in the residential property market has improved. The average monthly housing transaction volume rose from 3 300 units in the first quarter of 2024 to 6 000 units in the second quarter. As market sentiment subsequently softened, the average monthly transaction volume fell back to 3 400 units in the third quarter. Official residential property prices declined by 6.2 per cent in the first eight months of 2024, with a cumulative correction of 26.6 per cent from their peak in 2021. The non-residential property market remained sluggish. In the first eight months of 2024, the prices of offices, flatted factories and retail premises eased further by 17.5 per cent, 11.8 per cent and 13.0 per cent respectively. Meanwhile, the external environment is still facing uncertainties including the pace of US interest rate cuts.
          
         The aim of the countercyclical macroprudential measures for property mortgage loans is to introduce appropriate measures in the light of changes in market conditions to ensure that, on the one hand, banks maintain effective risk management and, on the other hand, the measures minimise as far as possible the impact on the public in buying and selling properties. Taking all relevant factors into account, the HKMA considers that there is room to further adjust the countercyclical macroprudential measures, while continuing to maintain banking stability and ensuring the proper risk management of property mortgage loans:
     
         1. The maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratio for all residential properties will be set at 70 per cent, regardless of the value of the property and whether it is for self-occupation.

         2. For mortgage loans assessed based on the net worth of mortgage applicants, the maximum LTV ratio will be adjusted from 60 per cent to 70 per cent, which will be the same as the maximum LTV ratio for mortgage loans assessed based on the debt servicing ability of mortgage applicants. This adjustment is applicable to both residential properties and non-residential properties (including offices, retail shops and industrial buildings). 

         3. The debt servicing ratio (DSR) limit for non-self-use properties will be adjusted from 40 per cent to 50 per cent, which will be the same as the DSR limit for self-use properties. This adjustment is applicable to both residential properties and non-residential properties.

         4. The requirement to lower the applicable maximum LTV ratio and DSR limit by 10 percentage points for mortgage applicants who have borrowed or guaranteed other outstanding mortgage(s) at the time of making a mortgage application will be lifted. 

         After these adjustments, the maximum LTV ratio will be standardised at 70 per cent and the DSR limit will be standardised at 50 per cent for all residential properties and non-residential properties.
          
         These adjustments will take effect from today and apply to property transactions with provisional sale and purchase (S&P) agreements signed today or subsequently. The adjustments are also applicable to mortgage applications for properties under construction where the provisional S&P agreements were signed previously and the properties are scheduled for completion on or after today.
          
         The Chief Executive of the HKMA, Mr Eddie Yue, said, “Taking into account the latest market developments, the HKMA has decided to adjust the countercyclical macroprudential measures for property mortgage loans and revert the maximum LTV ratio and DSR limit to the pre-2009 levels before the countercyclical macroprudential measures were first introduced. Even with these adjustments announced today, the Hong Kong banking sector has ample buffers to cope with any challenges from a sharp correction in property prices. Once again, I would like to remind the public that buying a property is a long-term financial commitment. Prospective buyers should carefully assess the risks involved and their ability to afford a property.”
          
         The HKMA will continue to monitor market developments closely and introduce measures to safeguard banking stability as conditions in the property market evolve.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: New maritime action plan unveiled

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    Chief Executive John Lee said the Government will step up efforts in fostering Hong Kong’s maritime industry while taking a multipronged approach to consolidating its status as an international shipping centre.

    Mr Lee made the announcement today while outlining key measures in his 2024 Policy Address.

    He explained that the existing Hong Kong Maritime & Port Board will be reconstituted into the “Hong Kong Maritime & Port Development Board”, a high-level advisory body to assist the Government in formulating policies and long-term development strategies. 

    Additional funding will be provided to enhance its research capabilities, strengthen its Mainland and overseas promotional work and step up manpower training, supporting the Government in policy implementation more effectively and promoting the sustainable development of Hong Kong’s maritime industry.”

    He emphasised that the Government will strive to promote the development of high value-added maritime and professional services in an effort to boost Hong Kong’s maritime strengths.

    Relevant measures include enhancing and promoting tax concessions to strengthen the local maritime ecosystem, attracting maritime service enterprises to establish a presence in Hong Kong and developing maritime services talents.

    Regarding advancing the development of a green maritime centre, the Chief Executive stated that the Government will start with promoting the green transformation of registered ships.  This includes offering cash incentives to ships meeting relevant international standards on decarbonisation.

    Another action plan, Mr Lee said, calls for developing a green maritime fuel bunkering centre.

    “We will promulgate the Action Plan on Green Maritime Fuel Bunkering by the end of this year. We will take forward the related infrastructural development such as green maritime fuel bunker terminals, promote port emissions reduction, offer incentives to encourage green maritime fuel usage, co-operate with ports in the Greater Bay Area, and construct a green shipping corridor with major trading partners.”

    He added that offering green fuel bunkering facilities will provide green ships with smart information concerning navigational safety, and enhance the ship monitoring systems to ensure safety during fuel bunkering.

    Because commodities, including metals and minerals, account for more than half of the global shipping trade volume, Mr Lee pointed out the Government is keen on creating a commodity trading ecosystem.

    “Shipowners and commodity traders are the key users of shipping routes and maritime services. Their presence and operation in Hong Kong can drive the maritime services industry, and boost demand for related financial and professional services such as hedging activities of related futures products, conducive to consolidating and enhancing Hong Kong’s status as an international financial, shipping and trade centre. 

    “We will explore the introduction of tax concessions and support measures to attract relevant enterprises in the Mainland and overseas to set up businesses in Hong Kong, building a commodity trading ecosystem in our city.”

    He noted that there has been an international commodity exchange expressing its intention to establish accredited warehouses in Hong Kong for storage and delivery of commodities, including non‑ferrous metal products.

    As such, the Government will capitalise on this opportunity to establish relevant supporting facilities so as to attract Mainland enterprises to engage in commodity trade, especially of non‑ferrous metal, in Hong Kong.

    On the topic of developing the Smart Port and conducting international promotions, Mr Lee shared that the Government will complete the installation of a port community system next year.

    “It will be equipped with functions such as shipment tracking, real-time transport information, electronic information and document retrieval, and port data analysis, enabling the flow and sharing of data among stakeholders in the maritime, port and logistics industries.

    “The Government will also organise more major events with international maritime organisations and enterprises to showcase to the world Hong Kong’s maritime strengths.”

    The Chief Executive also took time in his Policy Address to elaborate on the Government’s strategy of expanding high value-added logistics services.

    “We are taking forward the Action Plan on Modern Logistics Development, and will release four quality logistics sites for the industry to develop modern, high-end, multi-storey logistics facilities. 

    “The findings of the planning study on the development of modern logistics clusters in the Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen New Development Area will be published next year.”

    The Government will continue to strengthen co-operation in the logistics sector with the western part of Guangdong and other neighbouring areas, making good use of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge to expand the catchment area of its cargo services and facilitate more goods to go through Hong Kong, Mr Lee added.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –