After a decade-long fight for justice, the Preliminary Issues Trial of Nigerian Law for Shell vs Ogale and Bille communities is set to take place at the UK High Court from 13 February to 10 March 2025.
Ten years ago, residents from the Bille and Ogale communities in Nigeria claimed their livelihoods had been destroyed and homes damaged by hundreds of oil spills caused by Shell. The pollution caused widespread devastation to the local environment, killing fish and plant life, leaving thousands of people without access to clean drinking water.
The communities brought their claims in the UK courts however Shell repeatedly delayed the case arguing it had no legal responsibility for any of the pollution. The delay has had a devastating effect on people’s lives.
On 6 December 2024, the UK Court of Appeal gave the green light for the case finally to go ahead. Isa Sanusi, Amnesty International’s Country Director for Nigeria, said:
“The Bille and Ogale communities of Nigeria’s Niger Delta oil-producing region have been living with the devastating impact of oil pollution for so long. Oil companies, particularly Shell, exposed them to multiple oil spills that have done permanent damage to farmlands, waterways, and drinking water – leaving them unable to farm or fish.
“Water contamination and other impacts affect even babies that are in some cases born with deformities. These communities have been deprived of a good standard of living. They deserve justice and effective remediation, and I hope this long-overdue trial goes someway to providing it.”
Amnesty International has published numerous reports, documenting the detrimental impact Shell’s operations are having on Nigerian communities. Going forward, Amnesty International is calling for Shell to conduct meaningful consultation with affected communities about its plans for disengagement. Shell must also provide a full remediation plan including details of all completed and ongoing clean-ups across its areas of operation, as well as adequate compensation for the severe and sustained harm affected communities have faced as a result of Shell’s operations in the Niger Delta.
Background
The two communities from Nigeria will be represented by Leigh Day. The Shell Preliminary Issues Trial of Nigerian Law will aim to resolve a number of Nigerian private and constitutional law questions, with a view to confirming the legal framework to be applied to the subsequent trial between Shell and the Ogale and Bille communities.
Over the past 20 years, Amnesty International has conducted extensive research and documented the human rights and environmental impact of Shell’s operations in the Niger Delta. In Amnesty’s 2023 report, Nigeria: Tainted Sale?, the organization recommended a series of safeguards to protect the rights of people potentially affected by Shell’s planned disposal of its oil interests in Nigeria.
NHRC, India in collaboration with the Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur organised a National conference on combating human trafficking in the digital era In his inaugural address, NHRC, India Chairperson, Justice Shri V Ramasubramanian emphasised the need for building awareness among people about the pitfalls while engaging with digital spaces to ensure their safety
Highlighted strengthening of the regulatory and institutional frameworks as well as technological solutions to check effectively the misuse of digital space
Among various suggestions, the conference stressed on amending the ITP Act to provide clearer distinctions between child and adult trafficking with specific provisions to include cyber trafficking within its scope
Formal linkage between the ITPA and the IT Act also stressed filling existing legal gaps and addressing trafficking in the digital realm
Posted On: 10 FEB 2025 1:13PM by PIB Delhi
Justice Shri V Ramasubramanian, Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), India inaugurated a day-long National Conference on ‘Combating human trafficking in the digital era’ organised on 7th Februray, 2025 by the Commission in collaboration with the Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur, Chhattisgarh. With digital technologies increasingly being exploited for human trafficking, this conference examined the role of the internet, social media, cryptocurrency, and various online tools in facilitating trafficking crimes and the role of technology, law enforcement agencies, and the community in preventing them.
Addressing virtually, the experts, law enforcement officials, academicians, and activists gathered to deliberate upon the growing menace of cyber-enabled trafficking, Justice Ramasubramanian highlighted various forms of digital trafficking such as sexual exploitation, labour exploitation, organ trafficking, and forced marriage. He also highlighted “Active Recruitment,” known as Hook Fishing, and “Passive Recruitment,” known as Net Fishing using digital technology to lure in gullible people.
The NHRC, India Chairperson emphasised the need for building awareness among people about the pitfalls while engaging with digital spaces to ensure their safety besides strengthening the regulatory and institutional frameworks as well as technological solutions to check effectively the misuse of digital space.
The conference was divided into two thematic sessions. The first session focused on the role of the Internet in facilitating human trafficking and migrant smuggling: A legal, administrative, and regulatory perspective’. It was chaired by Smt Bhamathi Balasubramanian, IAS (Retd.), co-chaired by Dr Sanjeev Shukla, Inspector General of Police, Bilaspur. Other resource persons included Dr K.V.K. Santhy, Professor of Law, NALSAR Hyderabad; Shri Kirtan Rathore, Additional SP, Raipur; and Smt Pratibha Tiwari, Additional SP, Mahasamund.
The session provided a comprehensive discussion on the various factors contributing to human trafficking, with a strong emphasis on its gendered dimensions and the growing role of digital anonymity in facilitating such crimes. A significant portion of the discussion focused on the issue of migrant smuggling in different parts of India, particularly examining recruitment strategies, coordination networks, and the smuggling of victims.
Experts highlighted trafficking cases from Chhattisgarh, shedding light on the persistent problem of non-reporting and the critical role played by Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) in addressing these challenges. The session also explored the regulatory mechanisms in place to combat trafficking, emphasizing the need for capacity building and the development of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) tailored to the digital era. Additionally, the speakers underscored the role of the internet, artificial intelligence, and digital forensics in tracking and preventing trafficking cases, particularly those involving social media and missing children.
The second session was focused on the theme “Preventive Strategies against Human Trafficking: Role of Technology, Law Enforcement Agencies, Victim Support, and Community Engagement.” It was chaired by Dr Manish Mishra, Joint Director, Chhattisgarh Human Rights Commission, and co-chaired by Dr Purushotam Chandrakar, Member, Child Welfare Committee (Raipur). The panellists also included Ms Pallabi Ghosh, Founder & Director, Impact and Dialogue Foundation (Kolkata); Ms Chetna Desai; Shri Ritesh Kumar, Child Protection Officer, UNICEF, Chhattisgarh; and Prof. (Dr) Vishnu Konoorayar, Professor of Law, HNLU.
Shri Joginder Singh, Registrar (Law), NHRC, India in his concluding remarks said that combating human trafficking is a global effort requiring collaboration between governments, NGOs, technology companies, and individuals.
The conference brought forward several key suggestions to address the growing challenge of human trafficking some of which are as follows:
• Amend The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act (ITPA) to provide clearer distinctions between child and adult trafficking, with specific provisions to include cyber trafficking within its scope; • Formal linkage is needed between the ITPA and the IT Act to fill existing legal gaps and address trafficking in the digital realm;
• Increase awareness regarding self-reporting portals such as the Centralized Complaint and Prevention of Women and Children (CCPWC), which could serve as an effective tool for public participation in reporting trafficking cases;
• Equip and train Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) to combat trafficking in the digital era; • Authentic data on human trafficking needs to be systematically collected across different categories to better inform policies and interventions;
• There is a need for community engagement as a critical component in combating trafficking in all its forms by encouraging local communities to take an active role in preventing and reporting such crimes.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, continued his visit to Harbin today (February 10) to meet with leaders of Heilongjiang Province. He also met with the injured Hong Kong ice hockey athletes and Hong Kong people working and doing business in the three northeastern provinces, and visited the Beidahuang Museum.
Mr Lee met respectively with the Secretary of the CPC Heilongjiang Provincial Committee, Mr Xu Qin, and the Governor of Heilongjiang Province, Ms Liang Huiling, to exchange views on issues of mutual concern. Mr Lee noted that Heilongjiang Province has leveraged the ice and snow economy as a new engine for economic development by making good use of its rich ice and snow tourism resources while actively promoting winter sports. He added that Heilongjiang Province sets an example of integrating sports with cultural and tourism development, which is inspiring to Hong Kong.
Noting that Hong Kong and Heilongjiang share close economic and trade ties, with Hong Kong being the largest source of external investment for Heilongjiang, Mr Lee said that Hong Kong, as a “super connector” and “super value-adder”, can serve the Mainland in exploring global markets.
Regarding people-to-people exchanges, Mr Lee highlighted that the Individual Visit Scheme has been extended to include Harbin in Heilongjiang Province since May last year, while direct flights between Harbin and Hong Kong were officially launched in June last year. These developments have strengthened tourism co-operation between the two places and promoted people-to-people bonds. The Beijing Office and Liaoning Liaison Unit of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will continue to serve as a bridge to enhance exchanges between Hong Kong and Heilongjiang in various areas, he added.
Mr Lee also went to the athletes’ village to visit the Hong Kong ice hockey players who were injured yesterday (February 9) after the match, to understand their condition and offer his support. Mr Lee said he is highly concerned about the attack on Hong Kong athletes and has requested the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, and the Culture, Sports, and Tourism Bureau to follow up on the incident and make every effort to ensure the safety of athletes. Mr Lee noted that the Hong Kong athletes had remained calm and restrained during the incident, demonstrating professionalism and sportsmanship. He also praised the ice hockey team for their outstanding performance in the past competitions, making Hong Kong people proud. He encouraged the athletes not to let the incident affect their morale, to take good care of themselves, and to give their best in the games, showcasing the professionalism of Hong Kong athletes. He also assured them that the people of Hong Kong would fully support them.
At noon, Mr Lee met with Hong Kong people working and doing business in the three northeastern provinces to learn about their daily lives and development. He said that Hong Kong people and enterprises there serve as an essential bridge between Hong Kong and the three provinces. He encouraged them to introduce Hong Kong’s latest developments to local enterprises and tell the good stories of Hong Kong.
In the afternoon, Mr Lee visited the Beidahuang Museum in Harbin to understand the transformation of the Great Northern Wilderness, a plain region in northeastern Heilongjiang Province, from a barren wilderness into a key commodity grain base and a strategic grain reserve base of the country. He also gained insights into the Beidahuang Spirit, which embodies perseverance, resilience, and a pioneering mindset.
Separately, the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law, had a work meeting with the Director-General of the Department of Culture and Tourism of Heilongjiang Province, Ms He Jing, this afternoon. They had discussions on ways to strengthen cultural and tourism collaborations between Hong Kong and Heilongjiang. During the meeting, Miss Law gave a briefing on the latest developments in Hong Kong’s culture and tourism. She said that the cultural and tourism resources of Hong Kong and Heilongjiang are unique in their own ways. While Hong Kong, as a world city, is always innovating in integrating culture and tourism, Heilongjiang is famous for its magnificent ice and snow attractions. With significant potential for collaboration between the two places, Miss Law expressed hope to expand the market and drive bilateral tourism flow with Heilongjiang in the future.
Mr Lee and the other officials will return to Hong Kong tomorrow (February 11).
Integrating adjacent workflows across the front office to connect the full portfolio life cycle
Adds technology-forward order management (OMS) and investment book of record (IBOR) capabilities
NORWALK, Conn., Feb. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FactSet (NYSE: FDS | NASDAQ: FDS), a global financial digital platform and enterprise solutions provider, today announced the acquisition of LiquidityBook for a gross purchase price of $246.5 million in cash.
LiquidityBook provides cloud-native trading solutions to hedge fund, asset and wealth management, outsourced trading, and sell-side middle office clients and operates a proprietary FIX network that enables streamlined connectivity to over 200 brokers and order routing to more than 1,600 destinations across 80 markets globally.
Over the past year, the two companies partnered to enable a turnkey integration of LiquidityBook’s flagship order management system (OMS) into the FactSet Workstation to seamlessly link adjacent steps in the front office trade workflow, from security research and portfolio construction to order creation and trade execution. The acquisition takes this successful partnership one step further to accelerate FactSet’s mission to connect the front office with the middle office. FactSet’s ability to serve the integrated workflow needs of clients across the portfolio life cycle will be enhanced by combining LiquidityBook’s modern and scalable order management, pre-trade compliance, and investment book of record (IBOR) capabilities with FactSet’s industry-leading investment research, execution management, performance, reporting, and portfolio analytics solutions.
“This acquisition is further evidence of FactSet’s commitment to streamlining workflows across the entire portfolio life cycle to reduce our clients’ total cost of ownership,” said Rob Robie, Executive Vice President, Head of Institutional Buy Side, FactSet. “Clients want to spend their time on actionable investment decisions, not jumping between disparate research, portfolio management, and trading platforms. Deeper integration of LiquidityBook’s OMS and IBOR into the FactSet Workstation will enable a consolidated front office solution that meets the increasingly sophisticated needs of our clients.”
Founded in 2005 and headquartered in New York with approximately 70 employees worldwide, LiquidityBook offers a modular platform for the full trading life cycle, enabling multi-asset class portfolio, order, and execution management capabilities. Architected to scale on a cloud-native, multi-tenant foundation, its solutions enable clients to track intraday portfolio holdings, initiate and monitor trade orders, ensure pre-trade and regulatory compliance, manage client/broker commissions, and process post-trade reconciliations through a single code base for every use case.
“Since inception, LiquidityBook has focused on developing a modular solution on scalable architecture purpose-built to support the most sophisticated multi-asset trading workflows with a distinct advantage over inflexible, refactored legacy systems,” said Kevin Samuel, CEO, LiquidityBook. “We look forward to continuing this mission as part of FactSet to meet the growing workflow needs of clients across the trade life cycle without compromising on functionality.”
“We are excited to bring two talented teams together to expand on the existing partnership in place,” said Shawn Samuel, CTO, LiquidityBook. “The value proposition of combining our complementary solutions is already client-validated and market-tested. Joining forces now to capitalize on this opportunity is the natural next step to delivering increased value and flexibility to clients.”
The acquisition closed on February 7, 2025 and was funded by borrowings under FactSet’s existing revolving credit facility. The transaction is expected to be modestly dilutive to FactSet’s fiscal 2025 GAAP and adjusted diluted EPS.
FactSet’s advisors on the transaction include Citi as financial advisor and Cravath, Swaine & Moore as legal advisor. LiquidityBook’s advisors include IA Global Capital as financial advisor and Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle as legal advisor.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements based on management’s current expectations, projections, beliefs and assumptions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements and future results could differ materially from historical performance.
About FactSet
FactSet (NYSE:FDS | NASDAQ:FDS) helps the financial community to see more, think bigger, and work better. Our digital platform and enterprise solutions deliver financial data, analytics, and open technology to more than 8,200 global clients, including over 218,000 individual users. Clients across the buy-side and sell-side as well as wealth managers, private equity firms, and corporations achieve more every day with our comprehensive and connected content, flexible next-generation workflow solutions, and client-centric specialized support. As a member of the S&P 500, we are committed to sustainable growth and have been recognized amongst the Best Places to Work in 2023 by Glassdoor as a Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Award winner. Learn more at www.factset.com and follow us on X and LinkedIn.
About Liquidity Book
LiquidityBook is a leading provider of cloud-native buy- and sell-side trading solutions and is trusted by many of the industry’s largest and most sophisticated firms. The LiquidityBook platform is easily configurable and enhanced daily with client requests, giving these firms peace of mind that their trading platform will adapt and scale as they grow. A disruptive force in the market for nearly 20 years, the founder-led LiquidityBook backs their platform with unparalleled support and employs a client-centric business model with no hidden fees. For more information, please visit www.liquiditybook.com or contact sales@liquiditybook.com.
The Consultation Group on LawTech Development held its first meeting today to discuss development strategies and policies to promote the use of lawtech in the legal and dispute resolution industry.
The consultation group, established by the Department of Justice in January, is chaired by Deputy Secretary for Justice Cheung Kwok-kwan and comprises representatives from the legal and dispute resolution sector, law schools and experts on the application of lawtech.
The consultation body will provide advice and assistance to the department regarding the promotion and development of lawtech in Hong Kong.
Mr Cheung explained that lawtech can enhance efficiency and productivity of Hong Kong’s legal and dispute resolution industry, noting that it can improve efficiency and service quality, save costs and enhance competitiveness with the use of artificial intelligence, document automation and electronic file management.
This would advance the city’s position as a major international legal and dispute resolution services centre in the Asia-Pacific region, he added.
The Deputy Secretary for Justice also said that the Government will actively consider the recommendations of the consultation group to formulate and implement strategies to promote the use of lawtech.
The country turned 185 on Thursday, but not everyone wanted to celebrate and debate.David Seymour’s address is here.They turned their backs and took his microphone, but nobody actually tried to argue that division based on ancestry is better than liberal democracy.
Spaghetti Government
Just over a year ago the New Zealand Initiative, a think tank, released a short and brilliant report on Government in New Zealand.Cabinet Congestion: The Growth of a ministerial maze.
The gist of the report is that our Government has far more Ministers, and far more portfolios, than similar-sized countries. For example the Government of Ireland has fifteen ministers with eighteen portfolios and eighteen departments.
Once upon a time New Zealand was roughly like that. Cabinet had sixteen ministers who all attended the main Cabinet meeting. Each Minister had one or two departments they were responsible for, and that was also their portfolio. For example, if you were the Minister of Police, you were responsible for Police, Police was your portfolio, and you were the only Minister of Police.
Then came the MMP and the Government required multiple parties. It meant the Bolger Government needed to share power, but wouldn’t. Instead, Ministerial power was diluted with a little water in the wine.
National negotiated the position of ‘Treasurer’ for Winston Peters, because they couldn’t imagine giving up Finance. The idea of a Minister outside Cabinet was also born, meaning Ministers who don’t attend the main Cabinet meeting. Four of these new Ministers meant 20 in total.
Not to be outdone, Helen Clark formed an even bigger Government three years later. Cabinet expanded to 20 Ministers, and Ministers outside cabinet doubled to eight. Then there were 28.
Not much has changed since then, except for an eruption of portfolios and departments. We now have a Ministry for Pacific Peoples, and a Ministry for Ethnic Affairs. Then there are portfolios without a specific department, including Racing, Mental Health, Auckland, the South Island, to name a few of the 78 Portfolios that now exist.
There are other complications. For example needing to pick nearly 30 Ministers from a Government majority of just over 60 MPs affects quality. It means nearly half of MPs are Ministers when their ‘side’ is in Government. There’s been more than a few in recent years who wouldn’t have got a job like being a Minister otherwise.
Most Ministers have multiple portfolios, around three to four on average. They’ll be less effective at, say, improving foreign relations if they’re also responsible for local government (Nanaia Mahuta was terrible at both). They’ll be less effective because they can’t specialise, but also because a specialist is less likely to be appointed in the first place.
On the other hand, many departments have multiple ministers. There are three in Education, but that’s nothing compared with the 18 that MBIE is responsible to. Who is in charge?
As theInitiativereport argues, confusion empowers the bureaucracy. They can face multiple Ministers who themselves have many other jobs, often in totally unrelated areas. This makes it extremely difficult to shrink Government, or get much done at all.
Some will criticise ACT for creating the Minister for Regulation. The Party would respond that restricting how other people can use their property is the most important government power to restrain besides taxing and spending. The latter has the Minister of Finance and Treasury, but who restrains regulation?
ACT is now at the centre of government for the first time, and sits at the table that’s been set over the last thirty years of MMP. If the Party was charged with setting the table, there would be fewer placemats.
How would we do it again? Any future Government should stick to three rules when it’s being set up.
Every Minister sits in Cabinet so they’re part of every discussion.
Every Minister has a department, so there are no portfolios that don’t involve managing a department.
No Department has more than one Minister, so every public servant knows who they’re accountable to.
This would mean getting rid of about half the portfolios and eight Ministers. It would go a long way to improving government efficiency and allow the government to get a lot more done much faster with much less ‘resource.’
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – “Jesus is not concerned with showing off to the crowds, with doing a job, with following a timetable in carrying out his mission. On the contrary, he always makes it his priority to encounter others, to relate to them, and to sympathize with the struggles and setbacks that often burden hearts and take away hope”.With these words, Pope Francis presided this morning in St. Peter’s Square over a solemn Eucharistic concelebration, which marked the conclusion of the Jubilee events dedicated to the Armed Forces and Police.The Pontiff did not read the full text of the homily: “Excuse me, I will now ask the Master [of Liturgical Celebrations] to continue reading due to my difficulty in breathing”, he said after reading the first part of the text and adding a few spontaneous words. Last Thursday, the Holy See Press Office announced in a statement that the Pope was suffering from bronchitis, which is why the weekend audiences were held at the Casa Santa Marta.Archbishop Diego Ravelli, Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations, then continued reading the text. In his reflection, the Pope highlighted three key words, taken from the passage of the Gospel according to Luke proclaimed in the liturgy of the day, which tells of the call of the first Apostles: “he saw”, “he went aboard ” and “he sat down”. Christ – the papal homily stressed – “looks with compassion at the expressions of those men, sensing their discouragement and frustration after having worked all night and caught nothing, their hearts as empty as the nets they haul”. But Jesus “does not simply stand by and watch as things go wrong, as we often do, and then complain bitterly. Rather, taking the initiative, he approaches Simon, spends time with him at that difficult moment and chooses to board the boat of his life, which that night had seemed fraught with failure”.Jesus “boards the boat in order to proclaim the good news, to tell of the beauty of God even amid the struggles of life, and to reaffirm that hope endures even when all seems lost.Then the miracle happens: when the Lord gets into the boat of our lives to bring us the good news of God’s love that constantly accompanies and sustains us, then life begins anew, hope is reborn, enthusiasm revives, and we can once again cast our nets into the sea”.In his homily, read by Archbishop Ravelli, the Bishop of Rome also expressed his gratitude to “all the military” who daily carry out their service to protect security and justice: “We are grateful for what you do, at times at great personal risk”.At the end of the celebration, in the words pronounced before the Angelus, in front of the multitude of women and men in uniform gathered in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis renewed his appeal for peace, citing the conciliar constitution Gaudium et Spes: “This armed service is to be exercised only for legitimate defence, never to impose dominion over other nations, always observing the international conventions on matters of conflict, and before that, in sacred respect for life and creation”. The Pontiff also recalled the conflicts that continue to tear peoples and nations apart: “Let us pray for peace, in tormented Ukraine, in Palestine, in Israel and throughout the Middle East, in Myanmar, in Kivu, and in Sudan. Let arms be silent everywhere, and let the cry of the peoples, who are asking for peace, be heard!” (F. B.) (Agenzia Fides, 9/2/2025)
Share:
#iubilaeum2025 – Holy Mass on the occasion of the Jubilee of the Armed Forces, Police and Security Forces, 10.02.2025
At 10.30 this morning, Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time, on the occasion of the Jubilee of the Armed Forces, Police and Security Forces, the Holy Father presided over Holy Mass in Saint Peter’s Square.
The following is the homily begun by Pope Francis and then read by Archbishop Diego Ravelli, master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations:
Homily of the Holy Father
Jesus’ actions at the Lake of Gennesaret are described by the Evangelist with three verbs: he saw, he went aboard and he sat down. Jesus saw, Jesus went aboard and Jesus sat down. Jesus is not concerned with showing off to the crowds, with doing a job, with following a timetable in carrying out his mission. On the contrary, he always makes it his priority to encounter others, to relate to them, and to sympathize with the struggles and setbacks that often burden hearts and take away hope.
That is why Jesus, on that day, saw, went aboard and sat down.
First, Jesus saw. He has a discerning gaze that, even amid the great crowd, makes him able to spot two boats approaching the shore and to see the disappointment on the faces of those fishermen, now washing their empty nets after a night of fruitless labour. Jesus looks with compassion at those men. Let us never forget this: the compassion of God. God’s three attitudes are closeness, compassion and tenderness. Let us not forget: God is near, God is tender and God is always compassionate. Jesus looks with compassion at the expressions of those men, sensing their discouragement and frustration after having worked all night and caught nothing, their hearts as empty as the nets they haul.
Excuse me, I will now ask the Master [of Liturgical Celebrations] to continue reading due to my difficulty in breathing.
Seeing their discouragement, Jesus went aboard. He asks Simon to put out a little way from the shore and he climbs aboard the boat. In this way, he enters into Simon’s life and shares in his sense of disappointment and futility. This is significant: Jesus does not simply stand by and watch as things go wrong, as we often do, and then complain bitterly. Rather, taking the initiative, he approaches Simon, spends time with him at that difficult moment and chooses to board the boat of his life, which that night had seemed fraught with failure.
Then, once aboard, Jesus sat down. In the Gospels, this is typical of a master, of one who teaches others. Indeed, the Gospel states that Jesus sat down and taught. Glimpsing in those fishers’ eyes and hearts the frustration of a night of fruitless toil, Jesus boards the boat in order to proclaim the good news, to bring light to the dark night of disappointment, to tell of the beauty of God even amid the struggles of life, and to reaffirm that hope endures even when all seems lost.
Then the miracle happens: when the Lord gets into the boat of our lives to bring us the good news of God’s love that constantly accompanies and sustains us, then life begins anew, hope is reborn, enthusiasm revives, and we can once again cast our nets into the sea.
Brothers and sisters, this message of hope accompanies us today as we celebrate the Jubilee of the Armed Forces, Police and Security Personnel. I thank all of you for your service, and I greet all the Authorities present, the military associations and academies, and the military Ordinaries and chaplains. All of you have been entrusted with a lofty mission that embraces numerous aspects of social and political life: defending our nations, maintaining security, upholding legality and justice. You are present in penitentiaries and at the forefront of the fight against crime and the various forms of violence that threaten to disrupt the life of society. I think too of all those engaged in relief work in the wake of natural disasters, the safeguarding of the environment, rescue efforts at sea, the protection of the vulnerable and the promotion of peace.
The Lord also asks you to do as he does: to see, to go aboard and to sit down. To see, because you are called to keep your eyes ever open, alert to threats to the common good, to dangers menacing the lives of your fellow citizens, and to environmental, social and political risks to which we are exposed. To go aboard, because your uniforms, the discipline that has shaped you, the courage that is your hallmark, the oath you have taken — all these are things that remind you of the importance not only of seeing evil in order to report it, but also of boarding the storm-tossed boat and working to ensure that it does not run aground. For that too is part of your mission in the service of the good, freedom, and justice. Then, finally, to sit down, because your presence in our cities and neighbourhoods to uphold law and order, and your taking the part of the defenceless, can serve as a lesson for all of us. They teach us that goodness can prevail over everything. They teach us that justice, fairness and civic responsibility remain as necessary nowadays as ever. They teach us that we can create a more human, just and fraternal world, despite the opposing forces of evil.
In carrying out your work, which embraces your whole life, you are accompanied by your chaplains, an important priestly presence in your midst. Their job is not — as has at times unfortunately happened in history — to bless perverse acts of war. No. They are in your midst as the presence of Christ, who desires to walk at your side, to offer you a listening and sympathetic ear, to encourage you to set out ever anew and to support you in your daily service. As a source of moral and spiritual support, they accompany you at every step and help you to carry out your mission in the light of the Gospel and in the pursuit of the common good.
Dear brothers and sisters, we are grateful for what you do, at times at great personal risk. Thank you because by boarding our storm-tossed boats, you offer us protection and encourage us to stay our course. At the same time, I would encourage you never to lose sight of the purpose of your service and all your activity, which is to promote life, to save lives, to be a constant defender of life. And I ask you, please, to be vigilant. Be vigilant against the temptation to cultivate a warlike spirit. Be vigilant not to be taken in by the illusion of power and the roar of arms. Be vigilant lest you be poisoned by propaganda that instils hatred, divides the world into friends to be defended and foes to fight. Instead, be courageous witnesses of the love of God our Father, who wants us all to be brothers and sisters. Together, then, let us set out to be artisans of a new era of peace, justice and fraternity.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
New records reveal the government is utilising AI and technology to enhance public services, including streamlining MOT inspections and speeding up planning with satellite habitat mapping.
How AI is improving public services and new AI Playbook will drive public sector use.
New records reveal how government is using AI and tech to deliver for the public – including by streamlining MOT garage inspections and using satellite habitat mapping to speed up planning
Comes alongside practical tips to help public sector build tech to speed up decision making and transform services for working people – delivering the Plan for Change
Guidance shares top tips from development of GOV.UK Chat and other advanced tech on using safeguards to ensure the tech works in the public’s interest
AI and satellite images are being used to predict how natural habitats are changing across the country, so more current data can be used to accelerate planning proposals and stop NIMBYism getting in the way of growth and the Plan for Change.
Satellite images and machine learning – a type of AI – are being used by Natural England to build a detailed map of “Living England”, showing the current extent of habitats across the country. Rather than the manual surveys of the past, changes to English habitats will now be tracked more efficiently and across the country – speeding up decisions around planning and land use while better protecting nature.
Details of the project are being released today alongside 13 other examples of how AI and algorithmic tools are used to speed up decision making and improve public services – spanning examples including how AI is being used to better predict the weather and keep standards high at MOT testing centres.
A new AI Playbook, published today, gives public sector technical experts top tips and guiding principles on how to replicate this work and build AI to help their organisations fix services for citizens – ultimately delivering on the government’s ambition to transform public services with AI.
Civil servants are guided on how to buy and manage the development of AI technology in their departments and encouraged to work with AI companies closely so the technology can be put to work more quickly.
Today’s announcement comes as world leaders gather for the AI Action Summit in Paris, and follow’s the publication of the UK’s AI Opportunities Action Plan, which has put the UK on course to revolutionise public services and become an AI superpower – already attracting over £14 billion in investment since launching just last month.
Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said:
Every corner of the public sector can be using technology to save money, speed things up, and crucially, improve public services for people across the UK, driving our Plan for Change forward.
The publication of our AI Playbook today comes with a call to arms for tech specialists across the public sector – use the guidance we are sharing to put AI to work in your organisations at whiplash speed, so we can repair our broken public services together.
Natural England’s Chief Scientist, Professor Sallie Bailey said:
Nature restoration, development and economic growth are not opposing forces – they can and must work together to create a sustainable future for both people and wildlife.
Our Living England project is harnessing the power of AI to inform and support planning decisions far more efficiently. This means we can make the biggest impact for Nature recovery, while helping to deliver the new homes and infrastructure the country needs.
The AI Playbook, published by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, outlines ten principles civil servants building AI should follow, making sure they:
Have meaningful human control at the right stages, so any decisions recommended by technology can be monitored properly, and changed rapidly if needed.
Choose the right tool for the right job and avoid using AI where more basic technology can fulfil the same task.
Work with teams responsible for buying technology right from the start, to make sure agreements struck with private sector companies can be utilised to maximum potential in this rapidly evolving market.
The Playbook also insists that public servants working with AI do so openly and collaboratively, making sure the public know how technology is being used and allowing other public sector organisations to benefit from work that has already taken place.
Other records being released today detail how the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) uses AI to prioritise which of the 23,000 active MOT testing garages should receive an inspection next.
Producing a traffic light rating for every garage, the AI tool takes in data from MOT tests to spot anomalies and identify which garages should be checked first, so inspectors can confirm they are working to crucial safety standards. Previously, inspections were based only on the amount of time that had passed since the last check.
Today’s release follows the Technology Secretary publishing the blueprint for a modern digital government, setting out how his department will use AI and technology to help the public sector improve their services and target £45 billion in potential efficiency savings every year. This is as well as announcing a bundle of tools to be known as “Humphrey” and set to be made available to all civil servants soon.
Among other things, the tools will help civil servants assess responses to consultations, take minutes at meetings and analyse decades of debate from the Houses of Parliament.
Weather and climate forecasting: A combination of multiple different algorithmic tools used to produce weather forecasts.
Natural England (Defra)
Living England map: Habitat mapping for the whole of England using satellite imagery, targeted field survey and machine learning.
DVSA (DfT)
MOT Risk Rating: An algorithmic to identify potential non-compliance in MOT testing, and prioritise visits to MOT garages.
Wilton Park
Data Cleaning Tool: Enables compliance with The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by identifying and automatically cleaning personal data from the Wilton Park customer database.
OSCB (DBT)
Interest Calculator: Assists small business owners to calculate the amount of interest due on an overdue invoice.
National Highways (DfT)
Highways webchat: provides customers with an additional communication channel to get immediate answers to their questions using publicly available information (such as traffic information).
DSIT: GOV.UK site search
The search engine for GOV.UK. It enables users to search for information and services on GOV.UK by entering a search query to view results that are relevant to their query.
NHS Business Services Authority (DHSC)
Residency Checker for EHIC/GHIC/PRC: A process to support confirmation of UK residency for entitlement to healthcare in an European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland.
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
Employment and Support Allowance Online Medical Matching: A tool which helps Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) officials process claims more quickly.
Money and Pensions Service (MaPs)
Budget Planner: A free online tool that helps users track and categorize their spending, provides a detailed breakdown of their finances, and offers personalized tips to improve their money management.
Money and Pensions Service (MaPs)
Redundancy Pay Calculator: Online tool designed to help individuals who have been or are at risk of being made redundant understand their legal rights, calculate their potential redundancy pay, assess their financial situation, and explore available benefits and support.
Ministry of Justice (MoJ)
The Effective Proposal Framework: Used by Probation Practitioners at pre-sentence stage and as part of pre-release planning to identify requirements, licence conditions and interventions for individuals based on their risk and need profile.
Health Research Authority (DHSC)
Proportionate Review Toolkit: A toolkit to help Research Ethics Committee applicants determine whether their project would be eligible for proportionate review.
His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
Logo Detection and Classification Toolkit: A tool to detect unauthorised uses of HMRC’s logo.
Youth charged in relation to evade and crash at Bridgewater
Monday, 10 February 2025 – 4:23 pm.
A youth has been charged in relation to an evade incident and crash on the Bridgewater Bridge yesterday. The 15-year-old has been charged with aggravated evade, motor vehicle stealing, unlicensed driving, and traffic offences. They will appear before the Youth Justice Court tonight.
Care required not to trigger duty or double duty10 min read
The recent Tasmanian case of Van Dairy1 suggests that an agreement to procure a sale of property might be liable to duty as an agreement for sale, even if the owner of the property is not a party to it. This is significant because, in the context of this case, it meant the Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) triggered adverse stamp duty implications. This included that the purchaser became a land-rich entity before completion, so that a double duty liability was triggered by the transfer of its shares before completion of the land purchase.
To ‘change your mind’ after the contract is signed involves a major risk of incurring double duty under the landholder duty provisions of each Australian jurisdiction.
The principle in the case is potentially relevant when a corporate or other entity, which wholly controls one or more subsidiaries, undertakes to procure or arrange for those subsidiaries to sell land, shares or other assets held by them to a buyer.2 It could potentially apply to impose duty on other agreements where the owners of the relevant sale property are not parties, such as scheme implementation agreements, or global business sale agreements in which parent companies of global groups undertake to procure their subsidiaries in various countries to buy and sell relevant businesses or companies.
We understand that the taxpayers have appealed the decision, and it remains to be seen whether the decision is overturned, or whether it will be followed in other Australian jurisdictions.
The case is also a salutary lesson about the importance of establishing ownership of a special purpose entity before it enters into a contract to acquire land assets, to ensure double duty does not arise under the landholder duty provisions in any Australian jurisdiction.
Key takeaways
A sale and purchase agreement under which a controlling entity agrees to procure the sale of property by an entity which it controls, can potentially be characterised as a binding agreement for the sale of that property, even though the entity that owns the property is not a party to the agreement. Thus, such an agreement can trigger adverse duty consequences.
Taxpayers establishing entities to acquire land assets or other property should strive to establish them with the correct or intended ownership prior to signing any contract to purchase the assets. To ‘change your mind’ after the contract is signed involves a major risk of incurring double duty under the landholder duty provisions of each Australian jurisdiction.
This is subject to the potential for a taxpayer that is a member of a corporate group being able to rely on corporate reconstruction exemptions and concessions, to obtain an exemption or reduction in duty for a change in ownership within a corporate group of the special purpose entity after it acquires the land assets.
Who in your organisation needs to know about this?
Members of the tax and legal teams, and others involved in negotiating SPAs and global sale agreements, and in establishing special purpose entities to acquire land or other assets.
A summary of the Van Dairy case
Facts
In October 2015, certain Tasmanian properties (the Woolnorth properties) were marketed for sale. They were then owned by two companies named Van Diemen’s Land Company (VDL) and Tasman Ferndale Pty Ltd (TFPL), both of which were wholly owned by Tasman Land Company (TLC).
Mr Lu Xianfeng (Mr Lu) wanted to purchase the Woolnorth properties and related assets that were to be sold by interests controlled by TLC. Mr Lu at all relevant times controlled the corporate appellants in the matter. On 30 October 2015, Moon Lake Investments Pty Ltd (Moon Lake) was incorporated, with Mr Lu as the sole shareholder, holding all five shares in the company.
On 20 November 2015, Mr Lu, Moon Lake and TLC executed a written agreement referred to as the SPA. Under this agreement, as per clause 3, TLC agreed to ‘procure the sale and transfer to [Moon Lake] of the Assets … with affect from Closing’. The Assets referenced were owned by ‘the group’, which consisted of TFPL and VDL, which—as noted above—were wholly owned subsidiaries of TLC.
On 12 January 2016, according to the Moon Lake share register held by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Mr Lu’s five shares in Moon Lake were transferred to Ningbo Kaixin Investment Co Ltd (Ningbo).
On 24 March 2016, Ningbo’s shares in Moon Lake were then transferred to Van Dairy (Hong Kong) Group Ltd (VDHK).
On 31 March 2016, completion of the sale of the land took place. Moon Lake partly funded payment of the purchase price by issuing a large number of shares to VDHK. Moon Lake received the executed land transfers from VDL and TFPL and, on around 4 April 2016, these were lodged to be assessed for stamp duty by the State Revenue Office (SRO), together with payment of estimated duty of over $8 million.
Subsequently the SRO told Moon Lake’s solicitors it would give further consideration as to whether Ningbo and/or VDHK had any liability to pay land-rich duty, separately from Moon Lake’s liability to pay duty on the acquisition of the Woolnorth properties.
On 28 January 2021, the corporate appellants received a notice from the SRO that it intended to investigate whether Ningbo and/or VDHK had acquired any relevant interest in a land-rich corporation.
On 20 April 2021, Moon Lake received further correspondence from the SRO, which included the following statement:
The acquisition by shares by [Ningbo] on 15 January 2016 and then subsequently by [VDHK] on 24 March each resulted in a separate dutiable transaction under s66 of the Act as at the time of each of those majority acquisitions, Moon Lake was deemed to be a land-rich company.
On 5 July 2021, the SRO informed Ningbo and VDHK that each were liable to pay duty interest and penalty tax in the sum of approximately $10.5 million.
On 2 September 2021, Ningbo and VDHK each lodged notices of objection with the Commissioner regarding the 5 July 2021 assessments. The Commissioner disallowed their objections (apart from a reduction in the quantum of each assessment). The assessments, as revised, were the subject of challenge in the case.
Issues
The most significant issue from a duty viewpoint was whether the SPA was an uncompleted agreement for the sale of land, despite the fact that the owners of the land were not parties to the agreement. If so, it meant the SPA had the effect of causing Moon Lake to be a land-rich corporation both at the time of the transfer of its shares to Ningbo and then to VDHK, triggering multiple duty.
The decision on whether the SPA was an uncompleted agreement for the sale of land
Under section 60(1) of the Duties Act 2001, a private corporation was land rich if:
it had land holdings in Tasmania where the unencumbered value is $500,000 or more; and
its land holdings in all places, whether within or outside Australia, comprised 60% or more of the unencumbered value of all its property.
A land holding included any interest in land, with some exceptions that were not relevant to the facts of the case.3
Under section 61(4), the vendor and the purchaser under an uncompleted agreement for the sale of land were each taken to be separately entitled to the whole of the land. While the land-rich duty provisions in Tasmania were subsequently replaced by landholder duty provisions (removing the 60% requirement), there is an equivalent provision in section 79(1) of the current Act. In addition, all Australian jurisdictions have an equivalent provision in their landholder duty legislation.
Before the Supreme Court of Tasmania, Ningbo and VDHK argued that s61(4) did not deem Moon Lake to be entitled to the whole of the land the subject of the SPA as it was not a purchaser under an uncompleted agreement for the sale of land. The basis of this argument was that the SPA was a contract between TLC and Moon Lake. The land was not owned by TLC, but by companies controlled by TLC. Ningbo asserted that this is different from TLC itself selling the land to Moon Lake.
Acting Justice Marshall noted that the proper interpretation of s61 was central to the resolution of this issue. Firstly, his Honour noted that the expression ‘agreement for the sale of land’ was not defined in the Act. In turning to the ordinary natural meaning of the words, his Honour held:
“The ordinary natural meaning of the words is to provide a description of an agreement which results in the sale of land. The words in the section are not “an agreement for the sale of land by a vendor and its purchase by a buyer”.
This approach highlights that the words ‘for the sale of land’ are the key element of the description of the agreement and should not be construed narrowly or pedantically. The words indicate binding agreements by which the sale of land is effected. On the facts of the case there was no doubt TLC was able to secure the sale of the land to Moon Lake as required under the SPA. Therefore, Moon Lake was a purchaser under an uncompleted agreement for the sale of land, and was treated as holding an interest in the land for the purposes of s61(1) of the Act.
The court also referred to the judgment of Justice Fullagar in Hall v Busst, where his Honour said there were ‘three essential elements’ required for a concluded agreement including the parties, the subject matter and the price.4 All three were satisfied in Van Dairy, including the parties.
Implications
The decision suggests that an agreement to procure a sale of property might be liable to duty as an agreement for sale, even if the owner of the property is not a party to it.
We understand an appeal against the decision of the Tasmanian Supreme Court has been lodged in the Tasmanian Court of Appeal by the taxpayers. Pending the outcome of that appeal, the decision remains persuasive in other jurisdictions.
It remains to be seen whether the decision is ultimately overturned, or is followed in other jurisdictions. It may be that it can be confined to its facts—although the owners of the relevant land were not parties to the SPA, their controlling parent company, TLC, undertook a binding obligation to procure that they sold the land, and there was no other agreement for sale entered into or contemplated. The SPA operated as the agreement that regulated the sale of the land. It might be different if the agreement had been drafted as an obligation of TLC to procure that its subsidiaries entered into a separate agreement for the sale of the land with the purchaser. This is often the case with global sale agreements, where the parent company of a multinational group undertakes to procure that its subsidiaries enter into separate country-specific agreements relating to the sale of downstream assets.
The result in Van Dairy might also have been different if the question was whether the deeming provision in s61(4) applied to the owners of the land as vendors, since they were not parties. Alternatively, if only TLC and Mr Lu (but not Moon Lake) had entered into the agreement, perhaps s61(4) would not have applied because Moon Lake, as purchaser, would not have been a party to the agreement.
In the case of a scheme implementation agreement in a takeover context, the target company undertakes to take steps to seek shareholder (and court) approval of a scheme for the sale of its shares by the shareholders to the acquirer. This might potentially trigger a landholder duty liability under the provisions of the duties legislation in Queensland or Western Australia. However, the target company is generally not in a position to definitely procure the sale—there is doubt about the scheme proceeding, because it generally depends on approval by the shareholders (and the court). So, on that basis, the position might be distinguishable from the decision in Van Dairy.
As indicated in Van Dairy, double duty can be triggered when ownership of a purchaser entity is not established correctly at the outset. There were two transfers of the shares in Moon Lake after the SPA had been signed, triggering two lots of duty on the transfers of shares in Moon Lake, in addition to the duty on the purchase of the land. Therefore, it is important to seek to establish the correct entities as shareholders (or unitholders in the case of a unit trust) prior to the purchaser entity entering into a contract to acquire the land. Any transfer of ownership of the purchaser entity after it becomes a landholder could potentially attract landholder duty. This is subject to whether relief might be available under exemptions or concessions for transfers within a corporate group, as explained below.
As noted above, the landholder duty legislation of other Australian jurisdictions has similar provisions deeming a company to be a holder of land where it has entered into an uncompleted agreement to purchase the land. For this reason, the Van Dairy decision will be persuasive authority on the interpretation of those provisions.
For example, under section 160(1) of the Duties Act 1997 (NSW), the transferor and the transferee under an uncompleted agreement for the sale or transfer of land are each taken to be separately entitled to the whole of the land.5
The use of the terms transferor and transferee correspond to the use of the terms vendor and the purchaser in the Tasmanian Act. If the same facts as in Van Dairy occurred in relation to NSW land, then the case would be persuasive authority for the same interpretation of the NSW legislation.
Corporate reconstruction exemptions and concessions
For the purposes of changing the structure of a corporate group or changing the holding of assets within a corporate group, a taxpayer may seek to consider corporate reconstruction exemptions and concessions. A corporate group broadly consists of a parent corporation and its subsidiaries where there is at least 90% ownership.6 Where such an exemption or concession is available, it provides some flexibility to change the ownership of a landowning entity within a corporate group even after it has acquired land or entered into a contract to acquire land.
By way of example, the Duties Act 1997 (NSW) relevantly provides for a duty concession for corporate reconstruction transactions. For eligible transactions that occur on or after 1 February 2024, the duty is reduced to 10% of the duty that would otherwise be payable.
Section 273B applies to a transaction if the Chief Commissioner is satisfied, on application by a party to the transaction, that—
the transaction is a corporate reconstruction transaction, and
the transaction, or the series of transactions of which the transaction is a part, is undertaken for the purpose of either or both of the following—
changing the structure of a corporate group,
changing the holding of assets within a corporate group, and
the transaction, or the series of transactions of which the transaction is a part—
is not undertaken for a purpose of avoiding or reducing duty under this Act on another transaction, and
is not undertaken for the sole or dominant purpose of avoiding or reducing a liability for tax, other than duty under this Act, under a law of an Australian jurisdiction.
All Australian jurisdictions have broadly similar exemptions or concessions, including Tasmania. The Tasmanian exemption was presumably not available in Van Dairy for the transfers of shares in Moon Lake. In the case of the first transfer from Mr Lu to Ningbo, Mr Lu, as an individual, could not have been a member of a relevant corporate group. In the case of the second transfer from Ningbo to VDHK, presumably the two companies were not part of the same corporate group as defined under the duties legislation.
Actions you can take now
Exercise caution when establishing the ownership of a purchaser entity and seek to have the correct ultimate shareholders in place prior to the signing of a contract to acquire land or completion of the purchase. Be aware of the double duty risk if you ‘change your mind’ later.
Consider the duty implications of entering into sale and purchase agreements, including where the intended seller or purchaser of the property is not a party to the agreement. Seek timely advice.
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
The Northern Territory Police Force has arrested a 24-year-old male in relation to a Kava seizure that occurred in Maningrida on Saturday.
Around 12:00pm, local police conduced a lawful search of a property in the community after they received intelligence that the substance was present at the premises.
During the search, police located and seized 255.13kg of Kava and over $3,900 in cash.
A 24-year-old male was arrested at the scene and charged with possess commercial quantity of kava and supply commercial quantity of kava.
The alleged offender is due to appear in the Darwin Local Court on Thursday 13 February 2025.
Sergeant Timothy Gillahan said, “I commend the officers for their swift action in response to intelligence, as well as the community for their reporting.
“This seizure will undoubtedly reduce the social and financial harm within the community often caused by Kava use.
“The NT Police Force remains committed to disrupting the flow of destructive substances into restricted communities.”
Coles is reducing its product range by at least 10%, a move that has sparked public backlash and renewed discussions about the role of supermarkets in the cost-of-living crisis.
The goal is to boost profitability by reducing costs, increasing sales, and increasing control over the supply chain.
Coles is unlikely to cut traditional brands, especially those from companies with significant market power like Coca-Cola or Nestle. In a battle between giants, the status quo is likely to prevail.
Smaller suppliers are likely to bear the load as they struggle to renew contracts and face increased competition from home brands.
To fully understand the reasons behind this move and its impact on the cost of living, insights from psychology, finance, and supply chain management come in handy.
Why cut back on brands?
The Coles move is all about profitability.
Over the past decade, competition in the Australian supermarket sector has intensified. Coles’ market share declined from 31% to 25% between 2013 and 2023, while Woolworths’ share fell from 41% to 37%.
This shift reflects the rise of Aldi, which now holds approximately 10% of the market, and its strong position in the home brand space.
To boost profitability with a smaller customer base, Coles needs to find ways to enhance its earnings. This can be achieved by raising prices, cutting costs, or increasing the market share of its home brands.
Raising prices vs cutting costs
Raising prices is not a viable option, as consumers are already struggling with high food prices inflation and the rising cost-of-living. However, there is room to cut costs.
One approach is to squeeze suppliers, but again this is unlikely to be effective. The consumer watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), is holding an inquiry into concerns that the supermarkets are using their market power to the disadvantage of their suppliers and consumers.
Additionally, as producers exit unprofitable businesses, supermarkets risk supply chain disruptions due to increased market concentration among surviving suppliers.
Another strategy is to reduce complexity. The more product variety there is, the more complicated and expensive it becomes to manage. Tasks such as stocking shelves, adjusting prices, maintaining inventory, managing delivery schedules, and disposing of expired products all contribute to higher costs.
Simplifying the product range can also boost sales. When faced with too many options, consumers can experience “choice overload”. A widely recognised study in psychology found that people are more likely to make a purchase when presented with a limited selection rather than an extensive array of choices.
Coles has pointed to shampoo and salt as two potential product ranges that can be simplified. I.K.Media/Shutterstock
Shifting to home brands
Simplifying the range will likely focus on items where Coles has a home brand. Home brands now account for 33.5% of Coles’ sales, with 6,000 products. About 1,100 were added over the past year.
This move is a response to competitors like Aldi and Costco. While Coles and Woolworths manage over 25,000 items in their stores, Aldi limits its offering to about 1,800 products.
Coles is focusing on its home brands to better compete with non-branded offerings from Aldi. In its report to the ACCC, the supermarket highlights its investment in expanding its own-brand range to provide more affordable prices, up to 40% cheaper than similar proprietary brands.
While consumers may have fewer choices, it is expected that they will benefit from better prices.
This shift towards home brands is not exclusive to Australia. In the United States, private label sales hit a record in 2023 across a range of items from beauty products to general merchandise. In the United Kingdom, home brand products now account for over half of supermarket sales.
Have we been here before?
Almost 10 years ago, Woolworths and Coles started a significant move to adjust their price positioning in response to the competition. Along with Metcash (IGA), they reduced product ranges in 2015–16 by 10% to 15% to simplify the weekly grocery shop for consumers.
At that time, the culling of products put suppliers under pressure (as now) while consumers were ambivalent: some wanted more brand variety and others preferred less.
As history repeats itself, it will be interesting to see if Woolworths and Metcash will follow the latest move from Coles and how customers, suppliers, and the ACCC will react this time.
A/Prof Flavio Macau is affiliated with the Project Management Institute (PMI)
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
The Northern Territory Police Force has charged a 17-year-old male following a series of property offences and indecent incidents in Lyons last week.
Between 3 and 6 February, it was observed through CCTV that the 17-year-old allegedly entered a residence on seven different occasions, stealing alcohol and personal items, and indecently exposing himself on several occasions.
On 6 February, an adult resident allegedly witnessed the male and intervened before he fled the scene.
On 8 February, about 8:30pm, Strike Force Trident Detectives attended the victim’s residence to progress their investigation, when the Detectives were notified of an alleged indecent touching incident that had only just occurred, on a female who was exercising in Lyons.
Trident Detectives swiftly located and arrested the 17-year-old male and he was subsequently charged with:
• 7 x Trespass
• 2 x Aggravated burglary
• 4 x Theft
• 2 x Indecent exposure
• Damage to property
• Indecent touching
• Breach bail
He was remanded over the weekend and will appear in court today.
Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Chris Humphries said “I commend the efforts of my Detectives for their swift response and comprehensive investigation into these incidents.
“This behaviour will not be tolerated and police will continue to put serious offenders before the courts.”
Secretary for Justice Paul Lam will depart for Beijing today to attend meetings with various central ministries to discuss the work of the Department of Justice.
Mr Lam will return to Hong Kong tomorrow. During his absence, Deputy Secretary for Justice Cheung Kwok-kwan will be Acting Secretary.
Good morning, everyone. I would like to begin by thanking Kirk Hope and the Financial Services Council for the opportunity to speak to you all this morning. I’d also like to acknowledge our friends at the FMA and in particular the CE, Samantha Barrass, who you will be hearing from shortly. I’m delighted to speak to you at the start of the year. I hope everyone is refreshed after a good summer, and ready for another big year of delivering for New Zealanders. 2024 was a big year. It was a challenging year. I know all of you in the room today would have felt firsthand the economic challenges. But we got a lot of important work underway and 2025 is shaping up to be an exciting year. At this event last year, many of you will remember that I announced plans to reform the financial services sector. As you all know, things were not in a good place. Over successive years, governments had layered up regulations, causing a lack of clarity and excessive conservativism. My mission when I took on the Commerce and Consumer Affairs portfolio was to simplify the financial services landscape. This meant:
Clarifying the roles of the various regulators to remove duplication; and Tidying up laws and regulations that were constraining businesses from providing great financial products and services.
My guiding principle was to make it simpler to provide financial services, while balancing the need for appropriate guardrails and consumer protections. Over time this equation had become unbalanced and was so risk-averse that it was harming consumers. Many of you will have heard me talk before about the perverse outcomes of making it too hard for Kiwis to access a safe loan from a reputable provider. I am very pleased to say that these financial services reforms are now well progressed. Democracy is a wonderful thing, but the nature of developing good policy and running a thorough consultation process means it can take a long time to for change to work its way through the system. However, we are on track to have the Financial Services Bill passed through all stages by the end of Q1 next year. Contracts of Insurance One key highlight of 2024 was passing into law the Contracts of Insurance Act. This work was long overdue. The Law Commission recommended that our insurance law be updated in the 1990s. It is fantastic that we finally got it over the line. In terms of other work, the Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister is responsible for six crown entities including the Commerce Commission and the FMA. And, according to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Minister is broadly responsible for:
corporate law and governance financial markets competition policy consumer policy protecting intellectual property; and, trade policy and international regulatory cooperation.
It’s no small list. These are absolutely foundational pieces of architecture for our economy, and in 2024 I kicked off work relating to nearly every single thing on that list. This year I intend to tick two remaining items off that list by progressing a review of copyright and intellectual property and launching a review of the Fair Trading Act. The Fair Trading Act is a hugely consequential piece of legislation that covers everything from product safety and product descriptions, through to contract terms and advertising standards. Unfortunately, the structural economic issues we face – whether that be declining productivity, lack of capital, a dearth of foreign investment, or over-regulation stymieing growth and innovation – means economic reform is urgent. As a result, you should hopefully have heard me in the media or at events like this talking about work I have underway to modernise our economy, including:
Reviewing the Companies Act and reforming our corporate governance laws; and
Related to this, launching a review of directors’ duties and liabilities led by the Law Commission;
Implementing a ‘consumer data right’ and laying the foundations for ‘open banking’ and ‘open electricity’ to inject more competition into our economy; Creating a new model for the economic regulation of water services; Initiating a more coordinated whole-of-government approach to combatting online financial scams; Invigorating New Zealand’s capital markets by removing barriers to list on the stock exchange and making it easier for KiwiSaver funds to be invested in unlisted assets; Reviewing our competition law to prevent excessive market concentration; and Finally, responding to recommendations from the Commerce Commission to improve competition in the banking and grocery sector.
2025 2025 is all about delivering on this work. And I know it sounds like a long and unwieldy list, but you can broadly view all the work underway through the lens of two key themes:
Creating the conditions for businesses and private enterprise to thrive so that we can grow our economy.
As you have heard the PM talk about – a bigger, wealthier economy means more jobs and higher salaries for Kiwis, and it means increased tax revenue which pays for public services like schools, roads and hospitals. This means making sure that the laws and regulations that determine the operating environment for businesses are modern, fair, and fit for purpose.
The second key theme is competition.
The reality is that New Zealand suffers from overly concentrated markets in several key sectors of our economy – whether that be banking, groceries, building supplies, or parking services. The OECD and others have drawn a link between our lack of competition and falling productivity and the spotlight is well and truly focused on invigorating completion.
From the government’s perspective we will be going through every key initiative and programme of work line by line and asking ourselves and our officials: Will this grow the economy? Will this improve competition? Will this help New Zealanders to take legitimate business risks? Will it enable them to hire more staff or access capital to invest in new equipment? Will it free up their time so it can be used more productively? Will it encourage innovation and enable them to offer new products and services? And if the answer is no, then don’t expect to see it progressed this year. If the answer is yes, then we will be working at pace to implement it. One of my top focuses this year is improving competition. Competition is one of the most important ways to drive productivity, grow the economy, and lift living standards. That’s why I have launched a two-part review:
First, I have asked officials to update the merger and competition provisions in the Commerce Act, to ensure our legal framework is fit for purpose.
Mergers can improve market efficiencies but can also entrench market power and create monopolies. Our merger regime has not been reviewed in over 20 years and since then our economic landscape has changed significantly. I think everyone in this room can probably point to a merger or acquisition that – with the benefit of hindsight – did not serve us well.
I have also commissioned an independent review of the governance and effectiveness of the Commerce Commission to maximise its performance.
On the one hand, we need strong competition laws, and on the other hand we need a powerful and courageous regulator to enforce the law.
These are important structural changes and signify a strategic shift for our economy. This year I am also continuing with reforms to unlock capital for the benefit of New Zealand’s economy. I know that New Zealand urgently needs to address our falling productivity and failing infrastructure. That’s why I want to invigorate our capital markets, to encourage investment in infrastructure and productive businesses. As part of this, we are looking at changes to make it easier for KiwiSaver funds to be invested in unlisted assets, such as infrastructure projects and great New Zealand business. We are also exploring adjustments to reduce the costs and barriers faced by companies listed, or listing, on the stock exchange. We will look at other aspects of capital markets settings in the second half of this year. Consumer Data Right As many of you may be aware, the Customer and Product Data Bill is currently being progressed and is set to have its second reading in Parliament’s next sitting block, which starts next week. This Bill will establish a framework to unlock the potential of customer data, driving innovation and competition in key sectors. We recently consulted on applying the Bill to the banking sector to enable open banking and are beginning work on applying it out to the electricity sector too. The ability to provide new data-driven products and services is hugely exciting. Possible applications for open banking include the ability to apply for a 10-minute online home loan and make instant, low-cost payments. Meanwhile open electricity will make it easier to compare electricity plans and switch providers. Scams Lastly, I want to talk about a big issue for the financial services sector: Scams. Last year, New Zealanders reportedly lost around $200 million to scams, which is 15 per cent more than the previous year. However, some estimates suggest the real losses could be as high as $1 billion. This has prompted me to lead an all-of-government effort to engage with industry to tackle this growing issue. I am working closely with telco, banking, and digital platforms and am watching the reforms being progressed in Australia. I expect to be in a position to announce progress on this work shortly. Combatting scams is an important social and moral issue – scammers are causing harm and distress to Kiwis – but it is also a business and financial issue. As Kiwis become increasingly concerned about scams, they become distrustful and unwilling to do business online. One of the by-products of scams is legitimate businesses are finding it increasingly difficult to get in touch with their clients. Consumers no longer want to pick up the phone to an unknown number, or respond to unexpected emails or text messages. For all these reasons, it is vital that we work with industry to better protect Kiwis from sophisticated and devious scammers – most of whom are based overseas and fall outside our law enforcement. ACC Before I close, I just want to briefly talk about ACC, which is a new portfolio I have recently taken up. I am incredibly excited about my new responsibility. ACC has nearly $50 billion under investment. And while there is a lot to be proud of about ACC, the scheme faces several significant challenges. For the last 10 years, ACC’s performance – measured as rehabilitating injured people and getting them back to work – has continuously declined. And this comes at an enormous cost. The liability of existing ACC claims increased from $52 billion in 2022/23 to $60 billion in the last financial year. That’s an increase of $8 billion in a single year. Clearly that’s unsustainable. As employers, you will know that levies are set to rise around 5 per cent to help meet these rising costs. But we cannot meet the increased costs through levies alone. That’s why we have commissioned an independent review of ACC’s performance so we can address broader, underlying issues with the scheme. Turning around ACC’s performance is no mean feat. It is like turning around a super tanker. There are a number of key actions that I will initiate early this year, but it will take a while for these actions to flow through to the front lines and for them to show up on the balance sheet. My job as Minister is to chart the course by creating a robust action plan and setting tight expectations so that within a few years, the super tanker is heading in the right direction. I want to be clear that this is not about cost cutting. It is about ensuring ACC is fair and sustainable and can serve future generations without saddling them with unreasonably high levy increases. One of the key principles of the ACC scheme is that future generations should not pay for today’s injuries. If we do not arrest the financial situation now, all we do is kick the can down the line and make it the next generation’s problem. Close As you can tell, 2024 was a busy year. And 2025 is shaping up to be just as critical. We’ve got several work streams on the go, which I’ve outlined today. I expect to be progressing them at rapid pace, and I look forward to working with you to take our economic growth to the next level. Thank you again to the Financial Services Council for having me here today.
Police are conducting a large-scale road safety operation at Carrick today, to ensure motorists departing the annual Party in the Paddock festival are safe. Inspector Grant Twining said “Over the weekend, we saw thousands of people descend on Carrick for the annual Party in the Paddock festival.” “Police, including drone operators and members from Launceston and Central North Uniform, and Taskforces Raven and Scelus, were on-site for the duration of the festival conducting proactive patrols throughout the site, to ensure public safety.” “Pleasingly, police would like to thank the large majority of attendees who were well behaved and safe during the event.” “Disappointingly, a number of people were detected for drug related matters and will be dealt with by the courts.” During the festival police detected a number of offences including:
A 25-year-old man from New Norfolk was arrested in relation to serious drug matters. He was charged with Possess Controlled Drug, Sell Controlled Drug and Wilfully Obstruct Police. He will appear before the Hobart Magistrates Court at a later date.
Five people will be proceeded against for minor drug matters.
A 24-year-old man from South Launceston was charged with drink driving after he drove through the boundary fence to exit the festival on Saturday night. He will appear before the Launceston Magistrates Court at a later date.
Attribute to Inspector Lincoln Sycamore, Hawke’s Bay Area Commander
Police are pleased to report no significant issues following a tangi for a senior member in the Mongrel Mob in Hawke’s Bay today.
An operation to monitor the behaviour of those involved was carried out by Police, monitoring the tangi as well as the procession to the cemetery.
One person was arrested for displaying gang insignia and two people were warned for obstructing a public way.
Police worked with the whānau and gang leaders leading up to the tangi to minimise the impact to the community, while also allowing mourners space to grieve.
We would like to thank the members of the public for their patience.
Police encourage the public to report any instances of unlawful activity on the roads to us, so we can take appropriate action.
Please contact 111 if it is happening now or report other matters to Police by calling 105 or making an online report here.
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
The Northern Territory Police Force have responded to a serious crash involving 12 people in the Daly River Region on Saturday night.
About 5:40pm, police were notified of a single vehicle rollover about 1.5km South-East of Tipperary Station, near Dorat Road at the end of Daly River Road.
Members from Naiyu and Peppimenarti Police attended Naiyu Clinic where all 12 passengers presented following the crash. Adelaide River and Batchelor Police deployed to the crash scene to continue investigations.
At the clinic, 9 of the 12 people were identified with varying injuries; including fractures and head injuries before being transported to the Royal Darwin Hospital by Careflight for treatment.
A 5-year-old female among those injured, was identified with a serious head injury.
The driver tested negative for alcohol.
Acting Superintendent Erica Gibson said, “When a vehicle this overloaded crashes, regardless of the cause, it is just pure luck that no one is killed.
“This behaviour was incredibly dangerous and irresponsible. It goes without saying that the maximum number of passengers in any vehicle is the same as the number of seats.”
A man will appear in court today charged with firearms offences after police searched his Salisbury Park home yesterday.
Police allegedly located a gelbaster (handgun) and magazine and the sawn-off stock of a .22 calibre rifle.
The 25-year-old Salisbury Park man was arrested and charged with firearm trafficking, possess firearm (gelblaster) and breach of bail.
He did not apply for bail and will appear in the Elizabeth Magistrates Court today.
Anyone with information about illicit firearms in our community is encouraged to report it to police via Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online at www.crimestopperssa.com.au
A second man has been arrested over a Mitchell Park break-in last month and will face court today.
Just after 6.30pm on Friday 24 January the victims returned home and were confronted by a group of intruders leaving their Handley Avenue property.
The suspects stole property including a Play Station, jewellery and cash and left in a silver Holden VE Commodore.
Thankfully there were no physical injuries.
A 20-year-old Elizabeth North man was arrested on 27 January and charged with serious criminal trespass, theft, aggravated robbery, assault, theft, illegal use of motor vehicle and fail to truly answer questions.
Following investigations, a second suspect was arrested yesterday, Sunday 9 February.
The 24-year-old Prospect man was charged with aggravated serious criminal trespass, aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, illegal use and drive while disqualified. He was refused police bail and will appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court later today.
Investigations are ongoing. Anyone with information that may assist is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online at www.crimestopperssa.com.au – you can remain anonymous.
The Cook Islands finds itself in a precarious dance — one between the promises of foreign investments and the integrity of our own sovereignty. As the country sways between partners China and Aotearoa New Zealand, the Cook Islands News asks: “Do we continue to haka with the Taniwha, our constitutional partner, or do we dance with the dragon?”
EDITORIAL:By Thomas Tarurongo Wynne, Cook Islands News
Our relationship with China, forged through over two decades of diplomatic agreements, infrastructure projects and economic cooperation, demands further scrutiny. Do we continue to embrace the dragon with open arms, or do we stand wary?
And what of the Taniwha, a relationship now bruised by the ego of the few but standing the test of time?
If our relationship with China were a building, it would be crumbling like the very structures they have built for us. The Cook Islands Police Headquarters (2005) was meant to stand as a testament to our growing diplomatic and financial ties, but its foundations — both literal and metaphorical — have been called into question as its structure deteriorated.
Then, in 2009, the Cook Islands Courthouse followed, plagued by maintenance issues almost immediately after its completion. Our National Stadium, also built in 2009 for the Pacific Mini Games, was heralded as a great achievement, yet signs of premature wear and tear began surfacing far earlier than expected.
Still, we continue this dance, entranced by the allure of foreign investment and large-scale projects, even as history and our fellow Pacific partners across the moana warn us of the risks.
These structures, now symbols of our fragile dependence, stand as a metaphor for our relationship with the dragon: built with promises of strength, only to falter under closer scrutiny. And yet, we keep returning to the dance floor. These projects, rather than standing as enduring monuments to our relationship with China, serve as cautionary tales.
And then came Te Mato Vai.
What began as a bold and necessary vision to modernise Rarotonga’s water infrastructure became a slow and painful lesson in accountability. The involvement of China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) saw the project mired in substandard work, legal disputes and cost overruns.
By the time McConnell Dowell, a New Zealand firm, was brought in to fix the defects, the damage — financial and reputational — was done.
Prime Minister Mark Brown, both as Finance Minister and now as leader, has walked an interesting line between criticism and praise.
In 2017, he voiced concerns about the poor workmanship and assured the nation that the government would seek accountability, stating, “We are deeply concerned about the quality of work delivered by CCECC. Our people deserve better, and we will pursue all avenues to ensure accountability.”
In 2022, he acknowledged the cost overruns but framed them as necessary lessons in securing a reliable water supply. And yet, most recently, during the December 2024 visit of China’s Executive Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu, he declared Te Mato Vai a “commitment to a stronger, healthier, and more resilient nation. Together, we’ve delivered a project that not only meets the needs of today but safeguards the future of Rarotonga’s water supply.”
The Cook Islands’ relationship with New Zealand has long been one of deep familial, historical and political ties — a dance with the taniwha, if you will. As a nation with free association status, we have relied on New Zealand for economic support, governance frameworks and our shared citizenship ties.
And they have relied on our labour and expertise, which adds over a billion dollars to their economy each year. We have well-earned our discussion around citizenship and statehood, but that must come from the ground up, not from the top down.
China has signed similar agreements across the Pacific, most notably with the Solomon Islands, weaving itself into the region’s economic and political fabric. Yet, while these partnerships promise opportunity, they also raise concerns about sovereignty, dependency and the price of such alignments, as well as the geopolitical and strategic footprint of the dragon.
But as we reflect on the shortcomings of these partnerships, the question remains: Do we continue to place our trust in foreign powers, or do we reinvest in our own community and governance systems?
At the end of the day, we must ask ourselves: How do we sign bold agreements on the world stage without consultation, while struggling to resolve fundamental issues at home?
Healthcare, education, the rise in crime, mental health, disability, poverty — the list goes on and on, while our leaders are wined and dined on state visits around the globe.
Dance with the dragon, if you so choose, but save the last dance for the voting public in 2026. In 2026, the voters will decide who leads this dance and who gets left behind.
Republished from the Cook Islands News with permission.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Most successful January in over half a decade for Home Office Immigration Enforcement teams tackling illegal working.
A record-breaking January for illegal working enforcement activity has been revealed by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper as the government’s landmark Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill returns to Parliament for its second reading, today (Monday 10 February).
Tackling illegal working plays a vital part in the Home Office’s system-wide approach to ending the promise of false jobs used by smuggling gangs to sell spaces on boats and taking down their business models as we restore order to the immigration system.
Following a drive from this government to have more deployable enforcement staff, a renewed crackdown on those attempting to undermine the UK’s borders last month saw the highest January in over half a decade for enforcement activity.
Throughout January alone, Immigration Enforcement teams descended on 828 premises, including nail bars, convenience stores, restaurants and car washes, marking a 48% rise compared to the previous January. Arrests also surged to 609, demonstrating a 73% increase from just 352 the previous year.
More broadly, between 5 July last year and 31 January, both illegal working visits and arrests have soared by around 38% compared to the same 12 months prior. During the same period, the Home Office issued a total of 1,090 civil penalty notices. Employers could face a fine of up to £60,000 per worker if found liable.
In many cases, those who come to the UK and end up working illegally are sold false promises about their ability to live and work in the UK, creating a dangerous draw for people to risk their lives by crossing the Channel on a small boat.
In reality, illegal working is inextricably linked to squalid living conditions, little to no pay and inhumane working hours. By paying so little, rogue employers often attempt to avoid paying their fair share in taxes to contribute to the economy and undercut honest competitors who follow the law.
Under its Plan for Change, the government is delivering steadfast action to restore order to the UK immigration system and the surge in enforcement activity to crack down on illegal working is a vital cog in the government’s wider machine to identify, disrupt and tackle irregular migration across the country.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said:
The immigration rules must be respected and enforced. For far too long, employers have been able to take on and exploit illegal migrants and too many people have been able to arrive and work illegally with no enforcement action ever taken.
Not only does this create a dangerous draw for people to risk their lives by crossing the Channel in a small boat, but it results in the abuse of vulnerable people, the immigration system and our economy.
That’s why, as part of our Plan for Change, we are boosting enforcement to record levels alongside tough new legislation to smash the criminal gangs that undermine our border security and who have been getting away with it for far too long.
While enforcement teams respond to illegal working intelligence in all sectors, a significant proportion of last month’s activity took place at restaurants, takeaways and cafes as well as in the food, drink and tobacco industry.
An operation in Cheshire to vape shops led to 10 immigration arrests and 2 criminal arrests for counterfeit documents, with civil penalty referral notices being made to employers, and a visit to an Indian restaurant in Humberside led to 7 arrests and 4 detentions. Elsewhere, in South London, a visit to a grocery warehouse resulted in 6 arrests and 4 people being detained.
As part of this activity, Immigrant Enforcement play a critical safeguarding role, working closely with the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority and other organisations to allow employees to report labour exploitation.
Eddy Montgomery, Director of Enforcement, Compliance and Crime, said:
These figures demonstrate the commitment of my teams to crack down on those who think they can flout our immigration system.
I hope it sends a strong signal that there is no hiding place from the law, and we will continue to ramp up our activity to ensure those involved face the full consequences.
We also know that many people who end up working illegally are often subjected to extremely poor conditions, so we will continue to do all we can to safeguard and protect the most vulnerable.
Border Security is central to the government’s Plan for Change and, alongside enforcement activity, the Home Office is ramping up returns of individuals with no right to be in the UK. Just last month, the department smashed its target to drive the removal of foreign criminals and immigration offenders to the highest level since 2018, with 16,400 people removed since the election. This figure is expected to go up later today when the Home Office publishes updated figures running to the end of January.
Since July, bespoke charter flights have also removed immigration offenders to countries around the world, including 4 of the biggest returns flights in the UK’s history carrying more than 800 people. Individuals removed since the election include criminals convicted of drug offences, theft, rape and murder.
We’re also working upstream to deter people from entering the UK illegally by launching a new international campaign to debunk people smugglers’ lies.
Social media adverts went live in Vietnam in December and Albania in January, highlighting real stories from migrants who entered the UK illegally, only to face debt, exploitation, and a life far from what they were promised. The campaign also warns prospective migrants about the realities of illegal working, as the government continues to crack down on employers who break the law and exploit people for profit.
In the months ahead, we will go further than ever by introducing new counter terror-style powers to identify, disrupt and smash people smuggling gangs as part of new, robust legislation to protect UK borders, set to be discussed in Parliament today.
The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill will grant law enforcement additional powers to take earlier and more effective action against organised crime gangs, including seizing mobile phones from people who come to the UK illegally before the point of arrest.
Next month, the government will go further by hosting a landmark Border Security Summit at the historic Lancaster House in London.
A watershed moment in the UK’s fight against Organised Immigration Crime, the summit will bring together delegates from over 40 countries, as well as guest participants from a range of international institutions, including the European Union.
The summit will be held on Monday 31 March and Tuesday 1 April, and will facilitate a range of discussions on the best ways to tackle criminal networks facilitating organised immigration crime and migrant smuggling.
Ruth Money MNZM has been appointed New Zealand’s Chief Victims Advisor, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Ms Money is already an outspoken and energetic victims advocate with a proven track record of driving change. She has been a full-time volunteer since 2012 following a successful business career, and has extensive experience across the many and varied components of the justice system. She is committed to the view that society can and must do better for victims. “The advice provided by Ms Money over the next two years will be essential in ensuring there are 20,000 fewer victims of violent crime by 2029, while keeping the needs of victims at the forefront of our justice system. “I would like to acknowledge the work of Dr Kim McGregor in the role of Chief Victims Advisor over the past nine years, and I wish her well in the future.”
OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today joined a coalition of 21 state attorneys general, standing with the nation’s federal employees in a challenge to the Trump administration’s federal “buyout” plan. In today’s amicus brief, the attorneys general support a motion for a temporary restraining order filed by the plaintiffs—the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE); AFGE Local 3707; the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; and the National Association of Government Employees—against the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) “Fork in the Road” directive, issued on January 28, 2025. The directive is an attempt to force federal workers to choose, with only days to decide, between accepting a legally fraught “buyout” and potentially being terminated. It gave most federal employees little more than a week (until February 6) to accept “deferred resignation,” which purportedly would allow federal workers to resign and retain pay and benefits without showing up to work until September 30, 2025, under an implicit threat that their positions may otherwise be eliminated anyway.
“This much is clear: the Trump Administration continues to trample over the rights of workers,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Our federal employees provide necessary services that Americans rely on and contribute to our economy. At the California Department of Justice, we will continue to stand firm in our commitment to fighting for workers’ rights and the unions that support them.”
The plaintiff unions filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, emphasizing that the directive and associated FAQs—which were revised multiple times—caused widespread confusion and disarray among federal employees, who were faced with an arbitrary deadline based on a directive that the plaintiff unions assert is illegal and contrary to federal ethics regulations. On February 6, 2025, U.S. District Court Judge George A. O’Toole, Jr., stayed the purported deadline of the “Fork directive” until Monday, February 10, 2025, with a hearing to be held at 2:00 p.m. that day in Boston.
In today’s amicus brief, the attorneys general emphasized that the coercive nature of the directive to our Nation’s public servants harms the federal workforce. The brief also explained that the indiscriminate loss of indispensable federal employees could have a devastating effect on federal, state, and local government, by improperly eliminating employees across the States who care for veterans to those who arrive when natural disaster strikes. The coalition urged the court to grant a temporary restraining order to prevent this harm to federal workers and to protect the public interest.
Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia in filing this amicus brief.
A man faces a raft of charges after allegedly swinging a machete at Police in Napier overnight.
A 21-year-old Taradale man has been charged with dangerous driving; possession of an offensive weapon; assaulting Police; injures with intent to cause grievous bodily harm; resisting Police; threatening to kill; and driving with excess breath alcohol. He is due to appear in the Hastings District Court today, Monday 10 February.
About 1.30am, a vehicle was seen driving at speed on Kennedy Road in Napier with its headlights off. Police lost sight of the car, but a member of the public pointed Police toward Clive, where the vehicle was located travelling at double the speed limit.
As plans were being put in place to set up cordons and stop the vehicle, it crashed into a fence on Waitangi Road, Awatoto, causing significant damage to the car and fence. Police were not pursuing the vehicle.
A unit located the vehicle and the sole occupant, who was initially compliant. As Police approached him, the man allegedly pulled a machete from the vehicle and began chasing one of the officers while swinging the weapon.
Both officers deployed Tasers, which were ineffective in stopping the man, before he was subdued with OC spray.
Neither officer was injured by the weapon.
The officers involved were stood down for the rest of their shift. One officer was treated at the scene for a minor injury but did not require hospitalisation.
I’m incredibly proud of their efforts. They were faced with a dangerous and unpredictable situation where a moment’s delay could have been fatal. They used training and experience to bring the alleged offender into custody without serious injury to him, or themselves.
Sadly, this is a reminder of the needless violence Police face, often with little to no warning. While Police are trained to make decisions rapidly and under pressure, nothing prepares you for seeing your colleague being threatened with a machete.
I am proud of the way both officers executed their duty bravely – the community is safer because of their actions.
Three bags choco-block full of stolen items from a Pukekohe supermarket has landed one woman in court.
Yesterday at about 2.45pm, officers were conducting a prevention patrol in the Tobin Street area when a member of the public alerted them to a woman allegedly taking a number of items from the supermarket.
Counties Manukau South Area Prevention Manager, Inspector Matt Hoyes, says officers approached a woman matching the description and a search of some nearby bushes located three bags filled with items.
“Officers found 10 tubs of mayonnaise, 13 bottles of shampoo and 66 blocks of chocolate stuffed inside the bags.
“None of the items had been paid for and she was quickly taken into custody.”
Inspector Hoyes says CCTV enquiries also assisted in the arrest.
“Offending like this is a blight in our community and we’re pleased this alleged offender will be held to account for her actions.
“We take these matters seriously and our staff will continue to target recidivist retail offenders.”
Police continue to encourage the public to report offending as it happens by calling 111.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police Force further arrested a 26-year-old woman for “doing an act or a series of acts tending and intended to pervert the course of public justice” yesterday (February 8) afternoon in Kowloon following the holding charge of a 26-year-old man for one count of “doing an act or a series of acts tending and intended to pervert the course of public justice” on February 7. She was previously wanted in suspected connection with the same case.
The woman was laid a holding charge today (February 9) with one count of “doing an act or a series of acts tending and intended to pervert the course of public justice”. The case will be mentioned at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow (February 10) morning.