Category: Politics

MIL-Evening Report: Why isn’t dental included in Medicare? It’s time to change this – here’s how

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Breadon, Program Director, Health and Aged Care, Grattan Institute

Engin Akyurt/Unsplash

When the forerunner of Medicare was established in the 1970s, dental care was left out. Australians are still suffering the consequences half a century later.

Patients pay much more of the cost of dental care than they do for other kinds of care.

More Australians delay or skip dental care because of cost than their peers in most wealthy countries.

And as our dental health gets worse, fees keep on rising.

For decades, a litany of reports and inquiries have called for universal dental coverage to solve these problems.

Now, with the Greens proposing it and Labor backbenchers supporting it, could it finally be time to put the mouth into Medicare?

What’s stopping us?

The Australian Dental Association says the idea is too ambitious and too costly, pointing out it would need many more dental workers. They say the government should start small, focusing on the most vulnerable populations, initially seniors.

Starting small is sensible, but finishing small would be a mistake.

Dental costs aren’t just a problem for the most vulnerable, or the elderly. More than two million Australians avoid dental care because of the cost.

More than four in ten adults usually wait more than a year before seeing a dental professional.

Bringing dental into Medicare will require many thousands of new dental workers. But it will be possible if the scheme is phased in over ten years.

The real reason dental hasn’t been added to Medicare is it would cost billions of dollars. The federal government doesn’t have that kind of money lying around.

Australia has a structural budget problem. Government spending is growing faster than revenue, because we are a relatively low-tax country with high service expectations.

The growing cost of health care is a major contributor, with hospitals and medical benefits among the top six fastest-growing major payments.

The structural gap is only likely to grow without major policy changes.

So, can we afford health care for all? We can. But we should do it with smart choices on dental care, and tough choices to raise revenue and reduce spending elsewhere.

Smart choices about a new dental scheme

The first step is to avoid repeating the mistakes of Medicare.

Medicare payments to private businesses haven’t attracted them to a lot of the communities that need them the most. Many rural and disadvantaged areas are bulk-billing deserts with too few GPs.

The poorest areas have more than twice the psychological distress of the wealthiest areas, but they get about half the Medicare-funded mental health services.

As a result, government money isn’t going where it will make the biggest difference.

There are about 80,000 hospital visits each year for dental problems that could have been avoided with dental care. If there is too little care in disadvantaged and rural communities, where oral health is worst, that number will remain high.

That’s why a significant share of new investment should be quarantined for public dental services, with those services targeted to areas where people are missing out on care.

Another problem with Medicare is its payments often have little relationship to the cost of care, or the impact that care has on the patient’s health.

To tamp down costs, Medicare funding for dental care should exclude cosmetic treatments and orthodontics. It should be based on efficient workforce models where dental assistants and therapists use all their skills – you might not always need to see a dentist.

Sometimes you might see a dental therapist instead.
Gustavo Fring/Pexels

The funding model should take account of a patient’s needs, reward giving them ongoing care, and have a cap on spending per patient.

Oral health should be measured and recorded, to make sure patients and taxpayers are getting results.

Tough choices to balance the budget

Those steps would slash the cost of The Greens’ plan, which is hard to estimate but might reach more than $20 billion a year once it’s phased in. Instead, the cost would fall to roughly $7 billion a year.

That would be a good investment. But if you’re worried about where the money will come from, there are good ways to pay for it.

Many reforms could reduce government health budgets without harming patients.

There is waste in government funding of pathology tests and less cost-effective medicines.

In some hospitals, there are excessive costs and potentially harmful low-value care.

Over the longer-term, investments in prevention can reduce demand for health care. A tax on sugary drinks, for example, would improve health while raising hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

Measures like this would help the government pay for more dental care. But demand for health care will keep growing as the population ages, and as expensive new treatments arrive.

This means a broader strategy is needed to meet the three goals of balancing the budget, keeping up with growing health-care demand, and bringing dental into Medicare.

Adding dental to Medicare would mean some tradeoffs.
Lafayett Zapata Montero/Unsplash

There are no easy solutions, but there are many options to reduce spending and boost revenue without hurting economic growth.

Choosing Australia’s infrastructure and defence megaprojects more wisely could save several billion dollars each year.

Undoing Western Australia’s special GST funding deal – described by economist Saul Eslake as “the worst Australian public policy decision of the 21st Century thus far” – would save another $5 billion a year.

Reducing income tax breaks and tax minimisation opportunities – including by reining in superannuation tax concessions, reducing the capital gains tax discount, limiting negative gearing, and setting a minimum tax on trust distributions – could raise more than $20 billion a year.

Major tax reform like this offers economic benefits while creating space for better services such as universal dental coverage.

No one likes spending cuts and tax hikes, but they will be needed sooner or later regardless. Dental coverage might be just the sweetener taxpayers need to accept it.

Grattan Institute, has been supported in its work by government, corporates, and philanthropic gifts.

A full list of supporting organisations is published at www.grattan.edu.au.

– ref. Why isn’t dental included in Medicare? It’s time to change this – here’s how – https://theconversation.com/why-isnt-dental-included-in-medicare-its-time-to-change-this-heres-how-239086

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

September 29, 2024
MIL-Evening Report: How did they get my data? I uncovered the hidden web of networks behind telemarketers

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Priya Dev, Lecturer & Academic Data Science, Digital Assets & Distributed Ledgers, Australian National University

Kokhan O/Shutterstock

Last year, I started getting a lot of unsolicited phone calls, mainly from people trying to sell me things. This came as a surprise because, as a data scientist, I am very careful about what personal information I let out into the world. So I set out to discover what had happened.

My investigation took several months. It eventually led me to the labyrinthine world of data brokers.

In today’s digital age, where personal data is a new kind of gold, these companies wield significant power, creating networks where our personal information is shared between brokers and telemarketers as easily as TikTok videos. Their businesses profit from the data they collect, and many of the calls they enable come from scammers.

This comes at an enormous cost: in 2023, Australians lost $2.7 billion to scams. This highlights the urgent need for stronger privacy protections to limit how our personal data is collected and shared.

In an attempt to address this need, the Australian government this month introduced long-overdue privacy reforms. But these reforms are still inadequate for the many privacy issues affecting people today, including targeting by data brokers and telemarketers.

Investigating the hidden web

One of the mechanisms designed to protect us from unwanted calls is the Do Not Call Register.

Managed by the Australian Communications and Media Authority, the registry holds more than 12 million phone numbers, including mine. The registry is supposed to block unsolicited calls. But last year, despite being on the list, I began to receive dozens of unwanted calls – on average, about three per day.

Curious, I started tracing the origins of these calls. What I uncovered was a network of hidden connections between data brokers, telemarketers and large organisations – including a major political party. It became clear that simply being on the Do Not Call Register wasn’t enough to protect my privacy.

I started by asking the callers what data they held, and how they had obtained mine. I requested details about the companies they represented, including their websites and Australian Business Numbers (ABNs) – the unique identifiers for Australian businesses.

Most callers hung up the moment I started asking questions, until one day I spoke with a man named Paul, who worked in the real estate sector – an industry worth more than $10 trillion as of 2024. The high-value real-estate market makes our personal data especially valuable to businesses operating within the industry.

Digging deeper

The unique thing about Paul was that he knew my real name, whereas other telemarketers only had access to the pseudonyms I’d used to protect my identity online. Paul explained he had licensed my data from the real estate giant CoreLogic Australia.

This discovery pushed me to dig deeper. After a lot of back and forth, I finally obtained my data from CoreLogic. The amount of information was small, but surprisingly accurate – especially considering the steps I’d taken to hide my identity. It made me wonder where they got it from, as only organisations such as utility companies, banks or the government would hold that type of information.

CoreLogic told me in an email that:

CoreLogic gets data from a variety of sources … most of the information we collect comes from public records, which we license from government departments and agencies. We may also collect personal information from third parties such as through real estate agents, tenancy and strata mangers, financial institutions and marketing database providers.

This was a troubling discovery, because the institutions on which we depend for essentials such as public services, housing and finance – and from which we can’t hide our identities – may be selling our personal information to data brokers, who then pass it along to telemarketers.

What’s even more alarming is that the data is shared unmasked, meaning personal details such as our names, genders and phone numbers are fully visible. Once this information is out in the open, it becomes almost impossible to control how it’s recorded or shared.

It’s also nearly impossible to stop it being passed to overseas telemarketers, who aren’t bound by Australian privacy laws.

Real estate giant CoreLogic says most of the personal data it collects comes from public records.
IgorGolovniov/Shutterstock

Solving the mystery

My investigation didn’t end there.

Eventually, CoreLogic revealed it had purchased my data from Australian data broker firm Smrtr in August 2023. This coincided with the surge in unsolicited calls.

Through Smrtr I learned they had purchased my data in 2016 from another data broker, EightDragons Digital. Smrtr also admitted to selling my data to various companies – all without my consent.

Determined to investigate the origin of my online data trail, I contacted EightDragons Digital, which calls itself “a leading global consumer data agency”. It collects personal data for big brands including Energy Australia, Vodafone, NRMA, Nissan, Johnnie Walker, American Express, The Good Guys, and even the Australian Labor Party.

The company claimed it collected my data in a 2014 marketing campaign, and likely passed it to at least 50 other companies. However, it had no records to verify the marketing campaign or prove that I had given consent.

A small step only

CoreLogic defended its practices as legal, saying it’s too difficult to verify consent or anonymise personal data.

However, with modern technology, it’s actually possible to track where data comes from, check consent, and share insights without exposing personal details such as names and phone numbers.

The government’s recent privacy reforms are a small step in the right direction. But until data brokers are required to obtain explicit consent before trading personal information, they fall far short of being a giant leap forward.

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

– ref. How did they get my data? I uncovered the hidden web of networks behind telemarketers – https://theconversation.com/how-did-they-get-my-data-i-uncovered-the-hidden-web-of-networks-behind-telemarketers-238991

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

September 29, 2024
MIL-Evening Report: With all these defamation lawsuits, what ever happened to free speech?

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Clift, Lecturer in Law, The University of Melbourne

Shutterstock

It seems like the dust barely settles from the latest high-profile defamation stoush before the next set of litigants straps on the gloves and steps into the ring.

Many of these cases raise eyebrows — and questions. Was that story about him? Does anyone remember that tweet? Wasn’t it just harmless banter? Didn’t she respond to that allegation? What if it’s all true? Isn’t that free speech? How much did you say this will cost?!

Defamation law continues to loom large over public conversations, despite recent law reforms aimed at remedying Australia’s unwanted reputation as the “defamation capital of the world”.

At the heart of defamation law lies a tension between protecting reputation and maintaining freedom of speech. The more robustly defamation law protects reputation, the more it constrains speech.

Free speech is valued in Australian law, politics and society, notwithstanding our lack of an explicit constitutional speech right. So why does our defamation law facilitate seven-figure lawsuits over communicative slights that, at times, seem disproportionately minor?

What shapes these laws?

Defamation law is old — very old — with roots in English law half a millennium ago. For several hundred years it existed in parallel with publishing monopolies, political and moral censorship, and fears that loose talk could stoke public disorder.

In other words, our defamation law substantially predates modern conceptions of civil and political rights. Some of its features, like strict rather than fault-based liability (the plaintiff need not prove anything about the defendant’s intentions or degree of care), retain the flavour of less liberal times.

Libel laws in the western world, as seen here in the US in the 1730s, are very old.
Library of Congress

Still, defamation has developed over the years and adapted with transplantation to other legal systems.

The defamation laws of different places are influenced by factors such as community values, prevailing views on the value of speech, the nature and democratic credentials of the political system, and the role of law and the constitution in regulating citizens and the state.

For example, the United States is culturally and historically predisposed to liberty and suspicion of government. The freedom to discuss and debate public affairs is seen as essential to its democratic system. The First Amendment to the US Constitution is the world’s most famous free speech law.

Accordingly, US courts have limited defamation on matters of public concern to deliberate or reckless lies, while opinions on any newsworthy topic are immune from suit. This is because US democracy requires the “marketplace of ideas” to be minimally constrained and largely self-regulating.

On the other hand, less democratic states have kept their defamation laws strict, to suppress political dissent and silence critical media.

A case in point is Singapore, which, under founding father Lee Kwan Yew and his perpetually-in-power People’s Action Party, has weaponised defamation law against political opposition and the press.

Read more:
With more lawsuits potentially looming, should politicians be allowed to sue for defamation?

That is not to say that less defamation law is automatically better than more. The interest in maintaining a (deserved) good reputation is legitimate. And speech anarchism can allow low-value and harmful speech to flourish.

The High Court of Australia has shied away from US-style speech liberalism for fear it could facilitate speech that is harmful to the integrity of political discourse: a prescient position given recent US history. The English courts have done similarly, influenced by distrust of the tabloid press.

But when reputation and speech fall out of balance, defamation law risks infringing both democratic values and fundamental rights.

Legal balancing acts

Around the turn of the millennium, English defamation law reached a crossroads. Its relative stasis had turned the United Kingdom into a “libel tourism” hotspot, and the UK was falling behind on the speech protections mandated by the European Convention on Human Rights.

So the UK courts moved to better protect publishers by creating a new defence for responsible publication in the public interest. That was followed in 2013 by a new Defamation Act to further simplify, clarify and rebalance defamation law.

Australia, lacking the same constitutional or convention impetus, has been slow to follow suit. The states agreed to harmonise their disparate defamation laws only in 2005, and it was 2021 before they found the appetite to improve them.

By then, Australia had taken over the UK’s mantle as the preferred destination for defamation plaintiffs.

Australia’s 2021 reforms included a new defence for publication of public-interest material, which generated some excitement but hasn’t substantially liberated the media from defamation threats. It amounts to tinkering around the edges of law, which remains conservative at its core.

Today, from a practical standpoint, the biggest problem with defamation may be its cost.

Legal advice and correspondence are expensive, settlements more so, and the cost of litigation can be eye-watering. It’s one problem if you can’t afford to assert your legal rights; it’s quite another to be slapped with an unexpected complaint. Defamation disputes can easily bankrupt individuals and exhaust media budgets.

Read more:
Why defamation suits in Australia are so ubiquitous — and difficult to defend for media organisations

Legal consequences can act as an incentive for better journalism, but they also chill public-interest reporting. Even a journalist assured of their facts will find proving them in court to be a different matter. And a win does not guarantee full recovery of costs, let alone time and stress.

The debate over defamation law reform is ongoing. The central question remains how best to balance the interest in reputation with the benefits of free speech. The answers depend on what we really value, and what our commitment to liberal democracy really requires.

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

– ref. With all these defamation lawsuits, what ever happened to free speech? – https://theconversation.com/with-all-these-defamation-lawsuits-what-ever-happened-to-free-speech-238312

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI New Zealand: ChildFund NZ – Charities Incentivised to Collaborate not Compete

Source: ChildFund New Zealand

Emergency Alliance brings together some of New Zealand’s leading relief agencies who have agreed to collaborate rather than compete for donations during a humanitarian emergency.

Collaboration generates more funds, and makes distribution of those funds more efficient during an emergency.

“Simply put, more donations get to those who need it most,” says Emergency Alliance Executive Director, Paul Brown.

“Having a joint appeal makes it easy for the public to donate during a crisis. They don’t have to choose which charity to support. They can donate via one platform, knowing Emergency Alliance will distribute the funds to the charities best positioned to get effective support quickly to where it is most needed.”

The Emergency Alliance was launched in 2023, and connects the New Zealand aid sector to other successful collaborative alliances in 13 other countries.

ChildFund New Zealand is part of a global network of ChildFund organisations working in over 70 countries and reaching over 30 million children and young people. It brings this global reach and experience, plus its extensive work in the Pacific, to Emergency Alliance.

“We are very excited to welcome ChildFund to our family. They bring a global network, with depth in understanding of how emergencies affect children and youth. ChildFund’s work in the Pacific is particularly important as we gear up for another cyclone season,” says Paul Brown.

“When disaster strikes, it’s critical that we work together, not just in coordinating responses on the ground, but also coordinating how we raise funds. By making it simple for the public, New Zealanders can trust that donations will get to where they are most needed,” says Josie Pagani CEO of ChildFund New Zealand.

“I have seen how these joint appeal mechanisms work around the world. Often the public are ahead of governments in wanting to do something to help people in a crisis. So, let’s make it easy for generous Kiwis to donate.”

“Working together achieves so much more than going it alone. We look forward to doing the best job we can by collaborating to help people during a humanitarian crisis,” says Josie Pagani.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Activist News – KEEP SPACE FOR PEACE – WELLINGTON PROTEST AGAINST THE AEROSPACE CONFERENCE
Source: Peace Action Wellington

On Monday 23 September at 1pm, Peace Action Wellington will protest against the Aerospace Summit. The Wellington protest will be outside the Ministry of Business at 15 Stout Street.

“The Aerospace Conference raises serious concerns because of its ties to the US weapons industry and US military. The aggressive steps taken by the NZ government to join the US in the weaponisation of space, contrary to the Outer Space Treaty, is a deeply alarming agenda,” said Valerie Morse, spokesperson for Peace Action Wellington.

The Aerospace Summit is an annual event sponsored by Rocket Lab and supported by the US government. Rocket Lab is partly owned by Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest arms dealer. Summit speakers include a representative from Boeing Aerospace, the second largest arms dealer. The Summit is held in Ōtautahi/Christchurch.

Rocket Lab has been launching US military satellites providing actionable information for the genocide in Gaza.

“Despite weekly outpouring across Aotearoa of calls for peace, the New Zealand Government seems determined to follow the US into their wars more than ever,” said Valerie Morse, spokesperson for Peace Action Wellington. “New Zealand has taken three steps to join the US Space Race in just the past few months.” (1)

“New Zealand is now one of the top ‘spots’ for space launches – why? Because NZ has become a US military spaceport,” said Morse. “All other major space programmes – US, India, China, Russia – are directly linked to their militaries. Ours is linked, too, but not to the NZ military, but rather to the US military. That gives the US huge sway in the things that are launched from Aotearoa, including things that are contrary to the interests of ordinary people here like surveillance and private spying satellites”

This is the third Aerospace Conference hosted in Ōtautahi, and the third year of peace organising to oppose it. The Wellington action is supported by the Stop AUKUS Coalition, Victoria University Socialists, Asians Supporting Tino Rangatiratanga, climate and peace activists, and local solidarity band the Brass Razoo.

“We invite members of the public in Wellington to join us in opposing the militarisation of space. We stand in solidarity with Stop the Space Waste in Ōtautahi who are mobilising against the Aerospace Conference and have a nationwide petition (2). We stand in solidarity with: RocketLab Monitor in Māhia who have long exposed the military aims of RocketLab, with Kanaky, against French militarisation. Rocket Lab is launching technology for Kineis, a company based in France that builds French military satellites; with Palestine and with the Anti-Bases Campaign who have long opposed military bases,” said Ms Morse.

Notes:

About Peace Action Wellington: For the past quarter-century, Peace Action Wellington has worked for peace and justice throughout the world, with a special focus on the New Zealand government’s involvement in international affairs. PAW stands for peace with justice and self-determination.
1. Phil Pennington, “New Zealand takes another step towards US space operations,” RNZ, 8 September 2024, https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/527390/new-zealand-takes-another-step-towards-us-space-operations
2. Stop the Space Waste petition, https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfd7goKR5ANBiGY2Jv5-Ri4hDhxgmY75yv_YtuSn3px61xONA/viewform?usp=send_form
3. The Outer Space Treaty can be found here: https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/introouterspacetreaty.html
4. Details of the 2024 Aerospace Summit can be found here: https://www.aerospace.org.nz/summit
MIL OSI New Zealand News –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Release: Public service set up to fail under National

Source: New Zealand Labour Party

Nicola Willis has set up the public service to fail to pay for reckless tax cuts for landlords and the tobacco industry.

Today’s analysis by the Council of Trade Unions shows that significant cuts to frontline public services will likely be needed to meet the Government’s directive to fund cost pressures – such as from inflation and population growth – from baseline funding.

“Nicola Willis has just gutted the public service to the tune of some 6000 people. Public services are already having to do more with less and we’ve seen how the frontline is being affected,” said Labour public service spokesperson Ayesha Verrall.

“To also have to manage cost pressures without more funding will likely lead to more job cuts and further undermine frontline work.”

“From cutting frontline work the Department of Conservation does to protect our most precious native species to hiring freezes at our hospitals, it’s clear the National Government has broken its promises to New Zealanders that frontline services would not be affected.”

The Government Workforce Policy Statement sets out the Government’s expectation that departments manage cost pressures through their baselines.

“This approach might ordinarily be sensible, but not after the public service has already been pared back to basics.

“Departments have just cut 6.5% or 7.5% from their baselines, leaving them already struggling to deliver their core functions. And now expecting them to absorb cost pressures when there is no capacity left, will lead to further front line cuts.

“Nicola Willis made reckless commitments about tax cuts that she couldn’t afford. She’s had to gut the public service and borrow to pay for them, all while handing $216 million to the tobacco industry, and $2.9 billion to landlords.

“Almost a year into her tenure as finance minister it’s time Nicola Willis took some responsibility, and realised that she cannot cut her way to a better New Zealand.

“Day by day we see cuts going deeper and further. A weakened public service is not good for anyone and New Zealanders are worse off for it,” Ayesha Verrall said.

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MIL OSI New Zealand News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Tech – Kitmap: supporting a thriving science, innovation and technology sector
Source: Callaghan Innovation

The Science, Innovation and Technology sector is working together to improve collaboration and access to infrastructure and expertise via a new online platform.

Kitmap is an online directory and database of scientific infrastructure and equipment owned by publicly funded institutes and is the first of its kind for Aotearoa New Zealand.

Kitmap was announced today by Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology, Judith Collins. The online platform is part of a wider project led by the Ministry for Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) that seeks to optimise the use of Aotearoa New Zealand’s science and technology research infrastructure.

“We are excited to be part of the delivery and management of a tool that streamlines access to facilities that also helps to enhance collaboration and efficiency,” says Callaghan Innovation Chief Executive, Stefan Korn.

It includes advanced facilities such as clean rooms, Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certified testing, pilot and manufacturing infrastructure, and specialised Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy capabilities that are now more accessible.

Kitmap currently catalogues 260 R&D items of infrastructure, specialised equipment, much of which are found nowhere else, or not easily accessible in this country.

It provides easy access to equipment and facilities owned by Crown Research Institutes (CRIs), the National eScience Infrastructure (NeSI) and Callaghan Innovation.

“Our colleagues at MBIE have done the heavy lifting gathering the relevant information for this tool. As an innovation agency and R&D provider, we are very happy to host and promote Kitmap to support improved collaboration, and optimised resource use across the public sector and beyond.

“We engaged with MBIE late last year to see what we could do to help. They welcomed our input and their shared requirements for an online tool. We assembled our own team to deliver a dynamic platform that provides instant access to a comprehensive directory of R&D infrastructure and equipment.

“As scientific fields, interdisciplinary research and private sector R&D areas continue to evolve rapidly, it’s crucial that our public science and technology resources are deployed to the areas where they can deliver the greatest impact for New Zealand.

“And as the fourth industrial revolution gathers pace, Kitmap will offer valuable insights and access to a broad spectrum of research facilities and equipment, ensuring Kiwi innovators have the tools they need to successfully develop products and inventions.

“In the near future Kitmap will look to incorporate generative AI functionality to suggest potential methods and machinery required for rapid prototyping of new products or innovations,” says Stefan Korn.

Kitmap resource categories include:
- Laboratories: Conventional research rooms/buildings
- Field sites: Physical spaces for non-laboratory research activities
- Livestock facilities: Spaces for rearing or researching livestock, including animals, fish, and insects
- Vessels: Ships or boats equipped for sea research
- Digital collections: Online databases and digital archives
- Computing: Physical computing hardware or virtual networks
- Workshops: Spaces with CNC machinery, tools and equipment for rapid prototyping
- Sample collections: Physical specimen collections
- Monitoring: Networks of monitoring equipment
- Pilot plants: Facilities for pre-commercial production technology trials.
Visit Kitmap : https://www.kitmap.govt.nz/

About Callaghan Innovation

Callaghan Innovation is New Zealand’s innovation agency. It activates innovation and helps businesses grow faster for a better New Zealand. The government agency partners with ambitious businesses of all sizes, delivering a range of innovation and research and development (R&D) services to suit each stage of their growth. Its staff – including more than 150 of New Zealand’s leading scientists and engineers – empower innovators by connecting people, opportunities and networks, and providing tailored technical solutions, skills and capability development programmes, and grants co-funding. Callaghan Innovation also enhances the operation of New Zealand’s innovation ecosystem, working closely with MBIE, NZTE, NZVIF, Crown Research Institutes, and other organisations that help increase business investment in R&D and innovation. The agency operates from five urban offices and a regional partner network in a further 12 locations across Aotearoa.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Global Economy – GlobalData outlines inflation-related concerns as discussed by companies in filing documents – GlobalData

Source: GlobalData

Inflation rates remain a mixed bag and vary widely among different countries. Although inflation has moderated across some markets, it remains high for some countries, and accordingly the trend shifts towards rebalancing its impact. Companies have been vocal about their concerns related to inflation and discussing these extensively in filing documents, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

An analysis of GlobalData’s Company Filing Analytics Database revealed that companies are increasingly concerned about inflation, which is affecting consumer behavior and leading to lower-than-anticipated net sales and profits on both a quarterly and annual basis.

Misa Singh, Business Fundamentals Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Inflation impacts business in multiple ways, from dampened customer sentiment, reduced demand, rising raw material costs to higher labor costs, ultimately squeezing profit margins. As consumer confidence wanes, companies are observing a shift toward lower-cost products and are prioritizing market development and portfolio diversification to navigate these challenges.”

Campbell Soup Co revealed in its earnings calls that it anticipates core inflation to remain in the low-single-digit range for fiscal ’25 and remains focused in areas of the portfolio where it has higher year-over-year input costs, including olive oil, cocoa, and packaging costs, and other areas of persistent inflation, such as labor costs and warehousing costs.

Haier Smart Home Co Ltd discussed persistent high inflation dampening consumer sentiment in Europe. The company also witnessed suppressed demand due to inflation in markets like the US and Europe. Because of high interest rates and inflation, consumers are increasingly seeking value-for-money products.

Darden Restaurants Inc mentioned that it is operating in a period of higher-than-usual inflation, led by food and beverage costs and labor inflation. This is principally due to increased costs incurred by vendors related to higher labor, transportation, packaging, and raw materials costs.

Aurobindo Pharma Ltd talked about soaring inflation in its reports particularly in controlling service inflation, which remains stubbornly high. The company believes that inflation surged initially due to supply-chain disruptions and geopolitical tensions. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co experienced rising input component costs, principally driven by inflation.

Some developing emerging markets continue to experience intense inflation as revealed by The Coca-Cola Co in its earning transcripts. The company further mentioned that performance was driven by strength in Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia while Argentina continued to experience highly inflationary conditions.

About GlobalData

4,000 of the world’s largest companies, including over 70% of FTSE 100 and 60% of Fortune 100 companies, make more timely and better business decisions thanks to GlobalData’s unique data, expert analysis and innovative solutions, all in one platform. GlobalData’s mission is to help our clients decode the future to be more successful and innovative across a range of industries, including the healthcare, consumer, retail, financial, technology and professional services sectors.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-Evening Report: Coming Up LIVE – The Murky World of Israel’s Booby-Trapped Pagers and Walkie-Talkies
The LIVE Recording of A View from Afar podcast will begin today at 12:45pm September 23, 2024 (NZST) which is Sunday evening, 8:45pm (USEDT).

In this episode of A View from Afar political scientist and former Pentagon Analyst, Paul G. Buchanan and journalist Selwyn Manning will discuss: The Murky World of Israel’s Booby-Trapped Pagers and Walkie-Talkies.

Today, Paul and Selwyn will reveal Israel’s long-form planning that led to it sabotaging hand-held communication devices that Hezbollah used to communicate with.

This episode’s questions will include:
- Who was behind the manufacturing of the booby-trapped devices?
- How long has Israel been planning last week’s attack – an attack that saw thousands injured and many killed in Lebanon after Israel remotely pulled the virtual-pin and exploded the devices indiscriminantly?
- And why now? Presumably the devices were also programmed to be tracked. So why did Israel decide to abandon tracking Hezbollah and to attack?
- Was it to cause chaos among its enemies in a preemptive move immediately prior to its widespread bombing and targeting of communities in Lebanon?
- And what of international law? Has Israel gone so far beyond the Rubicon with Gaza that it senses international law no longer applies to Israel?
- And, finally, has the United Nations abandoned its right to protect principles, its peacemaking and peacekeeping responsibilities in favour of aid, development and an overly bureaucratic institution?
Live Audience: Remember, if you are joining us live via the social media platforms, feel free to comment as we can include your comments and questions in this programme.

INTERACTION WHILE LIVE:

Paul and Selwyn encourage their live audience to interact while they are live with questions and comments.

To interact during the live recording of this podcast, go to Youtube.com/c/EveningReport/

Remember to subscribe to the channel.

For the on-demand audience, you can also keep the conversation going on this debate by clicking on one of the social media channels below:
- Youtube.com/c/EveningReport/
- Facebook.com/selwyn.manning
- Twitter.com/Selwyn_Manning
RECOGNITION: The MIL Network’s podcast A View from Afar was Nominated as a Top Defence Security Podcast by Threat.Technology – a London-based cyber security news publication. Threat.Technology placed A View from Afar at 9th in its 20 Best Defence Security Podcasts of 2021 category.

You can follow A View from Afar via our affiliate syndicators.

***
MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Video: EveningReport LIVE@12:45pm – The Murky World of Israel’s Booby-Trapped Pagers and Walkie-Talkies

Source: EveningReport.nz (Video Podcasts)

The LIVE Recording of A View from Afar podcast will begin today at 12:45pm September 23, 2024 (NZST) which is Sunday evening, 8:45pm (USEDT).

In this episode of A View from Afar political scientist and former Pentagon Analyst, Paul G. Buchanan and journalist Selwyn Manning will discuss: The Murky World of Israel’s Booby-Trapped Pagers and Walkie-Talkies.

Today, Paul and Selwyn will reveal Israel’s long-form planning that led to it sabotaging hand-held communication devices that Hezbollah used to communicate with.

This episode’s questions will include:

Who was behind the manufacturing of the booby-trapped devices?

How long has Israel been planning last week’s attack – an attack that saw thousands injured and many killed in Lebanon after Israel remotely pulled the virtual-pin and exploded the devices indiscriminantly?

And why now? Presumably the devices were also programmed to be tracked. So why did Israel decide to abandon tracking Hezbollah and to attack?

Was it to cause chaos among its enemies in a preemptive move immediately prior to its widespread bombing and targeting of communities in Lebanon?

And what of international law? Has Israel gone so far beyond the Rubicon with Gaza that it senses international law no longer applies to Israel?

And, finally, has the United Nations abandoned its right to protect principles, its peacemaking and peacekeeping responsibilities in favour of aid, development and an overly bureaucratic institution?

Live Audience: Remember, if you are joining us live via the social media platforms, feel free to comment as we can include your comments and questions in this programme.

INTERACTION WHILE LIVE:

Paul and Selwyn encourage their live audience to interact while they are live with questions and comments.

To interact during the live recording of this podcast, go to Youtube.com/c/EveningReport/

Remember to subscribe to the channel.

For the on-demand audience, you can also keep the conversation going on this debate by clicking on one of the social media channels below:

Youtube.com/c/EveningReport/
Facebook.com/selwyn.manning
Twitter.com/Selwyn_Manning

RECOGNITION: The MIL Network’s podcast A View from Afar was Nominated as a Top Defence Security Podcast by Threat.Technology – a London-based cyber security news publication. Threat.Technology placed A View from Afar at 9th in its 20 Best Defence Security Podcasts of 2021 category.

You can follow A View from Afar via our affiliate syndicators.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HurTfV_J8Bc

MIL OSI Video –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Funding round open for Greenhouse Gas Inventory Research
Source: Ministry for Primary Industries

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is seeking research proposals to help improve New Zealand’s reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, forestry, and other land uses.

The annual funding round for the Greenhouse Gas Inventory Research (GHGIR) fund is now open, with $2.9 million of funding available for new GHGIR projects in the 2024/25 financial year.

“The GHGIR focuses on improving our knowledge of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions, to ensure we have the best possible data to help manage New Zealand’s emissions and inform policy decisions,” says Stephanie Preston, MPI’s director of programmes and planning, policy and trade.

“This year we’re looking for very specific research proposals in 10 priority areas, ranging from improving liveweight estimation of sheep and beef to exploring remote sensing methods of collecting data, such as using satellite data to measure feed type and quality.

“The outcomes will inform MPI’s reporting to the New Zealand Greenhouse Gas Inventory and the United Nations under the Paris Climate Agreement.”

Applications close on 30 October 2024, with successful proposals expected to be announced by the end of February 2025.

Background information

The annual Greenhouse Gas Inventory reports on human-induced emissions and removals of greenhouse gases for energy, industrial processes, agriculture, land use, land-use change and forestry, and waste.

The Inventory is produced by government agencies, with MPI being responsible for producing the chapter on agricultural emissions (the Agriculture Greenhouse Gas Inventory). The report is submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change secretariat each year.

The 10 priorities for this year’s funding round are:
- non-forest land-use emissions model
- review and improve energy equations and intake
- review QA/QC of inventory model code
- review liming emissions
- measure values relevant to the inventory using remote sensing techniques
- improving the modelling of dairy beef cattle
- improve liveweight estimation of sheep and beef
- seasonal dairy supplementary feed data intake
- new afforestation and deforestation intentions survey
- improved activity data and parameters for deer.
The priorities paper for 2024 is on MPI’s Applying for Greenhouse Gas Inventory Research funding web page.

Applying for Greenhouse Gas Inventory Research funding

Research funded via GHGIR has led to improvements in the accuracy of estimated emissions from agriculture and forestry including:
- new data to reflect the use of non-pasture feed for dairy cattle, beef cattle and sheep
- New Zealand-specific nitrous oxide emission factors from animal excreta split by stock type and hill slope.
Previous examples of projects recently funded

Reports from completed GHGIR funded research

For general enquiries, call MPI on 0800 00 83 33 or email info@mpi.govt.nz

For media enquiries, contact the media team on 029 894 0328

MIL OSI New Zealand News –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Rural Flood Resilience Partnership launched to help farmers and rural communities adapt to a changing climate
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

Partnership unites six organisations including: Action with Communities in Rural England; Association of Drainage Authorities; Country Land and Business Association; Environment Agency; National Farmers Union; and Natural England
With rural communities increasingly on the frontline of extreme weather and the devastating impacts of flooding, a unique partnership has been launched today (23 September 2024) to support rural flood resilience and help farmers and communities adapt to a changing climate.

Climate change means that people, places and nature are facing more frequent and more severe storms and floods. Last winter saw one of England’s wettest periods since records began in 1836.

The Rural Flood Resilience Partnership has been established to improve collaboration, deepen understanding of vulnerabilities, and support rural communities and agricultural businesses in building their resilience to present and future flood risks and coastal erosion.

The Partnership unites organisations representing government agencies, trade associations, rural communities and businesses to tackle a joint challenge with joint solutions.

The six equal founding partners are: Action with Communities in Rural England; the Association of Drainage Authorities; Country Land and Business Association; the Environment Agency; the National Farmers Union; and Natural England.

Today, the Partnership publishes its work plan covering 2024 to 2026. Partners and a wide range of projects will work together to improve their evidence base and will draw on this to co-develop solutions.

The work plan sets out 21 actions supporting seven strategic outcomes focused on: developing the evidence base behind decision-making to increase resilience; ensuring communities, farmers and landowners have access to quality advice and support; and engaging rural communities in flood resilience.

James Blake, Chair of Trustees Action with Communities in Rural England, said:

It’s vital that everyone living and working in rural communities – not just those involved in land management and agriculture – have an opportunity to engage with and influence plans to manage the consequences of climate change.

As one of the founding members of this partnership, we look forward to drawing on the experience and reach of ACRE members to build the capacity of rural communities to come together and consider what can be done based on local circumstances in response to this most pressing global issue.

Robert Caudwell, Chair of the Association of Drainage Authorities, said:

Our climate is changing rapidly, and those living and working in rural parts of England are some of the most aware of, and most vulnerable to, those changes.

Listening to the voice of rural communities is essential if we are to build England’s resilience to flooding and drought in the future.

The best solutions can often be achieved when public authorities work together with local businesses and communities, combining their land and water management expertise with a deeper understanding of our local landscape and those impacted.

ADA is proud to play its part in this new Partnership in support of our members, England’s flood and water management authorities.

Country Land and Business Association (CLA) President Victoria Vyvyan said:

The damage to rural land and businesses from flooding is localised but acute, and the frequency of these events will increase with climate change.

It is crucial to improve the resilience of rural businesses and communities to flooding. The CLA hopes this partnership will provide the evidence, awareness of risks, and access to practical advice that will allow them to improve their resilience.

This partnership will look for short and medium-term solutions whilst raising awareness of the rural-specific costs and challenges from flooding which our members face.

Caroline Douglass, Executive Director for Flood and Coastal Risk Management, Environment Agency, said:

Flooding presents specific challenges to those living and working in rural communities, from ruined crops to having road access cut off by floodwaters.

Since 2015, flooding and coastal change projects have been completed to protect more than 400,000 hectares of agricultural land better. This includes 280,000 hectares between 2015-2021, helping to avoid more than £500 million worth of economic damage to agricultural land production.

While the Environment Agency continues to work to strengthen rural flood resilience, no single organisation can tackle these challenges in isolation. This partnership provides the opportunity to accomplish more than any one organisation can manage alone.

The new Rural Flood Resilience Partnership will help farmers, land managers and rural communities become more resilient to the impacts of climate change while retaining the vital role of managing land and producing sustainable food.

NFU Vice President Rachel Hallos said:

The NFU is pleased to be involved in this new Partnership and hope it will enable farmers and rural communities to strengthen the resilience of their homes and businesses by providing practical solutions based on tangible evidence to some of the challenges they face in the event of flooding.

It will also give rural communities the means to influence decision making, provide access to resources and support action on the ground, strengthening rural resilience to flooding in a changing climate.

Farmers are on the frontline of climate change – our biggest challenge. The extreme weather this brings is one of the main threats to UK food security and more severe storms, devastating floods, and increased periods of little or no rain are all impacting our ability to produce food.

The country has just experienced its wettest 18 months since records began in 1836 which left many thousands of acres of productive farmland under water. There are still many farm businesses in dire need of support, and we are awaiting details of how the Farming Recovery Fund can help those businesses recover from the impacts of the devastating flooding and saturated ground.

Natural England’s Greener Farming & Fisheries Director, Brad Tooze, said:

Natural England champions the power of nature and nature-based solutions to help tackle the joint climate and biodiversity emergencies.

NE welcomes the opportunity to join this partnership and add our science and evidence expertise and our local farm advice offer into the mix. Together we can support farmers and land managers to farm in more flood resilient ways – supporting communities to become more flood resilient and recovering nature at the same time.

From signing up to the Sustainable Farming Incentive to manage arable land for flood/drought resilience and water quality or by working with others to restore a river and floodplain in Landscape Recovery every farmer and land manager can make a difference.

The Partnership forms part of the wider work that all partners are undertaking on flood and coastal resilience.

All flood and coastal risk management schemes delivered by risk management authorities in England are carefully assessed to make sure they benefit the most people and property. Approximately 40% of all schemes and 45% of investment better protect properties in rural communities.

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Published 23 September 2024
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI NGOs: Syria: US must provide support to thousands stranded in horrifying conditions in Rukban camp

Source: Amnesty International –

The United States (US) should urgently provide humanitarian aid to at least 8,000 displaced Syrians stranded in the besieged, isolated Rukban camp under US de facto control on Syria’s border with Jordan and Iraq without access to sufficient food, clean water or healthcare, Amnesty International said today.

The already dire humanitarian situation at the camp has deteriorated sharply in recent months after the Syrian government tightened the siege it has imposed on the territory around the camp since 2015, setting up checkpoints that have blocked informal smuggling routes that the camp’s residents relied on for essential supplies. The last UN humanitarian convoy allowed into the camp by the Syrian government was nearly five years ago in September 2019.

The US military operates a base near Rukban camp and has de facto effective control over the 55km territory on which the base and the camp are located. As such and in light of other governments’ human rights failures, the US government has an obligation under international human rights law to ensure that residents of the camp have access to essential supplies.

“It is unfathomable that thousands of people, including children, are stranded in an arid wasteland struggling to survive without access to life-saving necessities. The residents of Rukban are victims of a brutal Syrian government siege, they have been barred from safe refuge or faced unlawful deportations at the hands of the Jordanian authorities and been met with apparent nonchalance by the US,” said Aya Majzoub, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

An estimated 80,000 people lived in Rukban before Jordan sealed its border to the area in 2016. That number has dwindled to 8,000 today as most left due to the dire conditions. Despite the serious risks facing them in Syrian government controlled areas, including being labelled “terrorists” and being subjected to arbitrary detention, torture, enforced disappearance and other human rights violations for expressing opposition to the Syrian government, tens of thousands have had no option but to take this risk. Today, Jordan continues to unlawfully deport Syrians to Rukban despite the camp’s unliveable conditions, while the US makes little visible effort to improve the desperate conditions despite its ability to do so.

“The Syrian government must immediately lift its siege on the area and allow humanitarian aid deliveries to reach residents of the camp. In addition, given that the US has de facto effective control over the territory on which the camp is located, it should fulfil its human rights obligations and ensure that the camp’s residents have access to food, water and essential healthcare. Meanwhile, the international community must work towards sustainable solutions for the camp’s residents, such as the re-opening of the border with Jordan or safe passage to other areas in Syria where individuals would not face human rights violations,” said Aya Majzoub.

MIL OSI NGO –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI New Zealand: If only ending child poverty were as simple as $3 billion

Source: ACT Party

“The Greens say the Government is making a political choice not to end child poverty, by not spending an additional $3 billion. If ending child poverty was as simple as government spending a few billion more taxpayer dollars, the Greens would have well and truly ended it while in government,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“From 2019 to 2023, non-pension Welfare Benefit Expenses increased from $12 billion to $18 billion while unemployment was fractionally lower in 2023. Even allowing for record inflation of 19 per cent in that period, the real increase was far more than $3 billion. And yet, child poverty was virtually static in that period. (The COVID Wage Subsidy Scheme began in 2020 and ended in 2022, so doesn’t affect these figures).

“Despite the Government making a political choice to pump an extra $3 billion per year into welfare, child poverty barely moved in this period. The Greens don’t need to speculate what would happen if a government spent an extra $3 billion dollars to end child poverty.

“The Greens are right about some things, however. Child poverty is a problem in New Zealand, and it is a political choice. New Zealand’s children need a government that makes choices based on values proven to defeat poverty.

“The only true path out of poverty is building the individual’s capacity to provide for themselves and their family. There are no examples of anyone escaping poverty though dependence on others.

“I’m proud to be part of a government that believes the path out of poverty is paved by better school attendance and achievement, making it easier to develop resources and build homes, getting more investment into New Zealand, and ending open-ended welfare in favour of mutual obligation.”

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI China: Anura Kumara Dissanayake elected as president of Sri Lanka

Source: China State Council Information Office

Anura Kumara Dissanayake, candidate of National People’s Power, emerged as the winner in the presidential election in Sri Lanka held on Saturday, the Election Commission confirmed Sunday.

Given that no candidate secured more than 50 percent of the votes, the Election Commission counted the second and third preferences of the two leading candidates, the first time in history of Sri Lankan presidential election.

Dissanayake obtained 5,634,915 votes in the first count and 105,264 preferential votes during the second count.

His main opponent, candidate of opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya, Sajith Premadasa, obtained 4,363,035 votes in the first count and 167,867 preferential votes in the second count.

In a post on social media platform “X” (formerly Twitter) after the release of election results, Dissanayake said, “The millions of eyes filled with hope and expectation push us forward, and together, we stand ready to rewrite Sri Lankan history.”

“This dream can only be realized with a fresh start. The unity of Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, and all Sri Lankans is the bedrock of this new beginning. The New Renaissance we seek will rise from this shared strength and vision,” he posted.

Incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe failed with a total of 2,299,767 votes.

According to the President’s Media Division, Wickremesinghe delivered a special address after the results came out.

He said that the people of the country have made their decision at this presidential election, and they must respect their decision and act according to that mandate to ensure the functioning of the country.

“I was eventually able to carry the dear child called Sri Lanka along a long distance safely on the dangerous rope bridge. Close to the very end of the rope bridge, people have decided to hand over the dear child called Sri Lanka to President Anura Dissanayake,” he said.

“I wish that you will be able to carry this child away from the bridge to the other bank, even safer than the way I carried the child,” said Wickremesinghe.

MIL OSI China News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI China: Kinmen receives first mainland tour group in four years

Source: China State Council Information Office 2

Kinmen on Sunday received its first tour group from the Chinese mainland in more than four years.
The group of 20-plus tourists arrived in Kinmen from Xiamen, Fujian Province, on the Chinese mainland, and will go on a two-day sightseeing tour that ends on Monday.
On Aug. 30, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced the decision to resume allowing residents in Fujian Province to travel to Kinmen.
The Kinmen County government organized a lion-dance performance at the wharf, along with a long red banner, to welcome the tour group. Hsu Chi-hsin, chief of Kinmen’s tourism department, welcomed the group at the wharf, expressing hope that the tour would pave the way for smoother and more regular cross-Strait exchanges, local media reported.
“We hope that after a long absence, the members of this first group will return to Xiamen with fond memories of Kinmen, sharing its beauty with friends and family, encouraging more mainland tourists to visit, and boosting Kinmen’s tourism and local industries,” the tourism department said in a press release.
Chen Yu-jen, a Kinmen legislator, urged the Democratic Progressive Party authorities to lift the current ban on tour groups from Taiwan to the mainland as soon as possible.

MIL OSI China News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-Evening Report: Dogma or data? Why sentencing reforms in NZ will annoy judges and clog the courts

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kris Gledhill, Professor of Law, Auckland University of Technology

Getty Images

The Luxon government surely has little sense of irony.

Shortly after introducing the Parliament Bill, designed to reinforce the fundamental constitutional principle of the separation of powers, it has introduced the Sentencing Reform (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to constrain the judicial arm of the state.

Its purpose is to put more people into prison for longer. In its Regulatory Impact Statement, the Ministry of Justice estimates 1,350 people will be added to the current prison population. The ministry is also clear that most of the changes are unnecessary and rest on inadequate consultation, particularly with Māori.

The main change the bill makes is to cap reductions in a prison sentence for mitigating factors at “40% of the sentence”, unless that would be “manifestly unjust”.

Mitigating factors

To understand why this is a problem, we need to start with how the Sentencing Act 2002 works. First, the seriousness of an offence provides a starting point. Since the maximum sentence is for the worst example of the offence, the facts can be put on a scale.

Secondly, the judge considers aggravating factors, such as repeat offending, malicious motivations or the victim’s vulnerability. The new bill specifies various additional aggravating factors, but the ministry notes these are already taken into account.

Finally, the judge looks at mitigating factors, such as youth, intellectual disability or mental illness, remorse and positive steps to remedy the cause of offending.

One important available reduction is for a guilty plea. The bill will cap this at 25% – the Supreme Court already decided this several years ago.

Sentence reductions based on these factors will regularly exceed the overall 40% cap proposed in the new bill. For example, impulsive offending by a young adult with ADHD who was in state care because of family abuse, and who pleads guilty early, would likely mean a considerable sentence reduction.

Similarly, offending by someone who both admits it, shows remorse and assists the police would qualify for considerable reductions.

Read more:
A last minute amendment to NZ’s gang legislation risks making a bad law worse

‘Moral and fiscal failure’

The New Zealand judiciary is not soft by world standards. Its rate of incarceration – currently 181 per 100,000 people – places the country 90th out of 223 jurisdictions.

This is well above Australia, England, Wales and Scotland, and double the rates in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Canada. As Māori have long made up more than 50% of the prison population, their incarceration rate is at US levels. Do we really want to make this worse?

When former Finance Minister Bill English observed New Zealand’s high prison population represented a “moral and fiscal failure”, he asked the chief science advisor to collate the evidence.

The resulting 2018 report, Using Evidence to Build a Better Justice System, concluded the prison population had grown because of “dogma not data”.

Prisoners are seven times more likely than the general population to have a mental health or substance abuse problem. Ninety percent have a history of mental health or addiction, with 60% still affected. Up to 70% have significant literacy problems.

The sentencing reform proposals rest on the notion people should take more personal responsibility. But they overlook the reality of most of the people in the system having a reduced capacity to do that. This looks more like dogma than data.

And since prisons train people in criminal ways and provide gangs with recruits, but do not deal with underlying causes of criminal behaviour, it is dogma that risks creating more victims.

Increased prisoner numbers: Paremoremo Maximum Security Prison, Auckland.
Getty Images

A stressed justice system

On top of this, the criminal justice system is creaking, without enough judges or courtrooms. Complainants, defendants and witnesses already wait too long for trials.

Reductions in sentences for guilty pleas and other mitigating features are essential to preventing this from getting worse. Some of these factors only come to light at the sentencing hearing when pre-sentence reports (often including medical reports) are provided.

Also, the final preparation for a trial often leads the prosecution to accept a plea to a less serious offence. And the time waiting for a trial often means a defendant will have served all or much of their sentence already.

If a judge feels obliged to impose a higher sentence because of the new amendments, lawyers will have to advise defendants accordingly. Inevitably, more will decide to take their chances in a trial rather than plead guilty.

That means more complainants will have to give evidence, some defendants will be acquitted, and the criminal justice system will creak more.

Judges and rules

Judges will have to confront some dissonance in the law. The Sentencing Act requires judges to impose the “least restrictive” sentence. But a sentence that is longer than appropriate doesn’t meet that requirement.

A longer-than-necessary prison sentence is arguably arbitrary detention. But the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act requires judges to interpret other statutes to avoid breaching rights if possible, including the right not to be detained arbitrarily.

In addition, a fair trial should aim to secure the right sentence for the individual defendant.

Judges do not sign up to breach people’s rights. Nor do they like it when the executive branch of government uses its parliamentary majority to overstep the separation of powers. Quite properly, they will do what they can to secure individualised justice.

They might, for example, set a sentence at the low end of the available range to achieve the same outcome while appearing to abide by the new 40% cap. Or they might just decide a rehabilitative sentence, invariably non-custodial, is the better outcome.

Judges spend all their time dealing with rules. You can expect them to be creative in finding ways around restrictions that should not be imposed on them.

Kris Gledhill is currently working on a project relating to sentencing that is funded by the Borrin Foundation. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Criminal Bar Association, which represents prosecution and defence lawyers. The views stated in this article are his own.

– ref. Dogma or data? Why sentencing reforms in NZ will annoy judges and clog the courts – https://theconversation.com/dogma-or-data-why-sentencing-reforms-in-nz-will-annoy-judges-and-clog-the-courts-239303

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

September 29, 2024
MIL-Evening Report: Federal Newspoll still tied but Albanese’s ratings up; Queensland Newspoll has big LNP lead

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne

A national Newspoll, conducted September 16–20 from a sample of 1,249, had a 50–50 tie for the third consecutive time. Since the last Newspoll three weeks ago, primary votes were 38% Coalition (steady), 31% Labor (down one), 13% Greens (up one), 6% One Nation (down one) and 12% for all Others (up one).

Anthony Albanese’s net approval improved five points to -8, with 51% dissatisfied and 43% satisfied. Peter Dutton’s net approval was down two points to -15. Albanese led Dutton as better PM by 46–37 (45–37 previously).

The graph below shows Albanese’s net approval in Newspoll this term. It has plus signs for the Newspoll results and a smoothed line has been fitted. After dropping to -13 net three weeks ago, Albanese’s ratings have rebounded to where they’ve been for most of this year, poor but not dreadful.

Other recent federal polls have not been as good for Albanese and Labor as Newspoll. Albanese’s net approval was at -22 in YouGov and -15 in Freshwater, and Labor trailed by 52–48 in Freshwater, one of their worst results from any pollster this term. Freshwater leans a little to the Coalition relative to other polls.

Asked what aspect of cost of living worried them most, 40% selected housing, 25% groceries, 18% energy and 11% insurance.

Queensland Newspoll has thumping lead for LNP

The Queensland state election will be held on October 26. A Newspoll, conducted September 12–18 from a sample of 1,047, gave the Liberal National Party (LNP) a 55–45 lead, a one-point gain for the LNP since the last Queensland Newspoll in March. Primary votes were 42% LNP (steady), 30% Labor (steady), 12% Greens (down one), 8% One Nation (steady) and 8% for all Others (up one).

Labor Premier Steven Miles’ net approval was up one point to -10, with 51% dissatisfied and 41% satisfied. LNP leader David Crisafulli’s net approval dropped two points to +12. Crisafulli had a 46–39 lead as better premier (43–37 in March).

Asked whether Labor deserved to be re-elected, 57% said it was time to give someone else a go (down one since March), while 29% said they deserved to be re-elected (up three). By 53–47, voters were confident that the Crisafulli LNP is ready to govern.

Labor will be a little relieved that this poll was not worse. A YouGov poll in July and a Wolf + Smith poll in August had both given the LNP a 57–43 lead. Nearly ten years after they gained power in Queensland following the January 2015 election, Labor appears doomed.

Further federal polls: YouGov poll tied

A national YouGov poll, conducted September 13–19 from a sample of 1,619, had a 50–50 tie, unchanged from the previous YouGov poll in late August. Primary votes were 39% Coalition (up two), 30% Labor (down two), 14% Greens (up one), 7% One Nation (down one) and 10% for all Others (steady).

In the previous YouGov poll, Labor was unlucky not to lead given the primary votes. In this poll, Labor is lucky not to trail.

Albanese’s net approval slumped 11 points to -22, with 58% dissatisfied and 36% satisfied. Dutton’s net approval was down five points to -10. Albanese led as preferred PM by 42–39 (43–38 in August).

Freshwater has one of Coalition’s best results this term

A national Freshwater poll for The Financial Review, conducted September 13–14 from a sample of 1,057, gave the Coalition a 52–48 lead, a one-point gain for the Coalition since the August Freshwater poll. This is one of the best results for the Coalition from any pollster this term. Primary votes were 42% Coalition (up one), 30% Labor (down two), 13% Greens (up one) and 15% for all Others.

Albanese’s net approval was down five points to -15, with 49% unfavourable and 34% favourable. Dutton’s net approval was down one point to -4. Albanese led Dutton as preferred PM by an unchanged 45–41.

Asked to give their top three issues, 74% selected cost of living as a top issue, and the Coalition increased its lead over Labor on cost of living from seven points in August to 14. The Coalition also had a 16-point lead on economic management (13 in August).

Morgan poll: Labor has narrow lead

A national Morgan poll, conducted September 9–15 from a sample of 1,634, gave Labor a 50.5–49.5 lead, a 0.5-point gain for the Coalition since the September 2–8 Morgan poll.

Primary votes were 37.5% Coalition (up one), 30.5% Labor (up 0.5), 12.5% Greens (down two), 5.5% One Nation (down 0.5), 10% independents (up 0.5) and 4% others (up 0.5).

The headline figure uses respondent preferences. By 2022 election preferences, Labor led by an unchanged 52–48.

Redbridge and Accent Research MRP poll tied at 50–50

A national Redbridge and Accent Research multi-level regression with post-stratification (MRP) poll, conducted July 10 to August 27 from a sample of 5,976, had a 50–50 tie, a two-point gain for the Coalition since the last MRP poll between February and May. Primary votes were 38% Coalition (up two), 32% Labor (steady), 12% Greens (down one) and 19% for all Others (steady).

MRP polls use modelling to estimate the number of seats that would be won by each party. The August MRP poll had a point estimate of 69 Labor seats out of 150, 68 Coalition, three Greens and ten others. In the May poll, Labor had 77 seats out of 151, the Coalition 60, the Greens three and others 11.

The August poll had no chance either major party would win a majority (76 seats), but Labor had a 75% chance of winning the most seats. These probabilities reflect the poll’s data, and are not predictions for the election, due by May 2025.

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

– ref. Federal Newspoll still tied but Albanese’s ratings up; Queensland Newspoll has big LNP lead – https://theconversation.com/federal-newspoll-still-tied-but-albaneses-ratings-up-queensland-newspoll-has-big-lnp-lead-238790

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Security: Defense News: ASN EI&E Hosts Climate & Energy Tech Demo to Kick Off Climate Week NYC

Source: United States Navy

New York-based Sea Cadets and Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets attended the event, held at the U.S. Armed Forces Recruiting Station in Times Square.

“Having these young Sea Cadets and NJROTC cadets – the future of our nation – learn about our climate and energy technologies was a fantastic way for the Department of the Navy to kick off its participation in Climate Week NYC,” said Berger. “They understand firsthand how climate change is impacting our world today, and we were able to help make the connection for them of how climate readiness is mission readiness for our Sailors and Marines.”

DON researchers and engineers from various commands showcased technologies, such as hydrogen-powered fuel cells, small unit power systems, water-conserving firefighting nozzles, atmospheric water generation, and green concrete, to educate the students about the DON’s commitment to climate action and inspire them about DON careers in climate- and energy-focused roles.

Madeleine White, resilience innovation research portfolio manager at Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center, explained green concrete, which uses sustainable materials to reduce traditional concrete’s environmental impact, such as lowering the carbon footprint of construction.

“Working on this [technology] as it is as an engineer has been great, but being able to show it to the individuals who are one day going to use it or be involved with it makes my job all worthwhile,” White said. “And doing [the event] out in a space like this and having these engineer technologies out in such a public space for people to see is such a fun environment to be in.”

Jeremiah Rodriguez, a junior and NJROTC cadet at Curtis High School in Staten Island, N.Y., said he would think about global warming and its impact.

“It would be in the back of my mind, such as how it would continuously get hotter,” he said. “One day, it’ll get to the point where you can cook an egg on the sidewalk. With this new technology, I really hope we can figure out a way to significantly reduce the impact of climate change. After this presentation, I really find it hopeful for our generation’s future.”

Climate Week NYC is the largest annual climate event of its kind, bringing together more than 600 events and activities across New York City in person, hybrid and online. Climate Group hosts the official program during the week that brings together the most senior international figures from business, government, civil society and the climate sector.

This year, Climate Week NYC is being held Sept. 22-29, 2024. The event takes place every year in partnership with the United Nations General Assembly and is run in coordination with the United Nations and the City of New York.

In May 2022, the Department of the Navy released Climate Action 2030 in which Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro recognized climate change as one of the most destabilizing forces of our time and charged the Department with building a climate-ready force.

Berger is responsible for providing oversight and policy for Navy and Marine Corps energy and climate resilience; infrastructure sustainment, restoration and modernization; military construction; acquisition, utilization and disposal of real property and facilities; environmental protection, planning, restoration and natural resources conservation; and safety and occupational health.

MIL Security OSI –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Over 100,000 Gather in the name of World Peace for the 10th Anniversary of the HWPL Peace Summit

Source: NewzEngine.com

On September 18, the “10th Anniversary of the HWPL September 18 Peace Summit” was broadcasted in over 40 countries and attracted approximately 100,000 people at the HWPL Peace Training Institute in Gyeonggi-do, Korea, where the anniversary was held.

Hosted by Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), under the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the Department of Global Communications (DGC), the event was themed “Building a Global Community of Peace through Regional Cooperation.”

Led by HWPL Chairman Man Hee Lee, it was a celebration of the contributions of global leaders and citizens towards peace over the past decade and exploring strategies for future global unity. Notable attendees included Great Dharma Master Hyecheon of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism and José Honorio da Costa Ferreira Jerónimo, East Timor’s Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Culture.

Previously, the HWPL Peace Summit was first celebrated a decade earlier, in Seoul, 2014. The summit was attended by more than 1,000 political, religious, women’s, and youth leaders, as well as media representatives from over 140 countries. Discussions focused on conflict resolution, religious harmony, and the implementation of legal measures to ensure sustainable peace.

During his commemorative speech, HWPL Chairman Man Hee Lee expressed gratitude to all participants for attending the 10th anniversary of the peace movement. He encouraged everyone by saying, “Let us no longer draw lines of difference between you and me. With love and peace, let’s unite to save the global village. Let us cooperate to help each other and leave behind a valuable legacy of peace for future generations.”

Followed by 10 year’s worth of highlights, this led to many discussions of future plans of HWPL and their partners, with a particular emphasis on establishing a “regional network” for peace tailored to local characteristics. Through this regional network, HWPL aims to actively address threats to peace and consolidate collective capabilities.

In light of this, HWPL established partnerships for peace development with intergovernmental organizations such as the Group of Seven Plus (G7+) and the Latin American and Caribbean Parliament (PARLATINO). G7+ was established to promote harmony among conflict-ridden nations through peace, stability, and development, boasting 20 member states. PARLATINO, founded to promote development and integration based on democracy, currently has 23 member states.

Additionally, the nationwide “Accompany: Connecting Korea” campaign was launched with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed during the ceremony. The “Accompany” campaign was initially trialled in major cities in Korea last July. Through this launch, HWPL aims to work with over 230 civic organizations to connect cultures across generations and carry out diverse peace activities.

The “Accompany” campaign is a continuation of the Saemaul (New Village) Movement, which was responsible for South Korea’s economic development and social transformation in the late 20th century. The Saemaul Movement focused on modernising rural areas and strengthening community consciousness. Similarly, the Accompany campaign aims to overcome social conflicts rooted in generational, regional, gender, and ideological differences through social solidarity and cooperation.

To achieve the goal of establishing a “regional network,” various sessions will be held worldwide, focusing on diverse groups. Additionally, under the slogan “Let everyone in the global village become a messenger of peace,” individuals will be encouraged to play active roles in promoting peace. Messages of peace and unity from citizens of all walks of life, both domestically and internationally, will be collected and shared.

Heavenly Culture World Peace Restoration of Light (HWPL) is a non-governmental international peace organization registered under the UN DGC and UN ECOSOC that is acknowledged for their endeavors and efforts towards achieving peace worldwide.

– Published by MIL OSI in partnership with NewzEngine.com

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Global: A weakened Hezbollah is being goaded into all-out conflict with Israel – the consequences would be devastating for all

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Asher Kaufman, Professor of History and Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame

For almost a year, Israel and Hezbollah have engaged in increasingly provocative cross-border skirmishes as onlookers warn that this escalating war of attrition could land the region in all-out conflict. The past few days have made that devastating scenario closer to a reality.

First came Israel’s pager and walkie-talkie attack, an unprecedented assault on Hezbollah’s communications that injured thousands of the organization’s operatives. It was followed by the assassination of Ibrahim Aqil, a key Hezbollah leader, who died in an airstrike that also killed other senior commanders of the militant group, as well as some civilians. Hezbollah has responded by extending the geographical range of its rockets fired at Israel, targeting both military facilities and civilian neighborhoods just north and east of Haifa.

As a scholar of Lebanon and Israel, I have followed the dynamics of this war of attrition since Oct. 8, 2023, the day after Hamas executed an unprecedented and deadly attack on Israel, which responded by bombarding the Gaza Strip. Hezbollah then began firing rockets into northern Israel in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza.

Despite the high rhetoric and mutual threats of destruction, until recent days neither Israel nor Hezbollah, nor the latter’s sponsor Iran, have shown an interest in a full-scale war. All parties surely know the likely destructive consequences of such an eventuality for themselves: Israel has the military power to devastate Beirut and other parts of Lebanon as it did in Gaza, while even a weakened Hezbollah could fire thousands of missiles at Israeli strategic sites, from the airport to central Tel Aviv, water supply lines and electricity hubs, and offshore gas rigs.

So instead, they have exchanged fire and blows along their shared boundary, with somewhat agreed-upon red lines concerning the geographical scope of attacks and efforts not to intentionally target civilians.

But Israel’s recent attacks in Lebanon may have turned the page of this war of attrition into a new and far more acute situation, putting the region on the brink of a full war. Such a war would wreak havoc in Lebanon and Israel, and might also drag Iran and the United States into direct confrontation. In doing so, it would also fulfill the apparent of the Hamas gunmen who murdered around 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7 in the hope that a heavy-handed Israeli response would draw in more groups across the region.

A dangerous ‘new phase’

Hezbollah’s secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah, has insisted throughout the near-yearlong hostilities that his organization would hold its fire only if a cease-fire agreement is reached between Israel and Hamas. In recent weeks, however, Israel has taken the conflict in the opposite direction.

The country’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, described the coordinated attacks on Hezbolah targets as a “new phase,” adding that the “center of gravity” in the war was moving north into Lebanon. The Israeli government has added the “return of the residents of the north securely to their homes” as an additional war goal.

The assault on Hezbollah’s communications system targeted the organization’s operatives but hit many civilian bystanders, leaving Lebanese in shock, trauma, anger and desperation.

It demonstrated Israel’s tactical military advantage over Hezbollah. The unprecedented penetration into the heart of the organization’s command and rank-and-file structures has never been seen before in any conflict or war globally. It struck Hezbollah in its most vulnerable places and even exposed its coordination with Iran – one of the injured persons from the pager explosions was the Iranian ambassador in Lebanon.

The killing of Akil two days later was another signal that the Israeli government had now decided to try to change the rules of this risky game of reprisals and counter-reprisals. It is clear that rather than the uneasy status quo that defined this war of attrition for nearly a year, Israel’s intent is now to pressure Hezbollah to concede.

Getting out of control

Nasrallah delivered a gloomy and defiant speech in the aftermath of the pager attack. While acknowledging that Hezbollah was severely undermined by this operation, he defined the Israeli attack as a continuation of “multiple other massacres perpetrated by the enemy over decades.”

By doing so, he framed it within a popular historical narrative among many Lebanese and Palestinians who regard Israel as a criminal entity that regularly carries out massacres against innocent civilians.

Nasrallah also insisted that his commitment to supporting Hamas in Gaza remains unwavering.

While stating that Israeli actions have “crossed all red lines” and could amount to a declaration of war, Nasrallah also reiterated a point he had made in previous peaks of this ongoing conflict: that retribution is coming, the only question being of timing and scale. By doing so, Nasrallah hinted that he may still not be interested in a full war.

Israel, on the other hand, appears less circumspect. After almost a full year of contained tension with Hezbollah, Israel’s leaders appear willing to risk an escalation that might get out of control.

It is hard to determine what the strategy behind Israel’s actions is: Since Oct. 7; as the Biden administration has noted, Israel has not displayed a coherent strategy with clear political goals.

Rather, critics of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggest that he is mainly motivated by his own political survival and the retention of power as the head of state, tying Israel’s interests to his own.

Uniting the ‘axis of resistance’

So where does this leave Nasrallah as he weighs Hezbollah’s response, surely in consultation with Iran? After such devastating blows to Nasrallah’s organization, it is hard to think that Hezbollah would be willing to scale down, stop its cross-border attacks and retreat away from the Israeli border, or give up its commitment to support Hamas in Gaza.

Palestinian refugees listen to a speech by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah from a cafe at the entrance of the Sabra camp in Beirut.
Joseph Eid/AFP via Getty Images

On the other hand, opting for a full-scale war, after spending a year avoiding it, is fraught with risk – both Nasrallah and his sponsors in Tehran know well the high costs of such a war for Hezbollah, Lebanon and potentially also for Iran.

If Hezbollah went to war now against Israel, it would embark on its most consequential move since its foundation in 1982. But it would do so with crippled communications systems and without much of its leadership – some of whom had worked for decades side by side with Nasrallah, building with him the military capacity of the organization.

In some respects, Israelis under Netanyahu’s leadership, and Lebanese in a country increasingly held hostage by Hezbollah’s interests, face similar predicaments: Their well-being is being sacrificed for other priorities.

Netanayhu’s recent statements about concern for Israeli citizens in the north sound hollow after 11 months of pursuing policies that put them more in danger, as well as opposing a Gaza cease-fire deal that would also end hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah has dragged the country into this war against the will of most Lebanese – a decision that has led to significant devastation in parts of a country already suffering extreme political and economic duress.

Nasrallah’s speech described Hezbollah’s predicament as that of all Lebanon – while sending a veiled threat that dissent would not be tolerated. Many Lebanese are undoubtedly sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and resent Israel’s war in Gaza. But at the same time, they may balk at the idea that their own well-being has to be sacrificed in the process.

In the meantime, Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader and mastermind behind the Oct. 7 massacre, may well be looking on at the unfolding events between Israel and Hezbollah with satisfaction. His plan was designed to trigger the unification of all fronts of the so-called “axis of resistance,” which includes the Houthis in Yemen as well as Hezbollah and other Iran-backed groups with the hope for a regional war against Israel.

A year later, we are closer than ever to that scenario.

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

– ref. A weakened Hezbollah is being goaded into all-out conflict with Israel – the consequences would be devastating for all – https://theconversation.com/a-weakened-hezbollah-is-being-goaded-into-all-out-conflict-with-israel-the-consequences-would-be-devastating-for-all-239469

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Australia: Avian influenza quarantine areas eased
Source: Government of Australia Capital Territory

On 13 September 2024, the ACT Government assumed a caretaker role, with an election to be held 19 October 2024. Information on this website will be published in accordance with the Guidance on Caretaker Conventions until after the election and conclusion of the caretaker period.
Released 23/09/2024

Quarantine areas restricting the movement of birds and other materials, objects and equipment in the Belconnen area will be reduced as the ACT’s response to avian influenza (HPAI H7N8) enters the final phase.

There have been no new detections of avian influenza in the ACT since 4 July 2024. From tomorrow, 24 September, the quarantine areas will be reduced to:
- A restricted quarantine area within a one kilometre radius of the first affected property on Parkwood Road in Belconnen.
- A control quarantine area within a two kilometre radius of the first affected property on Parkwood Road in Belconnen.
In the restricted quarantine area the movement of birds, bird products and other materials, objects and equipment deemed as high risk is not permitted.

In the control quarantine area, the movement of birds and other materials, objects and equipment deemed as high risk is not permitted, but bird products such as eggs may be moved under certain conditions.

These restrictions will remain in place until late December 2024, but will continue to be reviewed as the response progresses.

All bird owners should review the updated quarantine restrictions to know their responsibilities and continue to implement good biosecurity practices.

The ACT’s response to avian influenza is moving to the final phase of decontaminating the first property affected by the disease.

Avian influenza is a notifiable animal disease which means any suspected or confirmed cases must be reported immediately to the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888.

For more information on the situation in the ACT and the movement restrictions, including a map of the quarantine area, visit the ACT Environment website.

For updates on the current disease situation in other jurisdictions across Australia visit outbreak.gov.au.

– Statement ends –

ACT Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate | Media Releases

Media Contacts

«ACT Government Media Releases | «Directorate Media Releases
MIL OSI News –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Australia: MyWay+ enters hardware installation and system testing period
Source: Government of Australia Capital Territory

On 13 September 2024, the ACT Government assumed a caretaker role, with an election to be held 19 October 2024. Information on this website will be published in accordance with the Guidance on Caretaker Conventions until after the election and conclusion of the caretaker period.

Skip to content
Released 20/09/2024

Public transport users are advised of changes to bus and light rail travel from today with the next phase of the MyWay+ transition beginning. This will see existing MyWay equipment removed from buses and at light rail stops so it can be replaced with new MyWay+ validators and other hardware.

Key changes taking place from today, Friday 20 September 2024:
- The MyWay ticketing system will no longer be available. Travel on buses and light rail will be free until MyWay+ launches in November.Customers will not be required to tap on and off during this fare free travel period.
- NXTBUS will no longer be available. This includes real time information onboard buses, at bus stops and interchanges as well as the NXTBUS real time web site and SMS service.
- Bus services will continue to operate to the scheduled timetable. Static timetable information is available at interchanges, major bus stops and online.
- Light rail will continue to operate to the scheduled frequency. Next stop information will still be available for light rail (onboard and at stops).
- System testing will begin and take place with over 200 Canberrans providing feedback on the new system and the journey planning functionality.
The easiest way to plan your trip is by using the Transport Canberra Journey Planner or referring to timetable information.

Although there is no longer a need for passengers to tap on and off with their MyWay card, passengers are asked to hold onto their card/s. The card number will be required for the transfer and refund process.

People who were not able to register their MyWay card with funds before the Friday 20 September cut-off date are also asked to hold onto their card. These cards will be able to transfer to a new MyWay+ account once the system is launched in November. Further details will be available in the coming weeks.

For updates and further information on MyWay+ and the transition period, please visit www.transport.act.gov.au.

– Statement ends –

ACT Transport Canberra and City Services Directorate | Media Releases

Media Contacts

«ACT Government Media Releases | «Directorate Media Releases
MIL OSI News –
September 29, 2024
MIL-Evening Report: Move over Olympians, Australia’s wildlife are incredible athletes

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Euan Ritchie, Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University

Now that the Paris Olympics and Paralympics have disappeared from our screens, let’s get back to watching animal videos.

But seriously, have you ever paused to think about the athletic abilities of Australian wildlife?

In my research as an ecologist, I’m constantly amazed by the strength, speed and resilience of our native animals. Their prowess is testament to the wonders of evolution, and the necessity of species having to adapt to challenging and changing environments in order to survive.

Let’s take a closer look at some of our best competitors and how might they fare, against humans and overseas entrants. On your marks, get set… swim, hop, dig, dance, glide!

Swimming

Australians are renowned for being strong swimmers. But what is the fastest swimmer in the animal kingdom?

On this there is much debate. Some suggest it’s the Indo Pacific sailfish, clocking in at about 30km/hr. That’s impressive, but much slower than oft-cited (but inaccurate) claims it can travel at more than 100km/hr.

For perspective, the fastest human to swim the 50 metres freestyle is American Caeleb Dressel, completing this in a time of 20.16 seconds. That’s roughly 9km/h – faster than many people jog, but still no match for a sailfish.

As in humans, swimming speed in fishes tends to increase with body length. Larger species that challenge sailfish for the fastest swimmer title include blue or black marlin. Shorter, torpedo-like bluefin tuna are also in contention. All are found in Australian waters, though not exclusively.

While American swimmer Michael Phelps put in an impressive showing against a simulated great white shark, no human would beat much faster sailfish, marlin and tuna.

Sprinting, long and high jump

Aussie icons, red kangaroos can reach speeds of around 60-70km/hr. But they are no match for cheetahs, which can move at more than 120km/hr.

Long jump is surely the kangaroo’s main event. Red kangaroos can jump a staggering 13 metres or more. Amazingly, this might not be enough to clinch gold. Snow leopards can jump more than 15 metres.

Kangaroos can clear heights of up to 3m, so would perform well in the high jump. But they’d finish behind bottlenose dolphins, which can jump over 7m in the air, just for kicks.

Scaled for body size, though, both species would be embarrassed by a tiny insect known as a froghopper. It jumps to heights of more than 140 times its body length.

Kangaroos sure can jump, but they’re not the greatest of all in the animal kingdom.

Battles of strength

African elephants can lift more than 1,000kg and weaver ants more than 100 times their own body weight.

But relative to size, a truly impressive champion is Australia’s horned dung beetle. At just a centimetre long, these diminutive powerhouses can pull more than 1,100 times their own body weight, roughly equating to an average man lifting two fully-loaded 18-wheeler trucks.

And yet, horned dung beetles might still only claim silver. Another invertebrate Aussie, the tiny tropical moss mite, is perhaps the world’s strongest animal. It can pull more than 1,180 times its weight.

Bigger does not always equal stronger.

Packing the fastest, deadliest punch

In terms of combat sports, bigger is not always better.

Peacock mantis shrimps – invertebrates found in Australian marine waters and elsewhere – have the swiftest and most powerful punch in the lightweight crustacean division.

They kill prey by punching them with strong, club-like appendages. They deliver blows at up to 23m per sec, akin to the speed and force of a .22 calibre bullet being fired.

So powerful is the punch, it vaporises water and creates a super-hot shockwave that breaks up and incapacitates its prey.

Nature’s deadliest punch?

Tantalising contests

What about a digging contest? Eastern barred bandicoots can shift 4.8 tonnes of soil a year. How would that stack up against marsupial moles, which can disappear almost instantly into desert sands? Or the expert excavations of wombats and aardvarks that can dig more than half a metre in 15 seconds?

In terms of free-diving and flying, there’s really no contest. Cuvier’s beaked whale can dive nearly 3000m and peregrine falcons can reach over 320 km/hr. These animals are found across the globe, however – not just in Australia.

Australia’s largest gliding marsupial, the greater glider, can sail up to 100m between trees. But gliding gold would surely go to the giant flying squirrel, which can glide up to 450m.

I’d love to see a shooting contest between Australia’s archer fish and Madagascar’s panther chameleon. But finding the right arena for both aquatic and land-based sharpshooters would be tricky.

Raygun’s kangaroo hop is now legendary, but a breaking (break dancing) contest between a peacock spider, spanish dancer (a type of nudibranch) and a magnificent riflebird might genuinely break the internet.

Step aside, Raygun, peacock spiders are taking the floor.

Appreciating wildlife athletes

So who would win a global contest for the best wildlife athlete overall?

If the competition was on land and focused on running, jumping, strength and climbing, it’s hard to go past the overall abilities of a Bengal tiger.

Many amazing wildlife athletes are threatened with extinction. Others are gone forever.

They include the incredible oolacunta – also known as the desert rat kangaroo. It’s powers of endurance in the desert are the stuff of folklore. As legendary Australian mammalogist Hedley Herbert Finlayson wrote in 1931:

Its speed for such an atom, was wonderful, and its endurance amazing … when we finally got it, it had taken the starch out of three mounts and run us 12 miles; all under such adverse conditions of heat and rough going, as to make it almost incredible that so small a frame should be capable of such an immense output of energy.

Let’s celebrate wildlife and their athletic abilities and ensure they have a secure future.

Euan Ritchie receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Action. Euan is a Councillor within the Biodiversity Council, a member of the Ecological Society of Australia and the Australian Mammal Society, and President of the Australian Mammal Society.

– ref. Move over Olympians, Australia’s wildlife are incredible athletes – https://theconversation.com/move-over-olympians-australias-wildlife-are-incredible-athletes-238303

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

September 29, 2024
MIL-Evening Report: The United Nations has a plan to govern AI – but has it bought the industry’s hype?

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zena Assaad, Senior Lecturer, School of Engineering, Australian National University

saiko3p/Shutterstock

The United Nations Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Artificial Intelligence (AI) has released its final report on governing AI for humanity.

The report presents a blueprint for addressing AI-related risks while still enabling the potential of this technology. It also includes a call to action for all governments and stakeholders to work together in governing AI to foster development and protection of all human rights.

On the surface, this report seems to be a positive step forward for AI, encouraging developments while also mitigating potential harms.

However, the finer details of the report expose a number of concerns.

Reminiscent of the IPCC

The UN advisory board on AI was first convened on October 26, 2023. The purpose of this committee is to advance recommendations for the international governance of AI. It says this approach is needed to ensure the benefits of AI, such as opening new areas of scientific inquiry, are evenly distributed, while the risks of this technology, such as mass surveillance and the spread of misinformation, are mitigated.

The advisory board consists of 39 members from a diversity of regions and professional sectors. Among them are industry representatives from Microsoft, Mozilla, Sony, Collinear AI and OpenAI.

The committee is reminiscent of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which aims to provide key input into international climate change negotiations.

The inclusion of prominent industry representatives in the advisory board on AI is a point of difference from the IPCC. This may have advantages, such as a more informed understanding of AI technologies. But it may also have disadvantages, such as biased viewpoints in favour of commercial interests.

The recent release of the final report on governing AI for humanity provides a vital insight into what we can likely expect from this committee.

What’s in the report?

The final report on governing AI for humanity follows an interim report released in December 2023. It proposes seven recommendations for addressing gaps in current AI governance arrangements.

These include the creation of an independent international scientific panel on AI, the creation of an AI standards exchange and the creation of a global AI data framework. The report also ends with a call to action for all governments and relevant stakeholders to collectively govern AI.

What’s disconcerting about the report are the imbalanced and at times contradictory claims made throughout.

For example, the report rightly advocates for governance measures to address the impact of AI on concentrated power and wealth, geopolitical and geoeconomic implications.

However, it also claims that:

no one currently understands all of AI’s inner workings enough to fully control its outputs or predict its evolution.

This claim is not factually correct on many accounts. It is true that there are some “black box” systems – those in which the input is known, but the computational process for generating outputs is not. But AI systems more generally are well understood on a technical level.

AI reflects a spectrum of capabilities. This spectrum ranges from generative AI systems such as ChatGPT, through to deep learning systems such as facial recognition. The assumption that all these systems embody the same level of impenetrable complexity is not accurate.

The inclusion of this claim calls into question the advantages of including industry representatives in the advisory board, as they should be bringing a more informed understanding of AI technologies.

The other issue this claim raises is the notion of AI evolving of its own accord. What has been interesting about the rise of AI over recent years is the accompanying narratives which falsely position AI as a system of agency.

This inaccurate narrative shifts perceived liability and responsibility away from those who design and develop these systems, providing a creative scapegoat for industry.

Despite the subtle undertone of powerlessness in the face of AI technologies and the imbalanced claims made throughout, the report does positively progress the discourse in some ways.

A small step forward

Overall, the report and its call to action are a positive step forward because they emphasise that AI can be governed and regulated, despite contradictory claims throughout the report which imply otherwise.

The inclusion of the term “hallucinations” is a salient example of these contradictions.

The term itself was popularised by OpenAI’s chief executive Sam Altman when he used the term to reframe nonsensical outputs as part of the “magic” of AI. Hallucinations is not a technically accepted term – it’s a creative marketing agenda. Pushing for governance of AI while simultaneously endorsing a term which implies a technology that cannot be governed is not constructive.

What the report lacks is consistency in how AI is perceived and understood.

It also lacks application specificity – a common limitation among many AI initiatives. A global approach to AI governance will only work if it is able to capture the nuances of application and domain specificity.

The report is one step forward in the right direction. However, it will need refinement and amendments to ensure it encourages developments while mitigating the many harms of AI.

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

– ref. The United Nations has a plan to govern AI – but has it bought the industry’s hype? – https://theconversation.com/the-united-nations-has-a-plan-to-govern-ai-but-has-it-bought-the-industrys-hype-239494

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Industry views sought on Government’s procurement arrangements for IT professional services

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Industry views sought on Government’s procurement arrangements for IT professional services
Industry views sought on Government’s procurement arrangements for IT professional services
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The Digital Policy Office (DPO) released today (September 23) a consultation paper on the future arrangements for the Standing Offer Agreement for Quality Professional Services (SOA-QPS). Practitioners of the information technology (IT) industry are welcome to offer their views. The SOA-QPS5 in use will expire in early 2026. The DPO today launched the consultation on improvements to the current arrangements to, among others, strengthen the regulation and monitoring procedures of contractors’ performance by taking into account contractors’ performance in contracts awarded under the previous round of SOA-QPS and outside the SOA-QPS scheme. Other proposals put forward by the DPO include introducing a new category for IT systems that adopt diverse secure and reliable technologies, raising the upper limit of the contract value for individual projects, and raising the demarcation limit of contract value for minor and major groups. Since its initial launch in 2005, the SOA-QPS scheme has long been an effective means of addressing the Government’s large demand for IT professional services. The scheme also provides promising business prospects for the IT industry and helps bring innovative and creative IT services to government departments. The SOA-QPS scheme involves a two-stage bidding process. In the first stage, the Government enters into Standing Offer Agreements (SOAs) with a certain number of suppliers (SOA Contractors) selected through open tendering. During the second stage within the validity period of the SOAs, government bureaux and departments (B/Ds) invite technical and price proposals for individual IT projects from the SOA Contractors. B/Ds will award a service contract to the contractor whose proposal meets the technical requirements and attains the highest combined score according to the marking scheme. As of August 31, 2024, 1 696 services contracts were awarded under the current SOA-QPS5, with an accumulated contract value about HK$2,685 million. The consultation paper can be downloaded from the DPO website (www.digitalpolicy.gov.hk/en/news/consultations/). Interested parties may refer to the consultation paper for details and forward their comments and suggestions by email (qps_consultation@digitalpolicy.gov.hk) on or before October 22, 2024. An online briefing session will be held by the DPO on October 8, 2024, with details available on the above website.

Ends/Monday, September 23, 2024Issued at HKT 10:00

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MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Australia: Speech – ECA WA Conference

Source: Australian Ministers for Education

Good morning everyone. This really brings back memories. I’ve given many lectures in this room, and every time I lectured in this room, I never stood here.

So I’m going to stand here, and can you hear me at the back?

Excellent. Well, thank you so much, Amy, for that wonderful introduction, and I also want to thank you Auntie Robyn for that beautiful welcome to country.

Can I start also by acknowledging the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we meet, the Whadjuk Noongar people, and I want to pay my respects to elders, past, present and emerging and celebrate the diversity of First Nations people, their ongoing cultural and educational practices and their connection to the land, water and skies. And I acknowledge any First Nations people joining us here this morning on a beautiful Saturday morning.

I was saying earlier, I don’t think there is any other sector that would come out on a Saturday morning of a long weekend to a conference, so kudos to each and every one of you who are here.

Can I take a moment just to acknowledge a few other people; my dear friend, Professor Andrew Whitehouse, Professor of Autism Research at the Telethon Kids Research Institute. I’m sure that you are going to be blown away by Andrew’s presentation. Every time Andrew and I sit down together, and I learn about the work he is doing, it really just blows my mind.

Can I also acknowledge the ECA WA Committee members here, all the early childhood leaders and educators here today as well, the most important people in the room, of course.

So I’m really – I’m just really honoured to be here to welcome you today to this day‑long conference. I was in Brisbane for the ECA Conference, it feels like a long time ago, but it actually was only two or three days ago, and that was a fabulous conference too.

I remember my very first ECA conference which was in Canberra. I’m a professor before I became a politician, so I’m an academic in nature, and so coming to conferences is like Disneyland for me. I find them incredibly exciting.

Unfortunately I have to get on a plane straight after this, so I cannot join you for the rest of the day, but I know that it will be a day filled with incredible insights, an opportunity to share, an opportunity to learn and opportunity to network, and I think they are some of the invaluable things that you can take away from days like today.

I’m actually not going to read this speech, because I’d much rather talk to you like this. It’s a really exciting time to be in the early childhood education sector at the moment, because we are on the cusp of a lot of reform.

I think that when I went to the very first ECA Conference, at the end of the conference – because I stayed for the whole thing – at the end of the conference they put up findings from the very first conference, which was way back in 1983, or 82, and it was really interesting that they contrasted them with the findings or the outcomes of the conference in 2022, it was at the time, and not much had changed.

In fact. nothing had changed. The issues were still the same, the concerns were still the same, the things that needed reform were still the same. And I think that speaks to the fact that this is a sector that is essentially, provides an essential service, not just for families who work, or where care givers work, but particularly for children in those first five years of their lives, the transformational benefits that you all bring to children and their families.

And I think that it is high time that the sector had the level of attention that it deserves. You as educators and leaders getting that recognition for the professionalism that you bring to your work. Dedication is great, and I know you all love your jobs, but I also know that you need to be recognised as professionals.

And as I said earlier, being here on a Saturday morning on a long weekend is demonstration of that, of that commitment to professionalism, as well as that dedication to the children that you teach, that you educate every day and the families that you help, it’s that dedication to the professionalism of what you do.

It’s been a long time coming, but I can tell you our government does not see you as babysitters, does not see you as care givers. We understand, and we know that what you do is education.

I often say this to people: I often say, you know, we talk about a child learning to talk, we say “They learnt to walk., they learnt to use a spoon or a fork, or the potty”. Those first five years of a child’s life are education, and we know from research – I actually studied my Masters of Education here, and I studied my post graduate here in Child Language Acquisition. And we know from research and cases where children have not had that interaction, that they don’t learn these things naturally. These are things that are taught to them, and that is the critical role that early childhood education and early childhood educators play in the shaping of a child’s life, not just in those first five years, but into their childhood, their adolescence, their adulthood. So it’s a critical time for that recognition of professionalism.

Now we’ve done a number of things. We know that the Prime Minister has articulated a commitment to universal early childhood education and care. I translate that as a sector that is affordable, accessible, and importantly inclusive. That’s really the key part of what you do, is that inclusivity.

When we first came into government, one of the first things we did was increase the Child Care Subsidy, and that’s helped about a million families across Australia, the ACCC review found that that’s reduced out‑of‑pocket costs by around 11 per cent.

In fact, I was on the Radio 6PR, the other day, and the presenter was saying that his fees went from $70 a day to $40 a day, which makes a huge difference to families, right, and to children.

The second thing that we did was recently announced a pay increase for early childhood educators, a 15 per cent pay increase, 10 per cent this year, 5 per cent next year. That comes on top of increases from the Fair Work Commission, particularly for some of the lowest‑paid educators in the sector and workers in the sector.

That 15 per cent increase also applies to out‑of‑school‑hours care, and we are working really hard with family day care and in‑home care to see how it can also apply to them.

That’s the second thing, because everything that we know, every report, every review, everybody knows that if we want to build that universal early childhood education sector that we want to see that is world‑class quality, affordable, accessible, inclusive, we need a strong and stable workforce, and one that is fairly remunerated for the work that they do and recognised as the professionals that they are.

So that’s a big part of what I do as the Early Childhood Education Minister, is looking at how we strengthen the workforce, but importantly how we contribute as leaders, as politicians, as policy makers to that recognition of the professionalism of the workforce.

Now last week, on Wednesday, we released the Productivity Commission Review. Now what we wanted the Productivity Commission to do was to give us some ideas in helping us chart that path to universal early childhood education and care.

I know from speaking to the sector, from speaking to early childhood educators, to academics, to advocates, to leaders, that we’re on the same page in terms of what we want for children.

We want every child to be able to access the transformational benefits of early childhood education and care. We’re on the same page with what we mean by “universal”. It means that every child has access.

But how do we get there? How do we get there? How do we get there within the constraints of what the sector looks like? The diversity within the sector, the different and sometimes competing priorities in the sector. The diversity of service delivery, but also the diversity of contexts in which services are delivered; rural/regional, low socio‑economic, high socio‑economic, the different contexts in which they’re delivered. First Nations, you know delivering culturally appropriate and culturally responsive early childhood education and care in place.

And that’s what the Productivity Commission was tasked with. So they’ve come out with a number of recommendations, and you might have read about some of them, you might have heard about some of these.

Primarily their recommendations are around – well, their findings aren’t anything that we didn’t know, that some of the most vulnerable children are the ones who are missing out.

So their findings are around abolishing the activity test and making early childhood education and care free for people earning under $80,000 a year for one child, and $140,000 a year for two or more children in ECEC, with a tapering rate according to parents’ incomes.

Abolishing the activity test, and a guarantee of 30 hours a week – or three days for every child – a guarantee, and an ECEC Commission to oversee this.

Now we’re going to be considering all of those recommendations that the Productivity Commission makes, and we’ll be considering them along with the ACCC Review.

One of the things I’m incredibly conscious of as the Minister is that within this sector every lever that you pull has a flow‑on effect ‑ and I know that Andrew’s talk is all about the ripple effect ‑ every lever that we pull has a ripple effect and a flow‑on effect to another part of the sector.

And so just as we look at child development holistically, with early childhood education, health, parenting, social services being all part of that development, as we did with the Early Years Strategy, we also have to look at the sector and the reform that we make holistically.

What is it, when we do one thing in one space, what impact does it have on other spaces, particularly considering the diversity of the sector, the diversity of services and the diversity of place and context, as I mentioned earlier.

Now, I don’t know – who was – was anyone in Brisbane on Wednesday?

So Professor Paul Leseman’s talk was all about governance and localised governance, and that was a really interesting talk. And I’m constantly looking at international examples and international research to how we can create a uniquely Australian sector, but take with us the lessons, develop that with the lessons that have been learnt internationally.

And that’s what makes this time really, really exciting. Because right now internationally there are so many lessons that are being learned from different countries in the ways in which they attempted to, or instigated, reforms within early childhood education, from the Nordic countries, to Canada, to New Zealand, to all different countries.

So as academic nerd I’m basically eating the research for breakfast, along with my coffee. And so for me as the Early Childhood Education Minister, you know, I know where we want to be, and I know that we share that vision with each and every one of you.

It’s a beautiful vision, right, and wow, how would it be if we could achieve that? That every child, no matter who they are, no matter what their background, no matter where they live can access this really high‑quality transformational early childhood education and care.

Because one of the first things I said to my department when I took on this portfolio was that the principle that guides us is that no child born into disadvantage should have to carry that disadvantage through their life, and the key to that is what you all do.

I speak to that not just as an academic who studied early childhood and – not early childhood, but childhood language and has a Master of Education, I speak to that as a mother. I speak to that as a single mum who was fleeing domestic violence, who has an unending gratitude to the early childhood educators who helped me through the most difficult time of my life.

Sorry. A few months ago, I was at a different conference, and at the back of the room was the educator who cared for my children, and we saw each other, and we just hugged each other and cried, and I said to her, “Do you have any idea how much you saved me? Do you have any idea what was going on in my household?” And she said, “Anne, we all knew, we all knew”.

That is the difference that you make to people’s lives. That is the difference that you make.

So I’m going to stop, because I’ve got to catch a plane, and I hate it when I cry before I get on a plane.

But look, I just want to say to you, I’m really excited. I am really excited about what we can do together, hand‑in‑hand, moving forward on this pathway, on this journey. And I’m excited too by what’s at the end of this journey, and I am incredibly honoured to be the Minister for Early Childhood Education and Care. It is a portfolio that – not just because I get to play with babies – but because of you, because the heart, the dedication, the professionalism that you bring to the work that you do inspires me every single day to be better and to do better for you.

So thank you so much for hearing me rant. And I wish you all the best for the rest of the conference. Enjoy it, and I hope you get so much value out of it, and I look forward to seeing all your faces again soon.

MIL OSI News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI China: Summit hammers out consensus for updating, upgrading UN to tackle challenges

Source: China State Council Information Office

Philemon Yang, president of the General Assembly of the United Nations, speaks at the Summit of the Future at the UN headquarters in New York, Sept. 22, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

The Summit of the Future opened at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York on Sunday, with the adoption of a Pact for the Future, as well as its annexes the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration on Future Generations, which cover a broad range of themes including peace and security, sustainable development, climate change, digital cooperation, human rights, gender, youth and future generations and the transformation of global governance.

The Pact for the Future is the UN’s master plan for tackling challenges that lie ahead for humanity, with 56 “actions” covering everything from peacekeeping to the potential threats posed by artificial intelligence. The pact underlines the “increasingly complex challenges” to world peace, notably the threat of nuclear war, with the document reiterating the UN’s core tenets.

The pact promises to accelerate efforts to attain the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim for the eradication of extreme poverty by 2030, an intensified battle against hunger, promotion of gender equality and education. Most of the objectives were set in 2005, but are far from being realized. Against that backdrop, and with poor countries particularly mobilized for change, the pact especially calls for “reform of the international financial architecture.”

What UNGA president says?

“We stand at a crossroads of global transformation, facing unprecedented challenges that demand urgent, collective action,” Philemon Yang, president the UN General Assembly, said at the opening segment of the two-day summit. “From conflict and climate change to the digital divide, from inequalities to threats against human rights, together, we all face profound challenges. Yet, alongside these challenges, there is hope,” because challenges come along with opportunities.

The Pact for the Future represents the world body’s pledge not only to address immediate crises, but lay the foundations for a sustainable, just, and peaceful global order, for all peoples and nations, he said, adding that the commitments embodied in the pact and its annexes reflect the collective will of UN member states to promote international peace and security, invigorate implementation of the SDGs, foster just and inclusive societies, and ensure that technologies always serve the common good of humankind.

“The Summit of the Future is a call to action. We must shape our future to protect ourselves and our planet Earth,” said the president. “Action that recommits us to the principles of international law, the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the promise of the United Nations Charter to save future generations from the pain of war.”

The world body’s mission is to eradicate poverty in all its forms, tackle inequalities, and promote peace and security, tolerance and respect for diversity, and the summit offers a historic opportunity to ensure that progress is shared equitably across all nations and communities everywhere, he said.

“We have an obligation to harness the power of science, technology, and innovation, in order to prepare the future of humankind. It is also important that we reproduce our human successes across generations all the time,” noted the president. “Let us continue our efforts to reform and strengthen global institutions that support peace, security, sustainable development, and financial stability.”

What UN secretary general says?

“I called for this summit to consider deep reforms to make global institutions more legitimate, fair and effective, based on the values of the UN Charter,” said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres at the meeting. “I called for this summit because 21st century challenges require 21st century solutions: frameworks that are networked and inclusive; and that draw on the expertise of all of humanity … our world is heading off the rails — and we need tough decisions to get back on track.”

Conflicts are raging and multiplying, from the Middle East to Ukraine and Sudan, with no end in sight, he said, adding that the world’s collective security system is threatened by geopolitical divides, nuclear posturing, and the development of new weapons and theaters of war, while resources that could bring opportunities and hope are invested in death and destruction.

“In short, our multilateral tools and institutions are unable to respond effectively to today’s political, economic, environmental and technological challenges. And tomorrow’s will be even more difficult and even more dangerous,” noted the secretary general, stressing that things are changing fast but the world’s peace and security tools and institutions, as well as its global financial architecture, reflect a bygone era.

Technology, geopolitics and globalization have transformed power relations and the world is going through a time of turbulence and a period of transition, he addressed the meeting. With the adoption of the Pact for the Future, the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration on Future Generations, pathways are opened to new possibilities and opportunities — a breakthrough on peace and security reforms to make the Security Council more reflective of today’s world is promised.

These three landmark agreements are a step-change toward more effective, inclusive, networked multilateralism, said Guterres, noting that their implementation will prioritize dialogue and negotiation, end the wars tearing the world apart, and reform the composition and working methods of the Security Council. “To rebuild trust, we must start with the present and look to the future. People everywhere are hoping for a future of peace, dignity, and prosperity.”

What Summit of the Future Means?

In 2020, the United Nations turned 75 and marked the occasion by starting a global conversation about hopes and fears for the future. This was the beginning of a process that would eventually lead, four years later, to the convening of the Summit of the Future, a major event this September, just before the annual high-level debate of the General Assembly.

The summit was conceived at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when there was a perception at the UN that countries and people pulled apart instead of cooperating to face this global threat.

“We were really confronted with the gap between the aspirations of our founders, which we were trying to celebrate at the 75th anniversary, and the reality of the world as it is today,” said Michele Griffin, the policy director of the summit.

UN member states tasked Guterres to come up with a vision for the future of global cooperation. His answer to their call was “Our Common Agenda,” a landmark report with recommendations on renewed global cooperation to address a host of risks and threats, and a proposal to hold a forward-looking summit in 2024.

The event consists of sessions and plenaries based around five main tracks — sustainable development and financing; peace and security; a digital future for all; youth and future generations; and global governance — and other topics that cut across all of the work of the UN, including human rights, gender equality and the climate crisis.

The immediate outcome is the finalized version of the Pact for the Future, with the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration for Future Generations as annexes, all of which were adopted by member states during the summit on Sunday.

MIL OSI China News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI China: Foreign firms urged to help pool wisdom for Shanghai

Source: China State Council Information Office

Amid Shanghai’s continued efforts to deepen international cooperation in terms of research and development, multinational companies should be better integrated into the city’s innovation network, which would be conducive to the city’s high-quality development, said officials and company executives.

They made the remarks on Sunday during the 36th International Business Leaders’ Advisory Council for the Mayor of Shanghai.

Chen Jining, Party secretary of Shanghai, said that as technological innovation has been playing an increasingly important role in driving economic growth, Shanghai will expand its science and technology exchanges with other markets.

Efforts will be made to develop offshore technological innovation, Chen said, adding that a foundation to advance coordinated technological innovation at a global level will be built in Lin-gang Special Area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

International organizations are also encouraged to set up branches in the city, and all these steps are aimed at nurturing an open, fair, just and nondiscriminatory environment for technological innovation, he said.

Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng said the scientific research paradigm is undergoing profound changes amid the new round of technological and industrial revolution, and coordination and cooperation are crucial against this backdrop.

Shanghai will implement a global technology partner plan, and will also actively participate in, nurture and initiate international large-scale scientific projects, he said.

Multinational companies will be encouraged to set up international R&D centers and open innovation centers in the city, and will be deeply integrated into Shanghai’s local innovation network, Gong added.

As of June, 985 multinational companies had set up their regional headquarters in Shanghai, and the number of foreign-funded R&D centers reached 575, according to the municipal government.

Severin Schwan, chairman of the board of directors of Swiss healthcare company Roche Group, said that openness, innovation and collaboration are important for Shanghai’s high-quality development, particularly in the wake of geopolitical tensions and market uncertainties.

Multinational companies can tap into the sectors of healthcare, science and technology, and the digital economy more deeply, said Schwan, who is also chairman for this year’s International Business Leaders’ Advisory Council.

Dominic Barton, chairman of multinational mining company Rio Tinto, said the private sector has been contributing substantially to research projects, and this is a global trend.

Miguel Lopez, CEO of German industrial and engineering conglomerate Thyssenkrupp AG, suggested that Shanghai could place great importance on and fully utilize multinational companies’ industrial expertise, global networks, international experience and innovative resources.

The International Business Leaders’ Advisory Council was initiated in 1989 and has grown into a think tank for Shanghai mayors over time.

This year’s meeting was attended by top executives of 34 multinational companies from 13 countries.

MIL OSI China News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-Evening Report: The pressing case for a new emergency visa to help people fleeing Gaza and other conflicts

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane McAdam, Scientia Professor and ARC Laureate Fellow, Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW Sydney

Recent conflicts in Afghanistan, Ukraine, Sudan and Gaza have displaced large numbers of people. In each case, Australia’s humanitarian response has been different. Some people have been able to acquire a visa and travel to Australia relatively easily; others have been stuck.

Once here, wildly varying visa entitlements mean some people have access to work rights, health care and other services; others are barely surviving.

In a new policy brief, we argue the Australian government should create a new emergency visa for humanitarian crises.

We believe the government needs a more streamlined, equitable, predictable and effective response to assist people facing a real risk of persecution, extreme danger or other serious harm.

An ad hoc approach to emergencies

To date, Australia has used at least 25 different types of visas to respond to humanitarian emergencies. This has resulted in varying outcomes for those affected, as well as significant distress for diaspora communities in Australia concerned for the safety and welfare of loved ones stuck abroad.

While the use of different visas has provided the government with flexibility, it has led to ad hoc and inconsistent approaches. It has also added to challenges and inefficiencies within the visa processing system.

For instance, no special humanitarian visa has been announced for people fleeing conflicts in Gaza or Sudan, though Tony Burke, the new minister for Home Affairs, has indicated he is looking at ways to allow Palestinians to stay here longer.

Large numbers of Palestinians have been refused visitor visas due to security concerns and, arguably, the politicisation of humanitarian assistance.

In any case, visitor visas are far from an ideal response in such cases. They are intended for a short, temporary period and do not give people access to any government services or social supports.

What’s wrong with other existing visas?

One of the problems with existing visas is that even those designed for emergencies can be too slow to provide urgent protection. In addition, they typically help only a small number of individuals in immediate danger.

Many visas are issued on a wholly discretionary basis. People must be invited to apply for them, and they cannot transition to a more permanent visa unless the minister permits them to do so.

In some cases, special visa arrangements have been created for particular groups of people, such as Kosovar refugees in the late 1990s. By contrast, no special humanitarian visa regime has been created for people fleeing conflicts in Gaza or Sudan.

The visa situation does not need to be this complicated. Yes, it can be reassuring for people to know there is more than one way to find safety in Australia. However, a preferable option would be to have an emergency visa that enables people to reach Australia lawfully and quickly, with a clear pathway to a long-term solution.

What should an emergency visa look like?

An emergency visa should enable people at risk to travel to Australia quickly and safely. Eligibility should be determined on the basis of sound and defensible principles, and guided by good practices from other countries and our own history.

For example, the government could identify eligible classes of people in need of humanitarian emergency visas. Relatives and diaspora communities in Australia could assist in identifying those with connections to Australia (such as family members, past residents and people with links to Australian companies or organisations).

This recommendation aligns with past practices of designating a particular cohort of people for protection. For instance, Australia’s former special assistance visa category (in use from 1991–2000) provided resettlement opportunities to categories of people with connections to Australia. This included those from the former Yugoslavia and Soviet Union, East Timor, Lebanon, Sudan, Myanmar, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Cambodia, as well as Ahmadi Muslims.

An emergency visa should provide for an initial stay of 12 months. While this is shorter than some comparative visas, it would provide some certainty for people and allow for a reassessment of the circumstances in their country of origin after a year. At this point, they could either return voluntarily. Or, if it’s not safe to do so, they could be granted a pathway to permanent residence in Australia.

Emergency visas should also provide immediate access to services (including Medicare and Centrelink), as well as work and study rights, language and cultural support, and assistance with accommodation. Access to work and study rights would enable visa holders to support themselves and alleviate the demands on relatives, community organisations, social service agencies and the government.

Furthermore, anyone who is in Australia when a humanitarian emergency occurs in their home country should be granted an automatic visa extension or a bridging visa with the same conditions. This should not adversely affect their ability to apply for a different visa, including a protection visa.

Why a more predictable system is important

Establishing this kind of system would enable refugees fleeing conflict to rebuild their lives in Australia relatively quickly.

It would likely encourage people to take steps to get their qualifications recognised and seek jobs commensurate with their skills – benefiting both themselves and the Australian community.

It would also provide them with both legal and psychological security by removing the uncertainty and precarity of being stuck in a prolonged temporary status. Our research has shown this is detrimental to people’s mental health and wellbeing.

Australia has an opportunity to take a bold, dynamic and forward-looking approach that would show real leadership in responding to humanitarian emergencies in a timely, well-considered and compassionate manner.

Jane McAdam receives funding from the Australian Research Council. She is a member of the expert sub-committee of the Ministerial Advisory Council on Skilled Migration.

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

– ref. The pressing case for a new emergency visa to help people fleeing Gaza and other conflicts – https://theconversation.com/the-pressing-case-for-a-new-emergency-visa-to-help-people-fleeing-gaza-and-other-conflicts-238877

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

September 29, 2024