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Category: Transport

  • MIL-OSI Australia: New requirements for Child Care Subsidy providers from 1 April

    Source: Australian Department of Revenue

    All new Child Care Subsidy (CCS) provider approval applicants will need to supply a statement of tax record (STR) to the Australian Government Department of EducationExternal Link. Some existing providers may also be asked to provide an STR. The Department of Education will notify those existing providers who will require an STR.

    The STR demonstrates your satisfactory engagement with the tax system and is required when applying to administer CCS.

    To apply for an STR, use our online services. After you submit your application, you’ll get a receipt and your STR within 4 business days.

    Important tips:

    1. Check your registration: Make sure you have an Australian business number (ABN), tax file number (TFN) and goods and service tax (GST) registration if your income is above the relevant limits.
    2. Review your tax lodgements: Ensure you’ve submitted at least 90% of your income tax returns, business activity statements (BAS), and fringe benefits tax (FBT) due in the past 4 years (or since your tax record started, if less than 4 years).
    3. Address outstanding debts: If you owe $10,000 or more (not including disputed debts), either pay them off or set up a payment plan.

    Taking these steps will help you resolve any tax issues with us before applying for your STR.

    Keep up to date

    We have tailored communication channels for medium, large and multinational businesses, to keep you up to date with updates and changes you need to know.

    Read more articles in our online Business bulletins newsroom.

    Subscribe to our free:

    • fortnightly Business bulletins email newsletterExternal Link
    • email notifications about new and updated information on our website – you can choose to receive updates relevant to your situation. Choose the ‘Business and organisations’ category to ensure your subscription includes notifications for more Business bulletins newsroom articles like this one.

    MIL OSI News –

    March 17, 2025

  • MIL-Evening Report: Gains for Labor as they lead in three of last five polls

    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 Freshwater poll for The Financial Review, conducted March 13–15 from a sample of 1,051, gave the Coalition a 51–49 lead by respondent preferences, a one-point gain for Labor since the late February Freshwater poll.

    Primary votes were 39% Coalition (down two), 31% Labor (steady), 14% Greens (up one) and 16% for all Others (up one). By 2022 election preference flows, this would be about a 50–50 tie.

    Anthony Albanese’s net approval improved one point to -10, while Peter Dutton’s slid four points to -12. In the last two months, Albanese is up eight and Dutton down eight. It’s the first time since May 2024 that Albanese has had a better net approval than Dutton in this poll.

    Albanese led Dutton by 45.9–42.5 as preferred PM, his best lead in this poll since last September. By 42–40, respondents thought Dutton better suited to negotiate with US President Donald Trump than Albanese (47–36 in November).

    The Coalition leads on important issues, but Labor has gained seven points on economic management and three points on cost of living since February.

    There has been improvement for Labor across a range of polls in the last few weeks, and the graph below has Labor leads in three of the last five national polls (two YouGovs and a Morgan), with the Coalition still ahead in Newspoll and Freshwater.

    In analyst Kevin Bonham’s aggregate, Labor now leads by 50.5–49.5 using 2022 election flows, while it’s a 50–50 tie adjusting for a likely pro-Coalition shift in One Nation preferences.

    Last Wednesday Trump imposed 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium imports into the US, including on Australia. I believe this will assist Labor as the tariff imposition will appear unjustified to most Australians, and the Coalition is the more pro-Trump party. If the stock market continues to fall, this will undermine support for Trump’s economic agenda.

    Trump has been threatening Canada with tariffs for much longer than Australia, and the centre-left governing Liberals have surged back in the polls to a near-tie with the Conservatives from over 20 points behind, and have taken the lead since Mark Carney’s March 9 election as Liberal leader.

    Labor retains lead in YouGov

    A national YouGov poll, conducted March 7–13 from a sample of 1,526, gave Labor a 51–49 lead, unchanged from the February 28 to March 6 YouGov poll. YouGov is conducting weekly polls, and the previous poll was the first Labor lead in YouGov since July 2024.

    Primary votes were 36% Coalition (steady), 31% Labor (steady), 13.5% Greens (up 0.5), 7.5% One Nation (up 0.5), 1% Trumpet of Patriots (steady), 9% independents (down one) and 2% others (steady). YouGov is using weaker preference flows for Labor than occurred in 2022, and by 2022 flows Labor would have a lead above 52–48.

    Albanese’s net approval improved three points to -6, with 49% dissatisfied and 43% satisfied, while Dutton’s net approval slid two points to -6. Albanese led Dutton as better PM by an unchanged 45–39.

    Since the first weekly YouGov poll in late February, Albanese has gained six points on net approval while Dutton has slid four points. This is the first time Dutton has not had a better net approval than Albanese in YouGov since March 2024.

    On the ongoing conflict caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, 69% of Australians thought we should stand with Ukraine President Zelensky, while 31% wanted us to stand with Trump.

    Labor regains lead in Morgan poll

    A national Morgan poll, conducted March 3–9 from a sample of 1,719, gave Labor a 51.5–48.5 lead by headline respondent preferences, a two-point gain for Labor since the February 24 to March 2 poll. This is Labor’s second lead in the last three Morgan polls, after they had trailed in this poll since November.

    Primary votes were 37% Coalition (down three), 30% Labor (up 1.5), 13.5% Greens (steady), 5% One Nation (up one), 10.5% independents (steady) and 4% others (up 0.5). By 2022 election flows, Labor led by 52–48, a two-point gain for Labor.

    By 51.5–33, respondents said the country was going in the wrong direction (52–31.5 previously). Morgan’s consumer confidence index was down 0.8 points to 86.9.

    Poll of teal-held seats has the teals struggling

    Freshwater took a poll for the News Corporation tabloids of six seats held by teal independents. These are Curtin in WA, Goldstein and Kooyong in Victoria and Mackellar, Warringah and Wentworth in NSW. The poll was conducted March 5–7 from an overall sample of 830.

    Across the six seats polled, the Liberals had a 51–49 lead, representing a 5% swing to the Liberals since the 2022 election. On these figures, the Liberals would gain four of these teal seats (Curtin, Goldstein, Kooyong and Mackellar).

    Primary votes were 41% Liberals (up two since 2022), 33% teals (steady), 7% Labor (down six), 7% Greens (down two) and 12% others (up six). Albanese and Dutton were tied at 39–39 on better PM. By 47–42, respondents opposed their local MP backing an Albanese Labor minority government.

    The YouGov MRP poll that was conducted between late January and mid-February from a sample of over 40,000 had all the teals holding their seats. At the March 8 Western Australian election, swings to the Liberals were lowest in affluent Perth seats.

    WA election late counting

    With 70% of enrolled voters counted for the WA election, the ABC is calling 43 of the 59 lower house seats for Labor, six for the Liberals, four for the Nationals and six seats remain undecided. The Poll Bludger has Labor ahead in 47 seats, with the Liberals and Nationals ahead in six seats each.

    On election night, it had appeared likely that an independent would win Labor-held Fremantle. However, the independent has performed badly on absent and postal votes, and Labor will retain.

    In the upper house, all 37 seats are elected by statewide proportional representation with preferences, and a quota for election is just 2.63%. With 63% of enrolled counted, Labor has 15.8 quotas, the Liberals 10.5, the Greens 4.1, the Nationals 2.1, One Nation 1.35, Legalise Cannabis and the Australian Christians 1.0 each, an independent group 0.48 and Animal Justice 0.43.

    On current figures, Labor will win 16 seats, the Liberals ten, the Greens four, the Nationals two, One Nation, Legalise Cannabis and the Christians one each and two seats are unclear (Liberals, independent group and Animal Justice contesting). Counting of absents in the lower house has hurt the Liberals, so their vote is likely to drop further. Labor and the Greens will have a combined upper house majority.

    Liberals hold Port Macquarie at NSW byelection

    A byelection occurred on Saturday in the New South Wales Liberal-held state seat of Port Macquarie. Labor did not contest after finishing third behind the Nationals and Liberals at the 2023 NSW election with 19.2%.

    With 59% of enrolled counted, The Poll Bludger is projecting that the Liberals will defeat the Nationals by 52.8–47.2, a 7.9% swing to the Nationals since 2023. Current primary votes are 34.2% Liberals (down 4.1%), 31.2% Nationals (up 5.5%), 12.8% for an independent (new), 10.7% Greens (up 3.7%) and 7.9% Legalise Cannabis (up 3.4%).

    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. Gains for Labor as they lead in three of last five polls – https://theconversation.com/gains-for-labor-as-they-lead-in-three-of-last-five-polls-252016

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    March 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Research – Gender parity clarity: New Zealand’s deepest dive into KiwiSaver balances reveals crucial demographic insights

    Source: Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission

    Results from the largest analysis of KiwiSaver, encompassing more than 3.2 million members, reveal no progress has been made on closing the gender retirement savings gap.  
    With shades of the recent estimate by the World Economic Forum that at the existing rate of progress, full gender parity won’t be achieved until the year 2158, the report released today by Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission shows the average gender KiwiSaver retirement savings gap remains at 25%. It also delivers essential insights into KiwiSaver balances, trends and opportunities. 
    The Retirement Commission secured the services of Melville Jessup Weaver (MJW) actuaries to obtain the country’s most comprehensive current age and gender-related KiwiSaver stats. The results update an annual analysis that began in 2021 – then the first study of its kind, collecting previously unknown data about balances across these demographics. The new report provides a snapshot as at 31 December 2024 that – importantly – represents approximately 97% of Aotearoa’s KiwiSaver members.   
     
    In a country in which more women (51%) than men are members of KiwiSaver, the research shows that despite efforts towards its reduction, the average gender KiwiSaver retirement savings gap has remained static at 25% since 2022 – and, in fact, has increased slightly for those aged 61-65. The gap generally increases across the age groups, rising above 25% after the age of 35 and peaking at around 37% for those aged 56-65. This translates into women having on average around $20,000 less in their KiwiSaver account than men as they approach retirement age.  
     
    Of particular interest is where the gap is widest: between women and men in their 40s, 50s and 60s.  
    “This pivotal information shows the combined long-term effect of factors such as the gender pay gap, time out of paid work, and the higher percentage of women than men who work part-time,” says Te Ara Ahunga Ora Policy Lead Dr Michelle Reyers.  
    “It tells us that at an age when many women may be returning to the full-time paid workforce after years of unpaid caregiving and necessary part-time work, the effect comes more starkly into focus. 
    “Also of significant interest is that as at 30 June 2024, the gender pay gap is 8.2% and trending downwards, yet we’re not seeing that decrease reflected in the average gender KiwiSaver retirement savings gap. The impact of compounding interest on balances informs some of this, as money invested earlier has time to grow, but if women’s balances are lower than men’s in younger life, they will likely remain lower.”
      
    Also notable among the new demographic data is that women continue to have lower average balances than men across all groups, with the exception of those aged over 80. In almost all age groups, women are overrepresented among those with low balances and men are overrepresented among those with the highest balances. 
    Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson says: “Thanks to the gender pay gap and other factors, women tend to earn less, which leads to saving less. Women tend to spend longer periods in unpaid work, and get hit harder by life shocks like unemployment and divorce.  
    “This unchanged KiwiSaver retirement savings gap is one of several reasons why we’re advocating to get New Zealanders contributing more to KiwiSaver across the board. We’re arguing for system change, and one opportunity we’ve identified is to increase the default contribution rate of all individuals to at least 4%, with employers matching it at this level or contributing more. 
    “KiwiSaver has been instrumental in promoting retirement savings in New Zealand, but it’s not working as well as it could for everyone. Changes made to the settings now will improve outcomes for all who contribute, and since women live longer on average than men and therefore have longer retirement periods to fund, for this demographic, a rethink is especially critical.” 
    The Retirement Commissioner welcomes the recent changes made by the Government to paid parental leave by making matching contributions for those who continue to make their employee contribution, and would encourage that this be extended to all those on paid parental leave, not just those who can continue to make their own contributions.  
    Key insights

    • According to a survey of approximately 97% of Aotearoa’s KiwiSaver members (3,286, 614 people), the average KiwiSaver gender retirement savings gap remains 25%, as at 31 December 2024. 
    • It has increased marginally for those aged 61-65 (from 35 to 36%). 
    • The average KiwiSaver balance is $37,079, an increase of 16.5% from 2023 that likely reflects the strong performance of financial markets over the 2024 year. 
    • Women’s average balance is $34,185 (an increase of 16.7%); men’s average balance is $42,664 (an increase of 16.6%). 
    • The widest gaps are between women and men in their 40s and 50s, and those approaching age 65.  
    • On average, men in their 40s have about $12,000 (or 30%) more invested in KiwiSaver than women; men in their 50s have about $20,000 (or 36%) more; and men aged 61-65 have approximately $21,500 (or 36%) more. 
    • Although there’s still a relatively large number of members with KiwiSaver balances below $10,000, this has trended downwards, declining from 41% of members in 2021 to about a third of members in 2024. 
    • There are more women than men with balances lower than $10,000 across almost all age brackets. 
    • 61% of the people with balances below $10,000 are aged 35 and younger. 
    • 17% of members aged 51 to 65 have less than $10,000 in KiwiSaver (note that these members have not had access to KiwiSaver for their full working lives). 
    • 12% of KiwiSaver members have a balance over $80,000. There are fewer women than men with balances above $80,000 across almost all age brackets. 
    • Only 22% of women aged 51-65 have balances greater than $80,000, whereas 32% of men in this age group have balances greater than $80,000.
    Policy Brief here:

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

    March 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Public’s help sought after serious Miramar incidents

    Source: New Zealand Police (National News)

    Attribute to Detective Senior Sergeant Tim Leitch:

    Police are seeking the public’s help following two serious incidents in Miramar overnight.

    At 2am, Police were called to a Darlington Road address, where the occupants found an intruder inside their home. One occupant received minor injuries following an altercation with the suspect, who fled before Police arrived. Three other occupants at the address were unharmed.

    A police dog unit tracked the intruder north of the bus turnaround for several hundred metres until the trail was lost.

    About 2.30am, Police on patrol found a person unconscious and critically injured near the intersection of Camperdown Road and Totara Road. The victim was taken to hospital, where he remains in a critical condition.  

    We are making a number of enquiries into both of these incidents and are working to determine whether they are linked. There will be a visible Police presence in the area while we carry out this work and speak with residents.

    We would like to hear from anyone with information that may help our enquiries. 

    It is possible the intruder has gone to other addresses in the immediate area. Police are asking that residents on upper Darlington Road (north of Camperdown Road), and residents near the intersection of Camperdown Road and Totara Road to report any unusual or suspicious activity overnight.

    We are also asking residents to check their sections and yards for any items that may have been stolen or discarded by the offender, described as a tall man of thin, athletic build, wearing a white cap.

    Also of interest, is any CCTV that may assist the investigation.

    If you can help, please make a report via 105, referencing the case number 250317/6324.

    ENDS

    Issued by the Police Media Centre

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

    March 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Australia: There’s plenty of pork on Chinese forks, but the environment is paying a heavy price

    Source: University of South Australia

    17 March 2025

    Pork accounts for at least 60% of all meat eaten in China, but its popularity exacts a heavy toll on the environment that has proven tricky to resolve until now.

    A new study by Chinese and Australian researchers has identified a sustainable solution to mitigating excessive amounts of copper found in the 3.8 billion tons of pig manure turned into organic fertiliser to increase crop yields.

    Although an essential nutrient in small doses, high concentrations of copper – added to pig feed to promote growth – is toxic to plants, soil, water and humans.

    Researchers from China’s Fujian Normal University and the University of South Australia have demonstrated that adding green-synthesised iron nanoparticles (G-nFe) to pig manure neutralises the amount of bioavailable copper in piggery effluent, reducing the environmental risks.

    China has regulations limiting the amount of copper allowed in pig feed, but the scale of livestock farming keeps increasing to feed a population of 1.4 billion people, making it difficult to control the huge amount of manure and sewage released into the environment.

    Experiments undertaken by researchers showed that adding G-nFe to pig manure compost reduced exchangeable cooper by 66.8%, carbonate-bound copper by 47.5%, and iron-manganese oxide-bound copper by 15.4%.

    “This process was able to convert free copper into a less bioavailable form, reducing the potential for uptake by plants,” according to UniSA environmental chemist, Associate Professor Gary Owens, who was part of the study.

    Residual copper levels initially increased by a third in the first five days before declining by over 60.9% over the full composting period.

    The study findings have recently been published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.

    China processes approximately 628 million pigs annually, making it the world’s largest pork producer.

    Nearly half of the 3.8 billion tons of the resulting pig manure is inadequately treated, researchers say, and the heavy metal and organic pollutants are causing widespread environmental contamination.

    While pig manure has traditionally been valued s an inexpensive organic fertiliser for Chinese farmers, it is increasingly posing a serious problem due to the heavy metal contamination, posing a challenge for both government and researchers seeking economically viable solutions.

    Green synthesised iron nanoparticles have been widely used to remediate water and soil contamination due to its cost-effectiveness, low toxicity, and strong absorption rates.

    However, this is the first study to explore its use in organic compost to remediate heavy metal pollution.

    “This research presents a significant step forward in addressing heavy metal contamination in agricultural waste,” according to Assoc Prof Owens.

    “By using green-synthesised iron nanoparticles, we can not only improve the safety of composted pig manure, but also contribute to more sustainable farming practices.”

    The researchers plan to test G-nFe’s efficiency in larger composting systems using fresh pig manure, hoping to encourage stakeholders in the livestock and composting sectors to adopt the process.

    A video explaining the research is available at https://youtu.be/CoEz82qlSq8

    Notes for editors

    “Enhanced Copper Passivation in Pig Manure Composting through Iron Nanoparticle Amendment” is authored by researchers from Fujian Polytechnic Normal University, Fujian Key Laboratory of Pollution Control & Resource Reuse, and the University of South Australia. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.177950

    The University of South Australia and the University of Adelaide are joining forces to become Australia’s new major university – Adelaide University. Building on the strengths, legacies and resources of two leading universities, Adelaide University will deliver globally relevant research at scale, innovative, industry-informed teaching and an outstanding student experience. Adelaide University will open its doors in January 2026. Find out more on the Adelaide University website.

    …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

    Media contact: Candy Gibson M: +61 434 605 142 E: candy.gibson@unisa.edu.au
    Researcher contact: Associate Professor Gary Owens E: gary.owens@unisa.edu.au

    MIL OSI News –

    March 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Road blitz delivers for south-east Melbourne

    Source: Australia Government Ministerial Statements

    The Albanese and Allan Labor Governments are fixing roads across Victoria, improving safety and better connecting Melbourne’s suburbs, Victoria’s regions, and surrounds.

    The Australian and Victorian Governments will deliver two new road projects in a big win for the south-east:

    • Nepean Highway and Overton Road Intersection Upgrade ($50 million)
    • McLeod Road and Mornington Peninsula Freeway Intersection Upgrade ($25 million)

    The Nepean Highway and Overton Road Intersection Upgrade will enhance road safety for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists by installing traffic signals and improving footpath connectivity to the existing Kananook Creek Trail.

    The McLeod Road and Mornington Peninsula Freeway Intersection Upgrade will deliver improvements to this intersection, supporting journeys between the south-east suburbs and the coast.

    These will be transformative projects for Melbourne’s south-east, improving the lives of residents from Carrum to Frankston and beyond.  

    The projects are part of the Albanese Labor Government’s $1 billion Road Blitz, matching the existing near-billion dollar road blitz campaign by the Allan Labor Government, who have since added an additional $200 million.

    This money is ready, right now, to fix roads in need of critical upgrades.

    This follows funding already allocated to three projects under the Road Blitz, including:

    • Sealing and upgrading 5.6km of Old Sydney Road from the Mitchell/Hume boundary, Mickleham, to Camerons Lane, Beveridge.
    • Completing the duplication of Evans Road, Cranbourne, between Duff Street and Central Parkway.
    • Delivering further works at the intersection of McLeod Road and Station Street, Carrum, including adjustments to improve signalisation and traffic flow.

    Delivery timeframes for the projects will be determined in consultation with the Victorian Government.

    Quotes attributable to Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese:

    “My Government is building Australia’s future – and that means building Victoria’s future too. We want to make sure all Victorians have the services and the infrastructure they need now and into the future.

    “We will continue to partner with the Victorian Government to deliver critical road upgrades to provide immediate congestion relief now.

    “This is good for local jobs, good for local businesses and good for commuters.”

    Quotes attributable to Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan:

    “Every Victorian wants to spend less time stuck in traffic and more time with family – that’s why we’re delivering major road upgrades across Melbourne’s south-east and faster and safer journeys for decades to come.”

    “As we build more homes, we are making sure our fastest growing communities have the transport infrastructure they deserve now and into the future.”

    Quotes attributable to Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Catherine King:

    “We’re fixing roads right across Victoria; from Ararat to Gippsland to Melbourne, we’re giving Victorians the infrastructure they deserve after being short-changed by the former Coalition government. 

    “These will be transformative projects for Melbourne’s south-east, better connecting these growing suburbs with the city and the region.

    “The Road Blitz will fund projects to improve network efficiency, travel times and road safety in key areas of Melbourne and its surrounds, to match the Victorian Government’s Road Blitz which is largely focused on the regions.

    Quotes attributable to Victorian Minister for Transport Infrastructure Gabrielle Williams:

    “After ten years of neglect from the federal Liberal National Party, it’s fantastic to have a partner in Canberra that can find Victoria on a map and deliver critical investments to keep our state moving.”

    “Our growing communities deserve the very best road connections, which is why we are investing more to improve traffic flow and boost safety.”

    Quotes attributable to Member for Dunkley Jodie Belyea:

    “As a local who travels frequently across our community, I know this investment will make a major difference for pedestrians and road users.

    “These upgrades will enhance safety for pedestrians and road users in our local community.

    “These upgrades will make our local roads safer and get people moving faster.

    “This money is ready right now, to deliver two major road upgrades in our community.

    “Only the Albanese Labor Government is continuing to invest in roads and infrastructure in our local community, building Australia’s future.”

    MIL OSI News –

    March 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Albanese Government infrastructure to help unlock 60,000 homes in New South Wales

    Source: Australia Government Ministerial Statements

    The Albanese Labor Government is building Australia’s future, giving the green light for critical infrastructure to support nearly 60,000 new homes and make more than 100 social houses available across New South Wales. 

    We are providing $304.3 million to support housing development across the state, as part of our Housing Support Program.

    The Albanese Government’s investment includes $76.1 million to boost social housing in key growth areas including Parramatta, Blacktown, Campbelltown, Randwick and Albury.

    It also includes $228.2 million for five public place projects that will open up much-needed green and community spaces across the greater Sydney area. 

    The new public space projects will be delivered under the NSW Government’s Parks for People program, which will be implemented over three successive phases with Bankstown, Bella Vista and Kellyville all included in the first stage.

    Working in partnership with the Minns Labor Government, projects have been selected in the state’s Transport Oriented Development (TOD) Accelerated Precincts to deliver parks and shared community spaces in high-priority growth areas.  

    This will fill an essential piece of the puzzle by delivering green space in the city’s new urban precincts, providing places to exercise, rest and socialise. It means more homes, more jobs and more public parks within walking distance of accessible transport. 

    This will create capacity for nearly 60,000 homes and 120,000 jobs around major metro and rail stations, including mandatory affordable housing. 

    Our latest funding builds on more than $182 million already allocated across NSW for enabling infrastructure works such as roads, sewage and water, and to support new homes with connections to transport links and open spaces.

    We’re also investing $610 million into NSW via the Social Housing Accelerator Fund, which is funding many of the state’s shovel-ready social housing projects. 

    This is part of the Albanese Government’s $32 billion Home of Your Own Plan to meet the ambitious national target of building 1.2 million new, well-located homes over the next 5 years.

    Quotes attributable to Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Catherine King:

    “We’re turbocharging housing supply by delivering the infrastructure New South Wales needs.

    “A place to call home is fundamental, but for too many Australians has been out of reach.

    “Addressing housing shortages will take all levels of Government to respond, which is why we’re working in lockstep with the Minns Labor Government to fast-track housing development across the state. 

    “This means more homes, more jobs and more green space in well-located, well-connected growth areas.”

    Quotes attributable to Federal Minister for Housing and Homelessness Clare O’Neil: 

    “This investment shows just how important it is to have a Commonwealth Government that works in coperation with State governments – like the Minns Government – to deliver more well located houses for more people.

    “We’re starting the largest house build in Australian history. We have an ambitious target for 1.2 million new homes and we’re delivering 55,000 social and affordable rental homes. We’re directly investing in building new homes – just like we used to. 

    “We are tackling this housing crisis from every angle, which includes working closely with States and Territories to make sure there is critical infrastructure to support homes in a cities and regions.”

    Quotes attributable to NSW Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully:

    “The Commonwealth’s investment will help NSW address our housing challenges and deliver on the National Housing Accord target.

    “Through the Minns Government’s Transport Oriented Development Accelerated Precincts we’re delivering nearly 60,000 homes, and these areas include great public greenspaces thanks to this funding from the Albanese Government.”

    Quotes attributable to NSW Minister for Housing and Homelessness Rose Jackson: 

    “Every bit of funding helps and we’re thankful to the Commonwealth for this additional support to help us house people who need it as soon as we possibly can.  

    “This is a significant investment, and it allows us to make an instant impact during a housing crisis.  

    “The Homes NSW teams have been scouring the state for opportunities to acquire fit-for-purpose housing that will be immediately used to house those who are most in need.”

    MIL OSI News –

    March 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Executive Leadership Team changes

    Source: National Australia Bank

    NAB Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Andrew Irvine today announced changes to the bank’s Executive Leadership Team.

    • Andrew Auerbach, an experienced business and wealth banker from Canada, will join NAB as Group Executive, Business & Private Banking (B&PB) on 16 June;
    • Rachel Slade, currently Group Executive B&PB, will leave NAB on 1 July, allowing for a transition period and to work with Mr Irvine as a senior adviser; and
    • Nathan Goonan has resigned as Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO). He will leave NAB later this year after meeting his contractual obligations.

    Mr Irvine said transition arrangements from Tuesday 18 March would be:

    • Michael Saadie, currently Executive, Private Wealth and CEO of JB Were, acting as Group Executive B&PB until Mr Auerbach starts at NAB;
    • Shaun Dooley, currently Group Chief Risk Officer (CRO), acting as Group CFO while NAB recruits a new Group CFO; and
    • Peter Whitelaw, currently Executive, Chief Resilience Risk Officer, acting as Group CRO.

    “NAB has good business momentum and is executing a clear strategy based on being better for customers and our colleagues. We have great talent and leadership across the bank and I’m confident we will maintain momentum while we embed these changes,” Mr Irvine said.

    Mr Auerbach spent more than 21 years in senior executive roles with the Bank of Montreal (BMO) in Canada, including alongside Mr Irvine.  During his career he has worked closely with business owners and entrepreneurs delivering strong customer and commercial outcomes. On leaving BMO, in 2023 he co-founded and is CEO of Canadian wealth management firm Delisle Advisory Group. He will end his involvement with Delisle before joining NAB.

    “Andrew will be a tremendous addition to the NAB team and a strong leader for our leading business bank as we continue to execute our strategy and drive performance in a competitive environment. In particular, he brings a strong track record of improving both customer experiences and financial performance,” Mr Irvine said.

    Ms Slade joined NAB in 2017 and was appointed to the Executive Leadership Team in 2018 as Chief Customer Experience Officer, then Group Executive, Personal Banking in 2020. Ms Slade became Group Executive, B&PB last year when Mr Irvine became NAB Group CEO.

    Mr Goonan has been with NAB for a total of 15 years in two periods, holding various executive roles. He joined the Executive Leadership Team in 2020 as Group Executive, Strategy & Innovation and was appointed Group CFO in 2023.

    “Rachel and Nathan have been dedicated to NAB, very supportive of successive Group CEOs and focused on customers every day. I have appreciated their support in our time together and wish them well for the future,” Mr Irvine said.

    Mr Auerbach’s appointment is subject to regulatory approvals.

    Read the announcement on the ASX. 

    Topics

    SEE ALL TOPICS

    Media Enquiries

    For all media enquiries, please contact the NAB Media Line on 03 7035 5015

    MIL OSI News –

    March 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Rebuilding SH1 at Whakapara

    Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

    NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) contractors will begin rebuilding a section of State Highway 1 near Puhipuhi Rd, Whakapara, from next week.

    From Wednesday (19 March) the road will be down to one lane with stop/go traffic management and a 30km/h temporary speed limit in place for the duration of the works.

    Contractors will undertake dayworks between 6am and 8pm for the first week, before switching to 24/7 day and night works.

    There will be increased noise for residents in the area.

    Travel delays are typically expected to be less than 10 minutes, longer during peak. We encourage road users to plan ahead and allow extra time for their journeys.

    Work will stop over the Easter holiday weekend and ANZAC Day, and is expected to be completed on Wednesday 30 April.

    Access to residents properties and for emergency services will be maintained throughout the works.

    Please be patient and treat our crews with kindness and respect. Reduce your speed, adhere to the temporary speed limits and follow the directions of traffic management staff and signs.

    Rebuilding the road, which often involves replacing all or most of the structural road layers, improves the longevity of the network, and ultimately the safety and efficiency for all road users.

    This summer maintenance period (September 2024 to May 2025), we’re investing in the largest road rebuild programme ever for the region, with Northland one of three regions across Aotearoa with the most significant road rebuild programmes over the next three years. 

    This work is weather dependent and there may be changes to the planned works in the case of unsuitable weather. Please visit the NZTA Journey Planner website for up-to-date information on these works, including any changes due to weather.

    For more information about the overall maintenance programme and planned works, visit the Northland State Highway Maintenance Programme website:

    Journey Planner – Northland roadworks(external link)

    You can now sign up to receive email updates on upcoming road maintenance:

    NZTA thanks everyone for their understanding and support while we carry out this essential maintenance to improve the safety and efficiency of Northland’s state highway network.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

    March 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Take care, pay attention: Fire alongside SH1 Brynderwyn Hills

    Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

    14 March 2025 5:07 pm | NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi

    Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) is currently fighting a scrub fire next to State Highway 1 on the northern side of the Brynderwyn Hills.

    NZ Transport Agency does not expect to close this section of SH1 at this point, but is in continual contact with FENZ staff and a traffic management crew is standing by on-site to assist as required.

    Road users are asked to allow additional time for their journeys and to slow down, follow any directions from emergency services or traffic management personnel and drive with care, paying close attention to the road, rather than activity alongside it.

    As the situation may change, people are encouraged to visit the Journey Planner website for up to date information before they travel.

    NZTA thanks everyone for their patience.

    Tags

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

    March 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Plan ahead for upcoming works on SH1 north of Auckland

    Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

    Motorists traveling on State Highway 1 (SH1) north of Auckland are advised to plan ahead, with lane and road closures scheduled between Sunday 16 and Friday 21 March.

    Johnstone Hill Tunnels – Sunday 16 to Friday 21 March

    Northbound traffic will be shifted across to one of the southbound lanes through the Johnstone Hill Tunnels from 9pm on Sunday 16 to 5am on Friday 21 March while the northbound lanes are closed to allow contractors to undertake tunnel maintenance.

    Silverdale Interchange to Warkworth Roundabout – Tuesday 18 March (northbound)

    On Tuesday night, SH1 northbound will close between Silverdale interchange and Warkworth roundabout from 9pm to 5am for road resurfacing and vegetation clearance. Several on- and off-ramps will also be closed, including:

    • Silverdale northbound on-ramp
    • Millwater northbound off-ramp
    • Orewa northbound off-ramp and on-ramp
    • Puhoi Road northbound off-ramp
    • Warkworth roundabout northbound off-ramp

    Motorists should use the recommended detour via Hibiscus Coast Highway and Old SH1.

    Warkworth Roundabout to Silverdale Interchange – Wednesday 19 March (southbound)

    On Wednesday night, SH1 southbound will close between Warkworth roundabout and Silverdale interchange from 9pm to 5am for road resurfacing and vegetation clearance. Ramp closures include:

    • Puhoi southbound on-ramp
    • Orewa southbound off-ramp and on-ramp
    • Millwater southbound on-ramp
    • Silverdale southbound off-ramp

    Detour via Old SH1 and Hibiscus Coast Highway.

    Silverdale Interchange to Oteha Valley Road – Monday 17 to Thursday 20 March

    Southbound lane restrictions will be in place to allow contractors to undertake slip repairs, though traffic will still be able to travel south at all times.

    Plan Ahead

    Drivers are urged to drive with care and follow the directions of traffic management staff and signs.

    Ramp closures and lane restrictions may be in place before the advertised closure times for the main state highway.

    There will be increased noise while contractors undertake these works.

    All work is weather dependent, and dates may change. For the latest updates, visit the NZTA Journey Planner

    Journey Planner(external link)

    NZTA thanks everyone for their patience while we undertake this important works to improve the safety and efficiency of SH1 north of Auckland.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

    March 17, 2025

  • MIL-Evening Report: Whatever happens to Star, the age of unfettered gambling revenue for casinos may have ended

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Charles Livingstone, Associate Professor, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University

    Casino operator Star Entertainment has been under financial pressure for some time. The company’s share price has tanked, and the business, with its three casino properties, has been bleeding money.

    Last year’s opening of a new riverside casino in Queen’s Wharf, Brisbane, was seen as a way to revitalise the business. But Star has swung from one lifeline to another.

    Just as it was set to run out of cash on Friday March 7, Star announced a last-minute rescue package. This centred on selling its 50% stake in the Queens Wharf casino to Hong-Kong-based joint venture partners for $53 million.

    Star has also started documentation for a $250 million bridging loan but still needs to finalise a proposal for long-term refinancing.

    All of this remains subject to details being finalised, and regulatory approvals. An alternative $250 million takeover offer from US casino operator Bally’s currently isn’t Star’s preference because it is considered too low.

    But Star is far from out of the woods yet. Whatever happens to it and its casino assets, there are bigger questions about whether the age of unfettered gambling revenue for casinos may have already ended.

    Elsewhere, gambling is booming

    If Australian casinos are struggling, it’s not because punters are giving up gambling. Whereas most of the gambling market recovered rapidly after the end of pandemic restrictions, casinos floundered.

    Between 2018–19 and 2022–23, before and after pandemic restrictions were in place, total Australian gambling expenditure (in other words, gamblers’ losses) grew by 6.8% in real terms (adjusted for inflation).

    Real wagering losses grew by 45%. This segment has clearly emerged as the second-biggest gambling market in the country, with gambling expenditure of $8.4 billion.

    But over the same period, expenditure at casinos declined by more than 35% nationally, and by 42% in New South Wales.



    Read more:
    The rate of sports betting has surged more than 57% – and younger people are betting more

    Do casinos have a viable business model?

    Both Star and Australia’s other major casino operator, Crown, have emerged from a range of high-profile scandals in recent years.

    Media reporting, inquiries, and royal commissions into Crown, and then Star, give some insight into how the casino business used to be run in Australia.

    Star’s (and Crown’s) business model appears to have previously relied on two major revenue streams: benefiting from the proceeds of crime (by operating as a cash laundry for organised criminal gangs), and exploiting every vulnerable person who walked onto their premises.

    Both casinos facilitated money laundering, particularly via junket operators, organisers of casino visits by high rollers. Unfortunately, many of these people had strong links to organised crime gangs keen to launder their illegally acquired money.

    Former Star executives and board members are now facing Federal Court proceedings brought by ASIC, with two already having been fined.



    Read more:
    ‘Multiple red flags’: ASIC’s court case against Star executives shows the risks of complacency

    Star and Crown preyed on addiction

    Both Star and Crown were also found to have encouraged significant expenditure by addicted gamblers.

    This wasn’t just high rollers. Ordinary people were also encouraged to use poker machines for hours without any attempt at encouraging a break, as mandated by “responsible gambling” codes.

    The Victorian Royal Commissioner, investigating Crown, regarded its “responsible gambling” failures as particularly heinous.

    The result was the turnover of the board and management, hundreds of millions of dollars in fines, and increased regulatory oversight.

    Although neither casino chain closed its doors, regulatory breaches led to appointment of special managers to oversee the business and hold the licences. Further change included beefing up regulators’ powers and resources.

    Turning a page

    Without significant funds from the proceeds of crime, or exploitation of the vulnerable, casinos are clearly struggling.

    In NSW and Victoria, the casinos have been required to introduce “cashless gaming” systems.

    This takes cash out of the system, deterring money launderers. Gamblers must also set a limit on their gambling spend, and adhere to it. The system is in the process of being introduced in Queensland.

    Certainly, overcapitalisation of new developments has played a part in casinos’ struggles. Crown Melbourne was effectively sold to Kerry Packer in 1998 on the back of its own financial issues. Overcapitalisation of the business was seen as an issue then.

    Stronger competition

    Competition from online wagering and pokie venues may also be playing a part. These businesses are not currently regulated as effectively as casinos.

    Precommitment systems for online wagering would be relatively easy to introduce. They would require punters to set a limit on deposits or bets, or indeed the time they spend gambling, and enforce these technically.

    Getting these in place, however, may be as formidable a task as getting gambling ads banned from sporting broadcasts, if not more so.

    The gambling industry understandably opposes this. After all, these measures would reduce the amount that people lose. From a public health perspective, however, they provide an effective system to prevent harm in the first place, rather than simply picking up the pieces.

    Without effective reform of local gambling venues and online wagering, casinos may try to mount an argument for less effective regulation. That would be an admission that their “tourism” attractiveness has waned. It’s also a powerful argument to speed up the transition of effective regulation to all gambling operators.

    Charles Livingstone has received funding from the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, the (former) Victorian Gambling Research Panel, and the South Australian Independent Gambling Authority (the funds for which were derived from hypothecation of gambling tax revenue to research purposes), from the Australian and New Zealand School of Government and the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, and from non-government organisations for research into multiple aspects of poker machine gambling, including regulatory reform, existing harm minimisation practices, and technical characteristics of gambling forms. He has received travel and co-operation grants from the Alberta Problem Gambling Research Institute, the Finnish Institute for Public Health, the Finnish Alcohol Research Foundation, the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Committee, the Turkish Red Crescent Society, and the Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand. He was a Chief Investigator on an Australian Research Council funded project researching mechanisms of influence on government by the tobacco, alcohol and gambling industries. He has undertaken consultancy research for local governments and non-government organisations in Australia and the UK seeking to restrict or reduce the concentration of poker machines and gambling impacts, and was a member of the Australian government’s Ministerial Expert Advisory Group on Gambling in 2010-11. He is a member of the Lancet Public Health Commission into gambling, and of the World Health Organisation expert group on gambling and gambling harm. He made a submission to and appeared before the HoR Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs inquiry into online gambling and its impacts on those experiencing gambling harm.

    – ref. Whatever happens to Star, the age of unfettered gambling revenue for casinos may have ended – https://theconversation.com/whatever-happens-to-star-the-age-of-unfettered-gambling-revenue-for-casinos-may-have-ended-251248

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    March 17, 2025

  • MIL-Evening Report: Three years after Russia’s invasion, a global online army is still fighting for Ukraine

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olga Boichak, Senior Lecturer in Digital Cultures, Australian Research Council DECRA fellow, University of Sydney

    More than three years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a 30-day ceasefire between the two warring countries may be imminent. But much more needs to happen before a just and lasting peace is achieved.

    The Russian-Ukraine war is one of the most visible, analysed and documented wars in human history. Since the night of February 24 2022, millions of Ukrainian citizens, military personnel, journalists, officials and civil society activists have shared first-hand eyewitness accounts, updates, commentaries and opinions on the war.

    Around the world, many online communities have also sprung into action to counter Russian propaganda and raise awareness of what is happening inside Ukraine.

    We have been studying these communities for the past three years, conducting hours of interviews with members and observing their activity on social media. To conduct much of this research and connect with members, we had to join some of these communities – a common requirement for researchers working in online settings.

    Our work reveals a range of skills and strategies activists use in the online fight against Russia. More broadly, it shows how social media users can mobilise during times of war and other international crises and have a material impact offline.

    Russian war of disinformation

    Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was accompanied by online disinformation and propaganda campaigns. The aims of these campaigns are to sow discord, distrust and dismay among both Ukrainian and international audiences by, for example, depicting Ukraine as a failed state ruled by Nazis.

    Ukraine responded by launching its own information operations to counter Russian propaganda, appeal for help from the world and maintain the security of its defensive operations.

    In some cases, social media platforms have aided the Russian cause. At the same time, they have suppressed evidence of war crimes.

    For example, in the first year of the Russian invasion, independent investigative journalism organisations such as Disclose documented thousands of war crimes committed by Russian soldiers against Ukrainian civilians. These crimes included murder, torture, physical and sexual violence, forced relocation, looting, and damage to civilian infrastructure such as schools and hospitals.

    Much of this content included graphic imagery, violence and offensive language. As a result, it was permanently removed from platforms such as Instagram and YouTube.

    On the other hand, content containing disinformation evaded moderation. For example, a 2023 investigation by the BBC revealed thousands of fake TikTok accounts created as part of a Russian propaganda campaign spreading lies about Ukrainian officials.

    This often led to a distorted information environment online. Russian disinformation was visible, while the true extent of Russian violence against Ukrainians was hidden.

    Boosting Ukrainian voices

    In this context, thousands of internet users formed online communities to creatively support Ukraine without attracting the attention of content moderators.

    This isn’t new or unique to the war in Ukraine. For example, in 2019, US TikToker Feroza Aziz shared a makeup tutorial in which she subtly raised awareness of China’s treatment of the Uyghurs – a topic that is often suppressed on the Chinese-owned platform.

    One of the most prominent and well-known online communities that emerged following Russia’s invasion was the North Atlantic Fella Organisation.

    It started in May 2022 when a young man with the online name Kama mashed up a Reddit meme of a Shiba Inu dog nicknamed Cheems and a picture of a dilapidated Russian tank. This was a celebration of a Ukrainian battlefront victory. It was only intended to mock Russia.

    But as Kama changed his profile picture to the meme, the trend started spreading quickly to his followers on X (formerly Twitter). They quickly grew into an online collective dedicated to fighting Russia online. Members – or “fellas”, as they are known – from many regions around the world were brought together by its rituals using internet and popular culture memes.

    Calls to action

    In many similar posts across Facebook, X and TikTok, users share selfies or other images to achieve high visibility while calling followers to action. In most cases, this involves raising funds for urgent military or humanitarian efforts to benefit Ukraine.

    Another common strategy is storytelling. Some users share amusing or ridiculous anecdotes from their lives before closing with a donation request.

    These requests often have a clear target and beneficiary. They are also often time-sensitive. For example, they may be aimed at purchasing a particular model of a drone for a particular brigade of Ukraine’s armed forces that will be delivered to the battlefront within days.

    Through collaborations with Ukraine’s official fundraising platform, the North Atlantic Fella Organisation has collected more than US$700,000 towards Ukraine’s defence.

    Combatting propaganda

    Members of the North Atlantic Fella Organisation also try to combat Russian propaganda and disinformation.

    Instead of arguing in good faith with highly visible disinformation-spreading accounts (often controlled by the Russian government), members try to derail the disinformation campaigns. They highlight their ridiculousness by responding with memes and jokes. They call this practice “shitposting”.

    People spreading Russian disinformation often find themselves annoyed by the swarms of “meme dogs” in their replies. This has led some to respond aggressively. In turn, this has allowed North Atlantic Fella Organisation members to report them for violation of X’s terms of service and have their accounts suspended, as our forthcoming research documents.

    However, from late 2022 onward, North Atlantic Fella Organisation members we interviewed as a part of our research reported decreased effectiveness of X’s response to problematic user conduct. This was soon after tech billionaire Elon Musk bought the social media platform.

    Despite this, members continue to support each other and develop playful tactics to ensure they remain visible on the platform.

    It seems war will continue online for as long as Russia wages its war on Ukraine’s territory.

    Olga Boichak has received funding from the Australian Research Council. She is a director of the Ukrainian Studies Foundation in Australia and an executive committee member of the Ukrainian Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand. She has been a member of the North Atlantic Fella Organisation since 2022 for research purposes.

    Kateryna Kasianenko has been a member of the North Atlantic Fella Organisation since 2022 for research purposes.

    – ref. Three years after Russia’s invasion, a global online army is still fighting for Ukraine – https://theconversation.com/three-years-after-russias-invasion-a-global-online-army-is-still-fighting-for-ukraine-251480

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    March 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Mike Kehoe Provides Update on Missouri’s Storm Response and Recovery Efforts

    Source: US State of Missouri

    MARCH 16, 2025

    Jefferson City — Today, Governor Mike Kehoe provided an update on Missouri’s recovery efforts following the devastating tornadoes that struck on March 14, leaving widespread destruction across 27 counties.

    The storm has resulted in 12 confirmed fatalities, with one person still missing. Hundreds of homes, schools, and businesses have been either destroyed or severely damaged. At the height of the storm, more than 140,000 homes and businesses were without power, and 101 roads were closed due to debris, flooding, and structural damage. While significant progress has been made, approximately 47,000 customers remain without power as crews continue restoration efforts. The State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) also had reports of over 130 wildland fires on Friday, some of which damaged homes and structures.

    “The scale of devastation across our state is staggering,” said Governor Kehoe. “While we grieve the lives of those lost, we are also focused on action—getting power restored, clearing debris, and ensuring our communities have the resources they need to recover. The strength and resilience of Missourians are already on display, and we will be with them every step of the way.”

    Ahead of the storm on Friday, Governor Kehoe issued a State of Emergency declaration, which allowed first responders, road crews, and emergency management officials to move quickly. The Missouri’s State Emergency Operations Plan remains in effect.

    • Damage Assessments and Federal Support: SEMA regional coordinators continue working swiftly with local emergency managers to make initial damage assessments in preparation for a federal major disaster declaration request. To expedite the process, SEMA has shifted additional regional coordinators into the most heavily impacted areas of the state. SEMA staff are coordinating resource requests from local emergency managers for needed supplies, materials, and support services with sheltering, debris clearance, damage assessments, and other needs.
    • White House Coordination: Governor Kehoe has been in direct contact with the White House and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials, who have assured him they are closely monitoring the situation and are ready to assist as soon as Missouri request is submitted.

    Governor Kehoe and state officials spent yesterday surveying some of the hardest-hit areas, including Wayne, Butler, and Jefferson counties. Wayne County alone saw six of the 12 reported fatalities, underscoring the storm’s devastating impact.

    All levels of government are fully engaged, and recovery efforts continue across the state.

    • The Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) and Missouri Department of Transportation (MODOT) crews have all been deployed to clear debris, reopen roadways, and ensure the safety of Missourians across all affected counties.
    • Utility companies, including investor-owned, municipal, and cooperative providers, are working around the clock to restore power.
    • Emergency shelters remain open in impacted areas, offering food, medical support, and temporary housing for displaced residents.

    SEMA also continues to coordinate with volunteer and faith-based partners to identify needs and assist residents over the coming days and weeks. The American Red Cross of Missouri has opened shelters at the following locations for individuals and families that have been displaced or otherwise impacted:

    • Franklin County: Moose Lodge | 905 Highway 50, Union, MO 63084
    • Howell County: First United Methodist Church | 503 W Main St., West Plains, MO 65775
    • Jefferson County: St. David’s Catholic Church | 2334 Tenbrook Rd., Arnold, MO 63010
    • Phelps County: First Baptist Church | 801 N Cedar St., Rolla, MO 65401
    • Louis County: North County Rec Plex | 2577 Redman Avenue, St Louis MO 63136

    Residents who have experienced damage to their homes, cars and property should contact their insurance company and document damage with photographs. Missourians with unmet needs are encouraged to contact United Way by dialing 2-1-1 or the American Red Cross at 1-800-733-2767.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

    March 17, 2025

  • MIL-Evening Report: When is workplace chat ‘just gossip’ and when is it ‘sharing information’? It depends who’s doing it

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Greenslade-Yeats, Research Fellow in Management, Auckland University of Technology

    THEBILLJR/Shutterstock

    When two junior employees bump into each other in the corridor and start chatting about their manager’s overbearing manner, it’s typically considered gossip. But what about when two managers have an off-record catch-up to discuss an under-performing employee?

    Both scenarios meet traditional definitions of gossip – the information being shared is about other people, the people it’s about are absent, the information is shared in a way that casts judgement on those people, and it’s informal. Yet the two situations are viewed very differently.

    What counts as gossip is much more slippery than we might think. I reviewed 184 academic articles to understand what really constitutes workplace gossip.

    The key, I found, is not any set of objective criteria, but rather people’s shared agreement that a situation counts as gossip.

    This understanding of gossip helps us make sense of the “workplace gossip paradox” – the idea that gossip can be considered both a reliable source of social information (“the inside word”) and an unreliable information source (“just gossip”).

    My work also provides insights into how businesses can manage gossip before it becomes a scandal.

    Knowledge is power – but power controls knowledge

    How does recognising the slipperiness of gossip help us understand the workplace paradox? The answer has to do with the role of power in legitimising information.

    Leaders and managers need information to justify action. If a manager is going to investigate a sexual harassment claim, they can’t do so based solely on a hunch. They need to hear about from it someone.

    If the victim of sexual harassment complains directly to their manager, an investigation is automatically justified. But what if the manager hears about harassment indirectly and unofficially (for example, through “gossip”), with the added complication that the alleged perpetrator is another manager?

    If the manager does something about what they’ve heard and the source turns out to be unreliable, they could face negative consequences for acting on what was essentially “just gossip.” But if they don’t act, and the information turns out to be credible, they could face repercussions for ignoring the “inside word.”

    There is evidence that such paradoxical situations play out quite frequently in real-world workplaces. For example, inside information about negligence towards patient safety in healthcare settings has, in the past, been dismissed as “just gossip” until it provoked a public scandal.

    The same thing happened in a university where gossip shared through a “whisper network” was eventually corroborated by an independent inquiry. In this case, the inquiry also found official complaints had been ignored.

    One case study from the United States found managers tended to keep an ear out for information passing through the grapevine and selectively use it to further their own interests.

    If gossip threatened their power, they repressed it as “just gossip”. But if gossip provided “useful” information – ammunition against a subversive employee, for example – management legitimised gossip as “official information”.

    To avoid workplace scandals when gossip is ignored, managers should co-opt the information and make it safe to address anti-social behaviour.
    La Famiglia/Shutterstock

    How to manage the workplace gossip paradox

    To avoid scandals stemming from when gossip is ignored, managers might consider “co-opting” gossip, bringing it into official communication channels.

    But there’s a problem with this approach. Gossip gains its credibility as the inside word because it takes place outside official communication channels. Therefore, if managers try to co-opt gossip into formal management processes, it’s likely to have the unintended consequence of discrediting the shared information.

    Instead, “managing gossip” requires a better understanding of its functions and motivations.

    One function is to reduce uncertainty. Research suggests gossip often arises to fill information gaps. For example, people might speculate about a manager’s salary by gossiping about their expensive car or holiday.

    Such gossip is likely to be exaggerated and counterproductive. However, it could be managed simply by being transparent about staff salaries, filling the information gap before gossip does.

    Another key function of gossip is to warn against antisocial behaviours like bullying. But if employees feel comfortable speaking up about such behaviour — even when it’s perpetrated by those with official power – managers will not face the dilemma of whether to act on information that could turn out to be “just gossip.”

    Gossip is a slippery and paradoxical form of communication. Some would say it’s unmanageable. But what can be managed are the workplace behaviours and hierarchical relationships that gossip loves to sink its teeth into.

    The author would like to acknowledge Trish Corner, Helena Cooper-Thomas and Rachel Morrison for their contributions to developing this research.

    James Greenslade-Yeats 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. When is workplace chat ‘just gossip’ and when is it ‘sharing information’? It depends who’s doing it – https://theconversation.com/when-is-workplace-chat-just-gossip-and-when-is-it-sharing-information-it-depends-whos-doing-it-251242

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    March 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Email signatures are harming the planet and could cost people their lives — it’s time to stop using them

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Joshua M. Pearce, John M. Thompson Chair in Information Technology and Innovation and Professor, Western University

    A recent study has shown that the environmental and human mortality impacts of modern information technology — especially email infrastructure — are significant. (Shutterstock)

    The use of information technology (IT) has significant environmental and social impacts, including human mortality from climate change. One striking example is the carbon emissions and impacts associated with digital communication.

    To quantify the human cost of carbon-emitting technology, researchers use the 1,000-ton rule that estimates that for every 1,000 tons of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere, one person dies prematurely.

    This rule is derived from the following calculation: burning one trillion ton of fossil carbon is likely to cause 2 C of anthropogenic global warming, which in turn is likely to cause about one billion premature deaths spread over the next century.

    This theory can be used as a decision-making framework for policymakers to compare the value of an activity to the cost of that activity in human lives.

    It’s also what I used in my recent study that analyzed how additional information in email signatures contributes to climate-related deaths in Canada.

    Email signatures causing emissions

    Sending emails is an everyday activity, but it comes with an environmental cost. Emails use energy, and that energy often comes from burning fossil fuels, which in turn, contribute to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.

    The overwhelming scientific consensus is that human activity is destabilizing the climate and is likely to cause irreversible damage to the global environment and humanity.

    My recent study explored the environmental impact of lengthening email signatures, focusing specifically on two types of information: gender pronouns and land acknowledgements because both are relatively new additions to email signatures.

    In both cases, the extra carbon emissions for each email for the extra characters is estimated and aggregated over the population that uses them.

    The environmental consequences of minor digital habits are often overlooked.
    (Shutterstock)

    The results showed that in Canada, where about 15 per cent of people include gender pronouns in emails, the resulting carbon emissions from this small change (three extra words) may contribute to the premature deaths of one person a year, according to the 1,000-ton rule.

    The environmental harm and human mortality caused by this seemingly minor digital habit is evident. Large blocks of text like legal disclaimers and land acknowledgements cause even more harm. Images and logos, which contain even larger amounts of data, cause more emissions and deaths still.

    Doing away with email signatures

    Most of the content in email signatures is redundant, as we tend to email the same people repeatedly. The environmental and human cost of using email signatures clearly outweighs the benefits. One solution to this issue is to replace email signatures with a hyperlinked name to additional information.

    Another simple way to increase efficiency and reduce emissions is by eliminating email signatures entirely, since emails already identify senders in the header. After all, we don’t sign our texts, so why do we feel the need to sign our emails?

    If you receive an email with a long signature, you might consider asking the sender to switch to a hyperlink instead, or eliminate their signature all together.

    Additionally, you can encourage others to use free, open-source ad blockers to reduce unnecessary data from ads while browsing or emailing. Ads, especially on websites, generate an enormous amount of unnecessary data and energy consumption.

    While these steps may seem small on their own, collectively, they can make a significant difference in reducing digital waste and unnecessary emissions.

    The hidden cost of spam emails

    The results of my recent study make it clear that Canada’s current IT and energy infrastructure are unsustainable. The study should serve as a wake-up call for the need to eliminate the use of fossil fuels from our energy systems entirely, particularly because it is already possible to displace fossil fuels with renewable energy with lower costs.

    It also gives pause for the far more damaging impacts of other forms of digital communications, particularly email spam.

    Already more than half of all emails are spam.
    (Shutterstock)

    Spam accounts for over half of all emails and, despite having lower carbon emissions per email (since many are deleted without being opened), spam accounts for far more emissions-producing data. Beyond its environmental toll, spam also wastes the time of every email user.

    In response, several proposals and laws have been put forward to reduce this digital waste, from including taxes on emails, opt-in or opt-out systems to even outlawing spam entirely. While these efforts are a step in the right direction, we all still suffer through an enormous amount of spam.

    The environmental impact of our online habits is far larger than most realize, and as digital communication continues to evolve, we must consider its long-term consequences on the environment and human life. We should take the easy steps of cutting wasteful energy use in our communications and it can start with eliminating email signatures.

    Joshua M. Pearce 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. Email signatures are harming the planet and could cost people their lives — it’s time to stop using them – https://theconversation.com/email-signatures-are-harming-the-planet-and-could-cost-people-their-lives-its-time-to-stop-using-them-251215

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why some Canadians are in denial about Donald Trump

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Aisha Ahmad, Associate Professor, Political Science, University of Toronto

    Prime Minister Mark Carney has vowed Canada will never be a 51st American state and has called on Canada to present a united front to defend against United States President Donald Trump’s escalating attacks on Canada’s economy and sovereignty.

    Most Canadians are already on board. Provincial premiers have committed to defending against tariffs, and recent polling data shows 85 per cent of Canadians resolutely reject Trump’s threats of annexation.

    Yet, despite this widespread patriotism, some Canadians may have a relative or friend in the contrarian 10 per cent of citizens who welcome annexation.

    Why do these people support Trump?

    Psychology and security

    The answer has less to do with politics or economic frustration than it does psychology. The reason some Canadians are reacting positively to Trump’s threats is because cognitive biases often prevent human beings from accurately assessing shocks to their security environment.

    Psychological biases are well-researched in international security scholarship, and I have witnessed their consequences first-hand in my work in conflict zones.

    From peacekeepers to politicians to ordinary civilians, I have seen how cognitive biases can cause rational, intelligent people to ignore valuable evidence, even at great peril.

    Humans often react to unsettling evidence by denying, minimizing or re-interpreting the information to restore their cognitive ease. Everyone in a conflict-prone part of the world experiences cognitive distortions and denial at some point. Psychological security often overrides physical security.

    But these biases are dangerous. They undermine decision-making, slow down reaction times and cause people to believe dangerous things that make them unsafe.

    The tricky part is that challenging a person’s denial can provoke defensiveness, even rage. But allowing denial to persist leaves them dangerously unprepared to face real-world threats.

    On balance, the safer choice is to rip off these psychological Band-aids.

    Denial through confirmation bias

    Except for a small percentage of extremists, the 10 per cent who are in favour of American annexation are ordinary Canadians. What makes them different are two interrelated cognitive biases: confirmation bias and belief perseverance.

    For Canadians who hold Trump in high esteem, acknowledging his threats creates cognitive dissonance. Some people find dissonance so distressing that it feels easier to reject or reinterpret the contrary information in a way that protects prior-held ideas and restores cognitive ease.

    These confirmation biases allow the 10 per cent to redefine the word “annexation” to mean something else, such as peaceful political unification. That imagined definition turns Trump’s threat into a friendly proposal leading to greater prosperity and security.

    That reinterpretation may reduce psychological distress, but it’s delusional.

    Political unification is a non-coercive and consent-based process, wherein parties agree to incorporation through referendum, typically producing an all new government. Trump is proposing unilateral annexation, which is the hostile and illegal seizure of a sovereign state’s territory and the subjugation of its population.

    Annexation is not marriage. It’s rape.

    Unilateral annexation is so inherently violent that its prohibition in Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter is considered the legal cornerstone of the post-Second World War international order.

    As Trump, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping each champion annexing nearby sovereign nations in the name of greatness, that international order is now crumbling. If the laws, norms and institutions preventing annexation collapse, it opens the door to invasions, insurgencies and even global war.



    Read more:
    Why annexing Canada would destroy the United States

    Many of the 10 per cent are simply unaware of what “annexation” truly means, and could rationally change their position once they understand the facts. But a smaller subset of that group may reject the evidence entirely.

    Belief perseverance causes some people to aggressively hold their original position, even when presented with disconfirming evidence.

    While denial helps them feel safe in the moment, it also makes them dangerously unprepared to deal with real threats.

    Denial through normalcy bias

    Patriotic “elbows up” Canadians must also be wary of denial. For them, the issue is not identifying the threats, but comprehending their full implications.

    Even among informed citizens, NATO, NORAD and the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance are not easy to relate to. Trade wars show up on grocery bills, but these defence organizations keep peace in the background, which is harder to notice.

    Canadians may intellectually understand that North American security is deteriorating, but that crisis may not seem as real as tariffs.

    This is called “normalcy bias,” a psychological tendency to minimize the probability of threats or the dangers they pose, which delays protective action. Normalcy and optimism biases are why many people fail to evacuate quickly when they are forewarned about wildfires, hurricanes, earthquakes and even wars.

    Slow reactions are not caused by stupidity or laziness. Research shows that the majority people respond inefficiently to warnings of forthcoming disasters. I have witnessed this bias in conflict zones and even experienced its effects myself. I can run 10 kilometres in about an hour, but when the Taliban attacked a bazaar less than 10 kilometres from my flat, it still felt far away.

    Why? Because security threats don’t feel close until your windows start to shake.

    While a military invasion is not imminent, Trump’s threats are so extreme that they warrant immediate action to improve Canadian defence. The time to take protective action is before windows start shaking.

    For the majority of Canadians who already take Trump’s threats seriously, the first step in countering the normalcy bias is to pay attention to new risks and fractures in existing security co-operation.

    With that evidence, they can initiate a national conversation about how to reduce vulnerabilities and improve resilience and defence.

    Acceptance and adaptation

    There is no time to argue with people who remain cognitively confused. The majority of Canadians are ready to have a laser-focused discussion about the real security challenges on the horizon.

    The good news is that Canada can fortify its security and deter threats in this perilous new world.

    The range of options may not be as comfortable as the bygone era of friendly alliances and NATO supremacy. But through intelligent debate, Canadians can develop realistic new approaches to national defence, and quickly.

    Acceptance and adaptation are the keys to survival.

    Aisha Ahmad receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

    – ref. Why some Canadians are in denial about Donald Trump – https://theconversation.com/why-some-canadians-are-in-denial-about-donald-trump-251893

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why Gordie Howe’s elbows are Canada’s answer to Donald Trump

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Stacy L. Lorenz, Vice Dean and Professor, Physical Education and History, Augustana Campus, University of Alberta

    When Canadian ice hockey centre Connor McDavid scored in overtime to lead Canada to victory over the United States in the National Hockey League’s 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in February, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted on social media, “You can’t take our country — and you can’t take our game.”

    Trudeau’s comment was a direct response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated denigration of the prime minister as the “governor” of the “51st state.” It captured the escalating tensions between the two countries over trade, tariffs and Trump’s threats to annex Canada.

    Meanwhile, the tournament itself, which pitted the top Canadian and American players against one another for the first time in more than a decade, became a representation of these deepening political divisions and showed that hockey isn’t as politically neutral as is often suggested.

    Since the 4 Nations Face-Off ended, hockey analogies and imagery continue to dominate the conversation around Canada-U.S. relations. This time the focus is on Gordie Howe (or “Mr. Hockey” as he was widely known), whose strategic use of elbows on the ice has become a political rallying cry for Canadians.

    A CBC News report on ‘Elbows Up’ becoming a rallying cry against Trump.

    Canada is “elbows up”

    During his professional career from 1946 to 1980, Howe combined skill and scoring ability with toughness, physicality and a willingness to fight when necessary.

    In particular, Howe’s practice of keeping his “elbows up” in the corners to ward off belligerents on the opposing team has become a focal point for Canadians’ actions against Trump’s aggression.

    The hashtag #ElbowsUpCanada has been trending on social media. Howe’s guidance has been echoed by Canadian comedian Mike Myers on Saturday Night Live and by Trudeau at the Liberal leadership convention that marked the transition to Prime Minister Mark Carney.

    In his first speech as Liberal leader, Carney made another hockey reference when he said:

    “We didn’t ask for this fight, but Canadians are always ready when someone else drops the gloves. So the Americans, they should make no mistake: In trade, as in hockey, Canada will win.”

    While it may be surprising to see such enthusiasm for an “elbows up” approach and for “dropping the gloves” as one would in a hockey fight, this kind of strategic employment of violence fits perfectly with Howe’s longstanding brand of hockey manhood.

    “Mr. Elbows” and the “Bashful Basher”

    Although Howe’s early nickname of “Mr. Elbows” has received the bulk of the public’s attention recently, his other moniker used extensively by the Detroit media during his first season in the NHL — the “Bashful Basher” — captures even more effectively the style of masculinity that Canadians are currently calling upon in their clash with Trump.

    Writing in the Detroit Free Press in 1947, reporter Marshall Dann invited readers to “Meet Red Wings’ Bashful Basher.” Alongside a photo of a youthful Howe innocently sipping a milkshake through a pair of straws, Dann noted:

    “Howe not only had proven himself an exceptionally promising rookie, but he also had established the fact that while he might be a malted milk devotee off the ice, he positively was no milk-sop on a hockey rink.”

    Howe’s brand of violence was careful and calculated, rather than reckless or emotional. Even when he used his fists to batter an opponent — such as in his famous 1959 fight with New York Rangers enforcer Lou Fontinato — Howe presented himself as a reluctant and reasonable fighter who conformed to the idealized, manly “code” of hockey.

    He resorted to fighting only to defend smaller teammates and to deter even more harmful forms of violence, such as stick attacks or overly aggressive hits. Far from a wild brawler, Howe was a calm protector, governed by a sense of honest accountability for his actions.

    Author Don O’Reilly’s 1975 biography Mr. Hockey also highlights the image of “two Gordie Howes — quiet, unassuming, and bashful off the ice and aggressive and competitive on the ice.”

    O’Reilly contrasts “the mild-mannered, smiling, innocent-faced Howe, the clean-cut All-Canadian-American boy” with his more ruthless counterpart: “The guy who excels with his elbows as weapons, a man who, his opponents say, is skilled with the illegal high stick and so devious that the officials often fail to see the offense.”

    Likewise, a 1962 Time magazine profile quoted a rival coach as saying:

    “When Howe gets knocked down, he looks like he doesn’t care. But when he’s getting up, he looks for the other guy’s number. A little later, the guy will have four stitches in his head.”

    Mr. Hockey and Canadianness

    A combination of humble manliness and controlled violence firmly established Howe’s masculine credentials within the culture of hockey. More broadly, Mr. Hockey became an admirable embodiment of the most valued manly qualities of the postwar period in North America.

    Howe’s strategic use of fighting also normalized the high level of violence in hockey by showing that it could be measured and purposeful, in accordance with the informal code of expectations that governed the game.

    Although critics of fighting and violence have become more outspoken in recent years, these values remain integral to hockey culture at the highest level and an influential point of reference for what it means to be a “true” hockey fan and a patriotic Canadian.

    In the current political climate, it is perhaps the title of the story that appeared in Life magazine in 1959 that resonates most clearly: “Don’t mess around with Gordie. Hockey’s tough guy (Lou Fontinato) discovers that the game’s best player (Gordie Howe) is a rough man in a fight.”

    With their “elbows up,” Canadians are counting on a Gordie Howe-style response — rational, expert and effective — in a trade war with the United States that may just be getting started.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Why Gordie Howe’s elbows are Canada’s answer to Donald Trump – https://theconversation.com/why-gordie-howes-elbows-are-canadas-answer-to-donald-trump-252167

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why Canadian-trained doctors should be allowed to practise anywhere in Canada without additional licensing

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Anthony Sanfilippo, Professor of Medicine (Cardiology), Queen’s University, Ontario

    Pan-Canadian licensing can improve health-care access in underserved areas and increase flexibility for physicians. (Shutterstock)

    While politicians tout the benefits of reducing interprovincial trade barriers to unlock prosperity amid escalating trade tensions, our most precious health-care resources — fully qualified doctors — remain shackled. Physicians face a maze of regulations when attempting to practise beyond their home province. We must break these chains.

    By 2026, 4.4 million Ontarians — one in four residents — will lack access to family doctors. The crisis extends nationwide, with projections showing 9.6 million Canadians could be without a family physician by 2034. And our existing doctors are stretched thin, with the average family physician seeing 18 per cent fewer patients annually compared to a decade ago.

    It’s mystifying why Canada still struggles with the question of whether a doctor licensed in one province should be automatically qualified to practice in others. In October 2023, federal, provincial and territorial health ministers committed to “advancing labour mobility” for health-care professionals.

    The Atlantic provinces launched a multi-jurisdictional licensing system in May 2023, allowing doctors to practice in all four Atlantic provinces for an additional annual fee. However, this licence is not accepted outside of Atlantic Canada, and no other provinces have such agreements: current legislation requires separate licensing in each province.

    This uncertainty persists despite the critical shortage of physician services, especially for emergency department coverage and unexpected practice vacancies.

    All medical schools and training programs are accredited by the same, pan-Canadian processes based on common, and extensive, criteria.
    (Shutterstock)

    Inter-provincial restrictions undermine the efforts of overworked physicians to arrange coverage for temporary leaves. Such breaks could significantly enhance doctors’ personal well-being and extend their longevity in practice, ultimately benefiting holistic patient care while boosting Canadians’ access to physicians.

    Is there a legitimate rationale, grounded in differences in training or competence, for inter-provincial barriers?

    Medical training in Canada

    Canada has 17 excellent medical schools with campuses in nine provinces (soon expanding to 20 covering all provinces). Although curricula and learning schemes vary according to individual philosophies and available resources, all are united by a shared vision. These institutions strive to equip students with a core set of physician competencies, ensuring graduates excel based on common educational objectives.

    Canadian medical schools are inter-connected and collaborative. They share their approaches, discuss educational innovations, and engage common challenges. Medical student societies participate in collaborative activities to support knowledge sharing in clinical education.

    Graduates of Canadian medical schools face the same qualifying examinations, established by the Medical Council of Canada. Success in these exams is required for entry to practice in all provinces and territories. Graduates apply to the same postgraduate residency programs, which are pan-Canadian. A graduate of an Ontario school interested in a career in family medicine, for example, is free to apply to training programs in any province without prejudice.

    Why are doctors with identical training and qualifications confined to practising in just one province or territory?
    (Shutterstock)

    Those training programs operate under the guidance of national colleges that set pan-Canadian standards for training. All programs are expected to deliver the same training and meet the same standards, regardless of location. All medical schools and training programs are accredited by the same, pan-Canadian processes based on common, and extensive, criteria.

    All this national commonality exists because (with some regional variability in prevalence) people are afflicted with similar medical problems wherever they reside. And so, the practice of medicine should be guided by consistent, high standards. Canadians, regardless of where they live in our country, deserve to be assured that their doctors are exceptionally well trained and qualified.

    Provincial barriers

    Why, then, are doctors with identical training and qualifications confined to practising in just one province or territory? The answer lies not in medical competence, but in bureaucracy. Despite national standards for training and qualification, the power to grant a licence rests with 13 separate provincial and territorial regulatory colleges. This fragmented system creates artificial barriers, limiting the mobility of our highly skilled physicians across Canada.

    This is not to dismiss the important work of these provincial and territorial colleges. They are responsible for ensuring that the doctors working within their jurisdictions have completed appropriate training, achieved qualifications and maintained competence. Importantly, they are also responsible for investigating and assessing any potential breaches of competence or professionalism.

    In calling for common pan-Canadian credentialing, the physician community is not suggesting the important role of provincial and territorial colleges be set aside or in any way diminished. Rather, those critical processes should be either centralized or shared reciprocally. Public protection from doctors who are disciplined or sanctioned can be accelerated through pan-Canadian licensure: the public could search physician sanctions through one online portal, not 13.

    Regulation must be assessed against its purpose. If the purpose is public protection and advancing a high quality and equitable health-care system, then a doctor in good standing who lives and practises in Ontario should be able to take up emergency room shifts or cover a colleague’s practice in Manitoba without having to restart and reinvest in another lengthy, time-consuming and expensive registration process.

    Pan-Canadian licensure can improve health-care access in underserved areas and increase flexibility for physicians. Canadian-trained doctors should be allowed to practice where they are qualified and needed, and that’s in Canada — all of it.

    Neil Seeman, co-founder of Sutherland House Experts, is the publisher of “The Doctors We Need: Imagining a New Path for Physician Recruitment, Training, and Support” by Dr. Anthony Sanfilippo.

    Anthony Sanfilippo 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. Why Canadian-trained doctors should be allowed to practise anywhere in Canada without additional licensing – https://theconversation.com/why-canadian-trained-doctors-should-be-allowed-to-practise-anywhere-in-canada-without-additional-licensing-251672

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 17, 2025

  • MIL-Evening Report: Cyclone Alfred to cost budget $1.2 billion, hit growth and push up inflation: Chalmers

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

    Cyclone Alfred will cost the March 25 budget at least A$1.2 billion, hit growth and put pressure on inflation, Treasurer Jim Chalmers says.

    In a Tuesday speech previewing the budget, Chalmers will also say that on preliminary estimates, the cyclone’s immediate hit to GDP is expected to be up to $1.2 billion, which could wipe a quarter of a percentage point off quarterly growth.

    “It could also lead to upward pressure on inflation. From building costs to damaged crops raising prices for staples like fruit and vegetables,” Chalmers says in the speech, an extract of which has been released ahead of delivery.

    The treasurer says the temporary shutting of businesses due to the cyclone lost about 12 million work hours.

    By last Thursday, 44,000 insurance claims had been lodged. Early modelling indicated losses covered by the Cyclone Reinsurance Pool were about $1.7 billion.

    The estimated costs to the budget, which are over the forward estimates period, are preliminary.

    The government has already co-sponsored with the states $30 million in support for immediate recovery costs, Chalmers says. Millions of dollars are being provided in hardship payments.

    “The budget will reflect some of those immediate costs and we’ll make sensible provisions for more to come,” he says.

    “I expect that these costs and these new provisions will be in the order of at least $1.2 billion […] and that means a big new pressure on the budget.”

    This is in addition to the already budgeted for disaster relief.

    “At MYEFO, we’d already booked $11.6 billion for disaster support nationally over the forward estimates.

    “With all of this extra funding we expect that to rise to at least $13.5 billion when accounting for our provisioning, social security costs and other disaster related support.”

    Chalmers will again argue in the speech his recent theme – that the economy has turned a corner. This is despite the global uncertainty that includes the Trump tariff policies, the full extent of which is yet to be spelled out.

    Australia is bracing for the possibility our beef export trade could be caught in a new tariff round to be unveiled early next month.

    Despite last week’s rebuff to its efforts to get an exemption from the aluminium and steel 25% tariffs, the government has vowed to fight on for a carve out from that, as well as trying to head off any further imposts on exports to the US.

    In seeking the exemption, Australia was unsuccessful in trying to leverage its abundance of critical minerals, which are much sought after by the US.

    Trade Minister Don Farrell told Sky on Sunday:

    What we need to do is find out what it is that the Americans want in terms of this relationship between Australia and the United States and then make President Trump an offer he can’t refuse.

    In Tuesday’s speech, Chalmers is expected to say the budget will contain fewer surprises than might be the case with other budgets.

    This is because this budget – which would have been avoided if the cyclone had not ruled out an April 12 election – comes after the flurry of announcements already made this year and before further announcements in the campaign for the May election.

    Those announcements already made include:

    • $8.5 billion to boost Medicare

    • $644 million for new Urgent Care Clinics

    • a multi-billion dollar package to save Whyalla Steelworks

    • $7.2 billion for the Bruce Highway and other infrastructure

    • funds for enhanced childcare and to provide some
      student debt relief

    • new and amended listings for contraception, endometriosis and IVF on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.



    Read more:
    Labor and the Coalition have pledged to raise GP bulk billing. Here’s what the Medicare boost means for patients

    Deloitte Access Economics in its budget monitor predicts the budget will have a deficit of $26.1 billion for 2024-25.

    Deloitte’s Stephen Smith said that although a $26.1 billion deficit was slightly smaller than forecast in the December budget update, the longer-term structural deterioration should be “a reality check for politicians wanting to announce election sweeteners in the weeks ahead”.

    Deloitte projects a deficit of nearly $50 billion in 2025-26.

    Open to a ‘small’ Ukraine peacekeeping role

    Over the weekend, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese took part in the “coalition of the willing” virtual meeting convened by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in support of Ukraine.

    The meeting also included Ukraine, France, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Greece, Italy, Poland, Bulgaria, the Scandinavian countries, Canada and New Zealand. The United States did not participate. President Donald Trump is trying to force an agreement between Ukraine and Russia to end the conflict.

    Albanese reiterated after the meeting: “Australia is open to considering any requests to contribute to a future peacekeeping effort in support of the just and lasting peace we all want to Ukraine”.

    He added the obvious point: “Of course, peacekeeping missions by definition require a precondition of peace”.

    Albanese said that any Australian contribution to a Ukraine peacekeeping force would be “small”.

    Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has opposed sending Australians to a peacekeeping force.



    Read more:
    Politics with Michelle Grattan: Peter Dutton on why he’s not Australia’s Trump – ‘I’m my own person’

    Michelle Grattan 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. Cyclone Alfred to cost budget $1.2 billion, hit growth and push up inflation: Chalmers – https://theconversation.com/cyclone-alfred-to-cost-budget-1-2billion-hit-growth-and-push-up-inflation-chalmers-252171

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    March 17, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Africa: The first fossil thrips in Africa: this tiny insect pest met its end in a volcanic lake 90 million years ago

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Sandiso Mnguni, Honorary Research Associate, University of the Witwatersrand

    Thrips are tiny insects – their sizes range between 0.5mm and 15mm in length and many are shorter than 5mm. But the damage they cause to crops is anything but small. A 2021 research paper found that in Indonesia “the damage to red chilli plants caused by thrips infestation ranges now from 20% to 80%”. In India, various thrips infestations in the late 2010s and early 2020s “damaged 40%-85% of chilli pepper crops in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana”.

    In Africa, a number of thrips species feed on sugarcane and have been known to damage nearly 30% of the crop in a single hectare of a farm. High rates of destruction have been recorded in Tanzania and Uganda on onion and tomato crops.

    Now it’s emerged that thrips are hardly new to the African continent and the southern hemisphere more broadly. South Africa’s first and only Black palaeoentomologist, Sandiso Mnguni, who studies fossil insects, recently described a fossil thrips from Orapa Diamond Mine in Botswana that’s more than 90 million years old. He discussed his unique fossil find with The Conversation Africa.

    What are thrips and how do they cause damage?

    Thrips, also known as thunderflies, thunderbugs or thunderblights, are small, slender and fragile insects. They can be identified by their typically narrow, strap-like, fringed and feathery wings. Over time, they have also evolved distinctive asymmetrical rasping-sucking mouthparts consisting of a labrum, labium, maxillary stylets and left mandible. Most species use these to feed primarily on fungi. Some feed on plants and eat the tender parts of certain crops like sugarcane, tomatoes, pepper, onions, avocado, legumes and citrus fruits, focusing on the buds, flowers and young leaves.

    This, along with their habit of accidentally distributing fungal spores while feeding or hunting, makes them destructive crop pests. They tend to feed as a group in large numbers, causing distinctive silver or bronze scarring on the surfaces of stems or leaves.

    However, not all thrips are harmful. A small fraction of the 6,500 species that have already been described so far are pollinators of flowering plants; and a handful are predators or natural enemies of moths and other smaller animals such as mites.

    Larva, pupa and adult Weeping fig thrips (Gynaikothrips uzeli) fcafotodigital

    Tell us about the fossil thrips you’ve discovered

    This is the first time that a fossil thrips has been recorded anywhere in Africa – or the entire southern hemisphere.

    The Orapa Diamond Mine in Botswana is one of the most important fossil deposits on the continent. It’s about 90 million years old, dating back to the Cretaceous period.

    Read more: Fossil beetles found in a Botswana diamond mine help us to reconstruct the distant past

    The deposit is situated 960 metres above sea level in the Kalahari Desert, about 250km due west of Francistown in Botswana, and 824km away from Johannesburg in South Africa. It was first discovered in 1967 and started producing carat diamonds in 1971.

    Roughly 90 million years go, steam and gas caused a double eruption of diamondiferous kimberlites. These are vertical, deep-source volcanic pipes that form when magma rapidly rises from the Earth’s mantle, carrying diamonds and other minerals up to the surface. They create a distinctive rock formation that gets studied by geologists. This explosive volcanic eruption formed a deep crater lake at the centre of the mine.

    Mining excavations during the 1980s and earlier uncovered and exposed fine-grained sedimentary rocks containing well preserved fossil plants and insects. These have already been studied by many researchers in the past. At the time, geology and palaeontology researchers from what was then the Bernard Price Institute, which has since been renamed the Evolutionary Studies Institute, at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, were invited to collect the fossil material.

    Although some of the material has been studied in the past, the fossil thrips hadn’t yet been put under the microscope. And that’s just what we did. By using its body characteristics and comparing it to living thrips, we can say for sure that it’s a thrips. But we didn’t give it a formal scientific name because it doesn’t have enough characteristics to classify it at the species level and describe it either as a new species or one that still exists today.

    We think that the thrips either flew into the palaeolake that was formed by the volcanic eruption or was transported there through grass from a bird’s nest.

    Why is this useful to know?

    This discovery sheds light on the biodiversity and biogeography of thrips and many other groups of insects during a time when we know flowering plants that heavily relied on insect pollination were rapidly diversifying. This plant-insect reciprocal interaction goes back to the Devonian period, a time when there was a large super-continent called Gondwana. That’s when the first land plants evolved and dominated the Earth, and inadvertently led to many groups of insects, including thrips, diversifying to keep up with drastic changes in their preferred plant diets and habitats due to the dramatic environmental and climatic changes.

    Read more: Fossil insects help to reconstruct the past: how I ended up studying them (and you can too)

    The fossil find also contributes to a more accurate documentation of life on Earth during the Cretaceous and helps scientists in reconstructing the past environment and climate in Botswana.

    Hopefully there are more fossil insects waiting to be discovered in Botswana and elsewhere in Africa, to keep improving our picture of this long-ago world, and preserve the heritage of our continent.

    – The first fossil thrips in Africa: this tiny insect pest met its end in a volcanic lake 90 million years ago
    – https://theconversation.com/the-first-fossil-thrips-in-africa-this-tiny-insect-pest-met-its-end-in-a-volcanic-lake-90-million-years-ago-249077

    MIL OSI Africa –

    March 16, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Who owns digital data about you? South African legal scholar weighs up property and privacy rights

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Donrich Thaldar, Professor, University of KwaZulu-Natal

    In the digital economy, data is more than just information – it is an asset with immense economic and strategic value. Yet, despite its significance, a fundamental legal question remains unresolved: Can data be owned? While privacy laws worldwide focus on protecting individuals’ rights over their personal data, they often sidestep the issue of ownership. This has led to legal uncertainty, particularly in South Africa, where the Protection of Personal Information Act (Popia) grants data subjects various rights over their personal information but does not explicitly address ownership.

    This gap in legal clarity raises pressing questions: If personal data – such as private health information – exists within a vast and ever-growing digital landscape, can it be owned? And if so, who holds the rightful claim?

    Legal academic Donrich Thaldar, whose research focuses on data governance, explores these questions in a recent academic article. He unpacks his findings for The Conversation Africa.

    Why does it matter who owns data?

    In today’s digital economy, data is the most valuable asset – it’s often referred to as “the new oil”. Whether in commerce, research, or social interactions, the ability to generate, use and trade with data is central to economic competitiveness.

    If data ownership is not clearly established, it could stifle innovation and investment. Companies require legal certainty to operate effectively in a knowledge-driven economy.

    Countries have taken different legal approaches to tackling the question of who owns data. China, for instance, formally recognises the proprietary rights of data generators, meaning that businesses and individuals who generate data have legally defined rights over its use and commercialisation. This provides legal support for the country’s digital industries.

    What does South African law say?

    In the past, the South African Information Regulator has taken the position that personal information is automatically owned by the data subject – the person to whom the data relates – rather than by the entity generating the data. In this view, the rights created by Popia imply that data subjects themselves are the owners of their personal data, and nobody else.

    I suggest that this stance is legally flawed, as it conflates two different branches of the law: privacy law and property law. Moreover, it could severely disrupt the digital economy. The digital economy depends on data as a tradeable asset – it must be capable of being sold, licensed and commercialised like any other economic object. If ownership must always be with data subjects, businesses face uncertainty in using and monetising data. Uncertainty stifles innovation, discourages investment, and undermines South Africa’s digital competitiveness.

    You applied property law to the question of data ownership. Why?

    Ownership is a concept in property law, not privacy law. Therefore, to answer the data ownership question, we need to look for answers in property law.

    Property law governs the relationship between subjects (legal persons) and objects (things external to the body, whether physical or not). Ownership is about the rights that a subject has over an object. For an object to be capable of being owned, it must be valuable, useful, and – importantly – capable of human control. A bottle of water meets these criteria, but the vast oceans do not, as they are not within human control.

    Personal data in the abstract is like the water in the ocean – vast, uncontained, and beyond individual control. However, a digital instance of personal data, such as a computer file, is more like a bottled version of that water – defined and subject to human control. Just like digital money and other valuable digital assets, a specific instance of personal data meets all the requirements under South African common law for private ownership. Thus, in this sense personal data can be owned.

    Is the data owner not the data subject?

    At first glance this might seem so, but no, not necessarily. The reason that it might seem so, is because some of the privacy rights created by Popia resemble ownership rights. For example, an owner’s agreement is required before someone else can use the owned object (e.g., loan for use and rent). Similarly, a data subject’s consent is in most cases required before personal data can be processed. Furthermore, the owner of a thing has the right to destroy it; similarly, a data subject typically has the right to have personal data deleted.

    Do these privacy rights mean that data subjects actually own their personal data? I suggest not. Wearing a feather in one’s hat does not make one a bird. In the same way, privacy rights that resemble ownership rights do not mean that they constitute ownership. Ownership is acquired by following the rules of property law.

    So who owns the data?

    Because a newly created personal data instance has no antecedent legal object – in other words, it is not created out of another legal object – it initially belongs to no one. It is res nullius. Ownership of res nullius is acquired through appropriation, which requires two elements: control and the intention to own.

    This means that the entity generating the data, such as a company or university collecting and recording it, is best positioned to acquire ownership. Since it already has control over the data, the only remaining requirement is simply the intention to be the owner.

    If an entity like a university generates data and intends to own it, then – provided it is in control of that data – it will legally become the owner. This in principle allows the entity to use, license and trade the data as an economic asset. Indeed, it is prudent for data-generating entities, such as universities, to explicitly assert ownership over the data they produce. This not only establishes their legal rights with clarity but also serves as a safeguard against unauthorised access and misuse by malicious actors.

    Doesn’t this compromise data privacy?

    No, it should not. Ownership is always limited by other legal rules. For example, while I might own a car, I cannot drive it in any way I like – I must obey the rules of the road. Similarly, ownership of personal data is subject to strict limitations, particularly the privacy rights of data subjects under Popia.

    However, it is also important to understand that privacy rights apply only to personal data. If personal data is de-identified, meaning that it can no longer be linked to the data subjects, privacy rights cease to apply. What remains are the ownership rights in the data itself. It can be a fully tradeable asset.

    Recognising that a digital instance of personal data can be owned – and that the rightful owner is typically the data generator – does not undermine the privacy protections of Popia. Rather, it clarifies the legal landscape, ensuring that the rights of both data subjects and data generators are recognised and protected.

    – Who owns digital data about you? South African legal scholar weighs up property and privacy rights
    – https://theconversation.com/who-owns-digital-data-about-you-south-african-legal-scholar-weighs-up-property-and-privacy-rights-249741

    MIL OSI Africa –

    March 16, 2025

  • MIL-Evening Report: Former US envoy slams air attacks on Houthis – NZ protesters recite poetry

    Asia Pacific Report

    A former US diplomat, Nabeel Khoury, says President Donald Trump’s decision to launch attacks against the Houthis is misguided, and this will not subdue them.

    “For our president who came in wanting to avoid war and wanting to be a man of peace, he’s going about it the wrong way,” he said.

    “There are many paths that can be used before you resort to war.” Khoury told Al Jazeera.

    The danger to shipping in the Red Sea was “a justifiable reason for concern”, Khoury told Al Jazeera in an interview, but added that it was a problem that could be resolved through diplomacy.

    Ansar Allah (Houthi) media sources said that at least four areas had been razed by the US warplanes that targeted, in particular, a residential area north of the capital, Sanaa, killing 31 people.

    The Houthis, who had been “bombed severely all over their territory” in the past, were not likely to be subdued through “a few weeks of bombing”, Khoury said.

    “If you think that Hamas, living and fighting on a very small piece of land, totally surrounded by land, air and sea, and yet, 17 months of bombardment by the Israelis did not get rid of them.

    ‘More rugged space’
    “The Houthis live in a much more rugged space, mountainous regions — it would be virtually impossible to eradicate them,” Khoury said.

    “So there is no military logic to what’s happening, and there is no political logic either.”

    Providing background, Patty Culhane reported from Washington that there were several factual errors in the justification President Trump had given for his order.

    “It’s important to point out that the Houthi attacks have stopped since the ceasefire in Gaza [on January 19], although the Houthis were threatening to strike again,” she said.

    “His other justification is saying that no US-flagged vessel has transited the Suez Canal, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden safely in more than a year.

    “And then he says another reason is because Houthis attacked a US military warship.

    “That happened when Trump was not president.”

    Is the world waiting for hundreds of thousands of people to die of hunger in Gaza to do something to save them ? pic.twitter.com/xMFJBNzJNY

    — Ahmed Hassan 🇾🇪 أحمد حسن زيد (@Ahmed_hassan_za) March 14, 2025

    Down to 10,000 ships
    She said the White House was now putting out more of a communique, “saying that before the attacks, there were 25,000 ships that transited the Red Sea annually. Now it’s down to 10,000 so, obviously, sort of shooting down the president’s concept that nobody is actually transiting the region.

    “And it did list the number of attacks. The US commercial ships have been attacked 145 times since 2023 in their list.”

    Meanwhile, at least nine people, including three journalists, have been killed and several others wounded in an Israeli drone attack on relief aid workers at Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, according to Palestinian media.

    The attack reportedly targeted a relief team that was accompanied by journalists and photographers. At least three local journalists were among the dead.

    The Palestinian Journalists’ Protection Centre said in a statement that Israel had killed “three journalists in an airstrike on a media team documenting relief efforts in northern Gaza”, reports

    “The journalists were documenting humanitarian relief efforts for those affected by Israel’s genocidal war,” the statement added, according to Anadolu.

    In a statement, the Israeli military claimed it struck “two terrorists . . .  operating a drone that posed a threat” to Israeli soldiers in the area of Beit Lahiya.

    “Later, a number of additional terrorists collected the drone operating equipment and entered a vehicle. The [Israeli military] struck the terrorists,” it added, without providing any evidence about its claims.

    ‘Liberation’ poetry
    In Auckland on Saturday, protesters at the Aotearoa New Zealand’s weekly “free Palestine” rallies gave a tribute to poet Mahmoud Darwish — the “liberation voice of Palestine” — by reciting peace and justice poetry and marked the sixth anniversary of the Christchurch mosque massacre when a lone white terrorist gunned down 51 people at Friday prayers.

    This was one of more than 20 Palestinian solidarity events happening across the motu this weekend.

    Two of the pro-Palestine protesters hold West Papuan and Palestinian flags – symbolising indigenous liberation – at Saturday’s rally in Auckland. Image: APR

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    March 16, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Aboriginal-led cancer programs among NSW Govt’s $10m research boost

    Source: New South Wales Ministerial News

    Published: 15 March 2025

    Released by: Minister for Medical Research

    The Minns Labor Government has awarded funding to a Newcastle-based researcher focussed on improving outcomes for regional and rural cancer patients as part of a $10 million boost to cancer research across NSW.

    The 18 grants, delivered by the Cancer Institute NSW, include $798,790 to the University of Newcastle’s Dr Jennifer Mackney to improve patient access to prehabilitation services in rural and regional NSW.

    Surgery is essential in cancer care. In 2024 approximately 165,000 people were diagnosed with cancer in Australia, around 132,000 of these people will need surgery, often multiple times.

    Greater physical fitness and wellbeing is associated with better cancer surgery outcomes. However, the impact of cancer and associated treatments reduces physical activity, nutrition, and fitness resulting in an increased risk of poor cancer outcomes.

    The pre-surgery program developed by Dr Mackney will help overcome this via exercise, nutrition and psychological support which has been shown to dramatically improve patients’ physical function, reduce complications and time in hospital post-op.

    The hybrid model of care will be delivered by health providers via in-person care within the participant communities, along with a telehealth team based out of Newcastle.

    The grant will enable Dr Mackney to extend access to the prehabilitation program for cancer patients across five regional and rural hospitals, three in the Hunter New England LHD and two in the Mid North Coast LHD.

    The NSW Government, through the Cancer Institute NSW, is one of the largest funders of cancer research in NSW, having invested more than $470 million in the past 20 years across nearly 1,000 competitive research awards and grants.

    This year’s grants cover four categories, with Dr Mackney one of two Accelerated Research Implementation Grant recipients totalling almost $1.6 million to support teams to rapidly transition research into clinical practice to improve cancer care in regional and rural NSW.

    The category’s other recipient is a program to reduce the incidence and increase survival of anal cancer of people with HIV in the regions run by Associate Professor Vincent Cornelisse from the University of New South Wales.

    The other three categories comprise:

    • 11 Early Career Fellowships
    • 3 Career Development Fellowships
    • 2 Aboriginal Cancer Research Grants.

    To view all 2024/2025 Cancer Institute NSW grants recipients go here: https://www.cancer.nsw.gov.au/research-and-data/grants/grants-we-ve-funded

    Minister for Medical Research David Harris said:

    “Ensuring patients in our regional and rural communities receive better access to medical care is a priority of the Minns Labor Government and programs funded by the Cancer Institute NSW grants are helping achieve this.

    “The NSW Government is proud to be supporting researchers and projects designed to reduce the impact of cancer and save lives.

    “Our researchers strive every day to improve the lives of people in NSW and across the world, and we’re proud to invest in them to continue their work and help improve cancer outcomes for all.

    “We’re committed to doing what is needed to prevent cancer, improve access to care and support our expert clinicians and researchers to make the discoveries needed to save lives.”

    NSW Chief Cancer Officer and CEO Cancer Institute NSW Professor Tracey O’Brien AM said:

    “Our dedicated and inspirational cancer researchers are key to improving our understanding of a disease which touches the lives of so many of us.

    “While significant progress has been made in understanding and treating cancer, it remains the leading cause of death in NSW with sadly one in two people being diagnosed with the disease in their lifetime.

    “NSW is recognised as a global leader in tackling cancer with people, communities and organisations coming together to support all people impacted by cancer and help rewrite the future of cancer.”

    Accelerated Research Grant recipient Dr Jennifer Mackney said:

    “Prehabilitation before cancer surgery – including exercise, nutritional optimisation, and psychological support – has been shown to improve physical function, halve postoperative pulmonary complications, and reduce postoperative hospital length of stay.

    “A model of care for the delivery of prehabilitation using in-person and telehealth intervention has been developed in Newcastle over the past five years and utilised clinically. However, currently rural and regional patients don’t have equitable access to formal prehabilitation programs.

    “The grant awarded to our team by Cancer Institute NSW will enable us to extend this work to improve access to multimodal prehabilitation services for cancer patients across five regional and rural hospitals in NSW.”

    MIL OSI News –

    March 16, 2025

  • MIL-OSI China: Death toll from US overnight airstrikes on Yemen rises to 31

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    This photo taken by a mobile phone shows smoke rising after an airstrike in Sanaa, Yemen, on March 15, 2025. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)

    The death toll from U.S. overnight airstrikes on Houthi sites across northern Yemen has risen to 31, with at least 101 others wounded, Al Jazeera reported Sunday.

    The death toll is expected to rise further as U.S. airstrikes continue across Yemen.

    The casualties were reported across multiple locations, including the capital Sanaa, the northern province of Saada, a Houthi stronghold, as well as other Houthi-controlled Yemeni provinces.

    The military campaign, which started Saturday evening, struck the Al-Jarraf residential neighborhood in northern Sanaa, followed by several bombardments on the Shoab residential area in eastern Sanaa, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported.

    Later in the evening, fresh strikes hit sites in the northern part of the province’s namesake central city Saada, the group’s northern main stronghold.

    According to local residents, the strikes in Sanna targeted ammunition and rocket depots near the Houthi-controlled state television station in the Al-Jarraf neighborhood. A white smoke plume could be seen rising from the neighborhood, and a series of explosions were triggered following the airstrikes, witnesses said.

    This is the first military operation conducted by the U.S. military against the Houthi sites since U.S. President Donald Trump assumed office in January and redesignated the group as a “foreign terrorist organization.”

    Trump posted on social media Truth Social that the aerial attacks on the “terrorists’ bases, leaders, and missile defenses were to protect American shipping, air and naval assets, and to restore navigational freedom.”

    He also warned the Houthis that if they do not stop their attacks “starting today … hell will rain down upon you like nothing you have ever seen before.”

    In the meantime, the U.S. Central Command posted footage on X showing warplanes taking off a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Red Sea, saying that it “initiated a series of operations consisting of precision strikes against Iran-backed Houthi targets across Yemen to defend American interests, deter enemies, and restore freedom of navigation.”

    Following the U.S. airstrikes, the Houthis vowed to launch retaliatory attacks, saying “this aggression will not pass without a response,” and that the group is “fully prepared to confront escalation with escalation,” the Houthis’ political bureau said in a statement aired by al-Masirah TV.

    On Tuesday, the Houthi group announced that it would resume launching attacks against any Israeli ship in the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Bab al-Mandab Strait until the Gaza Strip’s crossings are reopened and aid allowed in.

    From November 2023 to Jan. 19, the Houthi group, which currently controls much of northern Yemen including the capital Sanaa, had launched dozens of drone and rocket attacks against Israel-linked ships and Israeli cities to show solidarity with Palestinians amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. The Houthis stopped their attacks on Jan. 19, when the Gaza ceasefire deal took effect. 

    MIL OSI China News –

    March 16, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: The first fossil thrips in Africa: this tiny insect pest met its end in a volcanic lake 90 million years ago

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Sandiso Mnguni, Honorary Research Associate, University of the Witwatersrand

    The fossil thrips discovered in the Orapa Diamond Mine. Dr Sandiso Mnguni, CC BY-NC-ND

    Thrips are tiny insects – their sizes range between 0.5mm and 15mm in length and many are shorter than 5mm. But the damage they cause to crops is anything but small. A 2021 research paper found that in Indonesia “the damage to red chilli plants caused by thrips infestation ranges now from 20% to 80%”. In India, various thrips infestations in the late 2010s and early 2020s “damaged 40%-85% of chilli pepper crops in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana”.

    In Africa, a number of thrips species feed on sugarcane and have been known to damage nearly 30% of the crop in a single hectare of a farm. High rates of destruction have been recorded in Tanzania and Uganda on onion and tomato crops.

    Now it’s emerged that thrips are hardly new to the African continent and the southern hemisphere more broadly. South Africa’s first and only Black palaeoentomologist, Sandiso Mnguni, who studies fossil insects, recently described a fossil thrips from Orapa Diamond Mine in Botswana that’s more than 90 million years old. He discussed his unique fossil find with The Conversation Africa.

    What are thrips and how do they cause damage?

    Thrips, also known as thunderflies, thunderbugs or thunderblights, are small, slender and fragile insects. They can be identified by their typically narrow, strap-like, fringed and feathery wings. Over time, they have also evolved distinctive asymmetrical rasping-sucking mouthparts consisting of a labrum, labium, maxillary stylets and left mandible. Most species use these to feed primarily on fungi. Some feed on plants and eat the tender parts of certain crops like sugarcane, tomatoes, pepper, onions, avocado, legumes and citrus fruits, focusing on the buds, flowers and young leaves.

    This, along with their habit of accidentally distributing fungal spores while feeding or hunting, makes them destructive crop pests. They tend to feed as a group in large numbers, causing distinctive silver or bronze scarring on the surfaces of stems or leaves.

    However, not all thrips are harmful. A small fraction of the 6,500 species that have already been described so far are pollinators of flowering plants; and a handful are predators or natural enemies of moths and other smaller animals such as mites.

    Larva, pupa and adult Weeping fig thrips (Gynaikothrips uzeli)
    fcafotodigital

    Tell us about the fossil thrips you’ve discovered

    This is the first time that a fossil thrips has been recorded anywhere in Africa – or the entire southern hemisphere.

    The Orapa Diamond Mine in Botswana is one of the most important fossil deposits on the continent. It’s about 90 million years old, dating back to the Cretaceous period.



    Read more:
    Fossil beetles found in a Botswana diamond mine help us to reconstruct the distant past

    The deposit is situated 960 metres above sea level in the Kalahari Desert, about 250km due west of Francistown in Botswana, and 824km away from Johannesburg in South Africa. It was first discovered in 1967 and started producing carat diamonds in 1971.

    Roughly 90 million years go, steam and gas caused a double eruption of diamondiferous kimberlites. These are vertical, deep-source volcanic pipes that form when magma rapidly rises from the Earth’s mantle, carrying diamonds and other minerals up to the surface. They create a distinctive rock formation that gets studied by geologists. This explosive volcanic eruption formed a deep crater lake at the centre of the mine.

    Mining excavations during the 1980s and earlier uncovered and exposed fine-grained sedimentary rocks containing well preserved fossil plants and insects. These have already been studied by many researchers in the past. At the time, geology and palaeontology researchers from what was then the Bernard Price Institute, which has since been renamed the Evolutionary Studies Institute, at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, were invited to collect the fossil material.

    Although some of the material has been studied in the past, the fossil thrips hadn’t yet been put under the microscope. And that’s just what we did. By using its body characteristics and comparing it to living thrips, we can say for sure that it’s a thrips. But we didn’t give it a formal scientific name because it doesn’t have enough characteristics to classify it at the species level and describe it either as a new species or one that still exists today.

    We think that the thrips either flew into the palaeolake that was formed by the volcanic eruption or was transported there through grass from a bird’s nest.

    Why is this useful to know?

    This discovery sheds light on the biodiversity and biogeography of thrips and many other groups of insects during a time when we know flowering plants that heavily relied on insect pollination were rapidly diversifying. This plant-insect reciprocal interaction goes back to the Devonian period, a time when there was a large super-continent called Gondwana. That’s when the first land plants evolved and dominated the Earth, and inadvertently led to many groups of insects, including thrips, diversifying to keep up with drastic changes in their preferred plant diets and habitats due to the dramatic environmental and climatic changes.



    Read more:
    Fossil insects help to reconstruct the past: how I ended up studying them (and you can too)

    The fossil find also contributes to a more accurate documentation of life on Earth during the Cretaceous and helps scientists in reconstructing the past environment and climate in Botswana.

    Hopefully there are more fossil insects waiting to be discovered in Botswana and elsewhere in Africa, to keep improving our picture of this long-ago world, and preserve the heritage of our continent.

    Sandiso Mnguni receives funding from the GENUS: DSTI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences (Grant 86073). He is affiliated with the Agricultural Research Council Plant Health and Protection (ARC-PHP) and the Sophumelela Youth Development Programme (SYDP).

    – ref. The first fossil thrips in Africa: this tiny insect pest met its end in a volcanic lake 90 million years ago – https://theconversation.com/the-first-fossil-thrips-in-africa-this-tiny-insect-pest-met-its-end-in-a-volcanic-lake-90-million-years-ago-249077

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 16, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Who owns digital data about you? South African legal scholar weighs up property and privacy rights

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Donrich Thaldar, Professor, University of KwaZulu-Natal

    alexsl

    In the digital economy, data is more than just information – it is an asset with immense economic and strategic value. Yet, despite its significance, a fundamental legal question remains unresolved: Can data be owned? While privacy laws worldwide focus on protecting individuals’ rights over their personal data, they often sidestep the issue of ownership. This has led to legal uncertainty, particularly in South Africa, where the Protection of Personal Information Act (Popia) grants data subjects various rights over their personal information but does not explicitly address ownership.

    This gap in legal clarity raises pressing questions: If personal data – such as private health information – exists within a vast and ever-growing digital landscape, can it be owned? And if so, who holds the rightful claim?

    Legal academic Donrich Thaldar, whose research focuses on data governance, explores these questions in a recent academic article. He unpacks his findings for The Conversation Africa.

    Why does it matter who owns data?

    In today’s digital economy, data is the most valuable asset – it’s often referred to as “the new oil”. Whether in commerce, research, or social interactions, the ability to generate, use and trade with data is central to economic competitiveness.

    If data ownership is not clearly established, it could stifle innovation and investment. Companies require legal certainty to operate effectively in a knowledge-driven economy.

    Countries have taken different legal approaches to tackling the question of who owns data. China, for instance, formally recognises the proprietary rights of data generators, meaning that businesses and individuals who generate data have legally defined rights over its use and commercialisation. This provides legal support for the country’s digital industries.

    What does South African law say?

    In the past, the South African Information Regulator has taken the position that personal information is automatically owned by the data subject – the person to whom the data relates – rather than by the entity generating the data. In this view, the rights created by Popia imply that data subjects themselves are the owners of their personal data, and nobody else.

    I suggest that this stance is legally flawed, as it conflates two different branches of the law: privacy law and property law. Moreover, it could severely disrupt the digital economy. The digital economy depends on data as a tradeable asset – it must be capable of being sold, licensed and commercialised like any other economic object. If ownership must always be with data subjects, businesses face uncertainty in using and monetising data. Uncertainty stifles innovation, discourages investment, and undermines South Africa’s digital competitiveness.

    You applied property law to the question of data ownership. Why?

    Ownership is a concept in property law, not privacy law. Therefore, to answer the data ownership question, we need to look for answers in property law.

    Property law governs the relationship between subjects (legal persons) and objects (things external to the body, whether physical or not). Ownership is about the rights that a subject has over an object. For an object to be capable of being owned, it must be valuable, useful, and – importantly – capable of human control. A bottle of water meets these criteria, but the vast oceans do not, as they are not within human control.

    Personal data in the abstract is like the water in the ocean – vast, uncontained, and beyond individual control. However, a digital instance of personal data, such as a computer file, is more like a bottled version of that water – defined and subject to human control. Just like digital money and other valuable digital assets, a specific instance of personal data meets all the requirements under South African common law for private ownership. Thus, in this sense personal data can be owned.

    Is the data owner not the data subject?

    At first glance this might seem so, but no, not necessarily. The reason that it might seem so, is because some of the privacy rights created by Popia resemble ownership rights. For example, an owner’s agreement is required before someone else can use the owned object (e.g., loan for use and rent). Similarly, a data subject’s consent is in most cases required before personal data can be processed. Furthermore, the owner of a thing has the right to destroy it; similarly, a data subject typically has the right to have personal data deleted.

    Do these privacy rights mean that data subjects actually own their personal data? I suggest not. Wearing a feather in one’s hat does not make one a bird. In the same way, privacy rights that resemble ownership rights do not mean that they constitute ownership. Ownership is acquired by following the rules of property law.

    So who owns the data?

    Because a newly created personal data instance has no antecedent legal object – in other words, it is not created out of another legal object – it initially belongs to no one. It is res nullius. Ownership of res nullius is acquired through appropriation, which requires two elements: control and the intention to own.

    This means that the entity generating the data, such as a company or university collecting and recording it, is best positioned to acquire ownership. Since it already has control over the data, the only remaining requirement is simply the intention to be the owner.

    If an entity like a university generates data and intends to own it, then – provided it is in control of that data – it will legally become the owner. This in principle allows the entity to use, license and trade the data as an economic asset. Indeed, it is prudent for data-generating entities, such as universities, to explicitly assert ownership over the data they produce. This not only establishes their legal rights with clarity but also serves as a safeguard against unauthorised access and misuse by malicious actors.

    Doesn’t this compromise data privacy?

    No, it should not. Ownership is always limited by other legal rules. For example, while I might own a car, I cannot drive it in any way I like – I must obey the rules of the road. Similarly, ownership of personal data is subject to strict limitations, particularly the privacy rights of data subjects under Popia.

    However, it is also important to understand that privacy rights apply only to personal data. If personal data is de-identified, meaning that it can no longer be linked to the data subjects, privacy rights cease to apply. What remains are the ownership rights in the data itself. It can be a fully tradeable asset.

    Recognising that a digital instance of personal data can be owned – and that the rightful owner is typically the data generator – does not undermine the privacy protections of Popia. Rather, it clarifies the legal landscape, ensuring that the rights of both data subjects and data generators are recognised and protected.

    Donrich Thaldar receives funding from the NIH.

    – ref. Who owns digital data about you? South African legal scholar weighs up property and privacy rights – https://theconversation.com/who-owns-digital-data-about-you-south-african-legal-scholar-weighs-up-property-and-privacy-rights-249741

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 16, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Crack teams get patients off waiting lists at twice the speed

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Crack teams get patients off waiting lists at twice the speed

    Sending top doctors into areas of highest economic inactivity is busting through the backlog.

    • Targeted approach is cutting waiting lists twice as fast as rest of the country
    • Plans to roll scheme out further as government delivers on its Plan for Change

    A new government initiative to send top doctors to support hospital trusts in areas where more people are out of work and waiting for treatment is cutting waiting lists faster, new data shows.

    In September, Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting sent in crack teams spearheaded by top clinicians to NHS hospitals serving communities with high levels of economic inactivity. The teams support NHS trusts to go further and faster to improve care in these areas, where more people are neither employed nor actively seeking work, for reasons including ill health.

    Latest data from October 2024 to January 2025 shows waiting lists in these areas have, on average, been reduced at more than double the rate of the rest of the country, falling 130% faster in areas where the government scheme is in action than the national average.  

    A total of 37,000 cases have been removed from the waiting lists in those 20 areas, averaging almost 2,000 patients per local trust.

    The teams of leading clinicians introducing more productive ways of working to deliver more procedures, including running operating theatres like Formula One pit stops to cut down on wasted time between operations.

    The scheme has delivered huge improvements in areas of high economic inactivity.

    They include:

    • The Northern Care Alliance & Manchester Foundation Trust – where a series of ‘super clinics’ with up to 100 patients being seen a day in one-stop appointments where patients can be assessed, diagnosed and put on the treatment pathway in one appointment. These include Employment Advisors on site to support patients with any barriers to returning to work. Those that require surgery are then booked to ‘high flow theatre’ lists such as those at the Trafford Elective Surgery Hub.

    • Warrington & Halton – which has run Super Clinics for Gynaecology delivered at weekends, with one-stop models reducing the need for follow up appointments.

    • East Lancs Hospitals Trust – which has focused on streamlining diagnostic pathways and increasing capacity for Echocardiography, or heart scans, reducing the waiting list for these from around 2700 patients to around 700 – with all of patients having their scan within 6 weeks.

    Data shows the number of people unable to work due to long term sickness is at its highest since the 1990s. The number of adults economically inactive due to ill-health rose from 2.1m in July 2019 to a peak of 2.9m in October 2023. The decision to send the crack teams to these 20 trusts first was based on the government’s aim to get people back to health and back to work, helping to cut the welfare bill.

    Following the success of the programme, the government has confirmed similar crack teams will be rolled out to additional providers this year to boost NHS productivity and cut waiting times further. 

    Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said:

    The investment and reform this government has introduced has already cut NHS waiting lists by 193,000, but there is much more to do.

    By sending top doctors to provide targeted support to hospitals in the areas of highest economic inactivity, we are getting sick Brits back to health and back to work.

    I am determined to transform health and social care so it works better for patients – but also because I know that transformation can help drag our economy out of the sluggish productivity and poor growth of recent years.

    We have to get more out of the NHS for what we put in. By taking the best of the NHS to the rest of the NHS, reforming the way surgeries are running, we are cutting waiting lists twice as fast at no extra cost to the taxpayer.  

    As we boost NHS productivity and deliver fundamental reform through our Plan for Change, you will see improvements across the service in the coming weeks and months.

    The new data comes after the government confirmed the abolition of NHS England, centralising the way that health care is delivered, cutting bureaucracy and improving care outcomes for patients up and down the country.

    The government inherited waiting lists of over 7.6 million last July, and rising numbers of patients waiting months and years to get the treatment they need to get back to their jobs.

    Thanks to immediate action taken by the government- including ending the strikes and investing more in the NHS – overall waiting lists have fallen for the last five months in a row, dropping by 193,000.

    The targeted teams are the latest success delivered by the government as it continues its fundamental reform of the NHS through the Plan for Change.

    Soon after taking office, it confirmed an extra £1.8 billion to deliver extra elective activity across the country.

    This helped create an extra 2 million elective care appointments between July and November last year – delivering on the government’s manifesto pledge seven months early.

    Other plans to increase elective care productivity and cut waiting lists include opening community diagnostic centres 12 hours a day, seven days a week, revolutionising the NHS app so patients can receive test results and book appointments, and increasing use of the independent sector to improve patient choice.

    Background

    Data shows that waiting lists fall faster in FF20 areas compared to non-FF20 areas:

    • Between October 2024 and January 2025, waiting lists fell by around 37,000

    • Between October 2024 and January 2025, waiting lists fell by around 65,000

    The FF20 teams worked with the clinical teams in the trusts to look at where they needed most help to tackle waiting lists in their trust, with the expertise and insight from the clinicians – particular focus on high flow theatre lists and one stop clinics

     The FF20 trusts are: 

    • South Tees Hospitals FT

    • The Royal Wolverhampton

    • Sandwell and West Birmingham

    • The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals FT

    • Rotherham FT

    • The Dudley Group FT

    • Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals FT

    • Sheffield Teaching Hospitals FT

    • Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh FT

    • Bolton FT

    • Hull University Teaching Hospitals

    • Northern Lincolnshire and Goole FT

    • East Lancashire Hospitals FT

    • Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals

    • Wirral University Teaching Hospitals FT

    • Manchester University FT

    • Blackpool Teaching Hospitals FT

    • University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay FT

    • Northern Care Alliance FT

    • Warrington and Halton Hospitals FT

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    Updates to this page

    Published 16 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    March 16, 2025

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