A planning application for a £15million urban park in Queen Street has been made by Aberdeen City Council.
The park would be a key element in the redevelopment of Queen Street, which is part of the Council’s City Centre and Beach Masterplan to transform Aberdeen.
It would include outdoor seating, informal performance spaces, a terraced garden, a sensory garden and enhanced street greening. The application follows several months of consultation with neighbouring organisations and other stakeholders.
The new park would be located on land on the other side of Queen Street from the former police headquarters building. Options for the former police building are currently being reviewed by the council.
Each space within the urban park would perform a range of environmental and social functions which will be categorised by the overarching themes of urban nature, community, heritage, and arts and culture.
It would also improve pedestrian and cycle movement between the city centre and the beach.
It is also hoped that the new park will help encourage investment by the surrounding private buildings and landowners.
Blind and partially sighted supporters to avail of new commentary service at Brandywell games
24 September 2024
Visually impaired or blind spectators attending Derry City games at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium can now avail of a new service that will give them a live audio description of games.
The new programme has been designed to allow the supporters to listen to descriptive commentary that will be transmitted to a radio receiver through a headset from anywhere within the stadium. The commentary will be provided by Drive 105.
The new service will be available for Derry City’s forthcoming games versus Sligo Rovers, Bohemians and Shelbourne and is available to home and away supporters.
The equipment has been installed by stadium owners Derry City and Strabane District Council following a report on accessibility improvements at the stadium being approved by Elected Members of Council’s Health and Community Committee in May.
Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Councillor Lilian Seenoi Barr, said it will allow more supporters to enjoy the match day experience.
“This is brilliant news for blind and visually impaired supporters who can now be more involved and enjoy an enhanced match day at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium.
“I have had the opportunity to attend a number of games in recent months when I experienced the noise and excitement for myself, and I am so delighted more people can now feel included and part of that.
“I would like to thank Council Officers for bringing the project to fruition so quickly, the RNIB for their input in the project development, Derry City FC who will manage the service at games and Drive 105 for providing commentary from their Match Night Live service.”
The service at the Ryan McBride Stadium is similar to the Soccer Sight programme that was successfully implemented at Windsor Park in Belfast.
Campaigns Officer for RNIB Northern Ireland, Michéal Smith, attended Friday’s match at The Brandywell and said: “RNIB Northern Ireland is delighted to be involved in this initiative.
“Blind and partially sighted fans should be able to enjoy watching a live football match in an accessible environment which welcomes both participants and those who visit sporting facilities to follow the action.
“Too often, access to and within grounds and stadia, the facilities on offer, the accessible communication and the return travel, can be difficult to negotiate or completely absent. In many cases this deters sports fans with sight loss from getting involved.
“Football is for everyone and we commend The Brandywell for introducing Audio Description technology to the stadium. Many thanks to stadium announcer Martin Bradley for all his assistance.
“We thank local RNIB volunteer Rory McCartney and Richard Moore from Derry’s Drive 105 community radio station for their brilliant work together to make this happen. We also thank Derry and Strabane District Council – particularly Councillor Emma McGinley, Councillor Aisling Hutton and Leisure Area Manager Steve Setterfield, for helping bring this project to fruition. This is a great example of the Council’s ongoing partnership with RNIB to help Derry/Londonderry become a ‘Visually Aware City.’”
Derry City’s Robert Martin added: “Derry City FC is delighted to note the success of the new ‘Brandywell Audio Assistant’ service that was trialled in our home game against Shamrock Rovers on Friday night.
“Anything that enhances the match night experience at the ground is warmly welcomed and no doubt our visually impaired supporters will be happy to make use of the headsets going forward.
“We congratulate all involved in the development of this project and encourage anyone who feels they may benefit from the service to speak with stadium stewards.
“The sets will be stored in the Communications room and signed in and out by an appointed club delegate.”
For further information on accessing the new service contact Rory McCartney (RNIB), [email protected].
Record high NHS 24 workforce to meet increased demand.
A record number of NHS 24 call handlers will support the public to access the most appropriate care this winter as services deal with increased demand.
Through the Scottish Government and COSLA’s joint Winter Preparedness Plan, continued investment for NHS 24 will increase service capacity to provide clinical supervision for at least 150,000 additional calls per year and help prevent unnecessary A&E attendances.
Key measures to support services in the face of increased demand, include; improving discharge planning for patients admitted to acute or community hospitals, maintaining established care at home packages and a Government led delayed discharge response team to directly support Boards in need of assistance. Planned care capacity will also be safeguarded with a continued focus on clearing long waits.
The annual winter vaccination programme, which includes respiratory condition RSV for the first time, will support a reduction in severe disease, hospitalisation and mortality – while protecting health and social care service capacity. The joint plan also sets out action to support the mental health and well-being of service staff through increased flexible working options and dedicated mental health resources.
This year’s plan has been published a month ahead of last year, and earlier than ever before, to allow more time for NHS Boards and care providers to prepare for winter surges in demand.
Health Secretary Neil Gray said:
“As winter approaches, the NHS will see surges in demand across all health, social care and social work services. Our joint-plan Winter Plan with COSLA is just one part of a wider programme of work to respond to heightened demand.
“A record number of NHS 24 call handlers will be available this winter to direct people to the most appropriate care, helping reduce unnecessary A&E attendances. We will continue our work to reduce delayed discharge in hospitals with an increased focus on effective discharge planning and protecting care at home packages. We will also ensure planned care capacity is protected as much as possible in the face of winter pressure so patients are seen as quickly as possible.
“We are prioritising frontline services with over £14.2 billion investment in our boards this year – an almost 3% real terms uplift – and also investing £2 billion in social care services.
“I thank all health, social care and social work staff for their continued efforts and dedication to deliver high quality care. It is fundamental we safeguard their wellbeing, and improved options on flexible working and continued access to mental health resources will ensure staff are supported over this challenging period.”
COSLA Health and Social Care Spokesperson, Councillor Paul Kelly said:
“It is our shared responsibility to ensure that people and communities have timely access to quality care and support when they need it most. We know that Local Government and Health and Social Care Partnerships across Scotland are working hard to plan and deliver the essential health and social care services our communities rely on every day.
“The context within which this takes place is increasingly challenging, which is why COSLA have worked jointly with the Scottish Government to produce this plan. Local Government plays a key role in supporting people to experience better wellbeing and better outcomes, so it was only right that this plan reflects the whole system of integrated health and social care, from acute and primary care to social work, our care homes, community settings, and our partners across the sector.
“Winter is often a time of exceptional pressure on our services so I am pleased that this plan, produced with our partners across the sector, reflects the challenges and the opportunities we face.”
Leeds’s South Bank is to enjoy more affordable and lower carbon heating after £24.5m funding was secured to further expand the Leeds PIPES district heating network.
The expansion is planned to include up to 28 buildings, with up to 8,000 residents and mixed-use customers benefitting from connections, making it the most significant single investment into the project since its inception.
Households benefitting from the expansion will enjoy more reliable, more affordable, lower carbon heating.
By using heat recovered from the city’s non-recyclable domestic waste to provide warmth and hot water to buildings in the city, the Leeds PIPES district heating project is helping businesses and residents to move away from costly fossil-fuel powered heating systems.
The continued expansion of the district heating network is supporting efforts to end the city’s contribution to climate change by transitioning to lower carbon heating systems. Last year, 5,945 tonnes of carbon were saved through the network.
The original project connected over 1,900 homes and non-domestic buildings to the energy-from-waste scheme. Earlier this year, over two hundred and fifty council properties in Lovell Park Heights, Lovell Park Grange, and Lovell Park Towers were set up to receive heat from the network.
This year, connections have been completed at Leeds Conservatoire and the former Technology Campus Student Residential development and both sites are now receiving heat from the network.
Over the summer, agreements have also been signed with the new Railway Street affordable homes scheme, 24-28 Great George Street, which is to become student apartments with the Victoria Hotel pub reopening on the ground floor, Leeds College of Building’s North Street Campus and the Co-op Academy Brierley SEND School in Cross Green.
Councillor Mohammed Rafique, Leeds City Council’s executive member for climate, energy, environment and green space and Councillor Jessica Lennox, executive member for housing, said:
“We are both pleased that many more residents will soon be paying significantly less to heat their homes thanks to this latest expansion of the Leeds PIPES network.
“UK’s homes are some of the least efficient and most reliant on costly fossil fuel gas in Europe, and too many families in our city struggle to pay their energy bills. We are committed to helping households by making our homes greener and fit for the future.
“Leeds is working towards becoming the first net zero city in the UK, and connecting more homes to affordable low carbon heating like Leeds PIPES is a step in the right direction.”
A prestigious international convention on Fair Trade and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be hosted in the capital in August next year.
They will take part in a three-day (29 to 31 August) series of discussions themed around the SDGs and the importance of Fair Trade in driving progress towards them. The conference will also highlight the important contributions that Edinburgh has made to Fair Trade.
Fair Trade is an international movement that aims to secure better prices, fair terms of trade, and improved working conditions for farmers, producers and workers in the global south. The movement now works with farmers and workers in more than 1,900 producer organisations across 70 countries.
The event is expected to welcome over 150 representatives from around the world, and to have 100 or more Edinburgh schoolchildren participate.
City of Edinburgh Lord Provost Robert Aldridge said:
It is a great honour that Edinburgh will be hosting this fantastic event. It gives Edinburgh and our friends across the globe the opportunity to share know-how, expertise, and best practice, while showcasing the best our city has to offer. This is a very powerful example of joint working between international partners.
As a Fairtrade City, Edinburgh is dedicated to motivating residents to work towards a common goal and stay on course by advocating for environmental sustainability and supporting local sustainable businesses.
This year Edinburgh marks 20 years as a Fairtrade City, and Scotland has recently celebrated 10 years as a Fairtrade Nation. I look forward to the gathering next year and celebrating yet another milestone in our aim to make this a world in which trade is based on fairness, and where the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are successfully implemented.”
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Reforms to apprenticeship system in England announced, alongside publication of first Skills England report highlighting nationwide skills gaps
The government is boosting opportunities for young people through ambitious apprenticeship reforms in England.
The Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson today announced a new growth and skills levy which will replace the existing apprenticeship levy and include new foundation apprenticeships.
These new apprenticeships will give young people a route in to careers in critical sectors, enabling them to earn a wage whilst developing vital skills.
The new levy will also allow funding for shorter apprenticeships, giving learners and employers greater flexibility over their training than under the existing system – where apprenticeships must run for at least 12 months.
The training eligible for funding under the new levy will develop over time, informed by Skills England’s assessment of priority skills needs.
The Department for Education will set out further details on the scope of the offer and how it will be accessed in due course.
To fund this, employers are being asked to rebalance their funding for apprenticeships, asking them to invest in younger workers. This will also involve businesses funding more of their level 7 apprenticeships – equivalent to a master’s degree and often accessed by older or already well qualified employees – outside of the levy.
The first report from Skills England, the government’s new body for the skills system, has also been published today. It provides an initial assessment of the nation’s working skills, as well as future skills needs and gaps which employers are struggling with across the country.
The report has found that employer investment in training has been in steady decline over the past decade, with training expenditure at its lowest level since records began in 2011, with investment per employee down by 19% in real terms. This highlights the need for government reforms to the skills and apprenticeships system.
It also shows that, across the UK, almost 1 in 10, or over 2.5 million roles are in critical demand, with more than 90% being in roles that require training or education.
The government launched Skills England in July to help identify skills needs. Skills England will play a crucial role in determining which types of training will be eligible for the expanded growth and skills levy and will set out shortly how they will work with stakeholders to inform their advice to DfE.
The need for jobs and skills varies across industries, with the health and social care sector experiencing the highest demand, followed by education, manufacturing, and science and technology.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation. Delivered by the UK’s Permanent Representative to the WTO and UN, Simon Manley.
Location:
Geneva
Delivered on:
(Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)
Merci Monsieur President, and welcome to the Special Rapporteur.
Let me thank her for her report this morning. It’s a sobering picture in which she depicts a worsening human rights situation.
And it’s clear what we’ve seen over the last year is a widespread and systemic application of oppressive legislation to further strengthen the Russian state’s oppressive hold over its own population and society. Just over that last year, it’s intensified its persecution of anyone it deems to be a political opponent. And it seems to be seeing enemies everywhere in Russian society, creating a climate of fear and making examples of specific individuals to intimidate the wider population.
Special Rapporteur, you noted in particular the deterioration of treatment of political prisoners. Of course, Alexei Navalny’s tragic death was a stark reminder to us all of the risks faced by those brave individuals who speak out against the Kremlin. The Russian state has to meet its international obligations and we in the UK will continue to hold those responsible for the violations of such obligations to account.
Mr President, Russia’s repression domestically both enables and is driven by its aggression abroad, and the international community must hold Russia to account for violations of human rights both domestically and internationally.
Evidencing the scale of human rights violations is key. So we support your request, Special Rapporteur, to travel to Russia as part of your mandate and we welcome your suggestions this afternoon in how we might support you.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
UK national statement by Foreign Secretary David Lammy at the UN Summit of the Future.
Location:
United Nations, New York
Delivered on:
(Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)
Mr President, I stand here as a man of multiple identities.
A Londoner. A patriotic Brit. A lawyer.
Proud of my African, Guyanese, Caribbean and Indian heritage.
A committed multilateralist, who believes in the importance of the United Nations.
I agree with my great predecessor, Ernie Bevin, when he said in 1945:
“Our eyes should be fixed upon the United Nations… All nations of the world should be united to look that way.”
The purposes and principles of the UN remain as indispensable today as in Bevin’s time.
Our task is to recapture that founding spirit so that when we reach the UN’s centenary, their legacy endures.
But we cannot ignore the challenges we face. More conflicts than at any time since 1945, costing the global economy over 900 billion dollars, and creating the most refugees and displaced people on record.
Geopolitical tensions arising. Progress against the Sustainable Development Goals stalling. Trust in multilateralism faltering.
The Pact for the Future and this Summit offer a chance for Member States to show responsible global leadership, to engage with the rapid changes of our age, and go further in meeting the needs of everyone – especially the most vulnerable.
As I know all too well, countries of the Global South suffered great injustices in the past. And I have heard repeatedly how frustrated partners are by the unfairness of the global system.
We cannot ignore these frustrations. We must act.
First, as the Secretary-General has said, we need greater collective efforts to prevent and end conflict. For Britain, that means upholding Ukraine’s sovereignty, urging an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon, and supporting an end to the fighting in Sudan.
It means robustly challenging Member States who violate the Charter, rejecting a world in which might makes right.
It means a more representative Security Council.
It means supporting the international rule of law, and applying it equally and fairly which is why Britain has proposed the outstanding Professor Dapo Akande for election as a judge at the International Court of Justice.
Second, we need urgent action on the climate and nature crisis.
With this new Government, Britain is renewing our ambitions at home, aiming to deliver clean power by 2030.
And I am determined that we also reconnect abroad, building a Global Clean Power Alliance, championing creativity and reforms to unlock international climate and nature finance, particularly from the private sector, and bolstering efforts to protect at least thirty per cent of the planet’s land and ocean by 2030.
Third, countries like Britain must modernise our approach to development.
This Government believes partnership, not paternalism, is the way to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals.
Making best use of technology and innovation. Putting indigenous people and local communities, including women and girls, at the centre of decision-making on development programmes.
Driving faster reform of the global financial system to strengthen the voice of the most vulnerable and tackle unsustainable debt.
Friends, action on conflict, climate and poverty. Delivered by a reformed multilateral system. This is the path to peace and prosperity on a liveable planet.
All over the world, in every war zone, every refugee camp, the UN is there. A beacon of hope and humanity to which, as Bevin said, the gaze of all nations should turn.
This Summit must direct the world’s eyes towards that beacon once again. And Britain is proud to support it.
Coinciding with World Cancer Research Day today, the NSW Government is committing $2.1 million in research grant funding to support the work of the state’s cancer researchers, including world-renowned Professors Georgina Long AO and Paul Timpson.
Co-Australian of the Year Professor Long and the team at Melanoma Institute Australia and The University of Sydney have been awarded almost $700,000 for an imaging system that will allow researchers to better visualise and understand tumour cell interactions across various cancer types, via the Cancer Institute NSW funding.
It is hoped an improved understanding of the tumour microenvironment will assist with cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Professor Timpson and the team at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research were awarded almost $700,000 to purchase a system that will provide unprecedented insights into cell-to-cell interactions, treatment responses and cancer dormancy to enable more effective treatment for cancers, including pancreatic, breast, and prostate cancer.
Three clinical trials grants, valued at $250,000 each, have also been funded to support projects focused on improving access to cancer clinical trials, including:
The Building Capacity in Cancer Clinical Trials across Maridulu Budyari Gumal project aims to address enrolment challenges in clinical trials by targeting populations with lower trial participation rates. This includes socioeconomic disadvantaged, culturally and linguistically diverse and rural and regional communities.
The Sydney Cancer Partners Clinical Trials Support project aims to increase recruitment from priority populations to trials, including Aboriginal, culturally and linguistically diverse and LGBITQ communities.
Targeted Cancer Clinical Trials Support for Regional NSW project aims to deliver targeted initiatives such as increased trial sites and education and training to boost clinical trial participation across the Central Coast, Hunter, New England, Mid North Coast and Northern NSW areas.
The NSW Government, through 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 100 competitive research awards and grants.
Minister for Medical Research David Harris said:
“Targeted research is vital to delivering better treatments and interventions that reduce the impact of cancer and ultimately 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.”
NSW Chief Cancer Officer and CEO Cancer Institute NSW, Professor Tracey O’Brien AM said:
“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 set to be diagnosed with the disease in their lifetime.
“Investing in and accelerating research and innovation is key to improving our understanding of a disease that continues to devastate communities across NSW.”
Professor Georgina Long AO said:
“Technologies that provide a clear large-scale and detailed view of tumours and enable us to see how cells interact with each other are critical to move the cancer field forward.
“The imaging system, called the Phenolmager HT 2.0, which we have been able to purchase through the research equipment grant, provides the ability to better understand tumour cell interactions.
“This will enable researchers at Melanoma Institute Australia and The University of Sydney to bridge cancer research to clinical use and ultimately deliver more effective cancer treatments.”
Professor Paul Timpson said:
“The cutting-edge Akoya-PhenoCycler Fusion system will concurrently detect and visualise 100 proteins, providing unprecedented insights into cell-to-cell interactions, chemotherapy and immunotherapy responses, cancer dormancy, and novel therapies for cancers like pancreatic, breast, and prostate cancer.
“Proteins drive functional outcomes within cells, and constitute drug targets, yet existing technologies do not accurately reflect protein activity at a specific location or time.”
Released by: The Premier, Minister for Housing, Minister for Lands and Property
The Minns Labor Government is today announcing a further 10 government-owned properties have been confirmed to deliver almost 1100 new homes as part of the government’s land audit.
The NSW Government is identifying surplus land no longer required by government in both metropolitan and regional areas that will now be made available for much needed housing.
This is part of the NSW Government’s commitment in the recent budget to deliver up to 30,000 well-located homes, close to infrastructure and transport including through a historic $5.1 billion investment in new public housing.
The latest sites identified as suitable for housing include 9 sites across Sydney and one site in Newcastle.
Three sites across Woolloomooloo, Sydney Olympic Park, and Hurstville will be transferred to Homes NSW and will deliver nearly 600 homes with more than 50 per cent anticipated to be social homes.
Sites at Marsfield, Seaforth, Minto, Newcastle and three sites at Arncliffe, will be developed into housing by either Landcom or in partnership with the private sector.
The final mix and quantity of housing on these sites, as well as the development partner, will be confirmed following further due diligence and market sounding, which will take place over the coming months.
Housing is the single largest cost of living issue faced by the people of NSW and a recent Productivity Commission report found between 2016 and 2021, Sydney lost twice as many people aged 30 to 40 as it gained.
The release of these sites is in addition to action already taken by the government to build more homes for families who need them, including the largest ever investments in social and affordable housing, as well as the largest rezoning in our state’s history.
Premier of New South Wales Chris Minns said:
“Getting more homes built for families in well located areas is top priority for our government and releasing surplus land for housing is a key part of our plan to make this a reality.”
“Housing costs are the single largest cost of living pressure faced by people across NSW and we are committed to confronting this head on.
“Young people will continue to up and leave our state because they can’t afford to buy or even rent a home here, if we don’t take action.”
Minister for Lands and Property Steve Kamper said:
“The Minns Labor Government is pulling every lever to unlock the delivery of housing because we understand we need to increase supply. Through the property audit, we are undertaking a process that has never been done before by the state government.
“The property audit is working across departments and agencies to activate surplus government land to deliver the homes our communities need.”
Minister for Housing and Minister for Homelessness Rose Jackson said:
“Unlocking government-owned land for housing is a crucial step in tackling the housing crisis head-on. We’re making sure these homes are built in areas with the infrastructure people need—near transport, schools, and essential services.
“For too long, finding affordable homes in well-located areas has been out of reach for many. This land release is a clear sign that we are committed to delivering real housing solutions for families across NSW.”
Transport for NSW has begun market sounding to gather proposals for the next generation Freshwater Class vessels, and how that fleet can incorporate zero-emissions technology. Transport are working with a number of locally based businesses for further development.
The next-generation Freshwaters will pay homage to their iconic forebears and will be designed and built locally. The new vessels will need to replicate the existing Freshwater’s performance in big swells and will utilise dual-level boarding to quickly load and unload big summer crowds.
The length of the new ferries will be subject to ongoing discussions and detailed design. The Freshwaters rely solely on available slots at the Australian Navy’s Captain Cook Graving Dock for major maintenance, smaller vessels are able to utilise alternative dry-docks like the NSW Government-owned Balmain Shipyard.
The NSW Government has also set a requirement that the new ferries be zero-emission, continuing the evolution of ferries on the Manly run. From paddle steamers in the 1850s, to diesel in the 1980s and soon, zero-emission electric propulsion.
The NSW Government will be able to outline an anticipated timeline for the vessels entering service on the harbour at the conclusion of the market sounding process.
This is a marked difference to the previous Government’s approach where three overseas-made vessels were purchased for the Manly run, but couldn’t handle the swell and struggle to maintain the required capacity needed on the popular route.
The Government’s commitment to extend the service life of the Freshwater class with a $71m investment will be continued with the return of the Narrabeen, expected back on the F1 route after a period of dry-docking at Garden Island in early 2025.
Two Freshwater class vessels are currently serving the F1 Manly Ferry route, with Queenscliff’s survey remaining current until November 2027, and Freshwater due to have its survey renewed in mid-2025, allowing it to operate until July 2030.
However, it’s become clear that maintaining MV Collaroy, which was removed from active service on the F1 route last September, for passenger service has become prohibitively expensive. This is due to the Collaroy’s one-of-a-kind build, which made the Collaroy the first and only ferry capable of sailing the open ocean.
Despite looking almost identical from the outside, the Collaroy’s internal and technical design – from the wheelhouse control system to the gearbox and propellors – is significantly different to the other three Freshwater Class vessels, which are virtually identical and use interchangeable parts.
This difference in design requires a different maintenance process for the Collaroy, as well as additional bespoke parts to be fabricated and an entirely separate store of spare parts kept for one vessel.
Transport will open an EOI process next month, so the Northern Beaches community and other maritime stakeholders can put forward proposals for utilising this historic vessel for years to come.
Commuters across the Harbour set to benefit from pipeline of new vessels.
The NSW Government is planning the phased replacement of all diesel-powered craft with modern vessels powered by green energy alternatives by 2035. The new vessels will be built locally, supporting the NSW Government’s commitment to local procurement.
The nine First Fleet vessels, which entered service in the mid-1980s, are set to retire by the end of the decade. Designs for their replacements are due to commence this year, in tandem with the development of charging infrastructure and necessary modifications to shipyards to accommodate electric vessels.
Transport is also preparing a business case to commission an eighth, electric-powered Parramatta River Class vessel that could be ready for trials by early 2026. This eighth vessel would be Sydney Ferries’ first electric vessel and would provide the road map for the introduction of new electric ferries across the harbour.
Sydney’s new fleet of seven Parramatta River Class ferries are currently mid-way through construction in Tasmania and have been built to support conversion to electric propulsion when shore-side charging infrastructure can be put in place.
Quotes attributable to Transport Minister Jo Haylen:
“Sydney’s iconic double-ended Manly vessels started as steam ships, became the diesel ferries we know and love today, and will soon evolve into modern electric vessels.”
“While we’ve extended the life of our Freshwater vessels, it’s important that we continue to plan for our future fleet. Manly needs high-capacity, reliable vessels that can load and unload hundreds of commuters and tourists within minutes of a ferry pulling into Manly or the Quay.
“What we found with the overseas built Emerald IIs was that they weren’t built for the conditions, and people were left on wharves in the summer months because the single gangway couldn’t load these ferries fast enough.
“These new ferries will continue the important legacy of the Freshwaters, provide the capacity the community needs and combine it with new zero-emission propulsion to deliver a next generation ferry that’ll be fit for our harbour for years to come.”
Quotes attributable to Councillor Candy Bingham, Save the Manly Ferry Committee:
“For years, I’ve said we need a long term plan for ferries on the Manly run, and I’m so pleased the Government has listened.
“We’ve called for any Freshwater replacement to be a fully electric ‘look alike’ to the Freshwater Manly Ferries, and I hope this market sounding process delivers us exactly that.
“A ferry that is just a little bit smaller won’t have to go into the Navy’s dry dock to be certified every 5 years. This will keep ferries in service on the Manly run, instead of being tied up at Balmain or Cockatoo Island waiting for maintenance.
“The Manly Ferry has always been iconic to Sydney. This next generation zero-emissions look-alike ferry will continue that history.”
Protected zones around abortion services now in place.
Protected zones of 200 meters around all abortion services in Scotland are now in place.
Within these zones, it is now a criminal offence to intentionally or recklessly behave in ways that could influence the decisions of women and staff to access services; impede their access; or otherwise cause alarm, harassment or distress.
Police Scotland are responsible for enforcing the legislation. People who break the law can be fined up to £10,000, or be given an unlimited fine, depending on the court procedure.
Determining whether an offence has been committed will be a matter for Police Scotland, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and the Courts. Depending on the facts and circumstances of each case, some examples of criminal behaviour may include: approaching someone to try and persuade them not to access abortion services, surrounding people as they try to go in or out of the clinic or hospital, handing out leaflets, religious preaching and silent vigils.
Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health Jenni Minto said:
“The introduction of Safe Access Zones is a crucial milestone in protecting women’s abortion rights – no one has the right to interfere in women’s personal medical decisions and the law now makes that abundantly clear.
“I thank Gillian Mackay and all those involved for their work to progress this legislation. I would like especially recognise the women who showed incredible courage in speaking up and sharing their experiences during the Bill process.
“The new zones of 200 meters around all abortion services will help ensure women have safe access to healthcare – free from intimidation. This law is about protection for women at a time when many will feel incredibly vulnerable around taking a deeply personal and difficult decision.”
Background
Full details of the penalties that apply for committing an offence.
Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey
Largest federal award MBTA has won to date
Funding will increase ridership, streamline operations, and improve resiliency along Amtrak’s Downeaster route and regional rail lines
Washington, D.C. – Today, Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), along with Representatives Stephen Lynch (MA-08), Katherine Clark (MA-05), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Lori Trahan (MA-03), Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, and MBTA General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng announced a grant of $472 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) to fully replace the North Station Draw One Bridge and renovate Platform F at North Station. The grant is the largest federal award the MBTA has won to date.
The nearly half a billion dollar grant will provide critical support for one of MBTA’s top priority projects and a vital transportation asset to MBTA’s north-side operations. It will also support more than 14,500 jobs, make the bridge more climate resilient by bringing it above projected sea-level rise, and lower emissions.
Specifically, the new funding for MBTA’s North Station Renovation and the Draw One Bridge Replacement Project will support the full replacement of the existing drawbridge, the extension and activation of a platform with two tracks at North Station, and the replacement of track, signals, and switches to modernize and improve station infrastructure.
“With $472 million to replace the North Station drawbridge, we’re drawing up a new future for rail transit north of Boston. I’m grateful to the Biden-Harris administration, Governor Healey, General Manager Eng, Senator Warren, and our whole federal delegation for securing this funding. Together, we are delivering critical federal dollars to the T and building a modern, safe, and reliable public transit system for all,” said Senator Markey.
“This $472 million investment is a game-changer for the thousands of passengers who pass through North Station every day — and will build a safer, more reliable public transit system for the Commonwealth. Massachusetts leaders worked together to secure the largest ever federal award for the T, and I won’t stop fighting to bring home even more investment to improve transit across the Commonwealth,” said Senator Warren.
“We know that improving our transportation infrastructure is critical for improving quality of life and making sure Massachusetts remains the best place to live, work, raise a family and build a future,” said Governor Maura Healey. “That’s why our administration is competing so aggressively to win federal funding that can be put toward our roads, bridges and public transportation. Congratulations to General Manager Eng and the MBTA team for this award that will improve train service for millions of riders. We’re grateful to the Biden-Harris Administration and U.S. Department of Transportation for their continued investment in Massachusetts’ transportation infrastructure.”
The Draw One railbridge carries the MBTA Commuter Rail and Amtrak trains, serving approximately 11,250,000 passengers per year. It is particularly critical for Amtrak’s Downeaster, an intercity passenger rail service that travels from Maine and New Hampshire into Boston, which is projected to have some of the highest ridership in New England. Draw One is also a vital connection for all of MBTA’s north-side regional rail lines, including Fitchburg, Lowell, Haverhill, and Newburyport/Rockport. The new federal investment will improve service reliability and operations, reduce congestion along a known bottleneck, and increase capacity across the bridge. Additionally, the funding will allow for upgraded signaling and expanded track capabilities, further improving traffic flow.
“I am pleased to join my colleagues in government to announce the State of Massachusetts was awarded over $472 million in federal funding that will help improve MBTA and Amtrak services,” said Rep. Lynch. “This funding is the result of our hard work and partnership with the Biden-Harris administration to ensure we invest into our nation’s transportation and infrastructure. People all over the Commonwealth rely on public transportation every day, and this DOT grant is critical to make the necessary repairs and replacements that will make train service more safe and reliable.”
“This bridge is a critical connection point for the communities north of Boston. This federal investment will improve the quality of life for commuters, reduce traffic for everyone, and bring opportunity to the Commonwealth. We will have a faster, more modern, and more user-friendly public transportation system, and that’s exactly the direction we need to move in,” said Democratic Whip Katherine Clark.
“Transit justice is a racial and economic justice issue, and a matter of public safety – and this massive federal investment helps make the Commonwealth more connected and our transportation system safer and more reliable for commuters,” said Congresswoman Pressley. “I’m glad that families in the Massachusetts 7th who depend on the commuter rail will be better able to access jobs, healthcare, education, and essential services in other parts of the state, and we won’t stop fighting to build the more just, equitable, and accessible transit system our communities deserve. I thank my delegation colleagues and the Healey-Driscoll Administration for their partnership, and the Biden-Harris Administration for continuing to invest in Massachusetts.”
“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law continues to deliver unprecedented federal investments to make our transit systems safer and more efficient,” said Congresswoman Trahan. “This massive award is proof that, thanks to the strong partnership between our federal delegation and the Healey-Driscoll administration, Massachusetts continues to punch above our weight when competing for federal funding.”
“North Station Draw One is a connection point between Boston and Cambridge, and the many cities and towns north who rely on this train bridge to visit and work in our city. Thanks to the leadership of the MA federal delegation and the Healey-Driscoll administration in securing this funding, the Greater Boston area will see benefits from updated infrastructure and more reliable transportation. This funding for a bridge replacement represents our region’s commitment to our local economy and green transit,” said Mayor Michelle Wu.
“I’m proud of the MBTA team that worked diligently to put this project in a strong position to win this highly competitive federal award. I thank the USDOT Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Deputy Secretary of Transportation Polly Trottenberg, and our partners at the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Acting Administrator Veronica Vanterpool, FTA Region 1 Administrator Pete Butler, and their entire team, for this incredible award allowing us to deliver the North Station Draw 1 project, freeing up state capital dollars for other essential needs,” said MBTA General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng. “This award continues to demonstrate our aggressive approach to pursuing all funding opportunities under the lead of the Healey-Driscoll Administration as we pursue every available federal grant. Our Grants and North Station Drawbridge teams deserve all the credit for their exceptional work to secure this funding which allows us to ensure the efficient and reliable movement of all North Station train lines while greatly improving our ability to provide more frequent, regional rail-style service across the entire northside corridor to serve future generations to come.”
Uber launch new kerbside pick-up zone at Sydney Airport’s T1 International terminal
__Tuesday 24 September 2024 __
Sydney Airport’s opens new Uber kerbside pick-up zone located 20 metres from doors to the T1 International terminal
Pick-up zone leverages Uber’s PIN technology, only available at Sydney Airport and a first for NSW
New arrangements will set new standard for modern travel at Australia’s gateway
Starting today, passengers arriving at Sydney Airport’s T1 International terminal will be able to book an Uber trip on their smartphone and walk to the new dedicated pick-up zone located 20 metres from the terminal doors.
The new dedicated kerbside Uber pick-up zone features Uber’s PIN technology, with Sydney Airport’s T1 International terminal the first location in New South Wales to offer the new technology, delivering a faster and smoother journey for passengers arriving at Australia’s global gateway.
The new arrangements will also help ensure a more organised flow of both taxis and rideshare vehicles, while a new holding area for Uber vehicles located closer to the terminal will provide drivers with a dedicated space to wait for passengers.
Mark Zaouk, Sydney Airport’s Group Executive Commercial, said: “The popularity of rideshare has surged over the past few years¹, and it’s great to give passengers what they’ve been asking for which an Uber zone which is much closer to the terminals, in line with the experience at other major Australian and global airports.
“This innovation will redefine airport accessibility and set a new standard for modern travel at Australia’s gateway.”
Emma Foley, Managing Director, Uber ANZ said: “We are proud to partner with Sydney Airport to create an innovative, dedicated space for Uber pick-ups at the international terminal. This new zone will provide a smoother and more efficient experience for riders and drivers alike, and by using PIN, we can help Sydney Airport ease congestion at busy periods – perfect timing ahead of the peak school holiday travel period.”
Passengers using other rideshare providers will continue to access rides via the existing rideshare pick-up area, and arrangements for dropping off passengers remains the same. There are no changes for passengers being picked up by limousines or private cars.
Additionally, all ground transport operators who have passengers with mobility needs or disabilities will be able to use any one of four accessible pick-up spaces across the international precinct.
Notes to editor
¹Mode share changes over time at the T1 International terminal – ground transport
Rideshare pick-ups and drop offs
Taxi pick-ups and drop offs
Six months to June 2018
10%
57%
Six months to June 2023
32%
41%
Six months to June 2024
41%
27%
Uber kerbside pick-up zone at T1 International terminal
New Uber pick-up zone located in the south end of the T1 taxi area There will be seven pick-up bays at the T1 kerbside Disability access bay for taxis remains in place at Taxi Rank B, parallel to Uber pick-up bays
New arrangement will:
Improve the customer experience at T1 and provide more choice;
Improve pedestrian safety and provide a shorter distance between the terminal and Uber pick-up area;
Reduce congestion in the existing rideshare pick-up location; and reduce recirculation times.
Uber PIN Technology:
Uber PIN technology allows Uber driver-partners and riders to be connected via the app with a PIN rather than by a rider finding a pre-assigned vehicle.
How it works:
Request an Uber trip to receive a six-digit personal identification number (PIN).
Walk to the Uber pick-up zone in front of the International terminal, and either go to the first available car, or at busier times, join the queue.
Share your unique PIN with the driver-partner and verify vehicle and driver-partner details before you get into the vehicle.
Sydney Airport Uber pick-up maps can be accessed here.
Released by: Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Regional NSW, Minister for Western New South Wales
The Minns Government is continuing work to support Western NSW communities with the announcement today the $2 million subsidy scheme for commercial flights in Western NSW will continue at least until November 2025.
The agreement will allow for the continuation of subsidies on flights from Dubbo to Bourke, Walgett and Lightning Ridge operated by Air Link and from Sydney to Cobar operated by FlyPelican.
The NSW Government and the Far North-West Joint Organisation (FNWJO) subsidy agreement will provide residents, workers and industry in Western NSW with continued access to air services helping to reduce travel times in rural and remote NSW.
Subsidised air travel is vital for the delivery of essential services such as health, childcare, justice, family and community services, with doctors, specialists, nurses and social workers among the frequent fliers travelling to and from Western NSW.
As part of the Government’s continued commitment to Western NSW, work is also underway to deliver the Regional Development Trust $15 million Airstrips Improvement Package.
The package will upgrade rural and remote airstrips to improve access for emergency services, health professionals and other essential services in some of the most remote parts of the state.
An audit of remote and rural airstrips across 19 local government areas and the unincorporated area in Western NSW is underway to prioritise those most in need of upgrades.
Work on the airstrips and related infrastructure is expected to start before the end of the year.
Minister for Agriculture, Regional NSW and Western NSW, Tara Moriarty said:
“For Sydneysiders, air travel is an easily accessible convenience but for people living in Western NSW it is not so easy.
“This funding will help commercial operators offer a two-way service connecting regional NSW with essential workers, trades, and services that they often depend on.
Independent member for Barwon, Roy Butler said:
“Western Air Services flights provide people in remote areas with much-needed access to health services, social engagements, and major economic benefits to our primary industries.
“For many people in my electorate these flights are not a luxury but an absolute necessity, especially given the vast distances people need to cover in the west of the state.
“I want to thank the Minister for her understanding of the importance of this issue when I raised it with her, and for her following through to ensure the continuation of these vital air services.”
Retiring Far North-West Joint Organisation Chairman, Councillor Barry Hollman said:
“This is a very exciting announcement, and I thank the NSW Government and particularly the Minister for Western NSW, the Hon Tara Moriarty, MLC for her responsiveness.
“Just as commuters on the recently opened Metro in Sydney described the new train service as ‘transformational’ and ‘life changing’, the same can be said about the provision of these air services to the remote far North West area of the State.
“The Government has certainly gone the extra mile to assist our remote communities.
“Today we welcome this announcement from the NSW Government and we look forward to continuing to service these critical flights for the far North West region and its communities.
“Flight services to our remote regions are critical, and we are very pleased with today’s announcement to ensure the far North West region remains connected.”
General Manager, Air Link Airlines, Ron O’Brien said:
“This funding plays a crucial role in maintaining reliable air services that are lifelines for the communities of Bourke, Walgett, and Lightning Ridge.
“Regional air services help to bridge distances and improve quality of life for residents in regional NSW by facilitating economic development and enhanced connectivity for businesses and residents alike.
Headline: NSW Government invests $750,000 to improve coastal fish habitat
Published: 24 September 2024
Released by: Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Regional NSW
The Minns Labor Government is continuing to invest in on-ground activities to improve fish habitat and recreational fishing in NSW, with more than $750,000 in grants awarded to five innovative coastal projects.
The Flagship Fish Habitat Rehabilitation Grant program provides funding for large-scale projects that significantly enhance fish habitat, water quality and fish passage opportunities within the coastal catchments of NSW.
This includes projects to significantly rehabilitate river banks and coastal wetlands, remove or modify barriers to fish passage and construct fishways, re-snag waterways and undertake remediation works including riverbank stabilisation.
After assessing applications for the 2023-24 grants round, a total of $756,947 is being awarded to five projects:
$109,222 to Nambucca Valley Landcare to improve fish habitat and reduce risks to water quality in the Nambucca River by restoring an eroding riverbank;
$169,150 to OzFish Unlimited to rehabilitate an area of critical fish habitat in the Bellinger River catchment together with recreational fishers;
$158,000 to Rous County Council to restore 1,600m2 of complex fish habitat and a popular bass fishing destination on Bungawalbyn Creek;
$261,275 to Port Macquarie Hastings Council to stabilize an eroded area, improve shoreline vegetation and enable access for recreational fishers on the Hastings River estuary;
$59,300 to Shoalhaven City Council to complete design and plans for a living shoreline including accessible and resilient foreshore, and oyster reef restoration on the Crookhaven River.
The grants are part of the Government’s ongoing work to grow recreational fishing opportunities by enhancing the habitats that fish need to thrive.
Since the inception of the Flagship Grant Program in 2016, almost $3 million from the Recreational Fishing Trust has been invested in coastal aquatic habitat rehabilitation, water quality improvement and fish passage opportunities.
Minister for Agriculture and Regional NSW Tara Moriarty said:
“These Flagship grants allow fishing clubs, non-Government organisations and other agencies to tackle large, complex projects that will safeguard and enhance local fish habitats and recreational fisheries.
“Improved habitat means better opportunities for fish and therefore better opportunities for recreational fishers.
“This program is yet another excellent example of how recreational fishing fees are helping to support and improve sustainable fisheries in NSW.”
More information on Flagship Habitat Rehabilitation Grants is available here.
Headline: Call for more mates to support Port Macquarie’s Sailability
Published: 24 September 2024
Released by: Minister for Agriculture
The Port Macquarie community group, Sailability, is calling for volunteers ahead of this year’s sailing season, as the club prepares to take to the Hastings River again on Wednesday 25 September.
Sailability is a volunteer organisation whose mission is to offer people with varying abilities freedom on the water.
The club uses a fleet of specially designed sailing dinghies with simplified controls and enhanced stability to hold weekly sailing days for people living with physical and mental disability.
The club received $55,920 from the NSW Government to extend its carpark and complete landscaping around its new boat shed and accessible amenities block, as well as to install six accessible picnic tables in McInherney Park.
The not-for-profit club is the only organisation of its kind in the area and its 80 volunteers cater to approximately 60 sailors each week.
The group provides its services at no charge, with sailors coming from disability support units at local schools in Port Macquarie, Wauchope, Laurieton and Kempsey, as well as disability service providers, aged care facilities and private enquiries.
Census statistics for show there are approximately 6,000 people with serious or profound disability in the Port Macquarie area, and the club struggles to meet the demand for its services.
People keen to get involved in volunteering with the club can attend McInherney Park on Wednesdays between September and May to learn more, or go to www.sailabilitypm.com.au and click the Contact Us tab.
Minister for Agriculture and Regional NSW, Tara Moriarty said:
“This fantastic community group is really making waves in terms of improving quality of life for people in the Port Macquarie area with disability.
“It’s wonderful to see people experience a sense of achievement and improved self-confidence and self-esteem through their participation in Sailability’s program.”
Parliamentary Secretary for Disability Inclusion, Liesl Tesch* said:
“Sailability is a beacon of hope and inclusion in Port Macquarie. By fostering a sense of belonging on the water, they’re not only enhancing the lives of people with disability but also enriching the entire community.”
“The amazing volunteers at Sailability do such important work helping build confidence and resilience for so many people in the region each week.”
*Liesl Tesch is a seven-time Paralympian including winning two gold medals in sailing
Sailability Port Macquarie volunteer Rick Eller said:
“The club has come a long way from humble beginnings when it launched in December 2012, we were using two borrowed boats at the time, we had a handful of volunteers, and we were borrowing life jackets from the SES or emergency services here in Port Macquarie.
“The best part about working for Sailability is the expressions and the smiles when the people who’ve been sailing come back to the pontoon, that’s what makes it all worthwhile.”
Sailability Port Macquarie Vice President Julie Constable said:
“It’s extremely important that people are aware that people with a disability are very able and keen to get out into society so something like this is off great benefit to the community.”
Case study: Vision impaired sailor – Kathryn Stephens
Sailability Port Macquarie
Kathryn has been sailing with the Port Macquarie group since it began.
In October, Kathryn will set course for Southport to compete in the Hansa Class Asia Pacific Championships.
Kathryn has previously competed in the state para championships, coming second behind the world champion in the doubles.
She has also placed third in the Middle Harbour Yacht Club inclusive classes regatta alongside a sailing partner from another branch of Sailability.
Quotes attributable to Kathryn Stephens:
“Participating in sailing has opened up a whole new world of opportunities for me.
“I love the whole idea of being out on the water, the sensation and the sound and just the feel of sailing because I can’t see what I’m doing so it’s all by sound and feel, and just the freedom of being out on the water, it’s a great sensation.
“The people come from all sorts of different backgrounds and interests and it’s just wonderful to catch up with them as well as meeting other sailing participants every week and we just have a great time and it’s a really lovely community and it’s got a really great feel about it.”
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanna Mendelssohn, Honorary Senior Fellow, School of Culture and Communication. Editor in chief, Design and Art of Australia Online, The University of Melbourne
The Nelson Packer Tank, that cavernous space at the very bottom of the Art Gallery of NSW’s Naala Badu building, has been waiting for art like this.
The former World War II oil storage tank is huge, held together by rows of structural columns. Their dominance means it is just not possible for viewers to have an unimpeded fields of vision for any art on display. Then there are the acoustics. Every sound resonates, but few carry far.
This is a room of echoes, embedded in the dark.
In this space Angelica Mesiti, an Australian living in France, has created The Rites of When: an event that rethinks ancient rituals of seasonal celebrations, while also marking the terrible changes wrought on our heating planet. Her tools are video, performers, music and song – all modified by the unique whispering echoes of the Tank.
The sky, and the snow
As the title implies, Mesiti has used the structure of Stravinski’s The rite of spring as one of the elements in her great design. But she shows a world far removed from mythical Russian peasants.
Each of the two movements are preceded by “Celestial Nebula”, where abstract forms of light dissolve into a vision of the night sky, presented on seven giant video screens.
This is not the sky as seen by city dwellers, where artificial light eliminates the stars, but rather the Milky Way in all its glory, with its hero stars which we call the Seven Sisters, but people in the northern hemisphere call the Pleiades.
Mesiti has said one of her inspirations was that, when COVID came, she and her partner began to spend time away from Paris in rural France. Here she came to know the night sky, and to see both the rhythms and the realities of rural life.
In the first movement, a dazzling starscape is gradually bleached by artificial light, which transforms into sunlight, and the viewer is looking at drone footage of a snow-capped pine forest which we then zoom through.
The dominant columns of The Tank combine with the straight tree trunks of this plantation forest give a sense of visual ambiguity. With the all surrounding sound, it is hard to work out where the screened image ends and where the columns begin.
A sudden shift of mood in the music, and the viewers are plunged into the middle of a Brueghel-like celebration of people dancing in the winter solstice. The colours are warm, the rustic dancers are wearing decorations made of the fruits of the field. They dance around a bonfire made from wooden planks, they form a procession with an effigy of a horned beast, stuffed with fireworks.
The fireworks and the dancers become a frenzy of ever increasing movement of rhythmic sound which explodes into dazzling white silence.
Capturing the summer solstice
When she was discussing The Rites of When at the media preview, Mesiti casually mentioned how hard it had been to film the snowy forest as, for the first time ever, winter was so mild it hardly snowed at all on the pine plantations of the Jura Mountains.
Global heating added an extra element when filming the summer solstice.
At first the viewer sees the seven screens as giant patterns of gold, marked by elegant patterns of vertical lines. Perspective changes when a tiny toy moving up one of the screens is revealed to be a harvester. This is a drone’s eye view of a wheat harvest in modern industrial scale farming. As the fields are slowly stripped of their crop, a puff of smoke appears, then a line of fire, and the gold is steadily eaten away to become charcoal.
This was not planned. Europe was so hot and dry last June that a single spark from a harvester grinding a stray stone turned the wheat to ash. Monoculture, so effectively described by those endless flat golden fields, has no defence against nature.
The mood of the music changes and golden smoke covering the wheat dissolves into golden light. A small, solemn procession appears and moves across each screen in turn. They elevate each member in turn, in a quiet ritual performance.
The colours of the background change with their movement– from gold, to red, to purple, to blue. As they reach the last screen the blue fades to grey, to rain.
In the silence, a single hand on a single screen snaps fingers. On the other side of the room, another responds. Now there is a rhythmic orchestra clicking, clapping and slapping – ever faster, ever louder. The hands become dancers, moving in a wild ecstatic dance of increasing intensity, as the bodies are caught up with the music and the light.
In her notes, Mesiti calls this section “Ecstatic Collectivity”. It seems an apt description.
At the very end, Mesiti returns us to the pure colours of the Celestial Nebula. Perhaps she is saying the folly of humanity may change the moods of the earth, but the stars will endure forever.
The Rites of When lasts just over 30 minutes. Because it is so dependent on its location, this is a piece that cannot travel. It is worth the price of an air fare.
The Rites of When is at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, until May 11 2025.
Joanna Mendelssohn has in the past received funding from the Australian Research Council.
This piece is the final of a three part series on Australia’s defamation laws. You can read the other pieces here and here.
Defamation laws exist to strike a balance between press freedom and the protection of people’s reputations from wrongful harm. In Australia, this balance has always been loaded against press freedom.
This is due partly to the way the defamation laws have been framed and partly by the way the courts have interpreted them.
Courts examine matters of journalism in the same way they examine matters of law: forensically, with strict rules and high standards of evidence and proof.
While we rightly expect ethical and honest reporting from our media, even the best can prove insufficient under the piercing gaze of defamation law. And in a time when media companies are more cash-strapped than ever, this has a chilling effect on the stories that get told and press freedom more broadly.
Ethics vs the law
Until 2006, each Australian jurisdiction had its own defamation laws. This created a nightmare of complexity for publishers, especially of newspapers and broadcasts that crossed state boundaries, which meant all the main media organisations.
They had to take into account the risks posed by litigation in the jurisdiction least favourable to press freedom.
For many decades, that was New South Wales. It was one of the states where truth alone was not a sufficient defence; there also had to be a public interest in the material. In some other jurisdictions this was called public benefit.
This was a major burden on press freedom and it was removed by the introduction of uniform defamation laws in 2006.
Since then, it has been enough for publishers to prove the substantial truth of the meanings conveyed in an article in order for the defence of truth to succeed.
It may sound straightforward, but proving substantial truth requires producing admissible evidence strong enough to satisfy the civil standard of proof: on the balance of probabilities. That usually means having documents and witnesses who are willing to be identified.
If, as is often the case, the article has drawn on evidence from a confidential source, the publisher is unable to put that source in the witness box because to do so would breach the media’s fundamental ethical obligation to protect the identity of confidential sources.
So unless the source is prepared in advance to be identified should the matter come to court, a story relying significantly on that person’s testimony may not see the light of day unless some other defence is available.
In 2021, those defences were expanded, although quite how significant that expansion turns out to be remains to be seen.
What appears on paper to be the most significant change was the introduction of a general public interest defence. This says that if publication of a story is in the public interest, and the publisher has a reasonable belief that it is, then publication can be defended on that ground.
There has been only one major test of that new defence, and it went against the media.
That case showed “reasonable belief” depended on the journalism being sound. In this case, the court found that the defendant, which was the ABC, had relied on shaky testimony that had not been sufficiently verified and had not given the subject of the story a fair opportunity to respond.
At odds with practicalities
This brings us to the question of how the courts interpret the law.
One of the big disappointments in this respect has been the way the courts have interpreted what, at the time, was hoped to be a significant addition to Australia’s threadbare free-speech jurisprudence.
In a case brought against the ABC by a late prime minister of New Zealand, David Lange, the High Court established the principle that freedom of speech on matters of government and politics trumped a person’s case for protection for their reputation.
If a person wanted to sue for defamation, they had to do so in a way that did not burden freedom of speech on matters of government and politics.
However, the High Court attached a test of reasonableness to this freedom. In several ways, it’s similar to the “reasonable belief” test in the new public interest defence.
Unfortunately, successive courts have applied the Lange reasonableness test in ways that are so strict they require journalists to meet standards demanding more powers of investigation than they possess or to exceed the usual journalistic standards of verification. Journalists can’t subpoena documents or compel people to speak to them.
The result is that this defence has become more or less a dead letter for journalistic purposes.
Is a story worth the cost?
Those accused of defamation can also defend it by saying it was comment or honest opinion. The first requirement of this defence is that the material be a comment and not a statement of fact.
But courts have interpreted this in different ways.
This uncertainty was illustrated by a famous case that became known as “Leo the Lobster”. A restaurant and restaurateur in Sydney successfully sued the Sydney Morning Herald over a review of a lobster dinner written by one Leo Schofield.
Schofield, who was a colourful writer, said the lobster had been overcooked:
the carbonized claws contained only a kind of white powder which might have been albino walrus.
Despite the amusing language, the court interpreted that as a literal factual description, not a statement of opinion.
Courts have a limited sense of humour, which makes satirical writing a chancy business, since the sharper the satire, the closer it is to literal truth.
Cartoons, which are satirical by definition, have more leeway but are not immune to defamation suits.
Then there’s the costs of defamation, particularly for media outlets. They’ve become exorbitant.
It has been estimated that the costs involved in the case brought by Ben Roberts-Smith against The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times amounted to about $25 million. The newspapers won, although the matter has gone to appeal.
But even if the verdict is upheld, experience shows it is unlikely they will recoup anything like their full costs.
At a time when all major news media organisations are under acute financial pressure because of the inroads the internet has made on their revenue, there is a strong temptation not to risk publishing material the public has a right to know because of the financial impact an action for defamation would have.
Denis Muller 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.
Source: New South Wales Department of Primary Industries
24 Sep 2024
Nearly 100 students from across regional NSW gathered at Wagga Wagga Agriculture Institute to take part in the final session of a NSW Government Agtech program immersing kids with cutting-edge agricultural technologies.
The final event of the 2024 Agtech Schools Immersion Program took place today, with dozens of eager students participating in six workshop rotations covering everything from feed testing and livestock EID to field equipment including Swarmbot, handheld infrared sensors and drones.
The Agtech Schools Immersion Program has provided students an opportunity to visit NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) research institutes and participate in hands-on learning at TAFE NSW where they design model smart farms, use drone mapping, and learn to use data and artificial intelligence to analyse weather patterns.
The delivery of this program would not have been possible without the considerable support provided by the Charles Sturt University’s Global Digital Farm team over the course of the program at Wagga.
This final event followed a series of excursions held in Tamworth and Orange throughout August, showcasing the program’s commitment to equipping students with essential skills and hands-on experience in using agricultural technology.
NSW DPIRD Schools Program Coordinator Michelle Fifield said these sessions help spark interest, drive innovation and attract investment, contributing to the growth and development of the agricultural technology sector.
“Giving students hands-on experience with Agtech helps provide them with the right tools and enables them to gain essential skills, opening the door for more opportunities for those looking to enter agricultural industries,” Ms. Fifield said.
“This experience not only allowed these students to explore innovative tools but also deepened their understanding of how Agtech is shaping the future of farming and how this technology can be used practically.
“The excitement and enthusiasm we’ve witnessed over the course of the program is a testament to the bright future of our agricultural industry and the willingness of the participants in furthering their skills with agricultural technologies.
“By investing in our youth and their education in Agtech, we are ensuring a sustainable and innovative future for agriculture in NSW.”
The Agtech Workforce Development Strategy is part of the NSW Government’s ongoing work to invest in skills and employment to future-proof the agriculture sector.
This event is being delivered by the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and Training Services NSW under the Targeted Workforce Development Scheme.
Liverpool City Council is consulting on future options for its Council Tax Support Scheme affecting working age people.
Council Tax Support is a discount which helps households on low incomes with their Council Tax bill.
Around a third of households in Liverpool are in receipt of Council Tax support and the scheme costs £74 million a year to operate.
Applying the discount affects the amount of Council Tax the Council receives and also has an impact on the amount of Council Tax that all households in the city pay.
The scheme has not been reviewed since it started in 2013, despite changes to welfare benefits and Council funding over this period.
Like all local authorities the Council has a number of financial challenges. The proposals enable the Council to provide a scheme that is financially sustainable in future years.
The aim is to have a scheme that supports those on the lowest incomes, enables residents to budget, is easy to understand, provides incentives for people moving into work, and is future proofed in terms of its cost.
The current scheme is means tested and entitlement is calculated by comparing the money coming into a household with the amount the Government says the household needs to live on.
The Council’s aim, through its proposed changes, is to simplify the rules so that people know how much their Council Tax bill will be reduced by over a year, enabling them to budget. The proposed changes will also align with Universal Credit and provide some certainty for people moving into–or out of work– whilst continuing to provide support to those that need it most.
The proposals do not affect the Council Tax Support Scheme for pensioner households, the rules for which are controlled by central Government.
There are four options being consulted on:
Option 1
Keep the existing Council Tax Support Scheme with no changes.
Option 2
Make limited changes to the Council Tax Support Scheme, including:
Changing the maximum discount given
Simplifying deductions for the amount deducted from Council Tax Support for another adult living in the property
Providing a 12-month award so there is no need to report every change in income
Supporting people who move into work by allowing them to stay in the same band for 12 months
Capping the maximum award level to Council Tax band B or C, for those in the higher bands C/D, E, F, G or H properties
Changing the length of time that an award can be backdated
Option 3
Introduce a simple banded scheme based on net earnings only, aligning with Universal Credit, which gives a lower level of discount (support) for those on higher net earnings.
Option 3 Monthly Net Earnings Bands
Band Support Monthly Earnings
1 84% £0
2 60% £0.01-£400
3 40% £401-£800
4 20% £801-£1,200
5 10% £1,201-£1,500
– 0% More than £1,500
It also includes:
Simplifying non-dependant deductions (the amount deducted from Council Tax support for another adult living in the property)
Providing a 12-month award so there is no need to report every change in income
Supporting people who move into work by allowing them to stay in the same band for 12 months
Capping the maximum award level to Council Tax band B or C, for those in the higher bands C/D, E, F, G or H properties
Changing the length of time that an award can be backdated
Option 4
Introducing a simple income band scheme based on net earnings and household composition, aligning with Universal Credit.
This option is designed to reflect the different needs of different types of household.
The scheme has four bands with the level of award, varying with net earnings and household composition. To reflect the different levels of need, the upper and lower limits of the net earnings bands will be different for different types of household, such as single people, couples, or households with children.
For couples, the upper and lower limits in the net earning bands will be extended by £50 per week. For households with children, the upper and lower limits to the net earnings bands will be extended by £25 per child per week, with no limit on the number of child additions.
Option 4 Monthly Net Earnings Bands
Band Support Monthly Earnings
1 84% £0
2 60% £0.01-£400
3 40% £401-£800
4 20% £801-£1,200
5 10% £1,201-£1,500
*Households with more than £1,500 in net monthly earnings would receive no support
It also includes:
Simplifying non-dependant deductions (the amount deducted from Council Tax support for another adult living in the property)
Providing a 12-month award so there is no need to report every change in income
Supporting people who move into work by allowing them to stay in the same band for 12 months
Capping the maximum award level to Council Tax band B or C, for those in the higher bands C/D, E, F, G or H properties.
Changing the length of time that an award can be backdated.
Following the consultation, a report will be sent to a Full Council meeting to make a final decision in January 2025.
Deputy Council Leader, Cllr Ruth Bennett, said: “We are hugely proud of the range of welfare support we offer to the most vulnerable residents in Liverpool.
“We have not reviewed the Council Tax Support Scheme for more than a decade, as a result the current system is complex for residents to understand and does not target support to those who most need it. We want to build a system which works for our residents.
“We want to look at how we can simplify the scheme and make it more easily understandable for those who receive assistance.
“We are also looking at how to give residents more certainty, for example by giving them a settlement for the whole year, rather than them having to report any changes in their income to us. This is not just time consuming for them, but is also costly to administer for the Council.
“We also want to support people into work. We will do this by providing some certainty so whe residents go into work they will retain the same award of Council Tax Support for a full 12 months before it is reassessed.
“We want residents’ feedback on the options before we make a final decision later on this year, with the changes being introduced from April 2025.”
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hannah Dahlen, Professor of Midwifery, Associate Dean Research and HDR, Midwifery Discipline Leader, Western Sydney University
A new study from Canada has found women who agree to carry and birth babies in surrogacy arrangements face a higher risk of complications than other pregnant women.
These women were at two to three times the risk of health problems such as postpartum haemorrhages and pre-eclampsia. They were also more likely to give birth prematurely.
With an increasing number of people in Australia and elsewhere having children via surrogacy arrangements, what can we make of these findings?
First, what is surrogacy?
Surrogacy is a situation where a woman becomes pregnant and gives birth to a baby (or babies) for another person or a couple in a planned arrangement.
The first is where the pregnant woman is the full biological mother, with the child conceived using her own egg (sometimes called “traditional” or “genetic” surrogacy).
The second is where the pregnant woman is not the genetic mother and the child is conceived using the egg of a different woman (called “gestational surrogacy”).
Gestational surrogacy involves the transfer of an embryo or embryos into the uterus of a woman who has agreed to carry and birth the child using in vitro fertilisation (IVF). Gestational surrogacy is now the most common form of surrogacy arrangement in Australia.
The new study looked at gestational surrogacy specifically.
What the researchers did
The study, published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, was retrospective. This means it used existing data that is gathered routinely on people using health services.
It included 863,017 women who had a single baby between April 2012 and March 2021 (multiple births were excluded).
The researchers compared outcomes for women and babies where the pregnancy was achieved naturally, those who got pregnant using IVF, and those who were pregnant in a gestational surrogacy arrangement where the woman had no genetic link to the baby.
Most babies were conceived naturally, 16,087 were IVF pregnancies, and 806 women were pregnant in gestational surrogacy arrangements.
The researchers found pregnant women in gestational surrogacy arrangements had a rate of severe maternal complications of 7.8%, more than three times the rate of those who became pregnant naturally (2.3%) and almost twice the rate among those who got pregnant through IVF (4.3%).
These risks included postpartum haemorrhage (losing excessive amounts of blood following the birth), severe pre-eclampsia (high blood pressure associated with pregnancy) and serious postpartum infection (sepsis). There was also a higher risk of the baby being born preterm (before 37 weeks) in gestational surrogacy situations.
The researchers attempted to take into account differences between the three groups like age, weight, health problems and socioeconomic status, which can all influence the risk of complications for pregnant women and their babies. Despite this, they still saw these concerning results.
Why might the risk be higher?
Previous research looking at outcomes with gestational surrogacy has had mixed results. But it is thought the reason risks could be greater for the woman and baby in gestational surrogacy arrangements may be because the baby is genetically unrelated to the woman.
Pregnancy has a strong impact on the immune system. During pregnancy, women’s immune systems are altered so they do not reject the growing baby.
An imbalanced or overactive immune response can contribute to pregnancy complications including preterm birth and pre-eclampsia. Having a baby with different genetic material may affect a woman’s immune response during pregnancy, and increase the risk of complications in this way.
Some limitations
Only women having a single baby were included in the study, so we don’t know the outcomes where a multiple pregnancy was involved. However, multiple birth is common in surrogacy, and there are increased risks associated with multiple births for women and babies.
Also, the study includes a relatively small number of women pregnant in a gestational surrogacy arrangement (806), meaning there’s an increased risk for statistical error and limited ability to detect rare outcomes.
People may use a surrogate to have a baby for a range of reasons. Lopolo/Shutterstock
Ethical questions
An increasing number of Australians are having children via surrogacy arrangements. This is due to a combination of factors including a decline in adoption, women delaying motherhood, and increased social acceptability of male same-sex parenting.
Australia only allows altruistic surrogacy, where the woman who agrees to have the baby for others is not paid.
However, some other countries allow women to be paid to become pregnant for others (commercial surrogacy). Concern regarding the exploitation of women via commercial surrogacy is such that Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory have made it illegal for residents to travel overseas to engage in commercial surrogacy.
Even so, most Australia children born as a result of surrogacy arrangements are born through overseas commercial surrogacy.
Despite some limitations, this research indicates increased risks for women becoming pregnant in gestational surrogacy arrangements, and the babies they carry. It seems important the potentially elevated risks should be made clear to women considering carrying and birthing a baby for someone else, and to the prospective parents.
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.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 3
David Lammy calls for responsible global leadership in UK national statement.
Location:
United Nations, New York
Delivered on:
(Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)
Mr President, I stand here as a man of multiple identities.
A Londoner. A patriotic Brit. A lawyer.
Proud of my African, Guyanese, Caribbean and Indian heritage.
A committed multilateralist, who believes in the importance of the United Nations.
I agree with my great predecessor, Ernie Bevin, when he said in 1945:
“Our eyes should be fixed upon the United Nations… All nations of the world should be united to look that way.”
The purposes and principles of the UN remain as indispensable today as in Bevin’s time.
Our task is to recapture that founding spirit so that when we reach the UN’s centenary, their legacy endures.
But we cannot ignore the challenges we face. More conflicts than at any time since 1945, costing the global economy over 900 billion dollars, and creating the most refugees and displaced people on record.
Geopolitical tensions arising. Progress against the Sustainable Development Goals stalling. Trust in multilateralism faltering.
The Pact for the Future and this Summit offer a chance for Member States to show responsible global leadership, to engage with the rapid changes of our age, and go further in meeting the needs of everyone – especially the most vulnerable.
As I know all too well, countries of the Global South suffered great injustices in the past. And I have heard repeatedly how frustrated partners are by the unfairness of the global system.
We cannot ignore these frustrations. We must act.
First, as the Secretary-General has said, we need greater collective efforts to prevent and end conflict. For Britain, that means upholding Ukraine’s sovereignty, urging an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon, and supporting an end to the fighting in Sudan.
It means robustly challenging Member States who violate the Charter, rejecting a world in which might makes right.
It means a more representative Security Council.
It means supporting the international rule of law, and applying it equally and fairly which is why Britain has proposed the outstanding Professor Dapo Akande for election as a judge at the International Court of Justice.
Second, we need urgent action on the climate and nature crisis.
With this new Government, Britain is renewing our ambitions at home, aiming to deliver clean power by 2030.
And I am determined that we also reconnect abroad, building a Global Clean Power Alliance, championing creativity and reforms to unlock international climate and nature finance, particularly from the private sector, and bolstering efforts to protect at least thirty per cent of the planet’s land and ocean by 2030.
Third, countries like Britain must modernise our approach to development.
This Government believes partnership, not paternalism, is the way to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals.
Making best use of technology and innovation. Putting indigenous people and local communities, including women and girls, at the centre of decision-making on development programmes.
Driving faster reform of the global financial system to strengthen the voice of the most vulnerable and tackle unsustainable debt.
Friends, action on conflict, climate and poverty. Delivered by a reformed multilateral system. This is the path to peace and prosperity on a liveable planet.
All over the world, in every war zone, every refugee camp, the UN is there. A beacon of hope and humanity to which, as Bevin said, the gaze of all nations should turn.
This Summit must direct the world’s eyes towards that beacon once again. And Britain is proud to support it.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Nairobi Securities Exchange launches partnership with UK development investor as UK trade lead visits Nairobi.
His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Kenya, John Humphrey, rings the trading bell alongside (L-R) Dave Portmann of MOBILIST, Frank Mwiti CEO of NSE, Mary Njuguna of FSD Africa, John Humphrey HMTC, Paul Mwai Vice Chairman of NSE, Bansri Pattni of AIB-AXYs, Daniel Warutere of Capital Markets Authority.
Tuesday 24, September – The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) and UK government programme MOBILIST, have announced a new partnership at a launch event in Nairobi. The launch was attended by His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Africa, John Humphrey, at the start of a three-day visit to Kenya.
The partnership aims to drive the listing of new investment products in the Kenyan market and increase the amount of private sector capital available for development and climate projects in Kenya, and generate growth.
MOBILIST, an innovative part of the UK Government’s investment partnerships offer, provides investment and technical assistance to help businesses that contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to overcome the barriers that keep them from listing on a stock exchange.
The programme has similar partnerships with several emerging market exchanges, including the Nigerian Exchange and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), and will consider applications from eligible Kenyan firms.
Trade Commissioner Humphrey’s visit to Kenya, which comes after recent trips to Egypt and Ethiopia, will focus on delivering long-term investment projects that support the UK-Kenya Strategic Partnership – an ambitious five-year agreement that is unlocking mutual economic benefits for the UK and Kenya, without loading Kenya with unsustainable debt.
In Nairobi he will meet the Cabinet Secretary for Investments, Trade and Industry, H.E Salim Mvurya, to drive forward the implementation of flagship UK-Kenya climate projects that support President Ruto’s Africa Green Industrialisation Initiative (AGII). He will also launch the British Business Breakfast Club, to listen to the challenges facing British-Kenyan enterprises.
Mr Humphrey will also visit Naivasha to meet one of Kenya’s biggest exporters of cut flowers, Flamingo Flowers – a British business that employs 11,000 people in Kenya. They are benefitting from the global suspension of the 8% export tariff for cut flowers entering the UK, an example of the UK supporting markets that matter to Kenya, by removing barriers in areas which aim to have an immediate economic impact.
His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Africa, John Humphrey, said:
Mobilising investment solutions in Kenya are vital to economic growth as they provide a platform for Kenyan businesses to raise the capital they need to expand their operations, increase cross-border trade, and employ more Kenyans – and at the same tackle climate change and achieve critical development goals.
Long-term investments that deliver lasting change for the people of both our countries are the cornerstone of the UK-Kenya economic relationship. We go far when we go together – I am delighted to be back in Kenya to deliver our mutually beneficial partnership which is rooted in respect.
Nairobi Securities Exchange CEO, Frank Mwiti, said:
The NSE is delighted to partner with the UK government-backed MOBILIST Programme. The strategic partnership between the NSE and MOBILIST aligns with our new strategic focus aimed at enabling the NSE to play a more dynamic role in mobilising and channelling capital to sectors that have the most significant capital needs, with a special focus on sustainable development. As a market, we will continue providing a pivotal intersection connecting capital to investment-grade opportunities in Kenya for sustained economic growth
MOBILIST Programme Lead at the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Ross Ferguson, said:
Public markets in Kenya and other African economies hold great untapped potential to mobilise the private capital the continent urgently needs to gain ground in addressing the SDGs and the severe impact of climate change. MOBILIST is proud to partner with the NSE in building a local capital market that can give the African firms working on these challenges access to the capital they need to grow.
A flagship UK government programme, MOBILIST supports investment solutions that help deliver the climate transition and the United Nation’s Global Goals in developing economies. MOBILIST focuses on mobilising institutional capital to spur new scalable and replicable financial products. MOBILIST invests capital, delivers technical assistance, conducts research and builds partnerships to catalyse investment in new listed products. www.mobilistglobal.com
MOBILIST is a key part of the British Investment Partnerships (BIP) offer. BIP is a UK initiative which brings together the UK’s economic development and investment offer, and combines development finance, capital market mobilisation and export finance with the best of UK technical expertise, and a partnerships approach.
Buffer zones will protect patients and staff from intimidation and harassment.
More in Health
The introduction of safe access zones, or ‘buffer zones’, to stop anti-choice protesters from targeting abortion service providers is a crucial day for healthcare and reproductive rights in Scotland, says Scottish Green MSP Gillian Mackay.
The zones, which will go live today, were introduced as a result of Ms Mackay’s Safe Access Zones Scotland Act, which was passed in June with the support of 118 MSPs from across the Chamber.
From today, there will be 200 metre wide safe access zones, or buffer zones, around abortion service providers to stop the intimidating anti-choice protests that have taken place across Scotland.
Ms Mackay said: “This is a crucial day for reproductive rights and healthcare in Scotland. I hope that it will be the end of the intimidation and harassment we have seen of people who are accessing healthcare.
“Right from the first moment I saw footage of the protests, I could see how much damage they were doing and how many people were being impacted by them. I knew that I had to do everything I could to stop them.
“Over the days and weeks ahead, I will be working with the Scottish Government to ensure that patients and staff know where protesters can and can’t be so that they can report any activity that is against the law.
“I am grateful to everyone who has supported the introduction of buffer zones, whether that is MSPs and Ministers or campaign groups like Back Off Scotland. I am particularly grateful to the many people who shared what I know were often difficult and traumatic stories with me.
“I hope that this is a turning point and the beginning of the end of the protests, and that nobody else will have to endure them.”
People are being asked for their opinions in a project to improve lighting across Dundee city centre at night-time.
The city council has appointed consultants Arup to review lighting in the city centre, and also to make recommendations and proposals to enhance the environment for both residents and visitors.
As part of this process, a survey has been launched to gather specific information about key areas and experiences of the city centre.
The council is developing a lighting masterplan as part of its long-term City Centre Strategic Investment Plan in a bid to create a unique and vibrant atmosphere. It was agreed on Monday that the first steps to illuminate the facade of the Caird Hall will go ahead.
Councillor Steven Rome, Fair Work, Economic Growth and Infrastructure convener, said: “Our drive to make Dundee city centre a more attractive place has already seen lights installed in Exchange Street alongside a number of improvements under the City Lights & City Nights concept including external lighting at The McManus.
“This survey will help to inform the development of our lighting masterplan and subsequent proposals. It touches on topics like safety as well as the look of the centre and I would encourage as many people as possible to get involved as we would appreciate their input.”
Who’d want to be Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock? On Tuesday she had to do the almost impossible: defend a decision not to cut interest rates at a time when they were being cut in just about every other major industrial nation.
On Thursday the US Federal Reserve joined the Bank of England, the Bank of Canada, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and central banks in China, Sweden and the European Union in what its officials expect to be a series of cuts, kicking off with a double-header: a cut of 0.50 percentage points instead of the usual 0.25.
In her press conference after Tuesday’s board meeting Governor Bullock said disinflation was “further advanced” in those countries than it was in Australia.
Australian interest rates were “restrictive” (high enough to hurt) but were working “broadly as anticipated”.
While household spending was weaker than had been expected, it would be
some time yet before inflation is sustainably in the target range.
But the problem with what she said, both after the meeting and in her statement, is inflation is probably already within the target range.
Credibility gap
The Reserve Bank’s target is 2-3%. Inflation hasn’t been there since it surged in 2021 as much of the world came out of lockdowns.
On Wednesday, the day after Bullock’s announcement, the Bureau of Statistics will release the monthly consumer price index for August. It’s expected to be the first to show inflation back between 2% and 3%.
Westpac is expecting an annual rate of 2.7%, comfortably back within the target band. When the more-comprehensive quarterly measure is released next month, Westpac is expecting 2.9%.
If inflation is 2.7%, how can it be too high?
Bullock squares her view that inflation is not yet moving sustainably towards the target with the reality that it is probably already there by saying she expects it to “pop back up again” when the temporary effect of electricity bill rebates wears off.
The Commonwealth government announced $3.5 billion worth of rebates in the May budget. They will be applied automatically to electricity bills for each of the next four quarters, and topped by several of the states. In Queensland, they amount to $1,300 per household.
A staged rollout means the rebates hit bills in only Queensland and West Australia in July and will hit other states in August. The Bureau of Statistics says they took 6.4% off the average national power price in July and Westpac expects them to take off a further 15% in August.
A permanent 10% increase in the maximum rate of Commonwealth rent assistance delivered last week will put further downward pressure on inflation.
It’s easy to see why Bullock thinks the temporary measures should be disregarded.
The RBA says what matters is underlying inflation
Bullock is directing attention to the Reserve Bank’s preferred measure of underlying inflation, a measure that excludes sharp movements and gives a better idea of where typical prices are heading.
At 3.9% for the year to the June quarter, she says that measure is still too high. But it has been falling for each of the past six quarters and is on track to fall to 3.5% in the September quarter. By my way of thinking, that shows inflation is moving “sustainably towards the target range” in the way she says she wants.
As in the US and the UK and New Zealand and all the other countries with which we compare ourselves, inflation doesn’t need to be actually back to the target before the authorities ease off on high interest rates. If they waited that long they would overshoot and push inflation too low.
But headline inflation matters in its own right
In any event, a low headline inflation rate is important in its own right, however it is achieved. It’s the rate the Reserve Bank prints at the top of its website, the rate that’s published in the media and the rate that people experience.
If inflation is actually low, however that is brought about, shoppers become less tolerant of price rises (something the Reserve Bank says is happening) and less keen to demand high wage rises (something that is also happening).
They also become less keen to rush out and buy things before their price goes up, something that can perpetuate high inflation.
Right now we are doing everything but rushing out to push up prices.
A briefing note prepared by the Australian Council of Social Service ahead of Tuesday’s Reserve Bank board meeting says real household disposable income per capita has fallen by almost 8% since inflation and interest rates began climbing, far more than in the US, the UK, Germany and Canada.
Bullock is about to get more chances to cut
There’s a chance the tax cuts that began in July will give spending a bit of a boost but much of whatever extra spending there is will be on imports, and the steadily climbing Australian dollar is making them cheaper by the day.
The Australian dollar hit a new high for the year of 68.5 US cents on Tuesday on the back of a widening differential between US and Australian interest rates as the US cuts rates.
Governor Bullock gets two more opportunities to cut rates this year, at the board meeting on Melbourne Cup Tuesday November 5 shortly after news of very low inflation in the September quarter, and on December 9 shortly after news of economic growth likely to show income per person going further backwards.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Ofsted has today published its 16th annual report on the effectiveness of care and welfare arrangements for recruits, trainees and officer cadets (OCdts).
Training has continued to improve this year with no establishments found to be inadequate. 11 of the establishments visited were graded good or outstanding and one was found to require improvement.
In all but one establishment, recruits, trainees and OCdts benefited from excellent or good quality training and very effective care and welfare arrangements. This means that trainees are very well prepared for their next phase of training or to start their first military job.
However, inspectors did find that trainees are spending too much time in holdover, which is where one training course has finished and another has yet to start. This is especially true for trainee pilots and aircrew – in the worst cases, trainee pilots are waiting several years to start their flying training. Trainees report that this delay affects not just their careers but their motivation and personal lives.
Where trainees must wait to start their next phase of training, all services need to ensure that trainees are engaged in meaningful activities that maintains their morale while continuing to develop their military and specialist skills.
As in previous years, inspectors continued to find problems with infrastructure and facilities. While improvements have been made the standard of trainee accommodation continues to be poor in some establishments.
Ofsted has issued several recommendations for the MoD, including:
Urgently improve the infrastructure of the training estate, especially any accommodation where trainees are living in unacceptable and/or deteriorating conditions.
Minimise the time that trainees spend in holdover, especially trainee pilots and aircrew from all 3 services in flying training, so that they can complete their training as quickly and efficiently as possible and start their first military jobs.
Engage trainees in holdover in meaningful activities that maintain their morale and continue to develop their military and specialist skills and knowledge.
Give all new recruits uniform and equipment that fit them properly, including military backpacks and body armour, so that they can participate fully in training.
Ofsted’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver said:
“I am delighted to present my first MoD welfare report as His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, and I am impressed with the hard work and diligence that my inspectors have seen over the last year.
“I congratulate commanding officers, and their staff. Military and civilian staff work hard to train and care for recruits, trainees and OCdts, sometimes despite poor infrastructure and resources.
“I urge senior personnel in the Ministry of Defence and in government to respond swiftly and decisively to the recommendations we have made.”
Notes
Inspectors visited 11 initial training establishments, 5 University Officers’ Training Corps (UOTC) units (in a combined inspection) and the UOTC headquarters at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
An Accredited Official Statistics Publication for Scotland.
There was a 17% decrease in all sector housebuilding starts and completions between 2023 and 2024 (year ending June).
In the 12 months ending June 2024, there were 19,293 homes built and 15,296 new builds started. All sector completions and starts were 17% lower than the previous 12 months.
The private sector built 14,240 homes and the social sector built 5,053 homes. In terms of starts, building work on 11,795 was started by the private sector and 3,501 homes by the social sector.
Excluding 2020 (where Covid-19 impacted housebuilding) completions were the lowest since the year to end of June 2018 and starts the lowest since the year to end of June 2013 in both the social and private sector.
In terms of the Affordable Housing Supply Programme, in the year to the end of June 2024, there were 6,966 approvals, 6,422 starts, and 9,295 completions of affordable homes. The number of completions and starts were down by 14% (-1,556 homes) and 10% (-734 homes) respectively compared to the year to end June 2023. However, approvals increased by 15% (+906) between 2023 and 2024 (year ending June).
These statistics are used to inform progress against Scottish Government affordable housing delivery target to deliver 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which at least 70% will be for social rent and 10% will be in rural and island communities. By June 2024, 22,743 affordable homes have been completed towards the target. These completions consist of 17,289 (76%) homes for social rent, 3,219 (14%) for affordable rent, and 2,235 (10%) for affordable home ownership.
An Accredited Official Statistics Publication for Scotland
The Chief Statistician has released part 1 of the 2023-24 justice social work statistics. This includes information on justice social work services, as well as characteristics of the people involved. Part 2 will be published in early 2025.
The number of diversion from prosecution cases commenced rose by 28 per cent between 2022-23 and 2023-24 from 2,600 to 3,400. This was the highest level in the last ten years.
The number of bail supervision cases rose by 17 per cent between 2022-23 and 2023-24 to 1,300. This was the highest in the last ten years.
There were 1,400 structured deferred sentences imposed in 2023-24. This was eight per cent more than in 2022-23 and the highest in the last six years.
There were 1,100 statutory custody-based throughcare cases commenced in 2023-24, 18 per cent up on 940 in 2022-23. This was the highest in the last ten years.
The number of statutory community-based throughcare cases commenced was 870 in 2023-24, three per cent down on 890 in 2022-23. This was the 2nd lowest level in the last ten years.
Justice social work statistics has been split into two parts for the first time this year. The splitting of the publication allows the reporting of part of the annual data collection to be provided to users about four months earlier.
This part 1 publication provides statistics on the following areas of justice social work:
– Diversion from prosecution
– Fiscal work orders
– Bail supervision
– Structured deferred sentences
– Statutory/voluntary throughcare
– Pre-release reports
– Home detention curfew assessments
– Court-based services
Information is provided for 2023-24 and, where possible, for the years back to 2014-15, in order to show trends over the last ten years. Tables at local authority area level, which have been updated to include 2023-24, have also been published. For part 1 topics, these tables contain ten years of data.
The trend data supplied in the publication was impacted by the Coronavirus (Covid) pandemic. There were significant public health measures, including two national lockdowns, in place during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 recording years. For example, many courts were temporarily closed early in 2020-21 and there was reduced capacity when courts reopened. This means that statistics for most areas of justice social work were impacted in 2020-21 and 2021-22. Caution is advised in comparing data from these two years with other years.
