Received
- Details
- Written by Grant Broadcasters
- Category: Received
- Hits: 80
New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins will head to Brisbane this weekend to meet with Australia counterpart Anthony Albanese.
At the pre-Anzac Day meeting, the pair are expected to unveil changes to Australia's treatment of New Zealanders first mooted by Mr Albanese and Mr Hipkins' predecessor, Jacinda Ardern.
Mr Albanese's Labor government came to office promising improved pathways to citizenship for many residents living in Australia, and with Ms Ardern, put Kiwis near the top of the list.
"We don't want people to be temporary residents forever," he said at a joint press conference in July last year.
The pair set a timeline of Anzac Day 2023 as their deadline, though Ms Ardern's decision to exit politics means she will be replaced at the announcement by Mr Hipkins.
Presently, many of the estimated 700,000 New Zealanders in Australia are unable to access many welfare benefits, nor work for the federal public service or serve in Australian defence forces.
Those rights are extended to Australians living in New Zealand.
"We've been working with the Australian government over time to improve the pathways for New Zealanders who are living and working in Australia," Mr Hipkins told TVNZ.
"I hope that we'll have a reasonably significant announcement to make about that."
Australians in New Zealand are also able to vote, with a parliamentary committee looking into extending the franchise to Kiwis in Australia.
Sunday's meeting comes amid heightened levels of trans-Tasman government engagement, with the centre-left Labor and Labour parties in power.
Australia Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles visited Wellington earlier this month with defence counterpart Andrew Little, the pair sharing a friendship dating back decades to their days as student politicians.
Last year, Mr Albanese and Ms Ardern agreed a series of annual ministerial meetings which are also yet to take place this year: between defence and foreign ministers, the Australian treasurer and NZ finance minister, and climate change ministers.
Mr Albanese and Mr Hipkins will also meet a third time in 2023 in New Zealand at the Annual Australia-New Zealand Leaders meeting.
"New Zealand and Australia's economic success is inextricably linked," Mr Hipkins said, noting it was the 40th anniversary of the trans-Tasman free trade deal.
"The Single Economic Market is a powerful engine for growth on both sides of the Tasman."
Mr Hipkins will also make two further international trips this year, confirming travel to King Charles' coronation in London in May, and to fly New Zealand's flag at the annual NATO Summit in Lithuania in July.
Despite campaigning for re-election at the October 14 poll, Mr Hipkins said he was also leaving open the prospect of another trip to China.
"My focus is on the cost of living and cyclone recovery challenges New Zealand is facing. As such I will only undertake a small number of international engagements this year," he said.
"When overseas I will look to put trade front and centre in order to support our economic recovery."
Trade delegations will accompany Mr Hipkins to Australia and Europe for the NATO Summit, and, if it takes place, to China.
Opposition leader Chris Luxon will also travel to London for the coronation as part of a Kiwi delegation including All Blacks legend Richie McCaw and Christchurch Mosques terror attack survivor Abdul Aziz.
Mr Hipkins also announced New Zealand's gift for the coronation: $NZ1 million ($A930,000) towards planting native trees.
"The donation will create a living legacy to benefit all New Zealanders, provide more resilience against climate change, and aligns with King Charles's lifelong interest in environmental conservation," he said.
© AAP 2023
- Details
- Written by Grant Broadcasters
- Category: Received
- Hits: 80
Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew insists he's not feeling under additional pressure amid the Suns' underwhelming start to the AFL season.
The club threw their support behind Dew last July when they extended his contract until the end of the 2024 season, eyeing a breakthrough finals appearance this year, Dew's sixth campaign at the helm.
But the heat is building after a 1-4 start that has turned Sunday's clash with North Melbourne at Heritage Bank Stadium into a must-win game.
"I never really feel the tide (of pressure) go away, to be honest," Dew told Fox Footy.
"As we've seen, one or two weeks can take that feeling away. But that feeling only goes away for two days. Once that next game starts to come around, there's pressure there to perform.
"I'm one of many in this footy club and I think we should all be delivering on what we want to, but I'm the face of it, so I understand that.
"But I don't feel under any less or more pressure depending on what's happened. That's the reality of elite sport.
"I've worked under John (Longmire) and I learned a lot around maintaining a level head and sometimes you've got to absorb that pressure for other people and that's the way it goes.
"That's our job and we don't make excuses for it but you get back to work."
Former Suns chairman Tony Cochrane was a staunch Dew supporter but the coach was adamant he wasn't feeling vulnerable after Bob East took the role in February.
"Bob's been on our board the whole time I've been here as well and I think he's been really honest around what he's after and what he wants to drive," Dew said.
"One thing I do know is Bob's first point of call is: 'how do we support you, how do we give you what you need, and what do you need from us?'
"If that's his starting point I think we can have a good relationship, as we already do.
"With change comes good pressure and we've just got to lean into that together."
Dew admitted to frustration after the Suns let their round five clash with Fremantle slip but was confident they could yet turn things around.
"We've just got to stay focused, stay united and not lose the plot and panic," he said.
"It can turn really quickly. I think we were 2-5 at a certain point last year and then we turned it (to) 6-6.
"We've got to make sure we keep improving and striving for that."
© AAP 2023
- Details
- Written by Grant Broadcasters
- Category: Received
- Hits: 73
There's good news for some, but no news for others after a builder signed on to complete close to a quarter of the homes left unfinished by the collapse of Porter Davis.
Nostra Property Group has entered into a sales agreement for Porter Davis' multiple dwelling business, liquidators Grant Thornton confirmed on Monday.
Nostra will complete up to 375 townhouses, including 169 where work is yet to begin, as well as offer ongoing employment to 16 Porter Davis staff.
The parties have been able to preserve jobs and minimise disruption for existing and future builds, Grant Thornton Liquidator Said Jahani said.
"All parties worked tirelessly to achieve a positive outcome in an extremely short period of time," Mr Jahani said.
Nostra founder and managing director Anthony Caruana said it was a natural fit for his business.
"We will work towards not only completing the existing partially built homes in this portfolio but also those projects yet to commence," he said.
"This will ensure we can provide much-needed certainty to the families who have purchased a PDH-designed townhouse and they can once again look forward to having a new place to call home."
An email sent to those able to start and complete their builds with Nostra did not outline the costs associated with building with the company.
Many are waiting for the company to contact them, which is expected to be after the Anzac Day public holiday.
One customer, who didn't want to be named, said she still felt like she was in limbo despite the "good news".
"We don't know how much it will all cost," she told AAP.
"It [the email] says nothing about the price of the new contract, when the build starts or the process - so we are really feeling neither here or there.
"We don't even know if the deposit we paid and lost - because Porter Davis didn't take out insurance - has to be repaid or if we need to cover the builder's fee to the liquidator. There are a lot of unknowns."
Porter Davis customer Richard Williams lost his $40,000 deposit when the builder went under.
Despite legislation in place to ensure he was insured, domestic building insurance wasn't taken out on his behalf meaning there is no legal recourse to recoup his money.
It would have cost Porter Davis less than $1000 to insure his build, but they didn't.
He said the Nostra news was great for some.
"But the majority of us are still left in the dark," Mr Williams told AAP on Monday.
He said a letter from Grant Thornton, informing customers about builders offering to complete the homes left unfinished by Porter Davis, left many unanswered questions.
One builder told Mr Williams the cost would be at least 20 per cent higher than what Porter Davis had charged. They would also charge an additional $20,000 to cover the cost of an agreement with Grant Thornton to take on the job.
Dozens of Porter Davis customers, including Mr Williams, rallied on the steps of Victoria's parliament on Sunday, calling for more support from the government.
Deputy Premier Jacinta Allan said the government was still assessing what steps it could take to support affected customers.
Opposition leader John Pesutto said Monday's news was positive but noted many other would-be homeowners were still facing difficulty.
About 1700 homes across Victoria and Queensland were left in limbo when Porter Davis went into liquidation last month.
© AAP 2023
- Details
- Written by Grant Broadcasters
- Category: Received
- Hits: 74
Police and prosecutors had a relationship "beset by tension" from the outset of an investigation into former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins' rape allegations, an independent inquiry has been told.
The inquiry was established by the ACT government to examine how police, prosecutors and a victim support service handled the allegations made by Ms Higgins against her former colleague Bruce Lehrmann.
Mr Lehrmann faced an ACT Supreme Court trial in October, but it was derailed due to juror misconduct.
The charges against him were later dropped because of concerns about the impact a second trial would have on Ms Higgins' mental health.
Mr Lehrmann denies the allegation he raped Ms Higgins in Parliament House in 2019.
Counsel assisting the inquiry Erin Longbottom outlined the evidence expected to be heard during upcoming public hearings.
She said there would be evidence the engagement between ACT Police and the director of public prosecutions (DPP) was "beset by tension from the outset".
Points of conflict between the two offices arose from whether it was appropriate for police to interview Ms Higgins for a second time and "confusion" about whether Mr Lehrmann should be charged.
Ms Longbottom said the offices disagreed on how matters affecting Ms Higgins' credibility should be treated by the DPP and police.
"The apparent close engagement between investigating officers and the lawyers for Mr Lehrmann during the trial led to some distrust between police and the DPP," Ms Longbottom said.
"Information and statements from witnesses have also raised issues about the DPP's conduct of the case, both before as well as during the trial."
The inquiry has collected more than 140,000 relevant documents since it was established in December.
ACT DPP Shane Drumgold, Mr Lehrmann's defence lawyer Steven Whybrow, Victims of Crime Commissioner Heidi Yates and police officers will be called to give evidence during the inquiry.
Network Ten journalist Lisa Wilkinson is also expected to be called to give evidence.
Ms Longbottom emphasised the inquiry was not about the allegations made by Ms Higgins but rather about how each of the criminal justice agencies conducted themselves during the investigation and prosecution of those allegations.
"Public confidence in the criminal justice system is essential to the maintenance of democracy," she said.
"A collaborative working relationship between those charged with the duty to investigate crime and those charged with the duty to prosecute crime is essential to any well-functioning criminal justice system."
Public hearings are expected to start on May 1 and will run for up to four weeks.
Inquiry head Walter Sofronoff will provide a report on his findings to ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr by the end of June.
© AAP 2023
Page 279 of 1496