In response to a detailed series of questions, the premier’s office yesterday responded: ″Whoever the premier considers appointing to his ministry is a matter for the premier alone.″
Elliott and Perrottet have had an at-times strained relationship, while Elliott and Kean have made no secret of their mutual loathing.
Sources with knowledge of the discussion say Perrottet also spoke to Elliott about the role of agent-general in London and described Stephen Cartwright, who holds the position, as “a problem”.
Ayres, who resigned as trade minister on Tuesday after a draft excerpt of an independent probe into the Barilaro appointment raised questions about whether he breached the ministerial code of conduct, also spoke to Elliott about his political plans.
Ayres went to Elliott’s office to discuss whether the minister intended to stay in parliament and also spoke about the agent-general, two with knowledge of the conversion have confirmed.
The Sun-Herald Perrottet’s office yesterday whether he discussed the position of agent-general with Elliott, whether he raised any issues with Cartwright with Elliott, whether the premier asked Ayres to speak to Elliott about his plans for staying in parliament and whether the premier asked Ayres to speak to Elliott about the agent-general role. It declined to answer.
The London role is a statutory appointment, meaning it comes under the responsibility of the public service and not ministers.
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The nature of the agent-general discussions is unclear but the revelation may attract the attention of the parliamentary inquiry investigating Barilaro’s appointment. The London position has already featured in the inquiry after it emerged there had been “protracted” and “difficult” contract negotiations when Cartwright was appointed to the role. Cartwright is a former chief executive of the state’s peak business lobby group Business NSW.
The inquiry is probing the recruitment process that led to Barilaro being awarded the New York job.
He claimed the role after an earlier offer was made to bureaucrat Jenny West and then later rescinded.
Investment NSW boss Amy Brown, who employed Cartwright, told the inquiry that whenever negotiations hit a “particularly difficult” patch, Cartwright would say “Well, I’ll just escalate this to the deputy premier or the premier”. “I got the impression that I [Cartwright] felt he had some sort of elevated status,” Brown said.
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The Barilaro saga has been a rolling crisis for seven weeks but intensified recently when more evidence emerged about Ayres’ apparent influence on the decision-making.
On Friday, NSW public service commissioner Kathrina Lo gave a searing review of the Barilaro recruitment process, saying she would never have signed off on a final selection report if she knew then what she knows now. Lo told the inquiry she has since learned key information that was never disclosed to independent panel members.
In addition to Ayres, Perrottet was also forced to sack fair trading minister Eleni Petinos last week over workplace bullying allegations.
He initially said he was confident that an anonymous complaint made against her had been appropriately dealt with. However, new allegations emerged and Perrottet removed her from cabinet.
Perrottet yesterday used a meeting of the Liberal Party faithful to support the modernization of the organization following the federal election defeat. In his first state council address of him as premier,
Perrottet acknowledged the uphill battle ahead for a party “disillusioned” by the horror May poll but insisted the failure presented a chance to reset.
“We cannot be a party that runs on its record, but doesn’t set a vision for the future,” he said. “This may be controversial to say in this room, but I believe we failed to do that at a federal level.”
Perrottet announced candidate preselection for the March state election would open in two weeks, directly calling out the federal preselection debacle and conceding branch members were right to feel they had been stripped of their democratic right. “One of the most important rights of party members is the power to select candidates to represent your values,” he said.
With Lucy Cormack
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Retired acting ICE director Tom Homan responded to Democratic leaders criticizing Texas Governor Greg Abbott over migrant buses by highlighting the hypocrisy over immigration and sanctuary cities. On “Fox & Friends Weekend” Saturday, Homan argued Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and New York City Mayor Eric Adams are not doing “everything they can” to make sanctuary cities safe and apply pressure on the Biden administration to address border security.
JONES RIPS LAWMAKERS OVER BORDER CRISIS: THEY WERE ALL ABOUT COMPASSION UNTIL THEY WERE ON THEIR LAWNS
TOM HOMAN:It’s devastating these communities. I’ve been on the southwest border a dozen times this past year. and look, Muriel Bowser and Mayor Adams, if you want this to stop, how about calling the White House, tell President Biden to secure the border? We did it under the Trump administration, the highest level we ever had. The playbook is there, just dust off the playbook and secure the border. But both of these cities take pride in the fact they’re sanctuary cities, both of them out-of-control crime rates right now, right at each of these cities, releasing criminal aliens to the streets every day. They used to work with ICE. We used to have a dozen agents from Rikers Island. Now, if you’re an illegal alien in New York City and you get arrested for a violent crime, after they’re done with you, they release you back on the street to re-offend. So are these majors doing everything they can to address the crime rate? No. So stop your sanctuary city policy. I got news for you, Mayor Adams. They’re coming to New York anyway. They’re coming there. And you didn’t say a d— word when President Biden was flying people in the middle of the night. That was fine, but when a Republican governor does it, all of a sudden it’s a problem.
It’s a story that’s got the makings of a best-seller — a billion-dollar deal, a court battle, and an endorsement from the King of Horror.
Penguin Random House, a publishing titan, is hoping to buy its rival Simon & Schuster in a mega-deal that would reshape the publishing industry.
But the Biden administration has sought to intervene through the US courts, with the Department of Justice (DOJ) suing to block the merger from happening.
Let’s get you up to speed on the court case that’s gripping the publishing industry.
What’s the story?
In 2020, German media giant Bertelsmann announced its plan for its Penguin Random House division to buy fellow publishing giant Simon & Schuster for $US2.17 billion from TV and film company ViacomCBS.
The merger would reduce the so-called Big Five of publishing — which also includes HarperCollins, Hachette Book Group and Macmillan — to four.
The announcement was not well received and drew intense scrutiny from government regulators.
The US Justice Department argues that the merger would hurt authors and, ultimately, readers as well.
Penguin Random House argues the combined publishers could turn out books more efficiently.(AP: Jenny Kane)
It says the deal would thwart competition and give Penguin Random House gigantic influence over which books are published in the US and beyond, not just how many authors are paid, giving consumers fewer books to choose from.
The new company, if approved, would be by far the biggest book-publishing entity in US history.
The Penguin Random House trial is widely seen as part of a growing DOJ trend during the Biden administration of taking a tougher stand on mergers in a bid to crack down on big business combinations.
Bertelsmann’s rival News Corp, which owns HarperCollins, also slammed the deal.
“This literary leviathan would have 70 per cent of the US literary and general fiction market,” News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson said in a statement.
But Penguin Random House has countered that the new company would enhance competition because the combined company could turn out books more efficiently.
How is Stephen King involved?
Now, the weeks-long trial in US District Court in Washington has kicked off, with critically acclaimed author Stephen King going in to bat for the government.
“I came because I think that consolidation is bad for competition,” Mr King said during his testimony earlier this week.
The way the industry has evolved, he said, “it becomes tougher and tougher for writers to find money to live on.”
Stephen King signed books as he left federal court in Washington this week.(AP: Manuel Balce Ceneta)
The 74-year-old expressed skepticism toward the two publishers’ commitment to continue to bid for books separately and competitively after a merger.
“You might as well say you’re going to have a husband and wife bidding against each other for the same house. It’s kind of ridiculous,” he said.
“It would be sort of very gentlemanly and sort of, ‘after you’ and ‘after you.”
Mr King’s remarkable career came amid waves of consolidation in the industry.
As he noted in his remarks, there were dozens of publishers in New York when his breakthrough novel, Carrie, came out in 1974, and he has seen many of them either acquired by larger companies or forced out of business.
The publisher of Carrie, Doubleday, is now part of Penguin Random House, as is another former King publisher, Viking Press.
There’s also an elephant in the room: Amazon
During the trial, Penguin Random House chief executive Markus Dohle admitted that while he has promised to allow the two merged companies to continue to bid against each other for deals with authors, the publisher’s German parent firm, Bertelsmann, had no legal obligation to honor that commitment.
The biggest threat to the publishing industry comes not from consolidation but from the explosion in recent years of subscription-based or cheap content, such as e-books, Mr Dohle said, calling it “all-access.”
Penguin Random House has called Amazon the “biggest threat” to the publishing industry.(Unsplash: Maarten van den Heuvel)
He specifically cited Amazon, which has some 50 million book titles available, and Disney.
“I think it’s the biggest threat to the industry, and especially author income,” he said.
“It will have a tectonic influence on the revenue pool of the industry.”
Mr Dohle liked Penguin Random House to Silicon Valley “angel” investors.
“We invest every year in thousands of ideas and dreams, and only a few of them make it to the top… Each book is unique and there’s a lot of risk,” he said.
The trial is expected to continue for two to three weeks, with the next chapter in the publishing industry soon to be written.
“You just had to have a careful balance of taking risks and being a bit cheeky where it was possible – stealing scraps of food, running from one line to another if it meant not being put to the gas chamber – and then sticking by the rules when it was the right thing to do.”
Montag’s grandfather Richard was in the same concentration camps as his grandmother at the time, but the pair did not meet there.
“She was about 12 years old going into the camps, and they did not cross paths, and the love story which is really beautiful is that the war finished, everyone fled to different spots and he fled to Melbourne, she fled to Paris, married someone else and had a child but [her husband then] died of diabetic liver complications,” Montag said.
“So she is a widow, she has lost her sister, she has lost everyone except her father, and she is living in Paris with her six-month-old baby girl, and she receives this letter from Melbourne saying, ‘Hi Judith, my name is Richard, you have got no reason to trust me, but I heard from a friend that we went through similar camps and you are now a widow. Melbourne is pretty great, a land of opportunity and if you get on that boat I promise to look after you’. She thought, ‘I have had enough bad luck, what have I got to lose?’ And got on the boat. They married, she had my dad and his brother. I think what a beautiful love story.”
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After that, who cares what happened in the race at the Commonwealth Games? That was only the end of the story, for the heroes of this gold medal are Judith and Richard, the grandfather Montag never met.
Montag had them in her mind and was happy and proud as she was able to walk her final lap knowing she already had victory assured. She had lapped nearly every other competitor and allowed herself the chance to enjoy the crowd and the celebration in the final lap.
She won in 42 minutes, 34.03 seconds and was given the gold medal for her efforts. But the real gold was a small bracelet on her wrist.
Get all the latest news from the Birmingham Commonwealth Gameshere. We’ll be live blogging the action from 4pm-10am daily.
Yot wasn’t until 2020, at the age of 52, that I was given the right to use my name. But as with all things adoption, nothing is quite as simple as it seems. Like other babies given to infertile couples under Australia’s “forced adoption” policies, my birth certificate was canceled soon after I was born; a second birth certificate created a legal fiction to make it look like I was born to the infertile couple.
With a stroke of a pen I was denied connection with all of my family – my cousins, aunts, uncles, grandmothers – and my first given name. After a few months I was handed over to the couple who took me home. I had no social history, no medical, racial or genetic history. It was all top secret.
The records of somewhere between 140,00 and 250,000 Australian babies were sealed by law, with a promise that the truth would never be revealed.
Things on that front have gradually changed, and adopted people are now allowed to use the names on either of our birth certificates. When I first read about these changes I cried – it was the first time I had seen the dual identity and divided loyalty that shadows adopted people fully acknowledged.
But on my first birth certificate, the name my mother chose for me is missing, and I am identified by the word “Unnamed” with my mother’s surname. According to that certificate, my name is Unnamed Champion. My second birth certificate states the name given to me by my adopted family.
The Integrated Birth Certificate allows me to choose either of these two names, but it seems unhelpful for adopted people to be known as “Unnamed” when the intention of Integrated Birth Certificates is to help adopted people connect with their full identities.
It has taken me many months to realize that this profound breakthrough does not achieve what it set out to do: it does not allow me to see the name my mother wanted for me.
Australia weekend
The only place my mother was ever allowed to use my name was inside her mind. While she was being told to stop crying by the “real” mothers breastfeeding their babies in the beds beside her, while she was given milk-suppression drugs without her knowledge, while she signed all the papers because she did everything she was told, the name was in her head and heart: Jona.
Like the perpetual state of longing, the name haunted her for years, though even now Jona still doesn’t exist. The state of New South Wales sent me to live with people who called me something else. They called me Eudora*, the name I’ve been called for over 50 years.
The simple facts are this: I was born and hidden where my mother couldn’t find me. She had no advocate, and she was a minor, with no legal capacity to sign me away. A girl like her was not allowed to name her baby by her.
That was part of the punishment of being shamed and blamed in the birthing ward as a girl gone bad. Above the bed was a three letter sign, “BFA”, to identify that here was a Baby For Adoption.
“Unnamed Champion”. Born in a small regional town on the outskirts of Sydney, on a midwinter morning in the late 1960s, and no mention anywhere of “Jona”. For me, the confusion and cognitive dissonance seem impossible to resolve.
I recently explained to a psychologist that I have two families with two divergent histories. I look like estos people. I sound like estos people, I think and behave like estos people, the people I was born to.
My brother, on the other hand, he is one of those people, from the other side of my life, the people I was sent to. My mum is one of those people. And my dad, well, he is one of those people too.
For an adopted person, the idea of dad is complicated. The idea of mum is complicated. The idea of brother and sister, home and belonging – it’s all complicated. Even your name, and the names we use to identify family – none of it is easy to understand.
Think of the words – mum, dad – how can anyone experience them without a visceral response in the belly, in the heart, in the throat? When I hear those words, there is a glitch, a realigning moment, while I track who holds those roles in my life. None of it gets easier over time.
In 2021 I applied to the Department of Community and Justice for my birth records. It is now July, 2022. A few months ago, I was asked to place an extra signature on the form, and told to wait another nine months for my Integrated Birth Certificate to arrive. This document gives me the choice of using either the name from my first birth certificate, or the second one – whichever I prefer.
After a whole lifetime, I finally get to choose. But first I must wait a whole new gestation period for the documents to arrive. And then, I will not be given the choice between identifying as Jona or Eudora. I will be offered the choice between Eudora or Unnamed.
The legislation governing my separation from my birth mother erased the history written into my body as though my DNA never existed. But it does exist, it’s real. And the name she calls me in her heart is real too.
A question arising from Sen. Joe Manchin’s, DW.Va., newfound backing of a massive social spending and taxation bill is if he will insist on Republican input and support as he previously did with other high profile legislation being pushed by Democrats.
Last year, Manchin declared that any legislation addressing voting rights, something Democrats declared was “under attack” at the time, must include input and support from Republicans in order to receive his backing.
He ultimately declined to support the Democrat-backed For the People Act, citing its lack of bipartisanship, and slammed his fellow Democrats for “partisan policymaking,” arguing it would “destroy” American democracy.
“The right to vote is fundamental to our American democracy and protecting that right should not be about party or politics. Least of all, protecting this right, which is a value I share, should never be done in a partisan manner,” he wrote in a statement at the time.
OVER 230 ECONOMISTS WARN MANCHIN’S SPENDING BILL WILL PERPETUATE INFLATION
US Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) delivers remarks to reporters at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US November 1, 2021. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)
“The truth is there is a better way — if we seek to find it together,” he later added.
Every Republican member of the Senate is expected to oppose the Inflation Reduction Act, the official name of the reconciliation spending bill struck in a behind closed doors deal between Manchin and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
MANCHIN 2024 RE-ELECTION CHANCES COULD ‘DISAPPEAR IN A FLASH’ FOLLOWING SUPPORT FOR NEW SPENDING BILL
In contrast to his previous demands for bipartisanship, Manchin’s appears ready to help carry the bill over the line without any help from Senate Republicans. A simple majority will pass the legislation, with Vice President Kamala Harris able to break a 50-50 tie in favor of the Democrats.
Fox News Digital reached out to Manchin’s office for comment and received a statement from a spokeswoman touting his past efforts at bipartisanship, but making no mention of any desire for Republican input on the bill.
“For years, Senator Manchin has worked in a bipartisan way to ensure we are producing more energy domestically and paying down our national debt and much of that work is reflected in the Inflation Reduction Act,” communications director Samantha Runyon said in the statement.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of NY, speaks to the media after a Democratic policy luncheon, Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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The Senate is set to reconvene Saturday and is expected to vote to begin debate on the bill.
Brandon Gillespie is an associate editor at Fox News. Follow him on Twitter at @brandon_cg.
South Africa has defeated New Zealand 26-10 on Sunday morning AEST in the Rugby Championship opener in Mbombela, adding to the woes of the embattled All Blacks.
New Zealand flew to South Africa having lost four of their previous five matches amid calls for coach Ian Foster and captain Sam Cane to be sacked.
Foster and Cane will now know that another defeat to the arch foes when the teams clash again next Saturday in Johannesburg will almost certainly spell the end for both of them.
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The ferocity of the Springboks constantly unsettled the All Blacks, who were lucky to trail only 10-3 at halftime having been outplayed in the opening 40 minutes.
New Zealand did win more possession in the second half but basic errors cost them and their only try, from replacement loose forward Shannon Frizell, arrived when South Africa were reduced to 14 men.
Winger Kurt-Lee Arendse, scorer of the first South African try, was red-carded on 75 minutes after fouling airborne fly-half Beauden Barrett.
“It was exactly what we wanted. We wanted to be upfront,” said South Africa captain and flanker Siya Kolisi.
“Our high balls were good. We did all the things we wanted to do. We made the tackles, we know how dangerous they can be. They have a couple of players who can break the game open at any time.”
Under-fire Cane said: “A lot of credit has to go to the Springboks, especially the way they played in the first half. They threw a heck of a lot at us. We did well to absorb that but it took a lot out of us.
“They are extremely good at applying pressure. Their kicking game was good, they probably won that as well.”
South African hooker Malcolm Marx was warmly greeted by the sellout 42,367 crowd in recognition of him winning his 50th cap when he ran on to the field ahead of his teammates in the northeastern city.
There was a dramatic start to the southern hemisphere championship opener with Springboks scrum-half Faf de Klerk knocked out after his head struck the knee of All Blacks wing Caleb Clarke.
De Klerk had to be stretched off, but received lengthy applause when he appeared on the sideline midway through the opening half having failed a head injury assessment test.
Inexperienced Jaden Hendrikse, who debuted in a home series against Wales last month, replaced de Klerk just 43 seconds into the match.
Fired-up South Africa dominated early possession and territory and went ahead on eight minutes when Arendse scored his first try for the reigning world champions in only his second appearance.
The New Zealand defense failed to grasp a lofted kick from fly-half Handre Pollard and center Lukhanyo Am fed Arendse, who raced over the tryline.
Unpredictable goal-kicker Pollard did well to convert from the touchline and increased the lead to 10 points on 22 minutes by slotting a close-range penalty.
There was a sudden change of momentum as halftime approached with New Zealand, helped by a steadier scrum, awarded four penalties in quick succession.
Fullback Jordie Barrett, one of three brothers in the All Blacks starting line-up, converted one of the penalties on 36 minutes to narrow the gap to seven points and it remained 10-3 until halftime.
In the build-up to the match, Springboks coach Jacques Nienaber had emphasized the need to translate dominance into points and will have been disappointed that his team were only seven points in front.
He would have been thrilled with the performance of Marx, though, as the Japan-based front-rower won several turnovers and figured constantly in assaults on the All Blacks.
In the second half, Pollard kicked two penalties and a drop goal to give the home team a 19-3 lead before both teams scored late tries.
Frizell dived over in the corner and fellow substitute Richie Mo’unga converted, then replacement back Willie le Roux scored beside the post and Pollard converted for a personal tally of 16 points.
As a person living with a physical disability, there are a few items I require to help me live an independent life.
Pre-prepared vegetables, ready meals and drinking straws — some of which are made of plastic — are absolutely essential for people like me.
I have limited use of my hands and this has made preparing and cooking meals a nightmare. Up until the end of last year I simply avoided cooking meals myself as the kitchen tools I needed weren’t suitable.
Since then I have slowly been building my confidence in the kitchen with the help of pre-cut ingredients. But I still feel a sense of regret and guilt loading my shopping basket up with pre-packaged items due to the cost and the amount of leftover plastic waste.
The reality is that plastic can be an essential accessibility tool.
It’s not just prepackaged food. Plastic single-use plastic straws are vital for people who cannot lift a glass to their mouth or have motor control, chewing or swallowing issues — and a lack of availability can cause enormous worry.
An uncomfortable trade-off
Craig Wallace, head of policy at Advocacy for Inclusion, says the ban on plastic straws introduces another layer of complexity into the lives of people with disability by requiring them to negotiate the availability of an item that they need to remain hydrated or to carry that item with them.
And while exemptions allow plastic straws to be supplied to people with medical conditions or disability are now in place in most states and territories, there is no requirement for plastic straws to be carried — meaning no guarantee they will be available. Paper straws are often not suitable as they lack the flexibility and durability of their plastic counterparts.
Craig Wallace says a ban on plastic straws adds a layer of complexity to the lives of people with disability.(Supplied)
“We don’t ask people without disabilities to carry cups and saucers and eating implements when they go out to a restaurant. We shouldn’t be asking people with disabilities who need plastic straws to consume liquids to have to supply them themselves,” Wallace says.
It’s an uncomfortable trade-off against a small but highly affected group of people. And while the ban does include provisions for cafes and restaurants to stock straws, these exemptions are meaningless as venues are under no legal obligation to include them.
“We’re weighing the ability of disabled people to have a glass of water in a cafe without choking to death against harm caused by plastic straws,” Wallace says.
accessible living room
The pre-packaged food debate was in the spotlight last month when a consumer created a thread on Reddit condemning “dumb” and “lazy” shoppers for purchasing re-cut vegetables and contributing to plastic pollution. Included in the post was a photo of the range, — trays and bags of diced onion, sliced spring onion, sliced potato and pumpkin cubes.
Teresa Berbury has suffered from severe chronic pain for the past seven years and recently developed monoplegia with paralysis in one leg from a failed back surgery. As she lives on her own, maintaining an independent lifestyle can be both challenging and rewarding.
For Teresa Burbery, maintaining an independent lifestyle is challenging but also rewarding.(Supplied)
“When preparing the food I’m again reaching above onto the bench as it is much higher than a wheelchair,” Berbury says. “With every reach [I’m] putting strain on my back injury… By the time I’ve eaten the pain levels have really kicked in… This would be my life every night if I didn’t have pre-packaged meals.”
Knowing her weekly food has been prepared, cooked and delivered helps Berbury to relax without triggering unnecessary waves of pain.
But she says there are times she feels that the items she needs to use in order to live independently is something many fail to understand.
“People may assume that because I’m sitting down on my wheelchair I’m perfectly comfortable and it might even look easier,” Berbury says.
“But when you break down what is actually involved and how limited your movements are while steering your chair, combined with each movement triggering pain, it’s something many people are unable to relate to.”
Korey Gunnis has also relied on frozen and ready meals through the NDIS in the past, but says they have been more difficult to obtain in recent times.
“As someone with cerebral palsy and an autoimmune condition, it made life a bit more easier for me at the end of the day, when I have more fatigue and pain.”
Gunnis says to simply label the use of pre-prepared foods as lazy misses the point.
“[It] comes from a place of ignorance, and whoever made that statement does not understand what it is like to live with a chronic illness and disability,” he argues.
Korey Gunnis, who lives with cerebral palsy and an autoimmune condition, has relied on frozen and ready meals through the NDIS to make life a bit easier when he is juggling fatigue and pain.(Supplied)
The cost of living independently
Aside from the plastic waste, the costs of pre-prepared items can be twice or even three times the amount of buying ingredients individually.
And with the current cost of living crisis, prices are on the rise.
Disability advocate and appearance activist Carly Findlay believes the cost of essential, pre-prepared food items must change to be more accessible for people with special needs.
“The cost must [be taken on] by the big organizations which are using more plastic and creating more waste and fossil fuels than individual disabled people,” Findlay says. “Many disabled people live on or below the poverty line and are significantly unemployed or underemployed compared to the rest of the population. “
Carly Findlay believes the cost of pre-packaged food, that can be life-changing for people with disabilities, is too high.(Supplied: Sam Biddle)
In 2018, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that the personal income of people with disability was $505 per week, less than half that of people without disability. People with disability were also more likely to live in households with a lower gross household income compared with people without disability. Among those whose household income was known, half lived in a household in the lowest two quintiles, more than twice the frequency of people without disability.
“Pre-prepared veggies and ready meals may be unaffordable for many disabled people. The disability tax — the cost disabled people pay for accessibility — is real, and this [prepackaged food] proves it,” Findlay says.
A cohesive outlook
Jane Bremmer is the campaign coordinator for Zero Waste Australia. Having a son with cerebral palsy, she understands how necessary some of the plastic wrapped food and utensil products are for people with disabilities.
“There is always going to be a need for semi-processed food for people with disabilities that need that support. And we have a duty of care to provide that in our society, so that we create a more level playing field for everybody,” Bremmer says.
“I don’t think it necessarily has to be plastic, but there may be many uses that are essential for people with all sorts of different abilities that need lightweight, easy packaging.”
Chopped food and vegetables, or processed meals, can be important for many different kinds of people.
Chopped food and vegetables can be useful for many kinds of people. (www.woolworths.com.au)
“So we have to find safe packaging alternatives for that, or keep them as essential uses for people who really need them,” she says.
Teresa Berbury agrees, pointing out that she is always thinking about what can make life easier on her and the planet.
“I do everything I can to minimize my impact however where humans are suffering, any product or packaging that can make our lives healthier and significantly less painful must be protected from environmental bans,” she says. “With what I live with every day I absolutely deserve this help.”
Craig Wallace says the issue isn’t a matter of just prioritizing climate change. It’s a matter of not prioritizing justice for people who are affected.
“It is really appropriate to take into account the needs and requirements of people with disabilities as we implement pollution control measures,” he says.
The future is recyclable
For Jane Bremmer, the best outcome would be that the packaging industry redesigns their products so that they’re safe and cost effective for all. “It’s completely doable,” she says. “We just need the political and corporate motivation to make it happen.”
Australian companies such as Arnott’s, We Bar None and Vegan Dairy have all commenced changes to their packaging.
“I would love to see biodegradable packaging integrated into these food services. Even cardboard would minimize a lot of the plastic component to food packaging,” Berbury says.
Victorian business We Bar None uses home-compostable packaging.(ABC Ballarat: Dominic Cansdale)
Some major supermarket chains have already introduced recyclable packaging into their ranges.
In 2018, We Bar None became the first Victorian business to use 100 per cent home compostable wrappers for its energy bars, and Vegan Dairy in 2020 began using 100 per cent home compostable vacuum seal bags and labels for their entire range of plant-based cheeses .
And Arnott’s has committed to transition the soft plastic used in all biscuit packaging from multi to mono-material, so it is fully recyclable, by the end of 2023.
“If pre-prepared veggies and ready meals are making life easier for other people, and not harming you, don’t hate on them,” says Carly Findlay. “Accessibility comes in many forms – and food accessibility is a human right.”
An Eli Lilly and Company pharmaceutical manufacturing plant is pictured at 50 ImClone Drive in Branchburg, New Jersey, March 5, 2021.
Mike Segar | Reuters
Drugmaker Eli Lilly, one of the biggest employers in Indiana, said that the state’s newly passed law restricting abortions will cause the company to grow away from its home turf.
Lilly said in a statement on Saturday that it recognizes abortion as a “divisive and deeply personal issue with no clear consensus among the citizens of Indiana.”
“Despite this lack of agreement, Indiana has opted to quickly adopt one of the most restrictive anti-abortion laws in the United States,” Eli Lilly said. “We are concerned that this law will hinder Lilly’s — and Indiana’s — ability to attract diverse scientific, engineering and business talent from around the world. Given this new law, we will be forced to plan for more employment growth outside our home state.”
Indiana’s Legislature on Friday became the first in the nation to pass new legislation restricting access to abortions since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The state was among the earliest Republican-run state legislatures to debate tighter abortion laws after the Supreme Court ruling in June that removed constitutional protections for the procedure.
Lilly employs about 10,000 people in Indiana, where it has been headquartered in Indianapolis for more than 145 years.
Cummins, an engine manufacturing company that also employs about 10,000 people in Indiana, spoke out over the weekend against the new law as well.
“The right to make decisions regarding reproductive health ensures that women have the same opportunity as others to participate fully in our workforce and that our workforce is diverse,” a company spokesman said in a statement.
“There are provisions in the law that conflict with this, impact our people, impede our ability to attract and retain top talent and influence our decisions as we continue to grow our footprint with a focus on selecting welcoming and inclusive environments,” the Cummins spokesman said.
The two businesses join a growing list of companies, including tech giant Apple and denim retailer Levi Strauss, which are offering their employees resources for reproductive care in states where restrictions have been put into place.
Eli Lilly noted Saturday that although the pharmaceutical company has expanded its employee health plan coverage to include travel for reproductive services, “that may not be enough for some current and potential employees.”
Indiana’s abortion ban is expected to go into effect on Sept. 15. It comes with some exceptions, including for cases of rape or incest, and for protecting the mother’s life.
President Joe Biden’s administration has also condemned Indiana’s decision. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called it a “devastating step.”
“And, it’s another radical step by Republican legislators to take away women’s reproductive rights and freedom, and put personal health-care decisions in the hands of politicians rather than women and their doctors,” she said in a statement.
Dan Newhouse, one of the few Republican House members to vote in January in favor of the impeachment of Donald Trump, is poised to move forward to the general election in Washington state, according to a projection by the Associated Press.
Newhouse was one of 10 Republicans who voted in January to have Trump impeached, even ahead of explosive revelations about the former president’s support and endorsement of the January 6 riots just a year prior.
This victory comes on the heels of another fellow Republican supporter of the impeachment, Peter Meijer, losing his votes in Michigan.
Republican Loren Culp, who has been backed by Trump in the election, was a close second to Newhouse in Washington’s fourth congressional district, garnering the second highest number of Republican votes in four out of the eight counties. In some of the counties where Newhouse won, however, I have received almost double the number of votes as Culp.
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Culp was up against six other Republican candidates, and will face Doug White, the district’s only Democratic candidate, in November for the generation election.
Despite his victory, the journey has rarely been smooth for Newhouse. Following his vote for impeachment in January, six Republican leaders in his district demanded his resignation.
He defended his position, claiming he “made a decision to vote based on my oath to support and defend the constitution”.
On 2 August, he had a majority vote in three out of those six counties that had voted for his resignation.
