Month: August 2022

Categories
Australia

NSW government taken to court over Westconnex acquisition

NSW government taken to court over Westconnex acquisition

The Gaudiosos’ lawyer Aaron Gadiel, a partner at Mills Oakley, said the state courts’ application of the law, in this case, represented “a radical change to the way compensation for land acquisition has been handled in NSW for decades”.

“The implications are quite sweeping,” Gadiel said. “It’s very rare that a family business will see the need to execute a formal lease. That’s not how family businesses will be thinking.

The family moved the showroom to a nearby site on Pyrmont Bridge Road, pictured, and the factory to Leichhardt.

The family moved the showroom to a nearby site on Pyrmont Bridge Road, pictured, and the factory to Leichhardt.Credit:Wolter-Peeters

“Even when people have formal leases, if the lease doesn’t have a market value, if the lease isn’t tradable in the sense that it has a dollar value attached to it, then they will get no compensation if their business is forced to relocate.”

In submissions to the court, experts retained by the Gaudiosos estimated the business relocation costs were $6.23 million, including lost profit. Transport for NSW argued against any compensation but admitted, based on actual costs incurred, that if relocation costs had to be paid they amounted to $2.45 million – more than double the $1 million it originally paid.

Once the court found that no compensation was owed, lawyers for the government demanded the Gaudiosos repay the $1 million, warning that Transport for NSW reserved its right to take legal action to recover the money with interest.

Metropolitan Roads Minister Natalie Ward and Transport for NSW said it was not appropriate for them to make specific comments about the case because it remained before the courts.

“Unfortunately property acquisitions are unavoidable when it comes to delivering major infrastructure projects that are shaping the future of NSW,” Ward said.

A Transport for NSW spokesperson said the department appreciated the acquisition process was difficult for property owners, and respected their right to challenge offers in court.

The Gaudiosos moved Olde English Tiles to temporary premises nearby and eventually split the operations over two sites; a $5 million factory and $2.5 million neighboring warehouse in Leichhardt, and an Annandale showroom which they lease.

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But Antonino said he had to mortgage his Northwood home “to the max” to finance the relocation and fit out the new properties, which included installing a mezzanine at the factory to create sufficient floor space.

“[It’s] completely unfair,” he said. “They have robbed me for years of my work without even thinking [that] this man has worked for 40 years. I feel completely devastated.”

The family had also challenged the market value of the land, claiming it would have been worth more than $19 million if rezoned for higher-density residential and sold to a developer. The court did not accept this argument either.

“The legal reasoning was fair. We will move on. But the relocation expenses are really what gets us,” Dominic said.

“We operated on that land fairly for over a decade. We were acquired and because we didn’t have a lease in place, we don’t get a cent. Politicians need to revisit this nuance in that law, and they need to close that loophole.”

The saga is reminiscent of the compulsory acquisition of the Kerrigan family home in Rob Sitch’s Australian film classic TheCastle, which included the bumbling solicitor Dennis Denuto.

“Good old Dennis Denuto, he got across the line at the end,” Gadiel said. “We’re hoping for an equally happy ending with a smoother path for the Gaudiosos.”

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Categories
US

Newsom declares a state of emergency over monkeypox outbreak

Newsom declares a state of emergency over monkeypox outbreak

SACRAMENT —

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday declared a state of emergency in California over the spread of the monkeypox virus in order to “bolster the state’s vaccination efforts.”

“California is working urgently across all levels of government to slow the spread of monkeypox, leveraging our robust testing, contact tracing and community partnerships strengthened during the pandemic to ensure that those most at risk are our focus for vaccines, treatment and outreach,” Newsom said in statement.

Monkeypox is a rare disease similar to smallpox, though usually milder. It is largely spreading among men who have sex with men as well as transgender and nonbinary people, though health officials warn that anyone can contract the virus through direct contact with infectious sores, scabs or body fluids or by touching clothing and bedding used by a person with the virus.

Nearly 800 cases have been confirmed in California, according to the California Department of Public Health’s most recent data as of Thursday. The state reported that 98.3% of those cases were confirmed in men, the majority of whom identify as part of the LGBTQ community.

The proclamation makes it easier for the state to coordinate its response to the outbreak by ordering all state agencies to follow the direction of the Office of Emergency Services and the California Department of Public Health. The order also increases vaccination efforts by allowing EMS workers to administer vaccines, which remain in short supply.

Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and several other state lawmakers sent a letter to Newsom and legislative leaders Monday calling for an emergency budget appropriation of $38.5 million to support local monkeypox testing, vaccination, treatment and outreach for the first 90 days of the outbreak .

“The monkeypox outbreak is an emergency, and we need to use every tool we have to control it,” Wiener said in a statement after Newsom’s emergency declaration.

Newsom’s office said California has distributed more than 25,000 doses of the vaccine out of a total of 61,000 doses received to date. That total does not include a separate allocation the federal government directed to Los Angeles County.

The governor’s order said the state is “distributing its limited supply of the vaccine to local health jurisdictions based on a formula that considers current monkeypox cases and number of high-risk individuals.”

Those eligible for the vaccine in LA County include anyone who had direct contact with someone with monkeypox or attended a high-exposure event. Also eligible under the county’s guidelines are gay and bisexual men and transgender people who visited a commercial sex venue or other venue where they had anonymous sex or sex with multiple partners in the last three weeks, or who were diagnosed with gonorrhea or early syphilis within the last 12 months or are taking HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis medicine.

The governor’s office said more than 30 facilities and providers across the state are offering treatment for monkeypox, though access to the antiviral prescription drug tecovirimat is also limited.

“We’ll continue to work with the federal government to secure more vaccines, raise awareness about reducing risk, and stand with the LGBTQ community fighting stigmatization,” Newsom said.

Those infected by the virus initially have a fever, aches, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion. Later they develop a rash, usually starting on the face and then spreading, turning into pus-filled sores before healing.

Monkeypox illnesses typically resolve within two to four weeks but can cause severe pain, hospitalization, long-term symptoms and, in rare cases, death.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger urged the county to “draw down all the support available to accelerate the distribution of vaccines and resources to those at risk and suffering from this terrible disease” in response to the governor’s order.

“I will work to ensure we’re doing so quickly and efficiently,” Barger said in a statement. “We don’t have any time to waste.”

An investigation into the first case of monkeypox in California began in a person who traveled abroad on May 21 and was confirmed on May 25.

Under the 1970 California Emergency Services Act, the governor has broad authority to respond during a state of emergency. The governor can “make, amend, and rescind” state regulations and suspend state statutes and has the power to redirect state funds to help in an emergency — even funds appropriated by the California Legislature for an entirely different purpose.

The California Supreme Court in 2021 upheld an appeals court ruling that affirmed Newsom’s emergency powers. Two state Republican lawmakers had challenged Newsom’s power after he declared a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing he had no right to issue an executive order requiring ballots to be mailed to the state’s 22 million registered voters before the Nov. 3 , 2020, election.

The high court ruled the law was constitutional because it required the governor to terminate a declared state of emergency as soon as possible and also allows the Legislature to end it by passing a joint resolution.

Categories
Business

CSL) completes Vifor business acquisition

CSL) completes Vifor business acquisition

The market has since embraced the possible revenue opportunities on offer from a number of new treatments in Vifor’s pipeline that have yet to come to market.

Investors will have to wait longer for details on Vifor’s financial performance, however. CSL reports earnings on August 17, and because the deal will have only recently settled it will not be providing financial guidance for the business for 2023.

Analysts initially had a mixed response to the purchase, cautious about the big price tag paid but have since embraced the possible revenue opportunities on offer from a number of new treatments in Vifor's pipeline.

Analysts initially had a mixed response to the purchase, cautious about the big price tag paid but have since embraced the possible revenue opportunities on offer from a number of new treatments in Vifor’s pipeline.

Any financial guidance provided by CSL when releasing 2022 earnings will not include the Vifor business.

Instead, an investor briefing with CSL and Vifor executives will be held in October.

Vifor’s current chief commercial officer Hervé Gisserot will step into the role of general manager for the business once the purchase is completed.

Gisserot only joined the business in January after more than a decade at GlaxoSmithKline.

All eyes will be on CSL’s plasma collection results when it reports full-year results in a fortnight, with analysts wanting to see evidence that foot traffic into collection centers has bounced back after years of disruptions.

Blood plasma is the key ingredient in several of the company’s flagship products, but disruption of collections over the past two years due to the pandemic has left the company with shortfalls.

Recent foot traffic data suggests that more donors were entering centers in the last quarter of the year. The rollout of a new donor collection system called Rika is also hoped to increase the efficiency of collections.

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“We see the earnings growth profile for CSL as attractive to FY24, supported by an assumed recovery in plasma collections, benefits from the Rika platform and earnings contributions from Vifor,” Macquarie analysts said in a note to clients last week.

CSL shares are up 7.3 per cent over the past month, closing at $294.91 on Monday.

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Categories
Technology

Here’s The Shooter That Dr. Disrespect Says Will Blow Away Call Of Duty

Here’s The Shooter That Dr. Disrespect Says Will Blow Away Call Of Duty

So, gameplay footage of the debut project being developed by contentious streamer Dr. Disrespect’s recently formed studio is now floating around online. Dubbed a “vertical extraction shooter” that the Doc has claimed will blow Call of Duty‘s engine outta the water, the NFT game,titled Deadropdoes have an intriguing premise but currently looks rough around the edges.

Midnight Society is the development house founded by Guy “Dr. Disrespect” Beahm, who previously worked as a level designer at Call of Duty studio Sledgehammer Games, and several other veteran AAA game makers. The studio has been working on Deadrop, previously called “Project Moon,” for a little while now. However, on July 29, videos of the game started circulating on Twitter and YouTube as early supporters of the game who were granted access to a tech demo beta began sharing their experiences. Videos of the beta, officially called a “snapshot” by Midnight Society, don’t have much to them. Playing out in first-person, they primarily show a soldier shooting their way through a couple of dimly-lit shooting ranges with an M16-style assault rifle while ascending what appears to be some sort of skyscraper.

But the question remains: What even is this game? According to the Midnight Society’s website, Deadrop will be “the most community-focused, online PVP multiplayer experience the world has ever seen.” What it’s being billed as is more straightforward: an ascending battle royale rather than a sprawling one. Think Escape From Tarkov mixed with PUBG and you’ll get the idea. The premise seems to be that you’ll shoot your way through AI- and player-controlled enemies to be the first to reach the top of the tower for immediate extraction. This intrigues me. While I’m not the best FPS player out there — I mean, I A.M blind — I enjoy frantic firefights in smol spaces. The quick movements, the split-second decision-making, the racing heartbeat, the death. It’s a brief yet exhilarating moment, and if Deadrop can capture that frenzy, then this might be a solid battle royale.

However, what we’re looking at is pretty mid right now. of course, Deadrop is currently in development, so there’s plenty of time for Midnight Society to refine it. Still, the stiff animations, soft environments, and sluggish player movements aren’t mind-blowing. There’s certainly nothing here that blows Call of Duty‘s engine away, as Dr. Disrespect said the game would during a livestream a couple of months after Modern Warfare 2 was revealed, and I don’t even like CoD that much.

You can’t forget about the NFTs that are attached to Deadrop, too. In fact, that’s the only way to play a snapshot of the game at the present moment: Buying a goddamn NFT. While that does taint my interest in what Midnight Society is building, the core idea is compelling enough for me to watch it closely. We’ll see what Deadrop becomes as development progresses.

Categories
Entertainment

Karl, Jasmine Stefanovic seen on-board James Packer’s yacht in south of France

Karl, Jasmine Stefanovic seen on-board James Packer's yacht in south of France

Karl Stefanovic and his wife Jasmine are the latest big names to be spotted on-board James Packer’s luxury yacht in the south of France.

The 54-year-old Australian billionaire welcomed the Today co-host, 47, his shoe designer wife, 38, and their two-year-old daughter Harper for a day out on the $283 million boat in newly-emerged photos taken last week.

Former Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke, 41, also joined in on the fun, and was spotted with his rumored girlfriend, Jasmine’s younger sister Jade Yarbrough, 30.

The pair were understood to have been introduced by Stefanovic earlier this year, according to a report in The Daily Telegraph in July.

Earlier today Yarbrough, who runs an interior design company, uploaded an Instagram story with a photo of herself and Clarke strolling the streets of the French Riviera.

Meanwhile, Stefanovic is currently enjoying some time off-air, with co-host Allison Langdon being joined on the Channel 9 breakfast show by Nine reporter Charles Croucher.

Packer has been making headlines amid his lengthy stint overseas, which has seen him host a slew of big names on his yacht including actor and business partner Robert De Niro.

He’s also recently opened up about his new-found health kick which has seen him lose 33kg, telling The Weekend Australian in June that he was ready to start the “third act” of his life as he looks towards a return to Australia following a controversial period for Crown Casino.

“I’m roughly 130kg now and want to be back to 100kg by the end of 2022,” Packer told the publication.

Packer admitted that it “hasn’t been appropriate” to be in Australia amid years of scandals at Crown Casino – which he previously owned a major stake of – including staff getting jailed in China, and several inquiries which found the casino operator enabled money laundering and links to criminal gangs.

With the $8.9 billion sale of his company shares to US private equity firm Blackstone’s finalized on June 24, which saw Packer pocket an enormous $3.36 billion, he’s now ready to plan his return home.

“I want to swim with my kids at Bondi when we’re all in Sydney together next year and be 100kg,” he added.

On the love front, Packer has regularly been joined on his yacht by Danish model Josefine Hanning Jensen, who was recently identified by Confidential.

There’s no word yet on whether Packer and Jensen are romantically linked, or whether she will join him when he eventually heads back to Sydney.

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Categories
Sports

Hong Kong Rugby Sevens: Covid eating rule is absurd, drinking regulations

Hong Kong Rugby Sevens: Covid eating rule is absurd, drinking regulations

Rugby fans in the stands at November’s Hong Kong Sevens will be allowed to drink, but not eat, with masks having to be worn between sips, an official said on Monday.

The Chinese finance hub’s famously rowdy rugby extravaganza will return after a three-year coronavirus pandemic hiatus in November in a much-needed boost for sports-starved residents.

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But in contrast to most of the world’s major sporting events, strict coronavirus measures will be in place including a Beijing Olympics-style “closed-loop” system for players.

Hong Kong’s sports commissioner Yeung Tak-keung on Monday outlined what fans can expect in the 40,000-seat stadium, which will be capped at 85 per cent capacity.

While drinking will be allowed in the stands, eating will be limited to specific “eating outlets” instead.

“For eating, you need to take off the mask, and we want to reduce and minimize the mask-off activities at the spectator stands,” Yeung told the city’s public radio station RTHK.

He also said officials would be keeping an eye out to ensure fans kept their mouths covered.

“We want the spectators to observe the rules themselves and, also, the Rugby Union will send people around to remind people to put their masks back on after drinking,” he added.

That could prove to be an unenviable task for stadium stewards. The Hong Kong Sevens is known as much for its raucous crowds as it is for rugby, especially in the South Stand — famous for its fancy dress, party atmosphere and all-day drinking, singing and dancing.

The Hong Kong tournament — the highlight of World Rugby’s Sevens circuit and drawing thousands of overseas visitors to the city every year before the pandemic — is scheduled to return from November 4-6.

But it is unlikely Hong Kong will see a large influx of tourists any time soon. International flights remain well below pre-pandemic levels and all arrivals must currently undergo a week of mandatory hotel quarantine.

Hong Kong’s new administration, which took office this month, has been saying it plans to reduce the quarantine period soon, bringing in a health code traffic light system similar to China’s.

But there has been no firm commitment or time frame yet for ending quarantine.

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Categories
Australia

Critical investigation launched after on-duty detective, 46, found shot dead inside Sydney’s Ermington Police Station

Critical investigation launched after on-duty detective, 46, found shot dead inside Sydney's Ermington Police Station

A detective has been found dead inside a police station in Sydney’s north-west.

The 46-year-old detective sergeant was on duty when he was found dead by colleagues inside a room at Ermington Police Station about 12:30pm on Monday.

NSW Police revealed initial inquiries suggest there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.

The Daily Telegraph has reported the man died after a “shooting incident” and early investigations suggest the officer was shot with a police-issued firearm.

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Detectives have launched a critical incident investigation into the man’s death.

“The 46-year-old detective sergeant from a specialist command was on-duty at the time and initial inquiries suggest there are no suspicious circumstances,” a statement from NSW Police read.

“A critical incident investigation has been launched by detectives from the South West Metropolitan Region, who will prepare a report for the Coroner.

“The investigation will also be reviewed by the Professional Standards Command and independently oversighted by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC).”

Support services have been made available to the man’s colleagues, the officers who found him and those who were in the station at the time.

The death comes less than two years after another police officer took his own life at the Sydney Police Center in Surry Hills.

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Categories
US

Blistering heatwave suspected in 14 Oregon deaths | Oregon

Oregon authorities are investigating four additional deaths potentially linked to last week’s scorching heat wave, bringing the total number of suspected hyperthermia deaths to 14.

The Oregon state medical examiner’s office said Monday the designation of heat-related death is preliminary and requires further investigation.

Multnomah county, which is home to Portland, recorded seven deaths suspected to be related to heat, the highest of any Oregon county. Portland and Seattle set records Sunday for most consecutive days of high temperatures.

In Portland, temperatures on Sunday rose above 95F (35C) for the seventh day in a row, a record for the city for consecutive days above that mark. Further north in Seattle, the temperature rose to 91F (32.8C) by early afternoon, marking a record six days above 90F (32.2C).

Temperatures near triple digits nearly all of last week in the Portland area, prompting officials to open emergency overnight shelters and cooling stations.

The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning for both the Portland and Seattle regions lasting through late Sunday evening. Temperatures started to cool off on Monday as colder air from the Pacific blew in.

Climate crisis is fueling longer heat waves in the Pacific north-west, a region where week-long heat spells were historically rare, according to climate experts.

Residents and officials in the north-west have been trying to adjust to the likely reality of longer, hotter heat waves following last summer’s deadly “heat dome” weather phenomenon that prompted record temperatures and deaths.

About 800 people died in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia during that heat wave, which hit in late June and early July of 2021. The temperature reached an all-time high of 116F (46.7C) in Portland.

Categories
Business

Why a $250b wave of mortgage pain may be coming

Why a $250b wave of mortgage pain may be coming

“In past cycles, households have tended to default for three reasons: unemployment; family breakdown or health issues,” Mott points out. But this cycle is likely to look very different, with unemployment unlikely to rise from near historical lows.

Instead, what worries Mott is the speed of the rate rises, and how quickly housing debt has built up in recent years.

The inflation/rates story is well known; Tuesday’s predicted 0.5 of a percentage point rise would take rates to 1.85 per cent, from just 0.35 per cent in May, and ANZ forecasts rates hitting 3.35 per cent by the end of the year.

Warning from history

But Mott also provides some fascinating historical context on how debt has built up, by looking at the past 10 housing cycles to study the potential impact of rising rates on credit growth.

What’s particularly striking is the magnitude of growth in mortgage commitments in the two years preceding these 10 housing downturns; the 70.1 per cent increase in housing commitments in the two years before this current downturn is the second-biggest jump seen since lending data was first captured during the 1970s, and only beaten by the 131.5 per cent rise in the lead-up to the 1988 -89 housing downturn.

So, while the RBA has argued that mortgage borrowers look, on average, to be in a good position, with about 70 per cent ahead on their mortgage payments, Mott says this is meaningless.

“It is akin to the old saying that, ‘if you have your head in the oven and feet in the freezer, you feel OK, on ​​average’. In banking, it is the tail that matters, the last 5 per cent to 10 per cent of borrowers.”

And this cohort, he says, have overextended themselves to get into the market since June 2020.

Borrowers at maximum

Mott uses Commonwealth Bank’s estimate that up to 10 per cent of borrowers have taken out their maximum possible mortgage over the past three years (that is, these borrowers can withstand 2.5 per cent of rate rises, but will have no excess cash), and estimates a similar or slightly larger proportion of borrowers will have gone very close to their maximum.

While he concedes the analysis is rough, he estimates that, in total, borrowers who have somewhere between $200 billion and $250 billion in mortgages will face severe stress if the cash rate hits 3 per cent later this year, as expected.

“If interest rates continue to rise sharply, and stay around these levels, there will be a ‘fat tail’ of borrowers who will simply not be able to afford to meet their repayments,” Mott says.

“For the first time in several decades, we are likely to see a wave of fully employed borrowers falling into delinquency as they simply can’t make ends meet.”

This period of mortgage stress would be compounded by the fact that $800 billion of fixed-rate mortgages taken out in the past two years at rock-bottom rates will start to expire over the next 18 months, with borrowers facing steep rises in borrowing costs; on a $1 million mortgage, annual interest payments of $19,000 may shoot above $50,000.

How does this all play into the major banks’ bad debt provisions?

Collective provisions stand at a historically low $17.4 billion, but if rates got to 3 per cent and stay there for a few years, Mott sees a scenario (although this is not a forecast) where that might need to rise by $16.4 billion by 2023- 24.

By way of example, he forecasts CBA’s bad debt charge rising from two basis points in the 2022 financial year to 30 basis points in 2024.

It should be noted there’s a lot of water to go under the bridge here. Perhaps most notably, the RBA would presumably react to housing market pain and the economic hit caused by mortgage delinquencies by cutting rates.

And to be clear, even if Mott’s scenario came to pass, there is no systemic risk to the banking system from these rising credit impairments; the “unquestionably strong” regime implemented over the past decade underpins the strength of the banks’ balance sheets.

But the pain would be felt in bank profits, where Mott sees other areas of concern.

His historical data suggests housing commitments generally fall from 20 per cent to 35 per cent during a housing downturn. But because of the rapid growth in the past two years, he estimates a 35 per cent fall is in the frame this time around. That could take mortgage credit growth from about 6 per cent in 2022 to 2 per cent in 2024 (within an overall range of between zero and 3 per cent growth).

Mott also remains concerned about costs. About 60 per cent of the banks’ costs come from wages, which are clearly rising, with IT and property costs creeping higher too. ANZ and NAB abandoned their formal cost-cutting targets earlier this year, and Mott has raised his cost estimates for the banks again as inflation bites.

Categories
Technology

Now You Can Hang Up an iPhone Call Using Siri

Now You Can Hang Up an iPhone Call Using Siri

With the recent updates in iOS 15, the on-device Siri feature is surprisingly consistent at doing on-device tasks like setting timers, alarms, reminders, and calling people. In fact, placing calls is something that Siri has always been good at, and it does an equally good job for cellular calls or FaceTime calls. Now, with a new feature in iOS 16, Siri can end calls for you, as well, all hands-free. This is really useful if you talk on the iPhone speakers a lot, or if you use wireless earphones like AirPods or Beats.

(note: This is an iOS 16 feature and is currently only available as a public beta. With the iOS 16 public release slated in the fall, it will be available to every compatible iPhone across the globe.)

Once you have iOS 16 installed, go to Settings > Siri & Search > Siri Call Hangup and enable the “Siri Call Hangup” feature. Now, say the wordsHey Siri, hang upto put a call to bed. Of course, the caller will also hear those words, which may seem a bit odd to them, but you can decide for yourself whether that small awkwardness is worth it for the hands-free convenience and freedom.

If you don’t see this feature in Settings, it might be because your device isn’t supported. According to Apple, only the iPhone 11 and above are supported. But older iPhones can use this feature along with AirPods and Beats earphones that support the Hey Siri feature. Initially, this feature is also limited to these seven languages: German, English, Spanish, French, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, and Cantonese.

While you’re in the Siri settings, take a look at our guide on annoying Siri settings that you should change for some peace and quiet.