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[1/2] New Zealands' Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern addresses the 77th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., September 23, 2022. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs/File PhotoApril 5 (Reuters) - All New Zealanders should feel politics can be a home for them, former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Wednesday, in a final address to parliament after leading the nation through the COVID-19 pandemic and a terror attack in Christchurch. Ardern, who thanked her family, her political party and her supporters, had stepped down as prime minister in January saying she had "no more in the tank" to lead the country. Ardern said she had found herself involved in people's lives "during their most grief-stricken or traumatic moments" in that series of events. New Zealand faced some of the strictest measures globally but also had one of the lowest death tolls.

☆ Australia bans TikTok on government devices over security concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] The logo of Chinese-owned video app TikTok is seen on a smartphone in front of an image of the Australian national flag in this illustration picture taken April 4, 2023. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/IllustrationSYDNEY, April 4 (Reuters) - Australia banned TikTok on Tuesday from all federal government-owned devices over security concerns, becoming the latest U.S.-allied country to take action against the Chinese-owned video app. TikTok's Australia and New Zealand General Manager Lee Hunter said TikTok should not be singled out. "Things are going well, but of course, it'll take some time to turn this ship around," Trade Minister Don Farrell told Sky News, referring to prospects for improving trade relations. TikTok has said the administration of President Joe Biden demanded its Chinese owners divest their stakes or face a potential U.S. ban.

☆ Deepest-ever fish caught and filmed off Japan by scientists
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, April 3 (Reuters) - Fish have been caught more than 5 miles (8 kilometres) under the surface of the ocean for the first time ever - and filmed even deeper - by a joint Japanese-Australian scientific expedition. The snailfish, of the Pseudoliparis belyaevi species, are the first to be caught below 8,000 metres, the expedition said. It wasn't immediately clear how big the fish were, but the species has been recorded as reaching a length of close to 11 centimetres (4.3 inches). "The Japanese trenches were incredible places to explore; they are so rich in life, even all the way at the bottom," said Jamieson, founder of the Minderoo-UWA Deep Sea Research Centre. "We tell people from the very early ages, as young as two or three, that the deep sea is a horrible scary place that you shouldn't go and that grows with you with time," said Jamieson.

☆ Australia passes tougher emissions reduction law that hits gas investments
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, March 30 (Reuters) - New rules that cap total Australian greenhouse gas emissions and curb some new gas and coal investments in the country will come into effect on 1 July after parliament passed an upgraded emissions reduction plan on Thursday. Negotiations with the Greens, who wanted a ban on all new fossil fuel investments, resulted in a law including a hard total emissions cap, ministerial review for projects that raise total emissions and compulsory disclosures for polluters that rely heavily on carbon offsets to meet their targets. Under the revised legislation, projects such as the massive Browse field that Woodside Energy (WDS.AX) wants to develop would have to have carbon capture and storage to achieve net zero. The legislation also requires all new gas projects in the Beetaloo Basin to have net zero carbon emissions and new gas fields supplying existing liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants to have net zero reservoir emissions, imposing new costs. Reporting by Lewis Jackson; Editing by Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Australian PM says would welcome inflation-matching minimum wage rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Lewis Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Changes to the national minimum wage are reviewed annually by the independent Fair Work Commission (FWC), which last year delivered an increase largely in line with inflation. "If the Fair Work Commission makes that decision then I would welcome it, but it is an independent decision of government. The FWC decision, expected in June, also covers minimum wages and conditions for specific industries and occupations, known as awards. Roughly 2.7 million Australians are covered by awards, compared to around 180,000 on the minimum wage. Catherine Birch, a senior economist at ANZ, said the FWC would likely lift the minimum wage further than award wages, given the latter's broader reach.

☆ Australia's biggest pension funds cut China exposure, buy fossil fuels
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Lewis Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SYDNEY, March 30 (Reuters) - Two of Australia's largest pension funds pulled money out of Chinese stocks and boosted positions in the country's fossil fuel sector in the final six months of 2022, according to filings published on Thursday. Both funds collectively increased their shareholdings in Woodside Energy Group (WDS.AX), Australia's largest independent natural gas producer, by roughly 14 million shares. The disclosures come just days after activist investors accused the big Australian pension funds of failing to push fossil fuel producers like Woodside hard enough to decarbonise. The figures reveal pension funds pulling back from China during the back half of 2022, a time when investors across the developed world were reconsidering exposure to a country still subject to strict COVID lockdowns. Aware Super said in a statement it had a "relatively small exposure" to China mostly via external managers.

SYDNEY, March 27 (Reuters) - Australia's lower house on Monday passed an emissions reduction plan with curbs on some new gas and coal investments and a cap on total greenhouse gas emissions from the country's biggest polluters after a key deal with the Greens Party. The updated legislation also requires all new gas projects in the Beetaloo Basin to have net zero carbon emissions and new gas fields supplying existing liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants to have net zero reservoir emissions, imposing new costs. "Today, we are a step closer to achieving net zero by 2050," Energy Minister Chris Bowen said. Under the revised legislation, projects such as the massive Browse field that Woodside Energy (WDS.AX) wants to develop would have to have carbon capture and storage to achieve net zero. The government said it would tip in A$400 million ($266 million) to help the cement, steel and aluminium industries decarbonise.

☆ Australia would not allow AT1 debt security holder wipe-out -minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, March 28 (Reuters) - Australian law would not allow regulators to wipe out AT1 tier credit holders while shareholders received some compensation as occurred during the Swiss government-brokered takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS, the assistant treasurer said on Tuesday. It's an entirely different set of circumstances here in Australia," Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones told the Australian Financial Review Banking Summit in Sydney. Swiss regulators wrote down 16 billion Swiss francs ($17.5 billion) of Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) bonds, known as Additional Tier 1 or AT1 debt, to zero as part of a forced rescue merger with UBS (UBSG.S). Under the deal, holders of Credit Suisse AT1 bonds received nothing, while shareholders, who usually rank below bondholders in terms of who gets paid when a bank or company collapses, will receive $3.23 billion. AT1 bonds - a $275 billion sector also known as "contingent convertibles" or "CoCo" bonds - act as shock absorbers if a bank's capital levels fall below a certain threshold.

Heading into a state election on Saturday, the conservative coalition has promised to rein in the powerful "pokies" industry in a jurisdiction with nearly one-tenth of the world's million machines, second only to Las Vegas. "This is the first time in our state's history ... that poker machine reform is actually an election issue," said Stu Cameron, CEO of Wesley Mission, a charity that supports the homeless, addicts and others. Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics"We are the epicenter of pokie machine addiction not just in Australia but across the world. McMillan, the air conditioning repairman, said cashless machines alone could not stop problem gambling, but "I would promote any change that could help people". Since then, a quarter of its 400 groups have taken grants from slot machine interests, Reuters' analysis of publicly available documents showed, in a sign of the industry's grassroots hold.

Swiss authorities brokering Credit Suisse's (CSGN.S) rescue merger with UBS (UBSG.S) have said 16 billion Swiss francs ($17 billion) of its Additional Tier 1 (AT1) debt will be written down to zero. That puts holders of the AT1 bonds lower in priority than even investors who hold an equity stake in Credit Suisse and can expect to get 0.76 Swiss francs per share. The shock realisation reverberated through Asian markets on Monday as traders hurried to reprice bank debt, and pushed bank stocks down. Asian AT1 bonds were down 4-5 points, while European ones were down 10 points, he said. But you did enter this thing believing that you'd be senior to the equity holders, that's the thing that people are worried about."

☆ Fact Check-Viral clip shows tree catkins, not ‘rain of worms’ in China - scientists
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A viral clip online likely shows the catkins, or flower spikes, of poplar trees covering cars in northern China, not a “rain of worms” as social media posts and some news reports have claimed, experts told Reuters. One tweet saying: “China citizens told to find shelter after it looked like it started to rain worms” has been viewed more than 18 million times at the time of writing (here). There can be thousands of poplar catkins per tree, Claire Thomas Federici, a botanist and plant geneticist at the University of California, Riverside (here), said by email. China has a “distinctively rich” variety of trees in the poplar family, particularly in northern China, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (here), (here). Experts say the video from China likely shows catkins from poplar trees instead of a “rain” of worms or caterpillars.

☆ New Zealand to ban TikTok on devices linked to parliament, cites security concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WELLINGTON, March 17 (Reuters) - New Zealand said it will ban TikTok on devices with access to the country's parliamentary network due to cybersecurity concerns, becoming the latest nation to limit the use of the video-sharing app on government-related devices. Concerns have mounted globally about the potential for the Chinese government to access users' location and contact data through ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company. The depth of those concerns was underscored this week when the Biden administration demanded that TikTok's Chinese owners divest their stakes or the app could face a U.S. ban. read moreIn New Zealand, TikTok will be banned on all devices with access to parliament's network by the end of March. "Based on this information the Service has determined that the risks are not acceptable in the current New Zealand Parliamentary environment,” he said.

[1/4] A combination of photographs shows people using automated teller machines (ATMs) at Australia's "Big Four" banks - Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (bottom R), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (top R), National Australia Bank Ltd (bottom L) and Westpac Banking Corp (top L). REUTERS/StaffSYDNEY, March 17 (Reuters) - An A$300 billion ($201.21 billion) refinancing task for Australia's biggest banks is about to get harder, say analysts, as appetite for new debt shrinks across global markets roiled by concerns about bank stability and liquidity. "Now major banks don't have to hit markets everyday... but ultimately banks can't stay out of the market forever." Refinancing today would add extra 5 to 10 basis points to banks' costs versus a week and a half ago, he added. ($1 = 1.4910 Australian dollars)Reporting by Lewis Jackson and Scott Murdoch; Editing by Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Australia PM defends AUKUS submarine deal against critics
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Lewis Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] U.S. President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak deliver remarks on the Australia - United Kingdom - U.S. (AUKUS) partnership, after a trilateral meeting, at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego, California U.S. March 13, 2023. REUTERS/Leah MillisSYDNEY, March 16 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday defended the country's A$368 billion ($244.06 billion) plan to acquire nuclear submarines, after two former leaders criticised the deal over its cost, complexity and potential sovereignty issues. Unveiled on Tuesday in San Diego, the multi-decade AUKUS project will see Australia purchase U.S. Virginia-class submarines before joint British and Australian production and operation of a new submarine class, SSN-AUKUS. Opting for nuclear submarines in the U.S.-Britain alliance over conventional alternatives would leave Australia with fewer submarines while constraining the country's ability to operate independently of the United States, he said. Some analysts have argued nuclear submarines are preferable because their superior range and stealth will help protect Australia's trade routes from Chinese aggression.

☆ Australia's nuclear submarine plan to cost up to $245 billion by 2055 -defence official
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Lewis Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

CANBERRA, March 14 (Reuters) - Australia's nuclear-powered submarine programme with the United States and Britain will cost up to A$368 billion ($245 billion) over the next three decades, a defence official said on Tuesday, the country's biggest single defence project in history. Albanese said the programme would start with a A$6 billion ($4 billion) investment over the next four years to expand a major submarine base and the country's submarine shipyards, as well as train skilled workers. The total cost of the submarine program is estimated to be A$268 billion to A$368 billion by 2055, or roughly 0.15% of gross domestic product per year, a defence official told Reuters. U.S. nuclear-powered submarines will visit Western Australia more frequently this year, with British submarines making port visits starting in 2026. From 2027 the Perth base, HMAS Stirling, will be host to a rotational presence of British and U.S. nuclear-powered submarines to build Australia's experience.

☆ Australia says offered China briefing over nuclear submarine deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CANBERRA/SYDNEY, March 14 (Reuters) - Australia offered China a briefing over its nuclear-powered submarine deal with the United States and Britain but is not aware of any response from Beijing, Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Tuesday. The government has made more than 60 calls over the last week to leaders including in the Pacific and southeast Asia to inform them about the agreement, known as the AUKUS pact, Marles said during a televised media briefing. U.S. President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday unveiled details of a plan to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines, a major step to counter China's ambitions in the Indo-Pacific. China "firmly objects" to the nuclear submarine agreement, its foreign ministry said this month. Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney and Lewis Jackson in Canberra; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Australian tech firms say they don't have material exposure to SVB
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, March 13 (Reuters) - Several Australian and New Zealand tech firms said on Monday they did not have material exposure to Silicon Valley Bank following the failure of the U.S. startup-focused lender SVB Financial Group (SIVB.O) last week. Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the government was aware some Australian firms have been impacted but added the country's "institutions are solid (and) our banking sector is well-capitalised." Australian design technology firm Canva said the majority of its cash was outside SVB and that it had "safety nets in place" to ensure its operations were not compromised. Friday's failure of SVB Financial Group, which focuses on technology startups, was the biggest bank collapse in the United States since the 2008 financial crisis. On Sunday, state regulators closed New York-based Signature Bank (SBNY.O), the second bank failure in two days, as the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve unveiled a range of measures to stabilise the banking system.

☆ GQG Partners likely to increase Adani investment, says founder
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, March 8 (Reuters) - GQG Partners would likely expand its investment in the Adani group, the fund firm's founder Rajiv Jain said on Wednesday, a week after its $1.9 billion infusion into the embattled Indian conglomerate. GQG Partners, co-founded by Jain in 2016, bought shares worth $1.87 billion in four Adani group companies, marking the first major investment in the Indian conglomerate since a short-seller's critical report in January sparked a stock rout. Last week, pension fund investor Cbus Super, with A$71 billion ($46.82 billion) under management, told Reuters they had queried GQG about the Adani purchase. A GQG spokesperson said Jain's trip had been planned for some time and the discussions included topics other than Adani. Jain said he has not had a conversation with the Adani group since the transaction.

☆ Australia's sovereign wealth fund screening for Chinese firms at risk of US bans
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Lewis Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, March 7 (Reuters) - Australia's sovereign wealth fund, the Future Fund, is screening its portfolio for Chinese companies at risk of U.S. investment restrictions, its chairman said on Tuesday. The Biden administration plans to ban investments in some Chinese technology firms and increase scrutiny of others, sources have said, as part of its plan to crack down on the billions that American firms have poured into sensitive Chinese sectors. I think it’s foreseeable,” Costello said during a panel discussion at the Australian Financial Review summit in Sydney on Tuesday. The A$243 billion ($164 billion) fund was established in 2006 to cover escalating pension liabilities for public servants and rivals Australia's largest pension funds in size. "I just think it’s a prudent measure in this bifurcated world we’re going into," said Costello.

☆ Bank of America CEO sees U.S. technical recession in 3rd qtr
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, March 7 (Reuters) - Bank of America (BAC.N) Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan said on Tuesday the U.S. economy would reach a technical recession starting in the third quarter. I don't think you'll see a deep recession," he said. Moynihan said the bank forecast U.S. interest rates would start to be reduced in the second quarter of 2024. I don't think you're going to see a deep recession," Moynihan said. "I think you're going to see a slowdown which frankly a lot of people are not going to see that much of.

☆ New Zealand's Georgina Beyer, world's first openly transgender MP, dies
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, March 6 (Reuters) - New Zealander Georgina Beyer, the world's first openly transgender member of parliament and tireless advocate for LGBTQ rights, has died at the age of 65. She had long battled kidney disease but statements about her death did not mention the cause. A former sex worker, actor and drag queen, Beyer was elected to national parliament in 1999 after several years as mayor of Carterton, a rural town on the country's North Island. Beyer received a kidney transplant in 2017 after four years of end-stage renal failure that required daily dialysis. "I certainly think that Georgina blazed a trail that has made it much easier for others to follow."

☆ 50,000 march across Australia's Harbour Bridge for WorldPride
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] People march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge for equality as part of the 2023 WorldPride festival in Sydney, Australia, March 5, 2023. AAP Image/Steven Saphore via REUTERSSYDNEY, March 5 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joined 50,000 revelers on Sunday in a march across Sydney's Harbour Bridge to celebrate the final day of WorldPride festival. "This is just a great celebration and it’s symbolic of bringing people together, the unity, that’s what a bridge does," said Albanese. Sydney is the first city in the southern hemisphere to host WorldPride, a global festival celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community. "I was in tears on the parade watching them, everything they’ve done and where we’ve come has just been great.

☆ International drug bust nets $677 mln of cocaine bound for Australia
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, March 4 (Reuters) - A joint U.S. and Australian law enforcement operation busted an international drug ring after intercepting 2.4 tonnes of cocaine aboard a vessel off the coast of South America that had been bound for Australia. Western Australian police substituted the cargo with identically packed fake cocaine and dropped it roughly 40 nautical miles west of state capital Perth on Dec. 28. Three suspected members of the "Australian arm of a drug syndicate" with 1.2 tonnes of fake cocaine were arrested on Dec. 30, after allegedly making three trips out through rough seas to collect the packages. Hailing the success of "Operation Beech" Western Australia police commissioner Col Blanch in a statement: "The operation sends a message to international drug traffickers – your deadly drugs are not welcome here." ($1 = 1.4775 Australian dollars)Reporting by Lewis Jackson; Editing by Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Australian pension fund client queries GQG about Adani investment
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Lewis Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, March 3 (Reuters) - An Australian pension fund client of GQG Partners has asked the U.S. boutique investment firm for more information about its nearly $1.9 billion investment in the embattled Indian Adani group. GQG Partners bought shares worth $1.87 billion in four Adani group companies, marking the first major investment in the Indian conglomerate since a short-seller's critical report sparked a stock rout. Cbus Super, with A$71 billion under management, has a A$243 million emerging markets mandate with GQG Partners. The $258 billion fund had no investments in Adani Group companies as of June 2022, according to a review of the most recent holdings disclosures. Shares of Australia-listed GQG Partners closed down 3% on Friday after news of the investment was made public.

☆ Analysis: Australia's DIY pension funds lose millions on crypto bets, investors not sweating it
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Lewis Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Summary Thousands of Australians use DIY pension funds to buy cryptoLosses likely in the hundreds of millions -Reuters calculationAustralia has few rules governing what DIY funds can buySYDNEY, March 2 (Reuters) - Thousands of Australians who used do-it-yourself (DIY) pension funds to bet on cryptocurrencies face hundreds of millions of dollars in losses, jeopardising their savings in a scheme originally set up to ensure adequate retirement income. DIY pension funds account for a fourth of Australia's A$3.4 trillion ($2.29 trillion) pension pool. Australia's DIY pension sector combines size and freedom in a way that sets it apart from other countries. The United States also has a freewheeling DIY pension sector but take-up is negligible. "Our general position is if it's legal to invest in speculative assets, then no further restrictions should apply to SMSF investments."

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