Global wanderer born in #Qbn, naturalised Bristolian, passionate about leadership & climate change, now living in a 5 star resort #CBR **Personal views only**
Garry Gordon and his photography of living lohraw colours
Long lines of dancers jitter like marionettes and the principal artists shine in this bold Dutch work that thrums with a dark energy
Cabinets of curiosities were all the rage in the 18th century; before modern museums existed, private collections of natural phenomena were the true markers of status. One of the largest belonged to Albertus Seba, a Dutch pharmacist and zoologist. He eventually published a four-volume book, Cabinet of Natural Curiosities, a stunning, exhaustively detailed document of exotica that became a touchstone of taxonomy and symbol of the Enlightenment.
Kunstkamer review – this fiendishly complicated ballet is astonishing
Italy Secret Services Attack on Ukraine War Skeptics Backfires: Corriere della Sera Publication of “filoputiniani” List Called McCarthyism, Proscription; Suits Coming?
A scandal rocks Italy over a hit piece in a top paper using leaked intelligence dossiers on prominent so-called “Putin lovers”.
Albanese and Ardern urged to talk tax and worker mobility, shortages
Tax watchers have urged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his New Zealand counterpart, Jacinda Ardern, to work towards progress on labour mobility in key industries during their bilateral talks on Friday.
The pair will hold a formal bilateral meeting in Sydney, after a working dinner at Kirribilli House on Thursday night. Ms Ardern’s visit is the first by a foreign leader since Labor’s victory at the May 21 election.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will meet with Anthony Albanese on Friday. Bloomberg
Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand chief executive Ainslie van Onselensaid the visit should achieve more than the usual diplomatic niceties, with many industries struggling to hire workers.
“Labour mobility is a key current issue, with skill shortages in the accounting profession and many other industries,” she said.
“The leaders have much to talk about, but from a business perspective, continuously improving trans-Tasman economic co-operation should always be high on the agenda.”
Treasurer Jim Chalmers will meet with New Zealand Finance Minister Grant Robertson as part of the delegation. Inflation and cost-of-living headwinds are growing on both sides of the Tasman.
At 6.9 per cent, New Zealand’s annual inflation rate outstrips Australia’s, according to the latest figures. Food prices in New Zealand have risen by 6.6 per cent year-on-year.
“Dr Chalmers has already expressed interest in borrowing ideas from the wellbeing budget, a concept which New Zealand embraced in 2019, and he should look closely at the following four budgets and their impacts, good, bad, or otherwise,” Ms van Onselen said.
Chartered Accountants has proposed talks between Australian and New Zealand officials, including on whether Labor will continue the Morrison government’s proposal to allow Australian businesses to choose to have their PAYG instalments calculated based on current financial performance, extracted from business accounting software.
Roundtable talks could also further advance the interest of both countries in improving the tracing of beneficial ownership to counter tax avoidance and money-laundering, with a cross-border operating system considered.
Ms van Onselen said New Zealand’s recently moves to introduce “bright line” – or clearly defined – transaction rules, could be instructive to Australian officials and the Australian Taxation Office. Lessons from New Zealand’s simplified fringe benefits tax regime could also be discussed.
With both countries now led by parties from the same side of politics, and at a time of increasing economic uncertainty, it is more important than ever for Australia and New Zealand to further strengthen the trans-Tasman relationship,” she said.
Mr Albanese has talked up the opportunity to improve relations between Australia and New Zealand in his relationship with Ms Ardern, comments matched by the NZ Labour leader this week, when she called for “new conversations”.
“Regardless of who’s in office, we want to make progress,” she said.
Tensions grew under former prime minister Scott Morrison over Australia’s deportations of Kiwis convicted of serious crimes.
New Zealanders – including many who had been in Australia almost all their lives – were deported if convicted of a serious offence or deemed by the immigration minister to be of bad character.
Ms Ardern publicly berated Mr Morrison in 2020, accusing him of dumping Australia’s criminals on New Zealand.
The agenda for talks includes Pacific co-operation, including in the ongoing economic recovery after COVID-19, the position of Indigenous people in both countries, climate, trade and security.
Mr Albanese said the Australia–New Zealand relationship remains “unique in its closeness”, through a single economic market, people-to-people ties and our shared interests.
Like Dos Jacinta and Albo used to moonlight in side DJing hustles
