PM Edition: Here are the top 10 business articles on LiveNews.co.nz for August 24, 2026 – Full Text
1. Winston Peters: “Old Parties’ Fiscal Policy Devoid of Economic Strategy”
August 23, 2026
Source: New Zealand First
Today ladies and gentlemen we will discuss what we are going to do, but first let’s discuss what we have to deal with.
We must not forget what we inherited just three short years ago from an economically destructive and morally bereft Labour government, that left this country in an economic and social mess.
We inherited a broken economy, a fractured society, and a country on a road to social disaster.
New Zealand’s debt skyrocketed, there were multiple policies with no allocated funding, racist co-governance and woke ideology had spread into legislation and throughout the public sector, universities, government departments, and schools – and ramraid after ramraid of ordinary shopping centres.
On their own, Labour had simply run roughshod over our country.
Labour left us:
· A crumbling, underfunded, overwhelmed Health System.
An education system that had seen:
- · a record number of children not attending school
- · a record number of children failing basic standards
- · an unmanageable number of schools without adequate classrooms, and
A Defence Force that had lost more than a third of its personnel over Labour’s three years.
An undermanned Police Force:
- · haemorrhaging officers to Australia,
- · massive shortages in recruitment,
- · massive increases in crime, and
- · youth ramraids and violence that was simply out of control.
Gang numbers that ballooned over the three years.
A cost-of-living crisis.
A housing crisis with skyrocketing prices and unprecedented numbers living in emergency hotels. Remember the Labour promise 100,000 new Kiwi-Build houses in ten years?
They left us a rate of child poverty even higher than when in 2021 Jacinda Ardern made herself the ‘Minister of Child Poverty’.
A mental health system that had seen more and more young people suffering with no help.
Crumbling infrastructure around the country with no plan, no funding, and no idea.
An unprecedented, uncontrollable level of immigration – over 133,000 entering in 2023 alone.
And during Covid, Labour left large numbers of people ostracised, demonised, shutdown and shutout, ignored and cancelled – all because those people fought for their right to say ‘no, we disagree.’
And they are hoping we have all forgotten about all of that.
They are now actively banking on working with the wacky Greens and racist mess of the Māori Party. Labour care more about the seats that will give them a road to power, rather than the danger of who it is that will fill those seats.
The Labour Party of just twenty years ago would never entertain working with the likes of those in the current Greens or Māori Party. Those two parties are self-confessed Marxists and separatists, who have unworkable dangerous policies, and care more about globalist woke ideology and geopolitical wars happening ten thousand miles away than understanding the real world here in New Zealand.
A Labour, Greens, Māori Party, Opportunity government would be a total disaster for our country.
The reality is, Labour long ago deserted the traditional blue-collar workers of New Zealand.
The movement of the party to the far left has caused longtime Labour voters to feel abandoned by a party that once stood for the ‘ordinary hard-working kiwi’.
Instead, Labour now cares more about ‘social justice’ issues, socialist economics, and cultural separatism.
That is why we ruled out working with Labour before the last election and why we are again ruling out working with the Labour Party in 2026.
For those voters thinking of changing the government, we suggest they carefully look at the four parties on the left, have a good look at their track record, then view the list of changes they want to make to New Zealand, and then ask this question – are these changes possible without inflicting irreversible harm on New Zealand.
And we mean all four of the parties on the left because they will all be needed to form a government.
It is not just a vote for Labour, or just a vote for the Greens, or just a vote for the Māori Party, or just a vote for the Opportunity Party.
They will all be needed to form a four-headed government combination the type we have never seen in this country’s history.
Because within these four groups are communists, separatists and worse still they are all globalists. Which is a sure fire toxic concoction to turn our country into the Venezuela or Myanmar of the South Pacific.
That is not an exaggeration.
We cannot be more serious in our warning that those parties of the left would destroy the New Zealand we know. Our values, our character, our economy, and our society.
In an interview last week, Ryan Bridge asked the Māori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi why the Māori Seats are needed when this current government has the highest number of Māori in Cabinet on record – that’s even more Māori in Cabinet than when Labour and the Greens were in power.
Do you know what Rawiri said?
“They may have whakapapa Māori, but they’re not kaupapa Māori based MPs.”
You know what that means don’t you? That Rawiri thinks that you’re the wrong kind of Māori if you don’t agree with what Rawiri thinks.
Here is someone leading a party that purports to ‘represent Māori interests’ in our country, yet only received three percent of the vote – out of a claimed seventeen percent population of Māori in New Zealand. That means less than one in eight Māori even voted for the Māori Party, so who do they represent exactly?
What is worse, is the Māori Party are now actively campaigning against people giving their party vote to the Māori Party.
They are wanting to manipulate the Māori vote by telling people to party vote for some other party on the left.
This is after giving everyone a lecture for decades on the importance of an independent Māori vote, and why other Māori MPs are not Māori enough.
All they have done is treat Māori with disdain, turn up to parliament once a month, and do a haka now and again in the House.
And who wants to sit with them at Cabinet with their extremist views? The Labour Party.
Another party the Labour Party wants to work with is the shiny new Opportunity Party.
The Opportunity Party wants homeowners to pay 1.75% of your home’s land value every year, that’s on top of your local rates.
Now you will have to pay an annual rent to the government.
And what did the leader of the Opportunity Party say when questioned about a couple on the pension, who worked hard and saved all their lives, bought a house for their future and their children’s future, who would now, under Opportunity Party, face a $20k land tax bill every year? She said, yes, they will have to downsize their house to afford it.
This is blisteringly ignorant. But it gets worse.
Because, do you know what that money would be used for?
The $20k for an old couple on the pension? Infrastructure? Health? Education? Fuel security? Or food prices? No.
The $20k of land tax taken from the old couple, will be used to give everyone in New Zealand, working or not, a Universal Basic Income of $19,400 a year – for free, for life, even if you’re doing nothing.
Opportunity Party calls this ‘fairness’.
New Zealand First calls it ‘communism’.
The question is, what are you as the voter, going to call it?
The Opportunity Party also wants to raise the youth court age to twenty-five years of age – however, when they were questioned on that, they quickly deleted the 25 year court age from their website and then said they haven’t figured out the new court age yet.
Something Opportunity also changed, only when they were found out, was that their constitution that stated the unelected board could veto caucus decisions. The leader, on television, revealed that she didn’t even know there was such a provision.
Their ‘redistribution of wealth’ and bludging tax policy doesn’t stack up, their ridiculous view on law and order doesn’t stack up, and their policy to intrench Te Tiriti into law along with a Māori Upper House in parliament is worse than the Māori Party’s racist policies.
The mainstream media promoted Opportunity Party campaign is falling apart everyday – just ask the Labour Party leader Helen Clark.
But who wants to sit across from them in Cabinet? The Labour Party.
As for the Green Party, they have proven themselves to be the nutbars they always were.
The Greens want an $88 billion debt increase, and have a new policy bribe to give $2.4 billion to Marae – without any oversight or audit.
If you’re a Māori in this room today, tell us honestly, what does that reflect about what they think of you?
This is inverse racism of the worst sort. They think they can use a bribe to get your vote. Does that reflect respect for you or sheer contempt?
The Greens care more about a geopolitical war happening ten thousand miles away that they know nothing about, than they do about what is happening in their own country.
The are obsessed with race, gender, pronouns, and protests, performative politics, virtue signalling, and woke cancel culture, and they have lost sight of what their party once stood for.
They are no longer worried about the environment like Rod Donald and Jeanette Fitzsimons once were – they have turned into a bunch of weirdo globalists who like to sanctimoniously lecture people – while wearing costumes from some other country.
And who wants to sit across the Cabinet table with them? The Labour Party.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is the stark truth. The Labour Party that you once knew, perhaps even supported, is no more.
That party is gone. All of these polices and parties they are willing to support are proof of that.
Can you imagine Helen Clark or Michael Cullen, or Bob Tizard or Peter Frazer signing up to this?
These parties on the left are not people who see New Zealand as one people, one country, one flag, one law, or who believe in fundamental kiwi values like hard work, ambition, and personal responsibility.
These are people who believe in a separatist society, and who want to borrow, tax, and spend – but have zero economic credentials, or even vision, to deliver growth.
Chris Hipkins and Labour are willing to work with parties like Opportunity, Greens, and the Māori Party because Labour care more about the number of seats that will give them power, rather than the danger of who it is they will share power with.
Ladies and gentlemen, part of New Zealand First’s mission is to keep these dangerous lefties out of power.
New Zealand Needs Bold Policies
A country that does not control its energy, essential infrastructure, banking competition, or strategic supply chains cannot control the cost of living.
There is only one political party in parliament that understands that and that party is New Zealand First.
That’s why we have announced practical, logical and workable policies to break up the power companies’ monopoly, and drive power prices down.
We have announced practical, logical and workable policies to split the supermarket duopoly, and drive food prices down.
We have announced practical, logical, and workable polices to re-establish a competitive New Zealand owned state bank, to drive banking charges down.
We have announced polices to return mining royalties, created in the regions, back to the regions.
We have announced establishing a proper transparent inquiry into those who were injured by the Covid 19 vaccine – so we can find out exactly what happened, who was responsible, and publicly hold them to account.
And we are going to further inquire into how over 311,000 twelve to seventeen year olds got the second vaccine when the then Prime Minister Ardern, and two Ministers in charge Hipkins and Verrill, were advised not to.
Ladies and gentlemen, the fact that this is not headlining in the mainstream media or in parliament is testimony to how the establishment, media and political, almost completely conformed to the “podium of truth”.
The reason why you aren’t seeing any headlines is that both the media and politicians are exposed to their wanton compliance and obedience in how they mislead the public of New Zealand – this is a conspiracy.
We are going to expose the cover-up on this issue by the other political parties and the establishment who all signed a document not to talk to the protesters.
KiwiSaver and Future Fund
We announced our KiwiSaver policy of making it compulsory with automatic $1000 sign-up at birth. It means the day a baby is born it gets $1000 in its account to start saving.
We have announced our policy is to establish a $100 billion Future Fund that will invest in a thirty-year infrastructure plan for our country. And that’s where we are going to get the money to build the projects that we promise in our country.
Paris Agreement
We have also announced that we will pull out of the failing Paris Agreement that is senselessly hamstringing our economy.
Loose Electoral Laws
New Zealand has one of the loosest electoral laws in the world, and that is why we have announced a policy to ensure that by 2029 only citizens are allowed to vote in our country.
Making NZ Energy Independent
At our Campaign Launch, we announced a policy to invest $1billion to start exploring our gas and oil reserves in our deep-sea basins so we can own and export our own oil and gas – we need to be independent from events like in the Strait of Hormuz.
We have announced the ‘Kiwi Kids Grant’ that will support New Zealand citizens raising their first three children, through the first three years of their lives – $5000 per child for each of the three years.
We have also announced New Zealand First is proposing changes to the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act to incentivise investment in value-added dairy manufacturing in New Zealand.
We are giving certainty for any business willing to manufacture dairy products in New Zealand.
We want industry in New Zealand. If investors want to invest more in higher-value manufacturing, then our economic settings should welcome them.
Build the factories. Build the brands. Take New Zealand dairy products to the world.
Experience Matters Most
New Zealand First started our long campaign in March this year and we have been packing the halls around the country every week delivering the message to thousands of kiwis that we are focussed on two things – bold policies our country needs for a real change, and the fight for ordinary hard working kiwis against the establishment, the elites, and the status quo.
Experience and leadership has never mattered more.
We need leaders of the next government to say the things that people are thinking without fear or favour – even the things that might be unpopular.
New Zealand needs strong leadership who are not afraid to be strong on important issues.
And we don’t need weak leaders who don’t understand New Zealand values.
We can’t go on allowing the two old parties to tinker round the edges of big issues and do nothing but manage the decline of our country.
These two old parties have spent the last forty years arguing over fiscal or spending policy whilst having no economic strategy to grow New Zealand’s Gross Domestic Product, to lift your wages and your standard of living.
The old parties’ fiscal policies have been devoid of economic strategy.
Only one party has an understanding of the economic strategy that is required, even to the extent to when we criticised the then National Party’s spending policy and lack of economic strategy, the New Zealand First leader was expelled from the National Party caucus.
Value of Citizenship
New Zealand needs to start viewing our citizenship as most other countries around the world do – as a privilege that comes with special and unique rights.
This does not take away from migrants the ability to move here and help build our country, from showing total commitment and patriotism for New Zealand by becoming a citizen.
We have massively allowed so many of our standards to drop.
Even the most basic of privileges and rights in any country like voting has in our country become more like an expectation for anyone, rather than a unique right for New Zealanders.
Ladies and gentlemen, why do so many ‘apologetic globalists’ act shocked and dismayed that a political party is wanting to ensure that citizenship actually mean something?
There is a difference in this election. Kiwis are looking at what parties are offering as their values and principles in these uncertain times.
NZFirst Party of Conservatism, Patriotism, Nationalism
We signed a coalition agreement to govern with stability and experience three years ago – and we have kept our word.
New Zealand First brings what is too often missing in politics – experience and common sense.
New Zealand First brings a commitment to New Zealand industry, to manufacturing, to jobs right here for our own people.
Immigration Policy
New Zealand First brings commonsense to immigration policy – where we allow in people that we need, not people who need us.
We believe in infrastructure before imported population growth, not afterwards, and infrastructure focused on fixing what’s broken, not flash upgrades and vanity projects.
And we believe in policies that despite immigration preserve the pre-eminence of our culture – and not the threat that we are seeing overseas of imported cultures taking over New Zealand.
New Zealand First fights for traditional kiwi conservative values – where hard work should be rewarded, where job security and home ownership underpins a stable family life.
We want a country where young people aren’t worried about their family’s future, or where they see better opportunities overseas.
We in 2023 inherited an economic nightmare. But too few government members understood that.
We knew the economic crisis would take years to fix. Our coalition colleagues said they could fix it in three years – and hence the public’s confusion as to what is happening now.
This pivotal election voters want to hear a clear and unified message.
First, to turn the economy around and that we are going to win, and take New Zealand back to being a leading economy again.
Challenging the Status Quo
The greatest threat to this blind ideology, to social elitism, and to the status quo, is New Zealand First.
And the country we are defending is called New Zealand – it’s in our party’s name.
We are asking you to make a choice with our future generations in mind.
Take back control from the Wellington bubble.
Take back control from those who choose to be CV politicians, where they are here one day, “no more gas in the tank”, and are gone the next – taking with them a rolodex of international jobs, speaking circuits, or book tours, looking back over their shoulder at New Zealand’s decline – which they caused.
New Zealand First, from our launch thirty-three years ago, has been battling that elitist status quo. No one can deny that. On issue after issue that needed public exposure, the rest remain silent. When others wouldn’t raise a finger, we have raised the roof.
Conclusion
Ladies and gentlemen, we are all here because we love our country, and we are proud of it.
True democracy is a rare flower in the history of humanity.
Down thousands of years living in democracy with freedom is not common.
We have inherited a free country that our forebears fought and died for, and it’s our job to preserve it.
But only if we are proud of what we have inherited can we come together and move forward to shape the vision of our country’s future.
We live in a country that, at its core, traditional New Zealand values once saw us amongst the world’s leaders – hard work, fair pay, valuing our citizenship, building a sense of community, and knowing who we are as kiwis.
We must remember, New Zealand is the beneficiary of Western values, democracy, and the rule of law. And the advancement and enhancement of those principles have only occurred in those societies that have united together as one people – and who celebrate their nationhood instead of perpetuating division.
There is a lot of uncertainty around the world and at home, but we must keep hope alive that, with hard work and perseverance, tomorrow will be better.
New Zealand First is nationalist, patriotic, and socially conservative values that we fight for.
It hasn’t been easy – but things in life worth doing never are.
We must never forget that challenge.
We must never stop believing in New Zealand.
That is our vision and that is our mission.
To protect, to save, and to restore New Zealand’s place at the top of the world.
By putting New Zealand and New Zealanders first.
We are asking you to join us – and Party Vote New Zealand First.
Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/08/23/winston-peters-old-parties-fiscal-policy-devoid-of-economic-strategy/
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2. 40 Teams Gather in Hong Kong to Compete in the “AI x Cybersecurity Challenge”
August 23, 2026
Source: Media Outreach
Autonomous AI Attack-and-Defence Demonstrates Next-Generation Cybersecurity Talent and Advance Regional Digital Security Talent Development
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 23 August 2026 – The AI x Cybersecurity Challenge, jointly organised by the Digital Policy Office of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, the Chinese Academy of Cyberspace Studies, the Hong Kong Cybersecurity Professional Association, and China Mobile Hong Kong Company Limited, and co-organised by Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force, the Hong Kong Productivity Council, Venustech Group Inc., and Hong Kong Cloud Peak Technology Co., Limited, held the Finals today.
Following a 12-hour online qualifying round, a total of 40 teams advanced to the Final Competition, including 20 teams from the Chinese Mainland, 18 from Hong Kong, and two from overseas regions. The Challenge adopts an innovative AI-Driven Dual (AID) competition format, in which artificial intelligence (AI) executes the competition and enables autonomous defence by AI agents. Teams of up to three members showcase their capabilities in leveraging AI technologies for automated vulnerability discovery and exploitation, competing for total prize money of HK$180,000.
The event brings together representatives from Government, industry, academia and research organisations to witness the latest developments in AI-powered cybersecurity innovation. Officiating guests at the Opening Ceremony included Professor SUN Dong, JP, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Mr LI Shuguang, Director-General of the General Office of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR, Mr WANG Jiang, Director-General of the Chinese Academy of Cyberspace Studies, Mr Daniel CHEUNG, JP, Acting Commissioner for Digital Policy, Mr WANG Minwei, Deputy Director of the Cyberspace Administration of Guangdong Province, Dr Rocky CHENG, JP, President of the Hong Kong Cybersecurity Professional Association, and Ms SHI Xiaoping, Director and Chief Executive Officer of China Mobile Hong Kong Company Limited.
In his opening remarks, the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, said that AI is reshaping every aspect of people’s life at a breathtaking speed. He noted that although innovation may at times bring new threats, these same technologies can also spur defensive capabilities. As such, the Government champions an “AI versus AI” strategy, leveraging AI to forge the strongest shields to effectively manage risks associated with the use of AI.
Professor Sun added that the Government is continuously strengthening related policies, guidelines and ethical frameworks, as well as conducting regular cyber-attack-and-defence drills to better prepare for cybersecurity readiness. Through multi-pronged efforts, the Government hopes to guide society to apply AI responsibly, foster a healthy ecosystem, and strengthen city-wide resilience in face of cyber attacks.
Addressing AI-Era Cybersecurity Challenges Through Talent Development
The rapid advancement of AI is reshaping the global cybersecurity landscape. AI has evolved from a supporting tool for security analysis and threat monitoring into a technology capable of autonomously constructing attack chains and bypassing existing defence mechanisms. This has significantly lowered the technical barriers to cyberattacks, making sophisticated attack techniques more automated and accessible. Threat actors can leverage AI for intelligent vulnerability discovery, automated penetration testing, and even the creation of highly convincing deepfake content, enabling stealthier and more persistent cyberattacks.
As emerging threats such as model security risks, data poisoning, model theft, phishing attacks, supply chain vulnerabilities and automated exploitation continue to evolve, the demand for interdisciplinary talent with expertise in both AI and cybersecurity is becoming increasingly urgent. In response, the organisers aim to promote the practical application of AI technologies through this hands-on competition while cultivating a new generation of cybersecurity professionals equipped with cross-disciplinary expertise.
AI-Driven Attack-and-Defence Competition Platform
Unlike traditional Capture the Flag (CTF) competitions, this year’s Challenge adopts an innovative AI-Driven (AID) competition format. Participating teams leverage AI-powered automated systems to analyse the competition environment provided by the organisers, identify vulnerabilities and exploit them. The automated capabilities of the AI agents include information gathering, vulnerability discovery and flag submission. The competition environment incorporates both vulnerabilities found in real-world scenarios and simulated zero-day vulnerabilities that may exist in software systems.
The challenge design draws on concepts from international cybersecurity competitions and incorporates practical operating scenarios as well as simulated zero-day attack-and-defence environments, testing participants’ ability to apply AI technologies to real-world cybersecurity challenges. The Challenge aims to enhance participants’ practical attack-and-defence experience and innovation capabilities, promote the research and application of AI security technologies, and nurture a new generation of cybersecurity talent equipped with both strategic vision and practical expertise. Through these efforts, the competition seeks to strengthen capabilities in addressing AI-driven cyber threats.
Government, Industry, Academia and Research Communities Join Forces to Advance AI Security
This year’s Challenge brings together stakeholders from government, industry and research institutions to drive innovation in AI security technologies, strengthen cybersecurity capabilities and cultivate future talent.
Mr Wang Jiang, Director-General of the Chinese Academy of Cyberspace Studies, said, “AI technologies are reshaping the global cyber attack-and-defence landscape. While they lower the barriers to cyberattacks, they also drive the evolution of security protection from reactive response to proactive and intelligent defence. In this technological contest, using technology to counter technology has become an inevitable trend. By focusing on practical AI attack-and-defence capabilities, this competition aims to identify emerging talent and contribute to building a more trustworthy and intelligent cyberspace.”
Ms Shi Xiaoping, Director and Chief Executive Officer of China Mobile Hong Kong Company Limited, said, “As one of the organisers of this competition, China Mobile Hong Kong has devoted substantial resources to building an innovative AI attack-and-defence competition platform. Through continuous technology investment and ecosystem development, we actively fulfil our corporate social responsibility while showcasing Hong Kong’s innovation and leadership in AI cybersecurity to the world.”
Dr Rocky CHENG, JP, President of the Hong Kong Cybersecurity Professional Association, concluded, “AI-driven cyberattacks and agentic AI-related risks have emerged as some of the most significant cybersecurity threats today. Against this backdrop, cultivating interdisciplinary talent with expertise in AI system design, development and practical attack-and-defence capabilities has become an important pillar in strengthening Hong Kong’s overall cyber resilience.”
The Awards Presentation Ceremony will be held in late September 2026 during the China Cybersecurity Week to recognise teams that have demonstrated outstanding performance in the competition. The organisers encourage enterprises and organisations to continuously strengthen their cybersecurity governance, regularly review information system risks, enhance data protection measures and improve cyber incident response capabilities. Young talents are also encouraged to pursue opportunities in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, developing their expertise through training, professional certifications and hands-on competitions. Members of the public and organisations may also make use of the cybersecurity information, training programmes and support services provided by the Hong Kong Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Centre (HKCERT) and other relevant organisations, helping to foster a safer, more secure and trustworthy digital ecosystem.
Please download the high-res photos HERE.
Photo Captions:
| 1. The Finals of the AI x Cybersecurity Challenge. |
| 2. Officiating guests, including Dr Rocky CHENG, JP, President of the Hong Kong Cybersecurity Professional Association,Mr Daniel CHEUNG, JP, Acting Commissioner for Digital Policy, Mr LI Shuguang, Director-General of the General Office of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR, Professor SUN Dong, JP, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Mr Wang Jiang, Director-General of the Chinese Academy of Cyberspace Studies, Mr WANG Minwei, Deputy Director of the Cyberspace Administration of Guangdong Province and Ms Shi Xiaoping, Director and Chief Executive Officer of China Mobile Hong Kong Company Limited (from left to right) preside over the launch ceremony of the AI x Cybersecurity Challenge, marking the official commencement of the competition. |
| 3. Officiating guests and representatives of the organisers and co-organisers, including Hong Kong Productivity Council, pose for a group photo at the Opening Ceremony, demonstrating their shared commitment to advancing innovation in AI and cybersecurity and nurturing regional AI security talent. |
| 4. Professor Sun Dong, JP, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, delivers a speech at the Opening Ceremony, pointing out that AI is reshaping every aspect of people’s life at a breathtaking speed. He noted that although innovation may at times bring new threats, these same technologies can also spur defensive capabilities. As such, the Government champions an “AI versus AI” strategy, leveraging AI to forge the strongest shields to effectively manage risks associated with the use of AI. |
| 5. The 40 finalist teams showcase innovative AI-driven cybersecurity technologies by independently designing and deploying autonomous AI agents to compete in a simulated attack-and-defence environment. |
About the Hong Kong Productivity Council
HKPC focuses on addressing businesses challenges and industrial technology needs, promoting the full integration between technological and industrial innovation. Through technology transfer, product innovation, intellectual property protection and commercialisation of R&D outcomes, the Council fosters collaboration with the local business community as well as top global R&D institutions, delivering added value to industries and advancing the development of new productive forces. HKPC’s world-class R&D achievements have been widely recognised over the years, winning an array of local and overseas accolades, reinforcing Hong Kong’s role as an international innovation and technology centre and a smart city.
To help enterprises capitalise on Hong Kong’s strengths in international connectivity to expand into global markets, HKPC offers comprehensive overseas expansion services tailored to critical areas including product development, technology, manufacturing, and management, enabling businesses to successfully go global from Hong Kong.
HKPC is also committed to providing timely and practical support to SMEs and startups with timely and practical , assisting them in accessing Government funding programmes. Through its FutureSkills training initiatives, HKPC helps both industry and academia stay ahead in latest digital and STEM technologies, nurturing a future-ready talent pool for Hong Kong.
For more information, please visit HKPC’s website: www.hkpc.org/en.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.
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3. PSA – Labour urged to commit to rolling back public service cuts
August 23, 2026
Source: PSA
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4. Health sector – System-wide reform needed to improve access and affordability of surgery
August 21, 2026
Source: Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS)
Friday 21 August 2026
The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) calls for focus on what sits behind the patient gap.
More than 700 surgeons have identified pressures across Medicare, private health insurance, public hospital capacity and the distribution of the surgical workforce as barriers to Australians accessing affordable surgical care.
The findings come from a survey of RACS Fellows across Australia, informing the College’s submission to the House of Representatives Inquiry into Access to and Affordability of Medical Specialists.
RACS welcomes the broad terms of reference of the Inquiry as an important opportunity to look comprehensively at all of the factors contributing to access and affordability.
RACS President Dr Philip Morreau said the focus needs to be on what creates the patient gap.
“When a patient faces out-of-pocket costs, we need to understand what has created that gap.
“A specialist sets their professional fee, but they don’t set the Medicare rebate or the benefit a patient’s private health insurer will pay.
“When Medicare and insurer contributions don’t keep pace with the cost and complexity of delivering care, more of that cost can fall to the patient.
“Focusing only on the most visible part of the patient’s bill risks treating the symptom rather than the underlying problem.”
More than 70 per cent of Fellows identified inadequate public hospital funding as a major barrier to accessing surgical services. Theatre closures, limited operating lists and private health insurance settings were each identified by 50.9 per cent of Fellows, while 46.5 per cent identified a lack of hospital beds.
The survey also highlights the increasing cost of providing surgical care. Medical indemnity insurance was identified by 65.9 per cent of Fellows as a major contributor to private practice costs, followed by administrative staffing at 63.9 per cent and practice infrastructure and consulting rooms at 60 per cent. These costs form part of the underlying cost of delivering private surgical care and have increased over time.
When asked which reform would most improve access to surgical care, 67 per cent of Fellows nominated modernising Medicare rebates so they better reflect the time, complexity, expertise and resources required to provide contemporary surgical services.
Dr Morreau said Australia’s public and private surgical systems are interdependent.
“If capacity is lost from the private system, the need for surgery doesn’t disappear. It moves elsewhere, including into already stretched public hospitals.”
RACS is calling for reforms across the health system, including:
- modernising Medicare patient rebates so they better reflect the cost and complexity of contemporary surgical care, with appropriate ongoing indexation.
- reforming private health insurance settings to improve affordability and transparency, including reviewing and appropriately indexing the $500 known-gap threshold, ensuring insurer benefits and gap arrangements keep pace with the cost of care, and clearer disclosure of what insurers will contribute.
- increasing public hospital surgical capacity, including outpatient services, operating theatres, theatre utilisation, beds and workforce, with better reporting of waiting times across the patient journey and theatre utilisation.
- strengthening national workforce planning, with specialty- and region-specific planning informed by specialist medical colleges and health services, and targeted support for training and services in areas of greatest need.
RACS supports informed financial consent and appropriate transparency so patients have clear information about the expected costs of their care.
“But genuine transparency means understanding the whole equation – the specialist’s fee, the Medicare rebate and what the insurer will actually contribute,” Dr Morreau said.
“Transparency alone won’t increase a Medicare rebate, improve an insurance benefit or create additional hospital capacity.
“If we want to make surgical care more affordable and accessible, we need to address the system that sits behind the patient’s bill.”
RACS has offered its workforce data, analysis and surgical expertise to support the Inquiry and assist governments and health services to develop practical reforms to improve access to surgical care.
About the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS)
RACS is the leading advocate for surgical standards, professionalism and surgical education in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. The College is a not-for-profit organisation that represents more than 8000 surgeons and 1300 surgical Trainees and Specialist International Medical Graduates. RACS also supports healthcare and surgical education in the Asia-Pacific region and is a substantial funder of surgical research. There are nine surgical specialties in Australasia being: Cardiothoracic Surgery, General Surgery, Neurosurgery, Orthopaedic Surgery, Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Paediatric Surgery, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Urology and Vascular Surgery.
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5. NZ and Thailand launch Strategic Partnership
August 21, 2026
Source: New Zealand Government
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Thailand Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul have formally launched the New Zealand-Thailand Strategic Partnership in Auckland.
“Prime Minister Anutin’s visit to New Zealand has set a clear direction for our relationship built over 70 years of friendship, trust and close connections between our people,” Mr Luxon says.
The leaders discussed their ambition to triple two-way trade to NZ$13.5 billion by 2045.
“Thailand’s scale, manufacturing capability and regional connections create significant opportunities for New Zealand exporters and companies,” Mr Luxon says.
“Upgrading our trade agreement and strengthening supply-chain resilience will help more New Zealand businesses reach Thailand as a gateway to ASEAN’s market of more than 600 million consumers.”
The leaders also welcomed Thai Airways’ planned resumption of direct flights in the coming year.
“Thai Airways served Auckland for more than 30 years before the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the service. Its return is great news for tourism and trade – making it easier to connect, restoring an important air-freight link and strengthening connections through Bangkok to wider Asia,” Mr Luxon says.
“We have agreed to strengthen cooperation on border security, customs, immigration and cyber security, and against scam centres, human trafficking and drug trafficking.
“This will help keep New Zealanders safer at home and abroad.”
The leaders issued a Joint Declaration and welcomed the Joint Plan of Action 2026-2030, covering political and security cooperation; trade and innovation; people-to-people links; and regional and multilateral cooperation.
Attached: Joint Declaration on the Strategic Partnership
Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/08/21/nz-and-thailand-launch-strategic-partnership/
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6. MSF Statement on Israeli Military’s decision to deny a criminal investigation into MSF killings and injuries
August 21, 2026
Source: Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF)
21 August
Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) strongly condemns the decision by the Israeli Military Advocate General (MAG) to close, without opening a criminal investigation, the cases MSF itself submitted for review: the multiple attacks on an MSF convoy in Gaza City in November 2023 that killed two, and the February 2024 strike on an MSF shelter in Khan Younis that killed two and injured six.
Unfortunately, this does not come as a surprise. These responses come nearly two years after MSF’s request was submitted, which was followed by a submission to the Israeli High Court of Justice challenging the MAG’s failure to provide any answer to our formal requests.
This is not justice. Two years of silence, followed by closures that raise more questions than they answer, is unacceptable. However, it is the predictable output of a military apparatus investigating itself: a system which has demonstrated itself unwilling to respond to the extent of violations that may amount to war crimes emerging from Gaza.
MSF staff and their family members are dead. Their names are known. Their locations were shared. Their vehicles were identified. We have always maintained that all elements point to a clear responsibility of the Israeli army for the deadly attacks. And yet, those responsible for their deaths have declined to pursue any criminal investigation.
With this decision, the MAG has made clear that there is no prospect of accountability within the Israeli legal system for the killing of our staff, just as there has been no accountability for Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians.
A total of 15 MSF staff members have been killed in Gaza by Israeli forces since October 2023. This is just a fraction of the 1,700 healthcare workers who have been killed in that time. Israeli forces continue to kill civilians with impunity, something these decisions by the MAG, make clear.
The decision to ‘close’ these incidents must be understood in their proper context: in Gaza, tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed. Healthcare facilities have been destroyed. Humanitarian convoys have been struck. Journalists, medical personnel, UN personnel, and aid workers have been killed in numbers unprecedented in any recent conflict.
MSF reaffirms what it has stated since the beginning of this violence: there is no military objective that justifies the wholesale sacrifice of civilians. And there is no internal military review that can substitute for genuine, independent, and impartial accountability.
We demand that the cases involving our colleagues be reviewed by an impartial investigative body.
To our colleagues we have lost, and to the countless civilians and humanitarian workers who have perished in Gaza: we will not let your deaths be filed away as procedural inevitabilities. You deserved protection. You deserve justice.
MSF is an international, medical, humanitarian organisation that delivers medical care to people in need, regardless of their origin, religion, or political affiliation. MSF Australia was established in 1995 and is one of 24 international MSF sections committed to delivering medical humanitarian assistance to people in crisis. Every year more than 120 Australians and New Zealanders go on assignment with Médecins Sans Frontières working as: doctors, midwives, psychologists, laboratory technicians, human resource/finance coordinators, pharmacists, mental health specialists and logisticians. MSF delivers medical care based on need alone and operates independently of government, religion or economic influence and irrespective of race, religion or gender.
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7. Federated Farmers applauds improved consent path for Horizons farmers
August 20, 2026
Source: Federated Farmers of New Zealand
The Government has stepped in to give a group of Manawatu and Tararua farmers stuck in consenting limbo for more than a decade a way forward.
“It’s great news that the Government has heeded calls from Federated Farmers and announced a pause on Horizons’ Plan Change 2 (PC2),” Federated Farmers Tararua president Aaron Passey says.
“It gives 167 farming families a controlled consent pathway that is much more straight forward than what they faced under an Environment Court ruling.”
Passey says they’ll have to demonstrate they have good farm practice and a nutrient management plan as they apply for a controlled activity resource consent.
“So there are still tests to meet but for farmers who have been under a cloud of uncertainty year after year, we think yesterday’s announcement from the Government will be very welcome news.”
Under the Environment Court decision, the dairy farmers had just 12 months to get their consent applications in once PC2 kicked in, or their applications would be subject to a tougher discretionary consent.
Even to qualify for approval, farms would have needed to achieve either a 20% reduction in nitrogen loss from their 2012 baseline (35% for commercial vegetable growers), or reduce nitrogen loss to the 75th percentile for their catchment – whichever is lower – within two years of receiving consent.
“That was a near impossible ask,” Federated Farmers Manawatu-Rangitikei president Ian Strahan says.
“It’s not reasonable or practical to expect farmers in 2012 to have anticipated the complex chain of regulatory and technological shifts and to have known they’d need to keep a record of their N-discharge because there would be a software update three years later.
“It was that software update that made the 167 dairy farms non-compliant, leading to a new set of rules in 2026 that required farmers to produce a record of what Nitrogen loss was in 2012.”
Many of the properties affected by the 2026 rules have changed hands multiple times since 2012.
New owners do not have legal or practical access to the specific input data (fertiliser receipts, stock rates, feed use) required to construct a valid 2012 baseline, Strahan says.
In 2012, the One Plan was built around a specific version of Overseer. When the software updated its underlying scientific models in 2015, it instantly changed the calculated nitrogen output of those farms-on paper only-without any actual changes happening on the physical land.
“Expecting a business owner to maintain records for a hypothetical compliance standard that did not exist yet, using software that would later redefine the rules retrospectively, is ridiculous,” Strahan says.
“It’s really good news that the Government has stepped in to end the insanity, and also to usher in new resource management rules that will cut down the unnecessary red tape that has hobbled our sector, and many others.”
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8. MyRepublic expands GAMER lineup with Dreamcore x MyRepublic RTX 5060 Ti Gaming PC and Limited Edition ASUS T1 Graphics Card Broadband Bundle
August 21, 2026
Source: Media Outreach
Dreamcore x MyRepublic exclusive gaming bundle
The collaboration with Dreamcore goes beyond adding another PC to the GAMER lineup. It brings together MyRepublic and Dreamcore to create a gaming setup for gamers who value performance, combining a gaming-focused PC with MyRepublic’s GAMER broadband offering.
Dreamcore x MyRepublic RTX 5060 Ti Gaming PC
Powered by an AMD Ryzen 5 7500F processor and an RTX 5060 Ti graphics card, this Co-branded Gaming PC is designed to deliver 1080p gaming performance with smooth, immersive 1440p gaming across modern titles. It is positioned as an entry-level Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) for gaming and is suited for competitive games such as Counter-Strike 2, DOTA2, Valorant, and more.
The Co-branded Gaming PC is built with 16GB DDR5 6400MHz low-latency memory for responsive gameplay and smooth multitasking, alongside a 1TB Gen4 NVMe SSD with read speeds of up to 6,000MB/s for fast boot times and game loading. Completing the design is a Dreamcore LCD 360mm AIO featuring an animation with MyRepublic’s mascot, Coco, Chief Paw Officer.
The first 10 customers who sign up for the Co-branded Gaming PC Bundle will receive an MSI MAG 274F gaming monitor (worth S$219). The 27-inch monitor features a Full HD (1920×1080) Rapid IPS display, a 200Hz refresh rate, and 0.5ms response time.
Limited Edition ASUS T1 Graphics Card Broadband Bundle
Bundled with the MyRepublic GAMER 10Gbps broadband plan, the limited-edition ASUS T1 Graphics Card is a collaboration between ASUS and T1, the League of Legends World Champions. It combines ASUS’s performance and cooling technology with T1-inspired design elements, featuring silk-screened artwork of T1 players and the T1 logo on both the front and backplate. Designed for T1 fans, the graphics card is also built to fit a wide range of systems, allowing more fans to bring the limited-edition design into their existing setups.
The bundle also comes with exclusive T1 merchandise, including exclusive stickers, exclusive magnets, and the 2026 T1 Uniform Jacket.
With the addition of the Dreamcore x MyRepublic RTX 5060 Ti Gaming PC and ASUS T1 GeForce RTX 5070 Graphics Card Broadband Bundle, MyRepublic continues to develop its GAMER proposition with new gaming-focused products and collaborations. These latest launches follow the recent revamp of MyRepublic’s GAMER plans with its refresh of gaming routers in the line-up.
“Our latest collaboration with Dreamcore represents our dedication to the gaming community. We aren’t just offering broadband connectivity, we are providing high-performing gamers with the precision-engineered tools required to dominate in their favorite titles, backed by the seamless network performance they expect from MyRepublic,” said Lawrence Chan, Managing Director and Chief AI Officer, MyRepublic.
“The response to our previous RTX 5090 and 5080 builds with MyRepublic showed us what’s possible when meticulously engineered hardware and a network built for gaming come together. Every Dreamcore system is hand-assembled and stress-tested here in Singapore. With the RTX 5060 Ti, we’re bringing that same premium build quality to gamers who want serious performance without the flagship price tag, backed by the low-latency, always-ready connectivity MyRepublic’s GAMER 10Gbps delivers. This launch is about giving gamers the full package: premium craftsmanship and network performance working as one.” Shaun Tan, CEO, Dreamcore.
The Dreamcore x MyRepublic RTX5060Ti Gaming PC will be available from 21 August 2026 at 10am, while the ASUS T1 RTX 5070 Graphics Card Bundle will be available from 19 August 2026 at 10am.
https://myrepublic.net/sg/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/myrepublic
https://x.com/myrepublic
https://www.facebook.com/MyRepublicSG/
https://www.instagram.com/myrepublicsg/
Hashtag: #MyRepublic #MyRepublicGAMER #Gaming #GamingPC #PCGaming #GamingSetup #RTX5060Ti #RTX5070 #Dreamcore #ASUS #T1 #LeagueOfLegends #GamingCommunity #10Gbps #Singapore
MyRepublic Broadband Pte Ltd
MyRepublic Broadband Pte Ltd is a Singapore-based telecommunications provider delivering high-speed broadband, managed services, and connectivity solutions to consumers and businesses. MyRepublic serves the SME segment with business internet plans, managed IT services, and cybersecurity solutions designed for growing companies. For more information, visit https://myrepublic.net/sg/
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.
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9. DP World Accelerates Contract Logistics Expansion Across Southeast Asia with New Warehouse in Malaysia
August 20, 2026
Source: Media Outreach
- New facility investment in Johor further expands our end-to-end supply chain capabilities across South Malaysia.
- Our wider warehousing footprint continues to rapidly grow across Southeast Asia, supporting key industry verticals, including technology, fashion, automotive and industrial sectors.
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 20 August 2026 – DP World today announced the opening of its latest warehouse in Johor, Malaysia, marking another milestone in the expansion of its integrated logistics network across Southeast Asia. The Johor warehouse is the first of two facilities planned for Malaysia, with a second warehouse in Kuala Lumpur scheduled to open later this year, further strengthening DP World’s ability to deliver end-to-end supply chain solutions in one of the region’s fastest-growing logistics markets.
Exterior view of DP World’s warehouse facility in Johor, Malaysia.
Located within the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone, the new 11,514-square-metre dedicated warehouse strengthens DP World’s ability to deliver agile, efficient and reliable contract logistics solutions for customers operating in complex, time-sensitive supply chains. the facility provides fast, secure and scalable warehousing and inbound logistics operations while strengthening connectivity between Malaysia, Singapore and key regional trade corridors.
Jeanie Tan, Chief Commercial Officer, Logistics, Asia Pacific at DP World, said: “The opening of our warehouse in Johor marks an important step in strengthening our growing logistics footprint across Southeast Asia. As we continue to invest in strategic logistics assets across the region, and connecting them to our existing network of ports and terminals, we are enhancing our ability to deliver end-to-end supply chain solutions that help customers move goods more efficiently, reliably and resiliently. This facility will accelerate our Southeast Asia growth and build the capacity needed to support our customers’ long-term success.”
Expanding the region’s integrated logistics network
The Johor warehouse is the latest investment in DP World’s strategy to build an integrated contract logistics network across Southeast Asia, enabling customers to benefit from greater connectivity, operational flexibility and supply chain resilience.
In addition to the warehouses in Malaysia, DP World is launching warehouses in the Philippines, and in Thailand before end of the year.
These investments build on a series of milestones across the broader Asia Pacific region, including the opening of DP World’s first warehouse in Singapore in May 2025, which recently achieved TAPA FSR certification, as well as new logistics facility openings in Hong Kong, Sydney, Australia, and Icheon, South Korea.
Together with DP World’s network of 16 ports and terminals across Asia Pacific, its expanding contract logistics platform is creating a seamlessly connected supply chain ecosystem that integrates ports, warehousing, inland transport through our Air, Ocean, LCL and Intermodal freight services. This enables DP World to deliver more agile, resilient and efficient end-to-end logistics solutions while supporting trade growth across Southeast Asia.
http://www.dpworld.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/dp-world
https://twitter.com/DP_World
Hashtag: #DPWORLD
DP World
In Asia Pacific, DP World employs over 12,000 people across 22 geographies. We operate 16 ports and terminals, complemented by a comprehensive suite of end-to-end supply chain solutions – to connect the region to the rest of the world.
WE MAKE TRADE FLOW
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.
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10. Trio charged following Northland burglaries
August 21, 2026
Source: New Zealand Police
Three people, including two youths, have been arrested and charged following a series of burglaries in the Northland region.
The arrests come after two commercial premises in Ruakākā and One Tree Point were targeted in recent weeks, with cash and a significant amount of alcohol among the items taken.
Detective Senior Sergent Shane Pilmer, Whangārei-Kaipara Area Investigations Manager, says the offenders allegedly used stolen vehicles during both offences.
“Around 4.30am on 2 August, a vehicle was used to gain entry to a Rauiri Drive store.
“The offenders stole confectionary and then left the store before returning to steal alcohol.”
The group then fled in the stolen car.
Two weeks later, on 17 August, offenders broke into a premises on Sime Road.
Alcohol and cash were taken from the business, with the group leaving in a stolen car. The vehicle was later located on George Point Road.
Enquiries by the Whangārei Tactical Crime Unit identified three suspects.
This week, staff executed search warrants in the Whangārei area, and three males were located and charged.
“Businesses in our community should be able to operate without the fear that they will be targeted by this kind of offending.
“This behaviour will not be tolerated, and we will continue to hold these offenders to account,” Detective Senior Sergent Pilmer says.
A 19-year-old male has been charged with two counts of burglary and two counts of unlawful takes motor vehicle. He has been remanded in custody and will reappear in Whangārei District Court on 4 September.
A 15-year-old male and a 17-year-old male have been charged with two counts of burglary and two counts of unlawful takes motor vehicle. Both will appear in Whangārei Youth Court on 3 September.
ENDS.
Frankie Le Roy/NZ Police.
Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/08/21/trio-charged-following-northland-burglaries/
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