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ITV News
08-07-2025
- Business
- ITV News
Guernsey's new political committees finalised: find out who is doing what
Guernsey's election has drawn to an official close, with committee members for each of the government's working groups now decided. The island's most senior committee - Policy and Resources - was selected last Wednesday (2 July), with Committee Presidents chosen last Friday (4 July). After taking the weekend to deliberate, those Presidents then proposed choices for their committee members at the States on Monday (7 July). Many ended up standing unopposed; however, places could also be contested by candidates choosing to stand 'from the floor'. So, who is doing what? Who is working with whom? And what do we know so far about each committee's goals? The Committee for Economic Development The President of the Committee for Economic Development is Sasha Kazantseva-Miller. She served on the committee last political term, and her manifesto promises "more ambitious and innovative approaches to economic development" - including tax reforms which increase contributions from the corporate sector and shift away from levying employment. Her ideas also include accelerating the Guernsey Development Agency's regeneration plan and supporting the creation of an offshore wind farm. She nominated Deputies Rhona Humphreys, Haley Camp, Andrew Niles, and Lee Van Katwick: all first-time States' members who were elected to the committee without contest. Deputy Humphreys is a member of the States' only party, Forward Guernsey. Their manifesto supports the development of an offshore wind farm - it also proposes a "wholesale reform of our entire tax system", with members rejecting GST+ in its current form. Deputies Camp, Niles, and Van Katwick's manifestos all state economic development as one of their key priorities. Some of their ideas include promoting entrepreneurialism, limiting government overspending, and broadening the corporate tax base. The Committee for Education, Sport and Culture The President of the Committee for Education, Sport and Culture is former teacher Paul Montague. Whilst he originally said he did not wish to lead the committee, his manifesto states his experience working as a teacher on the island has "shown how damaging political indecision can be". His ideas for education include attracting and retaining more secondary school teachers, carrying out a review of primary school provision, and completing the post-16 further education campus on time. He nominated four candidates, all of whom were elected without contest: Andy Cameron, Sarah Hansmann-Rouxel, Aiden Matthews, and Jayne Ozanne. Deputies Cameron and Matthews both served last term, whilst Deputy Hansmann-Rouxel served between 2016 and 2020, and Deputy Ozanne is new to the States. Their manifestos variously suggest expanding the provision of free early years education from 15 to 30 hours, carrying out a primary school review, and introducing a key worker retention plan for local teachers. The Committee for Employment and Social Security The President of the Committee for Employment and Social Security is Tina Bury, who served as a committee member on ESS last term. Her manifesto outlines commitments to reforming the way long-term care is currently funded - so as not to overburden the island's youth - and in her election speech she said she wanted to improve parental leave and increase protections for people who are made redundant. Her nominated candidates are all first-time Deputies, and they were all elected without contest: Garry Collins, David Dorrity, Jayne Ozanne, and Tom Rylatt. Deputy Ozanne's manifesto prioritises "creating equal opportunity" by introducing a Key Worker Retention Plan and encouraging younger islanders to stay in Guernsey with a Savings Deposit Property Scheme. Deputy Rylatt is a member of Forward Guernsey, whose manifesto promises the introduction of similar initiatives. The Committee for Health and Social Care The Health and Social Care President is former doctor George Oswald - who worked as a consultant physician for the island's Medical Specialist Group and also served as a non-voting member of HSC last political term. His manifesto clearly outlines health as his top priority: detailing ideas such as reviewing the primary care model, tackling the key worker housing crisis, delivering the hospital upgrade, and prioritising social care reform. His four chosen candidates were all also elected without opposition: Aiden Matthews, Sally Rochester, Jennifer Strachan, and Munazza Malik. Deputy Matthews served on the HSC committee last term; the other three are all new deputies. Their manifestos detail various ideas for Health and Social Care reform, such as modernising the hospital, providing more accommodation to help with staff recruitment, expanding mental health services, reviewing how healthcare services are funded, and reforming the long-term care system. The Committee for Environment and Infrastructure The President of the Committee of Environment and Infrastructure is Adrian Gabriel. He served as the committee's Vice President last political term. His manifesto prioritises "respecting and preserving the island's natural assets" and supporting infrastructure projects such as the Guernsey Development Agency and the Bridge regeneration project. He put forward four candidates who were elected without contest: former Environment and Infrastructure committee member Andy Cameron, Alderney representative Alex Snowdon, and new Deputies Sally Rochester and Bruno Kay-Mouat. As an Alderney representative, Deputy Snowdon will likely seek to prioritise securing funding for the island's runway to be redeveloped. Deputy Rochester and Deputy Kay-Mouat's manifestos both detail better connectivity and investing in infrastructure as key targets. The Committee for Housing It is the first time Guernsey's ever had a Housing Committee, and the States has elected former Guernsey Housing Association CEO Steve Williams as its President. Housing was a critical election issue, and Deputy Williams' campaign focused on his experience in the sector. His manifesto states his "key aim is to deliver real results in tackling our housing problem, as quickly as possible". Some of his ideas for reforming housing include: reviewing housing projects that have been delayed (such as Leales Yard); building up rather than out; improving delivery by the Development and Planning Authority; and supporting first-time buyers and renters through the introduction of various tax measures. His choices for committee members were all accepted without contest. They are Sasha Kazantseva-Miller, David Dorrity, Garry Collins, and Rhona Humphreys. The Committee for Home Affairs The Home Affairs President Mark Leadbeater said in his election speech that he would look to reform the police complaints law and potentially look at electronic tagging for prisoners. He is also a longtime advocate for reforming the island's drug laws and legalising cannabis. His candidates - Alex Snowdon, Rob Curgenven, Munazza Malik, and John Gollop - were contested by Simon Vermeulen, who was proposed from the floor by Jayne Ozanne. Deputy Vermeulen - who served on the Home Affairs Committee last term - was ultimately elected in place of Deputy Curgenven. Deputy Vermeulen said he had asked Deputy Leadbeater to nominate him, but suspected his request had come "too late in the day" as he had not been selected as one of the President's first choices. However, he added: "I'm very happy to be on that committee, and itching to get back to work really. "I'm hoping we really do hit the ground running, we deal with the issues that are in place at the moment, and also deal with some the issues - things like police complaints - that we didn't have time for last time." Deputy Leadbeater said whilst he was disappointed that Deputy Curgenven was not successful, he was happy to work with "anyone" and believed the system was "democratic". Of his goals, Deputy Leadbeater added: "My priority is in the area of justice policy, and also population management - as it's certainly been a hot topic on the lips of many people I've spoken to during the election campaign". The Development and Planning Authority The Development and Planning Authority's President is Yvonne Burford, who served as President of Scrutiny last political term. In her election speech, she stated her top priority was reviewing the rules which decide which sites can or cannot be built on - meaning she could end up working quite closely with the new Housing Committee. Indeed, one of her choices for committee members is Housing President Steve Williams. Her other choices are Marc Laine, Sarah Hansmann-Rouxel, and Lee Van Katwyk - all three of whom detailed ideas for planning reform and building more houses in their manifestos. Deputy Burford also hopes to improve the reputation of the Planning Authority, arguing: "There is real scope to change the public perception, and that starts with good communication and clearly articulated, evidence-based decisions". The States' Assembly and Constitution Committee This is the group responsible for overseeing procedures in connection with the island's constitution and government. Its president is Sarah Hansmann-Rouxel, who said in her election speech that she would like to look at introducing mental health first aid training for Deputies. Her choices for committee members are a mix of old and new - longstanding politicians Yvonne Burford, Gavin St Pier, and John Gollop were elected alongside newcomer Tom Rylatt. They were all selected without contest. The Scrutiny Management Committee This is the committee responsible for critically reviewing the decisions made by all other committees. Its new President is Andy Sloan, and he will be joined by new Deputy Hayley Camp as well as previous States' member Liam McKenna. The Transport Licensing Authority This is the group responsible for determining applications for air route licenses, in addition to any other transport licensing functions that the States might need. Its new President is longstanding Deputy John Gollop. His committee members were all elected without contest: Alderney representative Edward Hill, new Deputies Garry Collins and Jayne Ozanne, and previous States' member Neil Inder. The States' Trading Supervisory Board The STSB is responsible for overseeing companies where the States is a shareholder or has commercial interest - such as Guernsey Electricity, Guernsey Post, Guernsey Dairy, Guernsey Airport, and States' Works. STSB's President Mark Helyar previously served as Vice President of Policy and Resources under Peter Ferbrache. He nominated Bruno Kay-Mouat and Andrew Niles to join him on the committee - Yvonne Burford was put forward from the floor by Paul Montague. Deputy Burford received 19 backers but lost out to Deputy Helyar's choices who received 23 votes each. Who is left? Some Deputies serve multiple roles across many committees; others do not end up joining any committees at all. With his bid for Home Affairs unsuccessful, Deputy Rob Curgenven is one of the three Deputies who will not be serving on one of the States' 13 main committees this term. Deputy Chris Blin - who served on the Development and Planning Authority and Transport and Licensing Authority last term - is another Deputy who is currently not placed. However, his manifesto states his "principal goal is making an offshore wind farm a reality", and he has expressed interest in joining the offshore wind subcommittee, which could be a potential branch of Policy and Resources. Finally, Deputy David Goy - who is another new face - is also not currently placed. His manifesto focused on tax fairness, economic diversity, food and energy security, and sovereignty.
SBS Australia
02-05-2025
- Business
- SBS Australia
SBS Filipino Radio Program, Friday 2 May 2025
What are the advantages and disadvantages of working from home? Find out the news in the Philippines, such as VP Sara Duterte receiving a summons over an alleged threat against President Marcos and others. In SBS Examines, how do lobbyists and donations affect elections in Australia? A new research from the Committee for Economic Development reveals that those who work from home save an estimated $5,300 per year. SBS Filipino 02/05/2025 37:14 📢 Where to Catch SBS Filipino
SBS Australia
01-05-2025
- Politics
- SBS Australia
Midday News Bulletin 1 May 2025
Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with . TRANSCRIPT: South Australia's parliament to debate the use of artificial intelligence and explicit deepfakes; Ukraine agrees to a crucial minerals deal with the US; Game one tonight of this year's women's State of Origin series. South Australia's Parliament is debating laws that would ban the use of artificial intelligence to generate explicit deepfake content. The bill is a collaboration between Upper House MLC Connie Bonaros and the state government that seeks to outlaw violent or sexually explicit deepfake images, audio or video. State attorney-general Kyam Maher says the state's criminal code already covers the distrubution of deepfakes - but this legislation would ensure content is captured that is wholly created by AI. He says authorities have estimated as much as 95 percent of deepfakes are non-consensual porn, and that 99 per cent of the victims are women. Ukraine and the US have announced an economic deal after Donald Trump called for Kyiv to compensate Washington for billions of dollars in assistance to help repel Russia's invasion. The US President had earlier announced he wanted access to Ukraine's rare earth materials as a condition for continuing US support in the war, but talks had stalled after a tense Oval Office meeting between US and Ukrainian leaders. Ukraine's economy minister Yulia Svyrydenko has confirmed an agreement has been signed in Washington. U-S Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also confirmed the agreement, saying on X it will be good for both countries. "This partnership allows the United States to invest alongside Ukraine to unlock Ukraine's growth assets, mobilise American talent, capital, and governance standards that will improve Ukraine's investment climate and accelerate Ukraine's economic recovery." A 16 year old has been arrested over the fatal shooting of three people in a town in Sweden. Police say the teen is one of several people being interrogated as part of the investigation into the deaths of three people at a hair salon in Uppsala, a day before the city was to celebrate a spring festival that traditionally draws some 100,000 visitors. Sweden has suffered from a wave of gang-related violence for more than a decade that has included an epidemic of gun violence, but Uppsala Police chief Erik Akerlund says police believe these shootings are not part of any gang activity. 'Our assessment is that this is an incident that is not connected to a risk to the public but an isolated incident. But that in itself does not mean that we are only investigating this crime, but we are working forward and sideways so that, in the end, many of the crimes that we are investigating also turn out to be connected." New research shows that working from home is paying off for those who avoid the commute regularly. Analysis from the Committee for Economic Development says people who work from home are saving an estimated $5300 a year, and that productivity is also greater for home based employees, with those workers able to complete nearly 20 per cent more hours than those in the office. CEDA Economist James Brooks says they have found flexible working arrangements have increased workplace participation by more than four per cent post COVID. He says that is especially true for primary carers, people with disability, and single parents. "The likelihood that they're in a job at all has actually increased so this is a function of a tight labour market and demand for workers. But it's hard to ignore that working from home has given more people opportunities. So they're able to find more jobs which are suited to them." New data shows that India is set to overtake Britain as the leading country of origin for overseas-born Australians as soon as this year. The leading country of origin in Australia has traditionally been the U-K, but new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows migration from there is trending downwards. Its annual data on migration confirms that more Australians were born overseas [[8.58 million, or 31.5 per cent of the total population measured at June 2024]] than at any point since federation. Behind the rise is a huge uptick of Indians calling Australia home, with 916,330 Indian-born migrants recorded by June 2024. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has laughed off a surprise endorsement from jailed U-S reality star Joe Exotic during a morning round of commercial radio interviews. Exotic had taken to his Instagram page to urge Australians to vote for Mr Albanese, in hopes that would lead to the PM lobbying for his early release from prison. But the P-M has told Nova Perth he hadn't thought about Exotic. "I think what I'll be concentrating on with President Trump will be more about tariffs and jobs and the economy ... I was wondering whether he thought, you know, because we got Julian Assange released, basically, which was a good thing." Game one of this year's women's State of Origin series gets underway tonight with the Maroons hosting the Blues at Lang Park. Indigenous backrower and Deadly Choices Ambassador Shaylee Bent will line up as the 18th player for New South Wales after recovering from off-season surgery. She has told NITV she's worked hard to come back from injury. "I struggled with an AC dislocation last year. It's the very first injury I've ever had. So for me it was a bit of a struggle but I have had so much support around. And the girls have been really great. Yeah, just excited to back here and be back in the squad."
Forbes
27-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
AI Education Won't Future-Proof The American Workforce. Here's Why
U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order to advance AI education for American youth. But ... More is interest and expertise in AI technology what the next generation needs to future-proof the American workforce? WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 23, 2025 (Photo by Chip Somodevilla) 'Early training in AI will demystify this technology and prepare America's students to be confident participants in the AI-assisted workforce, propelling our nation to new heights of scientific and economic achievement.' This is how The White House motivated President Donald J. Trump's signing of an executive order to advance AI education for American youth earlier this week. But is a Task Force 'fostering interest and expertise in AI technology from an early age' really what the next generation needs most? Or is there something more urgent for young Americans to demystify and foster an early interest and expertise in? 'Our future depends on our ability to engage with the rest of the world, and right now Americans have a very tough time doing that,' said Marty Abbott, the executive director of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages in 2019. A 2018 study suggests that Abbott is right: While an average of 92% of European students study at least one foreign language in school, only 20% of K–12 students in the United States are enrolled in foreign language classes. According to the Committee for Economic Development, a non-partisan, non-political, non-profit independent research organization, this one-way linguistic and cultural isolation from the world community has significant implications for the future opportunities of American K-12 students as they exit school. And the fact that U.S. students lack the linguistic and cultural skills of their peers in other nations has a negative impact not only on national security, but on the nation's ability to progress economically in the global marketplace: 'From small businesses to multi-nationals, the ability to effectively communicate in the languages and cultures of international consumers, business partners, and employees is crucial' (CED, 2006). Diwan schools are a federation of Breton-medium schools allowing children to learn French and Breton ... More through language immersion, France on June 17, 2021. (Photo by Fred TANNEAU / AFP) Other studies show that bilinguals outperform their monolingual counterparts on cognitive tasks that require ignoring irrelevant information, task switching, and resolving conflict. In other words, early training in AI may enable American students to utilize artificial intelligence. But early training in a foreign language enables their peers in other countries to tap into their own thinking skills, activating a range of other skills that are crucial for people, nations, and the world to benefit from AI. A scientific paper of the cognitive benefits of being bilingual highlights that bilingual people often perform better on tasks that require the ability to: The paper concludes that even for very young children, navigating a multilingual environment imparts advantages that transfer beyond language. And older bilingual people enjoy improved memory and executive control relative to older monolingual people, which can lead to real-world health benefits. Across the political spectrum, fears have been expressed that American students will fall behind other nations, particularly China, as technology becomes more advanced and integrated into the workforce. And if the question is 'How do we make AI part of every child's upbringing?', signing an executive order to advance AI education for American youth can indeed seem like the right answer. But the question shouldn't be 'How do we make AI part of every child's upbringing?' Rather, political and corporate leaders should ask themselves, 'How do we cultivate the skills everyone needs to navigate an uncertain future with rapid changes in technology, geopolitics, health, climate, etc.?' Being able to adapt to change, focus on what's relevant, switch between tasks, manage conflict, and recognize systems that may be different are all important aspects of the answer to this question. And maybe AI is too. But while we have lots of research showing that learning a foreign language fosters these cognitive, neural, and social skills in children and young adults, we don't know how AI will impact our ability to navigate the future. We have teachers who worry we're going to have a generation that follows AI blindly and that their students will be taken advantage of 'by employers, landlords or the government' if they don't know how to think critically on their own. But as always with the future, we don't know if they will be right. All we know is that we get what we ask for. And when we ask for AI education, we get AI education. Even when there is something far more urgent for all of us to navigate the future.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Yahoo
Information centre relocates to the heart of Guernsey
The Visitor Information Centre in Guernsey has been relocated to the centre of town. The centre's new home is in the Market Buildings and it is hoped the move will see an increase in footfall to the area as well as making it a more convenient place for people to visit. The new location has been renovated and care was taken to protect the history of the building. Market Buildings is the starting point for a new walking route created for Guernsey's 80th Liberation Day Anniversary. Deputy Neil Inder, President of the Committee for Economic Development, said: "This move presented the opportunity to breathe life back into an important building in the heart of St Peter Port." Signage has been put up to ensure that visitors are able to find the new centre. Visitor Information Centre manager Ed Man said he hoped the move would make Market Square "a really good hub" for people where they would "want to come and socialise". Follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to Plaque marking Guernsey cows in US returns to view New tour of displays to commemorate Liberation Day
