Latest news with #StephenBates
Fashion United
01-07-2025
- Business
- Fashion United
Decathlon partners with Rheon Labs on next-gen sports apparel
Global sporting goods retailer Decathlon has announced a global partnership with British materials technology company Rheon Labs to bring advanced material science to apparel for 'everyday sport'. The collaboration will allow Decathlon access to Rheon Labs' technology platform, including current and future innovations in strain-rate sensitive materials, to power next-gen sports apparel by enabling the development of apparel that enhances control, comfort and performance during physical activity. The result will be performance-driven apparel built to meet the needs of athletes, as well as accessible to all, explains Decathlon in a statement. Aurelien Corbier, textile innovation leader at Decathlon, said: 'Innovation truly matters when it empowers everyone. By partnering with Rheon Labs, we're taking materials designed for athletes and making them accessible to all. 'This aligns perfectly with our focus on providing excellent products for everyone, leading to better comfort, control, and performance.' The first launch from the partnership will be a 'Kiprun' running tight, slated for release in autumn/winter 2025. The running tights will be designed to focus energy and reduce muscle movement. Decathlon adds that it is also working on innovations across other categories, including with its fitness sports specialist Domyos, with the first technologies expected to arrive in 2026. London-based Rheon Labs is a collective of scientists, engineers, and designers focused on creating products that were previously thought impossible with conventional static materials. At the core of every product is its patented energy-absorbing super polymer, Rheon, which remains soft and flexible during everyday movement but stiffens dynamically in response to movement or impact. The innovation adapts to the body's needs in real-time – improving comfort, control, and performance without sacrificing freedom of movement. Stephen Bates, chief executive at Rheon Labs, added: 'Decathlon's belief that innovation should serve everyone aligns perfectly with our own. Rheon started in elite sport – now, this partnership will unlock that same level of performance for millions more.'
ABC News
13-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Senator Larissa Waters won't rule out leadership tilt as Greens claim Ryan
Queensland Senator Larissa Waters won't rule out a tilt at the Greens leadership, as the party claims their first and only election victory. Elizabeth Watson-Brown will now be the sole Greens MP in the House of Representatives after the party failed to reclaim any of its other lower house seats. Asked about whether she would run to become Greens leader after Adam Bandt lost his seat of Melbourne, Senator Waters wouldn't discount it. "We've got a process to go through and I won't be making any comments about that," she said. "I'm afraid you will just have to wait until Thursday." Ms Watson-Brown, who first won Ryan in 2022, will retain the electorate with a two-party preferred swing towards her, despite a drop in her primary vote. She said she was going to "desperately miss" her former colleagues Adam Bandt, Max Chandler-Mather, and Stephen Bates. "It might be a little bit lonely on the floor [of the House of Representatives]," Ms Watson-Brown said. "That is a pretty difficult place. You can be feeling a bit lonely there when you're being screamed at by 149 other people. "There's nobody else now to take that buffer. But I've got to remind people the Greens party room is our strength."
The Guardian
08-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
The Greens' identity crisis: where to now for a party built on protesting the status quo?
The Liberals are not the only party left asking some difficult questions after last weekend's federal election. With the Greens set to lose their leader Adam Bandt in a shock defeat in Melbourne, having already lost three out of four of its House of Representatives seats, the party will need to do some serious soul-searching to determine not only what went wrong, but who they are and who they want to represent. It's not just a disappointing result for the Greens, but an anomalous – even paradoxical – one. While the party looks set to return six senators to maintain its upper house cricket team of 11, Australians were not so generous in the lower. The national first-preference swing against the Greens was just 0.45%, but the statewide swing against the party was higher in Victoria and Queensland – the only states to elect Greens MPs in 2022. While only marginally higher in Victoria at 0.55%, it was significantly greater in Queensland at 1.16%, the state labelled 'Greensland' after 2022. Even more bizarre is that primary swings against Greens MPs were higher still: 1.39% in Ryan in leafy western Brisbane, 1.60% in Brisbane itself, and 2.88% in the southside seat of Griffith. Brisbane MP Stephen Bates and Griffith MP Max Chandler-Mather lost to Labor, while Ryan MP Elizabeth Watson-Brown held on. The Greens finished third on primary votes in Brisbane and second in Griffith, where the third-placed Liberal National party is itself buttressed by the preferences of hard-right populist parties. In Ryan, the Greens were returned on Labor preferences. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email In the seat of Melbourne, held by Bandt since 2010, the Greens suffered a 4.18% primary swing. With the Greens dream of picking up Macnamara and Wills in Victoria and Richmond in New South Wales now dashed, the fact that party leader Bandt, who captured 60% of the after-preference vote in 2022, should himself face defeat speaks volumes of the Greens' own identity crisis. No one could have seen this coming. Some polls pegged the Greens' vote at as low as 11%, but others had it as high as 14.5%. The Greens, at least in Brisbane, also repeated their intensive doorknocking strategy of 2022. And given the history of minor parties and independents holding on to – or increasing – their margins for years on end, few genuinely expected the Greens to go backwards. But the Queensland state election of October 2024 did offer a glimpse of the future. While the party's statewide vote increased in 2024 by 0.42%, the Greens lost one of its two seats – far below the widely touted ambitions of winning five additional seats. Moreover, South Brisbane, which overlaps with Griffith, saw a 3.19% primary swing away from Greens MP Amy MacMahon, while Maiwar, which overlaps with Ryan, saw a massive 7.44% drop in support for the sole remaining MP Michael Berkman. The story was repeated in two Victorian byelections earlier this year. In Prahran, the Greens MP was defeated in a 13.4% after-preference swing and, in Werribee, the Greens' primary vote increased by a paltry 0.8%. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion Commentary about the Greens' decline has focused on three main issues. First, Max Chandler-Mather sharing a stage with the CFMEU, and whether this was a step too far for moderate voters living in upper-middle class suburbs; second, the party's position on Gaza; and third, what looked like a petulant blocking of Labor's 'Help to Buy' housing legislation. Together, these raise the question: do Australians object to the Greens moving out of their policy lane? While the Greens have found deep support for their commitment to climate change issues, do voters dislike – or even distrust – an environmentalist party playing politics with industrial relations, housing or foreign policy? And if so, where to for the Greens? First, all is not lost. The party will probably be the sole custodian of the balance of power in the Senate after 1 July, and the Greens will surely attempt to pull an already left-leaning cabinet further to the left. But if the Greens dream of becoming a party equal in votes and parliamentary numbers to Labor and the Coalition – and even replacing Labor as the principal 'left' party sometime by the middle of the century – the Greens may need to temper some of its post-material aspirations with material economic relief pitched at a moderate, centrist Australia. That may be difficult for a party built on protesting against the status quo, rather than upholding it.
Daily Mail
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Major setback for the Greens as Adam Bandt falls behind in the vote count once again - and how he could lose his seat in parliament
Greens leader Adam Bandt is at risk of losing his seat after again falling behind in the vote count following Saturday's federal election. Bandt has held the seat of Melbourne for more than a decade, but it could be taken by Labor's Sarah Witty, leaving the Greens without their leader in Parliament. It would be a devastating blow for the party with two other high-profile Greens MPs, Stephen Bates and housing spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather, having both conceded defeat last night. Ms Witty was ahead of Bandt with 52 per cent of votes compared to 48 per cent as of 10am AEST on Monday morning, with about two-thirds of ballots counted. This represents an 8.6 per cent swing to Labor since the last election in 2022. Preferences in postal votes are flowing 75.9 per cent to Labor and 24.1 per cent to the Greens in a particularly worrying sign for Bandt. The Greens are facing the prospect of having no MPs in the lower house after Bates' and Chandler-Mather's departures and the remaining seats they have a shot at are far from assured. The party is faring better in the Senate with it looking likely to claim 11 spots. Bandt released a statement pointing to the Greens' highest ever general vote as a victory late on Election night, despite the potential wipe out in the lower house. 'We have secured the biggest national vote in our history. And together we have kicked Dutton out.' He said at that point he was confident of retaining his own seat and of picking up three more. 'We'll retain all our Senators, Melbourne and we're looking good in Ryan, Wills and Richmond – we'll know more soon. 'While our national vote has increased, the collapse in the Liberal vote means that Labor will win the seats of Griffith with Liberal preferences, and Brisbane too.' Firebrand Griffith MP Chandler-Mather lost following a huge 16 per cent swing to Labor candidate Renee Coffey. Chandler-Mather had been called Anthony Albanese's nemesis after butting heads with him about Labor's housing policy, claiming the Labor government was abandoning renters behind during the cost of living crisis. He previously said in Parliament he would have to drag Labor 'kicking and screaming to taking meaningful action' on the rental crisis. 'If we praise the Labor party for offering crumbs, that's all we'll get.' Bandt said following his concession speech that: 'There's never been a first term MP who has had the impact of Max Chandler-Mather. 'He put the rental crisis firmly in the spotlight. He secured billions of dollars for social housing. He fed his local community with his own money. This is not the last we've seen of him.' Brisbane Greens MP Stephen Bates also conceded defeat to Labor's Madonna Jarrett, finishing third behind the major parties. They are both one-term wonders, despite the minor party's primary vote holding up. Bandt said that 'Stephen Bates has been an incredible voice for Brisbane'. 'He has delivered 20,000 meals and holding more than 200 events in his community. 'He went from a retail worker into the halls of Parliament, to holding big corporations accountable for three years. Bandt also gloated about keeping Peter Dutton out of Parliament. The Opposition leader's political career looks set to be over after he lost his Queensland seat of Dickson to Labor's Ali France. 'Congratulations to Prime Minister Albanese and Labor on their campaign to keep Dutton out. 'The Greens are set to be a powerful force in the next Parliament, as part of a strong progressive crossbench and holding the balance of power in the Senate, pushing for more action on the climate, housing and cost of living crises.'
Sydney Morning Herald
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Brisbane in focus: The state of play across the city's key electorates
After five weeks of campaigning, polls closed at 6pm. Labor, the Coalition and the Greens are all hoping they can hold on to key electorates in the Greater Brisbane area, and even pick up others. Here is the state of play in some of the most tightly contested seats. Brisbane The seat of Brisbane takes in inner-city suburbs including riverside New Farm and Newstead, the well-heeled Clayfield and Hamilton, as well as Albion, Lutwyche, Bowen Hills, Kelvin Grove, Newmarket, Enoggera, Windsor, Wilston and Wooloowin, plus the CBD and parts of Stafford and Bardon. Incumbent Green Stephen Bates took the seat from the LNP's Trevor Evans in the progressive party's historic Brisbane sweep three years ago, shocking political pundits across the country and prompting leader Adam Bandt to declare a 'Greenslide'. Bates holds the electorate with a 3.7 per cent margin, but finished in third place at the last election before preferences were counted. A well-resourced campaign from Labor's Madonna Jarrett – who also ran at the last election – set up the race as a genuine three-way rematch, and one that could be key to either major party forming government. Griffith Griffith was held by Labor for almost a quarter of a century – with former PM Kevin Rudd serving 15 years – before Max Chandler-Mather won the seat from Terri Butler in 2022. The renter- and apartment-dominated suburbs of West End, Kangaroo Point, South Brisbane and Woolloongabba fall within the boundaries, as does a mortgage-heavy belt spanning Bulimba, Norman Park, Carina, Camp Hill, Holland Park and Coorparoo. Chandler-Mather has been a firebrand for the Greens since winning the seat, and is one of its best known figures as spokesperson for housing. His Labor challenger, Renee Coffey, lives in Norman Park and most recently served as chief executive of a national youth mental health charity. Ryan Established as an electorate in 1949, Ryan was a blue seat – that is, held by the conservative Liberal Party or its Queensland successor, the LNP – for all but 11 months in 2001, until Elizabeth Watson-Brown won in 2022. The electorate covers two dozen suburbs, from urban riverside areas near the University of Queensland campus to more affluent suburbs where at least 80 per cent of residents are home owners. Former architect Watson-Brown's first preference count lagged 8.3 per cent behind then-incumbent LNP member Julian Simmonds, and her final lead was a slim 2.6 per cent. Her main challenger is Brisbane barrister Maggie Forrest, running for the LNP, while former school principal Rebecca Hack is running for Labor. 'The electorate of Ryan is actually ripe for a teal candidate, but in the absence of [one], the Greens have basically picked up the mantle,' University of Queensland political economist and Ryan local Shahar Hameiri told this masthead during the campaign. Dickson Rumours he's losing his home base have dogged Peter Dutton, the federal opposition leader, since the election was announced in late March – and have not been helped by the fact the 2022 two-candidate-preferred margin in Dickson was 1.7 per cent. Starting a half-hour drive north of Brisbane's CBD, Dickson is home to about 118,468 enrolled voters across suburbs of the City of Moreton Bay, including Albany Creek, Everton Hills, Ferny Hills, Kurwongbah, Murrumba Downs, Petrie, Strathpine and parts of Kallangur. Labor's Ali France has been creeping up on Dutton since 2019, when she contested the seat with a maiden campaign. The seat is also being contested by a handful of independent and minor party candidates, including Climate 200-backed independent Ellie Smith, whose preferences may make a difference. Moreton Moreton is considered a safe Labor seat, having been held by Labor MP Graham Perrett since 2007. It includes inner-city suburbs like Yeronga, Fairfield and Annerley and stretches south-west to Corinda and Oxley and south to Sunnybank and Kuraby, with the South-East Freeway as its eastern border. With Perrett retiring, Labor is running its former state secretary Julie-Ann Campbell, and it is the next Brisbane seat in the Greens' sights. The Greens candidate, Remah Naji, is a 35-year-old social worker and an organiser of the Justice for Palestine protest group.
