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by Staff February 23, 2023

Inflection Resources and AngloGold Ashanti Sign a Heads of … – Junior Mining Network

Inflection Resources and AngloGold Ashanti Sign a Heads of …  Junior Mining Network

  • Health
by Staff February 21, 2023

Myeloid Therapeutics and New South Wales (NSW) Government in … – PR Newswire

Myeloid Therapeutics and New South Wales (NSW) Government in …  PR Newswire

Latest News

Inflection Resources and AngloGold Ashanti Sign a Heads of … – Junior Mining Network

February 23, 2023

Myeloid Therapeutics and New South Wales (NSW) Government in … – PR Newswire

February 21, 2023

Sky News People’s Forum: Dominic Perrottet and Chris Minns to face off in NSW Election debate – Sky News Australia

February 21, 2023

Five new railway stations could open to boost England-Wales journeys – Evening Standard

February 2, 2023
by Staff January 25, 2023

Brew-tiful! Welsh coffee company secures new USA and Canada … – Herald Wales

Brew-tiful! Welsh coffee company secures new USA and Canada …  Herald Wales

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RURAL Affairs Minister Lesley Griffiths has congratulated Ferrari’s Coffee in Bridgend after the company secured a new contract which will see their products available in the USA and Canada.

The Minister visited their facilities and heard how Welsh Government support has helped the company secure a significant deal to supply three of its products to a major retailer across the Atlantic.

The news comes as the Welsh Government recently announced exports by businesses in Wales have recovered beyond pre-pandemic levels. The Welsh Government remains steadfast in its ambition to drive further growth in Welsh exports.

Ferrari’s secured their deal at SIAL Paris, one of the world’s largest food innovation exhibitions in Paris in October. Attending as part of the Welsh Government Pavilion, Ferrari’s Coffee were amongst the Welsh producers taking the opportunity to meet with buyers and distributors from across the globe looking to secure new business opportunities.

One of the products making its way to the USA and Canada is the ‘Piacentia’ which is the company’s original recipe and has stayed the same for nearly 90 years. The other two products are the ‘Siena’ and ‘Mocha Italia’ coffee beans.

Yash Dhutia, Managing Director of Ferrari’s Coffee said: “We’re thrilled to receive this overseas contract to supply our coffee in the USA and Canada after meeting with a buyer from a major retailer at SIAL.

“It’s a huge boost of confidence for us as a company and we are grateful to the Welsh Government for their support. In reality, we wouldn’t have attended the event without their assistance.”

Yash Dhutia, along with his wife and children moved to Wales and bought Ferrari’s Coffee in August 2018, but have kept the same sourcing and roasting traditions set out by the company’s original founder Vittorio Ferrari. The company has been hand-roasting coffee in Wales since 1927.

At SIAL, they showcased their new 100% recycled packaging and new recyclable bags. Ferrari’s also have a direct trade agreement with farmers in Uganda who are an important part of the Mbale Tree planting Programme, supported by the Welsh Government, which hopes to plant 25 million trees by 2025.

Rural Affairs Minister, Lesley Griffiths said: “This is a great achievement for Ferrari’s Coffee and I am delighted the Welsh Government’s Food and Drink International Trade Programme has been able to support them.

“We all know the quality of food and drink produced by Welsh businesses is up there with the best in the world and we need to ensure it is rightly recognised.

“Securing new export markets, as well as maintaining and building on current ones, is crucial for the future of the Welsh food and drink industry.

“I am proud to support our Welsh food and drink producers at our global events which reaffirms our commitment to raising our international profile and supporting our businesses.”

by Staff January 25, 2023

Stricter rules for tattoos and piercings in Wales – BBC

Stricter rules for tattoos and piercings in Wales  BBC

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Ffion Hughes, a paramedic tattooist who helps mastectomy patients with scarring and areola loss, told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast that her clinic in Caernarfon, Gwynedd, often sees distressed patients after “having bad work, infections, viruses… a bad image on their body that they can’t get rid of”.

by Staff January 24, 2023

Amazon workers walk out in UK first for company’s staff – South Wales Guardian

Amazon workers walk out in UK first for company’s staff  South Wales Guardian

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Amazon workers are staging their first ever strike in the UK in a dispute over pay.

Members of the GMB at the company’s fulfilment centre in Coventry voted to walk out on Wednesday in protest against a pay rise the union said is worth 50p an hour.

Stuart Richards, GMB senior organiser, said: “Today, Amazon workers in Coventry will make history.

“They’ve defied the odds to become the first ever Amazon workers in the UK to go on strike.

“They’re taking on one of the world’s biggest companies to fight for a decent standard of living.

“They should be rightly proud of themselves.

“After six months of ignoring all requests to listen to workers’ concerns, GMB urges Amazon UK bosses to do the right thing and give workers a proper pay rise.”

Tomorrow – Amazon workers will make history and strike.

RT if you support them in their fight ✊@AmazonUK

— GMB Union (@GMB_union) January 24, 2023

An Amazon spokesperson said: “A tiny proportion of our workforce are involved.

“In fact, according to the verified figures, only a fraction of 1% of our UK employees voted in the ballot – and that includes those who voted against industrial action.

“We appreciate the great work our teams do throughout the year and we’re proud to offer competitive pay which starts at a minimum of between £10.50 and £11.45 per hour, depending on location.

“This represents a 29% increase in the minimum hourly wage paid to Amazon employees since 2018. Employees are also offered comprehensive benefits that are worth thousands more — including private medical insurance, life assurance, subsidised meals and an employee discount, to name a few.”

by Staff January 24, 2023

Brecon Carreg wins SME Business award at Lantra awards | South … – South Wales Guardian

Brecon Carreg wins SME Business award at Lantra awards | South …  South Wales Guardian

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A local business has been named as the best food and drink processing SME business in Wales.

Brecon Carreg, based in Trap, near Llandeilo, received the honour at the Lantra Cymru Awards 2022 last week.

The awards – which are part of the Food Skills Cymru programme and run by Lantra, recognise Wales’ food and drink processing and manufacturing businesses – were held at Metropole Hotel in Llandrindod Wells on Thursday, January 19.

Brecon Carreg Ltd won the SME Business category. Andrew Williams, operations director for Brecon Carreg Ltd, said: “It’s a great honour for us here at Brecon Carreg to win this award.

“It is a great vote of confidence in the training and development that we are undertaking for our staff. Not only for their continued professional development but also for the sustainability and growth of the business.”

The awards recognise the initiatives, skills and enthusiasm of individuals pursuing careers within the environmental, land-based and food manufacturing sectors and acknowledge businesses in the food and drink manufacturing and processing industry that have undertaken training over the last three years, investing in their employees and upskilling their staff with a defined range of training courses.

Sarah Lewis, project manager for Food Skills Cymru, said: “I would like to congratulate all the businesses that were nominated for the Food Skills Cymru categories in the Lantra Cymru Awards.

“These awards highlight the exceptional achievements and contributions of these businesses who work within Wales’ food manufacturing, land-based and environmental industries as well as the many rewarding careers available in the industry.”

Lesley Griffiths, minister for rural affairs and north Wales, and Trefnydd, said: “A huge congratulations to each individual and business recognised in this year’s Lantra Cymru Wales Awards. They all make a valuable contribution to agriculture, the environment, land-based and food manufacturing sectors here in Wales.

“The Food Skills Cymru programme plays a vital role in the food and drink processing and manufacturing industry by ensuring employees have the correct skills to thrive in an ever-changing industry.”

For more information about the Food Skills Cymru programme visit https://www.foodskills.cymru/.

by Staff January 23, 2023

FAW chief to speak at city business club – South Wales Argus

FAW chief to speak at city business club  South Wales Argus

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The man in charge of Welsh football is to be the guest speaker at the next City of Newport Business Club networking event.

Football Association of Wales chief executive Noel Mooney will be speaking at the event at the Coldra Court Hotel on Thursday, February 16.

Mr Mooney is in charge of all aspects of football in Wales – from grassroots to the international stage – and oversees the men’s and women’s game.

He joined the FAW as CEO in August 2021 and is a former League of Ireland goalkeeper who played for Limerick, Cork City and Shamrock Rovers.

Prior to moving to Wales, he had been working for football’s European governing body UEFA as head of strategic development, working with all 55 European federations on their development.

At UEFA, he created a number of leading development programmes which have been adopted right across the European football landscape.

Since Mr Mooney joined the FAW, the Welsh men’s team qualified and played in their first World Cup finals since 1958.

When joining the FAW, Mr Mooney said his mission was to ensure that the nation “becomes one of the best football associations globally at all levels by being strong locally in every village and town across Wales”.

City of Newport Business Club chairman Professor Jonathan Deacon said: “We’re really pleased to welcome Noel Mooney to our latest event.

“With the Welsh men’s team playing in their first World Cup for more than 60 years just a few weeks ago, and the women’s game going from strength to strength, we are sure he will give us all some food for thought.”

The event starts at 5.30pm. Tickets, which include a two-course meal, are £20 and can be booked at www.newportbusinessclub.co.uk/tickets/ .

For more information about the club go to www.newportbusinessclub.co.uk .

by Staff January 23, 2023

Auction business snaps up established city property lettings firm – South Wales Argus

Auction business snaps up established city property lettings firm  South Wales Argus

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A South Wales property auction and lettings business has snapped up a competitor in the same city.

Newport-based Paul Fosh Auctions and Lettings swooped for Everything Lettings in a deal which will see the leading property business more than double the size of its lettings arm. The value of the acquisition has not been revealed.

Paul Fosh Auctions, based on Lower Dock Street, has been established in Newport for more than 20 years.

The business, which consistently tops the charts in Wales for the number of properties sold and the cumulative annual total value of the sales, stages monthly online property auctions as well as managing an expanding stable of properties for clients.

The lettings acquisition has created two new jobs and more could be generated as the lettings side of the business continues to grow while retaining its headquarters in Newport.

Paul Fosh, owner and founder of Paul Fosh Auctions, said: “The acquisition of Everything Lettings is a perfect fit for us and allows our already very healthy lettings business to grow to more than twice its current size.

“We envisage seeing further expansion in this side of the business in 2023 through acquisition as well as organic growth. We’re looking to massively expand this side of the business over the coming years.

“Most of the properties which have been acquired through the acquisition of Everything Lettings, a very successful, medium-sized business built up over the past five years, are within the Newport, Gwent and surrounding areas.

“We have been growing organically over the past four years and were pleased with our steady growth but this opportunity to acquire the Newport-based business presented us with an opportunity to double our business.

“The owner had other offers for the business but chose to go with us as he was personally invested in his business and clients and liked the synergy between our way of working and his and was comfortable with us taking the business over.

Paul said his lettings arm is on the acquisition trail.

“We are keen to scale up, lettings is a scalable business, so we’re on the lookout now to acquire suitable similar businesses to help us grow. It’s advantageous for a lettings business to operate at a certain scale as this allows staff to specialise.

“We are now looking to consolidate our position in South Wales by increasing the density of our activities here as well as at the same time reaching out into newer areas across the Severn in Bristol and the west country.

“We already manage properties in Cheltenham, Bristol and Llanelli areas so we have a broad coverage. The aim now is to increase the density of coverage in those areas with the business controlled from our Newport headquarters with some staff working remotely

“Work is now in progress to make thorough inspections of all the properties in the portfolio to ensure that they’re up to standard in line with new government regulations which came into force from December 1, 2022.”

by Staff January 23, 2023

Ulster University seeks world-leading company for virtual production … – South Wales Argus

Ulster University seeks world-leading company for virtual production …  South Wales Argus

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Ulster University is looking for a world-leading production company for its virtual production studio.

Studio Ulster, a collaboration between academia and industry, will see a commercial virtual production company with the scale and world-class ability appointed to develop, install and operate the commercial business operation located in Belfast Harbour Studios.

Virtual production has emerged as one of the most cutting-edge techniques, used in a string of recent hits including The Mandalorian Disney+ series and The Rings Of Power on Amazon Prime.

It allows filmmakers to shoot a movie using computer-aided production and visualisation filmmaking methods so that real-time computer graphics interact with real-life characters and is regarded as a game changer for the film, television, animation and games industries.

Studio Ulster is being developed by Ulster University in partnership with Belfast Harbour and supported by Northern Ireland Screen.

It is set to include an estimated value of £26 million in specialist equipment with five sound stages and a screening room, and is projected to be the most technologically advanced dedicated virtual production complex of its kind in the world.

The tender was released in December as part of a wider committed investment of more than £70 million associated with Studio Ulster made possible by the Belfast Region City Deal, Belfast Harbour, Ulster University and levelling up funds.

The company or consortium appointed through the process will kit out the specialist Belfast studios and be the commercial operator to support large-scale productions from around the world.

Declan Keeney, professor of screen technologies and innovation at Ulster University and Studio Ulster director of research, development and innovation, said it will secure Northern Ireland’s competitiveness in the screen industry.

“With this commercial opportunity we reach an exciting milestone in the development of Studio Ulster,” he said.

“The company or consortium that secures this contract will meet the demands of a fast-growing European market and be at the heart of screen production here in Northern Ireland, one of the best locations outside London in which to make film and television, animation, games and unique real-time projects.”

Richard Williams, chief executive of Northern Ireland Screen, described Studio Ulster as a “bold and ambitious example of how working in partnership we can achieve sustainable growth for the economy in Northern Ireland”.

“At the core of the Department for the Economy’s 10X strategy is innovation and digital disruption, and through Studio Ulster, Ulster University and Belfast Harbour are presenting the opportunity to further strengthen Northern Ireland’s impressive offering to the global screen industry, and we welcome the latest project milestone,” he said.

Construction on the Studio Ulster site at Belfast Harbour began in September and the facility is expected to be fully operational for film production from early 2024.

The first stage pre-qualification questionnaire will close to interested parties on January 24 at 3pm.

Companies interested in responding to this tender can visit https://e-sourcingni.bravosolution.co.uk/web/login.shtml.

by Staff January 23, 2023

Government to offer £600m for green steel switch – BBC

Government to offer £600m for green steel switch  BBC

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“I think there is a role for government to provide targeted support in the first stages of a completely new technological deployment”, said Lord Adair Turner, the chairman of the Energy Transitions Commission, a group of business leaders who want to speed up the decarbonisation of the global economy.

by Staff January 22, 2023

Netflix shows like Sex Education ‘pumping millions of pounds into … – South Wales Argus

Netflix shows like Sex Education ‘pumping millions of pounds into …  South Wales Argus

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NETFLIX shows filmed in Wales – such as Sex Education – have contributed £200 million to the Welsh economy over the last five years.

That is according to Netflix itself, following an appearance at the Welsh Affairs Select Committee earlier this week.

Productions filmed in Wales include Sex Education – much of which is filmed in and around Gwent, with the former Caerleon Campus featured prominently – Lady Chatterley’s Lover and Havoc.

Netflix’s investment in productions shot in Wales is “causing a ripple effect across the entire UK economy”.

More than 40 per cent of Netflix’s investment in Wales goes beyond the UK’s TV and film industry, with thousands of vendors from the hospitality, logistics and rental sectors all benefiting.

Netflix has previously shared that for every £1 it spends on series and films in Wales:

  • 58p is spent in the TV and film sectors; 
  • 30p is spent across other sectors of the economy such as property, food, construction;
  • 7p is spent in the rental and leasing sectors;
  • 5p is spent in the wider creative, arts and entertainment sectors.

Additionally, every £1 spent on series and films in Wales generates a further 80p of spending across the UK.

Speaking to the Welsh Affairs Select Committee, Benjamin King, director of public policy UK and Ireland said: “Our productions in Wales have generated £200 million for UK GDP, and for every £1 spent on these by Netflix, 40 per cent of that spend is outside the film and TV sector”.

TV and film produced in Wales is part of Netflix’s $1 billion annual investment in UK-made content with more than 60 shows across every corner of the country each year.

by Staff January 21, 2023

Australia: NSW leader Chris Minns typifies Labor’s right-wing, pro … – WSWS

Australia: NSW leader Chris Minns typifies Labor’s right-wing, pro …  WSWS

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As the March 25 election in New South Wales (NSW), Australia’s most populous state, approaches, working people are confronted with a state Liberal-National Coalition government and a Labor opposition that agree on virtually everything, from the “let it rip” COVID policy to the need for austerity attacks on pay and conditions.

Chris Minns, Australian Labor Party leader in New South Wales [Photo: Facebook]

The bipartisanship, taken to new heights during the pandemic, has been a feature of every recent election. So too has been a crisis of the political establishment, with broad hostility among workers and young people to the official parties of big business.

These processes were a feature of the May federal election, where Labor and the Coalition received their lowest primary votes in more than 50 years. They were also on display in the November Victorian state election, where Labor retained office, despite sharp falls of its vote in working-class areas, only because support for the Liberal Party plummeted to historic lows.

All these tendencies, however, are finding particularly acute expression in the NSW election.

The state’s Coalition premier, Dominic Perrottet, is widely despised. He hails from the Liberal Party’s far-right faction. This month, Perrottet admitted that he had worn a Nazi uniform to his 21st birthday party in 2003. That belated confession was triggered by intensive factional warfare within the Coalition.

For his part, Minns is unknown to the vast majority of the population. Since becoming state Labor leader in June 2021, he has scarcely differentiated from Perrottet on a single issue. To the extent that Minns has criticised the Coalition government, it has largely been from the right.

Minns’ political record is of interest, not only because of the approaching election, but because it is a concentrated expression of the character of Labor as a whole. What emerges is a party, and a political leader, unconditionally committed to the dictates of big business and without any, even nominal, connection to the working class.

Minns’ background and early political career

Minns, hailing from an upper middle-class family—his father a school principal and mother a lawyer—has declared that it was former Labor Prime Minister Paul Keating who inspired him to enter politics.

In a June 2021 Sydney Morning Herald article, headlined “Chris Minns vows to be NSW Labor’s new Paul Keating,” he stated: “Keating talked about the art of the possible. I found everything about him inspiring and it made you like politics, not recoil.”

Minns was one of few young people so moved by Keating in the 90s. As Workers News, a predecessor of the WSWS, aptly noted at the time, Keating was the political equivalent of an “empty vessel” into which the ruling elite could pour whatever content it wished. If anything, Minns has taken this example to its logical extreme.

Keating had been treasurer of Bob Hawke’s Labor administration, before becoming prime minister in 1991. Their governments implemented in Australia the program associated with Margaret Thatcher in Britain and Ronald Reagan in the United States. Working in partnership with the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Labor deregulated the economy and presided over hundreds of thousands of job cuts, leading to the destruction of entire industries considered insufficiently profitable.

Minns, having been “inspired” by this example of politics “as the art of the possible,” became a Labor member at the age of 18, in 1998. Throughout his career, Minns, a devout Catholic, has been in the party’s “right” faction.

Such labels lost any meaning in the 1980s, as those within Labor who had previously presented themselves as “left” representatives of workers’ interests and even of socialism, abandoned this posture. It is nevertheless of note that Minns identified himself, from the outset, with Labor’s most openly pro-business and anti-working-class faction.

Official biographies have stated that Minns worked as an “on-call firefighter” while completing an arts degree at the University of New England, before being associated with a youth charity. These employments, however, appear to have been fleeting. To all intents and purposes, Minns has been a career politician his entire adult life.

In 2004, at the age of 25, he became a Labor member of the Hurstville City Council. His rise was rapid, and in the same year he was president of NSW Young Labor. In 2007–2008 Minns served a brief term as the deputy mayor of the large Sydney suburb. Around this time, Minns also worked as a staffer in the offices of right-wing state Labor MPs Carl Scully and John Robertson.

The then NSW Labor government pursued a program of privatisation and was widely reviled for its unflagging defence of the interests of property developers and other sections of business.

Minns was NSW Labor assistant secretary in the lead-up to the 2010 federal election and the 2011 state election. Its Sussex Street headquarters, where he worked, was the centre of the party’s factional apparatus.

A Sydney Morning Herald profile in October 2021 said that at this time, Minns “was again searching for ‘what could I do [next] to keep interested and keep interesting.’” These sentiments arose at the same time Labor suffered a devastating defeat in the 2011 state election.

Minns, together with his wife, formerly a prosecutor at the Director of Public Prosecutions and now a successful businesswoman, relocated their family to the US for 18 months. Minns had successfully applied for a scholarship to complete a Masters Degree in “public policy” at Princeton University, one of the wealthiest and most elite universities in the US.

Wikipedia notes: “Two U.S. Presidents, twelve U.S. Supreme Court Justices (three of whom currently serve on the court) and numerous living industry and media tycoons and foreign heads of state are all counted among Princeton’s alumni body. Princeton has graduated many members of the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Cabinet, including eight Secretaries of State, three Secretaries of Defense and two Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”

At Princeton, Minns said he studied the “technical side of economics, econometrics and microeconomics.” In addition to making important political contacts, the degree was clearly conceived of as a preparation for greater things. As he told the Herald in its 2021 profile, the knowledge he gained was “important if you want to be premier.”

Minns in parliament

Minns was elected to the NSW parliament in 2015 as the member for Kogarah, a Sydney suburb. Minns’ maiden speech to parliament introduced one of the themes of his political campaigning.

Labor, he claimed, had been associated with “equality,” and other egalitarian “values.” To purportedly defend them, however, it was necessary for Labor “to change.” Concretely, this meant a diminution in the influence of the trade unions.

Such statements, repeated many times over the following years, were linked to his calls for Labor to become the party of aspirational voters, of “the suburbs” and to recognise that “Australians are ambitious.” Echoing the most aggressive sections of business, Minns was condemning even a nominal and entirely fictitious identification of Labor with the interests of working people.

This set the stage for repeated conflicts with the union bureaucracy. Despite the fleeting infrequency of Minns’ comments on policy matters over this period, unions would note his support for extensive privatisation.

The concern of the unions, however, was not Minns’ pro-business program. Functioning as a corporatised police force of company managements and governments, they had already implemented large chunks of it, including through their collaboration with the privatisation agenda of the previous NSW Labor governments.

The concern of the unions was that Minns’ program would sideline them, depriving the privileged bureaucrats of their seat at the “negotiating table,” where they bargain away the jobs, wages and conditions of workers in exchange for substantial privileges.

A statement by the Newcastle branch of the Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union (AMIEU) in 2019, opposing Minns’ first bid for leadership of NSW Labor, pointed to the bitterness of the conflict.

The union declared: “If Mr. Minns wants to lead a party of out-of-touch elitists who have no idea what life is like for regular Australians, he can go and have a crack at the leadership of the Liberal Party. The AMIEU has well-honed knife skills for dealing with rogues.”

In that unsuccessful 2019 tilt at leadership, Minns’ factional opponents would repeatedly point to his right-wing background and politics. For instance, one Labor “insider” told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation: “He is a political apparatchik. He has had little life outside of politics.”

At this point, Minns apparently shifted on the unions. In his 2019 leadership bid, Minns did win the support of the Health Services Union (HSU) and the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA). HSU state secretary Gerard Hayes told the Herald: “I had a long discussion with Chris around his inaugural speech and Chris does not hold those views at this time.”

Minns changed his position 180 degrees, it seems. It had become clear that he would never become Labor leader without the backing of key sections of the union bureaucracy. Powerful sections of business, moreover, continued to insist that the unions were a crucial mechanism for suppressing the class struggle and imposing their demands.

Facebook page for Chris Minns (centre). [Photo: Facebook]

Another issue in Minns’ background came up in May 2021, when the question of Labor leadership again emerged. Minns’ factional opponents, allegedly in the office of then leader Jodi McKay, circulated a dirt sheet on why Minns “can never run the NSW Labor Party.” It alleged, though without providing a skerrick of evidence, that Minns had been involved in the receipt of dubious donations from Chinese businessmen.

These allegations came as a campaign by the political and media establishment against purported Chinese “foreign interference” was in full swing. Politicians, both Labor and Coalition, who had courted Chinese donations and looked to the growth of Asia’s economies as a lucrative source of opportunities for the business elite, were unwittingly caught up.

Minns’ initial factional base was in the Hurstville area, where there is a large Chinese community. In his maiden speech he had made the unusual call for Mandarin to be taught in all primary schools, explicitly linking this to Chinese “investment opportunities.”

After the dossier, Minns dropped favourable references to China. The issue reemerged after he had become Labor leader. In February 2022, the media claimed that a trip he took to China in 2015 had been funded by billionaire Huang Xiangmo, a target of the “foreign interference” campaign.

Minns, while defending the tour and claiming ignorance of Huang’s involvement, was contrite over his earlier comments on China. It had been “wrong” to even suggest Mandarin lessons in the state’s schools. “If you look back at it in reverse, I wish I’d changed many things,” Minns said.

The issues of the unions and China were revealing in demonstrating Minns’ willingness to adapt himself to whatever appeared to be the prevailing sentiment of the Labor bureaucracy, and through it, of the ruling elite itself. The frequently noted blandness of his character, verging on the absence of any personality, is intimately connected to this adaptability. Minns’ whole career has been a bid to convince the bureaucracy and the capitalist class that he is best placed to serve their interests.

Minns as Labor leader

Minns became NSW Labor leader in June 2021, on the eve of an outbreak of the Delta strain of COVID. During his first weeks in that post, the Coalition government resisted implementing the necessary safety measures. It eventually instituted discriminatory, police-enforced measures in working-class suburbs, while preparing to overturn all restrictions.

The Guardian reported on an interview that it conducted with Minns shortly after he became leader. Minns, it stated, “wants to provide a positive vision of the state’s future rather than constantly criticising the Coalition government. He said the NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, had done a good job managing the Covid pandemic and he would not be playing politics on the issue.”

Minns would later make tepid criticisms of the discriminatory measures imposed in the working-class suburbs of Sydney, enforced by the police and the military. But absent any call for a broader and genuine COVID safety policy aimed at eliminating the virus, these comments largely dovetailed with the increasing demands of business for an end to all lockdowns.

Minns and NSW Labor supported the “reopening of the economy” in December 2021, which led to a catastrophic tsunami of Omicron infections. In a statement, Labor declared: “We’ve finally got a plan to reopen, now we need a plan to rebuild.” It was largely a demand for greater subsidies to business, after two years of unprecedented handouts. “The Government is asking businesses to reopen, but there is no indication of how they will be able to do that and what support will be available,” Minns’ Labor stated.

Since then, Labor has marched in lockstep in ending safety measures and ensuring ever more illness and death on the altar of profit. Since the May federal election, this “herd immunity” policy has been overseen by the Albanese Labor government.

Minns has supported the NSW Coalition government in its attacks on key sections of workers. Amid repeated nurses’ strikes, over the meltdown of the hospitals, he has rejected demands for nurse-to-patient ratios. Minns has denounced striking rail workers, and has insisted, together with the government, that any, even nominal wage increases must be paid for by increased “productivity,” i.e., poorer conditions and more intensive exploitation.

The bipartisanship has already found expression in the NSW election, with Minns and Albanese rescuing Perrottet after the admission of Perrottet having worn a Nazi uniform in 2003. Minns rushed in to declare that the right-wing premier’s apology had been “sincere and heartfelt.”

In an opinion piece last week, essentially beginning Labor’s campaign, Minns wrote: “From my first day as opposition leader, I have not hesitated to back good ideas from the NSW Liberal government. Whether it was dealing with COVID, or the national energy package, when they got it right, I backed them in. That’s the way I practice politics, and it’s the right thing to do.”

Meanwhile, Labor has announced virtually no policies for the election, aside from a housing program that will do nothing to address the major social crisis in that area, but is instead aimed at propping up the inflated market, and pro-business infrastructure policies.

Its campaign, however, is already serving as the mechanism for attacks on the working class. The unions, in a series of key sectors, including healthcare and rail, have shut down any action by workers, despite the fact that they face sweeping cuts to wages and conditions, on the grounds of instead focusing their attention on ensuring the election of a Labor government.

This dovetails with Labor’s broader role, federally and across the country. In lockstep with the unions, it is seeking to impose the demands for sub-inflationary wage rises, and for stepped-up pro-business restructuring. A key component is the further strengthening of the draconian industrial relations framework, and an even greater entrenchment of the role of the union bureaucracy within it, aimed at heading off an explosion of the class struggle.

In the figure of Minns, working people are confronted with the character of Labor as a right-wing party of the corporate elite, that does not differ with the Coalition on a single substantive issue.

That underscores the need for a political struggle against Labor, and a turn to a socialist program that advances the interests of working people, not business profits.

Join the SEP campaign against anti-democratic electoral laws!

The working class must have a political voice, which the Australian ruling class is seeking to stifle with this legislation.

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