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Daily Mirror
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
'I met Ozzy Osbourne and his response to what happens after death was hilarious'
Legendary Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne died on Tuesday, just weeks after celebrating his career with a final farewell show in his home city, Birmingham A journalist who met Ozzy Osbourne has recalled the hilarious response the iconic metalhead had to the afterlife. Ozzy died aged 76 on Tuesday, just weeks after his farewell show in his home city of Birmingham. Known by many as the Prince of Darkness, Ozzy rose to fame in the 1970s as part of Black Sabbath. But in his later life he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and had emphysema. Journalist Celia Walden met the iconic rocker at his home in Los Angeles in 2009. Ozzy lived in Hollywood Hills with wife Sharon at the time, although the couple spent the star's final days at the Buckinghamshire mansion. Celia recalls some of the anecdotes the singer shared as he showed off his artwork and spoke about his life. In the Daily Telegraph, she recalls one poignant moment when she asked Ozzy what he believes comes after life, and his hilarious response. 'Hell,' Ozzy grumbled. 'Even if I do make it to heaven, you can bet your life that the toilet will stink." She says it was one of the many 'unforgettable lines' the star came out with during their conversation. Celia recalls the conversation turning to what Ozzy would like to achieve in life. He explained he wanted a number one album before he died - something he managed to do in 2022 with Patient No 9 - and would like a film made about him. 'Maybe with Johnny Depp playing me,' he explained. But Ozzy, who spent his life battling addiction to drink and drugs, explained there was one thing he would have liked more than anything. He said: 'I'd like to go back in time and make better choices." Ozzy's life was filled with both success and controversy. In 1981 after signing his solo record label he bit the head off a dove and was escorted out of the building by security. A year later he famously bit the head off a bat and threw it into the crowd during a show. And he once famously snorted a line of ants. However he was twice inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his musical achievements. Firstly with Black Sabbath in 2006 and then in 2024 as a solo artist. Guitarist Tony Iommi, Black Sabbath's co-founder, said it felt like the band had 'lost our brother'. Speaking to Radio 4, he said: 'He loved what he did, he loved music, he loved playing together, and I'm so glad we had the opportunity of getting together again to do the [farewell] show.' Reflecting on the farewell show at Villa Park, he added: "It was brilliant being with all the guys again, and the atmosphere, and it was brilliant for Ozzy because he really wanted to do that, he felt at home there and it was good for all of us." Fellow heavy metal band Metallica paid tribute to Ozzy on X. The band wrote: 'It's impossible to put into words what Ozzy Osbourne has meant to Metallica. Hero, icon, pioneer, inspiration, mentor, and, most of all, friend are a few that come to mind."
The Guardian
10 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
With Cleverly centre stage, the Tories have a new look – but that isn't the same as a plan
It hardly compares for importance with all the cruelties in Gaza or Sudan. But then little else does that at present. It caused barely a ripple on the parochial surface of British politics either. That's hardly surprising at a time when Downing Street is warning about summer riots. Tellingly, the Daily Telegraph itself could only muster a single front-page paragraph on it on Wednesday, underneath Ozzy Osbourne's death and the England women's football extra-time squeaker. Yet Kemi Badenoch's shadow cabinet reshuffle this week should not be totally dismissed. See it instead as an inadequate recognition of an indisputable problem for any contemporary centre-right party, as well as an incoherent attempt to address it. If the Conservative party is very lucky, the reshuffle could be the start of better times. But it is nowhere near that point today. Right now, the reshuffle counts as the merest glimmer amid the Tory gloom. But a glimmer all the same. The reshuffle's headline event, in as much as there was one, is the return of James Cleverly to the Conservative frontbench. The official opposition party is, of course, a shadow of what it once was, with only 120 MPs at the last count, and Cleverly is not quite the political heavyweight he pretends. Yet he came within a whisker of leading the party last October. He also has far more spirit and public recognition than most of his colleagues. He stands for a form of continuity conservatism with what remains of the party's one nation instincts and pragmatic traditions that brought it such success for so long. He was also, until this week, his party's most underutilised backbench asset, and potentially the biggest backbench threat to Badenoch's rocky leadership. Unlike ex-ministers such as Rishi Sunak or Jeremy Hunt, Cleverly also still has a future. It made sense to have him back in the tent. From Badenoch's perspective, because Cleverly, a seasoned operator, has repeatedly made effective backbench attacks on Labour which should be better made from the frontbench. From Cleverly's, because he would once again be the most plausible candidate to stop the shadow justice secretary, Robert Jenrick, in the event of yet another Tory leadership contest. If Cleverly is to consolidate that position – which he must do to take momentum away from Jenrick's efforts to steal Nigel Farage's clothes – he will need to make an impact in his new role. It helps that housing, where he will now shadow Labour's Angela Rayner, is an issue on which Cleverly touched – perhaps with private foreknowledge about the reshuffle – in his IPPR speech this month. He has strong instincts on housing. He is against nimbyism. He says the party should not be afraid of making the case for new housing to people who already have houses. This points to why Cleverly's return is important more generally. Unlike Jenrick, he stands against cosying up to Reform UK. In June, speaking to the Conservative Environment Network shortly after Badenoch had ditched the party's 2050 net zero target – a move widely seen as a bending of the knee to Farage – he insisted that economic growth and 'environmental obligations' must go hand-in-hand. At the IPPR this month, his central argument was that the Tory party must stop aping Reform UK by pretending there are easy answers to difficult problems. The party had to be honest about the need for, and the challenges of, delivery. The key lines in his lecture came at the end: 'We don't need a revolution,' said Cleverly. 'We need a restoration – of competence, of delivery, and of trust.' Cleverly's return therefore raises an important broader question for the Tory party. Is Badenoch's decision to bring him into the shadow cabinet an attempt to pivot the Conservative party away from the populist right and towards the kind of more traditional centre-right stance that Cleverly embodies? In electoral terms, is it an attempt to move away from a concentration on working-class voters in the so-called red wall of Labour seats where Reform UK has established itself as the main contender? Or does it instead imply a renewed focus on more middle-class voters in the so-called former 'blue wall' where Ed Davey's Liberal Democrats have swept so many Tories aside? This is a big choice for the Conservatives – there is none bigger, in fact – and it is therefore important not to oversimplify it. It is not a choice about returning to the past. It is one that involves making judgments about almost everything that the party thinks it stands for in a fast-changing world – including social order, economic prosperity, individual freedom, cultural traditions, competence, global standing and more. It is also a UK variation of a question that simultaneously faces all former centre-right parties in the established democracies, all of which confront similar sets of issues. Only this week, Japanese voters handed out a rare electoral rocking to the centre-right government of the prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba. Plenty of Conservatives have been grappling seriously with these questions. In a joint project earlier this year, the Bright Blue thinktank and Germany's Konrad Adenauer Stiftung came up with a list of 10 priorities for the European centre right. These included an emphasis on shared national identity, simplified regulatory regimes, avoidance of zero-sum thinking, re-established competence, individual responsibility, shared values and customs, civility towards others, the state's role as carer, support for families, and environmental conservation. None of these is doctrinaire or narrow. Up to now, Badenoch has preferred to avoid such choices. She still seems to believe that moderation is not cool and therefore not effective. She prefers to fight on cultural issues rather than hard policy choices. She presents herself as the embodiment of contrarian cleverness, not as a strategist or problem solver who can run things well – the precise opposite of Cleverly's own self-presentation. She focuses her disdain on white-collar workers in state institutions – a large group of voters the Conservatives have been steadily losing and which her approach does nothing to reverse. She goes out of her way to praise Donald Trump and JD Vance, both of whom are unpopular with UK voters. In reality, one of the smartest things she could do would be to become a Trump critic. If bringing Cleverly back is indeed meant as a pivot to the traditional centre right, then it is an extremely cunningly camouflaged one. Such a shift is not inherently impossible, and the Bright Blue-KAS report shows many ways in which it could be attempted. But it is exceptionally hard to believe in when the party is so battered by defeat and so frightened of Farage. With the Conservatives now averaging just 17% in the polls, there is a lot of ground to regain, but no sign under its current leader of any serious strategy for doing so. Martin Kettle is a Guardian columnist
The Advertiser
12 hours ago
- Politics
- The Advertiser
'They weren't threatening but they were very clear': what the Chinese said during their visit to Newcastle
Newcastle Lord Mayor Ross Kerridge admits he was "a bit surprised" the subjects of Tibet, Taiwan and nuclear submarines arose during a meeting with Chinese Consul General Wang Yu, which had been pitched as a 'meet and greet'. The same issues were again raised during a lunch with Hunter union representatives following the meeting. Last Thursday's meeting with the Lord Mayor, chief of staff Gina Hanson and government relations manager Nikki Taylor had been scheduled with the recently appointed Consul General about six weeks ago. No agenda was provided, and no other councillors, nor members of the City of Newcastle's executive leadership team, were present. After exchanging pleasantries and engaging in a general discussion about the city, the delegation proactively raised their country's position on Tibet and Taiwan. "We talked about Tibet and how many Tibetans live in Newcastle. I said, yes, there is a Tibetan community in Newcastle and they don't cause any trouble," Cr Kerridge said. "They talked about their position on Taiwan in much the same way. "I was a bit surprised; they weren't threatening, but they were very clear." The conversation then moved to whether Newcastle was going to be a nuclear submarine base. "I remarked that Newcastle Council's long-standing policy is that we are a non-nuclear city, but that any decision about a submarine base would be a matter for the state and federal governments. He did explain that a submarine base in Newcastle would make China less interested in investing in the area," Cr Kerridge said. Cr Kerridge said that, while he was satisfied with how he handled the conversation, he said he would have sought advice if he had been aware the contentious issues were going to be raised. "If they had said that they wanted to talk about those things, we would have sought advice. By putting it on the agenda, it would have been more than just, 'this is our position', Cr Kerridge said. Cr Kerridge said the meeting highlighted the need for the council to develop an external relations policy. 'As I see it, part of our role is to liaise with groups like this. You should have a standard approach about what you engage in and how you do it." Minutes of the meeting were circulated to councillors and subsequently leaked to the Daily Telegraph. "(Leaking the minutes) doesn't help our relationship with China. It's important that we are polite and respectful to all countries," Cr Kerridge said. The lord mayor's second-in-charge, Liberal deputy lord mayor Callum Pull, said he was left in the dark about the meeting with the Chinese diplomat. Cr Pull said it was "made clear" to the lord mayor that the meeting should be reported to Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong. "Reading the record of this meeting immediately rang alarm bells," he said. "I and other councillors have questioned why we were not informed of, or invited to the meeting, and why the meeting occurred with apparently no agenda, stated intent or clear purpose." The Newcastle Herald understands at least one other councillor was invited to the meeting. Since Cr Kerridge's election, he has held meetings with Kongsberg Defence Australia, the Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery, Newcastle Airport, the Port of Newcastle and the Hunter Defence Task Force. Defence has signed an $850 million contract with Kongsberg to establish Australia's first guided weapons production factory at Williamtown. Liberal Senator Maria Kovacic, duty senator for the Hunter, has publicly stated that the meeting should "ring alarm bells at the highest levels of government". Cr Pull said the Opposition's concerns about the matter are "well-founded" as it is unclear whether the lord mayor was exposed to sensitive information concerning national security at prior meetings. "I encourage the Commonwealth to take all necessary steps to assess and respond to any potential national security risks this meeting may have caused," he said. "I am also deeply concerned about what seem to be threats if we support the Tibetan or Taiwanese communities. "As councillors, we should support all communities regardless of their ethnic background." Following the meeting with the Lord Mayor, the Chinese delegation met with Hunter union representatives for lunch at the Dockyard Hotel in Honeysuckle. Hunter Workers secretary Leigh Shears said the lunch followed a dinner he had recently attended at the Chinese embassy with members of the South Coast Labour Council to commemorate the 1938 Dalfram Dispute. "The dinner was the initial contact for us. We saw the delegation's visit to Newcastle as an opportunity to establish a relationship with the Chinese companies that own 21 per cent of our electricity assets, are a major owner of coal assets in our region as well as the port," Hunter Workers Secretary Leigh Shears said. "From our perspective, those were the things we wanted to talk to them about." Mr Shears confirmed the issues of Tibet, Taiwan and nuclear submarines were raised. "They didn't go into detail about their positions or what their concerns were. They said there is a Tibetan community here in Newcastle. Do you know them? "I said I don't know personally and we left it at that. They didn't raise it in a confrontational way and it wasn't awkward." Hunter Workers presented the delegation with a framed print of Newcastle Trades Hall secretary George Bass leaving Newcastle Courthouse with Chinese seafarers during the 1937 Silksworth Dispute at the Port of Newcastle. Newcastle Lord Mayor Ross Kerridge admits he was "a bit surprised" the subjects of Tibet, Taiwan and nuclear submarines arose during a meeting with Chinese Consul General Wang Yu, which had been pitched as a 'meet and greet'. The same issues were again raised during a lunch with Hunter union representatives following the meeting. Last Thursday's meeting with the Lord Mayor, chief of staff Gina Hanson and government relations manager Nikki Taylor had been scheduled with the recently appointed Consul General about six weeks ago. No agenda was provided, and no other councillors, nor members of the City of Newcastle's executive leadership team, were present. After exchanging pleasantries and engaging in a general discussion about the city, the delegation proactively raised their country's position on Tibet and Taiwan. "We talked about Tibet and how many Tibetans live in Newcastle. I said, yes, there is a Tibetan community in Newcastle and they don't cause any trouble," Cr Kerridge said. "They talked about their position on Taiwan in much the same way. "I was a bit surprised; they weren't threatening, but they were very clear." The conversation then moved to whether Newcastle was going to be a nuclear submarine base. "I remarked that Newcastle Council's long-standing policy is that we are a non-nuclear city, but that any decision about a submarine base would be a matter for the state and federal governments. He did explain that a submarine base in Newcastle would make China less interested in investing in the area," Cr Kerridge said. Cr Kerridge said that, while he was satisfied with how he handled the conversation, he said he would have sought advice if he had been aware the contentious issues were going to be raised. "If they had said that they wanted to talk about those things, we would have sought advice. By putting it on the agenda, it would have been more than just, 'this is our position', Cr Kerridge said. Cr Kerridge said the meeting highlighted the need for the council to develop an external relations policy. 'As I see it, part of our role is to liaise with groups like this. You should have a standard approach about what you engage in and how you do it." Minutes of the meeting were circulated to councillors and subsequently leaked to the Daily Telegraph. "(Leaking the minutes) doesn't help our relationship with China. It's important that we are polite and respectful to all countries," Cr Kerridge said. The lord mayor's second-in-charge, Liberal deputy lord mayor Callum Pull, said he was left in the dark about the meeting with the Chinese diplomat. Cr Pull said it was "made clear" to the lord mayor that the meeting should be reported to Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong. "Reading the record of this meeting immediately rang alarm bells," he said. "I and other councillors have questioned why we were not informed of, or invited to the meeting, and why the meeting occurred with apparently no agenda, stated intent or clear purpose." The Newcastle Herald understands at least one other councillor was invited to the meeting. Since Cr Kerridge's election, he has held meetings with Kongsberg Defence Australia, the Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery, Newcastle Airport, the Port of Newcastle and the Hunter Defence Task Force. Defence has signed an $850 million contract with Kongsberg to establish Australia's first guided weapons production factory at Williamtown. Liberal Senator Maria Kovacic, duty senator for the Hunter, has publicly stated that the meeting should "ring alarm bells at the highest levels of government". Cr Pull said the Opposition's concerns about the matter are "well-founded" as it is unclear whether the lord mayor was exposed to sensitive information concerning national security at prior meetings. "I encourage the Commonwealth to take all necessary steps to assess and respond to any potential national security risks this meeting may have caused," he said. "I am also deeply concerned about what seem to be threats if we support the Tibetan or Taiwanese communities. "As councillors, we should support all communities regardless of their ethnic background." Following the meeting with the Lord Mayor, the Chinese delegation met with Hunter union representatives for lunch at the Dockyard Hotel in Honeysuckle. Hunter Workers secretary Leigh Shears said the lunch followed a dinner he had recently attended at the Chinese embassy with members of the South Coast Labour Council to commemorate the 1938 Dalfram Dispute. "The dinner was the initial contact for us. We saw the delegation's visit to Newcastle as an opportunity to establish a relationship with the Chinese companies that own 21 per cent of our electricity assets, are a major owner of coal assets in our region as well as the port," Hunter Workers Secretary Leigh Shears said. "From our perspective, those were the things we wanted to talk to them about." Mr Shears confirmed the issues of Tibet, Taiwan and nuclear submarines were raised. "They didn't go into detail about their positions or what their concerns were. They said there is a Tibetan community here in Newcastle. Do you know them? "I said I don't know personally and we left it at that. They didn't raise it in a confrontational way and it wasn't awkward." Hunter Workers presented the delegation with a framed print of Newcastle Trades Hall secretary George Bass leaving Newcastle Courthouse with Chinese seafarers during the 1937 Silksworth Dispute at the Port of Newcastle. Newcastle Lord Mayor Ross Kerridge admits he was "a bit surprised" the subjects of Tibet, Taiwan and nuclear submarines arose during a meeting with Chinese Consul General Wang Yu, which had been pitched as a 'meet and greet'. The same issues were again raised during a lunch with Hunter union representatives following the meeting. Last Thursday's meeting with the Lord Mayor, chief of staff Gina Hanson and government relations manager Nikki Taylor had been scheduled with the recently appointed Consul General about six weeks ago. No agenda was provided, and no other councillors, nor members of the City of Newcastle's executive leadership team, were present. After exchanging pleasantries and engaging in a general discussion about the city, the delegation proactively raised their country's position on Tibet and Taiwan. "We talked about Tibet and how many Tibetans live in Newcastle. I said, yes, there is a Tibetan community in Newcastle and they don't cause any trouble," Cr Kerridge said. "They talked about their position on Taiwan in much the same way. "I was a bit surprised; they weren't threatening, but they were very clear." The conversation then moved to whether Newcastle was going to be a nuclear submarine base. "I remarked that Newcastle Council's long-standing policy is that we are a non-nuclear city, but that any decision about a submarine base would be a matter for the state and federal governments. He did explain that a submarine base in Newcastle would make China less interested in investing in the area," Cr Kerridge said. Cr Kerridge said that, while he was satisfied with how he handled the conversation, he said he would have sought advice if he had been aware the contentious issues were going to be raised. "If they had said that they wanted to talk about those things, we would have sought advice. By putting it on the agenda, it would have been more than just, 'this is our position', Cr Kerridge said. Cr Kerridge said the meeting highlighted the need for the council to develop an external relations policy. 'As I see it, part of our role is to liaise with groups like this. You should have a standard approach about what you engage in and how you do it." Minutes of the meeting were circulated to councillors and subsequently leaked to the Daily Telegraph. "(Leaking the minutes) doesn't help our relationship with China. It's important that we are polite and respectful to all countries," Cr Kerridge said. The lord mayor's second-in-charge, Liberal deputy lord mayor Callum Pull, said he was left in the dark about the meeting with the Chinese diplomat. Cr Pull said it was "made clear" to the lord mayor that the meeting should be reported to Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong. "Reading the record of this meeting immediately rang alarm bells," he said. "I and other councillors have questioned why we were not informed of, or invited to the meeting, and why the meeting occurred with apparently no agenda, stated intent or clear purpose." The Newcastle Herald understands at least one other councillor was invited to the meeting. Since Cr Kerridge's election, he has held meetings with Kongsberg Defence Australia, the Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery, Newcastle Airport, the Port of Newcastle and the Hunter Defence Task Force. Defence has signed an $850 million contract with Kongsberg to establish Australia's first guided weapons production factory at Williamtown. Liberal Senator Maria Kovacic, duty senator for the Hunter, has publicly stated that the meeting should "ring alarm bells at the highest levels of government". Cr Pull said the Opposition's concerns about the matter are "well-founded" as it is unclear whether the lord mayor was exposed to sensitive information concerning national security at prior meetings. "I encourage the Commonwealth to take all necessary steps to assess and respond to any potential national security risks this meeting may have caused," he said. "I am also deeply concerned about what seem to be threats if we support the Tibetan or Taiwanese communities. "As councillors, we should support all communities regardless of their ethnic background." Following the meeting with the Lord Mayor, the Chinese delegation met with Hunter union representatives for lunch at the Dockyard Hotel in Honeysuckle. Hunter Workers secretary Leigh Shears said the lunch followed a dinner he had recently attended at the Chinese embassy with members of the South Coast Labour Council to commemorate the 1938 Dalfram Dispute. "The dinner was the initial contact for us. We saw the delegation's visit to Newcastle as an opportunity to establish a relationship with the Chinese companies that own 21 per cent of our electricity assets, are a major owner of coal assets in our region as well as the port," Hunter Workers Secretary Leigh Shears said. "From our perspective, those were the things we wanted to talk to them about." Mr Shears confirmed the issues of Tibet, Taiwan and nuclear submarines were raised. "They didn't go into detail about their positions or what their concerns were. They said there is a Tibetan community here in Newcastle. Do you know them? "I said I don't know personally and we left it at that. They didn't raise it in a confrontational way and it wasn't awkward." Hunter Workers presented the delegation with a framed print of Newcastle Trades Hall secretary George Bass leaving Newcastle Courthouse with Chinese seafarers during the 1937 Silksworth Dispute at the Port of Newcastle. Newcastle Lord Mayor Ross Kerridge admits he was "a bit surprised" the subjects of Tibet, Taiwan and nuclear submarines arose during a meeting with Chinese Consul General Wang Yu, which had been pitched as a 'meet and greet'. The same issues were again raised during a lunch with Hunter union representatives following the meeting. Last Thursday's meeting with the Lord Mayor, chief of staff Gina Hanson and government relations manager Nikki Taylor had been scheduled with the recently appointed Consul General about six weeks ago. No agenda was provided, and no other councillors, nor members of the City of Newcastle's executive leadership team, were present. After exchanging pleasantries and engaging in a general discussion about the city, the delegation proactively raised their country's position on Tibet and Taiwan. "We talked about Tibet and how many Tibetans live in Newcastle. I said, yes, there is a Tibetan community in Newcastle and they don't cause any trouble," Cr Kerridge said. "They talked about their position on Taiwan in much the same way. "I was a bit surprised; they weren't threatening, but they were very clear." The conversation then moved to whether Newcastle was going to be a nuclear submarine base. "I remarked that Newcastle Council's long-standing policy is that we are a non-nuclear city, but that any decision about a submarine base would be a matter for the state and federal governments. He did explain that a submarine base in Newcastle would make China less interested in investing in the area," Cr Kerridge said. Cr Kerridge said that, while he was satisfied with how he handled the conversation, he said he would have sought advice if he had been aware the contentious issues were going to be raised. "If they had said that they wanted to talk about those things, we would have sought advice. By putting it on the agenda, it would have been more than just, 'this is our position', Cr Kerridge said. Cr Kerridge said the meeting highlighted the need for the council to develop an external relations policy. 'As I see it, part of our role is to liaise with groups like this. You should have a standard approach about what you engage in and how you do it." Minutes of the meeting were circulated to councillors and subsequently leaked to the Daily Telegraph. "(Leaking the minutes) doesn't help our relationship with China. It's important that we are polite and respectful to all countries," Cr Kerridge said. The lord mayor's second-in-charge, Liberal deputy lord mayor Callum Pull, said he was left in the dark about the meeting with the Chinese diplomat. Cr Pull said it was "made clear" to the lord mayor that the meeting should be reported to Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong. "Reading the record of this meeting immediately rang alarm bells," he said. "I and other councillors have questioned why we were not informed of, or invited to the meeting, and why the meeting occurred with apparently no agenda, stated intent or clear purpose." The Newcastle Herald understands at least one other councillor was invited to the meeting. Since Cr Kerridge's election, he has held meetings with Kongsberg Defence Australia, the Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery, Newcastle Airport, the Port of Newcastle and the Hunter Defence Task Force. Defence has signed an $850 million contract with Kongsberg to establish Australia's first guided weapons production factory at Williamtown. Liberal Senator Maria Kovacic, duty senator for the Hunter, has publicly stated that the meeting should "ring alarm bells at the highest levels of government". Cr Pull said the Opposition's concerns about the matter are "well-founded" as it is unclear whether the lord mayor was exposed to sensitive information concerning national security at prior meetings. "I encourage the Commonwealth to take all necessary steps to assess and respond to any potential national security risks this meeting may have caused," he said. "I am also deeply concerned about what seem to be threats if we support the Tibetan or Taiwanese communities. "As councillors, we should support all communities regardless of their ethnic background." Following the meeting with the Lord Mayor, the Chinese delegation met with Hunter union representatives for lunch at the Dockyard Hotel in Honeysuckle. Hunter Workers secretary Leigh Shears said the lunch followed a dinner he had recently attended at the Chinese embassy with members of the South Coast Labour Council to commemorate the 1938 Dalfram Dispute. "The dinner was the initial contact for us. We saw the delegation's visit to Newcastle as an opportunity to establish a relationship with the Chinese companies that own 21 per cent of our electricity assets, are a major owner of coal assets in our region as well as the port," Hunter Workers Secretary Leigh Shears said. "From our perspective, those were the things we wanted to talk to them about." Mr Shears confirmed the issues of Tibet, Taiwan and nuclear submarines were raised. "They didn't go into detail about their positions or what their concerns were. They said there is a Tibetan community here in Newcastle. Do you know them? "I said I don't know personally and we left it at that. They didn't raise it in a confrontational way and it wasn't awkward." Hunter Workers presented the delegation with a framed print of Newcastle Trades Hall secretary George Bass leaving Newcastle Courthouse with Chinese seafarers during the 1937 Silksworth Dispute at the Port of Newcastle.
Sky News AU
a day ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
‘Disgusting display': Millionaire under fire for striking deal with renewable giant to host mammoth wind turbines in rural NSW
A millionaire who resides in one of Sydney's most exclusive suburbs has been scorned for striking a deal with a renewable energy giant to house massive wind turbines on his properties in rural NSW. Residents in the regional NSW town of Bowning have claimed a renewable energy company's campaign to construct wind turbines taller than Sydney's Crown Tower throughout the local community is turning 'neighbour against neighbour." The $1.6 billion Bendenine wind farm, spearheaded by renewable energy giant Wind Prospect, seeks to construct up to 90 wind farms in the Yass region in rural NSW. The project, which is still currently in the initial feasibility phase, has generated widespread tension within the town after it was revealed major landowners had cut deals with the company to have the collosal turbines erected on their properties. Will Kelly, who spends his time between a $7 million mansion in Sydney's Bellevue Hill on the eastern suburbs and an expansive family farm outside Yass, is set to house the vast majority of the turbines on his lands while his farming neighbours were left out of negotiations, according to the Daily Telegraph. Mr Kelly was pictured on Tuesday morning by The Daily Telegraph having a hit at the Royal Sydney Golf Club, which requires an entry fee of $25,000 and a yearly payment of $6,000. When asked to confirm if he was hosting 60 of the 90 turbines on his lands he said 'it's not 60' and that the matter was 'confidential.' Emma Webb, a third-generation wool farmer and Bowning local, told Sky News the consequences of the development were 'huge' and that the 'community, and our landscapes will never be the same again' if the project went ahead. 'Every day, I'm fielding phone calls from neighbours who are not coping with the stress. Farmers who have worked their entire lives to care for the land and whose entire wealth and legacy is tied up in that land who feel an overwhelming sense of powerlessness," Ms Webb told Sky News host Peta Credlin. Ms Webb, whose family have lived in the Binalong-Bowning region since the 1950s, said there was a degree of 'moral superiority' in Wind Prospects attitude. She said locals were asked if they wanted to keep the lights on which she blasted as "really condescending'. 'It was quite a disgusting display last week of arrogance and entitlement to the point where they just stopped trying to sell it to us, they just told us it's a state-significant project and we have a licence to do this from the very top and we're charging ahead in the face of overwhelming community opposition," Ms Webb said. The mother of three said the saga was dividing 'neighbour against neighbour' and that the fight with 'developers is behinds closed doors and that's part of the problem, they have one-on-one meetings and that's a really big part of the problem.' Local farmers have slammed the lucrative club of land owners, including Mr Kelly and his brother Sam who owns the conjoining property for arranging clandestine deals with Wind Prospect. Many of Bowning's 1000 residents gathered at the town hall last week to interrogate Wind Prospect's senior executives and voice their outrage at their neighbours including the Kelly brothers who they say betrayed their trust and ruined their business models. They said the imposition of the 260m high turbines would drastically reduce the value of their properties. Glen Miller, a local sheep farmer, said at the meeting his land holdings formed the entirety of his livelihood, and that he had been 'paying the Commonwealth Bank for 40 years'. The farmer said the wind turbines if approved would border his property and would substantially reduce his lands worth, and that he was mortified by the move. Wind Prospects managing director Ben Purcell told the community forum concerns about a "30 to 40 per cent reduction" in land value were not necessarily a direct result of the proposed wind project and that there were a "lot of figures that influence land values". A NSW government spokesman told The Daily Telegraph that 'Private landholders are able to make choices about how they develop their land, subject to planning approvals.' Ms Webb said the community would 'continue to fight this. We love this place. This is my family's home. This is My children's future.'
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Science
- Daily Mirror
Alarming warning of killer whale attacks on British coast after close shave
Two sailors sent out a mayday distress call after their French yacht Azurea was attacked by killer whales off the coast of Spain on Monday, sparking concern about orca British sailors have been warned today about the risk of being rammed by killer whales after orcas attacked a yacht in Spain. Skippers should switch off their engines if they encounter killer whales in water off the coast of Britain, experts have stressed. Two sailors sent out a mayday distress call on Monday after their vessel called Azurea was attacked by orcas off the coast of Spain. The French yacht was rammed at about 2pm local time, two nautical miles from the town of Deba. Rescuers who saved the pair, one of whom was a 60-year-old man, said such incidents were "uncommon" so high up in the Atlantic. However, an expert at a British university did not rule out that similar incidents could occur in future. Professor Volker Deecke, an academic at University of Cumbria in the conservation of marine mammals and behavioural aspects of conservation biology, said: "UK sailors transiting the hotspots should definitely familiarise themselves with the guidance. The same guidance applies for sailors encountering any killer whales in Cornish waters." The academic told the Daily Telegraph the guidance given to sailors in the Strait of Gibraltar includes to stop the boat engine and lower the sails immediately if orcas are spotted, turn off autopilot and echo sounders and not to make loud noises in an effort to scare the creatures away. Other advice includes avoiding hotspots in the first place and, most crucially, to stay in shallow waters of about 20 meters in depth. Earlier this month, wildlife experts confrmed the first sighting of Iberian orcas in Cornish waters. This again has led to concern British sailors should take care in waters around the Southwest of England in particular. It is thought incidents like Monday's close shave have reduced off the coast of Spain following efforts by authorities to remind sailors of the safety protocol. Dr Javier Almunia, director of the Loro Parque Foundation, told The Telegraph: "The behaviour has reduced, at least in the Gibraltar Strait, by around 90 per cent following the recommendations of the Spanish authorities." But killer whales are known to approach vessels from the stern and hit the rudder before losing interest once they have stopped the boat, in a phenomenon that scientists have struggled to fully explain. Some marine biologists believe that the whales may be attacking out of boredom. Prof Deecke, whose Master's degree at a Canadian university was about killer whales, added: "During interactions, the animals remain cool, calm and collected without any of the behavioural signs of aggression such as splashing or vocalisations."
