Latest news with #Hesta
Hindustan Times
12-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Nelly Furtado flaunts her curves on stage after unbelievable transformation; fans say ‘she looks so cute'
Singer Nelly Furtado is turning heads on her Better Than Ever Summer Festival Tour across the UK and EU. During her recent show in Newquay, UK, the pop star wowed the crowd with a bold new look — rocking ruffled hot pants and a faux fur ensemble that perfectly accentuated her curves. Fans haven't stopped gushing about her style ever since. Nelly Furtado wooed the fans with her new bold look. Nelly Furtado's new bold look On Saturday, Nelly performed at Boardmasters, pairing the ruffled hot pants with a green halter neck top from Laruicci and embellished knee-high boots. She completed her striking look with an olive green faux fur shrug by Hesta and black Ray-Ban sunglasses. Fans were quick to flood social media with praise. One wrote, 'Queen energy on full display 👑🔥 Nelly still knows how to light up a stage! #NellyFurtado.' Another said, 'Still rocking stages with that distinctive style. Her hiatus made me appreciate her unique sound even more.' Others called her 'stunning as ever' and 'still dope at 46.' Another wrote, 'She's looks so cute and super happy!! I don't care what's goin on, girl is in a good place!' Nelly Furtado on embracing her natural beauty Earlier in January, Nelly shared a bikini picture on Instagram, embracing her natural beauty while speaking about her journey to self-love and confidence. She revealed she had taken legal action against people spreading beauty myths about her, clarifying, 'I have never had any face or body surgeries or augmentation, apart from veneers on the top row of my teeth quite recently.' She further addressed cosmetic rumours, adding, 'So far, I have not had any face or lip injections or fillers of any kind, but I do have a loving, old-school facialist who I purchase serums and creams from — I started that when I was 20.' Nelly's next stops include Poznań, Poland, on August 14, followed by Bodø, Norway, on August 16, Kingham, UK, on August 22, before wrapping up her Better Than Ever tour at the Super Bloom Festival in Munich on August 30.
The Guardian
05-07-2025
- The Guardian
Super funds demand answers from for-profit childcare operator where children were allegedly sexually abused
Socially responsible superannuation and managed funds that invested in a childcare operator where children were alleged to have been sexually abused have demanded the company respond to concerns over their child welfare and employee screening processes. Joshua Dale Brown, 26, who has been charged with more than 70 offences relating to eight alleged victims – aged between five months and two years old – worked at 20 childcare centres across Melbourne between 2017 and 2025, according to police. The 26-year-old childcare worker has yet to enter a plea and investigations are ongoing. The centres were run by a variety of for-profit providers, including the private equity-backed Affinity Education and the ASX-listed G8 Education and they have denied accusations that profits may have been prioritised over welfare. A spokesperson for major super provider Hesta said the fund had a small holding in G8 in one of its sustainable investment options. 'We are continuing to monitor the situation closely and the steps G8 takes to ensure child safety,' the spokesperson said. A spokesperson for the Australian Retirement Trust, which also holds shares in G8, said the alleged conduct was abhorrent. 'We are seeking an explanation from G8 Education around their staff screening processes and ongoing child safety measures, what steps they will now take to improve these processes, and related governance issues.' Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Future Super and Australian Ethical are also invested in G8, while UniSuper's sustainable fund appears to have recently sold its shares in the childcare provider. Funds that screen investments for ethical considerations would typically sell their share holdings if they deem a company's response to an incident inadequate. A G8 spokesperson said child safety and wellbeing were embedded into its leadership, governance and culture, and that the relevant reference, background and working-with-children checks were conducted. 'Parents of the children involved have been informed by the police and the Victorian government and our hearts break for those families,' the spokesperson said. 'As we learn more about what is unfolding, we are fully cooperating with Victorian police, the Victorian government and other relevant authorities as part of the investigation.' A spokesperson for Affinity said 'all educators and staff undergo thorough and relevant checks, including current working with children checks, in accordance with legal and regulatory requirements'. 'Running a sustainable, profitable business does not come at the cost of quality care, in fact it is essential to its delivery,' the spokesperson said. 'This model allows us to invest significant time, resources and over $70 million of capital in further improving our compliance, safety, care, systems and processes across our network in the past three years.' Australia's childcare sector is highly fragmented, consisting of numerous small providers, which are often not-for-profit organisations. Formed by a syndicate of charities, Goodstart Early Learning is the biggest not-for-profit operator in Australia, with about 660 centres. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Given centre operators tend to generate thin profit margins that are reliant on government subsidised childcare fees, for-profit groups routinely takeover other centres to increase their size and boost the rate of return for their owners. Their major cost is staff wages, and the most significant profit metrics are tied to 'occupancy rates', referring to the number of children attending, as well as fees. The listed G8 runs more than 400 centres, while the private equity-backed Affinity has in excess of 250, making them the two largest for-profit operators. Collectively, they control about 10% of the sector. In 2024, G8 reported a $67.7m net profit, up more than 20% from the prior year. Affinity is owned by Quadrant Private Equity. G8 had been enjoying a period of strong returns before the allegations of child sexual abuse appear to have sparked a share selloff due to investor concerns that parents may opt for a different childcare centre provider. The federal government has also threatened to cut payments to centres not up to standard. James Alexander, from the Sustainable Investment Exchange, said companies with shareholders tend to be primarily motivated by profit. 'It would be too much of a generalisation to say the for-profit sector is broken,' said Alexander, who has previously criticised G8 staffing arrangements. 'A for-profit entity in charge of vulnerable members of the community, such as kids or the elderly, should go beyond the minimum legal requirements for checking the suitability of staff.' Some previous attempts to maximise profit in the childcare sector have not ended well. The listed ABC Learning Centres famously built a network of about 3,000 centres across Australia, New Zealand and the US before collapsing under a heavy debt load at the height of the global financial crisis.
The Guardian
08-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Woodside staves off investor climate concerns at fiery AGM beset by protesters
Woodside Energy has withstood a rebuke by shareholders of its climate plans by garnering sufficient support to retain its chosen board members and approve executive pay plans at a fiery annual general meeting on Thursday. A diverse group of investors, including fund managers and governance organisations, opposed the re-election of high-profile Woodside director Ann Pickard, a former Shell executive who chairs the committee responsible for overseeing climate risk at the Perth-headquartered oil and gas company. There was also a push by shareholders to vote down Woodside's remuneration report. While there was a moderate protest vote recorded against both resolutions, Pickard was re-elected with a comfortable majority, and the pay plans were approved, according to preliminary voting results. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Critics believe Woodside's strategy is overly reliant on offsets, not aligned with Paris climate agreements, and does not seriously consider emissions produced by those using its gas. The super fund, Hesta, said ahead of the meeting it had voted against various resolutions including the re-election of Pickard over concerns that Woodside had no formalised net zero target. 'We believe the steps taken by Woodside so far fall short of what is needed to position it for the global transition to a low-carbon future and the company needs to do more to materially address the concerns voiced by investors,' a Hesta spokesperson said. Alex Hillman, lead analyst of the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility, said Woodside was allocating most of its capital expenditure to 'high-cost fossil fuel projects in an industry that is in structural decline'. 'This persistent pattern of investor dissent and Woodside's failure to adequately respond shows this is a company with a major governance problem,' Hillman said. Woodside is on track to become one of the world's biggest gas producers after recently giving the go-ahead to a $US17bn ($26bn) development in Louisiana, and has unveiled an aggressive company-wide plan to double production within several years. Woodside was strident in its defence of its operations on Thursday at a meeting that was paused on multiple occasions to remove whistle-blowing protesters. A protester blows a whistle as the CEO of Woodside Energy, Meg O'Neill, speaks during the Woodside AGM in Perth on Thursday. Photograph: Richard Wainwright/Reuters The Woodside chair, Richard Goyder, said the company was an important part of the energy transition to renewables. 'We are determined for Woodside to play a constructive role in the global response to climate change, and are taking meaningful steps to achieve this,' Goyder said. 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 He said decarbonising the world is made harder if 'coal-to-gas switching, or carbon capture and storage are taken off the table'. While many oil and gas companies state their support for the landmark 2015 Paris agreement, policies often allow for the development of new fossil fuel reserves. A whistle-blowing protester at the Woodside AGM. Photograph: Richard Wainwright/AAP According to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change analysis, greenhouse gas emissions from existing fossil fuel infrastructure are more than enough to push the world beyond its climate goals. Shareholders voted down Woodside's emissions plan at last year's AGM, but the vote was nonbinding. The company angered some shareholders by not having a follow-up vote on the plan at this year's meeting. On Thursday, the protest vote against the re-election of Pickard came in at about 20%, while the remuneration report received a 15% 'against' vote, according to preliminary results. Brett Morgan, senior analyst at activist group Market Forces, said most investors had failed to increase pressure on Woodside after voting down the company's climate plan a year ago. He said investors have given Woodside the 'green light to massively increase emissions'.
