Latest news with #Leeser
Sydney Morning Herald
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Pro-Voice Liberal says referendum defeat gave the party ‘a false sense of confidence'
The Coalition's success in defeating the Voice to parliament referendum gave the Liberal party 'a false sense of confidence' about its chances of victory, says former shadow attorney general Julian Leeser, who resigned from his opposition portfolio in 2023 in order to campaign for the referendum. Noting that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese 'seemed to lose his way' after the Voice referendum was defeated in all states in October 2023, Leeser told ABC's Afternoon Briefing that this, combined with Albanese's poor handling of the local antisemitism crisis, 'gave so many in our party a false sense of confidence'. Leeser says he was 'shocked' that the internal polling conducted for the Coalition by Freshwater's Mike Turner used the number of Labor voters who voted no in the referendum in his calculations of a swing against the government, which was instead returned in a landslide and is likely to end up with 94 seats, equalling John Howard's record in 1996. 'On one level, there is nothing wrong with trying to target those Labor voters who voted no in the referendum campaign,' he said, saying Howard targeted those who rejected the republic proposal in 1999, but only to remind them of other issues such as border security. 'I thought it was very strange there was such a focus even on the campaign itself,' Leeser said. Loading 'Part of the reason my colleagues were successfully defeating the referendum was in 2023 the issue did not seem to be one of top priority for Australian voters. Certainly, in 2025, it was completely irrelevant and I had no idea why the issue kept reappearing in our campaign.' While former opposition leader Peter Dutton regularly raised the Voice as one of several examples to demonstrate that Labor was out of touch, he campaigned in the final days of the campaign on the claim that the government had a 'secret plan to legislate the Voice' after Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong told the Betoota Talks podcast that she thought 'we'll look back on it in 10 years' time and it'll be a bit like marriage equality'. Albanese ruled out bringing back the Voice and accused Dutton of 'verballing' Wong.
The Age
26-05-2025
- Politics
- The Age
Pro-Voice Liberal says referendum defeat gave the party ‘a false sense of confidence'
The Coalition's success in defeating the Voice to parliament referendum gave the Liberal party 'a false sense of confidence' about its chances of victory, says former shadow attorney general Julian Leeser, who resigned from his opposition portfolio in 2023 in order to campaign for the referendum. Noting that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese 'seemed to lose his way' after the Voice referendum was defeated in all states in October 2023, Leeser told ABC's Afternoon Briefing that this, combined with Albanese's poor handling of the local antisemitism crisis, 'gave so many in our party a false sense of confidence'. Leeser says he was 'shocked' that the internal polling conducted for the Coalition by Freshwater's Mike Turner used the number of Labor voters who voted no in the referendum in his calculations of a swing against the government, which was instead returned in a landslide and is likely to end up with 94 seats, equalling John Howard's record in 1996. 'On one level, there is nothing wrong with trying to target those Labor voters who voted no in the referendum campaign,' he said, saying Howard targeted those who rejected the republic proposal in 1999, but only to remind them of other issues such as border security. 'I thought it was very strange there was such a focus even on the campaign itself,' Leeser said. Loading 'Part of the reason my colleagues were successfully defeating the referendum was in 2023 the issue did not seem to be one of top priority for Australian voters. Certainly, in 2025, it was completely irrelevant and I had no idea why the issue kept reappearing in our campaign.' While former opposition leader Peter Dutton regularly raised the Voice as one of several examples to demonstrate that Labor was out of touch, he campaigned in the final days of the campaign on the claim that the government had a 'secret plan to legislate the Voice' after Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong told the Betoota Talks podcast that she thought 'we'll look back on it in 10 years' time and it'll be a bit like marriage equality'. Albanese ruled out bringing back the Voice and accused Dutton of 'verballing' Wong.
New York Post
14-05-2025
- Science
- New York Post
Surge in sex-crazed, crop-destroying spotted lanternflies expected this year after population plunge
They bugged off — and now they're back in full force! A huge uptick in sex-crazed, crop-destroying spotted lanternflies is expected to swarm the Big Apple after a population plunge last year — and they're already hatching in droves, experts told The Post Wednesday. An egg count taken this past winter at a vineyard in Berks County, Pennsylvania — considered 'ground zero' for the invasive pest — showed roughly 1,700 egg masses per row compared to nearly none the previous year, said Kelli Hoover, professor of entomology at Penn State. Advertisement A rise in sex-crazed, crop-destroying spotted lanternflies is expected to swarm New York City. Christopher Sadowski 'It was almost nothing and then — boom — now they're back in big numbers,' Hoover said. 'It's a huge increase.' The red-and-tan-winged insects — which recklessly munch through everything from vegetable gardens to fruit trees — began hatching last week in areas in and around New York City, experts said. The tiny invaders made their buzz-worthy arrival two weeks earlier than usual, likely due to heat from a warm spring trapped by buildings in the urban jungle, said Jacob Leeser, of Cornell University's New York State Integrated Pest Management Program. Advertisement While the spotted lanternfly population appeared to drop in the city after spikes in 2022 and 2023, their apparent disappearance could be a sign they'll be back in full force this year. The insects may have 'boom and bust cycles' because they gobble up their main food source — a leafy green plant known as the Tree of Heaven — one year, leaving them with nothing to eat the next. 'It's like everybody getting to the salad at the same time,' Leeser said. 'As the availability of food starts to fall, the population does too.' Advertisement Last winter's egg population study, led by Penn State University researcher Brian Walsh, is the biggest reason New Yorkers might want to brace for another invasion this year, Hoover said. Jacob Leeser, of Cornell University's New York State Integrated Pest Management Program, said the insects arrived two weeks earlier than usual due to the rise in heat from a warmer spring climate. Christopher Sadowski 'It may be a boom cycle but it's really hard to predict,' she said. The insects — which start off as black and white nymphs that jump — generally hatch in late May, and people tend to notice them while they are frantically mating in August, Leeser said. Advertisement New Yorkers have in past years waged a war to squish away the lusty red, black and white lanternflies — but they may be best extinguished with a simple household appliance, he said. To kill them, Leeser recommended New Yorkers drag their vacuum cleaners outside to patios, balconies or yards to suck up the moth-sized bugs. But be sure to wait 48 hours before emptying the vacuum bag, to ensure they don't reemerge, he warned. Research also shows the bugs can't live inside apartments for more than 50 hours because they can't survive on house plants, which is good news to most New Yorkers, he added. Meanwhile, Trees of Heaven must be sprayed with herbicide months before they can be chopped, making the insects' meal of choice hard to remove, experts said. Lanternflies, which grow to roughly an inch long, first arrived in the Big Apple 2020 from southeast Asia. Advertisement The bugs have recently spread like wildfire — to a total 18 states — and entomologists are trying like crazy to stop them from getting to lucrative wine country in California, Hoover said. 'They're hopping on train, planes, ships and other transportation,' she said. 'These guys are brave hitch-hikers.'
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Yahoo
New Clay County treatment court aims to reduce repeat DWIs
Feb. 12—MOORHEAD — A new treatment court in Clay County is gearing up to make roads safer. In January, the 7th Judicial District started a DWI Court in Clay County, which seeks to reduce the number of people racking up repeated DWI offenses. The voluntary court serves as an alternative to prison time or typical probation for people convicted of a DWI multiple times. Around one-third of people convicted of a DWI will reoffend, said Clay/Becker Treatment Court Coordinator Kristal Kadrie. "Our goal really is to reduce that recidivism, which in turn then is safer for the roads, safer for the rest of the community," she said. Clay County's DWI Court was founded on Jan. 16, funded by a $150,000 Minnesota Department of Public Safety grant. Its first four participants started in February. The DWI Court is Clay County's newest treatment court. Clay and Becker counties have a joint Drug Court, which started in 2007, and a joint Veterans Treatment Court, which started in 2015. The DWI Court accepts people who have been convicted of driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs multiple times, are at a high risk to reoffend and are diagnosed with a moderate or severe substance abuse disorder. To participate in the Clay County court, a person must live in Clay County. National statistics for DWI courts show that people who participate in the treatment courts are dramatically less likely to reoffend than those who are sentenced to prison time or standard probation, said District Court Judge Michael Leeser, who presides over the DWI Court. DWI Court is still a type of probation, he said. "But this is a higher level of probation — more visits, more testing, more check-ins," Leeser said. "The evidence nationwide is certainly that if the goal really is to make the roads safer, to get these folks to stop driving while impaired, this is the most effective route." The increased supervision means DWI Court participants receive customized support. When starting in the court, participants have biweekly hearings where their treatment provider, case manager, probation agent and others who work with them check in with a judge. Using each person's perspective, the judge makes the final call on how to adjust a person's treatment to help them maintain stability by addressing factors like trauma, mental health and cravings for drugs or alcohol. The team of support providers also checks in during the weeks between meetings, Leeser said. Before a hearing, the judge meets with the treatment team to hear how the participant has been doing since the last hearing. "That's the real benefit, is you get this team of professionals who are dedicated to figuring out solutions for these folks, and I think that's generally why it's such a great success," he said. The duration of the program depends on the individual, Kadrie said, but tends to be between 15 months to two years. The DWI Court process may even take longer than a prison sentence. The minimum sentence for a second DWI in 10 years in Minnesota is 30 days of incarceration. A person convicted of five or more DWIs in 10 years faces a minimum of one year of incarceration. "They're actually taking the harder route, in my opinion, in terms of the work that they're going to do on themselves by being in this program," Kadrie said. "Some people can just go to prison and just do their time, come back and not do all that work. I mean, it really is a lot of work on them and a lot of expectations for them." Before Leeser was appointed as a district court judge, he worked as the assistant county attorney in Clay County. In that role, he served on the Drug Court team and saw the treatment court process play out. "The transformation of these folks' lives is nothing short of miraculous, and when you're in the criminal justice world long enough, it's easy to get a little jaded and cynical," Leeser said. "And for me, it was a wonderful reminder that people do change, they can change, and that nobody's beyond redemption and improving themselves." The Minnesota Judicial Council, the administrative authority for the Minnesota Judicial Branch, has a goal of having treatment courts in every Minnesota county, giving everybody in the state the opportunity to get into a treatment court, Kadrie said. "Giving that opportunity to people, I think, is a big, big thing," she said.
