Latest news with #Ministers
BBC News
2 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
States of Jersey may act if Blue Islands airline delays continue
The Jersey government says it could take action against a regional airline if its services do not in Jersey have faced cancelled or delayed Blue Islands flights - with one aircraft having to return back to Birmingham on Sunday due to an engine failure. The company also announced a cut to 28 of its flights in the summer schedule due to one aircraft being damaged and another new addition to its fleet being delayed. Ministers said they had contacted Blue Islands with their concerns - especially about flights for medical Islands has been contacted for comment. The government added: "Delayed and cancelled flights can cause a great deal of stress, particularly for people travelling for hospital appointments and other important engagements. "Blue Islands provided crucial lifeline services for Jersey throughout the pandemic and continues to contribute to our growing network through flights to a range of European and UK destinations. "We know that Blue Islands takes their responsibilities seriously and we expect them to achieve more effective operations as soon as possible."The government said it remained in "constant contact" with the company and that it would "continue to monitor the situation and consider further potential action where necessary".
RNZ News
3 days ago
- General
- RNZ News
PSA criticises members who leak info to media
politics employment about 1 hour ago The Public Service Association has come out criticising members who leak information to the media, while also criticising Ministers who seek cherry picked advice on key policies. PSA national secretary spoke to Corin Dann.
RNZ News
23-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Budget 2025: Spy agencies funds cut as security threats grow
The Government Communications Security Bureau headquarters. File image. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Funding for the largest spy agency has taken a big cut in Budget 2025, despite an increased workload due to growing threats to national security. The $267m for the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) is well down on the previous two Budgets, and 20 per cent less than the GCSB's spending in the 2024/25 period. Its partner agency, the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS), also received a modest reduction, with its budget dropping to $111m from $117m. Between the two agencies, they have been allocated $375m in Budget 2025, down from $457m in 2024 and $515m in the budget for 2023. However, the newly reduced amount is far above the funding received prior to 2022. Despite the cuts, the agencies told RNZ on Friday they remain funded "at a level which enables them to deliver their important services as expected by Ministers and the public." They also noted appropriation contained both operating and capital funding "As a result there is likely to be volatility from year to year as capital projects start and finish." The reductions come at a time of intensifying security challenges with both agencies reporting the country faces a " deteriorating threat environment " from violent extremism, terrorism, foreign interference and espionage. In plain terms, both agencies report that protecting New Zealand is getting harder. According to the GCSB's latest Cyber Threat Report , online dangers are particularly severe. "As more cyber threat actors enter this environment, it is becoming increasingly difficult to disassociate or attribute state and criminal cyber activity." The government has repeatedly given the deteriorating security environment, especially in the Indo-Pacific as a core driver behind a big jump in defence spending, starting now and lasting at least for the next seven years. "New Zealand is increasingly exposed to security risks," the SIS said in its 2024 threat report. "The cyber threats we face are evolving at a remarkable pace," said the GCSB in its 2024 annual report. "The pace of geopolitical deterioration in recent years, and its impact on the rules-based architecture, has placed a greater significance on the GCSB's unique and legally mandated capabilities." In February this year, GCSB Director-General and Chief Executive Andrew Clark said in February said in a statement to the Intelligence and Security Committee that over the past year threats from "malicious cyber actors... are more persistent, more sophisticated, and more capable of causing severe impacts to New Zealanders, and can come from anywhere in the world." The agencies also work within the Five Eyes intelligence group, which has been adding functions such as a "federated" space system that conducts experiments. There was also increasing demand to help Pacific islands build secure communications, and in July 2024 the GCSB took over the Computer Emergency Response Team from MBIE. Despite this, the spy agencies were not immune to the public sector savings drive last year. Both were restructured from 2023 amid "significant workforce and technology cost pressures". Both did a "rapid savings exercise" and joint financial sustainability drive delivering $11m in savings. However, Budget 2025 has not required a repeat. Neither the GCSB nor SIS has "provided any savings in Budget 2025", they said. Among New Zealand's Five Eyes intelligence group partners, Australia, the UK and Canada have been raising spy agency spending, while the US is poised to cut intelligence jobs, and quite likely budgets. Over the Tasman, Five Eyes partner Australia increased its spy spending by $45m over the next four years in its 2025 budget. Canberra in 2021 promised $1.4b new spending on spies over the decade. Like Australia, New Zealand embarked on big increases in spy agency spending several years ago, but here the spending brakes have been pulled. In the US, the Washington Post has reported that the Trump administration "is planning significant personnel cuts at the Central Intelligence Agency and other major US spy units, downsizing the government's most sensitive national security agencies". In the UK, the government is spending more on its intelligence agencies, as it recognises an increased "overlap" with the armed forces. The Single Intelligence Account (SIA), which provides funding for the UK's, three main security and intelligence agencies was given a boost of NZ$770m for the 2023/24 and 2025/26 period, "ensuring that our world-leading intelligence agencies maintain their cutting-edge capabilities". Aside from the spy agencies, Budget 2025 sees an end to funding for two arms of counter-terrorism efforts: A strategic framework for $250,000 in 2024/25, and a research centre set up in response to the Royal Commission into the mosque attacks, where funding dried up from $1.3m in 2023, to $500,000, to nothing in 2025/26. Work to counter "foreign interference" in ground-based space infrastructure gets $3.5m over the next four years. Regulations in July are aimed to set out a new registration regime. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
CTV News
22-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
LIVE SOON: Minster Melanie Joly speaks to media
Watch Minster Melanie Joly speak to media after a cabinet meeting with industry members. Watch LIVE here.
Daily Mail
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Revealed: The Royal Navy drone submarine designed to stop Russia blacking out Britain in battle beneath the waves
The Royal Navy will launch a fleet of 'drone' submarines to protect vital undersea cables from Russian 'shadow fleet' attacks in what Minsters have called a move to 'pre-war footing'. A prototype of the unmanned 19-tonne vessel, named Excalibur, was launched at Devonport naval base last week and will pave the way for production of an entire squadron. They are designed to safeguard vital subsea infrastructure, according to the Ministry of Defence, and will be central to the Government's new defence plans. Underwater fibre-optic cables which lie on the ocean floor allow for global communication and internet connectivity between continents, whilst other cables are responsible for carrying electricity. Excalibur will now embark on two years of trials as the Royal Navy seeks to strengthen its capabilities in the 'underwater battlespace' amid increasingly bold incursions from Russia 's 'dark fleet' which transmit false data to dodge detection. It comes as the Government is set to reveal the results of its strategic defence review (SDR), which is expected to focus on tightening up homeland security, protecting national assets and traditional war-fighting capabilities. Ministers are expected to emphasise a need for Britain to move to a 'pre-war footing' of increased military preparedness as fears of Russia extending its attacks beyond Ukraine grow. It is anticipated that measures to protect our undersea cables from attack will be highlighted in the SDR, including plans to introduce a volunteer 'home guard' to shield locations where the cables run on to land. A MoD spokesman said the SDR will set out 'a path for the next decade to transform the armed forces to ensure we're prepared for emerging threats, making Britain secure at home and strong abroad'. Previous attacks on key underwater infrastructure have raised concerns over the level of security in place. In 2022, a series of underwater explosions targeted the Nord Stream pipeline causing gas leaks on three out of four natural gas pipelines, rendering them inoperable. Fears were ramped up again last year when a Russian spy ship entered an area of the Irish Sea where critical pipelines and cables located in the Baltic Sea were damaged. These two incidents saw the introduction of a 10-country push, led by the UK, to monitor suspicious Russian ships in the English Channel, North Sea and Baltic Sea. Excalibur is battery-powered and was built by Plymouth-based MSubs as part of a £15m contract. It boasts a range of 1,000 miles and measures 39 feet long by 6.5 feet wide, making it the biggest unmanned submersible ever operated by a European navy. But it still fits into a standard 40ft shipping container, making it easier to transport. Batteries will be carried in packs down each side of the sub and it features two pressurised compartments to carry computing and control equipment. A handout picture released by the Britain's Ministry of Defence (MOD) in London on January 22, 2025 shows Royal Navy Royal Navy of RFA Proteus (R) patrolling near the Russian vessel Yantar (L), in November 2024 Britain's Defence Secretary John Healey (R) talks to Commanding Officer of RFA Proteus, Captain Martin Jones (L) as he sits at the dynamic positioning desk on the bridge during his visit to RFA Proteus on February 20, 2025 The compartments are separated by a central storage bay which could carry mines, deployable sensors and smaller underwater drones. Excalibur will have deeper diving capabilities than any of the Navy's manned subs and is designed to allow the storage section to be doubled if necessary. For example, extra room could be added to store more batteries to extend the amount of time it can spend at sea. The Royal Navy said testing of the craft will strengthen 'efforts to remain ahead of potential foes beneath the waves, safeguarding key infrastructure, protecting British and allied ships and submarines and gathering intelligence'. Excalibur is expected to influence the design of a hunter killer submarine which will be built as part of the Aukus security pact with Australia and the US, with representatives from both countries attending its launch last week. The new 'drone' subs will supplement the Proteus, a Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship used to launch smaller underwater surveillance vessels and devices which was launched in 2023. The Government's defence plans are also set to put forward the idea of an increased role for private investment. This could encourage global tech companies to help fund the protection of the cables - which are vital to their business - with radars, sensors and underwater vehicles. Defence Secretary John Healey last week announced the establishment of a Defence Industrial Joint Council, which will coordinate public-private investment. The council will is set to meet for the first time in June.
