Latest news with #PaulBurke
Sky News AU
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
‘Unacceptable' Northland incident calls for increased budget to intervention programs
Les Twentyman Foundation Chief Executive Paul Burke criticises the Victorian government for cutting his organisation's budget. 'Our programs work … the key to this is to have the programs in place where we can work with these young people so that they don't pick up machetes and edged weapons in the first place,' Mr Burke told Sky News Australia. 'It's an opportunity for me to make a plea to the government that you need to fund the early intervention programs and organisations … because they work. 'What happened today at Northland is totally unacceptable on any level. 'If you have the right programs in place, we can mitigate these sorts of instances. 'The government really needs to look at getting some serious funding and resources into these programs so that incidents like what happened today at Northland don't happen again.'
ABC News
21-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Conflict of interest allegation hovers over Ord Valley cotton partnership
A corporate law expert says hard questions need to be asked due to a conflict of interest in the award of a lucrative contract within Western Australia's emerging cotton industry. Traditional owners in the Kimberley have questioned the independence of a tender process to develop 675 hectares of farmland in the Ord Valley, after discovering Duxton Farms was awarded the joint-venture partnership with Indigenous body MG Corporation while Paul Burke was on the board of both companies. Duxton Farms, an ASX-listed company, produces cereal crops, cotton, wool and livestock at leased and owned properties across Australia. Mr Burke declined to be interviewed for this story. He featured in a program by the ABC's Four Corners last year that aired revelations of large-scale land clearing in the Northern Territory and free water licences, and highlighted the existence of a quasi-government entity, the NT Land Corporation. The corporation manages about 600,000 hectares of land for economic development and has released the three largest parcels of land in the territory's history. In 2020 the NT Land Corporation consulted with the NT Farmers Association, for which Mr Burke was chief executive at the time, to find developers for the land. One of the successful development applicants was Duxton Farms, which appointed Mr Burke as a director in 2023. Mr Burke told Four Corners at the time he was not involved in the decision-making process and any conflicts of interest were declared. Further investigation by the ABC has now found Duxton Farms has entered into an agreement with prominent traditional owner group MG Corporation to develop and farm two lots of land in WA's Kimberley owned by native title holders. A cotton crop has been planted on one of the lots, estimated to be worth more than $1.2 million. There is no reference to this agreement on the websites of MG Corporation or Duxton Farms, or in Duxton Farms' announcements to shareholders. Without access to information about the joint venture, ASIC could not comment on whether this breached Duxton Farms' obligations to shareholders. Mr Burke sits on the board of both organisations. He does not appear on the MG Corporation website page listing the board of directors. However, the ABC has seen documents that show he is an independent director. Helen Bird is a corporate governance specialist at the Swinburne Law School. She said Mr Burke's absence on the MG Corporation website was legal, but she had questions for the corporation about it. "Why wouldn't you be saying there's a justification for why this particular person has been appointed, given he's got a very strong association with someone you're entering into a lease agreement with?" MG Corporation declined to be interviewed but provided a statement to the ABC. "All proper processes were followed throughout the tender period," the statement read. "As soon as it became apparent that there was a conflict of interest whereby one of MG Corporation's independent directors, Paul Burke, was also an independent director on the board of one of the companies tendering for the lease, Mr Burke immediately excluded himself from the process." The Indigenous corporation said it followed proper governance procedures. MG and other Aboriginal corporations are regulated by the federal government's Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC). In a statement, ORIC said individual directors were responsible for identifying and declaring when they had a conflict of interest. "It is up to the rest of the board to decide how to manage a conflict of interest," the statement read. Miriwoong woman and past MG Corporation employee Candice Peart is a traditional owner of the land included in the joint venture. She was involved in submitting an unsuccessful application for traditional owners of the region to farm the land. Ms Peart said native title holders were not consulted on the results of the application process. "We are left in the dark." Ms Bird said there was a clear conflict of interest at play. "You can't wear two hats in the one transaction, that's why there's a conflict," she said. "And it's very similar to someone buying and selling land when you're representing both interests, you simply can't do it." Ms Bird said there was a grey area around whether removing Mr Burke from discussions about the joint venture was sufficient. Ms Bird said if MG Corporation was a public company, it would be obliged to provide accountability under the Corporations Act. "The fact they're private means those obligations are far less imposing, but it's still people's money, it's still people's livelihoods and it's their own Indigenous people they need to be looking after first and foremost," she said.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
PwC under fire over ‘pointless' rebrand amid job cuts
PwC has been accused of launching an 'utterly pointless' rebrand after laying off hundreds of staff. The 'big four' accountant unveiled a new logo on Tuesday in what it described as its 'first global brand update in over a decade'. The new logo uses exactly the same lettering as the old one, while switching out its formerly used multicoloured 'butterfly' crest for a simplified version consisting of two orange parallelograms. However, critics hit out at the rebrand as 'utterly pointless' and a 'waste of money'. PwC employees on social media platform Reddit questioned why the accountancy had decided to launch a rebrand at a time when profits were squeezed. One said: 'I can't understand why so much money is being spent on rebranding. The 'old' logo was beautiful. Instead, savings are being made on staff.' Another said the new logo 'perfectly represents all the business areas they've cut'. It comes as PwC embarks on a cost-cutting drive which has included the sacking of hundreds of staff in recent months amid a slowdown in the consulting industry. Last September, PwC launched its first formal round of lay-offs in its US business since 2009. The restructuring involved cutting 1,800 staff, equivalent to 2.5pc of its American workforce, according to The Wall Street Journal. In the UK, the accountancy separately launched a round of 'silent lay-offs' last June, with staff who lost their jobs told not to tell colleagues about why they were leaving, the Financial Times reported. A spokesman told the FT at the time that PwC needed to 'keep the shape of our business under review to respond to changing client demand, attrition rates and new opportunities'. In response to the slump, PwC also cut ties with 123 partners and halted its technology apprenticeship scheme as the remaining partners scrambled to keep their remuneration high following drops in their annual payouts for two years in a row. Paul Burke, who runs an advertising agency and has worked on branding campaigns for Innocent Drinks and Leon, said of the rebrand: 'What's the point? It's just so lazy. Somebody's charged them money for not doing very much.' PwC declined to disclose the cost of the recent rebrand. One marketing expert said the advertising agency fees alone could be in the hundreds of thousands of pounds. Marketing experts said the wider costs of replacing everything from business cards to signs on top of skyscrapers could be millions. A PwC spokesman said the 'new brand identity better reflects our work today'. The consulting giant added that its 'new look reflects how the firm already works: fast, sharp and focused on what's next.' The rebrand also comes as PwC secures a sponsorship deal with Formula 1 in a partnership that will see it provide consulting services to the motor sports business. The launch of PwC's new logo marks the first major shake-up of its branding since 2010, when the accounting giant changed its name from PricewaterhouseCoopers to PwC in a push to 'modernise' its image that took eight years from start to finish. PwC's most recent rebrand was carried out by New York advertising giant McCann, one of the biggest marketing agencies in the world. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Sign in to access your portfolio
Telegraph
30-04-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
PwC under fire over ‘pointless' rebrand amid job cuts
PwC has been accused of launching an 'utterly pointless' rebrand after laying off hundreds of staff. The 'big four' accountant unveiled a new logo on Tuesday in what it described as its 'first global brand update in over a decade'. The new logo uses exactly the same lettering as the old one, while switching out its formerly used multicoloured 'butterfly' crest for a simplified version consisting of two orange parallelograms. However, critics hit out at the rebrand as 'utterly pointless' and a 'waste of money'. PwC employees on social media platform Reddit questioned why the accountancy had decided to launch a rebrand at a time when profits were squeezed. One said: 'I can't understand why so much money is being spent on rebranding. The 'old' logo was beautiful. Instead, savings are being made on staff.' Another said the new logo 'perfectly represents all the business areas they've cut'. It comes as PwC embarks on a cost-cutting drive which has included the sacking of hundreds of staff in recent months amid a slowdown in the consulting industry. Last September, PwC launched its first formal round of lay-offs in its US business since 2009. The restructuring involved cutting 1,800 staff, equivalent to 2.5pc of its American workforce, according to The Wall Street Journal. In the UK, the accountancy separately launched a round of 'silent lay-offs' last June, with staff who lost their jobs told not to tell colleagues about why they were leaving, the Financial Times reported. A spokesman told the FT at the time that PwC needed to 'keep the shape of our business under review to respond to changing client demand, attrition rates and new opportunities'. In response to the slump, PwC also cut ties with 123 partners and halted its technology apprenticeship scheme as the remaining partners scrambled to keep their remuneration high following drops in their annual payouts for two years in a row. Paul Burke, who runs an advertising agency and has worked on branding campaigns for Innocent Drinks and Leon, said of the rebrand: 'What's the point? It's just so lazy. Somebody's charged them money for not doing very much.' PwC declined to disclose the cost of the recent rebrand. One marketing expert said the advertising agency fees alone could be in the hundreds of thousands of pounds. Marketing experts said the wider costs of replacing everything from business cards to signs on top of skyscrapers could be millions. A PwC spokesman said the 'new brand identity better reflects our work today'. The consulting giant added that its 'new look reflects how the firm already works: fast, sharp and focused on what's next.' The rebrand also comes as PwC secures a sponsorship deal with Formula 1 in a partnership that will see it provide consulting services to the motor sports business. The launch of PwC's new logo marks the first major shake-up of its branding since 2010, when the accounting giant changed its name from PricewaterhouseCoopers to PwC in a push to 'modernise' its image that took eight years from start to finish.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Yahoo
British tourist who was detained at Tacoma's ICE facility reunites with family in Wales
A tourist from the United Kingdom who was detained at Tacoma's immigration detention center after being denied entry into Canada has returned home to her family. Becky Burke, 28, of Wales was held in the detention center for 19 days after being detained during a months-long trip that began Jan. 7. She traveled from New York to Portland to Seattle, according to the BBC, which spoke to her father, Paul Burke. During her stay in Portland, Becky Burke, an artist, stayed with a number of families and helped with household chores in return for housing, the BBC reported. Becky Burke was planning to stay with a host family in Vancouver, B.C., before she was detained at the northern border. Paul Burke told the BBC that Canadian officials denied his daughter entry because they were concerned she would try to work illegally. Becky Burke was then questioned by American officials, and she was told that she violated her travel visa, the BBC report said. A spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed on March 11 that a citizen of the United Kingdom, Rebecca Burke, 28, was detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma related to the violation of the terms and conditions of her admission, according to a News Tribune report. During an emotional reunion at Heathrow Airport with family and friends, Paul Burke told BBC Wales 'the nightmare is over.' He also said it would take some time for his daughter to recover from the 'traumatic experience.'
