Latest news with #Willcox
Sky News AU
09-08-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
‘Absolutely disgraceful': Video captures attack on man holding Australian flag
Shadow Assistant Manufacturing Minister Andrew Willcox discusses the 'disgraceful' footage showing a man getting punched for holding the Australian flag. 'Absolutely disgraceful, I'm as patriotic as could possibly be, my blood boils when I see this,' Mr Willcox told Sky News host Rowan Dean. 'As the footage goes on, what I'm really concerned about is then the police actually take away the gentleman who was carrying the Australian flag. 'Arrest that coward that punched him from the side.'
Sky News AU
08-08-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
The Albanese government's net zero goals will send 'manufacturers to the wall', says Shadow Assistant Manufacturing Minister Andrew Willcox.
Labor's net zero agenda is going to lead to the loss of manufacturing jobs in Australia, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing Andrew Willcox told Rowan Dean on Sky News. International metals producer Nyrstar has received $135 million bailout package from the federal and state governments to save two smelters, with 8,000 jobs potentially at risk in Port Pirie and Hobart. The World According To Rowan Dean is available to view for subscribers. Join to watch the full episode. The company said the funding would enable it to "maintain its ongoing operations" which require massive amounts of energy. Mr Willcox fears 17,000 jobs could be lost in Queensland if copper refineries shut down. 'So, the copper smelter there (Mount Isa) is looking to be closed down,' Mr Willcox said. 'What that will mean then is the Townsville copper refinery, which is in my electorate, will then close down. 17,000 jobs at risk. 'The by-product of the copper smelter is used in fertiliser as well, and we just don't have enough fertiliser for our farmers in this country. 'So, a massive issue and something needs to be done about ASAP!' Mr Willcox fears smelters will be non-existent if the Albanese government continues with their renewables approach. 'The simple fact of the matter is this renewables-only approach by the Albanese Labor government is not working, it's going to send all our manufacturers to the wall. You can't run a full-time economy on part-time power, it just can't happen,' he said. The Shadow Assistant Minister said he is working on a joint committee with Nationals Senator Matt Canavan and Shadow Energy Minister Dan Tehan to map out the Coalition's official position on net zero. 'We will be bringing a policy forward that will actually work,' he said. 'We've got three years before the next election, but we will have this developed within the next 12 months that we'll put forward, because that's our path back to government.' Rowan Dean told Mr Willcox the solution was simple: "Ban net zero."
Business Times
23-06-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Nomura CEO's pay more than doubles after profit hits record
[TOKYO] Nomura Holdings more than doubled Kentaro Okuda's pay last year, rewarding the chief executive officer for guiding Japan's largest brokerage to a record annual profit. Okuda's compensation rose to 1.208 billion yen (S$11 million) in the year ended Mar 31 from 506 million yen a year earlier, according to a filing on Monday (Jun 23). Christopher Willcox, the firm's highest-paid executive officer, who oversees trading and investment banking, saw his remuneration jump 25 per cent to US$15 million. Nomura's profit hit an all-time high last fiscal year as the return of inflation to Asia's second-largest economy energised investors. Pretax income at Willcox's wholesale division hit a 15-year high as global securities trading rebounded and cost controls improved. Dealmaking got a boost from Japan's corporate governance overhaul. The Japanese firm was in the spotlight last year after a staffer was found to have manipulated the bond market and a former Nomura worker was charged with robbery and attempted murder. Okuda and other executives volunteered to return a portion of their pay for several months following the incidents. Willcox did not take a pay cut because he joined Nomura after the bond derivatives trades took place. 'The Compensation Committee makes decisions based on the overall performance of the group as well as individual achievements and contributions,' a spokesperson said by email. Okuda's compensation compares with 398 million yen paid last fiscal year to Akihiko Ogino, CEO of Daiwa Securities Group, Nomura's biggest domestic rival, filings show. Ogino's remuneration was the highest for a Daiwa CEO since at least fiscal 2004. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up The once-a-year filing offers a rare peek into some of Nomura's inner workings, including manpower at each of its main business lines in Japan. The number of employees at the firm's cash-cow domestic wealth management division fell by 283 people to 7,045, the lowest in 18 years. It slipped for the seventh consecutive year even though Go Sugiyama, who runs that business, declared an end to an era of staff reduction and signalled a desire to hire mid-career talent. Nomura's so-called alumni network membership grew, with the number of registrants reaching around 290, compared with about 250 a year earlier. The company established the network in January 2023 to stay connected and regularly re-engage former employees who once belonged to its investment banking or asset management teams. The report came a day before Nomura's planned annual shareholder meeting in Tokyo. Proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services has recommended stockholders vote against the reappointment of Okuda and the company's chairman Koji Nagai in light of the scandals. BLOOMBERG
West Australian
11-06-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
Margaret River firebrand Jacob Willcox claims Challenger Series win at Newcastle
Margaret River surfing mainstay Jacob Willcox has earnt his first win on the Challenger Series to top the World Surf League rankings. Sunday's contest at Newcastle's Surfest followed Willcox's impressive run as a local qualifier all the way to the quarterfinals at last month's Margaret River Pro. Willcox and women's competitor Francisca Veselko from Portugal overcame a massive crowd of contestants all eager to use the series as a launch pad back to the top-rated Championship Tour. 'This has been a long time coming,' Willcox said. 'I've had a lot of losses to get this win and it feels incredible to finally get it. It's taken a lot of hard work to get here, and that was the best moment of my life on the beach just then. 'Coming in and having my crew tell me that I probably had it and share that moment with them was so special.' In the final, Willcox traded mid-range scores with Tahiti's Kauli Vaast, taking a small lead, before the ocean began to slow. Both were left waiting for more than 10 minutes for a wave until a quick flurry in the dying seconds gave Vaast one more chance. But he couldn't convert, leaving Willcox to take the win with a two-wave total of 12.30 to Vaast's 11.56. 'The final was pretty slow in the end, but I was just telling myself that sometimes the ocean just gets on your side and gives you some luck, and you find some rhythm, and I feel like this week I found some rhythm and some luck,' Willcox said. 'That's the thing with our sport, you just never know when you're going to get your moment. My moment was today, so I was stoked.' Willcox was a championship tour rookie in 2024 after years of near-misses in qualification, but he lasted only a few months before missing the mid-season cut and failing to re-qualify for 2025. The goofy-footer has been pegged as a title threat since his junior years, beating Kelly Slater as a teenage wildcard in Portugal, but has struggled to make a huge impact in the competitive arena.
The Advertiser
08-06-2025
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Surfest champions crowned as epic week at Merewether beach comes to close
West Australian Jacob Willcox and Portugal's Francisca Veselko etched their names onto the storied Surfest honour roll in front of a packed Merewether beach on Sunday. Willcox defeated Olympic gold medallist Kauli Vaast (French Polynesia), who eliminated local hope Ryan Callinan in the semi-finals earlier on Sunday, in a tight men's final while Veselko also broke through for her first win on the World Surf League's second-tier Challenger Series (CS) by beating tour veteran Sally Fitzgibbons. Fitzgibbons is a three-time Surfest champion and was looking to become the first surfer in history to win the long-running event four times. The Gerroa 34-year-old led midway through the 35-minute final before Veselko followed up a 6.17-point effort with a 7.50-point ride to post a combined best-two-wave total of 14.60 out of a possible 20 points, which Fitzgibbons (12.20) was unable to overhaul. It was an emotional win for the 22-year-old Portuguese surfer and former world junior champion, who shed tears in the water before riding a victory wave with arms raised in the air to shore. "I'm honestly lost for words," Veselko, the first woman from Portugal to win at Surfest, said. "I'm just so happy to share this final with Sally, such a legend. I've always looked up to her ... she's such a warrior, a true inspiration and super resilient. She just fell of the tour and she's already fighting for the dream to be on the world tour again." Willcox, 28, set up his maiden CS victory with a 6.83-point opening wave before the ocean went flat for a large chunk of the final. Both surfers posted late waves but the Margaret River goofy-footer held on for a 12.30 points to 11.56 points win. "I've been waiting a long time for this," Willcox, from Margaret River, said. "A lot of losses have got me to this point, and it's so special. "I love Newy. It's bloody God's country. I stay with an amazing family here and have so much support. I'm kind of in disbelief, to be honest. I've dreamt of this moment so many times. "The final was pretty slow in the end, but I was just telling myself that sometimes the ocean just gets on your side and gives you some luck, and you find some rhythm, and I feel like this week I found some rhythm and some luck. "That's the thing with our sport, you just never know when you're going to get your moment. My moment was today, so I was stoked." After an epic day of barrel rides and pumping surf on Friday, sets, although good when they did come through, were at times few and far between on Sunday. Callinan was the sole surviving local on Surfest Sunday and booked passage to the semi-finals with a commanding quarter-final victory over American Dimitri Poulos. The 33-year-old goofy-footer produced a solid 8.33-point ride midway through the semi-final but Vaast scored 9.10 out of a possible 10 points on the wave behind him to end up sealing a win. From there, the ocean went flat and Callinan (12.66) could not find another wave to overhaul the 23-year-old's winning score of 14.60. "I feel like I surfed it well and it was kind of a risk at that stage to even wait for the second one," Callinan said. "It's been on and off. The second one had been better sometimes and the first one had been better most of the day, so I don't know. To get an eight on a wave it's not a mistake, so I set up myself up with a good opportunity but it just didn't break again. "I made the most of my opportunities but sometimes it's out of your control." The Novocastrian and new dad, who missed the Championship Tour mid-season cut in Margaret River two weeks earlier, was mobbed by an excited group of grommets as he exited the water after his semi-final loss. "Coming into the week I didn't really have any expectations ... I was just excited to surf and try to put some heats together and surf a lot of heats if I could, but just try to get my performance back and be home and soak it all in, so I really felt like I did that," Callinan said. "Having the crowd and the support of the beach, even from the days it was pumping up the beach, I already felt like I'd won. "It's nice to see how much the community embrace their locals and you really feel loved coming from here in sport, especially in these events. "To see it on such a big stage like this and everyone show up, and even though I lost they're all still stoked to see me, is pretty cool." Surfest was the opening leg of the seven-event 2025-26 Challenger Series, from which the top-10 men and top-seven women will qualify for next year's top-tier Championship Tour. It was announced last Monday that the iconic Newcastle contest will also be the last stop of the Challenger Series next March. The next CS contest is in South Africa from June 30. West Australian Jacob Willcox and Portugal's Francisca Veselko etched their names onto the storied Surfest honour roll in front of a packed Merewether beach on Sunday. Willcox defeated Olympic gold medallist Kauli Vaast (French Polynesia), who eliminated local hope Ryan Callinan in the semi-finals earlier on Sunday, in a tight men's final while Veselko also broke through for her first win on the World Surf League's second-tier Challenger Series (CS) by beating tour veteran Sally Fitzgibbons. Fitzgibbons is a three-time Surfest champion and was looking to become the first surfer in history to win the long-running event four times. The Gerroa 34-year-old led midway through the 35-minute final before Veselko followed up a 6.17-point effort with a 7.50-point ride to post a combined best-two-wave total of 14.60 out of a possible 20 points, which Fitzgibbons (12.20) was unable to overhaul. It was an emotional win for the 22-year-old Portuguese surfer and former world junior champion, who shed tears in the water before riding a victory wave with arms raised in the air to shore. "I'm honestly lost for words," Veselko, the first woman from Portugal to win at Surfest, said. "I'm just so happy to share this final with Sally, such a legend. I've always looked up to her ... she's such a warrior, a true inspiration and super resilient. She just fell of the tour and she's already fighting for the dream to be on the world tour again." Willcox, 28, set up his maiden CS victory with a 6.83-point opening wave before the ocean went flat for a large chunk of the final. Both surfers posted late waves but the Margaret River goofy-footer held on for a 12.30 points to 11.56 points win. "I've been waiting a long time for this," Willcox, from Margaret River, said. "A lot of losses have got me to this point, and it's so special. "I love Newy. It's bloody God's country. I stay with an amazing family here and have so much support. I'm kind of in disbelief, to be honest. I've dreamt of this moment so many times. "The final was pretty slow in the end, but I was just telling myself that sometimes the ocean just gets on your side and gives you some luck, and you find some rhythm, and I feel like this week I found some rhythm and some luck. "That's the thing with our sport, you just never know when you're going to get your moment. My moment was today, so I was stoked." After an epic day of barrel rides and pumping surf on Friday, sets, although good when they did come through, were at times few and far between on Sunday. Callinan was the sole surviving local on Surfest Sunday and booked passage to the semi-finals with a commanding quarter-final victory over American Dimitri Poulos. The 33-year-old goofy-footer produced a solid 8.33-point ride midway through the semi-final but Vaast scored 9.10 out of a possible 10 points on the wave behind him to end up sealing a win. From there, the ocean went flat and Callinan (12.66) could not find another wave to overhaul the 23-year-old's winning score of 14.60. "I feel like I surfed it well and it was kind of a risk at that stage to even wait for the second one," Callinan said. "It's been on and off. The second one had been better sometimes and the first one had been better most of the day, so I don't know. To get an eight on a wave it's not a mistake, so I set up myself up with a good opportunity but it just didn't break again. "I made the most of my opportunities but sometimes it's out of your control." The Novocastrian and new dad, who missed the Championship Tour mid-season cut in Margaret River two weeks earlier, was mobbed by an excited group of grommets as he exited the water after his semi-final loss. "Coming into the week I didn't really have any expectations ... I was just excited to surf and try to put some heats together and surf a lot of heats if I could, but just try to get my performance back and be home and soak it all in, so I really felt like I did that," Callinan said. "Having the crowd and the support of the beach, even from the days it was pumping up the beach, I already felt like I'd won. "It's nice to see how much the community embrace their locals and you really feel loved coming from here in sport, especially in these events. "To see it on such a big stage like this and everyone show up, and even though I lost they're all still stoked to see me, is pretty cool." Surfest was the opening leg of the seven-event 2025-26 Challenger Series, from which the top-10 men and top-seven women will qualify for next year's top-tier Championship Tour. It was announced last Monday that the iconic Newcastle contest will also be the last stop of the Challenger Series next March. The next CS contest is in South Africa from June 30. West Australian Jacob Willcox and Portugal's Francisca Veselko etched their names onto the storied Surfest honour roll in front of a packed Merewether beach on Sunday. Willcox defeated Olympic gold medallist Kauli Vaast (French Polynesia), who eliminated local hope Ryan Callinan in the semi-finals earlier on Sunday, in a tight men's final while Veselko also broke through for her first win on the World Surf League's second-tier Challenger Series (CS) by beating tour veteran Sally Fitzgibbons. Fitzgibbons is a three-time Surfest champion and was looking to become the first surfer in history to win the long-running event four times. The Gerroa 34-year-old led midway through the 35-minute final before Veselko followed up a 6.17-point effort with a 7.50-point ride to post a combined best-two-wave total of 14.60 out of a possible 20 points, which Fitzgibbons (12.20) was unable to overhaul. It was an emotional win for the 22-year-old Portuguese surfer and former world junior champion, who shed tears in the water before riding a victory wave with arms raised in the air to shore. "I'm honestly lost for words," Veselko, the first woman from Portugal to win at Surfest, said. "I'm just so happy to share this final with Sally, such a legend. I've always looked up to her ... she's such a warrior, a true inspiration and super resilient. She just fell of the tour and she's already fighting for the dream to be on the world tour again." Willcox, 28, set up his maiden CS victory with a 6.83-point opening wave before the ocean went flat for a large chunk of the final. Both surfers posted late waves but the Margaret River goofy-footer held on for a 12.30 points to 11.56 points win. "I've been waiting a long time for this," Willcox, from Margaret River, said. "A lot of losses have got me to this point, and it's so special. "I love Newy. It's bloody God's country. I stay with an amazing family here and have so much support. I'm kind of in disbelief, to be honest. I've dreamt of this moment so many times. "The final was pretty slow in the end, but I was just telling myself that sometimes the ocean just gets on your side and gives you some luck, and you find some rhythm, and I feel like this week I found some rhythm and some luck. "That's the thing with our sport, you just never know when you're going to get your moment. My moment was today, so I was stoked." After an epic day of barrel rides and pumping surf on Friday, sets, although good when they did come through, were at times few and far between on Sunday. Callinan was the sole surviving local on Surfest Sunday and booked passage to the semi-finals with a commanding quarter-final victory over American Dimitri Poulos. The 33-year-old goofy-footer produced a solid 8.33-point ride midway through the semi-final but Vaast scored 9.10 out of a possible 10 points on the wave behind him to end up sealing a win. From there, the ocean went flat and Callinan (12.66) could not find another wave to overhaul the 23-year-old's winning score of 14.60. "I feel like I surfed it well and it was kind of a risk at that stage to even wait for the second one," Callinan said. "It's been on and off. The second one had been better sometimes and the first one had been better most of the day, so I don't know. To get an eight on a wave it's not a mistake, so I set up myself up with a good opportunity but it just didn't break again. "I made the most of my opportunities but sometimes it's out of your control." The Novocastrian and new dad, who missed the Championship Tour mid-season cut in Margaret River two weeks earlier, was mobbed by an excited group of grommets as he exited the water after his semi-final loss. "Coming into the week I didn't really have any expectations ... I was just excited to surf and try to put some heats together and surf a lot of heats if I could, but just try to get my performance back and be home and soak it all in, so I really felt like I did that," Callinan said. "Having the crowd and the support of the beach, even from the days it was pumping up the beach, I already felt like I'd won. "It's nice to see how much the community embrace their locals and you really feel loved coming from here in sport, especially in these events. "To see it on such a big stage like this and everyone show up, and even though I lost they're all still stoked to see me, is pretty cool." Surfest was the opening leg of the seven-event 2025-26 Challenger Series, from which the top-10 men and top-seven women will qualify for next year's top-tier Championship Tour. It was announced last Monday that the iconic Newcastle contest will also be the last stop of the Challenger Series next March. The next CS contest is in South Africa from June 30. West Australian Jacob Willcox and Portugal's Francisca Veselko etched their names onto the storied Surfest honour roll in front of a packed Merewether beach on Sunday. Willcox defeated Olympic gold medallist Kauli Vaast (French Polynesia), who eliminated local hope Ryan Callinan in the semi-finals earlier on Sunday, in a tight men's final while Veselko also broke through for her first win on the World Surf League's second-tier Challenger Series (CS) by beating tour veteran Sally Fitzgibbons. Fitzgibbons is a three-time Surfest champion and was looking to become the first surfer in history to win the long-running event four times. The Gerroa 34-year-old led midway through the 35-minute final before Veselko followed up a 6.17-point effort with a 7.50-point ride to post a combined best-two-wave total of 14.60 out of a possible 20 points, which Fitzgibbons (12.20) was unable to overhaul. It was an emotional win for the 22-year-old Portuguese surfer and former world junior champion, who shed tears in the water before riding a victory wave with arms raised in the air to shore. "I'm honestly lost for words," Veselko, the first woman from Portugal to win at Surfest, said. "I'm just so happy to share this final with Sally, such a legend. I've always looked up to her ... she's such a warrior, a true inspiration and super resilient. She just fell of the tour and she's already fighting for the dream to be on the world tour again." Willcox, 28, set up his maiden CS victory with a 6.83-point opening wave before the ocean went flat for a large chunk of the final. Both surfers posted late waves but the Margaret River goofy-footer held on for a 12.30 points to 11.56 points win. "I've been waiting a long time for this," Willcox, from Margaret River, said. "A lot of losses have got me to this point, and it's so special. "I love Newy. It's bloody God's country. I stay with an amazing family here and have so much support. I'm kind of in disbelief, to be honest. I've dreamt of this moment so many times. "The final was pretty slow in the end, but I was just telling myself that sometimes the ocean just gets on your side and gives you some luck, and you find some rhythm, and I feel like this week I found some rhythm and some luck. "That's the thing with our sport, you just never know when you're going to get your moment. My moment was today, so I was stoked." After an epic day of barrel rides and pumping surf on Friday, sets, although good when they did come through, were at times few and far between on Sunday. Callinan was the sole surviving local on Surfest Sunday and booked passage to the semi-finals with a commanding quarter-final victory over American Dimitri Poulos. The 33-year-old goofy-footer produced a solid 8.33-point ride midway through the semi-final but Vaast scored 9.10 out of a possible 10 points on the wave behind him to end up sealing a win. From there, the ocean went flat and Callinan (12.66) could not find another wave to overhaul the 23-year-old's winning score of 14.60. "I feel like I surfed it well and it was kind of a risk at that stage to even wait for the second one," Callinan said. "It's been on and off. The second one had been better sometimes and the first one had been better most of the day, so I don't know. To get an eight on a wave it's not a mistake, so I set up myself up with a good opportunity but it just didn't break again. "I made the most of my opportunities but sometimes it's out of your control." The Novocastrian and new dad, who missed the Championship Tour mid-season cut in Margaret River two weeks earlier, was mobbed by an excited group of grommets as he exited the water after his semi-final loss. "Coming into the week I didn't really have any expectations ... I was just excited to surf and try to put some heats together and surf a lot of heats if I could, but just try to get my performance back and be home and soak it all in, so I really felt like I did that," Callinan said. "Having the crowd and the support of the beach, even from the days it was pumping up the beach, I already felt like I'd won. "It's nice to see how much the community embrace their locals and you really feel loved coming from here in sport, especially in these events. "To see it on such a big stage like this and everyone show up, and even though I lost they're all still stoked to see me, is pretty cool." Surfest was the opening leg of the seven-event 2025-26 Challenger Series, from which the top-10 men and top-seven women will qualify for next year's top-tier Championship Tour. It was announced last Monday that the iconic Newcastle contest will also be the last stop of the Challenger Series next March. The next CS contest is in South Africa from June 30.
