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"You've been bumped": Vietnam vet slams Qantas for booting him from business class

Qantas has come under fire for booting a Vietnam war veteran from his paid seat in business class so that a young Qantas "tech" – later revealed to be a pilot – could travel in the luxury seat in his place. Stephen Jones, 78, and his wife were travelling home to Adelaide after a holiday in Christchurch. Their flight was passing through Melbourne on its way to their home in Adelaide, and the pair were enjoying coffee in the Melbourne airport lounge – just 30 minutes before they were set to continue their journey – when they were given the bad news by Qantas staff. "I went up to the desk and the Qantas employee there said, 'I've got some bad news for you, you've been bumped'," Mr Jones told Melbourne’s <a href="https://www.3aw.com.au/vietnam-war-veteran-booted-from-business-class-for-younger-qantas-employee/">3AW</a> radio program with Ross & Russ. "It didn't register at first," continued Mr Jones. "I wasn't quite sure what 'bumped' meant... I said, 'What?', and she said, 'Yes, I'll have to re-issue your ticket for economy class. We have a tech who's flying to Adelaide and his contract states that he must fly Business Class." Mr Jones then explained that while he retreated to his economy seat, the Qantas employee was seated next to his wife up in business class, and that "he wouldn't even look at her". Mr Jones went on to explain that, after filing a letter of complaint, he was offered 5000 Frequent Flyer points in return for the downgrade and an apology. Mr Jones, who served in Vietnam in a combat unit in the 1960s, claimed he turned down the offer of 5000 points, saying, “I don’t think anything is going to change until there’s ramifications for Qantas, or costs for Qantas when they upset their customers.” Justin Lawrence, Partner at Henderson Ball Lawyers, later told the 3AW radio show hosts that there’s little customers can do about such a move by the airline and said it was “standard operating procedure”. “Unfortunately, their terms of carriage allow them to do this sort of thing – this happens so often they’ve actually got a term for it, buckle up, they call this 'involuntary downgrading,'” he said. “They’ll overprescribe business class or first class, they will need to bump someone out, and they’ll do it almost immediately prior to the flight – not just Qantas, they all do it." “Any time you go to a travel agent or online to Qantas to buy a seat, and we think we’re buying a seat in a particular class, there are no guarantees that when that plane takes off, you’ll be sitting in that class.” Mr Jones said he understood that Qantas pilots were entitled to rest comfortably on their way to another flight, but the ordeal was “unsettling and made me a little irritable”. Image credits: Getty Images

Travel Trouble

"Too busy marching": Debate rages over fiery Anzac Day post

A man has shared a controversial claim on Twitter about Australia’s relationship to Anzac Day, sparking a fiery debate. Australians and New Zealanders gathered to commemorate the 108th anniversary of the landing of Anzac troops at Gallipoli in World War I on April 25th. Services were held all over both countries to mark the day of remembrance. On May 34th, Brad Turner, who says he is a former Navy submariner and AFP officer, took to Twitter to argue that the values of the annual celebration were “no longer reflected” by Australia. He notably called out Australia’s confrontation with China on behalf of the US. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Australia is a society that dutifully gets up early every April 25 to gather, Mach & remember our Dead. Speeches are made, politicians speak of sacrifice & honour whilst possessing or embodying neither. That same society that holds paramount ideals of egalitarianism, mateship &… <a href="https://t.co/sbHHbRiYAF">pic.twitter.com/sbHHbRiYAF</a> — Brad Turner (@tur14865416) <a href="https://twitter.com/tur14865416/status/1650394428841037826?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2023</a></blockquote> “Australia is a society that dutifully gets up early every April 25 to gather, march and remember our dead,” he wrote in the post, which has been viewed more than 20,000 times. “Speeches are made, politicians speak of sacrifice and honour whilst possessing or embodying neither. That same society that holds paramount ideals of egalitarianism, mateship and sacrifice is forgotten on the other 364 days of the year. “On those days Australia marches right past veteran suicides, war crimes, illegal wars and widespread inequality and corruption. Is it really a day of remembrance? Or is it theatrics so society can pretend they care about victims of war or our conduct as a country with an aim to feel better about apathy and inaction as a nation towards these things. “We don’t notice any of these things because we are too busy marching. But this time it’s headlong into another pointless American war with China. The things we celebrate about our nation on Anzac Day are sadly no longer reflected in Australia’s actions. They have not been in some time.” Several people online took the same stance as Mr Turner. “I don’t like Anzac Day. It overlooks our follies in joining Britain and US wars. WWII was noble. The rest were con jobs to enrich the industrialists. Our people have all these solemn events only to assuage their ‘je ne c’est quoi’ because they don’t feel any guilt but should,” one wrote. “Our politicians spend more on memorial monuments and museums that they can put their name on a plaque on the wall than they do for the actual veterans who are suffering from PTSD or other ‘souvenirs’ they have brought back from their tours,” another said. “Flag waving patriotism has taken over Anzac Day. We are one step away from parades of military hardware while the populace salute. What should be a reflection on the horrors of war has become it‘s celebration. John Howard did this,” a third added. “Listening to the Labor government yesterday follow in the footsteps of the Coalition, justifying spending billions antagonising China at America’s request is not the ‘lest we forget’ I think about,” a fourth wrote. Others fired back and said Anzac Day was still important. “Mate … it’s about remembering the sacrifice and loss of our mates … lest we forget,” one wrote, adding, “I don’t worry about [politicians] anymore grandstanding on the day. It’s our day not theirs to remember our mates.” Another wrote, “It is tradition. It separates the fluff of ordinary living to reflect on sacrifice not only of the dead, of lives unlived, of the unfathomable grief but also of the living dealing with the trauma and moral injury of tooth and claw war. It is not a celebration which distracts.” “I understand this perspective, but at the same time I ask myself — is there any harm in this form national reflection? I agree there have been some military follies following the absolute necessity of WWII, but would add that there is no guarantee that the next engagement is such,” a third wrote. Image credit: Shutterstock

News

Rod Stewart's ultimate surprise for like-minded hobbyists

Rod Stewart has paid a surprise visit to a local business in Sydney's west, mingling with like-minded hobbyists. On Wednesday night, the 78-year-old rockstar took to the stage of Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena in front of 21,000 adoring fans, performing his classic hits in a signature leopard print jacket. But just hours before, he stopped in at Woodpecker Model Railways, a model train store located in Pendle Hill, in search of model trains to add to his vast collection. "Look who casually walked into our shop," the business shared on their Facebook page, alongside a photo of staff members smiling with the rock legend. <iframe style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fwoodpeckermodelrailways%2Fposts%2Fpfbid0Nfb2LeEtR5yXAcfCiBW8g4GVLqncdVbNz9AKJnZVwFzB345DUXMDt3C6ZvcGpReyl&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="504" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> "That's amazing!!!" one follower wrote on Facebook. "WOW how awesome !! Lucky you !!I think I would be in total admiration [and] shock if Rod walked into a shop I owned or was in lol," another said. "A very accomplished modeller..... sings a bit as well....." another wrote. Rod Stewart has long been known as a <a href="https://www.oversixty.co.nz/property/real-estate/rod-stewart-s-hidden-track-inside-his-beverly-hills-home" target="_blank" rel="noopener">keen model train builder</a>, revealing in a 2019 interview with Railway Modeller magazine that he had been working on a giant and intricate model of a United States city at home for the previous 23 years. Following his admission in the interview, BBC Radio 2's Jeremy Vine suggested Stewart did not build the model himself, to which Stewart rebutted as he called into Vine's show to set the record straight himself. "I would say 90 per cent of it I built myself," Stewart insisted to Vine. "The only thing I wasn't very good at and still am not is the electricals, so I had someone else do that." "A lot of people laugh at it being a silly hobby, but it's a wonderful hobby," he said. Image credits: Facebook

Music

Salon owner loses $40,000 from one $60 deposit

When beautician Thuy Le received a call from a supposed customer’s ‘husband’ regarding an accidental payment, she could never have foreseen the devastating turn her life would take from that point on. The mother of two, whose husband is living with Parkinsons and unable to work, recounted how her harrowing ordeal started with that one phone call, and the man on the other end requesting she return the $60 his wife had ‘accidentally’ paid. Le checked her bank statements to verify his story, and after noting one deposit that matched, she transferred the funds into the account he provided. She did not provide any of her own personal information, her passwords, or any critical numbers for her accounts. And yet, in the time to follow, Le could only watch in horror as more withdrawals were made from her account, into the very same one owned by the customer’s ‘husband’. The withdrawals totalled a devastating $41,600 stolen from Le’s life savings. Le also recounted how she was refused access to her business account, and that she got in touch with her bank as soon as she realised what had happened, suspecting she had been scammed. Her quest for support in her time of need was cut short, with the financial institution placing the blame solely on Le and ruling that they were not liable for the losses she had endured - this was despite the suspicious withdrawals raising no alarm with the bank, and the lack of personal information involved in the scam. Of their questionable red flag system, the bank claimed that it is “nearly impossible for an unauthorised third party to guess”, referencing the way that the logins for the costly transaction all succeeded on the very first try. Furthermore, as stated in a letter to Le, they declared that “the only reasonable explanation for these logins would be that your online banking credentials were known to the unauthorised third party, which would be in breach of the passcode security requirements.” “I am in financial hardship,” Le admitted of her dire situation, and the need to have the funds returned for her family and her husband’s crucial medication. “I have two little kids, I have a husband with Parkinson’s disease, he cannot work,” she continued. “We are still in the process of applying for government help and I have carried the financial burden on my shoulders.” While Le’s bank offered $200 to resolve her complaint, she was offered no further assistance, and took matters to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, hoping to have her money returned to her. “I can’t sleep,” she confessed. “I want to know why this happened to me and how it happened to me. “I’m not a liar, not a criminal, not a fraud.” Images: Supplied to 7News, Facebook

Money & Banking

Just 25% of businesses are insured against cyber attacks. Here’s why

In the past financial year, the Australian Cyber Security Centre received <a href="https://www.cyber.gov.au/acsc/view-all-content/reports-and-statistics/acsc-annual-cyber-threat-report-july-2021-june-2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">76,000 cyber-crime reports</a> – on average, one every seven minutes. The year before, it was a report every eight minutes. The year before that, every ten minutes. The growth of cyber crime means it is now arguably the <a href="https://www.aon.com/2021-global-risk-management-survey/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">top risk facing any business</a> with an online presence. One successful cyber attack is all it takes to ruin an organisation’s reputation and bottom line. The estimated cost to the Australian economy in <a href="https://www.unsw.adfa.edu.au/newsroom/news/cybercrime-estimated-42-billion-cost-australian-economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2021 was $42 billion</a>. To protect itself (and its customers), a business has three main options. It can limit the amount of sensitive data it stores. It can take greater care to protect the data it does store. And it can insure itself against the consequences of a cyber attack. Cyber-insurance is a broad term for insurance policies that address losses as a result of a computer-based attack or malfunction of a firm’s information technology systems. This can include costs associated with business interruptions, responding to the incident and paying relevant fines and penalties. The global cyber-insurance market is now worth an estimated US$9 billion (A$13.9 billion). It is tipped to grow to <a href="https://www.munichre.com/content/dam/munichre/contentlounge/website-pieces/documents/MunichRe-Topics-Cyber-Whitepaper-2022.pdf/_jcr_content/renditions/original./MunichRe-Topics-Cyber-Whitepaper-2022.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">US$22 billion by 2025</a>. But a big part of this growth reflects escalating premium costs – in Australia they increased more <a href="https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/au/news/cyber/whats-driving-up-cyber-insurance-premiums-in-australia-417542.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">than 80% in 2021</a> – rather than more business taking up insurance. So coverage rates are growing slowly, with about 75% of all businesses in Australia having no cyber-insurance, according to 2021 figures from the <a href="https://insurancecouncil.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Cyber-Insurance_March2022-final.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Insurance Council of Australia</a>. Challenges in pricing cyber-insurance</p With cyber-insurance still in its infancy, insurers face significant complexities in quantifying cyber risk pricing premiums accordingly – high enough for the insurers not to lose money, but as competitive as possible to encourage greater uptake. A 2018 assessment of the cyber-insurance market by the <a href="https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/20_0210_cisa_oce_cyber_insurance_market_assessment.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency</a> identified three major challenges: lack of data, methodological limitations, and lack of information sharing. Lack of historical loss data means insurers are hampered in accurately predicting risks and costs. Because of the relative newness of cyber crime, many insurers use risk-assessment methodologies derived from more established insurance markets <a href="https://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP67850.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">such as for car, house and contents</a>. These markets, however, are not analogous to cyber crime. Companies may be hesitant to disclose information about cyber incidents, unless required to do so. Insurance carriers are reluctant to share data pertaining to damage and claims. This makes it hard to create effective risk models that can calculate and predict the likelihood and cost of future incidents. So what needs to be done? Deakin University’s <a href="https://cybercentre.org.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Centre for Cyber Security Research and Innovation</a> has been working with insurance companies to understand what must be done to improve premium and risks models pertaining to cyber insurance. Here is what we have found so far. First, greater transparency is needed around cyber-related incidents and insurance to help remedy the lack of data and information sharing. The federal government has taken two steps in the right direction on this. One is the <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/focus-areas/consumer-data-right-cdr-0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Consumer Data Right</a>, which provides guidelines on how service providers must share data about customers. This came into effect in mid-2021. The other is the government’s proposal to amend <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r6940" target="_blank" rel="noopener">privacy legislation</a> to increase penalties for breaches and give the Privacy Commissioner new powers. Second, insurers must find better ways to measure the financial value and worth of the data that organisations hold. The primary asset covered by cyber insurance is the data itself. But there is no concrete measure of how that data is worth. The recent Optus and Medibank Private data breaches provide clear examples. The Optus event affected millions more people than the Medibank Private hack, but the Medibank Private data includes <a href="https://www.afr.com/technology/privacy-fallout-from-medibank-hack-will-be-widespread-20221023-p5bs75" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sensitive medical data</a> that, in principle, is worth far more than data regarding just your personal identity. Without an accurate way to measure the financial value of data, it is difficult to determine the appropriate premium costs and coverage. Cyber insurance is a new, specialised market with significant uncertainty. Given the ever-increasing risks to individuals, organisations and society, it is imperative that insurers develop robust and reliable risk-based models as soon as possible. This will require a consolidated effort between cyber-security experts, accountants and actuaries, insurance professionals and policymakers.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193533/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> Writen by Jongkil Jay Jeong and Robin Doss. Republished with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/just-25-of-businesses-are-insured-against-cyber-attacks-heres-why-193533" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. Image: Getty Images

Money & Banking

Locals rally after 12-year-old has business shut down

A 12-year-old boy has gained the support of his local community after his snack-selling business was shut down by council. Jesse Lane was earning some tidy profits from selling cold drinks, insect repellent, dog treats and sunscreen in a tent on the Bondi to Coogee walk in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs. Despite his success, the venture was shut down after two locals complained that he shouldn’t be making profits on public land. The complaints came after Randwick Council rejected Jesse’s trading application because he didn’t have insurance. But even when he acquired insurance months later, the application was rejected again. With his tent stall facing a forced closure, locals have rallied around Jesse. “Jessie is the hard-working kid who sets up and sells a number of things for hot and thirsty walkers and their pets,” one person shared on Facebook. “The world needs more kids to drive to work hard for themselves and not sit around and play video games all day. “His parents must be so proud of him and people should mind their business, if the kid wants to make money and work on his weekends good on him.” Susan Ley, the deputy leader of the Liberal party, chimed in to support the youngster, saying he should be commended for “having a go”. “We won’t have the small businesses and entrepreneurs of tomorrow if we don’t back them today,” she said. “This is a foolish decision @RandwickCouncil and it should be reversed. “Local community (equals) happy, 12-year-old kid having a go … what’s the problem?” In August, Yahoo News reported that Randwick Council confirmed that there had been a “number” of complaints about Jesse’s business. "He was initially selling drinks but has expanded to include a range of products including sunscreen, insect repellent and dog treats," a council spokesperson told 2GB radio. “While we admire the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit of the young man, there are restrictions on commercial operations in public parks. “Council received a number of complaints from people concerned about the precedent of commercialisation of the park as well as concern about the safety and welfare of a young boy trading and handling money in a public place.” “Council has carefully considered the application. Unfortunately, it has determined that the activity is not consistent with the primary use of the land and it is not in the public interest for a proliferation of these types of activity along the length of the coastline.” Image: 7News

Money & Banking

9 tips for starting a business

Always dreamed of starting a business? Well, there’s no better time than the present. Here’s nine tips to help get you started. Whether you’d like to take your passion for sewing, cooking or helping others further, or if you wouldn’t mind a bit of extra money in retirement, starting a business can not only keep your mind and body active, but you’ll be benefiting the wider community. The new wave of entrepreneurialism isn’t young Richard Branson types, its people in their 50s and 60s who have skills in a range of trades or activities and the time to invest in getting a business off the ground. Dr Alex Maritz, associate professor of entrepreneurship at Swinburne University of Technology, says senior entrepreneurship is a significant phenomenon across the globe. “Sixty is the new 50. People aged 50-65 have a higher rate of entrepreneurial activity than those aged 20-34, so what are you waiting for?” he says. “This is the fastest growing segment of entrepreneurship across the globe.” If you think you have what it takes to start your own business, here’s a few of Dr Maritz’s tips for getting started. 1. Make a profit from your passion A hobby to supplement your income is always first prize. Your mature skills and social aptitude drive your motivation, skills and, more importantly, the opportunity to achieve. Risk and reward are always a trade-off, but better so when you do something you enjoy doing. 2. Surround yourself with likeminded people Network with other seniorpreneurs who are also starting new ventures. Just think of all those combined skills and professional services you may obtain at mates’ rates. Even sports clubs for seniors are fantastic networking opportunities. Positive environments promote proactivity, innovation and calculated risk-taking. Network with niche organisations such as Seniors Australia. 3. Work anywhere you want Starting a business no longer necessarily requires a brick and mortar office or storefront. If you do require an office, share space at incubators and networks. Flexibility is the name of the game. Virtual offices are the domain of entrepreneurs. 4. As you grow seek help from part-timers Manage your resource cost and remember, the best human resource is usually shared. And it’s not always physical, many services are offered and procured online. Do not overcommit by hiring permanent staff. Fixed costs are dead weight! 5. Get creative if you need funding Friends and family are always a great option to top up the finances to start your business. Other options include grants, contests and crowd funding. Suppliers may well provide valuable credit terms. Use your own credit history to secure additional funds. 6. Top up your skills Upskill your entrepreneurship education and training (classes and online). This may sound cumbersome, but enhancing your business acumen pays dividends. If you go to classes, it’s a valuable networking opportunity as well. Most providers also offer online modules. 7. Get savvy online Remember, 97 per cent of consumers search the internet for goods and services. A website and blog go a long way to enhancing your referrals, customer retention and related sales. Even if your business is not online, a virtual presence is essential. 8. Working on the go with your mobile Similar to making your workspace fit your lifestyle, your mobile device (smartphone) is your new mobile office. Real time communication necessitates real time response; not just a by-product of your office environment. 9. Spread the word with social media Hand in hand with digital and internet technology, this is an ideal entrepreneurial marketing avenue open for start-ups. Scan the many online tutorials to assist in this regard. If you’d like to share your thoughts, get resources and connect with likeminded people, take a look at SeniorPreneurs.org. Co-founded by Dr Maritz, it’s a social community of people over 50 who have a passion for business start-ups. Image: Getty

Money & Banking

"Stop slapping him!": Carriage horse collapses in busy street

The horrifying moment a carriage horse breaks down in the middle of a busy New York City street has angered animal activists. Heartbreaking footage shows the horse's knees buckling, possibly due to the weight of the carriage it's been pulling all day in the heat, when it fell to the ground. The driver could be seen shouting multiple times at the horse, known as Ryder, to “get up” and slapping it to get up. “What if I slapped you around like that, bro?” one person can be heard saying. “Stop slapping him,” another woman called out. “I’m trying to get him up, alright,” the driver said, as he once again whipped the horse with the reins. The driver then removed the carriage with the help of an onlooker as police arrived and sprayed Ryder with water. Ryder then attempted to get up several times but failed until an adrenaline shot was administered. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> BREAKING: This horse COLLAPSED while pulling a carriage in NYC, likely from heat exhaustion, and has been down for over an hour. Horses don’t belong in big cities where they’re put in constant danger because of cars, humans, weather, and more. <a href="https://t.co/vXBVRJRjPB">pic.twitter.com/vXBVRJRjPB</a> — PETA (@peta) <a href="https://twitter.com/peta/status/1557504250359361537?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 10, 2022</a></blockquote> After an hour or so, the horse was back on its feet and was taken to an unknown location to be looked at. Tony Utano, President of Transport Workers Union Local 100 slammed those who attacked the driver for jumping to conclusions saying the horse, Ryder, was suffering from EPM. “We thank everyone for their concern about Ryder, one of the beloved Central Park carriage horses,” he said. “The veterinarian believes Ryder has EPM, a neurological disease caused by possum droppings. “This is another example why people shouldn't rush to judgement about our horses or the blue-collar men and women who choose to work with them and care for them.” However, this did not stop animal rights group PETA from calling out the practice, which constantly puts horses in danger. “This horse COLLAPSED while pulling a carriage in NYC, likely from heat exhaustion, and has been down for over an hour,” PETA wrote. “Horses don’t belong in big cities where they’re put in constant danger because of cars, humans, weather, and more.” Many other supporters have called for the ban of carriage horses to be replaced with electric vehicles. Images: Twitter

Family & Pets

Business class traveller “shocked” at meal

A traveller flying business class has slammed the on-flight meal he received which left him “shocked”. The passenger was flying back to Korea from Hawaii on a Korean Air flight and had ordered a steak dish for the trip. A flight attendant arrived and placed the steak with a side of gravy, potatoes and vegetables on his table. The man shared a photo of the meal, comparing the steak to the size of his credit card. "This is a business class steak meal. Looking back at it again, I'm still shocked," the man wrote. He also revealed that no passengers were offered any blankets or alcoholic drinks during the flight. Despite this, he still commended the efforts of the flight attendants who did their best to ensure everything ran smoothly. "I don't want any misunderstandings as the service of the flight attendants was still the best," he wrote. A Korean Air spokesperson addressed several issues in a statement, saying the staff and service shortages were due to Covid. "On some overseas routes, it is inevitable that the supply of in-flight meals will be limited only on flights departing from foreign destinations due to local quarantine policies such as border closures due to COVID-19," the statement read. Image: Naver Cafe

Travel Trouble

Want to cut your chance of catching COVID on a plane? Wear a mask and avoid business class

A Florida court recently <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-19/florida-judge-voids-us-mask-mandate-for-planes-other-travel/100998116">overturned mask mandates</a> on planes in the United States, saying the directive was unlawful. That decision is now <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/covid19-masks-on-us-flights-justice-department-appeals-easing-of-rules/a960d39c-dff4-4198-935c-c5b5c5b40551">under appeal</a>. Before that, Australian comedian Celeste Barber <a href="https://twitter.com/djokaymegamixer/status/1514836909620572162">told her social media followers</a> a passenger sitting next to her on a recent flight took off her mask to sneeze. So wearing masks on planes to limit the spread of COVID is clearly a hot-button issue. As we return to the skies more than two years into the pandemic, what is the risk of catching COVID on a plane? And does it really matter where on the plane you are? <h2>So many variables</h2> It’s impossible to give a precise answer about your risk of catching COVID on a plane as there are so many variables. For instance, not all countries and <a href="https://twitter.com/British_Airways/status/1503729049050353665">airlines</a> require passengers to wear masks or <a href="https://www.nationalworld.com/lifestyle/travel/where-can-i-travel-without-a-vaccine-countries-that-allow-unvaccinated-passengers-and-entry-requirements-3528913">be vaccinated</a>. Some countries and airlines require a negative COVID test within a certain timeframe before flying, others have <a href="https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/covid19/vaccinated-travellers/temporary-visa-holders/leaving-australia">scrapped that requirement</a> entirely. Then there are different rules that may apply if you’re flying domestically or internationally, or <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/health-alerts/covid-19/international-travel/proof-of-vaccination">leaving or entering</a> a country. That’s before we start talking about the virus itself. We know more recent variants have emerged (Omicron and the sub-variant BA.2, for example), that are <a href="https://aci.health.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/critical-intelligence-unit/sars-cov-2-variants">much more easily transmitted</a> than the original virus or the Delta variant. We don’t know how transmissible future variants or sub-variants will be. So we can only talk in general terms about the risk of catching COVID on a plane. All up, your risk <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1477893921001745">is very low</a>, but the measures airlines put in place help achieve that. You can also reduce your personal risk further in a number of ways. <h2>Air flow and HEPA filters</h2> Air flow is designed to largely <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1477893920304117">travel vertically</a>, from the ceiling to the floor, to reduce the potential spread of contaminated air through the plane. The height of the seats acts as a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8013760/">partial barrier</a> to air movement from rows in front and behind you. Cabin air is also replaced <a href="https://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2443/2020/10/HSPH-APHI-Phase-One-Report.pdf">every two to three minutes</a> with a half-half mix of recycled and fresh air. To see <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7588538/">how this works in real life</a>, researchers looked at how the virus spread on a long-haul flight when an infected person (the index case) sat in business class. Twelve of 16 people who were infected on the plane sat within a few rows of this person; another was a flight attendant. This suggests limited spread of contaminated air through the rest of the plane. Recycled air is also filtered through high-efficiency particulate air (or HEPA) filters. These remove <a href="https://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2443/2020/10/HSPH-APHI-Phase-One-Report.pdf">more than 99%</a> of viral particles, further reducing the risk of droplet or airborne transmission. <h2>Masks</h2> Well fitted masks or respirators (worn properly) can reduce your risk of contracting COVID on a flight. That’s why many airlines say wearing a mask is a condition of flying. For example, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ina.12979">modelling</a> of several known transmission events on planes demonstrates an advantage if both the infected person and others around them wear masks. <h2>Vaccination</h2> Some countries, such as Australia, require entering travellers to be <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/health-alerts/covid-19/international-travel/proof-of-vaccination">fully vaccinated</a>. This <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00648-4/fulltext">lowers the risk</a> of someone becoming sick with COVID. <h2>Pre-flight COVID testing</h2> Not all flights require a negative COVID test before boarding. For those that do, the time frame before a flight varies, as does the type of test required. However, we know tests do not detect every single COVID case. A range of factors can influence test sensitivity (ability to detect COVID). These include the type and <a href="https://www.tga.gov.au/covid-19-rapid-antigen-self-tests-are-approved-australia">brand</a> of test you take, whether you have <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8761676/">symptoms</a>, your <a href="https://ebm.bmj.com/content/early/2022/01/04/bmjebm-2021-111828">age</a>, and the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8761676/">viral variant</a>. You can also still test negative two days before a flight and catch COVID in the meantime. <h2>Sanitisation</h2> Airlines may do additional cleaning of high-touch areas, and overnight disinfection, to reduce the spread of COVID through touching contaminated surfaces. However, the risk of transmission by this route is <a href="https://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2443/2020/10/HSPH-APHI-Phase-One-Report.pdf">low</a> compared to the risk of catching COVID through breathing in infectious droplets and aerosols. <h2>When and where are you most at risk?</h2> The closer you are to the infected person Most transmission occurs within <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1477893920304117">two to three rows</a> of an infected person. If you sit next to someone who is coughing or has other symptoms you might ask to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7665738/">move seats</a> if spare seats are available. <a href="https://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2443/2020/10/HSPH-APHI-Phase-One-Report.pdf">Distance</a> yourself from others if you can, particularly when getting on and off the plane. You might also avoid sitting close to the toilets as passengers will hang about in the aisles waiting to use them, particularly on long flights. The longer the flight The risk increases with long- versus <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33650201/">short- or medium-haul</a>flights. During long-haul flights passengers are also more likely to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ina.12979">recline their seats</a>. This somewhat reduces the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8013760/">protection upright seats</a> provide in reducing air movement between rows. If you or others are not wearing a mask or wearing it properly You can breathe infectious particles in and out via your nose as well as your mouth, so don’t wear your mask under your chin or nose. The risk also increases when everyone takes off their masks during food service. You might choose not to eat or drink on short flights to avoid this. Alternatively you might bring a snack to eat before food service begins, or <a href="https://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2443/2020/10/HSPH-APHI-Phase-One-Report.pdf">eat after</a> those around you. If you contaminate your food or your face You can catch COVID through touching your food or face with contaminated fingers. Sanitise your hands regularly and <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9176589">train yourself</a> to not touch your face. If you are in business class Based on limited reports, the transmission risk appears higher in business class. This is possibly because of <a href="https://globalizationandhealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12992-021-00749-6">more interruptions to mask wearing</a> due to greater service of food and drinks. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared in <a href="https://theconversation.com/want-to-cut-your-chance-of-catching-covid-on-a-plane-wear-a-mask-and-avoid-business-class-180333" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

International Travel

Crown Princess Mary’s trip to Bangladesh

Crown Princess Mary is on a three day trip in Bangladesh and has shared her adventures in a selfie-style vlog online. Princess Mary arrived at Dhaka where she was greeted by Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed to start off her business trip. The 50-year-old was accompanied on the trip by Development Cooperation Flemming Møller Mortensen, who together met with workers from Danish companies in Bangladesh. The Princess is working toward an agreement which would see both countries collaborate on green, Earth-friendly products. In the incredible footage, Princess Mary is speaking in Dutch to her loyal fans, explaining the purpose of her trip. “On this journey, the focus is on the consequences of climate change for the population, nature and biodiversity, for Bangladesh is one of the world's most climate vulnerable countries, and it is expected that by 2050, up to 20 million people will be displaced,' Princess Mary says. “We need to focus more than ever on the diversity of nature and to promote projects aimed at conserving and protecting nature. “In Bangladesh, there is a worrying pressure on natural resources. At the same time, the country is one of the most vulnerable countries in relation to the negative consequences of climate change - also for the population. “This means, among other things, that people often have to move because they can no longer grow their crops or because areas are flooded.” <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/tv/Cc0i3ytlzmV/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/Cc0i3ytlzmV/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by DET DANSKE KONGEHUS 🇩🇰 (@detdanskekongehus)</a> </div> </blockquote> The video, which has been viewed more than 77,000 times received praise from her fans, commending the princess for her work. “Important work, thank you for sharing!” someone wrote. “Important to see you out in the field keeping it real Mary. Good work x,” another wrote. “Thank you so much for all of your work crown Princess,” someone else commented. In other posts, the Princess is seen taking selfies with members of the community, playing with children all while on her trip. Images: Instagram

Beauty & Style

Fire management in Australia has reached a crossroads and ‘business as usual’ won’t cut it

The current wet conditions delivered by <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/enso/">La Niña</a> may have caused widespread flooding, but they’ve also provided a reprieve from the threat of bushfires in southeastern Australia. This is an ideal time to consider how we prepare for the next bushfire season. Dry conditions will eventually return, as will fire. So, two years on from the catastrophic Black Summer fires, is Australia better equipped for a future of extreme fire seasons? In our recent <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/fire4040097">synthesis</a> on the Black Summer fires, we argue climate change is exceeding the capacity of our ecological and social systems to adapt. The paper is based on a series of <a href="https://www.bushfirehub.org/publications/?work_package_filter=all-work-packages&category_filter=nsw_bushfire_inquiry_2020">reports</a> we, and other experts from the NSW Bushfire Risk Management Research Hub, were commissioned to produce for the NSW government’s bushfire inquiry. Fire management in Australia has reached a crossroads, and “business as usual” won’t cut it. In this era of mega-fires, diverse strategies are urgently needed so we can safely live with fire. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440578/original/file-20220113-13-xa4qd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="firefighter holds head while lying down" /> In the age of mega fires, new strategies are needed. David Mariuz <h2>Does prescribed burning work?</h2> Various government inquiries following the Black Summer fires of 2019-20 produced wide-ranging recommendations for how to prepare and respond to bushfires. Similar inquiries have been held since 1939 after previous bushfires. Typically, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00049158.2005.10674950">these inquiries</a> led to major changes to policy and funding. But almost universally, this was followed by a gradual complacency and failure to put policies into practice. If any fire season can provide the catalyst for sustained changes to fire management, it is Black Summer. So, what have we learnt from that disaster and are we now better prepared? To answer the first question, we turn to our <a href="https://www.bushfirehub.org/nsw-bushfire-inquiry-2020/">analyses</a> for the <a href="https://www.nsw.gov.au/nsw-government/projects-and-initiatives/nsw-bushfire-inquiry#toc-published-submissions">NSW Bushfire Inquiry</a>. Following the Black Summer fires, debate emerged about whether hazard reduction burning by fire authorities ahead of the fire season had been sufficient, or whether excessive “fuel loads” – such as dead leaves, bark and shrubs – had been allowed to accumulate. We found no evidence the fires were driven by above-average fuel loads stemming from a lack of planned burning. In fact, hazard reduction burns conducted in the years leading up to the Black Summer fires effectively reduced the probability of high severity fire, and reduced the number of houses destroyed by fire. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440583/original/file-20220113-19-8i5dnj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="remains of homes destroyed by fire" /> Prescribed burning reduced the numbers of homes affected by fire. James Gourley/AAP Instead, we found the fires were primarily driven by record-breaking fuel dryness and extreme weather conditions. These conditions were due to natural climate variability, but made worse by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-020-00065-8">climate change</a>. Most fires were sparked by lightning, and very few were thought to be the result of arson. These extreme weather conditions meant the effectiveness of prescribed burns was reduced – particularly when an area had not burned for more than five years. All this means that hazard reduction burning in NSW is generally effective, however in the face of worsening climate change new policy responses are needed. <h2>Diverse and unexpected impacts</h2> As the Black Summer fires raged, loss of life and property most commonly occurred in regional areas while metropolitan areas were heavily affected by smoke. Smoke exposure from the disaster led to an estimated <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-020-00610-5">429 deaths</a>. Socially disadvantaged and Indigenous populations were disproportionately affected by the fires, including by loss of income, homes and infrastructure, as well as <a href="https://theconversation.com/strength-from-perpetual-grief-how-aboriginal-people-experience-the-bushfire-crisis-129448">emotional trauma</a>. Our <a href="https://www.bushfirehub.org/resources/demographic-characteristics-nsw-inquiry-impacts-on-people-and-property-report/">analyses</a> found 38% of fire-affected areas were among the most disadvantaged, while just 10% were among the least disadvantaged. We also found some areas with relatively large <a href="https://theconversation.com/1-in-10-children-affected-by-bushfires-is-indigenous-weve-been-ignoring-them-for-too-long-135212">Indigenous populations</a> were fire-affected. For example, four fire-affected areas had Indigenous populations greater than 20% including the Grafton, Eurobodalla Hinterland, Armidale and Kempsey regions. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440370/original/file-20220112-17-wxfm5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="Two maps illustrating (a) the index of relative social disadvantage, and (b) the proportion of affected population that was Indigenous (2016 Census)" /> Demographic characteristics of fire-affected communities in NSW. https://doi.org/10.3390/fire4040097 The Black Summer fires burnt an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-0716-1">unprecedentedly large area</a> – half of all wet sclerophyll forests and over a third of rainforest vegetation types in <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/fire4040097">NSW</a>. Importantly, for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.13265">257 plant species</a>, the historical intervals between fires across their range were likely too short to allow effective regeneration. Similarly, many vegetation communities were left vulnerable to too-frequent fire, which may result in biodiversity decline, particularly as the climate changes. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440585/original/file-20220113-27-yqcxil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="green shoot sprouting from burnt trunk" /> Not all plant species can regenerate after too-frequent fire. Darren England/AAP <h2>Looking to the future</h2> So following Black Summer, how do we ensure Australia is better equipped for a future of extreme fire seasons? As a first step, we must act on both the knowledge gained from government inquiries into the disaster, and the recommendations handed down. Importantly, long-term funding commitments are required to support bushfire management, research and innovation. Governments have already increased investment in fire-suppression resources such as <a href="https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/new-weapon-to-fight-aussie-bushfires-kicks-off-service-in-wa/news-story/fa66e567e336164723cae8b98bb3ba8d">water-bombing aircraft</a>. There’s also been increased investment in fire management such as <a href="https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/news-and-media/ministerial-media-releases/further-$268.2-million-responding-to-nsw-bushfire-inquiry-recommendations">improving fire trails</a> and employing additional hazard reduction crews, as well as <a href="https://www.minister.industry.gov.au/ministers/porter/media-releases/world-class-natural-hazards-research-centre">new allocations</a> for research funding. But alongside this, we also need investment in community-led solutions and involvement in bushfire planning and operations. This includes strong engagement between fire authorities and residents in developing strategies for hazard reduction burning, and providing greater support for people to manage fuels on private land. Support should also be available to people who decide to relocate away from high bushfire risk areas. The Black Summer fires led to significant interest in a revival of Indigenous <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-26/cultural-burning-to-protect-from-catastrophic-bushfires/100241046">cultural burning</a> – a practice that brings multiple benefits to people and environment. However, non-Indigenous land managers should not treat cultural burning as simply another hazard reduction technique, but part of a broader practice of Aboriginal-led cultural land management. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440593/original/file-20220113-21-fo43aj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="three figures in smoke-filled forest" /> Indigenous burning is part of a broader practice of Aboriginal-led land management. Josh Whittaker This requires structural and procedural changes in non-Indigenous land management, as well as secure, adequate and ongoing funding opportunities. Greater engagement and partnership with Aboriginal communities at all levels of fire and land management is also needed. Under climate change, living with fire will require a multitude of new solutions and approaches. If we want to be prepared for the next major fire season, we must keep planning and investing in fire management and research – even during wet years such as this one. <hr /> Ross Bradstock, Owen Price, David Bowman, Vanessa Cavanagh, David Keith, Matthias Boer, Hamish Clarke, Trent Penman, Josh Whittaker and many others contributed to the research upon which this article is based.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/174696/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rachael-helene-nolan-179005">Rachael Helene Nolan</a>, Senior research fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/western-sydney-university-1092">Western Sydney University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/grant-williamson-109967">Grant Williamson</a>, Research Fellow in Environmental Science, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-tasmania-888">University of Tasmania</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/katharine-haynes-4467">Katharine Haynes</a>, Honorary Senior Research Fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-wollongong-711">University of Wollongong</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/mark-ooi-1218431">Mark Ooi</a>, Senior Research Fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-1414">UNSW</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/fire-management-in-australia-has-reached-a-crossroads-and-business-as-usual-wont-cut-it-174696">original article</a>. Image: Darren England/AAP

Home Hints & Tips

“That’s hot”: Aussie mum’s $500 investment becomes a $10 million business

Last year, Aussie brand Custom Neon received a voice message on Instagram from celebrity Paris Hilton, telling the signage brand she loved their products and would be keen to work with them. But, co-founder Jess Munday said nothing ever came of it. A year later, the star’s lavish four-day wedding included Kim Kardashian, Demi Lovato, Nicole Richie and custom items from the Geelong-based business. “She asked us to create neon signs for her wedding and it was an awesome opportunity,” Ms Munday told <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/small-business/geelongs-custom-neon-finds-fans-in-paris-hilton-and-elon-musk/news-story/808941847d2bd4f0355f3fbf8eec1668" target="_blank">news.com.au</a>. “She had her wedding over three or four days I think and day two was a carnival themed party and in the party it had one of our neon signs - the biggest one, which said, ‘That’s hot’.” <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CWPq__GveP5/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CWPq__GveP5/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Custom Neon® (@customneon)</a> </div> </blockquote> But the mum-of-two said it hasn’t been the brand’s only brush with celebrity fans. Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of Tesla, posted a neon sign with the phrase ‘cyberviking’ on Twitter - a nod to cryptocurrency dogecoin that quickly went viral. “That tweet went viral and we said that looks like one of our signs and we checked our records and it was created by us,” Ms Munday said. “He got it delivered to a place in California, which is very exciting.” <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> How much is that Doge in the window? <a href="https://t.co/bxTkWOr50V">pic.twitter.com/bxTkWOr50V</a> — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1395328697436033032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2021</a></blockquote> Initially, Ms Munday started Custom Neon as a side hustle with her husband in 2018, while the couple were expecting their first child. “We were decorating my son’s nursery and my husband wanted to get a neon sign with the baby’s name and we looked around and couldn’t find one that was affordable and the process wasn’t easy to get a custom-made design,” she recalled. “He had seen it on Pinterest and he thought it was cool that you could get your son’s name and at the time having a baby and revealing the name is a big deal, so there was excitement of the baby coming and wanting something cool for the nursery.” The couple then found a supplier to make the sign, as well as a few for their upcoming wedding. Soon, they were renting out their wedding signs via Instagram, and began fielding inquiries for custom pieces from up to 20 businesses and individuals each week. Their $500 investment in their first few signs has since grown into a $10 million business in just three years, with Ms Munday saying the business is on track for a turnover of $18 million by the end of the 2021-22 financial year. She said Custom Neon has been a “whirlwind” journey and a far cry from her job in HR prior to taking maternity leave. During the last three years, the 32-year-old said there have been some interesting requests for signs, including people asking for pictures of themselves or their pet dogs as neon signs. Their signs have also made appearances on The Block, as well as inside a range of restaurants, bars and other businesses around the world. Though business from events dried up during the pandemic, Ms Munday said 70 percent of their orders now come from business signage, and that 60 percent of orders come from the US. “It’s such a huge part now and such a large country so there is much opportunity for growth,” she added. “We are planning to expand further into the US and set up our own manufacturing there in the next year. We also just secured an office in LA and have five people starting.” With such rapid growth already, this small business looks like it will have a bright, neon-lit future. Images: Jess Munday (Facebook) / @customneon (Instagram)

Money & Banking

Mum turns tidy profit selling kids’ homewares

When Eleanor Cullen went on maternity leave before the birth of her first child, she was bombarded by kids’ homewares solely decorated with TV characters and Disney princesses. The Melbourne designer decided to take matters into her own hands to make her own placemats for her newborn son, sinking $15,000 from the family’s savings into the venture. After putting the design up on <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/wemightbetiny/?hl=en" target="_blank">Instagram</a> at the end of 2015, she said it “went crazy”. The widely popular placemat has since led her to launch her own business called We Might Be Tiny, which now stocks more than 32 products featuring a bear, bunny and cat: a signature part of her brand. “I love animals and cute things and it’s all from my childhood, so it's things I have loved as a child,” she told <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/small-business/melbournes-we-might-be-tiny-rakes-in-4m-from-stylish-childrens-homewares/news-story/e78097f144a85356ff81f9dc45dd8e03" target="_blank">news.com.au</a>. “The products are then centered around the bear, bunny and cat theme and become iconic to the brand.” <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CRYi0xCg9sF/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CRYi0xCg9sF/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by MINIMALIST TABLEWARE FOR KIDS (@wemightbetiny)</a> </div> </blockquote> “I then designed some snack boxes in a similar shape to the bear, bunny and cat, divided plates that suction to the table, suctioned bowls, cutlery sets and moved into kitchenware. So there’s icy pole moulds and freezer moulds and I was working with silicone as it’s a great material for kitchenware as well.” Her bestselling products have been the suctioned plates, with 50,000 being sold for $29 to $32 since she launched the business. The 42-year-old said her designs appeal to parents wanting a “minimalist” look. Her placemats have also been so popular among parents that she has even made adult versions. “Rather than having characters like P J Masks or Disney princesses printed on tableware it’s a neutral palette and that kind of thing appeals to mums,” she said. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CRV4xoGJW6W/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CRV4xoGJW6W/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by MINIMALIST TABLEWARE FOR KIDS (@wemightbetiny)</a> </div> </blockquote> Her side hustle has gone from making Ms Cullen $100,000 in her first year to nearly $4 million six years later. “It was a hobby. I wanted to earn a bit more money and pay off our mortgage and what happened was I ended up selling out and making the money I invested back in one month,” she revealed. “I haven’t had to reinvest our own money, I am just reinvesting the profits.” The mother-of-two has credited the pandemic for the boost in sales, as people started eating at home with their kids more. She also launched a new product in February called Stampies, which was around the time parents began looking for new ways to entertain their kids. The cookie stamp set features cute animal designs, and Ms Cullen says it can be used for baking or playing with playdough. Since her business started, Ms Cullen has seen a huge growth in competitors offering similar silicone products. But, she says hers stand out since they are made from scratch, rather than being “stock standard products that are templated from a factory” with a competitor’s label stuck on the front. Looking to the future, Ms Cullen said she is looking to start creating products for kid’s play. “I’ve got a bath book and some bath toys made from the material silicone, which means it’s dishwasher safe and lends itself to bath toys being thrown into the dishwasher so they are not going to get mouldy,” she said. She added that sensory toys, such as teethers and textured toys, would also be rolled out by the end of the year. Image: We Might Be Tiny (Facebook)

Money & Banking

Big-business greenwash or a climate saviour? Carbon offsets raise tricky moral questions

Massive protests unfolded in Glasgow outside the United Nations climate summit <a href="https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2021/11/net-zero-is-not-zero-carbon-offsetting-focus-at-cop26-under-criticism/">last week</a>, with some activists <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/cop26/cop26-indigenous-carbon-protests-video-v417423df">denouncing</a> a proposal to expand the use of a controversial climate action measure to meet net-zero targets: carbon offsetting. Offsetting <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-cant-stabilise-the-climate-without-carbon-offsets-so-how-do-we-make-them-work-169355">refers to</a> reducing emissions or removing carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere in one place to balance emissions made in another. So far, more than 130 countries have committed to the net zero by 2050 goal, but none is proposing to be completely emissions free by that date – all are relying on forms of offsetting. The use of offsets in meeting climate obligations has been <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/international/press-release/50429/offsets-taskforce-hit-protests-cop26/">rejected by climate activists</a> as a “scam”. Swedish climate campaigner <a href="https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/status/1455904676227002375?s=20">Greta Thunberg</a>, joining the protesters, claimed relying on buying offsets to cut emissions would give polluters “a free pass to keep polluting”. Others, however, argue offsetting has a legitimate role to play in our transition to a low-carbon future. A <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/towards-net-zero-practical-policies-to-offset-carbon-emissions/">recent report</a> by Australia’s Grattan Institute, for example, claimed that done <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-cant-stabilise-the-climate-without-carbon-offsets-so-how-do-we-make-them-work-169355">with integrity</a>, carbon offsets will be crucial to reaching net zero in sectors such as agriculture and aviation, for which full elimination of emissions is infeasible. So who’s in the right? We think the answer depends on the kind of offsetting that is being employed. Some forms of offsetting can be a legitimate way of helping to reach net zero, while others are morally dubious. <h2>Climate change as a moral issue</h2> The debate over offsetting is part of a key agenda item for COP26 – establishing the rules for global carbon trading, <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/as-cop26-climate-summit-continues-attention-turns-to-carbon-markets/">known as Article 6</a> of the Paris Agreement. The trading scheme will allow countries to purchase emissions reductions from overseas to count towards their own climate action. To examine carbon offsetting in a moral context, we should first remember what makes our contributions to CO₂ emissions morally problematic. <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pHLVDlb6rCU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> The emissions from human activity increase the risks of <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar3/wg2/chapter-1-overview-of-impacts-adaptation-and-vulnerability-to-climate-change/">climate change-related harms</a> such as dangerous weather events – storms, fires, floods, heatwaves, and droughts – and the prevalence of serious diseases and malnutrition. The more we humans emit, the more we contribute to global warming, and the greater the risks of harm to the most vulnerable people. Climate change is a moral issue because of the question this invites on behalf of those people: <blockquote> Why are you adding to global warming, when it risks harming us severely? </blockquote> Not having a good answer to that question is what makes our contribution to climate change seriously wrong. <h2>The two ways to offset emissions</h2> The moral case in favour of offsetting is it gives us an answer to that question. If we can match our emissions with a corresponding amount of offsetting, then can’t we say we’re making no net addition to global warming, and therefore imposing no risk of harm on anyone? Well, that depends on what kind of offsetting we’re doing. Offsetting comes in two forms, which are morally quite different. The first kind of offsetting involves removing CO₂ from the atmosphere. Planting trees or other vegetation is one way of doing this, provided the CO₂ that’s removed does not then re-enter the atmosphere later, for example as a result of deforestation. Another way would be through the development of <a href="https://eciu.net/analysis/briefings/net-zero/negative-emissions-why-what-how">negative emissions technologies</a>, which envisage ways to extract CO₂ from the atmosphere and store it permanently. The second form is offsetting by paying for emissions reduction. This involves ensuring someone else puts less CO₂ into the atmosphere than they otherwise would have. For example, one company might pay another company to reduce its emissions, with the first claiming this reduction as an offset against its own emissions. Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator issues <a href="http://www.cleanenergyregulator.gov.au/OSR/ANREU/types-of-emissions-units/australian-carbon-credit-units">Australian Carbon Credit Units</a> for “eligible offsets projects”. These include for projects of offsetting by emissions reduction. The regulator certifies that a company, for example, installing more efficient technology “deliver abatement that is additional to what would occur in the absence of the project”. Another company whose activities send CO₂ into the atmosphere, such as a coal-fired power station, can then buy these credits to offset its emissions. <h2>So what’s the problem?</h2> There is a crucial difference between these <a href="https://www.offsetguide.org/understanding-carbon-offsets/what-is-a-carbon-offset/">two forms of offsetting</a>. When you offset in the first way – taking as much CO₂ out of the atmosphere as you put in – you can indeed say you’re not adding to global warming. That’s not to say even this form of offsetting is problem-free. It’s crucial such offsets are properly validated and are part of a transition plan to cleaner energy generation compatible with everyone reaching net zero together. Tree-planting cannot be a complete solution, because we could simply <a href="https://theconversation.com/there-arent-enough-trees-in-the-world-to-offset-societys-carbon-emissions-and-there-never-will-be-158181">run out of places</a> to plant them. But when you offset in the second way, you cannot say you’re not adding to global warming at all. What you’re doing is paying someone else not to add to global warming, while adding to it yourself. The difference between the two forms of offsetting is like the difference between a mining company releasing mercury into the groundwater while simultaneously cleaning the water to restore the mercury concentration to safe levels, and a mining company paying another not to release mercury into the groundwater and then doing so itself. The first can be a legitimate way of negating the risk you impose. The second is a way of imposing risk in someone else’s stead. Let’s use a few simple analogies to illustrate this further. In morality and law, we cannot justify injuring someone by claiming we had previously paid someone who was about to injure that same person not to do so. The same is true when it comes to the imposition of risk. If I take a high speed joyride through a heavily populated area, I cannot claim I pose no risk on people nearby simply because I had earlier paid my neighbour not to take a joyride along the same route. Had I not induced my neighbour not to take the joyride, he would’ve had to answer for the risk he imposed. When I do so in his place, I am the one who must answer for that risk. In our desperate attempt to stop the world warming beyond the internationally agreed limit of 1.5℃, we need to encourage whatever reduces the climate impacts of human activity. If selling carbon credits is an effective way to achieve this, we should do it, creating incentives for emissions reductions as well as emissions removals. What we cannot do is claim that inducing others to reduce emissions gives us a moral license to emit in their place.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171295/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/christian-barry-14000">Christian Barry</a>, Professor of Philosophy at the ANU, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-national-university-877">Australian National University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/garrett-cullity-1287732">Garrett Cullity</a>, Professor, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-national-university-877">Australian National University</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/big-business-greenwash-or-a-climate-saviour-carbon-offsets-raise-tricky-moral-questions-171295">original article</a>. Image: EPA/Robert Perry

International Travel

Prince Charles implores big business to help us ‘go green’

Prince Charles has made an impassioned plea to global business leaders, imploring them to help us ‘go green’, following huge bushfires that recently ripped through Greece as well as unprecedented storms in Haiti. The prince wrote this call to business leaders in the Daily Mail, saying businesses with money have a critical role to play, and that if we unlock this private sector investment, we could bring about a 'game-changing green transition'. Talking about the devastating bushfires in his beloved Greece, Prince Charles wrote the scenes of these fires have been 'terrifying' and 'the stuff of nightmares'. He tells of his heartbreak at seeing the land where his father and grandfather were born being 'swallowed up by ferocious flames' and warns that 'time is rapidly running out'. 'We now have no alternative,’ he writes, ‘… we have to do all we possibly can in the short time left to us to avoid the enormous climate catastrophe that has already begun to show its face in the most terrifying ways.’ We have time left, ‘but only just’ Prince Charles writes, there is time to address the crisis, 'but only just'. The prince wants leading companies to sign up to his 'Terra Carta', a charter which commits them to putting sustainability at the heart of all their business activities. More than 400 have so far, but Charles warns the crisis is 'monumental' and can be tackled only by big business and governments working together. Warning that weather-related disasters should serve as a wake-up call, the prince writes: 'We have been in the 'last chance saloon' for too long already, so if we do not confront the monumental challenge head on - and fast - we and the world as we know it will be done for.' <img class="post_image_group" src="https://over60.monday.com/protected_static/657795/resources/279481326/big-Bushfires%20in%20Greece%20UM.jpg" alt="" data-asset_id="279481326" data-url-thumb="https://over60.monday.com/protected_static/657795/resources/279481326/thumb-Bushfires%20in%20Greece%20UM.jpg" data-url-thumb-small="https://over60.monday.com/protected_static/657795/resources/279481326/thumb_small-Bushfires%20in%20Greece%20UM.jpg" data-url-thumb-big-scaled="https://over60.monday.com/protected_static/657795/resources/279481326/thumb_big_scaled-Bushfires%20in%20Greece%20UM.jpg" data-url-large="https://over60.monday.com/protected_static/657795/resources/279481326/large-Bushfires%20in%20Greece%20UM.jpg" data-url-big="https://over60.monday.com/protected_static/657795/resources/279481326/big-Bushfires%20in%20Greece%20UM.jpg" data-url-original="https://over60.monday.com/protected_static/657795/resources/279481326/Bushfires%20in%20Greece%20UM.jpg" data-filename="Bushfires in Greece UM.jpg" data-is-gif="false" data-post-id="1129824677" /><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7843343/bushfires-in-greece-um.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/b62701f2e6ec4bf6aa76d00c19998c81" /> This call to big business is significant While Prince Charles has been vocal about climate change before, this challenge to big business is a significant intervention from his previous actions. It comes in the wake of a stark report from the United Nations' panel on climate change earlier this month which warned of unprecedented global warming and which was described as a 'code red' moment for humanity. On 31st October to the 12 November, Britain will host <a rel="noopener" href="mailto:https://ukcop26.org/" target="_blank">COP26, the UN's climate change conference</a>, in Glasgow, which is seen by some as one of the last chances for major nations to agree an approach to prevent potentially catastrophic global warming. Prince Charles has been a pioneer in highlighting environmental issues. Last year, he launched the Sustainable Markets Initiative at the World Economic Forum in Davos in a bid to accelerate global progress on sustainability. The 'Terra Carta' is one of its flagship initiatives. It aims to provide a roadmap for businesses to move towards an ambitious and sustainable future by 2030. Its concept is based on the 1215 Magna Carta, and aimed at holding major companies accountable for helping to protect the planet. In today's article for the Daily Mail, the prince says we have been 'testing our world to destruction' and it is now up to all of us to get involved to combat climate change. The prince also made a significant private donation to the Hellenic Red Cross recently to help assist its humanitarian response to the residents of the fire-stricken areas in Greece. The prince opened his story in the Daily Mail with these words: Owing to family connections, I have always felt a particular fascination and affection for Greece. Apart from the allure of her landscapes, history and culture, both my father and grandfather were born there, which is why I was so touched to be invited earlier this year to celebrate the bicentenary of the country's independence. Now, five months later, it has been heartbreaking to see the devastating fires affecting Greece, Turkey, and now Italy which has just recorded Europe's highest ever temperature. And he ended his story with this heartfelt call to action: This is why COP26 is so crucially important for our very survival on this increasingly over-heating planet – something our children and grandchildren are rightly and deeply concerned about. The 'coalition of the willing' joins me in hoping that the conference will deliver the transformational decisions and the roadmap for change for which our planet is crying out. We now have no alternative – we have to do all we possibly can in the short time left to us to avoid the enormous climate catastrophe that has already begun to show its face in the most terrifying ways, most recently in the Mediterranean. World leaders, working closely with the private sector, have the power to make the difference. COP26 affords them an opportunity to do so before it is finally too late. Photo: Getty Images

Home & Garden

How two Adelaide mates were inspired by their pets to create a multi-million dollar business

In 2019, tradie Jye de Zylva noticed this pet kelpie was out of sorts. His dog was significantly stressed, and sometimes even missing, when his owner would return home each day from the job site. Jye teamed up with his mate and entrepreneur Davie Fogarty, and the pair created an innovative line of dog beds aimed at calming anxiety and stress in their furry friends. The 26-year-olds founded Pupnaps, which is the first of its kind and is largely inspired by a unique circular design. “The first design we settled on was one that kind of emulates a dog curling up in their mother’s womb,” Jye told NCA NewsWire. “It’s a really common way for dogs to sleep and it gives them comfort.” The company saw a flood of success and regularly surpasses $1million in monthly sales from selling 4,000 beds a week. Jye said the success of the company took them both by surprise. “It took us probably six to seven months and we did our first million-dollar month, which was really exciting in terms of the success and what it meant.” He said, “It was something that I didn't really expect in my wildest dreams; coming from being a chippie only six or eight months before that.” The Pupnaps line included four different dog beds: the original dog calming bed, as well as an orthopaedic memory foam bed, an orthopaedic floor rug and a calming furniture couch. Jye is a firm believer that the success of the company was aided by the pandemic, and pets having increased anxiety after their owners returned to offices for work. “Anxiety can really impact a dog’s quality of life, not to mention the guilt and fear that owners have whenever they need to leave their pets alone,” Mr de Zylva said. “It’s really rewarding to create a product that has been successful but also one that is helping dogs and their owners to live better lives.” Image credits: Instagram @pupnapsofficial

Technology

Queen Elizabeth’s latest business venture has ruffled feathers

If there is one thing Her Majesty enjoys after a long day, it’s a daily tipple of gin. So, it is of no surprise to many eagle-eyed royal fans when Sandringham Estate launched its very own range. Her A-list competitor, Ryan Reynolds, who has his own line of the beverage, has had a hilarious reaction to the news. <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7839033/queen-elizabeth-gin-ryan-reynolds-3.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/b3625a94bddb48a9be32e4253617ff73" /> News of the <a rel="noopener" href="https://sandringham-estate.sumup.link/sandringham-gin#&gid=null&pid=1" target="_blank" title="">Sandringham Gin</a> was tweeted about by magazine Marie Claire over the weekend, who wrote: "The Queen just pulled a Ryan Reynolds and launched her own gin" The actor responded: "If she imposes a Gin Tax, I promise a revolution. Reynolds' company Aviation Gin also threw in their own joke by saying the royal announcement was not what the Canadian had envisaged for 2020. "Surprisingly this was on @VancityReynolds 2020 Bingo Card," they wrote. While it may seem like the royal is stiff competition, it turns out Reynolds has little to worry about as the 700ml and the 500ml bottles of Gin that Sandringham is offering, cannot be shipped internationally.

Food & Wine

Coronavirus: Your guide to winners and losers in the business world

As we adjust to life with the new coronavirus around us, our behaviours and habits are quickly changing. What will be the impact of these changes on the organisations and industries around us? We broadly see three business categories: <ul> <li>The winners: sectors that will benefit;</li> <li>The losers: sectors that will suffer;</li> <li>The inbetweeners: sectors that could go either way depending on how they respond.</li> </ul> The third category is the most interesting, as actions they take now will move them into one of the first two categories. Let’s look at each in turn. The winners These sectors have found themselves serendipitously on the right side of history. By applying a basic level of competence, they should thrive. The natural strategy for these companies is to aggressively invest in opportunities and growth. Ecommerce marketplaces People are moving online to do their shopping. Already, Amazon <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/16/amazon-to-hire-100000-warehouse-and-delivery-workers.html">is adding</a> 100,000 new jobs to manage the extra demand. Some other marketplaces are struggling to add capacity. For example, online grocer Ocado <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51941987">has suspended</a> new orders until it can clear its backlog of deliveries. Some marketplaces are turning to technology for help. Chinese ecommerce giant JD.com <a href="https://technode.com/2020/02/07/jd-completes-first-unmanned-delivery-for-coronavirus-aid-in-wuhan/">is using</a> unmanned vehicles to deliver food and medical supplies in Wuhan. Pharmaceuticals Pharmaceutical companies are inevitably playing a large role in the crisis. Gilead, which owns the rights to treatment drug Remdesivir; Moderna, actively working on a vaccine; Roche, a major supplier of testing kits; and Fujifilm, with existing treatment drug Avigan, are all poised to benefit. Logistics/delivery As people around the world are blocked from leaving their homes, products and services will need to be delivered. Cainiao, Alibaba Group’s logistics arm, launched the <a href="https://www.alizila.com/cainiao-green-channel-speeds-medical-supply-delivery-coronavirus/">Green Channel initiative</a> on January 25 in response to the increased demand for protective clothing and medical supplies, especially for front-line medical staff in Hubei province. In just nine days, Cainiao received more than 7,000 calls and shipped over 5 million medical products to Wuhan and neighbouring cities. Meanwhile, UK food delivery app Deliveroo has <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/deliveroo">launched a</a> “no-contact drop-off service”. This provides restaurants with additional packaging and seals for orders to be left on customers’ doorsteps. Video conferencing Videoconferencing start-up Zoom has benefited massively. The <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/03/04/zooms-q4-earnings-crush-estimates.aspx">company’s sales</a> and <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/ZM/">share price</a> are already up over 50% in 2020. <a href="https://blog.node4.co.uk/blog/the-rise-and-rise-of-cisco-webex">Webex</a> from Cisco and <a href="https://news.microsoft.com/2020/02/26/microsoft-update-on-q3-fy20-guidance/">Skype and Teams</a> from Microsoft are also seeing major upticks in sales. Most are offering special deals for their conferencing services during the outbreak. Entertainment streaming and gaming Platforms like <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2020/03/13/will-coronavirus-really-help-or-hurt-netflix-stock/#313202d922aa">Netflix</a>, <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/product-recommendations/lifestyle/hidden-amazon-prime-features-967087/">Amazon Prime video</a>, and <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/02/28/how-coronavirus-benefits-netflix-and-other-in-home-services/">Disney+</a> all report increased viewership. Online gaming platforms <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/13/intl_business/gaming-china-coronavirus/index.html">are also experiencing</a> record volumes. The losers For the losers, their managements will need a Herculean effort to pull them through the crisis. Even if they succeed, many will be seriously damaged. The natural strategy in these sectors will be to cut costs, de-risk operations and be ready to return when conditions improve. Airlines, trains and cruise ships The global airline industry <a href="https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3075730/global-airline-industry-needs-aid-us200-billion-survive">has said it will need</a> up to US$200 billion (£171 billion) in emergency support, and Boeing <a href="https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/transport/boeing-calls-for-us60b-lifeline-for-us-aerospace-industry">has called for</a> US$60 billion (£51 billion) in assistance for aerospace manufacturers as the international travel industry bleeds cash. Norwegian <a href="https://media.uk.norwegian.com/pressreleases/norwegian-to-cancel-85-percent-of-its-flights-and-temporarily-layoff-approximately-7300-colleagues-2982294">has already cut</a> 85% of its routes and laid off 90% of its staff. Virgin Atlantic <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/transportation/487852-virgin-atlantic-reducing-flights-by-80-percent-asking-staff-to-take">intends to</a> park up to 85% of its fleet during the month of April and is asking staff to take up to eight weeks unpaid leave over the next three months to avert job losses. IAG, parent company of British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Level and Vueling, <a href="https://www.businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2020/03/16/willie-walsh-to-delay-retirement-as-iag-sets-out-coronavirus-response/">will cut capacity</a> by 75% in April and May, while the Air France-KLM group <a href="https://www.businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2020/03/16/coronavirus-air-france-klm-to-cut-capacity-by-up-to-90-per-cent/">is set to</a> cut capacity by between 80% and 90%. Most cruise ship operators <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/articles/cruise-lines-suspending-operations-over-coronavirus/">have ceased</a> operations, and bankruptcy is likely for some. Tourism The US Travel Association <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/transportation/488063-tourism-industry-predicts-46-million-travel-related">is projecting</a> that close to 5 million travel-related American jobs will be lost. This is more than 25% of the 15.8 million Americans who work in the sector. The situation is equally dire elsewhere. For example, <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/france-ski-resorts-close-coronavirus/">all ski resorts</a> in Italy, France, Austria and Switzerland are effectively closed for the season. Oil and gas On January 1, a barrel of crude oil sold for US$67.05 on New York’s NASDAQ exchange. At the time of writing, it was <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cmjpj223708t/oil">trading at</a> around US$26 per barrel. So companies’ oil reserves are worth less than half that of the start of the year. The value of giants like BP reflects this – on March 19, it <a href="https://www.hl.co.uk/shares/shares-search-results/b/bp-plc-ordinary-us%240.25">was worth 51%</a> of what it was at the start of January. <a href="https://www.iea.org/news/global-oil-demand-to-decline-in-2020-as-coronavirus-weighs-heavily-on-markets">According to</a> the International Energy Agency, global oil demand is set for its first annual drop since 2009. Contrast this with the agency’s <a href="https://www.offshore-technology.com/news/opec-cuts-oil-price-russia-summit/">February prediction</a>, when it expected annual growth of 825,000 barrels per day. Investment banking Hundreds of London and New York investment bankers are set to lose their jobs amid a slump in deal-making. Shares of leading US banks <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=JPM">JPMorgan Chase</a>, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=BAC">Bank of America</a> and <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=C">Citigroup</a> are all down more than 30% from January highs. <a href="https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/bankers-set-to-lose-jobs-as-ma-activity-tumbles-on-coronavirus-fears-20200316">Financial News</a> spoke to senior London investment bankers who predicted a drop in fees of up to 50% in the first six months of 2020. That would mean around <a href="https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/bankers-set-to-lose-jobs-as-ma-activity-tumbles-on-coronavirus-fears-20200316">US$10.7 billion (£9 billion)</a> in lost revenues across equity deals – the worst first half of a year since 2009. Traditional retail With people confined to their homes, there isn’t much point keeping traditional retail stores open. The largest US mall owner, Simon Property Group, <a href="https://eu.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/03/18/coronavirus-mall-closings-simon-closing-malls-starting-wednesday/2867904001/">announced on</a> March 18 that it would close all its malls across the country. Similar decisions have been made across Europe and Asia. Apart from grocers and pharmacies, it will take a long time for traditional retail to recover. Professional sports and entertainment Italy, Europe’s worst-hit country, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/51605235">cancelled</a> all sporting events until at least April 3. <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/20200313-sporting-events-around-the-world-cancelled-due-to-coronavirus">France</a>, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51853524">Spain</a>, <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-chaos-forces-widespread-sporting-cancelations/a-52328912">Germany</a> and <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/0/coronavirus-cancelled-premier-league-six-nations-london-marathon-2020-postponed/">the UK</a> quickly followed suit. This year’s Copa America and Euro 2020 football tournaments <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/sports/euro-2020-postponed.html">have been postponed</a> until 2021. North America’s Major League Soccer, the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/sports/coronavirus-sports.html">have suspended</a> their seasons, and restricted locker room access to players and “essential staff” only. The African Nations Championship 2020 soccer tournament scheduled for April in Cameroon <a href="https://nationalpost.com/pmn/health-pmn/african-nations-championship-2020-postponed-due-to-coronavirus">has been postponed</a> indefinitely. Long cancellations mean major losses for sports channels and the traditional cable TV ecosystem, as live sports has kept millions of viewers from cutting the cord on cable. Cinemas Analysts <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/film-industry-facing-5-billion-loss-coronavirus-outbreak-1282038">predict that</a> the global film industry is facing a US$5 billion (£4.2 billion) loss from diminished box office revenues and production restrictions. That could grow if more countries force people to remain at home or order public space to close. The inbetweeners These sectors will probably struggle if they continue as is. Many companies will fail, though a few will adapt their business models to take advantage of new and emerging opportunities. In some cases, this will build a solid foundation for continued success. Banking Most banks will lose money as individuals and businesses struggle to pay back loans. If the world economy enters a recession, which <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/16/economy/global-recession-coronavirus/index.html">seems very likely</a>, the market for financial products will also fall. Banks can, however, generate goodwill with businesses that need assistance, and create relationships with new customers. Several UK incumbents, including Barclays, Santander and RBS, <a href="https://e.businessinsider.com/click/19644859.4/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudGhlZ3VhcmRpYW4uY29tL3dvcmxkLzIwMjAvbWFyLzAzL2JhbmtzLWlzc3VlLWVtZXJnZW5jeS1sb2Fucy10by1maXJtcy1oaXQtYnktY29yb25hdmlydXMtY3Jpc2lz/5d233c18f730436f2414784fBec4debd6">are already</a> offering emergency loans and overdrafts to at-risk business customers. Many consumers will need temporary solutions, which could yield a spike in demand for small and medium-sized loans. Healthcare Some players in this sector emerge with new ideas that could improve healthcare. Others will be pushed past breaking point and will never return. Chinese digital firm Baidu is among those that has been quick to innovative. It <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/04/coronavirus-china-alibaba-tencent-baidu-boost-health-tech-efforts.html">launched a</a> Fight Pneumonia app to help the public get accurate and useful information about the epidemic in real time. It is also offering its online medical advice platform free to users seeking COVID-19 consultations. This has seen over 100,000 doctors across China responding to tens of millions of inquiries. Baidu has also released an intelligent healthcare unit that responds to common questions through a conversational chatbot. This so-called “call bot” makes automated phone calls to ask people about their recent travels, health condition and contacts. Manufacturing Many manufacturers will struggle as the goods they produce are no longer in demand, but more agile operators will shift to making different products. For example, Chinese car manufacturer BYD <a href="https://www.energylivenews.com/2020/03/20/chinese-ev-maker-byd-builds-worlds-biggest-coronavirus-face-mask-factory/">has opened up</a> production lines for surgical masks and hand sanitisers. It was one of 2,500 Chinese companies to respond to a <a href="https://www.inkstonenews.com/business/coronavirus-china-ramps-mask-production-and-reminds-world-it-manufacturing-king/article/3074900">call from</a> President Xi Jinping for a “people’s war” against the virus. GM, Ford and Tesla are <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/19/business/ford-gm-ventilators-coronavirus/index.html">talking about</a> producing ventilators. LVMH, the French luxury goods company behind Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Givenchy, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/15/perfume-giant-lvmh-to-make-hand-sanitiser-to-give-to-french-hospitals">is also shifting</a> to produce hand sanitisers, and aims to make 12 tonnes within the first week of production. LVMH is giving the product to French authorities to distribute at hospitals at no charge. Education Most schools, universities and private education providers have closed their doors, but not necessarily their operations. As more and more people are confined to their homes, there is a golden opportunity for education institutions to expand the scale and scope of their operations online. In China, Kuaishou, a social video platform valued at US$28 billion (£23.5 billion), has <a href="https://hbr.org/2020/03/how-chinese-companies-have-responded-to-coronavirus">promoted online education offerings</a> to compensate for school and university closures. The company and other video platforms have partnered with the ministry of education to open a national online cloud classroom to serve students. Zhejiang University, one of China’s leading universities, officially started online teaching on February 24 in line with the term calendar. This covers all ZJU students, although many courses are open to learners worldwide. Two weeks in, the university was offering more than <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/coronavirus-china-the-challenges-of-online-learning-for-universities/">5,000 courses</a>. 2,500 graduate students are expected to defend their theses in the spring, and will also be able to do an online oral defence to graduate as planned.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/134205/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/michael-wade-445001">Michael Wade</a>, Professor of Innovation and Strategy, Cisco Chair in Digital Business Transformation, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/international-institute-for-management-development-imd-3333">International Institute for Management Development (IMD)</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-your-guide-to-winners-and-losers-in-the-business-world-134205">original article</a>.

Retirement Income

Why we think businesses are out to get us

Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, made headlines in the U.K. for <a href="https://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/speaking-and-writing/speeches/archbishop-canterburys-speech-tuc">his speech</a> at the Trades Union Congress conference in Manchester, England. His remarks were forcefully pro-union and strongly disapproving of corporations, the profit motive and the wealthy. He singled out Amazon for not paying their fair share of taxes in the U.K. and the gig economy as a “reincarnation of an ancient evil.” To the archbishop, capitalism, with its pursuit of profit and inequality of outcomes, is inherently immoral. Other religious leaders have, over the years, made similar points. In 2015, Pope Francis <a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/world/dung-of-the-devil-pope-francis-denounces-capitalism-greed-and-the-pursuit-of-money">denounced capitalism</a> and the pursuit of money and, in 2008, the then-archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, wrote an article for a British magazine <a href="https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2012/03/from-the-archives-rowan-williams-on-capitalism-and-idolatry/">criticizing capitalism</a> in the wake of the financial crisis. Such negative views of business and profit are hardly uncommon. A recent article in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology documented widespread <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2017-31434-001.html">anti-profit beliefs</a>. In my research with some of my graduate students, I have found that people often take a dim view of businesses, interpreting many different actions —such as a <a href="http://acrwebsite.org/volumes/1010014/volumes/v39/NA-39">small price increase</a> or a <a href="http://tinyurl.com/ybptgtra">product recommendation</a> — as an attempt to take advantage of consumers. <h2>Viewed as conscious entities</h2> But what underlies these views? Why is business and the pursuit of profit so maligned? We think the answer lies, in part, in how people view firms and the resulting inferences they draw from the attempts of these firms to make a profit. To the first point, people seem to view companies as conscious entities — as living, breathing organisms with thoughts, feelings, intentions and motives. <a href="https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/06/15/do-corporations-have-minds/">Research using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanners</a> has found that patterns of neural responses when considering other people’s mental states (<a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/socioemotional-success/201707/theory-mind-understanding-others-in-social-world">the parts of the brain involved in “theory of mind”</a>) are indistinguishable from the pattern of responses when considering the behaviour of organizations. What this means is that people are likely to attribute distinctly human motives to business actions that are the product of entirely different processes. In addition to viewing companies as people, consumers often view their transactions with firms as zero-sum — like sharing a pie, where more for one person means less for the other. This means that when companies are perceived to be making a profit, that profit is viewed as coming at the expense of customers. <h2>Distrust of profitable firms</h2> This is where profiting becomes problematic. Because we mentally view firms as people, this is seen as a wilful act — a deliberate attempt to take advantage of customers — and it violates an important norm of interpersonal conduct, a moral norm even, that forbids benefiting at another’s expense. We have found that a wide range of actions by businesses appears to be interpreted in this light: price increases, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002243591100090X">discounts for other people</a>, product recommendations and even advertisements. Even when people don’t buy goods or services from a company, and therefore no profit is made, perceptions that a firm tried to profit lead to negative responses. <h2>Even sales clerks are suspect</h2> In one extreme example, we found that even when a salesperson recommended the cheaper of two alternatives, customers still assumed it was to benefit at their expense. Our research has not yet investigated how firms can mitigate such reactions or whether they even can. If our results are anything to go by, some readers may think that these are legitimate reactions that should not be curtailed. However, we would point out that a purchase is a consumer decision. No company is forcing consumers to buy their products against their will. What’s more, businesses bear the burden of the risk in offering products for consumers’ consideration; the products that they make available to us are often a tremendous source of value in our lives; and, ultimately, the only reason companies develop and offer such products is to make a profit. Otherwise, what would be the point of going into business?<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103977/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> Written by Laurence Ashworth, Associate Professor, Marketing, Queen's University, Ontario. Republished with permission of <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/why-we-think-businesses-are-out-to-get-us-103977" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.

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Coronavirus: Your guide to winners and losers in the business world

Why we think businesses are out to get us

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"You've been bumped": Vietnam vet slams Qantas for booting him from business class

"Too busy marching": Debate rages over fiery Anzac Day post

Rod Stewart's ultimate surprise for like-minded hobbyists

Salon owner loses $40,000 from one $60 deposit

Just 25% of businesses are insured against cyber attacks. Here’s why

Locals rally after 12-year-old has business shut down

9 tips for starting a business

"Stop slapping him!": Carriage horse collapses in busy street

Business class traveller “shocked” at meal

Want to cut your chance of catching COVID on a plane? Wear a mask and avoid business class

Crown Princess Mary’s trip to Bangladesh

Fire management in Australia has reached a crossroads and ‘business as usual’ won’t cut it

“That’s hot”: Aussie mum’s $500 investment becomes a $10 million business

Mum turns tidy profit selling kids’ homewares

Big-business greenwash or a climate saviour? Carbon offsets raise tricky moral questions

Prince Charles implores big business to help us ‘go green’

How two Adelaide mates were inspired by their pets to create a multi-million dollar business

Queen Elizabeth’s latest business venture has ruffled feathers

Coronavirus: Your guide to winners and losers in the business world

Why we think businesses are out to get us

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