UK: Low taxes and levelling up: the great freeport experiment comes to Teesside
There is demolition work at every turn on Teesside, from the increasingly regular explosions heard across Redcar, as the old steelworks is blasted to pieces, to the cranes taking down nearby Wilton International’s coal-fired power plant.
“The site has seen better days,” said Andy Koss of Sembcorp Industries, which manages the Wilton International complex. “For the region as a whole it has been a tough time, with the gradual erosion of industry at Wilton. And then the closure of the steelworks was a massive blow.”
On what is Europe’s largest brownfield site, work is gathering pace as Teesside prepares for the launch of the government’s new freeport, with hopes that the designation as a low-tax special economic zone will reboot the local economy.
With 11 sites planned across the UK, offering tax breaks and streamlined customs for businesses, freeports are a pet project for Rishi Sunak; the chancellor is selling them as a key advantage of Brexit and central to the Tories’ “levelling-up” agenda.
For the first of the sites to open – Teesside, Humber and Thames – tax cuts worth millions of pounds will be enabled by legislation on Friday. However, the jury is still out on whether freeports will generate the boost the chancellor promises.
On Teesside, there are hopes for as many as 18,000 new jobs, alongside benefits for the economy worth £3.2bn over the coming years. At Wilton, according to Koss, the looming launch date had brought a flurry of interest. “We are getting lots of inquiries. Every plot of land we can develop here has at least one inquiry,” he said. “Some have more than one.”
Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen at the Teesside Freeport site with Treasury minister Helen Whately.© Photograph: Jason Brown/Rex Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen at the Teesside Freeport site with Treasury minister Helen Whately.
Sembcorp, headquartered in Singapore and a listed firm half-owned by the Singapore wealth fund, is now managing 562 acres of development land. It is available to businesses Sembcorp hopes will be lured by the tax breaks and by cheap electricity to be produced on site by four reactors, amid ambitions to turn Wilton into a green industrial hub.
Central to the Teesside freeport project is the Conservative mayor of the Tees Valley, Ben Houchen, a rising star of the party who has caught national media attention for his “red wall” brand of interventionist Toryism. Vast swaths of land on the freeport site are under public control, and overseen by Houchen.
He intervened this year to buy the local airport and keep it open, and has a bid in for Teesport itself, amid a sale process being run by PD Ports, its current owner.
This idea of bringing the public sector and private enterprise together represents a tussle at the heart of modern Toryism, as a model both of Thatcherite low-tax dogma and of state interventionism. Singapore on Tees, with central planning.
Under the freeport model, imports will be exempt from customs duties, but experts believe the more powerful incentive is a plethora of tax reliefs, that will be available on a site of up to 600 hectares in size within the special economic zone. From this week, there will be reliefs on business rates and stamp duty, and enhanced capital allowances to encourage building work and investment. There is also relief on national insurance contributions for staff employed in the zone, to spur job creation.
On Teesside, the outer boundary of the freeport will stretch for 45km, encompassing Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, Hartlepool and Redcar, as well as swaths of Tees valley countryside, including Houchen’s home town of Yarm.
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Seattle boy, 13, watches dad die of a heart attack while waiting 20 MINUTES for help to arrive after firefighters refused to enter apartment without police
A 13-year-old Seattle boy watched his father who was suffering from cardiac arrest die while waiting more than 20 minutes for help to arrive - in a tragedy that critics say was caused by a shortage of cops and medical personnel staff resulting from the woke mayor's vaccine mandates and defund the police movement.
The unidentified boy called 911 earlier this month when his 45-year-old father began struggling to breathe in the city’s Crown Hill neighborhood.
Firefighters arrived at the scene within 15 minutes, but an outdated note on file mistakenly indicated that the apartment occupant was aggressive, slowing their response as they waited on a police escort.
‘He’s conscious but he’s not OK,’ the boy told 911 in an incident report obtained by The Jason Rantz Show on KTTH. He added during the November 2 call, lodged at 1:24 p.m., that his dad was ‘making a moaning noise.’
As firefighters waited for a police escort, the boy called 911 again at 1:37 p.m. ‘He wasn’t like this before,’ the teen told a dispatcher. ‘I’m just really worried.’
The fire crew broke protocol and entered the unit without police at 1:39 p.m. – 15 minutes after the first call for help was made.
One medic told KTTH that ‘had it been addressed early, his chance of survival would have been 60 percent.’
Police and medics arrived at the scene at 1:45 p.m. – more than 20 minutes after the initial call for help – and despite attempting CPR for an hour, couldn’t save the man, the outlet reported.
The Seattle Fire Department said it was following procedure when it initially held off on entering the unit.
Firefighters rely on ‘premise notes’ inputted into the dispatch system to alert them of any potential dangers or provide building access information, spokesperson Kristin Tinsley told DailyMail.com.
One premise note is intended to warn responders headed toward buildings where a tenant previously had acted aggressively toward emergency crews.
The unit firefighters responded to November 2 was flagged for being occupied by an aggressive man and a note advised firefighters to request police before entering.
‘We had a “cautionary” premise note entered into the system for that address due to experiences with a patient who had lived there that was known to be combative towards SFD and SPD,’ Tinsley said. ‘Unfortunately, we learned during the most recent emergency response that the cautionary note was for a previous tenant.
Conservative radio talk show host Jason Rantz blamed the sluggish response on Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan's COVID-19 vaccine mandate, which he said 'crippled already understaffed police and fire departments.'
'They do not have enough employees to respond to emergency calls,' Rantz said in a 770 KTTH column. 'And through no fault of Seattle police or Seattle fire, a man is dead when he might have been saved.'
Tinsley said the department is now reviewing the incident and added that it is working to verify its premise notes more frequently.
The apartment where the man died as his son called 911 twice is inspected every two years, however the fire departments only have jurisdiction to inspect common areas, not individual units.
‘Premise notes are entered in response to emergency runs or during inspections,’ Tinsley said. ‘They are re-approved or removed during follow-up emergency responses or inspections.’
Staffing at the Seattle Police Department is at lows not seen since the 1980s.
In July, it was revealed that the department had already lost at least 280 officers since the start of 2020 due to what they called an 'anti-police climate' in the city amid Black Lives Matter protests and calls to defund the police.
The Seattle Police Department’s 1,125 officers are tasked with protecting more than 724,000 people.
Its force took another hit after vaccine mandates were introduced that required officers to get the jab or risk losing their job by October 18.
Last month, the department utilized its ‘stage-3 mobilization plan,’ which puts all officers on standby to respond to 911 calls.
‘We used a couple of detectives in one of the precincts that were short on their staffing minimums, but otherwise we haven't had any issues,’ Huserik said.
Seattle Police Officers Guild President Mike Solan said in October the vaccine mandate could worsen the understaffing.
'If we lose what appears to be over 300 people because of this mandate, this public safety crisis we're experiencing will look like child's play,' Sloan told CBS58.
As of October 18, just 24 - or two percent - of Seattle Police Department officers had not shown proof of inoculation, a city spokesperson told Dailymail.com.
Meantime, some Washington State troopers called it quits over the mandate. Last month, a veteran trooper who was forced out of the job by the state's vaccine mandate released a video of his final sign-off and ended it by saying 'Governor Jay Inslee can kiss my a**.' The unidentified trooper told how he had served in the department for more than 22 years in Yakima County.
A staff shortage is being coupled by a spike in crime in Seattle, which has become so dangerous that the city can no longer protect its own employees, with security guards now escorting them after they finish work.
Crime in the Pacific Northwest city has seen a recent 35 per cent spike in shootings this year compared to last, and a 76 per cent increase compared to 2019.
So far in 2021, 73 people have been killed and another 283 have been injured by shootings in the city.
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Home Depot Co-Founder Ken Langone Praises ‘Gutsy’ Manchin, Says He’s Throwing Him a Huge Fundraiser
The Democrat who has battled to keep the Biden administration and far-out liberals from spending their way off an inflationary cliff can count on a Republican to back him in the next election.
Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone, a Republican and a billionaire, said Wednesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that he will raise funds for Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
For weeks, Manchin has rejected multiple elements of the spending plan proposed by the Bidenistas in Congress, saying last week, “I for one won’t support a multitrillion-dollar bill without greater clarity about why Congress chooses to ignore the serious effects of inflation,” according to WDJT-TV.
Langone praised Manchin’s stand on Wednesday on CNBC. “You know my politics, but … I don’t see leadership any place in this country,” Langone said. “Thank God for Joe Manchin. The guy’s got guts and courage.”
Although Langone has never supported Manchin before, he will now. Manchin is up for re-election in 2024. “He’s a Democrat, I’m a Republican; I’m going to have one of the biggest fundraisers I’ve ever had for him,” Langone said. “He’s special. He’s precious. He’s a great American.”
But Langone was far more somber as he turned to a subject that vexes him and Manchin – inflation. “Let me give you a warning — this inflation is a lot worse than people think. It is not transitory. The little people … they’re going to suffer,” Langone said.
Inflation rose 6.2 percent in the 12 months that ended in October, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced Wednesday. That’s the biggest monthly increase in 30 years, according to CBS News.
Fuel oil prices are up nearly 60 percent, gas is up about 50 percent, and average food costs are up over 5 percent. Beef is up about 20 percent, and pork is up approximately 14.
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Australia: NSW Just Had A Major Change In Sexual Consent Law — Here's What That Means And What Comes Next
A lot will depend on what the courts make of this. A sexual encounter is often initiated by touch (kisses etc) rather than by words. So are such encounters now illegal?
Maybe if the law applied only to people who had not previously had sex, it might make some sense
Last night in the Legislative Assembly of NSW, a model of affirmative consent was approved. This means that NSW is one step closer to changing sexual consent laws for the better.
Under the new Bill, proposed by NSW Attorney-General and Minister for Prevention and Sexual Violence Mark Speakman, a person only gives consent if "at the time of the sexual activity, they freely and voluntarily agree to the sexual activity", and if it is communicated clearly.
Jenny Leong, the Greens spokesperson for Women's Rights in the NSW Parliament, excitedly announced that the State Parliament voted an "enthusiastic yes" to the Bill.
Jenny Leong and Lucinda Hoffman stand outside NSW Parliament representing sexual assault victims© Provided by Are Media Pty Ltd Jenny Leong and Lucinda Hoffman stand outside NSW Parliament representing sexual assault victims
What does the affirmative consent bill mean?
This Bill recognises that:
(i) every person has a right to choose whether to participate in a sexual activity,
(ii) consent to a sexual activity must not be presumed,
(iii) consensual sexual activity involves ongoing and mutual communication, decision-making and free and voluntary agreement between the persons participating in the sexual activity.
Jenny has been particularly instrumental in driving this change. This morning, in light of the news, she reflected on how revolutionary the Bill would be if it were to become law.
"The Bill puts victim-survivors at the heart of the law, and removes rape myths and assumptions from the Crimes Act. It removes the patriarchal assumption that anyone is entitled to sex without the active, enthusiastic consent of the other person," she said.
"This is a significant moment. This is a very significant reform," Ms Leong said. "It means that it can no longer be assumed that someone consents to having sex. The person who wants sex must be able to demonstrate that they took steps to ensure that the other person also enthusiastically consents to this," she continued.
What needs to happen now?
While this is a huge step forward, it's not the final step. Now, the Bill will be passed to the Legislative Council to be debated, either later this week or early next week. Once it passes through (assuming there are no amendments), the Bill will become state law.
If, however, the Legislative Council decides to make amendments, it will be passed back down to the Legislative Assembly to be debated again.
While the Bill is an incredibly important piece of the puzzle, Jenny reminds us that there are other crucial factors to consider.
"The law change in and of itself is not enough. Around that law reform there needs to be really strong education and training to ensure that the police, judiciary and agencies around the justice system are all aware of the reforms and are implementing them in line with those laws," she told ELLE this morning.
"We need to ensure that there is sufficient resourcing, policy changes and education in place, so that when this law comes into effect, we see a change in society," she continued.
how does affirmative consent differ to our current laws?
As the law currently stands, a person has committed sexual assault if they know the other person is not consenting, if they are "reckless as to whether" they consent, or there are no reasonable grounds for believing there was consent.
In 2017, NSW consent laws fell under intense scrutiny following the acquittal of a man accused of raping Saxon Mullins outside a Sydney nightclub. While the Judge agreed that Saxon had not consented to sexual intercourse, she ruled that her 'freeze response' had provided 'reasonable grounds' for the man to believe he had gained consent.
Following his acquittal, Saxon bravely came forward to tell her story and was the subject of a major Four Corners investigation. Here, after staying anonymous for the entirety of the trial, she told the entire world, "I am that girl." In doing so, she hoped to spark a wider conversation about the current consent laws in NSW, and how they were failing sexual assault victims.
Over the past few years, we have seen a major societal shift in our approach to sexual consent and the way in which we understand it, which means our laws need to be updated to reflect those attitudes. The affirmative consent Bill is a pivotal change, which if passed, will be instrumental in ensuring that cases like Saxon's do not happen again.
It is hoped that it will also encourage victims of sexual assault to come forward and report their experiences with the knowledge that they will receive a just outcome. Our low reporting rates are a reflection of the mistrust people have in the current system, and it's something we desperately need to change.
If one thing is clear after last night's decision, it's that change is coming. It may have been a long time coming, but it's finally here. And, though they may not be inside parliament, we can never forget that it is the incredibly brave work of sexual assault survivors and advocates that continues to drive this change forward.
"While it's important to acknowledge the Attorney General in bringing the Bill, and the multi-partisan support for this Bill — it is critical that we acknowledge that credit for this reform sits with some incredibly strong survivor-advocates, feminists, experts and activists who have been through so much and who have never given up — and in particular survivor-advocate Saxon Mullins," Jenny said, in a statement this morning.
For now, we will patiently await the decision of the Legislative Council as the Bill moves into their hands, and soon, the interest of victims and survivors will be at the centre of our consent laws.
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My other blogs. Main ones below:
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)
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Kristina Pimenova, once said to be the most beautiful girl in the world. Note blue eyes and blonde hair
Bliss: What every woman wants: to feel safe and secure in the arms of her man. Robert Irwin and Rorie Buckey. See 
1 comment:
If you're going to try to come up with a law for every possible human interaction, then you're going to end up with a set of law books no one can read in total during their lifetime.
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