Latest news with #Lazarus
Sky News AU
6 days ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
Pink Batts disaster invoked over Albanese government's $2.3 billion solar batteries installation scheme
Labor's $2.3 billion bid to cut the price of solar battery installation has sparked fears of another disastrous situation like the Rudd government's Pink Batts scheme where four men died doing installation work. Join to watch the full interview on Business Weekend at 11am (AEST). The Albanese government claims it will cut the price of battery installation by 30 per cent through its major rebate geared at bolstering the nation's renewables shift. It has rekindled memories of Labor's Pink Batts scheme under former prime minister Kevin Rudd's Home Energy Efficiency Program where young, inexperienced installers were not protected and died on the job. A Royal Commission found the deaths of the young men would not have happened if the scheme was properly designed and implemented. Industrias Services Group CEO Daniel Lazarus has invoked the horror scheme just weeks ahead of Labor rolling out the new rebates. 'We've audited thousands and thousands of systems and batteries across the country over the last ... 12 months and I've seen a material amount of these batteries and solar systems, which are either substandard or a small percentage of being unsafe,' Mr Lazarus said on Sky News' Business Weekend. 'Even that small percentage of unsafe systems is big enough to create real worries about what the scheme might do with the tidal wave of what's going to happen around all these installs.' He noted the design of the installation program was currently 'sound' and stressed that he was confident around industry standards, but warned Aussies would take advantage of the huge swath of rebates. 'The problem is with this huge influx of rebate schemes,' Mr Lazarus said. 'What will happen with the inevitable influx that will come within the industry to take advantage and what are they going to do to try and maximise the rebate that they obtain? 'How will they take advantage or at least avoid dodging a lot of these elements that are required to receive the rebate, that being standards?' Despite protocols and standards that arose since the Royal Commission into the Pink Batts scheme, there remains a lack of key inspection mandates across the country, Mr Lazarus cautioned. 'What we're really advocating to industry is around how do you make it such that either all systems, or at least the majority of systems, installed by every installer that's taking advantage of this rebate scheme, is getting physically inspected,' he said. The rebates under the Pink Batts scheme led to the number of businesses in the installation sector rising from 200 to more than 8000. It was originally meant to run for five years but finished after just one year and about 30 per cent of inspected installations in 2010 were found to have faulty craftsmanship or to be unsafe. Mr Lazarus said while there were a few fatalities, alongside less than 100 fires, it would only take a small number of incidents to destroy the whole scheme. 'The last thing that I want to see is a scheme like this which is meant for specific homeowners and the distribution of energy to be called off early,' he said. Labor said it expects to deliver more than one million batteries under its scheme.
Sydney Morning Herald
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
With The Project and Neighbours going, is Australian TV all Sydney all the time?
With apologies to Oscar Wilde, to lose one television program is a misfortune, but to lose two in a week borders on calamity. But that's precisely what happened over the course of just a few days as first The Project and then Q+A were given the axe by their respective broadcasters, Ten and the ABC. For Melbourne, the news strikes particularly hard. The Project, which is made by Rove McManus' production company Roving Enterprises, is based there, and the show is filmed in the Ten studios in South Yarra. Ten has not confirmed how many jobs will be lost, but reports suggest between 80 and 100 could be 'affected' (insiders suggest the FTE number is closer to 60). Production of Q+A, meanwhile, is split between Sydney and Melbourne, with occasional forays to other locations. The ABC has not revealed if any jobs will go, but some attrition seems likely. Loading Add to the mix the imminent demise of Neighbours – which will, barring a second Lazarus act, film its final episode next month – and the news for Melbourne's screen sector is grim. It's not just the job losses that hurt. There's a blow to the pride of a city that in 1956 welcomed Australia to television, and once hosted the mighty Crawford Productions, from whose engine room emerged Homicide, Division 4, Matlock Police, Cop Shop, The Sullivans, Flying Doctors and many more. The stamp 'made in Melbourne' used to be a guarantee of a boost to viewership in the southern capital, though that parochialism was not especially reciprocated; 'made in Sydney' didn't seem to have as much impact on a show's ratings. Yet that is where the bulk of screen content in Australia actually originates. Screen Australia's annual drama report records that in 2023-24, 47 per cent of the $1.7 billion spent on scripted content (including features and overseas productions) was incurred in NSW, 19 per cent in Victoria and 18 per cent in Queensland, with the other states scrapping for the remains. Those figures are, however, skewed by the fact that NSW and Queensland typically score the lion's share of big-budget film production from Hollywood. Loading Of course, there's a lot of content made for television that isn't scripted – sport, news and current affairs, reality, light entertainment. Of the $1.84 billion spent on programming by Seven, Nine and Ten in 2023-24, only about $50 million went to drama, according to a recent report by the ACMA (that figure represents the networks' contributions; the actual budgets are considerably higher). They spent about 11 times that much on each of sport and light entertainment, and roughly eight times as much on news and current affairs ($407 million), as on drama. As for where that content is actually made, there is a freighting towards Sydney, though it's not as clear-cut as you might imagine. Sport is made around the country, though obviously there's more footy content out of Melbourne and more rugby league out of Sydney. News is city-based, though the national bulletins come out of Sydney. In the morning slots, the ABC's News Breakfast is Melbourne-based, while Seven's Sunrise and Nine's Today are both shot in Sydney (Ten runs a repeat of Deal or No Deal at 8.30am, which is made in Melbourne). In the lead-in to the all-important evening bulletin, Ten has Neighbours (Melbourne), Seven has The Chase (Sydney) and Nine has Tipping Point (Melbourne). After the news, Nine's A Current Affair is Sydney-based, Ten's The Project is (or was) Melbourne, Seven's Home and Away is Sydney, as is the ABC's 7.30. Loading The primetime offerings are more dispersed. Ten's long-running MasterChef Australia is made in Melbourne (its set was also used last year for the American version of the show), Seven's Farmer Wants a Wife is filmed around the country, Nine's Lego Masters is a Sydney shoot (it used to be made in Melbourne), while The Block is a Melbourne program (though four of its 20 seasons were shot in Sydney). Nine's Married at First Sight comes out of Sydney, as do Dancing with the Stars, First Dates, Australian Idol and The Voice (all Seven). Ten's comedy offerings Have You Been Paying Attention?, The Cheap Seats and Sam Pang Tonight are all Melbourne-made, but its Talkin' 'Bout Your Gen comes from Sydney. Across the networks, certain patterns emerge. Nine and Ten each have a fairly even split of programming from Sydney and Melbourne, while Seven leans more heavily on Sydney, with the bulk of its Melbourne programming being AFL-focused. Seven also takes more content from Brisbane, Perth (home of Kerry Stokes) and Adelaide than do the other two, which has often helped its ratings in those markets. Loading SBS has a strong Sydney bias, though a lot of the filming for its shows is done in the regions and other cities. The ABC declined to share information about where its programs are made, saying in a statement only that it was 'planning to transmit close to 550 hours' of non-news content this year, across nearly 100 programs 'produced across every state and territory'. In streaming, Netflix has recently made more content in Victoria (Eddie's Lil Homies, Apple Cider Vinegar, part of The Survivors, Son of a Donkey) and Queensland (Love Is in the Air, Boy Swallows Universe) than NSW (Heartbreak High). Its Territory was shot in the Northern Territory and South Australia. Of the more than 40 originals Stan has announced or broadcast since the start of last year, about a third are Sydney- or NSW-based, a quarter are Melbourne- or Victoria-based, five were shot in WA, three in Queensland and the rest in various locations, including overseas. Disney's local productions have been spread around the country: The Artful Dodger in Sydney, The Clearing in Melbourne, The Last Days of the Space Age in Perth. More than half of Amazon Prime Video's recent slate has come from Sydney or regional NSW, and just one sports doc (Kick Like Tayla) hails from Victoria. But its Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, Top End Bub and Deadloch (after a first season in Tasmania) all showcase the NT. There's little question, in other words, that Sydney is home to the lion's share of production in TV and streaming, across all formats. But despite the loss of The Project and Neighbours, Melbourne remains a vital part of the sector. And with Brisbane and the Gold Coast nipping away, and a new Perth studio set to come online next year (bolstered by the country's most generous location incentives), you can guarantee the competition to get a piece of the lights, cameras and action is only going to get a lot fiercer.
The Age
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
With The Project and Neighbours going, is Australian TV all Sydney all the time?
With apologies to Oscar Wilde, to lose one television program is a misfortune, but to lose two in a week borders on calamity. But that's precisely what happened over the course of just a few days as first The Project and then Q+A were given the axe by their respective broadcasters, Ten and the ABC. For Melbourne, the news strikes particularly hard. The Project, which is made by Rove McManus' production company Roving Enterprises, is based there, and the show is filmed in the Ten studios in South Yarra. Ten has not confirmed how many jobs will be lost, but reports suggest between 80 and 100 could be 'affected' (insiders suggest the FTE number is closer to 60). Production of Q+A, meanwhile, is split between Sydney and Melbourne, with occasional forays to other locations. The ABC has not revealed if any jobs will go, but some attrition seems likely. Loading Add to the mix the imminent demise of Neighbours – which will, barring a second Lazarus act, film its final episode next month – and the news for Melbourne's screen sector is grim. It's not just the job losses that hurt. There's a blow to the pride of a city that in 1956 welcomed Australia to television, and once hosted the mighty Crawford Productions, from whose engine room emerged Homicide, Division 4, Matlock Police, Cop Shop, The Sullivans, Flying Doctors and many more. The stamp 'made in Melbourne' used to be a guarantee of a boost to viewership in the southern capital, though that parochialism was not especially reciprocated; 'made in Sydney' didn't seem to have as much impact on a show's ratings. Yet that is where the bulk of screen content in Australia actually originates. Screen Australia's annual drama report records that in 2023-24, 47 per cent of the $1.7 billion spent on scripted content (including features and overseas productions) was incurred in NSW, 19 per cent in Victoria and 18 per cent in Queensland, with the other states scrapping for the remains. Those figures are, however, skewed by the fact that NSW and Queensland typically score the lion's share of big-budget film production from Hollywood. Loading Of course, there's a lot of content made for television that isn't scripted – sport, news and current affairs, reality, light entertainment. Of the $1.84 billion spent on programming by Seven, Nine and Ten in 2023-24, only about $50 million went to drama, according to a recent report by the ACMA (that figure represents the networks' contributions; the actual budgets are considerably higher). They spent about 11 times that much on each of sport and light entertainment, and roughly eight times as much on news and current affairs ($407 million), as on drama. As for where that content is actually made, there is a freighting towards Sydney, though it's not as clear-cut as you might imagine. Sport is made around the country, though obviously there's more footy content out of Melbourne and more rugby league out of Sydney. News is city-based, though the national bulletins come out of Sydney. In the morning slots, the ABC's News Breakfast is Melbourne-based, while Seven's Sunrise and Nine's Today are both shot in Sydney (Ten runs a repeat of Deal or No Deal at 8.30am, which is made in Melbourne). In the lead-in to the all-important evening bulletin, Ten has Neighbours (Melbourne), Seven has The Chase (Sydney) and Nine has Tipping Point (Melbourne). After the news, Nine's A Current Affair is Sydney-based, Ten's The Project is (or was) Melbourne, Seven's Home and Away is Sydney, as is the ABC's 7.30. Loading The primetime offerings are more dispersed. Ten's long-running MasterChef Australia is made in Melbourne (its set was also used last year for the American version of the show), Seven's Farmer Wants a Wife is filmed around the country, Nine's Lego Masters is a Sydney shoot (it used to be made in Melbourne), while The Block is a Melbourne program (though four of its 20 seasons were shot in Sydney). Nine's Married at First Sight comes out of Sydney, as do Dancing with the Stars, First Dates, Australian Idol and The Voice (all Seven). Ten's comedy offerings Have You Been Paying Attention?, The Cheap Seats and Sam Pang Tonight are all Melbourne-made, but its Talkin' 'Bout Your Gen comes from Sydney. Across the networks, certain patterns emerge. Nine and Ten each have a fairly even split of programming from Sydney and Melbourne, while Seven leans more heavily on Sydney, with the bulk of its Melbourne programming being AFL-focused. Seven also takes more content from Brisbane, Perth (home of Kerry Stokes) and Adelaide than do the other two, which has often helped its ratings in those markets. Loading SBS has a strong Sydney bias, though a lot of the filming for its shows is done in the regions and other cities. The ABC declined to share information about where its programs are made, saying in a statement only that it was 'planning to transmit close to 550 hours' of non-news content this year, across nearly 100 programs 'produced across every state and territory'. In streaming, Netflix has recently made more content in Victoria (Eddie's Lil Homies, Apple Cider Vinegar, part of The Survivors, Son of a Donkey) and Queensland (Love Is in the Air, Boy Swallows Universe) than NSW (Heartbreak High). Its Territory was shot in the Northern Territory and South Australia. Of the more than 40 originals Stan has announced or broadcast since the start of last year, about a third are Sydney- or NSW-based, a quarter are Melbourne- or Victoria-based, five were shot in WA, three in Queensland and the rest in various locations, including overseas. Disney's local productions have been spread around the country: The Artful Dodger in Sydney, The Clearing in Melbourne, The Last Days of the Space Age in Perth. More than half of Amazon Prime Video's recent slate has come from Sydney or regional NSW, and just one sports doc (Kick Like Tayla) hails from Victoria. But its Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, Top End Bub and Deadloch (after a first season in Tasmania) all showcase the NT. There's little question, in other words, that Sydney is home to the lion's share of production in TV and streaming, across all formats. But despite the loss of The Project and Neighbours, Melbourne remains a vital part of the sector. And with Brisbane and the Gold Coast nipping away, and a new Perth studio set to come online next year (bolstered by the country's most generous location incentives), you can guarantee the competition to get a piece of the lights, cameras and action is only going to get a lot fiercer.
SoraNews24
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- SoraNews24
David Bowie's Lazarus makes its debut in Japan, bringing his love for the country full circle
Experience the unstoppable love for Bowie in this electrifying Japanese production. Back in 2013, David Bowie met with his friend, the renowned theatre, film, and television producer Robert Fox, and revealed his desire to create a musical based on Thomas Newton, the character he played in the 1976 film The Man Who Fell to Earth . Fox suggested they bring Irish playwright Enda Walsh on board, a genius decision as Walsh's raw and free-flowing writing style frequently explores themes of identity and isolation in ways that skirt the absurd and lay bare the fragility of the human condition, creating a frisson of tension that's not unlike the tone of the original film. The collaboration gave birth to Lazarus , a jukebox musical that weaves Bowie's songs into a dreamlike world set in New York, where Newton, a humanoid alien, now lives decades after the events of the film, alone in his apartment… and in his head. Cultural influences from Japan, a country that Bowie long held an affection for, serve to colour the narrative, so it's fitting that now, nearly 10 years after the musical debuted in New York City on 18 November 2015, Japan is able to return the love for the rock legend, with Lazarus opening at the Kanagawa Arts Theatre (KAAT) on 31 May. ▼ The main cast, with director Akira Shirai (left), who has directed all of the Japanese versions of Walsh's plays, including Ballyturk and Medicine . At a press conference held ahead of opening night, Shirai said it was a great honour to present Bowie and Walsh's work for the first time in Japan. In describing what audiences can expect to see from the Japanese production, he said: 'While it is billed as a musical, it is a piece that cannot really be defined within the usual boundaries of a musical — it is outside the standard, or perhaps without any standard at all. It doesn't fit neatly into the categories of drama, musical, or concert'. Fitting neatly into norms is something neither Bowie nor Walsh would ever likely want to do, and this work presents itself as a thrilling theatrical journey that pushes against ordinary restraints, much like the characters on stage. Over the course of roughly two hours, every character is pushed to their limit, teetering on the edge of love, life, grief, death, and insanity in ways that highlight the frailty and strength of the human spirit, inspiring the audience to think beyond ordinary realms of possibility. It's a roller-coaster of a journey you won't want to miss, and it's helmed by Mitsuru Matsuoka, who's been fronting the band SOPHIA for 30 years. Playing the main role of Newton, Matsuoka brings his rock star energy to the stage, pouring out vulnerability and rage in equal measures that make him seem at once like a frail bird with a broken wing and a lion about to break free from a cage. It's a role he feels he was destined to play, saying, 'If I hadn't encountered David Bowie when I was 14, I probably wouldn't have become a band member, SOPHIA wouldn't exist, and I wouldn't be where I am today.' Matsuoka believes he's been guided by Bowie, and has a deep respect for him, seeing himself as 'a messenger tasked with delivering Bowie's last message, his will'. Matsuoka certainly gives his all to the role, belting out songs like 'Lazarus' and 'Where Are We Now?' with an ease that draws from a life lived drinking at Bowie's creative well. His presence on stage is matched, and quite nearly eclipsed, by Rio Uehara, a classically trained vocalist who harnesses both baritone and tenor ranges to bring light and shade to the menacing character of Valentine, making us feel both attracted and repulsed by him. During one memorable moment, Valentine appears in a cloak of black feathers, a clever costuming choice that visually connects the character to Ryuk, the black feather-shouldered shinigami ('god of death') from the hugely popular Japanese manga and anime series Death Note . There are striking parallels between Ryuk and Valentine, who both find pleasure in provoking people for their own entertainment while disrupting the protagonist's journey with a disregard for human life and morality. The power to inflict death fizzes in their fingers like an ever-enticing itch that needs scratching. In stark contrast, Erika Toyohara brings light to the stage in the role of Girl, with an innocence that's strong and unyielding. The brightness of her character is matched by the brightness of her voice, which brings newfound poignancy to the opening lyrics when she sings 'Life on Mars'. 'It's a god-awful small affair / To the girl with the mousy hair / But her mummy is yelling, 'No' / And her daddy has told her to go' Emiko Suzuki, in the role of Elly, does an equally beautiful job with 'Changes', which sees her bounding about the stage and masterfully handling outfit changes, all while hitting her notes flawlessly. Every member of the cast — including the ensemble — delivers strong performances, with Goto Watabe as Zach (above), Yusuke Toyama as Michael (below)… ▼ …and Tsubasa Sakiyama in the role of Ben. Mayuko Kominami draws upon her classical dance and voice training to play the role of both Maemi (above) and Japanese Woman (below) with remarkable poise. The set is like a character all of its own, with a stack of television boxes centre stage acting as a nod to the old sets that Newton watches in The Man Who Fell to Earth . The images that appear on the TVs provide a sense of the wider world outside the confines of the small set, while bursts of white noise serve to connect the audience with the action on stage, tuning us into the same frequency as the characters' distress. Images are also projected onto the scrim, a large background screen that appears opaque when lit from the front but becomes transparent when lit from behind, helping to create dramatic visual effects. Not only does it allow for massive projections to enhance the narrative, it also lets us see the live band on stage at select moments and creates space for the Japanese surtitles to be creatively placed, with words tumbling down the screen at one point to match Newton's frenetic, descent-into-madness energy. Only at the very end, when the ceiling of Newton's room lifts and the set opens up to reveal the full space of the stage, are we able to catch our breath and feel a sense of release from the tension. It's confronting and thrilling in the way you expect from good theatre, and to see it in Japan, a place that inspired Bowie's creativity, is a very special thing indeed. While the actors speak Japanese on stage, all songs are sung in English, as was Bowie's wish for overseas productions, so even if you don't understand Japanese, the show will give you goosebumps. Lazarus will be performed at the Kanagawa Arts Theatre until 14 June, before moving to Festival Hall in Osaka for two matinee shows on 28 and 29 June. Tickets can be purchased at the links below. Tickets for Kanagawa Arts Theatre: Kyodo Tokyo (official ticket site in English), e+, Ticket Pia (P-code: 533418), Lawson Ticket (L-code: 31548), Rakuten Ticket Tickets for Festival Hall in Osaka: Festival Hall, CN Playguide, e+, Ticket Pia (P-code: 533‐620), Lawson Ticket (L-code: 52387), Rakuten Ticket Related: Lazarus Japan Images: Press release ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? 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India.com
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- India.com
Top 7 Anime Picks In 2025
Zee Media Bureau Jun 09, 2025 This anime tells the story of Saito Hojo who forced to marry Akane Sakuramoni the girl he hates in his class to inherit his grandfather's company. This anime follows Rudo a boy who lives in a lower part of a floating town. One day he is framed for murder he didn't do and gets thrown off the edge in the trash wasteland. A dark historical fantasy anime which follows Jinta a demon hunter who engages in a centuries old battle from the Edo period to the Heisha era. This anime explores romance and challenges for high schoolers amid global pandemic. It Follows the story of a young man Shiki Ichinose who discovers he has Oni blood which is a lineage of powerful demons. A decent pick in 2025 to binge watch. It follows the story of a former hitman Taro Sakamoto who chooses to retire after meeting the love of his life but when the past catches up he must protect his family from threats. Set in 2052 humans are living in utopian age because of a miracle drug known as Hapna which is developed by Dr. Skinner. Lazarus is a great anime to watch in 2025. Read Next Story
