Latest news with #SenateInquiry
Washington Post
19-05-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
An inquiry says France's government covered up Nestle's illegal treatment of bottled water
PARIS — The government of French President Emmanuel Macron covered up decisions over the illegal treatment of mineral water by food industry giant Nestle, including the world-famous Perrier brand, a Senate inquiry commission said Monday. Its report focused on Nestle's years of use of treatments to avoid bacterial or chemical contamination of water labeled as 'natural mineral water' or 'spring water' for brands also including Contrex, Vittel and Hépar. Such treatments are prohibited under French and European regulations.
Associated Press
19-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
An inquiry says France's government covered up Nestle's illegal treatment of bottled water
PARIS (AP) — The government of French President Emmanuel Macron covered up decisions over the illegal treatment of mineral water by food industry giant Nestle, including the world-famous Perrier brand, a Senate inquiry commission said Monday. Its report focused on Nestle's years of use of treatments to avoid bacterial or chemical contamination of water labeled as 'natural mineral water' or 'spring water' for brands also including Contrex, Vittel and Hépar. Such treatments are prohibited under French and European regulations. The report concluded that France's government had concealed 'illegal practices.' 'In addition to Nestle Waters' lack of transparency, the French government's lack of transparency must also be highlighted,' it said. French media reported the banned treatments last year. Nestle paid a fine to avoid legal action The report noted a 'deliberate strategy' of concealment since the first government meeting on the issue in October 2021. Months later, authorities agreed to a Nestle plan to replace the banned treatments with microfiltering. Nestle did not immediately respond to a request for comment. France's government did not immediately comment. Last year, the Swiss company publicly acknowledged having used treatments on mineral waters and agreed to pay a 2 million euro fine ($2.2 million) to avoid legal action. The inquiry commission interviewed more than 120 people including Nestle's CEO and top managers. One refused to speak to it: Alexis Kohler, then-secretary general of the Elysee presidential palace, who the report said has spoken several times with Nestle executives by phone or in person. The commission concluded 'that the presidency of the republic had known, at least since 2022, that Nestle had been cheating for years.' Asked about scandal in February, Macron said he was 'not aware of these things ... There is no collusion with anyone.' Fraud estimated to be worth over $3 billion Alexandre Ouizille, the commission's rapporteur, said the total amount of the fraud has been estimated at over 3 billion euros ($3.38 billion) by France's agency in charge of fraud control. Natural mineral water is sold about 100 to 400 times the price of tap water, he said, denouncing 'misleading of consumers.' Ouizille described a Nestle plant in southern France the commission visited where there were 'sliding cabinets behind which illegal treatments were carried out.' The report said Nestle argued there was a risk of job losses if the government did not authorize some kind of treatment or microfiltration, because its plants would have to close due to spring water being contaminated by bacteria like E. coli that can cause serious illness and death. Laurent Burgoa, the president of the commission, said there has been no proven harm to the health of people who drank water sold by Nestle. 'Personally, I drank some Perrier ... But I didn't know what I was drinking, that's the problem,' Burgoa said.
News.com.au
22-04-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Housing affordability: How a change to mortgages could benefit buyers into the tune of $20k
Prospective first-home buyer Sharna Hackett jokes that having a bit more money in her kitty might allow her to purchase a residence with 'an actual kitchen bench'. In 2023, Ms Hackett moved back to Melbourne after securing her dream job as a video manager in the visual effects industry, following years of working overseas in the creative sector. Aged in her 40s, she is now hoping to buy a two-bedroom apartment not too far from her inner suburbs' workplace after spending 'quite a few years' saving up a deposit. Ms Hackett said that if mortgage serviceability buffers were cut – potentially expanding her home loan by tens of thousands of dollars – she might be able to buy in a pricier suburb than the ones she has been looking at, such as Fitzroy North or Westgarth. 'It might mean that I could be a little bit more open to things that are a little bit nicer or, you know, an actual kitchen bench,' she said. Ms Hackett doesn't see herself ever being able to afford a house unless she could flip an apartment for quite a bit more than she paid for it. New data analysed by property sales and research firm Oliver Hume shows there are more than 400 suburbs where the typical household's wage isn't enough to buy there. There are just 36 areas where the local wage would be enough to buy a house with, mostly in Melbourne's outer ring including Wyndham Vale, Mickleham and Cranbourne South. But a Senate Inquiry recommendation to change the rules around how banks lend us money could change the situation in dozens of suburbs — and boost first-home buyer budgets by more than $20,000. Oliver Hume's figures show that a 1 per cent reduction to the nation's 3 per cent serviceability buffer for home loans would be enough to put 60 Melbourne suburbs on the affordable list, based on local incomes. The buffer is set by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and used by banks to stress-test mortgages to ensure a buyer could cope if their interest rate was 3 percentage points higher — which saved many households from disaster as interest rates surged from 2022 to 2023. Melbourne-based Smart Lending director and senior loan writer Melissa Gielnik said that for every half a percentage point cut from mortgage serviceability buffers, about $20,000 would be returned to a home loan – but this would vary based on factors like home prices. Ms Gielnik said that she would like to see Australia's mortgage serviceability buffer reduced to a 2 per cent figure. 'Especially because (interest) rates are on decreasing, we've ridden the wave of the up, now we're coming down,' she said. 'So being on the downward slide, I kind of feel like they could lessen it.' And Ms Hackett said that if mortgage serviceability thresholds were decreased, a new deluge of buyers would likely enter the market. 'My only concern would be, what tends to happen when things become more affordable is prices seem to go up because more people are looking at the same stock,' Ms Hackett said. 'I'm not necessarily sure that it would make a significant difference, because then I would just be competing with more people.' Buyer's agency Cohen Handler Victoria's business director Zac Jacobs said that for some people, cutting the mortgage serviceability buffer would allow them to look at properties and suburbs they wouldn't otherwise consider due to financial constraints. 'I guess our fear always is, does that level the playing field for all first-time buyers and then negate it at the same time?' Mr Jacobs said. 'Because now they can afford by spend between $20,000 more, everyone can afford to spend $20,000 more, the prices go up $20,000. That's the issue I would say.' He added that the having an additional $10,000 to $20,000 could help cover a buyer's advocate's fees too. 'It could help them (a buyer) engage someone professional to help them find the right property, negotiate the property off market, for example, so don't have to compete at auction,' he said.
Asharq Al-Awsat
08-02-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
AOC Chief Says Brisbane 2032 Venues Decision Needed by July
Australian Olympic Committee chief executive Matt Carroll has warned that a final decision on the main venues for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics needs to be made before the end of June. Brisbane was awarded the Games in 2021 but political rows, particularly over the main stadium and the venue for the athletics, have meant that a final plan is not yet in place. Upon his election as Queensland State Premier last November, David Crisafulli announced a seven-member board would conduct a second review of the venue options and report in early March. "I think it is time to finalize any more reviews and settle on exactly what the ... governments want to fund in terms of venues," Carroll told a Senate Inquiry at the Federal Parliament in Canberra on Friday. "I think (that needs to happen in) the first half of this year, for two reasons. "One, the sports program will start to be fleshed out the following year in 2026, which is obviously very important, and it's obviously important to start the construction process, or whatever work that needs to be done, which is going to take a bit of time." Carroll said that Brisbane being awarded the Games an unprecedented 11 years before the opening ceremony had proved to be a double-edged sword, but any further delays could lead to challenges in completing projects in plenty of time. "It's important to get on with the job now in decisions around the venues, in decisions around anything that's going to be built," he said. "The construction industry in Australia is stretched at the moment, therefore, to be able to start to do all these venues, wherever they may be, needs to be you know moved along swiftly, but everyone knows that." Crisafulli's predecessor Steven Miles had rejected a plan for a A$2.7 billion ($1.7 billion) revamp of Brisbane's Gabba cricket ground as well as a proposed new A$3.4 billion Olympic stadium in the inner city's Victoria Park. His solution, the use of the Lang Park rugby stadium to host the opening and closing ceremonies with the athletics taking place in the ageing QSAC venue in southern suburbs of the city, was described as an "embarrassment" by a group of local Olympic champions. Crisafulli's review committee is no longer taking submissions, having already received a proposal from Swimming Australia for a new aquatics center in Victoria Park and another for a 60,000-seat wooden stadium to be built next to the Gabba. Environmental campaigners and some local residents are already organizing in opposition to any development of Victoria Park, which Greens Senator Penny Allman-Payne described as the "lungs" of Brisbane. Carroll said the International Olympic Committee (IOC) would need to approve any changes to the venue plan, which would also have to align with bid commitments Brisbane made on environmental impact and sustainability.
