Category: 3. Business

Staff from a Grantham-based business, Cathodic Protection Co, have been volunteering for the charity for a number of years. They were on hand to help unpack and organise 1,000 blankets.

“If you’re in hospital on Christmas day that maybe isn’t the greatest feeling in the world,” said Chris Martin, the 43-year-old managing director. “If we can make a small difference, we’re happy to do our bit.”

Sakina, Maryam, Nyla and Florence, from Spalding High, created 208 personalised cards in a single day.

“We wanted to spread Christmas cheer because no one should be left out at Christmas,” Nyla said.

An investigative reporter best known for exposing fraud at Silicon Valley blood-testing startup Theranos sued Elon Musk’s xAI, Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, Meta Platforms and Perplexity on Monday for using copyrighted books without permission to train their artificial intelligence systems.

New York Times reporter and “Bad Blood” author John Carreyrou filed the lawsuit in California federal court with five other writers, accusing the AI companies of pirating their books and feeding them into the large language models (LLMs) that power the companies’ chatbots.

The lawsuit is one of several copyright cases brought by authors and other copyright owners against tech companies over the use of their work in AI training. The case is the first to name xAI as a defendant.

Spokespeople for the defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit.

Unlike other pending cases, the writers are not seeking to band together in a larger class action – a type of lawsuit they said favours defendants by allowing them to negotiate a single settlement with many plaintiffs.

“LLM companies should not be able to so easily extinguish thousands upon thousands of high-value claims at bargain-basement rates,” the complaint said.

Anthropic reached the first major settlement in an AI-training copyright dispute in August, agreeing to pay $1.5 billion to a class of authors who said the company pirated millions of books.

The new lawsuit said class members in that case will receive “a tiny fraction (just 2%) of the Copyright Act’s statutory ceiling of $150,000” per infringed work.

Monday’s complaint was filed by attorneys at law firm Freedman Normand Friedland, including Kyle Roche, whom Carreyrou profiled in a 2023 New York Times article.

During a November hearing in the Anthropic class action, US District Judge William Alsup criticised a separate law firm Roche co-founded for gathering authors to opt out of the settlement in search of “a sweeter deal.” Roche declined to comment on Monday.

Carreyrou told the judge at a later hearing that stealing books to build its AI was Anthropic’s “original sin” and that the settlement did not go far enough.

Published on 23 December 2025

The City of Whittlesea has adopted its new Advocacy Prospectus 2025–29, setting out a clear and ambitious roadmap for the major investments needed to support the municipality’s rapidly growing community over the next five years.

The Prospectus outlines 12 priority projects and initiatives that cannot be delivered by Council alone and will require strong partnership and co-investment from the Victorian and Australian Governments. These priorities are grouped under five key themes: Housing, Community Services and Infrastructure, Public Transport, Roads,  and Environmental Sustainability.

As one of Australia’s fastest-growing regions, the City of Whittlesea is projected to increase from more than 244,000 residents today to almost 361,000 by 2041. This significant growth presents both opportunities and challenges, underscoring the need to invest in essential infrastructure, sustainable development, accessible transport, and vibrant community facilities.

Under the Housing theme, Council is advocating for increased social and affordable housing, homelessness support services and good planning to facilitate the delivery of homes.

Community Services and Infrastructure priorities focus on investment in sustainable Maternal and Child Health funding, a dedicated Youth Hub, upgraded mobile and broadband infrastructure, and improved community safety and amenity.

Public Transport and Roads priorities highlight the need for better bus services, rail extensions and safer, more efficient road networks to ease congestion and improve connectivity for residents, workers and students.

Environmental Sustainability priorities emphasise the protection of natural environments, investment in biodiversity, and support for the management of waste and illegal dumping.

The Advocacy Prospectus will guide Council’s work with government partners to secure funding and deliver projects that improve liveability, support economic growth and protect the municipality’s unique environmental character.

Council looks forward to progressing these priorities and advocating for the needs and aspirations of our growing community over the next five years.

Residents, stakeholders and community members will be kept informed about key updates and opportunities for engagement as advocacy progresses.

To view the Prospectus and learn more about the City of Whittlesea advocacy priorities, visit our Advocacy priorities section.

Quotes attributed to City of Whittlesea Mayor, Councillor Lawrie Cox:

“Our community is growing rapidly, and this Advocacy Prospectus gives us a clear and united voice when calling for the investment we need. These priorities reflect what matters most to our residents: access to services, safe roads, reliable transport and a healthy environment.

“We cannot deliver these major projects alone. By working in partnership with the Victorian and Australian Governments, we can create a stronger, better connected and more sustainable future for everyone who calls the City of Whittlesea home.

“The document gives a very clear priority list for issues we want delivered as we head to the next State election and will form our agenda as we meet with candidates from all parties or individuals who put themselves forward to represent you in the State Parliament.”

The Fujifilm Group offers drug discovery support solutions, including cell culture media, reagents, and iPS cells, alongside its CDMO services. It provides comprehensive support to a wide range of customers, including pharmaceutical companies, biotech ventures, and academia, from early-stage drug development through commercial production. Under the guiding principle of being “Partners for Life,” the company strives to be a trusted partner in advancing healthcare and delivering innovative therapies to patients worldwide.

[1] Contract Development & Manufacturing Organization. Provides a wide range of services to pharmaceutical companies, including process development, stability testing, clinical drug development and manufacturing, and commercial production.

[2] Single-use components used in biopharmaceutical manufacturing processes. Compared to traditional stainless-steel systems, single-use equipment eliminates the need for cleaning and sterilization, enhancing flexibility and efficiency, and has become widely adopted in recent years.

[3] Combines an antibody with a drug such as an anticancer agent. By binding the antibody to antigens present on the surface of cancer cells, ADCs enable targeted delivery of the drug, offering high therapeutic efficacy with fewer side effects.

[4] According to trade statistics from Japan’s Ministry of Finance (Export Statistical Item Classification No. 30.02), Japan recorded a biopharmaceutical trade deficit of JPY1.7 trillion in 2024.

On Tuesday, stocks in China and Hong Kong experienced a notable rise, largely fueled by gains in non-ferrous metals shares as investor attention shifted to an ongoing China housing policy conference. The country’s blue-chip CSI300 Index recorded a rise of 0.5% by midday, and the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.3%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index grew 0.2%.

Non-ferrous metals sectors led domestic market increases, boasting an almost 2% rise, greatly influenced by Shandong Gold’s impressive 7.9% climb. In Hong Kong, materials stocks advanced by 1.2%. During the housing policy conference, authorities vowed to stabilize the real estate sector by implementing measures tailored to city-specific needs, focusing on reducing new supply, cutting inventories, and enhancing the supply mix.

Encouraging semiconductor performance was noted with a 2% uptick as Nvidia announced plans to ship its advanced AI chips to China before the Lunar New Year in February. Meanwhile, Kuaishou Technology’s shares fell as much as 6% following a cyberattack. The CSI 300 Real Estate Index barely nudged up by 0.2% while China Vanke saw a 2.2% dip after narrowly avoiding a bond default.

Published on 23 December 2025

Kiama Council reminds all community members and visitors to use e-bikes responsibly and respectfully. Riding e-bikes in electronic mode through Council property – such as Kiama Coast Holiday Parks and other pedestrian-only areas – is strictly prohibited.

Read more about bike safety in Kiama LGA.

Please note:

• Riding e-bikes or e-scooters in electronic mode in Council Holiday Parks or pedestrian-only areas is not allowed.
• Anyone found racing or riding through these areas will be required to leave immediately, and police will be contacted.
• Holiday Parks are not racetracks. This behaviour creates serious safety and security risks for guests, staff, and property and will not be tolerated.

We ask parents and guardians to speak with your children and make them aware of these rules and consequences.

Learn more about e-bike safety with resources from Transport for NSW, including:

• E-bike advice for families
• Bikes, e-bikes and e-scooters

Report Issues

• For e-bike compliance concerns within the Kiama LGA, contact NSW Police:

• • Lake Illawarra Police: 4232 5599
  • Kiama Police Station: 4247 4150

• To report e-bikes posing hazards on roads or in public spaces, contact Transport for NSW – Roads & Waterways.