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Half a degree of coincidence...
It could be said that Peter Dutton strategically postures for the military complex and it's NED forward media network. A potential baseline behaviour indicator (BI) is nuclear power and climate denial go hand in hand, a hook design for displaced Liberals and active Libertarians.
The Liberal Party has engaged the services of the controversial digital agency Topham Guerin to create content for its election campaign. "There is frequently significant attention on the possible impacts of misleading or negative advertisements using deepfakes, but some candidates might actually gain from improved deepfake versions of themselves as well," Sean Topham remarked.
It's well-known that politicians can fib, but several cases employing BETA techniques question behavior manipulations. The behavioral economics team, hosted by the Prime Minister and Cabinet, showcased case studies in 2022 that involved behavior overreach, focusing on patterns and greenwashing.
Nearly a decade ago, Google introduced ads on Gmail. During this process, they accidentally discovered that links on one part of Google were one shade of blue, while links on another part were a slightly different shade. An executive noticed this inconsistency and suggested that Google should standardize the shade of blue across the platform. To decide which shade to use, Google conducted over 40 experiments, showing different shades of blue to 1% of their users. Each shade was tested with a separate 1% of users, resulting in AB tests across 40 different shades. Ultimately, they chose a shade of blue that was slightly more purple rather than one that leaned more green. They estimated that selecting the optimal shade of blue increased the click-through rate, generating an additional $200 million annually in ad revenue, as the appealing shade led to more clicks and thus more revenue. This example illustrates the extent of data-driven experimentation that companies can undertake.
Another example is the Facebook mood manipulation experiment, which caused significant outrage when it became public. Facebook conducted an experiment on 700,000 users without their consent, altering their newsfeeds to display either more positive or more negative updates from friends and contacts. The goal was to determine if this influenced the users' own emotions.
For instance, if I encounter more negative updates, am I more inclined to post a negative status?
The findings confirmed this hypothesis. More negative emotional priming resulted in more negative status updates, and the opposite was also true. This experiment sparked considerable outrage. Similarly, LinkedIn conducted research on the impact of strong versus weak connections. These examples illustrate the extent to which companies possess information about users and can manipulate it to serve their interests. The prevalence of such experiments shows that many companies are engaging in these practices on a large scale.
Dutton was in Southern Lyons on the 9th of December to support the Federal election campaign of Susie Bower, she is the CEO of BBAMZ Ltd, the Bell Bay Advanced Manufacturing Zone. ​BBAMZ is an industry based economic development group working in collaboration with government and community to support growth, investment and business diversification in the George Town and Tamar Valley regions.
The event addressed several important topics such as industrial decarbonisation strategies for heavy industry, focusing on opportunities for Bell Bay. It also covered the latest developments in Tasmania's hydrogen and energy policies, updates on renewable energy projects like solar and wind in the Bell Bay and Northeast region, the offshore wind industry, and infrastructure analysis with project updates on steel, rare earths, and hydrogen.
The speakers include Hon Nick Duigan MLC, Mark Bowles, CEO of Renewables, Climate and Future Industries Tasmania, Simon Talbot of Abel Energy, Dr. Mark Cooksey from ABx Group, Bess Clark of TasRex, Colin Paterson the Commerical Director of Nexsphere, David Pollington from ACEN Australia, and Jack Redpath of the Carbon Zero Initiative, among others.
It was sponsored by BBAMZ Ltd, Launceston Chamber of Commerce - The Voice of Business, Marinus Link, Pitt & Sherry and Hazellbros.
The Rockefeller Foundation - Coal to Clean Credits Initiative:
ACEN, the energy division of the Philippine conglomerate Ayala, partnered with the Monetary Authority of Singapore and The Rockefeller Foundation to promote the development of transition credits — a new financial instrument that monetises the reduction of carbon emissions.
These credits assist plant owners in the early retirement of coal assets, transitioning to renewable energy, and supporting the workers and communities affected.
This initiative is part of The Rockefeller Foundation’s Coal to Clean Credits Initiative, which seeks to expedite the decommissioning and replacement of up to 50 coal asset owners by 2030.
BETA's BI Connect 2023 Virtual Series investigates prominent work within the behavioural insights industry, featuring a panel led by Laura Bennetts-Kneebone, an advisor at BETA, focusing on climate change initiatives.
The first speaker is Saul Wodak from the Behavioural Insights Team Australia. His presentation is titled "How to Build a Net Zero Society using Behavioural Insights to Decarbonise Home, Energy, Transport, Food, and Material Consumption." Saul is a seasoned qualitative researcher and a specialist in behavioural science, serving as the environmental lead at the Behavioural Insights Team in the Sydney office. He also has experience in various policy areas, such as health and welfare, education, and employment.
Saul ran a study using a carbon tax on food as an effective at shifting food choices, an upstream intervention and this is all about aligning market incentives. The aim of this approach is to align the incentives that businesses face so that they are motivated to create these mid-stream choice environments in which green consumption flourishes.
A successful example of upstream incentives is the UK's sugar levy on drinks. This policy implemented varying levels of taxation based on the sugar content in beverages. For instance, soft drinks with less than five grams of sugar per 100 ml were not taxed, while those with five to eight grams of sugar were taxed at $0.18 per litre. The brilliance of this policy lies in its aim to motivate manufacturers to reduce the sugar content in their drinks to avoid the tax. It offered two advantages: firstly, consumers generally did not face higher prices, and secondly, it created an environment where all consumers consumed less sugar by default, even those who might not have been swayed by traditional taxes like those on tobacco and alcohol. This is an elegant method for changing behavior as it doesn't feel like a forced change.
The following speaker is Professor Michael Hiscox from Harvard University. His presentation is titled Climate Action as Behavioural Change. Michael is a professor in Harvard University's Department of Government.
The final speaker is Professor Ben Newell. Ben, who is also a respected member of the Academic Advisory Panel, serves as a Professor of Behavioural Science and the director of the Institute for Climate Risk and Response at the University of New South Wales. He will discuss the work of the University of New South Wales Institute of Climate Risk and Response, a new initiative that unites expertise from the faculties of science, business, and law and justice, in collaboration with industry and government.
I received a response to the application for assessed disclosure - RTI 24-25-28 - regarding renewable energy correspondence from Font Public Relations Pty Ltd on December 5th, 2024.
Since submitting the RTI, Becher Townshend has been elected as a Director of the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (TCCI), perhaps just a coincidence.
Becher is the Managing Director of Font PR, Tasmanian consultancy for Public Relations, Government Relations, and Campaigning. He also serves as a director at Font Publishing, which produces The Tasmanian Country, The Tasmanian Business Reporter, and several community newspapers, and he is a partner at Enterprise Market and Research Services, the leading research and marketing firm in Tasmania. Becher's primary focus is on providing strategic communications advice to businesses, the community sector, government enterprises, and local government. He joined the Board of the TCCI in 2024 and has been a Board member of the Tasmanian Small Business Council (TSBC) for 20 years.
Font PR Federal Clients include Airbnb Australia Pty Ltd, Bass Offshore Wind Energy, The Tasmanian Salmonid Growers Association Ltd, Tiktok Australia Pty Ltd and Van Diary Ltd.
Font PR State Clients include Anglican Diocese of Tasmanian, Bass Offshore Wind Energy, Civil Contractors Federation, Tasmanian Small Business Council and Tiktok Australia.
The Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI) represents the business community in Tasmania. As an independent, membership-driven organisation, they are funded by businesses to offer products and services that help achieve the goals of our member companies.
 There are six key areas that comprise the TCCI Vision 2028 including:
Increase renewable energy generation from 10,000GWh (2020) to 15,000 GWh
All major industrials to have access to acceptable long-term contracts to provide certainty First Marinus Link cable under construction, with a timeline for the second cable agreed
Increase private sector investment from 17 per cent to 25 per cent as a share of Gross State Product
 Increase non-government share of labour force to 85 per cent
Members of the Chamber Alliance
Flinders Island Business Council
Kentish and Latrobe Independent Business Association (KaLIBA)
TFPA Chief Executive Officer, Nick Steel joined with other industry associations at De Bruyn’s Transport in Wesley Vale to call for all candidates in next year’s federal election to back seven key priorities to promote jobs in regional Tasmania.
The seven priorities are:
· Commit to a sustainable future for Tasmania’s forest sector
· Modernise the TFES to make it fairer for exporters
· Lock in Marinus Link
· Back job-creating, energy-generating projects like the Robbins Island wind farm
· Commit to supporting for a sustainable salmon industry, especially in Macquarie Harbour ·
Reform environmental laws at federal level, especially the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act); and
· Acknowledge the Tarkine is and has been a mixed land-use zone for over a century and agree there is no case to change the classification of the region and allow compliant development applications to proceed.
The Department of State Growth developed the strategy in partnership with the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI) and the Tasmanian Small Business Council (TSBC).
The revised Plan received input from project partners, namely the TCCI and the TSBC, as well as several Tasmanian Government agencies, such as State Growth, Tourism Tasmania, the Department of Premier and Cabinet, Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE), the Office of the Coordinator-General, and Homes Tasmania.
The University of Tasmania announced their Memorandum of Understanding with the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in June 2024.
Michael Bailey stated that the MoU signifies a close collaboration between the University and the business community. Under the MoU, the TCCI and the University will also aim to share facilities whenever feasible, integrating the business community within each University campus across the State.
John Whittington is the CEO of BECRC, previously a Deputy Secretary, General Manager and Secretary of the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment.
In 2018 Tasmanian minister Sarah Courtney stepped down amid 'relationship' with head of her department. The Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and the Environment secretary (DPIPWE) Mr Whittington had also been placed on leave as the matter was investigated. Mr Whittington was appointed as the secretary of the DPIPWE by Mr Hodgman on a salary of around $400,000 in 2014 after serving as deputy secretary. A year after his personal relationship with Sarah Courtney was revealed, Whittington commenced his role with BRCRC. They married in 2020.
Angela Williamson is a Director, Blue Policy and Planning, previously a Senior Manager, Responsible Business at Tassal Operations, Communications Advisory Group, Member at Tasmanian Salmonid Growers Association, Manager of Program and Events and Advisor for Aboriginal Affairs at the Office of the Honourable Will Hodgman MP, Premier of Tasmania. Director/Snr Departmental Liaison Officer, Tony Burke, Mark Butler and Greg Hunt.
Greg Johannes currently chairs BECRC, his previous roles included Head of the State Service and Secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet in Tasmania.
Rhys Edwards was also a Secretary of Premier and Cabinet in 2008, a council member of UTAS from 2008 - 2018, he is currently a Director of BECRC, Chair of UTAS Innovation Ventures (InVent) which is the commericalisation arm of UTAS, Director of Aurora Energy and Principal of RDME Consulting.
Greg Vickery is a freelance senior consultant for Norton Rose Fulbright. Norton Rose Fulbright’s strategic push into federal government work paid big dividends last financial year, with the global law firm inking $37 million in contracts, well ahead of its nearest rivals. Their lawyers provide the full spectrum of legal services in the renewable energy sector. They are recognized for our involvement in pioneering first-in-jurisdiction and first-in-technology renewable energy projects around the world.Â
FontCast is a podcast hosted by Stansfield, Townshend and regulars like Alex Johnston, Sam Ikin and David Killick
There is still uncertainty about whether Bradley James Stansfield is the same individual as Brad Stansfield from Font PR. However, a person with that name is listed as the 93rd member of the Liberal Party of Australia, Tasmanian Division.
Brad Stansfield's career encompasses roles such as Chief of Staff in the Office of Senator Eric Abetz (2007-2010), the Office of Tasmanian Opposition Leader Will Hodgman (2010-2014), the Office of Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman (2014-2018), Senior Advisor to the Federal Finance Minister (2018), and his position at Font Public Relations (2018-present).
The newspapers might declare they have certain projects in their line of sight to dismantle, storylines packed with political chicanery, meanwhile everyone in their network are jockeying support for specific projects.
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