Sovereign

• ARLINGTON, Va., Jan. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- NumbersUSA, the nation's largest advocacy group focused solely on immigration, recently launched the International Network for Immigration Research (INIR) alongside French, Israeli, and Hungarian partner institutions.
• "The International Network for Immigration Research will help cultivate a more balanced understanding of both the benefits and drawbacks of migration among policymakers and the public at large."
• Through conferences and workshops, the INIR will examine how immigration impacts origin countries, transit countries, and destination countries.
• "Through international cooperation, we can pursue a more pragmatic, data-based, coordinated approach to the global phenomenon of migration."

• ADGM will host the 'Climate Finance Action Pavilion' and showcase its thriving climate finance ecosystem.
• As the Principal Climate Finance Partner, ADGM will be staging a series of strategic negotiations and interactive discussions across the blue and the green zones showcasing its thriving climate finance ecosystem during COP28.
• Commenting on the significance of COP28 and its participation, H.E Ahmed Jassim Al Zaabi Chairman of ADGM said, "We are honoured to take on the pivotal role of Principal Climate Finance Partner at COP28, a testament to our enduring commitment to sustainable finance and environmental stewardship.
• We look forward to actively contributing to COP28's objectives and leaving a lasting legacy in climate finance in the UAE and beyond."

• Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP continues its strategic expansion with the addition of Babak Nikravesh, an international tax attorney who joins as a shareholder from Morrison & Foerster.
• PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP continues its strategic expansion with the addition of Babak Nikravesh , an international tax attorney who joins as a shareholder from Morrison & Foerster.
• Nikravesh focuses his practice on investment transactions and international tax planning, advising institutional investors, including sovereign wealth funds, public sector pension funds, university endowments, social security funds, and other global organizations, on investments in the United States and abroad.
• Nikravesh said he was attracted to Greenberg Traurig because of its entrepreneurial culture.

• Big policy ideas usually don’t come up in parliamentary valedictory speeches – they’re for saying goodbye and thank you.
• So departing Labour MP Jamie Strange was the exception last week when he made a case for New Zealand and Australia becoming one country.
• But he talked up the potential economic benefits, and the option does remain open under sections 6 and 121 of the Australian Constitution.

A simplified relationship

• Political union would simplify the relationship: trade would be more efficient, social and cultural ties might be strengthened, passports wouldn’t be needed and banking would be easier.
• Indeed, an Australian parliamentary committee recommended political union in 2006, but the New Zealand prime minister at the time, Helen Clark, rejected the idea.
• The then opposition leader, Don Brash, said it should at least be considered, but found little support.

From nation to state

• Current constitutional arrangements would mean New Zealand simply became a state of the existing Commonwealth of Australia.
• It would elect members to the federal parliament, but it would no longer have an independent voice in international forums.
• Under the Australian Constitution, the New Zealand state parliament would be responsible for schooling, hospitals and transport, among the reserve powers of the Australian states.

The Voice and the Treaty

• In Australia, opinion polls are showing the proposed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament doesn’t have the support it needs to pass a referendum later this year.
• But even then, the idea that Māori people have a voice in government is largely accepted.
• Australia’s prime minister argues that the Voice is a matter of justice because “it is common courtesy to consult people when you’re taking a decision that affects them”.

Culture and public life

• There is no guaranteed Indigenous representation in either house and Australia would no doubt struggle to accept Māori representation.
• At best, there might be two or three Māori seats in the lower house.
• In reality, the Māori presence in public life gives New Zealand a cultural certainty and security that is not so evident in Australia.
• Samoan, Tongan, Chinese and Dutch MPs (among others) occasionally speak their languages in parliament as statements of identity and belonging.