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Category: Economics
New Frontiers in Asia-Pacific International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution (Luke Nottage, Shahla Ali, Bruno Jetin & Nobumichi Teramura, eds., Wolters Kluwer, end-2020): Abstracts, Keywords, Bios & Webinar
Below are summaries and author bios of the 15 chapters in our Kluwer book published around Christmas for January 2021, building on a joint HKU/USydney project throughout 2019 background and draft bios here), with a Foreword by Michael Hwang SC here. Please consider registering or telling your networks about a free Webinar with the co-editors, some authors and others, scheduled for Tuesday 4 August 2020 5-6pm (Sydney time): https://law-events.sydney.edu.au/talkevents/beyond-the-pandemic-new-frontiers-in-asia-pacific-international-dispute-resolution . [A webinar recording can now be found via https://www.sydney.edu.au/law/news-and-events/podcasts.html or on Youtube.]
Introduction: New Frontiers in Asia-Pacific Trade, Investment and International Business Dispute Resolution –Luke Nottage & Bruno Jetin
Abstract: Asia-Pacific trade and investment flows have burgeoned over recent decades, albeit impacted by China-US trade tensions and especially the COVID-19 pandemic (§1.02). International investment agreements have proliferated to liberalise and protect investments (§1.03), mostly adding the option of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). Asia-related ISDS cases have also started to grow, albeit somewhat belatedly (§1.04), complementing a more longstanding upward trend in international commercial arbitration (ICA) cases involving Asian parties filed in the region as well as the traditional Western centres (§1.05). The eastward shift in international dispute resolution has already involved initiatives to improve not just support for ICA and ISDS arbitrations, but also to develop alternatives such as international commercial courts and mediation. Core arguments from ensuing chapters (§1.06) cover the main existing venues for international dispute resolution in Asia (China, Hong Kong and Singapore) but also some emerging contenders (Japan, Malaysia, India and Australia). Overall (§1.07), can ICA venues improve their attractiveness through law reforms, case law development and other measures, despite growing concerns about costs and delays? Will some emerging concerns about ISDS prompt Asia-Pacific states to become more active "rule makers" in international investment law? How might these issues be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic?
Keywords: international trade, foreign direct investment (FDI), free trade agreements (FTAs), international investment treaties, international economic law, arbitration, mediation, international commercial courts, Asia, COVID-1
2. An International Commercial Court for Australia: An Idea Worth Taking to Market – Marilyn Warren & Clyde Croft
The time has come for Australia to join others in establishing a new "International Commercial Court" as another international dispute resolution option especially for the Asia-Pacific region. This chapter outlines the existing international legislative architecture (the 1958 NYC for international arbitration, inspiring the 2005 Hague Choice of Court Convention), and the models provided by London's venerable Commercial Court and since 2015 the Singapore International Commercial Court (including the latter's composition, jurisdiction, procedure and confidentiality provisions, appeals, and cross-border enforceability of its judgements – facilitated by Singapore ratifying the 2005 Hague Convention). It uses these topics to frame the proposal for an Australian International Commercial Court, including the possibility of allowing its litigants to exclude the application of the Australian Consumer Law (which otherwise may apply also to many business-to-business disputes). It concludes that the COVID-19 pandemic has bolstered the case for such a new Court, by minimising the obstacle of Australia's physical distance as litigation has had to move rapidly online, and because the pandemic's economic dislocation will undoubtedly lead to more cross-border disputes.
Keywords: international arbitration, international litigation, international commercial courts, Australia, Singapore, United Kingdom, COVID-13.
3. New Frontiers for International Commercial Arbitration in Australia: Beyond the 'Lucky Country' – Albert Monichino & Nobumichi Teramura
Abstract: Australia is not a lucky country in the context of international commercial arbitration (ICA) due to its geographical isolation. However, the problem of remoteness has luckily been ameliorated since the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to the dramatic spread of video-conferencing technologies in arbitrations and even in some court proceedings. 'Luck' can no longer excuse Australia for running behind other regional competitors. Analysing recent cases in Australian judiciary, this chapter puts forward seven proposals for legislative reform that may be useful for Australia to attract more ICA cases on its shores: establishing an indemnity costs principle for failed challenges in ICA matters, notably regarding arbitral awards; enabling Australian courts to issue subpoenas to support foreign arbitrations; clarifying choice of law rules on the existence and scope of arbitration agreements; limiting or excluding the application of Australian Consumer Law to cross-border business-to-business transactions; defining 'Australian Law'; provisions to catch up with recent arbitration innovations; clarifying arbitrability of trust disputes; and centralising judicial power for ICA appeals. Implementing those proposals will pave the way for Australia to become an attractive arbitration hub in the Asia-Pacific region.
Keywords: Australia, international commercial arbitration, International Arbitration Act, Commercial Arbitration Act, law reform, COVID-19, e-proceedings.
4. Confidentiality and Transparency in International Arbitration: Asia-Pacific Tensions and Expectations – Luke Nottage
Abstract: Confidentiality is considered a significant advantage for international commercial arbitration over cross-border litigation, as seen in rules of most arbitral institutions. Automatic (opt-out) confidentiality is also now found in many national laws, including statutory add-ons to the UNCITRAL Model Law and/or through case law for example in New Zealand, then Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and eventually Australia. Yet there remain variations in the timing of these developments as well as the scope and procedures associated with exceptions. There is also no confidentiality provided in Japan's later Model Law adoption, although parties mostly choose the JCAA so opt-in to its Rules, which have gradually extended confidentiality obligations. Another complication is growing public concern over arbitration procedures through investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), particularly in Australia since an ultimately unsuccessful treaty claim by Philip Morris. Statutory amendments in 2018 reverse automatic confidentiality for Australia-seated ISDS arbitrations applying the 2014 UNCITRAL Rules on Transparency. Concerns over ISDS may even impede Australia enacting provisions for confidentiality of arbitration-related court proceedings. These provisions could not be revised recently in New Zealand, against the backdrop of its new government's anti-ISDS stance. This chapter elaborates such expectations and tensions regarding the double-edged sword of confidentiality in international arbitration, focusing on Australia and Japan in regional context.
Keywords: international commercial arbitration, investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), confidentiality, transparency, Australia, Japan, Asia, costs, delays, law reform
5. Novel and Noteworthy Aspects of Australia's Recent Investment Agreements and ISDS Policy: The CPTPP, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Mauritius Transparency Treaties – Ana Ubilava & Luke Nottage
Abstract: This chapter updates on recent investment treaty practice by Australia, which attracted regional and global attention when a centre-left government over 2011-13 declared Australia would no longer agree to ISDS provisions when negotiating further treaties. The chapter compares substantive commitments and ISDS provisions in Australia's treaties signed with Indonesia and Hong Kong in 2019 (IA-CEPA and AHKIA) compared especially with the mega-regional CPTPP signed in 2018. The new bilateral treaties remain quite heavily influenced by US-style drafting, epitomised by the CPTPP. The chapter then elaborates on the costs and delays associated with ISA. It examines empirical studies, then relevant provisions of the three new treaties, including an innovative investor-state mediation provision in IA-CEPA probably proposed by Indonesia. The chapter also considers transparency of proceedings and outcomes. It again examines mainly CPTPP, IA-CEPA and AHKIA, but also a parliamentary inquiry into Australia ratifying the Mauritius Convention. This seeks to retrofit extensive transparency provisions on pre-2014 treaties between Australia and other states that might also accede to that framework Convention. More bipartisanship may be emerging in domestic politics regarding international investment treaty-marking, so Australia is now better placed to play a more active role especially in the Asia-Pacific region.
Keywords: Investment treaties, Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, mediation, arbitration, transparency, costs, delay
6. New Frontiers in Hong Kong's Resolution of 'One Belt One Road' International Commercial and Investor-State Disputes – Shahla Ali
Abstract: Given the rapid increase in Chinese outward foreign direct investment since the start of the 'One Belt One Road' Initiative (OBOR), international commercial and investor state disputes involving Chinese and Hong Kong investors will likely multiply. Given the significance of Hong Kong as a fulcrum for OBOR project financing and logistics, understanding Hong Kong's approach to the resolution of OBOR disputes will offer a window into the region's new frontiers in commercial and investor-state dispute resolution.
Keywords: international commercial arbitration, mediation, investment treaties, investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), Hong Kong, China, Belt and Road
7. Harmonising the Public Policy Exception for International Commercial Arbitration along the 'Belt and Road' – Gu Weixia
Abstract: In context of a rising volume of cross-border transactions generated by the BRI, this chapter argues that a robust legal framework for dispute resolution is required to forge investor confidence and enable BRI's integral goal of economic integration. In light of the substantial levels of harmonization among arbitration laws, arbitration is arguably constitutes the primary vehicle for international commercial dispute resolution in an economically integrated Asia under the BRI. Against this backdrop, this chapter argues that the BRI provides a unique opportunity to contemplate the possibility of regional harmonization, as within the Asian economies along the BRI, of the "public policy" exception to arbitral award enforcement. Such an arbitration initiative in Asia, in which China is anticipated to take a pro-active role, holds much potential to project renewed momentum on China as an engine of not only economic power, but also "soft power" transformation in pioneering international legal norms.
Keywords: international commercial arbitration, New York Convention, UNCITRAL Model Law, China, Belt and Road
8. Recent Developments in China in Cross-Border Dispute Resolution: Judicial Reforms in the Shadow of Political Conformity – Vivienne Bath
Abstract: The rapid expansion of China's international trade and investment in the 21st century has necessarily brought with it the need for modern and effective cross-border dispute resolution mechanisms. At the international level, China is playing an active role in the review of investor-state dispute settlement in UNCITRAL Working Group III and participating in dispute resolution developments in the WTO. Domestically, the Supreme People's Court has been working to set up new institutions (the China International Commercial Court), improve mechanisms for the review and enforcement of arbitral awards and encourage mediation, both domestically and internationally. Much of this activity has been generated and spurred on by the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the anticipated associated increase in cross-border disputes arising from the many commercial transactions involved in the BRI. Its execution also reflects the desire to encourage and expand the international use of Chinese law and build up China as a centre for international dispute resolution. At the same time, however, the Chinese Communist Party is tightening its ideological and administrative control over the courts and judicial system. This chapter examines and discusses the implications of these recent developments.
Keywords: China, arbitration, mediation, cross-border dispute resolution, one-stop diversified dispute resolution, investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), online arbitration, communist party (CCP), Supreme People's Court (SPC), China International Commercial Court (CICC)
9. Malaysia's Involvement in International Business Dispute Resolution – A Vijayalakshmi Venugopal
Abstract: Malaysia has had some early but comparatively limited involvement in formally resolving trade disputes, but more engagement in investor-state dispute resolution – including as home state for investors bringing claims, not just as host state respondent. Some companies in Malaysia and its main international arbitration centre have also been involved in domain name dispute resolution. That centre and some other organisations have also long promoted various types of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), with renewed efforts in recent years to develop new procedures and attract more international commercial arbitrations. Malaysia has also been quite active in negotiating free trade agreements (FTAs). This creates a solid platform to comtinuing becoming more of a rule maker in international investment law as well as a significant regional hub for international business dispute resolution services, although Malaysia still has a way to go in both respects compared to larger Asia-Pacific economies and/or more established hubs.
Keywords: Malaysia, World Trade Organization (WTO), free trade agreements (FTAs), international investment treaties, investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), domain name dispute resolution, settlement
10. Disruption as a Catalyst for International Dispute Services in Japan: No Longer Business as Usual? – James Claxton, Luke Nottage & Nobumichi Teramura
Abstract: The Japanese government, supported by various stakeholders, has recently been attempting to develop Japan as another regional hub for international business dispute resolution services. Tracking this development is important for both theoretical and practical reasons. How it unfolds should reveal which of various theories for explaining Japanese law-related behaviour have more traction nowadays, especially for international commercial arbitration but also for investor-state arbitration. Assessing the new initiatives is also important for legal practitioners and others interested in the practical question of where to arbitrate or mediate cross-border business disputes, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. This chapter therefore focuses mainly on current attempts to promote existing and new international arbitration centres in Japan as well as the recent establishment of the Japan International Mediation Center – Kyoto. It locates such developments in the context of intensifying competition from other regional venues for dispute resolution services, but also the challenges and potential opportunities created by the COVID-19 pandemic since 2020.
Keywords: international commercial arbitration, investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), mediation, Japan, culture, COVID-19
11. Litigating, Arbitrating and Mediating Japan-Korea Trade and Investment Tensions – James Claxton, Luke Nottage & Brett Williams
Abstract: In July 2019, Japan introduced measures tightening export restrictions to South Korea on three chemicals critical to the manufacture of consumer electronics. The restrictions prompted an animated response by the Korean government, including World Trade Organization (WTO) consultations and threats to terminate an intelligence-sharing agreement. The controversy also filtered down to the public with boycotts of Japanese products in Korea. Tension between the states has been unusually high since 2018 when the Korean Supreme Court affirmed a judgment against Japanese companies accused of forcing Korean nationals to labour in factories during Japan's colonial rule. Japan argued that these claims were precluded by a 1965 treaty normalizing post-war relations. While Japan claims that its trade restrictions were not motivated by the judgment, the disputes have contributed to the worst breakdown in cross-border relations in five decades. This chapter evaluates Korea's trade claims against Japan, means of resolving them, and challenges faced in the WTO dispute settlement system. Alternatives or additions to WTO dispute settlement procedures are considered including claims before the International Court of Justice, interstate arbitration, and investor-state dispute settlement. Mediation offers an effective means to facilitate negotiations and centralise the trade and treaty disputes in a single forum.
Keywords: international trade law, World Trade Organization (WTO), exports, international investment treaties, investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), arbitration, mediation, Japan, Korea
12. Indian Investment Treaty and Arbitration Practice: Qualitatively and Quantitatively Assessing Recent Developments– Jaivir Singh
Abstract: This chapter provides a perspective of investment treaty practice from India, which lies at the periphery of what is traditionally associated with the Asia Pacific region. While on the periphery, India has signed investment and trade treaties with many Asia Pacific countries and is also involved in disputes with them. India had in fact endorsed a number of investment treaties with many countries around the world but has recently gone on to denounce all of them and seeks to renegotiate fresh treaties using a template provided by a new model treaty that is oriented towards privileging state rights. The chapter begins by a qualitative review of cases that have been instituted against India by investors, followed by a discussion of the many reactions that this has elicited – a new model treaty, subsequent denunciation of treaties, signing of new treaties and attempting changes in the domestic law as a device to protect foreign investors. The next half of the chapter assesses these outcomes by looking at econometric evidence pointing to a positive impact of investment treaties signed by India on foreign investment inflows into India, going on to argue that the manner in which state rights have been enhanced in the new treaties – drawing inspiration from trade law – demonstrably curbs investment.
Keywords: foreign direct investment (FDI), international investment treaties, arbitration, econometrics, law reform, India, Australia
13. FTA Dispute Resolution to Protect Health Can Free Trade Agreements and their Dispute Resolution Mechanisms Help Protect the Environment and Public Health? The CPTTP, MARPOL73/78 and COVID-19 – Jiaxiang Hu & Jeanne Huang
Abstract: Preventing or managing a global pandemic such as COVID-19 requires states to strictly comply with the International Health Regulations 2005 (IHR). However, the IHR lacks a strong enforcement mechanism, like many multilateral environmental protection agreements. Over the past fifteen years, several such conventions have been incorporated into free trade agreements (FTAs) to enhance State compliance and therefore promote environmental protection. A typical example is the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships and its Protocols (MARPOL 73/78). Vessels, like viruses, are globally mobile. Vessel-sourced pollution also mirrors human-carried viral infection, because the locations of potential harm are unpredictable and widespread. This Chapter examines first whether FTAs (especially mega-regional FTAs) can effectively encourage States to comply with MARPOL 73/78. Through this analysis, it generates implications regarding whether the IHR regime could also rely on new or renegotiated FTAs, or be reformed directly, to enhance state compliance with public health initiatives.
Keywords: free trade agreements (FTAs), environmental protection, public health, COVID-19, WHO, MARPOL, dispute resolution, arbitration, Asia-Pacific
14. Promoting International Mediation through the Singapore Convention – S.I. Strong
Abstract: This chapter seeks to determine whether and what extent the recent promulgation of the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation will promote the use of mediation within the international legal and business communities. The discussion analyses the issue from a unique interdisciplinary perspective, applying concepts from dispute system design, default theory, psychology, and law and economics to both identify and resolve potential problems with the convention. The chapter also includes data from a recent empirical study conducted by the author on the use of mediation in international commercial disputes. Through this discussion, the chapter hopes to identify how individuals and institutions can complement the effect of the convention to support the development of international commercial mediation in the coming years.
Keywords: International mediation, treaty-making, law reform, Singapore Convention, interdisciplinary perspectives
15. Expanding Asia-Pacific Frontiers for International Dispute Resolution: Conclusions and Recommendations – Nobumichi Teramura, Shahla Ali & Anselmo Reyes
Abstract: Asia's emergence as a global economic powerhouse has corresponded with a prolonged upward trend in international commercial arbitration (ICA) cases involving Asian parties, as well as a belated expansion of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) arbitrations involving Asian states or investors. Further accelerating the eastward shift in international dispute resolution, various initiatives to improve support for ICA and ISDS have been taken and alternatives (such as international commercial courts and international commercial mediation) have been promoted. This book aimed to examine significant 'new frontiers' for Asia-Pacific cross-border business dispute resolution, focusing on major economies in East and South Asia and countries (such as Australia) that are closely linked economically and geographically. The principal questions posed were: (1) whether existing and new venues for ICA could improve their attractiveness through law reform, case law development, and other measures, despite worries about cost and delay; (2) whether emerging concerns about ISDS-backed investment treaty commitments would prompt Asian states to become rule-makers in international investment law, rather than be mere rule-takers; and (3) whether innovations in existing or new fields might assist the Asia-Pacific region to develop international dispute settlement further. The foregoing chapters have discussed these broad themes, focusing on developments in Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, China, India and Malaysia, while paying attention to broader regional initiatives (such as China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)) and recent international instruments (such as the Singapore Convention on Mediation, in force from 12 September 2020). This concluding chapter highlights key findings in the individual chapters and identifies some challenges for the post-COVID-19 era.
Keywords: international trade, foreign direct investment (FDI), free trade agreements (FTAs), international investment treaties, international economic law, arbitration, mediation, international commercial courts, Asia, COVID-19
BIOS OF EDITORS AND CONTRIBUTORS
Dr Shahla Ali is Professor and Associate Dean (International) and Deputy Director of the LLM in Arbitration and Dispute Resolution at the Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong. Her research and practice center on questions of governance, development and the resolution of cross-border disputes in the Asia-Pacific region. Shahla is the author of Court Mediation Reform (Edward Elgar 2018), Governing Disasters: Engaging Local Populations in Humanitarian Relief (Cambridge University Press 2016), Consumer Financial Dispute Resolution in a Comparative Context (Cambridge University Press 2013), and Resolving Disputes in the Asia Pacific Region (Routledge 2010) and she writes for law journals in the area of comparative ADR. She has consulted with USAID, IFC/World Bank and the United Nations on issues pertaining to access to justice, peace process negotiation training and land use conflict resolution. She serves as a bilingual arbitrator (English/Chinese) with CIETAC, HKIAC (ADNDRC) and SIAC and has served on the IBA Drafting Committee for Investor-State Mediation Rules, the DOJ Mediation Regulatory Committee, the UN Mediation Roster and the FDRC Appointments Committee. Prior to HKU, she worked as an international trade attorney with Baker & McKenzie in its San Francisco office. She received her JD and PhD from UC Berkeley in Jurisprudence and Social Policy and BA from Stanford University.
Dr Bruno Jetin is Associate Professor and Director of the Institute of Asian Studies, University of Brunei Darussalam (UBD). His current work focuses on the ASEAN Economic Community, the One Belt One Road initiative, Chinese investments in Southeast Asia, and the impact of income distribution on growth in Asia. He is also an expert in the automobile industry. Before joining UBD, he was a researcher at the Institute for Research on Contemporary Southeast Asia (IRASEC, CNRS-MAEE, Bangkok) and Associate Professor at the University of Paris 13 Sorbonne Paris Cité, where he obtained his PhD in economics and was Deputy Director of the Research Center in Economics. He was also involved in promoting taxes on financial transactions as alternative sources for financing development as well as innovative regulation of global finance. Bruno's recent publications include ASEAN Economic Community: A model for Asia-wide Integration? (Palgrave McMillan 2016, edited with Mia Mikic); Global Automobile Demand (Palgrave McMillan 2015, two edited volumes); International Investment Policy for Small States: The Case of Brunei, in International Investment Treaties and Arbitration Across Asia (Julien Chaisse and Luke Nottage eds., Brill 2018, with Julien Chaisse); One Belt-One Road Initiative and ASEAN Connectivity, in China's Global Rebalancing and the New Silk Road (B.R. Deepak ed., Springer 2018).
Dr Luke Nottage is Professor of Comparative and Transnational Business Law at the University of Sydney Law School, founding Co-Director of the Australian Network for Japanese Law (ANJeL) and Special Counsel at Williams Trade Law. He specialises in comparative and transnational business law (especially arbitration and product safety law), with a particular interest in Japan and the Asia-Pacific. Luke has or had executive roles in the Australia-Japan Society (NSW), the Law Council of Australia's International Law Section, the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration, and the Asia-Pacific Forum for International Arbitration. Luke is also a Rules committee member of the Australian Centre for International Arbitration (ACICA) and listed on the Panel of Arbitrators for the AIAC (formerly KLRCA), BAC, JCAA, KCAB, NZIAC, SCIA and TAI. Luke serves on Working Group 6 (examining arbitrator neutrality) for the Academic Forum on ISDS. He qualified as a lawyer in New Zealand in 1994 and in New South Wales in 2001, and has consulted for law firms and organisations world-wide (including ASEAN, the EC, OECD, UNCTAD and the Japanese government). His 16 other books include International Arbitration in Australia (Federation Press, 2010, eds) and International Investment Treaties and Arbitration Across Asia (Brill, 2018, eds). He is or has been Visiting Professor teaching and researching at universities throughout Asia, Oceania, Europe and North America.
Dr Nobumichi Teramura is an Associate at the Centre for Asian and Pacific Law at the University of Sydney (CAPLUS) and Legal Consultant at Bun & Associates (Cambodia). He is the author of Ex Aequo et Bono as a Response to the Over-judicialisation of International Commercial Arbitration (Wolters Kluwer 2020), based on his doctoral thesis from the University of New South Wales that received a PhD Excellence Award when completed in 2018. Nobu also published recently in the Asian International Arbitration Journal (2019) and ASA Bulletin (2020), and has co-authored a chapter comparing Australia forthcoming in Larry di Matteo et al (eds) The Cambridge Handbook of Judicial Control of Arbitral Awards (Cambridge University Press, 2020). Specialising in commercial law, his current research interests include legal integration in Asia and legal development for South East Asian nations severely affected by colonisation and the Cold War, including Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar. He has teaching and research experience in Asia-Pacific jurisdictions including the Philippines, Australia, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Cambodia and Brunei.
Vivienne Bath is Professor of Chinese and International Business Law at Sydney Law School and Director of the Centre for Asian and Pacific Law at the University of Sydney (CAPLUS). Her teaching and research interests are in international business and economic law, private international law and Chinese law. She has first class honours in Chinese and in law from the Australian National University, and an LLM from Harvard Law School. She has also studied in China and Germany and has extensive professional experience in Sydney, New York and Hong Kong, specialising in international commercial law, with a focus on foreign investment and commercial transactions in China and the Asian region. Representative publications include: Vivienne Bath & Gabriël Moëns, Law of International Business in Australasia (2nd ed., Federation Press 2019); Overlapping Jurisdiction and the Resolution of Disputes before Chinese and Foreign Courts, 17 Yearbook of International Private Law 111-150 (2015-2016) and The South and Alternative Models of Trade and Investment Regulation – Chinese Outbound Investment and Approaches to International Investment Agreements, in Recalibrating International Investment Law: Global South Initiatives (Fabio Morosini & Michelle Ratton Sanchez Badin eds., Cambridge University Press 2018).
James Claxton is Professor of Law at Rikkyo University in Tokyo and Adjunct Faculty for the White & Case International Arbitration LL.M at University of Miami Law School, as well as an independent arbitrator and mediator. He teaches and researches in the fields of international investment law, business and human rights, and international dispute settlement. Previously, he was legal counsel at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in Washington and attorney in the international arbitration practices of law firms in Paris. James regularly advises dispute resolution institutions in Asia and is a member of various working groups devoted to improving international dispute resolution systems.
The Hon Clyde Croft AM SC is Professor of Law at Monash University in Melbourne, as well as a commercial arbitrator and mediator. Until retiring in 2019 he was the judge in charge of the Arbitration List, the Taxation List, and a General Commercial List in the Commercial Court of the Supreme Court of Victoria. Prior to his Court appointment in 2009, he practiced extensively in property and commercial law and was an arbitrator and mediator in property, construction and general commercial disputes, domestically and internationally. Dr Croft was appointed Senior Counsel in 2000 and holds the degrees of BEc, LLB and LLM from Monash University, and PhD from the University of Cambridge. He has chaired the Expert Advisory Committee of the UNCITRAL National Co-ordination Committee of Australia (UNCCA) to support UNCITRAL Working Group II (Disputes) since May 2018. He represented the Asia Pacific Regional Arbitration Group (APRAG) at UNCITRAL from 2005 to 2010, revising the UNCITRAL Model Law and Arbitration Rules, and later co-authored A Guide to the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules (Cambridge University Press, 2013). Dr Croft is a Life Fellow of the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA) and of the Resolution Institute (incorporating the Institute of Arbitrators and Mediators Australia), a Fellow of the Arbitrators' and Mediators' Institute of New Zealand (AMINZ), the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, the Australian Academy of Law and UNCCA.
Weixia Gu is Associate Professor at the University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law and Co-Chair of the American Society of International Law Asia-Pacific Interest Group. Her research focuses on international arbitration, dispute resolution, private international law and cross-border legal issues. She is the author, editor, and co-editor of 3 books, including The Developing World of Arbitration in the Asia Pacific (Hart, 2018) and Arbitration in China: Regulation of Arbitration Agreements and Practical Issues (Sweet & Maxwell, 2012). She is the author of more than 50 journal articles and her recent works appear in leading international and comparative law journals, such as the American Journal of Comparative Law, Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, Cornell International Law Journal, among others. Her scholarship has been cited by the US Federal Court 11th Circuit, Texas Supreme Court, Hong Kong High Court, Singapore Law Gazette, and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade. Dr. Gu is an elected Member of the International Academy of Comparative Law, and sits on the governing councils of Hong Kong Institute of Arbitrators and China Society of Private International Law. She also serves as a panel-listed arbitrator in a number of leading arbitration institutions in China and Asia. Before joining the Faculty, she was selected as an Honorary Young Fellow to the New York University Law School in association with her Fulbright Award from the US Department of State.
Dr Hu Jiaxiang is Professor at the KoGuan Law School at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University. His research areas include public international law, international economic law and WTO law. He holds the degrees of BA and MA from Hangzhou University, MPhil in Law from Zhejiang University and PhD from the University of Edinburgh. In the past three decades, Professor Hu has published more than ten books and one hundred articles both in Chinese and English. He has been awarded various honours by the Ministry of Education of China and Shanghai Municipality for his excellence in teaching, and is currently leading several national research programmes.
Dr Jeanne Huang is Associate Professor at the University of Sydney Law School. She was previously Senior Lecturer at the University of New South Wales, and Associate Professor / Associate Dean at Shanghai University of International Business and Economics School of Law in China. She obtained her Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) degree from Duke University School of Law in 2010. She was a Foreign Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg, and also had research experience at The Hague Academy of International Law, and the Paris-based Academy of International Arbitration Law. Jeanne teaches and researches in the fields of private international law, e-commerce regulation, international investment law and dispute resolution (international litigation and arbitration). She has published four books including Interregional Recognition and Enforcement of Civil and Commercial Judgments: Lessons for China from US and EU Laws (Hart, 2014) and her articles have appeared in many peer-reviewed law journals, with extensive competitive funding include from the China National Social Science Fund. In 2015, she won the First Prize of Excellent Scholarship awarded by the China Society of Private International Law and the Nomination Award of the Dong Biwu Prize for Youth Research in Law. Jeanne serves as an arbitrator at the Hong Kong International Arbitration Center, Shanghai International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (Shanghai International Arbitration Center), Nanjing Arbitration Commission and Xi'an Arbitration Commission. She also serves as expert witness on issues of private international law and Chinese law in courts in Australia and the US.
Dr Michael Hwang SC is a Singapore-based international arbitrator. He was the Deputy Chief Justice of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts upon its establishment in 2005, and subsequently appointed Chief Justice in 2010, retiring at the end of 2018. Throughout that period, he has continued practising as an international arbitrator in commercial and treaty arbitrations. He has written two volumes of essays on international arbitration and international dispute resolution respectively, and was awarded an honorary LLD from the University of Sydney.
Albert Monichino QC is a Melbourne-based barrister and arbitrator, with over 25 years of experience in resolving commercial disputes domestically and internationally. He was appointed Senior Counsel in 2010, and is a former Vice President (Convenor) and Co-Chair of the Arbitration and ADR Section for the Commercial Bar Association of the Victorian Bar (COMMBAR). Albert is a Chartered Arbitrator and Past President of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Australian Branch (CIArb, 2014-17), and is a Fellow of CIArb, ACICA, the Resolution Institute and the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators. He writes extensively on international commercial arbitration in Australia and the Asia-Pacific, including an annual Australian survey for the Australian Dispute Resolution Journal.
Anselmo Reyes SC practises as an arbitrator. He was Professor of Legal Practice at Hong Kong University from October 2012 to September 2018. Before that, he was a judge of the Hong Kong High Court from September 2003 to September 2012, when he was in charge of the Construction and Arbitration List (2004-8) and the Commercial and Admiralty Lists (2008-12). He was Representative of the Hague Conference on Private International Law's Regional Office Asia Pacific from April 2013 to July 2017. He became an International Judge of the Singapore International Commercial Court in January 2015.
Dr Jaivir Singh is Professor at the Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University, having previously taught at the University of Delhi. Trained as an economist at the Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, his research work aims at an interdisciplinary exploration of the interaction between the law and the economy. He has published on diverse topics including the Indian Constitution, Regulation, Labour Law, Competition Law, Corporate Law and International Investment Treaties.
Dr S.I. Strong is an Associate Professor at the University of Sydney Law School, specialising in international dispute resolution and comparative law, particularly international commercial arbitration and large-scale (class and collective) suits. Prior to joining the University of Sydney, she taught at the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford as well as Georgetown Law Center and the University of Missouri. Dr Strong is an experienced practitioner, having acted as Counsel at Baker & McKenzie after working as a dual-qualified lawyer (US attorney and English solicitor) in the New York and London offices of Weil, Gotshal & Manges. She has published over 130 award-winning books, chapters and articles in Europe, Asia and the Americas, including Legal Reasoning Across Commercial Disputes: Comparing Judicial and Arbitral Analyses (anticipated 2021), Arbitration of Trust Disputes: Issues in National and International Law (2016), and Class, Mass, and Collective Arbitration in National and International Law (2013) fromOxford University Press as well as International Commercial Arbitration: A Guide for U.S. Judges (2012) from the Federal Judicial Center. Dr Strong's scholarly work has been translated into Spanish, French, Russian and Chinese and has been cited as authority by numerous state and federal courts and international tribunals. She Strong sits as an arbitrator and mediator on a variety of international commercial and trust-related matters.
Ana Ubilava is a Research Assistant and PhD candidate at the University of Sydney Law School, where she is in the final stages of completing a thesis on investor-state mediation. She has published on international dispute resolution in several periodicals including the Journal of World Investment and Trade. Ana is also Executive Coordinator of the Australian Network for Japanese Law (ANJeL).
The Hon Marilyn Warren AC QC is a Vice-Chancellor's Professorial Fellow at Monash University, where she is a member of its Global Leaders Summit, and teaches postgraduate commercial law and international arbitration. She was a long-serving Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria (2003-2017), and earlier on that Court (1998-2003) included service as the Judge in Charge of the Commercial List and the Corporations List (now combined as the Commercial Court). Professor Warren was a foundation Council member of the Asian Business Law Institute in Singapore. She now also sits as a domestic and international commercial arbitrator, and is a member of the Dawson Chambers Senior Arbitrator Group at the Victorian Bar (where she became Queen's Counsel in 1997).
A. Vijayalakshmi Venugopal is Senior Lecturer at Taylor's University Law School in Malaysia. Her teaching and postgraduate supervisory experience includes WTO law, international dispute resolution, international sale of goods and intellectual property law. She was a visiting lecturer at the University of Rotterdam Business School. She holds Masters degrees in law and educational psychology, and has presented conference papers in these fields. She is the author of three books, and articles in peer-reviewed law journals.
Dr Brett Williams, an Australian Legal Practitioner, is the principal of Williams Trade Law and an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney Law School. His legal practice specialises in the law of the World Trade Organization and of bilateral and regional trade agreements, including representation in WTO dispute settlement, accession issues, and also trade issues under Australian law. He has taught WTO law at Sydney Law School since 2001 and is a Research Affiliate of both the Sydney Centre International Law and the Centre for Asian and Pacific Law at the University of Sydney. His publications include the co-edited book China and the World Trade System (Cambridge University Press, 2003), building on his PhD research, and articles on WTO negotiations on agricultural trade, China's WTO accession, trade in services and innovations in dispute settlement mechanisms in trade agreements. Brett also serves on the Editorial Board of the Australian International Law Journal. He has held various professional positions, including on the Executive of the International Law Section of the Law Council of Australia (2012-2016) and as inaugural co-chair of the International Economic Law Interest Group of the Australia New Zealand Society of International Law (2010-2012).
Author Luke NottagePosted on July 1, 2020 December 20, 2020 Categories Asia-Pacific regional architecture, Australia-Japan Free Trade Agreement, Australia-Japan Relations, Corporate governance and FDI, Dispute resolution, Economics, Public policy and politics
Anniversary Conference, 1-2 March 2012: "Socio-legal Norms in Preventing and Managing Disasters in Japan: Asia-Pacific and Interdisciplinary Perspectives"
The "3-11 triple disasters" that afflicted Japan on 11 March 2011 have highlighted broader regulatory issues facing countries particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan's FTA negotiation program. A few months after "3-11", the Japan Foundation established a special grant program calling for collaborative research conferences on disaster prevention and management – seeking applications by end-September, with decisions to be reached by end-October and conferences to be concluded by March 2012. An application by a consortium led by the University of Sydney Law School was successful, allowing a major international conference to take place in the new Sydney Law School premises over Friday 1 March and Saturday 2 March 2012. Other sponsors of this event are the University's Japanese Studies Department and the new China Studies Centre, the Centre for Asian and Pacific Law at the University of Sydney (CAPLUS), the Australian Network for Japanese Law (ANJeL), and the Law Faculty of Tohoku University (one of the University of Sydney's longstanding partner institutions).
The conference will commemorate the first anniversary of the 3-11 disasters, and also represents ANJeL's tenth international conference on diverse aspects of Japanese Law. It will examine regulatory issues from a variety of social science perspectives, focusing on Japan but comparing Australia (of course, especially in the wake of January's devastating floods in Queensland), New Zealand (especially issues highlighted by the Christchurch earthquake), Indonesia (the Aceh tsunami), China and the USA (especially earthquakes and nuclear power issues).
Please "save the date", and keep an eye on the ANJeL website and the Sydney Law School "events" website for forthcoming registration and other details.
Continue reading "Anniversary Conference, 1-2 March 2012: "Socio-legal Norms in Preventing and Managing Disasters in Japan: Asia-Pacific and Interdisciplinary Perspectives""
Author Luke NottagePosted on November 15, 2011 Categories Asia-Pacific regional architecture, Australia-Japan Relations, Dispute resolution, Economics, Public policy and politics, RegulationLeave a comment on Anniversary Conference, 1-2 March 2012: "Socio-legal Norms in Preventing and Managing Disasters in Japan: Asia-Pacific and Interdisciplinary Perspectives"
The Rise and Possible Fall of Investor-State Arbitration in Asia: A Skeptic's View of Australia's "Gillard Government Trade Policy Statement"
Downloadable here is my draft paper on this topic for various forthcoming events, beginning with a 3 August seminar hosted by Sydney Law School on "Australia's New Policy on Investor-State Dispute Settlement".
The paper draws on research for the project, 'Fostering a Common Culture in Cross-Border Dispute Resolution: Australia, Japan and the Asia-Pacific', supported by the Commonwealth through the Australia-Japan Foundation which is part of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Treaty-based investor-state arbitration (ISA) has gradually become a more established part of the legal landscape in the Asian region. But this development is threatened by the 'Gillard Government Trade Policy Statement' announced in April 2011.
Continue reading "The Rise and Possible Fall of Investor-State Arbitration in Asia: A Skeptic's View of Australia's "Gillard Government Trade Policy Statement""
Author Luke NottagePosted on June 13, 2011 Categories Asia-Pacific regional architecture, Australia-Japan Free Trade Agreement, Dispute resolution, Economics, Public policy and politicsLeave a comment on The Rise and Possible Fall of Investor-State Arbitration in Asia: A Skeptic's View of Australia's "Gillard Government Trade Policy Statement"
Asia-Pacific Product Safety Regulation and Other Regional Architecture for a Post-FTA Era
Imagine an international regime with these institutional features:
1. Virtually free trade in goods and services, including a "mutual recognition" system whereby compliance with regulatory requirements in one jurisdiction (eg qualifications to practice law or requirements to offering securities to the public) basically means exemption from compliance with regulations in the other jurisdiction. And for sensitive areas, such as food safety, there is a trans-national regulator.
2. Virtually free movement of capital, underpinned by private sector and governmental initiatives.
3. Permanent residence available to nationals from the other jurisdiction (and strong pressure to maintain flexible rules about multiple nationality).
4. Treaties for regulatory cooperation, simple enforcement of judgments (a court ruling in one jurisdiction is treated virtually identically to a ruling of a local court), and to avoid double taxation (including a system for taxpayer-initiated arbitration among the member states).
5. Government commitment to harmonising business law more widely, eg now for consumer and competition law.
No, the answer is not the obvious one: I am NOT talking about the European Union (EU). I am referring to the Trans-Tasman framework built up between Australia and New Zealand, particularly over the last decade, sometimes through treaties (binding in international law) but sometimes in softer ways (eg parallel legislation in each country). And since both countries are actively pursuing bilateral and now some regional Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), especially in the Asia-Pacific region, can't at least some of these Trans-Tasman initiatives become a template for a broader "Asia Pacific Community"?
This question is particularly timely as the new DPJ-led government in Japan, has declared its support not only for the WTO system but also for FTAs, particularly in the Asian region. It also advocates improvements in food and consumer product safety measures. Whether or not Australia is considered part of Asia, either by Japan or itself, the two countries are continuing bilateral FTA negotiations in the context of growing involvement in regional arrangements in the Asia-Pacific region. Such developments constitute one theme at the NZ Centre for International Economic Law conference, "Trade Agreements: Where Do We Go From Here?", over 22-23 October 2009 in Wellington. Below is an edited introduction to my four-part paper, now available in further updated form as a Sydney Law School Research Paper. Powerpoint slides are also available in PDF here.
Continue reading "Asia-Pacific Product Safety Regulation and Other Regional Architecture for a Post-FTA Era"
Author Luke NottagePosted on November 19, 2009 Categories Asia-Pacific regional architecture, Australia-Japan Free Trade Agreement, Consumer law and policy, Economics, Product safety, Public policy and politics, Regulation
Neoclassical and Chicago School Economics Keeps Coming to Japan(ese Law)
A lively and long-overdue debate has emerged recently on the now widely-read East Asia Forum blog. Leading in to their forthcoming 6th edition textbook, economists McTaggart, Findlay and Parkin defended "The state of economics" against charges it failed to anticipate and address well the GFC. Another Australian economist, Steve Keen from UWS, responded with: "Why neoclassical economics is dead". So Richard Pomfret from Adelaide objects that it is: "Too soon for obituaries: economics is alive and (reasonably) well".
I can't resist adding my two yen's worth. Contrary to Pomfret, unfortunately 'neoclassical economics' is not a 'straw man' set up by Keen. Nor has it 'moved on' – enough, especially these days. To give only one example relevant to Australasia: J Mark Ramseyer's simplistic application of Chicago School methodology to the economic analysis of virtually all aspects of Japanese law and the economy.
Continue reading "Neoclassical and Chicago School Economics Keeps Coming to Japan(ese Law)"
Author Luke NottagePosted on June 6, 2009 Categories EconomicsLeave a comment on Neoclassical and Chicago School Economics Keeps Coming to Japan(ese Law)
Lessons from Japan for the US financial crisis
[Originally posted, with full hyperlinks, at http://eastasiaforum.org/author/lukenottage/]
Many commentators are belatedly pointing out parallels between the financial markets boom and bust cycle in Japan over the 1980s and 1990s, and that now afflicting the US. However, especially when it comes to solutions for the US and hence the world economy, things are not quite as simple as envisaged by Japan's then financial services minister, Yoshimi Watanabe, who proclaimed in March: "The US should follow Japan's example and tackle its sub-prime loan problem using public money. The situation is exactly like what Japan saw 10 years ago".
Continue reading "Lessons from Japan for the US financial crisis"
Author Luke NottagePosted on October 1, 2008 Categories EconomicsLeave a comment on Lessons from Japan for the US financial crisis
Tables turned in Japanese and US financial markets
In 2003, financial journalist Gillian Tett wrote a book with a self-explanatory title: Saving the Sun: How Wall Street Mavericks Shook Up Japan's Financial World and Made Billions (Harper Collins). It epitomized a school of thought proclaiming a dramatic shift in Japan towards US-style corporate governance more generally. On 24 September, still writing for the Financial Times, Tett concluded that if she were writing her book again, she "would give it a more upbeat slant. Anyone know the Japanese for 'eating humble pie'?". The Japan Society of Scotland has already suggested "sunao ni ayamaru (to apologise obediently without protesting)" or "memboku wo ushinau (to lose face)"! Japan's big financial institutions are certainly now back on the world stage, picking up some big pieces from America's own financial crisis. And Japanese policy-makers and other commentators now want to lecture the US on how to deal with it.
Who would have thought, even a year ago, that Nomura Securities would be buying up the now-insolvent Lehman Brothers' operations in Asia (including those in Australia, involving a total 3000 employees – with half in Tokyo) and then Europe (2500 employees)? And for just US$225m and "a nominal sum", respectively, out of cash reserves of almost $6b Nomura has raised since April? Or that Mitsubishi UFJ, which spent $3.5b to buy out the Union Bank of California, would now be committing up to $9b to take 10-20% of Morgan Stanley, another precarious "Big Five" Wall Street investment bank? Or that Sumitomo Mitsui, which recently spent $1b for 2% of Barclays bank in the UK (which in turn has bought Lehman's US operations), is prepared to invest US$1-3b in Goldman Sachs if requested by that other precarious Wall Street firm? Or that Mizuho would have recently pumped $1.2b into Merrill Lynch, another troubled firm that took refuge with the Bank of America in a $50b merger announced on 15 September?
Continue reading "Tables turned in Japanese and US financial markets"
Author Luke NottagePosted on September 29, 2008 Categories EconomicsLeave a comment on Tables turned in Japanese and US financial markets


Do you know what does SAD mean? Now know the meaning of SAD used in internet slang. We have over 10000 abbreviation used over the internet in facebook, whatsapp chatting and in sms texting.
Meaning of SAD is Pathetic, Seasonal Adjustment Disorder, Single, Available, and Desperate.
The defintion of SAD is Pathetic, Seasonal Adjustment Disorder, Single, Available, and Desperate. .
SAD means Pathetic, Seasonal Adjustment Disorder, Single, Available, and Desperate.


On 30 December 2015 the Russian Government approved Decree No. 1486. It introduces import licensing with regard to crushed stone and gravel (code 2517 10 100 0), certain materials used in the process of manufacture of rubble and gravel, and various mixtures whose components are crushed stone, gravel and sand (codes 2517 10 200 0, 2517 10 800 0, 2517 49 000 0).
The import licensing is valid for the period 1 January 2016 - 30 June 2016, inclusive. It is applicable with regard to countries that are not members of the Eurasian Economic Union.


text:
In cooperation with UKTI, the CETREGIO programme also supported an SME mission to Tianjin from 01 to 06 December 2014. Representatives from the West Midlands European Service, the Climate KIC Programme and five SMEs from the energy efficiency sector will held several meetings in five districts of Tianjin in order to explore the cooperation possibilities. The mission was undertaken with the full support of the China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
A number of business to business meetings were organised for Cambond Ltd, Greengineering Ltd., GreenHill Sustainability Ltd, JJ BioEnergy Ltd and Unicorn Power Ltd. Also events organised by the Beichen SME association at Beichen Economic & Technological Development Area (BEDA), a brokerage event organised by the Tianjin Municipal Science & Technology Commission and meetings with companies in the Binhai Hi-Tech Zone and Dongli Incubator Centre close to Tianjin International Airport. Meetings also took place with local authorities, research organisations and business parks as well governors and mayors from the different areas of the Tianjin region.
A number of useful contacts were made by the British companies and in three cases discussions have progressed to early stage contract negotiations. Following positive feedback from the British companies and NDRC it is hoped that further business missions could be undertaken to Tianjin and companies and representatives from Tianjin could visit the West Midlands in 2015. Such activity would further cement the relationship that has developed between Tianjin and the West Midlands.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: How to compare feature selection regression-based algorithm with tree-based algorithms? I'm trying to compare which feature selection model is more eficiente for a specific domain. Nowadays the state of the art in this domain (GWAS) is regression-based algorithms (LR, LMM, SAIGE, etc), but I want to give a try with tree-based algorithms (I'm using LightGBM LGBMClassifier with boosting_type='gbdt' as the cross-validation selected for me as most efficient one).
I managed to get something like:
Regression based alg
---------------------
Features    P-Values
f1          2.49746e-21
f2          5.63324e-08
f3          9.78003e-13
...         ...

Tree based (gain/split)
---------------------
Features    gain/split
f1          12
f2          10
f3          8
...         ...

How to compare them? I was considering to make use of the features selected by each model to predict my outcome (binary) variable and see which one is better (f1-score, recall, precision, accuracy, etc), but it brings me to another question: Ok, for regression I can set a alpha for my p-values and get a specific amount of features to be used in the prediction model, but what is the gain/split metric in LightGBM? I mean, how to select which features are relevant and should be use for my predictive model? Is it possible to, some how, tell LightGBM: Give me the features you've used in the train/test model?
I realised when I try: lgbm.plot_split_value_histogram(lgbm_clf, 'f3') it says: Cannot plot split value histogram, because feature f3 was not used in splitting. So, how do I get the features used in the model?
Thanks!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


2019 Australia Day Rally – done and dusted!
Well it was another successful Australia Day Rally this weekend, and our thanks go out to everyone who attended and assisted us in raising funds for Sailability. Sailability provides a sailing opportunity for people with all types and levels of disability in order to bring pleasure, encourage development and provide a broader life experience.
Lastly, but not least, our thanks to all club members from BVRC and also our supporting clubs for all the work they undertook to make today the success it was.
Our facebook page has been updated with many photos of the vehicles that attended today. If you're not on Facebook, don't worry, we've got you covered !
The below buttons will link you to the same photos as uploaded to Facebook for your viewing pleasure.
Photos of the day, including cars, people, entertainment, etc.
Photos and videos of the cars as they departed the ovals.
Photos of the day through the lens of a 10 year old grandson of one of our members.


Do You Own Your Own Website? - 1st on the List Inc.
Do You Own Your Own Website?
You may think the obvious answer is YES but you'd be surprised with the fine print of some of the DIY and low cost website alternatives out there.
A few months ago we wrote the article "Are You Held Hostage by Your Website?" in which we discuss three main ways you may be controlled by your website, including licensed websites.
Today I want to discuss the topic of licensed websites in more detail. A licensed website means that the web designer or host or software owns the code for your site and you use a monthly or yearly fee to use it. This is like renting a house – when you decide to move on you don't own anything and you don't have any equity built up to show for all your months of payments.
What makes licensed websites so attractive?
Prices that add up or increase over time.
The website is only needed for a short period of time.
It is a temporary website to use until you can afford to design the final version.
The code or design required is so complex it would be too expensive or impossible to build on your own.
Before you sign any type of contract you'd read the fine print- and buying a website is no different.
Advertising departments know the high (and often increasing cost) of traditional YellowPage ads as well as the fact that people are no longer using a physical phone book to look up businesses. YellowPages 360 is a more affordable solution that helps small businesses get listed online with a customized website or profile.
By posting, uploading or submitting any information, material or content to this Site, you automatically grant (or automatically warrant that the owner of the rights to such material or content has expressly granted) YPG a perpetual, royalty-free, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license throughout the world to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, create derivative works from, publish, translate, license, transmit, distribute and otherwise exploit any or all portions of such information, material or content in any manner and media and by means of any technology now known or hereafter developed. In addition, you hereby irrevocably waive all moral rights in any such information, material or content posted, uploaded or submitted by you.
All Content published on or otherwise accessible through this Site is protected by copyright. The Content, and the copyright in the Content, are owned or controlled by YPG or YPG's content suppliers. You may only use or reproduce the Content for your own personal and non-commercial use. The Content may not be otherwise used, reproduced, broadcast, published or retransmitted without the prior written permission of the copyright holder. You must abide by all copyright notices, information and restrictions contained in any Content on or accessed through this Site and maintain such notices in the Content.
Squarespace makes it easy to design your own website! Just select a template (you can switch at any time), start a free trial (no credit card is required) and then get a free domain.
You are legally responsible for all information, data, text, software, music, sound, photographs, graphics, video, messages or other materials uploaded, posted or stored in connection with your use of the Services ("Content"). Squarespace is not responsible for your Content. You hereby grant Squarespace a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to host and use the Content in order to provide you with the Services and hereby represent and warrant that you have all the rights necessary to grant us such license. You are responsible for any Content that may be lost or unrecoverable through your use of the Services. You are encouraged to archive your Content regularly and frequently.
d. Notice of termination of Services by Squarespace may be sent to the contact e-mail associated with your account. Upon termination, Squarespace has the right to delete all data, files, or other information that is stored in your account.
Can I take my content if I cancel?
Can I transfer the domain to myself if I cancel?
What will I need to provide for the website?
If you haven't already, read through our Website Hostage article and let us take you through the ramifications of not owning your site or domain name. We'll also help you understand what you can do to protect your business from the dilemma of a contract domain.
A 1st on the List Consultant is ready to work towards the independent ownership of your site. When we set up your website – you own it. Our goal is to create a web presence that is uniquely yours – owned by you, directed by you and paying you. Check out our website design information.
Yes there is a cost in paying someone to design your website just the way you want it. Your site will take time to rebuild, and because the old content is owned by your host, it will need to be rebuilt. That takes time.
But consider the cost of your own time spent on DIY websites and the cost of not owning your website down the road. For a closer look costs check out our SEO Marketing Budget article to get a good idea of work that goes into "fixing" websites and the average costs involved.
If you still have questions regarding your website give us a call at 1-888-262-6687 or send us an email at contact@1stonthelist.ca.
Chris Genge is the Founder and CEO of 1st on the List. Since 1997 he has helped hundreds of companies across North America with his technical expertise and practical upfront approach to Search Optimization and Digital Marketing. As a pioneer in his field, Chris has the ability to help clients set goals and achieve results all while fostering growth and teamwork amongst his incredible team of SEO experts and Web Designers.
https://www.1stonthelist.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Health-Vantis-Featured-Image.jpg 533 800 Chris Genge https://www.1stonthelist.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/logo.png Chris Genge2014-05-30 08:37:382019-01-09 16:50:10Do You Own Your Own Website?
Do You Have a Set and Forget Outdated Website Design?


Two years ago, the National Literacy Project began a collaboration with several school districts in Florida and the Literacy Design Collaborative to develop a set of modules that addressed all of the K-6 civics benchmarks within a literacy-rich framework. Although this collection was written with Florida students in mind, the modules can easily be adapted to meet the needs of students in other states. This collection was field-tested during January-May 2017 by 100+ teachers in four Florida districts. These 19 modules are now published and ready for your use!
You can access any or all modules at two places: the NLP website and the LDC Core Tools website (search for the NLP Civics Collection). These modules are open source, and you may modify them, post them, share them, or copy them.
The National Literacy Project is a non-profit organization formed in 2002; we work with schools and districts across the country to improve literacy and learning through a literacy action planning process. Email Dr. Judith Irvin at jirvin@NLProject.org if you have questions or would like to discuss how to use the modules.


…speaking of Carlos Castaneda, Walt Bickel is rumored to have been Castaneda's "Don Juan". At Bickel Camp in Last Chance Canyon (CA) Walt Bickel kept a "cat hospital" where the resident mouse police would recuperate from illness or injury. Bickel was a brilliant original character.


text:
Q: Aspectj using @annotation not working I want to make pointcut work with annotations,but this pointcut not working.
This is where my annotation using:
@RequiresPermissions(value = {"user:view"})
public static String users(Request request,
                                   Response response){
}

RequiresPermissions.java:
@Target({ElementType.METHOD})
@Retention(RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME)
@Documented
public @interface RequiresPermissions {
    String[] value();

    Logical logical() default Logical.AND;
}

AdminPermissionsAspect.java:
@Aspect
public class AdminPermissionsAspect {
    @Pointcut("execution(public * *(..))")
    void annotatedMethod() {}

    @Before("annotatedMethod() && @annotation(requiresPermissions)")
    public void execute(JoinPoint joinPoint, RequiresPermissions requiresPermissions) throws Throwable {

        MethodSignature signature = (MethodSignature) joinPoint.getSignature();
    //        Method method = signature.getMethod();
    //        RequiresPermissions requiresPermissions = method.getAnnotation(RequiresPermissions.class);
    }
}

This is my build message:
Information:2017-8-31 0031 22:33 - Compilation completed successfully with 1 warning in 5s 187ms
Warning:ajc: advice defined in om.puyixiaowo.fblog.aop.AdminPermissionsAspect has not been applied [Xlint:adviceDidNotMatch]

I don't know why it does'n work,I tried only use 'execution(public * *(..))' without '@annotation(requiresPermissions)',it working.
Guys help me!


text:
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie will 'always regret' not drafting QB Russell Wilson
By: Kilaam Malik
Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie revealed the most significant mistake his side has made over the years. The 70-year old still lament the error they made way back in 2012 is not getting hold of Russell Wilson in the NFL draft.
The Eagles missed out on signing Wilson as the Seattle Seahawks had already brought him in the third round of the draft, something which the Eagles had initially planned to do. However, they did get the services of Fletcher Cox in the first round, Mychal Kendricks and Vinny Curry with their two picks in the second round but did not get their main target in the draft.
It's fair to say that Russell Wilson has become quite a player since then, and it is understandable why Jeffrey Lurie called this the biggest regret of his career. Wilson won a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks in 2014 and took them to another Super Bowl appearance the following year.
In an interview, Lurie said, "Wilson is a player we didn't get, and I'll always regret it. It was someone I wish we had drafted in the second round and didn't wait. But we didn't think anyone would jump us and take Russell, so that was that.
Jeffrey Lurie also acknowledged the fact that it's not always possible for a franchise to get hold of their ideal franchise quarterbacks and gave the example of Josh Allen's improvement to suggest that players can often improve and attain a level that might be good at another franchise.
Lurie said, "It's tough to project what you call franchise or what we might call franchise quarterback," he said. "It happens. It just happens. After year one or year two, is Josh Allen a franchise quarterback? Was he even thought to be a franchise quarterback when Buffalo drafted him?
"I think the answers are clearly no, no, and no. He developed into one. We all have this vision of an automatic franchise quarterback, myself included. It's almost nonexistent, and when it exists, you're very lucky to have that," he said.
Russell Wilson recently ended his association with the Seattle Seahawks as he earned himself a trade move to the Denver Broncos to move for the first time in his career in the NFL.
The Eagles planned to take Wilson with their third-round pick (No. 88 overall) but were leapfrogged by the Seattle Seahawks, who took the Wisconsin product with the No. 75 pick. Philadelphia would pivot and take Nick Foles at No. 88.
We must note that the Eagles—and all 31 other NFL teams—had opportunities to select Wilson before Round 3. If he were a shining beacon of light in the 2012 NFL draft, the Eagles would have taken him over Vinny Curry and Mychal Kendricks, their second-round selections.
There is some level of 20-20 hindsight going on when a late-round quarterback hits big. Look into the past, and you'll find several general managers waiting to jump on Tom Brady after passing on him for five rounds in 2000.
The fact is that NFL teams significantly undervalued Wilson due to his size. He had prototypical arm strength and accuracy and the ability to scramble outside of the pocket, the type of skills teams dream about building around in the current climate.
Wilson likely is the "one who got away" from many executives running teams a decade ago.
Jeffrey Lurie
Mike Shouhed Arrested For Domestic Violence
Tyler, The Creator Answers Critics After Impulsive Grammy Speech


text:
Benedict Cumberbatch >
Was Julian Assange Right About Benedict Cumberbatch's 'The Fifth...
Was Julian Assange Right About Benedict Cumberbatch's 'The Fifth Estate'?
By Michael West in Movies / TV / Theatre on 10 October 2013
Follow Benedict Cumberba ...
Benedict Cumberbatch Julian Assange Bill Condon
When he said it wouldn't be a good film, he was sort of right
Julian Assange has become pretty annoying. There was a period when the WikiLeaks founder was an intriguing guy. People started calling him a rock and roll star. Now, he's holed away in the Ecuadorean embassy, demanding $1 million for interviews, getting visits from Lady Gaga and being mean to Benedict Cumberbatch.
The Official Fifth Estate Poster
It was revealed in a leaked email this week that Julian Assange refused to meet with the British actor while he was preparing to play the whistleblower in The Fifth Estate, describing Bill Condon movie as "toxic" and "distorted," and forebodingly urging Cumberbatch to "reconsider your involvement in this enterprise."
Released via WikiLeaks though recreated in full on Variety's website, the email makes it clear that Assange considered the movie - which has received mainly negative reviews - was a "bad idea."
"By meeting with you I would validate this wretched film," he wrote. "I cannot permit this film any claim to authenticity or truthfulness. In its current form it has neither, and doing so would only further aid the campaign against me."
Despite receiving a standing ovation at its world premiere during the Toronto Film Festival last month, The Fifth Estate - released this Friday (October 11) in the UK - is not the critical success that many had anticipated.
Laura Linney [L] and Stanley Tucci [R] in 'The Fifth Estate'
"The film's fogeyish approach to technology probably wouldn't matter so much if it had grasped the bare bones of drama," said the New Statesman.
"Disappointingly dull account of a tale desperately in need of a sharper screenplay and some directorial vim. Might as well wait for the Blu-ray, Jules," wrote Empire magazine.
The Independent praised Cumberbatch's performance though wrote, "Cumberbatch as the awkward Australian Assange performs a masterclass in mimicry. It's a shame, then, that the performance is let down by some clumsy storytelling that trots out all the usual clichés."
Daniel Bruhl [L] and Benedict Cumberbatch [R] In 'The Fifth Estate'
Total Film offered up a glowing review, writing, "With a riveting portrayal by Cumberbatch at its heart, The Fifth Estate tells its story grippingly - but finally leaves us none the wiser."
"Feverishly edgy and exciting," said Entertainment Weekly.
For all his arrogance, Assange essentially predicted the reaction to the movie, telling Cumberbatch in his letter, "I believe you are a good person, but I do not believe that this film is a good film. It is based on a deceitful book by someone who has a vendetta against me and my organisation."
He continued: "Feature films are the most powerful and insidious shapers of public perception, because they fly under the radar of conscious exclusion. This film is going to bury good people doing good work, at exactly the time that the state is coming down on their heads.
Benedict Cumberbatch [L] as Julian Assange in 'The Fifth Estate'
"It is going to smother the truthful version of events, at a time when the truth is most in demand.
"As justification it will claim to be fiction, but it is not fiction. It is distorted truth about living people doing battle with titanic opponents. It is a work of political opportunism, revenge and, above all, cowardice."
Assange is still wanted in Sweden for questioning on accusations of sex crimes. In June 2012, his appeal was turned down, leaving him to set up shop at the Ecuadorean embassy.
He denies the allegations and claims they are politically motivated, though Prime Minister David Cameron and Home Secretary Theresa May refuses to grant him a safe passage out of the country, saying he will be arrested should he step foot outside the embassy.
Watch the trailer for The Fifth Estate:
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If you're looking for quality and comfort in a warm and inviting setting then look no further than the Wykeham Arms.
Situated between Winchester Cathedral and the famous 14th century college the inn retains its 18th century charm with modern facilities, luxurious and stylish furnishings and the level of service that is second to none.
Dining at the award winning Wykeham Arms you will be treated to a range of top quality dishes using locally sourced Hampshire ingredients. Our extensive wine list offers hand-picked wines from around the world and of course we have a range of fine local ales available too.
If your visit extends beyond a fantastic meal and you'd like somewhere to rest your head, any of the 14 bedrooms will provide you with a real home from home experience. With fine linen, luxurious beds and Victorian roll top baths, a stay at The Wykeham Arms becomes a memorable experience. Some of the bedrooms even feature four-poster beds, while the beautiful Bakehouse suite with its mezzanine level bedroom has a separate living room and access to a wonderful secret garden.
Leave M3 at Junction 11 and go straight ahead at the first roundabout (for St Cross). At the second roundabout take the 3rd exit (for St Cross). You are now on St Cross Road, after you pass the BP petrol station on your right, take any of the next 3 turnings on the right, and at the end of that road turn left which will bring you on to Kingsgate Street. The Wykeham Arms is at the end of the road on the left, you will find the car park to the rear of the building off Canon Street.
Leave the M3 at junction 9 and follow the directions for Winchester Park and Ride (straight ahead for the first three roundabouts). At the fourth roundabout, take the first exit for St Cross, which will lead you onto Garnier Road. Drive to the end of this road and turn right into Kingsgate Road. The Wykeham Arms is at the end of this road on the left and the car park is at the rear of the building off Canon Street.


Personal Philosophy: Life is full of lessons and challenges to overcome. Our options are to experience personal soul growth and wisdom while we move through them; strike out at others in anger and revenge; or give up emotionally and wait to die mentally and physically.
I share the personal growth and survival lessons I have learned from my Social Work degrees, shamanic training and the 60+ years of life experience, including a near-death experience, open heart surgery, divorce, domestic violence, death of loved ones, fear, grief, and anxiety, in addition to the loss of my native country, heritage, identity, and more.
I assist others to heal by sharing my own healing lessons learned through the joys of 27 happy years with a soul mate husband, overcoming depression, anger, guilt, and hopelessness as I blended answers from science, psychology and native lore to help me open my heart to gratitude, unconditional love and no need for judgment, which lead me to the peace of mind and harmony I now experience in my life.
I write about and teach life skills for balance, harmony and joy using the same tools I found helpful in my own personal healing. These tools include Bach© Flower Essences, the Native American Medicine Wheel, Crystal Energies, Animal Messages, and a spiritual connection to the Creator and to All-That-Is. My job, as a wise Grandmother and an Elder, is to plant seeds of conscious awareness to help others recognize who we are, why we're here, and our interconnection with the universe so they can experience joy, harmony and balance in their lives.


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Your kids are back in school and you're focused on helping them excel. You want them to learn. To grow. To master knowledge.
It can be easy to leave it there. But there might be a danger in doing so.
Knowledge only really comes alive when you take it a step further and ask a next question. Sometimes this question gets asked. Sometimes it doesn't. At times it's even dismissed. But it shouldn't be.
You can almost see people learn forward when they start to ask questions like: Why does this matter? Why is this relevant? Why is this event recorded? Why is this being taught?
Ultimately, knowing why you're learning something becomes a great motivator for continued learning.


Comfy called and we answered! This t-shirt is one for your wardrobe with its soft and light bamboo fabric throughout. A round neckline and long fitted sleeves compliments this piece. A great option to dress casually or tuck into your favorite skirts and more. Keep it solid, boo!


This release supports three different software stacks, each of which have been validated on the ARM Juno board, the ARMv8 Foundation Platform and the AEMv8-A Base FVP. These software stacks include board firmware, System Control Processor firmware, ARM Trusted Firmware, and a choice of either UEFI or U-Boot.
The build will create binaries for ARM Trusted Firmware, UEFI, U-Boot, Linux, ramdisk and a DTB where appropriate. For Aarch64 platforms, the Firmware components will then be packaged into a FIP. All the binaries copied under the "output" folder.


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"To Sell is Human" Review 4
As Dan Pink continues in "To Sell is Human" he shifts now to the actions we need to take in order to sell to someone. He says that the first action that we need to take is to Pitch. He says the pitch is the ability to distill one's point to a persuasive essence. He says that the pitch is not only dependent on the one who is pitching but also on the one who is catching. The one who is catching needs to feel like they are invited in to collaborate with the pitcher. Once they feel like a collaborator their odds of rejection diminish.
Therefore the purpose of the pitch, according to Pink, is to offer something so compelling that it begins a conversation, brings the other person in as a participant, and eventually arrives at an outcome that appeals to both. He says that originally it used to be the elevator pitch was the hallmark of pitches, but given that access to people is much easier as is the glut of information that that person is receiving, there are six new promising pitch types:
The one-word pitch - Pink says this comes in part from Maurice Saatchi of Saatchi & Saatchi advertising. He touted "one word equity" or to "define the one characteristic they most wanted associated with their brand." For example "search" can signify Google and "priceless" for Mastercard. What is your one simple word?
The question pitch - He says the question can often outperform statements in persuading others. But you have to have a question which has a strong underlying premise otherwise it will be weak. He gives the example of Ronald Reagan using the pitch, "Are you better off now than you were four years ago." This work because people did not believe that they were better off than when Carter started his term. When Mitt Romney used the same question, however, it did not resonate with a great number of people who did not believe that to be true. What question can you use to pitch yourself?
The rhyming pitch - although I am not sold on using this for myself, Pink says that rhymes boost "processing fluency" or the ease with which our minds slice, dice and make sense of stimuli. He uses the one liner from Johnnie Cochran in defending OJ Simpson - "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit" when talking about the white glove not fitting on OJ's hand.
The subject-line pitch - here Pink is referring to email subject messages. He says the two that are most effective are the utility or curiosity subject lines. Utility works better when the recipient has a lot of emails and curiosity works under conditions of low demand.
The Twitter pitch - this pitch uses Twitter as the platform and its 140 character count as a limit for length. A good Twitter pitch he says engages recipients and encourages them to take the conversation further.
The Pixar pitch - this is the type of story line that Pixar uses in their Oscar award winning movies - Once upon a time _______. Every day, ____________. One day___________. Because of that, __________. Because of that, ___________. Until finally, ______________. He says this six sentence pitch is appealing in that it uses story telling that is concise and disciplined.
So what pitch is right for you? When you are out during the day doing your daily business what pitch can you begin to practice? I often use the question pitch, but I am going to try the Pixar one today! Let me know how it works!
Dan Pink continues with the third quality that is needed to move others: Clarity, or the capacity to help others see their situations in fresh and more revealing ways and to identify problems they didn't realize they had. Since information is readily available these days, if people know what their problem is they are likely to be able to determine a solution for it. The real opportunity, according to Pink is to help people who are mistaken or confused about what their problem or need really is.
So how do you find the right problems to solve or how do you switch from problem solving to problem finding (e.g. - offering a frame for which people can think about the problem)?
Framing people's options in a way that restricts or compares their choices can help them to see choices more clearly instead of overwhelming them. He gave two examples: one is offering 24 types of jams at a local upscale grocery store producing less sales (more tastings!) than a table offering only six varieties. The other example is of shifting a blind man's sign that he was using to collect money from "I am blind" to "It is springtime and I am blind," which ultimately collected a lot more money than the original sign.
Framing in experiential terms - people derive much more pleasure from experiences than goods (e.g. - climbing the Canadian Rockies as they can talk about the experience and share the story over and over again)
Framing with a blemish - being honest about the existence of a small blemish can enhance your offering's true beauty. (e.g. - listing all of the great qualities of hiking boots, but then saying that they are only available in two colors)
Framing the potential - the potential to be good at something can be preferred over actually being good at something (e.g. - rookie salaries in the NBA can often be higher than a more established player who has proven himself).
While offering people clarity on how to think about things is a strong motivator to move others, Pink says that you also need to provide them with how to take action once they are moved to do so. We will cover that in the next blog post. In the meantime how can you begin to frame people's problems in the ways identified above so that they are moved to buy?
Monica Thakrar
Monica Thakrar has over 18 years experience in business focused mainly on strategy, change management, leadership development, training and coaching resulting in successful implementations of large scale transformation programs.
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Rory McIlroy won the USGA's biggest event, the U.S. Open, in 2011.
The Amateur Athletic Union and United States Golf Association are separate organizations that have much in common. They're both venerable, nonprofit American organizations involved in athletics, and both involve golf. The main difference is that golf is only one of many AAU sports, while the USGA is involved with golf exclusively.
The AAU was founded in 1888. As the name suggests, the organization is devoted to amateur sports and physical fitness programs As of 2012, the AAU sanctions competitions in 34 sports -- including golf -- and holds 250 national championships altogether, plus more than 30,000 age division events, according to the organization's website. The AAU claims more than 500,000 participants and 50,000 volunteers.
The AAU notes that it held more than 180 golf tournaments in 2011, in addition to numerous other events sanctioned by local and district AAU chapters. The organization's premier series is the AAU World Junior Golf Tour, which holds sanctioned events worldwide for players age 6 through 18. The tour conducts 26 tournaments annually -- 20 in the United States and six abroad -- plus an invitation-only championship each May. Individuals must be AAU members to participate in AAU golf tournaments. AAU golf alumni include LPGA Tour pros Morgan Pressel, Lexi Thompson and Britney Lincicome, and PGA Tour pro Nicholas Thompson.
The Amateur Golf Association of the United States was formed on Dec. 22, 1894. It was later renamed the United States Golf Association. In 1951, the USGA and the Royal & Ancient in Scotland teamed up to standardize golf's rules, creating the uniform Rules of Golf. In the 21st century, the USGA's primary functions include monitoring and updating the Rules of Golf and the game's equipment standards. The organization created the the USGA Handicap System and continues to maintain the system of course ratings and individual handicaps. The USGA Green Section sponsors turfgrass and environmental research.
Like the AAU, the USGA is a nonprofit organization. Unlike the AAU, the USGA's chief tasks don't involve running tournaments. Jurisdiction for the men's and women's elite golf tours in the United States falls on the Professional Golfers' Association of America and the Ladies Professional Golf Association. But the USGA does conduct three major professional tournaments: the U.S. Open, the U.S. Women's Open and the U.S. Senior Open. The USGA is also responsible for 10 amateur championship tournaments.
What Are the Subsidiaries of Callaway Golf?


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RV Explorers shining the spotlight on the Twin Coast Cycleway, Horeke and the Hokianga
RV Explorers, Choice TV, Saturday 1.30pm, from October 13
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NZMCA backs the regions with new Motorhome TV series celebrating growth of Motorhome tourism
New Zealand's regions are getting much-needed support thanks to a new mainstream TV series backed by the New Zealand Motor Caravan Association.
RV Explorers, a six-part series, debuts on Choice TV on Saturday, October 13 th and heads off the beaten track to discover what makes New Zealand the ideal place to experience the motorhoming lifestyle.
"New Zealand regions have many exciting attractions for our visitors to explore and I am glad that this programme will help support them, "said Minister of Tourism Kelvin Davis.
Fittingly for a programme that celebrates the regions, the show was launched at an event at the Kaikohe Pioneer Village last Friday (September 28 th). Guests included Snow Harrison, Northland identity and trustee of the Pou Herenga Tai Twin Coast Cycle Trail.
"It's really fantastic that RV Explorers is shining the spotlight on the Twin Coast Cycleway. I really believe that it will increase motorhome tourism so people can experience the many attractions of the Far North," said Mr Harrison.
The series is a joint production between two industry experts – Spot on Publications (publishers of The Motor Caravanner magazine and former owners of the Covi SuperShow) and Calcomm Productions (which has more than 20 years of TV production experience for Sky, TVNZ, TV3 and 60 Minutes). Executive Producer Brent Gillies says the NZMCA-backed programme aims to promote the motorhoming lifestyle, and encourage people off the beaten track, to areas that don't traditionally get time in the spotlight.
Domestic tourism is a multi-billion dollar industry that has been increasing steadily for a number of years. Combine that with the fact that motor caravanning is one of New Zealand's fastest growing recreational activities and it's clear a resource such as RV Explorers is well overdue. The programme will appeal both to those who are new to the activity, as well as those who have been travelling for years.
It's the latest step in the NZMCA's successful off-the-beaten-track strategy, which led the way five years ago in ensuring that New Zealand's provincial regions got a fair share of the tourism bonanza. Regions outside the traditional tourism hotspots featuring in the six episodes making up the first series are: Kaikoura, Whanganui, Whangarei, Coromandel, Tararua and the Far North.
Each episode follows the adventures of Anne Marie and Jonathon, a new motorhoming couple trying out a different vehicle, experiencing what each area has to offer, and swapping stories with other motorhomers they meet along the way.
"It's about showing off regional New Zealand and exploring the motorhoming lifestyle," says NZMCA CEO Bruce Lochore. "There's guidance for those who are new to the lifestyle, and ideas on new places to visit for existing motorhomers. It's also shining the spotlight on those regions that are fantastic destinations, but don't necessarily get the publicity of the main tourism centres."
Viewers can expect everything from being wowed by the natural wonder of the Far North's Wairere Boulders, to quad biking in Kaikoura, exploring the Bridge to Nowhere in the far reaches of the Whanganui River, and luxuriating in the warmth of the Coromandel's Lost Springs.
"We're encouraging Kiwis to get off the beaten track to see more of what our amazing country has to offer", says Mr Lochore.
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