News In Brief

Welcome to our ‘News In Brief’ column in which we digest all the news releases for you in no more than five paragraphs.
Below are snippets of all the media releases we received from Nov 11 till the end of the week.
This article updates throughout the week.

Singapore Airlines Tops Travel Awards

Sydney, Nov 11: Australia’s favourite travel brands have been revealed in Finder’s 2025 Customer Satisfaction Awards, with Singapore Airlines dominating across multiple categories.
New Finder research shows 34% of Australians – or 7.3 million people – are planning an international trip in the next 12 months, highlighting strong travel demand heading into 2026.
Finder’s awards, based on feedback from more than 60,000 Australian consumers, rated brands on trust, value, satisfaction, and likelihood of recommendation.
“The best travel experience is one where you have total peace of mind – from the moment you start planning to when you get back home,” Finder’s head of consumer research Graham Cooke said.
“Whether you’re booking flights, comparing travel insurance, or racking up frequent flyer points, our top rated brands will help you travel smarter, from booking to boarding.”
Singapore Airlines led the airline category with seven wins, including Most Loved, Top Value, and Most Reliable. Flight Centre topped as Most Recommended travel agency, while Travel Associates won Most Loved and Most Trusted.
Among frequent flyer programs, Emirates Skywards and Air New Zealand Airpoints performed strongly, while RAA and World2Cover took top honours in travel insurance.
Cooke said the results show Aussies are favouring international airlines and loyalty programs over local options, reflecting changing travel priorities and expectations.

Aussies to spend $4.5b on Black Friday

Sydney, Nov 11: Australians are set to splash $4.5 billion on Black Friday, with the average shopper forecast to spend $531, new Finder research shows. In a survey of 1,011 people, 55 per cent said they have shopped or plan to shop major sales this year, up to an estimated 11.8 million shoppers (from 10.5 million in 2024).
Black Friday leads the calendar, with 40 per cent planning to buy (about 8.6 million people), ahead of Boxing Day (29 per cent). Cyber Monday (17 per cent), Amazon Prime Day (18 per cent), Afterpay Day (9 per cent), Click Frenzy (8 per cent), Singles’ Day (3 per cent) and Vogue Online Shopping Night (2 per cent) round out the list; 45 per cent won’t shop any of them.
Top targets this Black Friday are clothes/shoes (68 per cent), followed by electronics/gadgets (44 per cent), beauty/makeup/skincare (35 per cent), accessories (30 per cent), toys (26 per cent), food/alcohol (25 per cent), manchester/homewares (19 per cent), furniture (15 per cent), travel (14 per cent) and whitegoods (10 per cent). Other items: 4 per cent.

TEG Expands Marketing

Sydney, Nov 11: Ticketek Entertainment Group (TEG) has launched Ovation amp, a full-service, data-led creative agency uniting media, digital, strategy and storytelling within TEG.
Led by Larissa Best (GM, Live Entertainment and Head of Ovation amp), the unit will operate as an in-house centre of excellence and a commercial creative partner to promoters, venues and touring divisions.
TEG has also strengthened its global touring capability by acquiring Twenty3 Live, the specialist entertainment marketing division of Twenty3 Sport + Entertainment.
The six-person Twenty3 Live team, led by long-time Marketing Director Edwina Tarrant, joined TEG’s Melbourne office in early October, formalising a 17-year partnership that has delivered campaigns for major tours and events (including Bon Jovi, Eminem, George Michael, Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Andrea Bocelli, Bruno Mars, Guns N’ Roses, Queen, AC/DC, Phil Collins, Keith Urban and Delta Goodrem).
The move consolidates TEG’s marketing functions while allowing Twenty3 Sport + Entertainment to refocus on strategic consulting, sponsorship management, event production, experiential and brand activations. TEG said all current client campaigns and major tours handled by Twenty3 Live will continue seamlessly, with existing leadership and relationships maintained.
“We are delighted to formally welcome the Twenty3 Live team into TEG,” said Larissa Best, General Manager, Live Entertainment and Head of Ovation amp. “This formalises a longstanding relationship with Twenty3 that has already delivered tremendous value over the years. Their skills and experience are second to none and having them within the TEG business ensures we continue to deliver best-in-class results for our Artists, Fans, and Partners. We are excited to build on their strong legacy and drive even more impact in the Live Entertainment space.”
“We are incredibly proud of what the Twenty3 Live division has achieved over nearly two decades,” said John Tripodi, CEO of Twenty3 Group. “Their transition to TEG is a testament to their dedication, consistent results and the trust they’ve built. For Twenty3, this milestone allows us to celebrate their success while focusing on the next phase of growth for our agency.”
Michael Leeds, Managing Director of Twenty3 Group, added: “This milestone represents an exciting evolution for our agency. We’re excited to see our colleagues continue their journey within one of Australia’s leading entertainment businesses, and the outstanding work of the Twenty3 Live team has been recognised by TEG as integral to their future growth.”

Gurobi Powers Akaysha

Sydney, Nov 11: Gurobi Optimization is partnering with Akaysha Energy to strengthen forecasting, operations, and market optimisation for its global battery energy storage systems (BESS) portfolio. Founded in 2021, Akaysha has become one of Australia’s largest build-own-operate BESS providers, with projects in Australia, Japan, the United States, and Germany. Gurobi’s mathematical optimisation supports faster, data-driven decisions across millions of market variables, improving long-term revenue forecasts and real-time performance. The tools also enhance investment-case sensitivity testing, contracted risk-reward assessment, and post-event trading analysis to drive continuous improvement.
“Optimizing a battery energy storage system in a dynamic energy market involves millions of decisions daily,” said Tim O’Sullivan, General Manager – Energy Market Software Development, Akaysha Energy. “Gurobi gives us a robust framework to develop, test, and deploy optimization models that improve the speed and accuracy of our forecasting and performance assessments.”
“We’re excited to support Akaysha Energy as they help shape the future of clean energy,” said Duke Perrucci, CEO of Gurobi Optimization. “At Gurobi, our mission is to help organizations make better decisions. Our technology uses advanced mathematics to evaluate millions of possibilities and quickly find the best one—turning complexity into clarity so businesses can move faster and perform better.”
“For Akaysha Energy, that means using decision intelligence to optimize how their battery systems operate in dynamic market conditions—improving forecasting accuracy, refining trading strategies, and ensuring their assets deliver maximum value,” added Perrucci. “It’s rewarding to see how our technology can support innovators like Akaysha in accelerating the clean energy transition.”

Unlocking Asia Push

Sydney, Nov 12: CPA Australia is urging the Federal Government to boost national “Asia capability”, warning Australian businesses—especially SMEs—are missing major investment and innovation opportunities in the region. In a submission to the government’s inquiry, the body recommends: expanding Asia-focused SME training; a government-backed case study library showcasing Australian success in Asia; more scholarships and professional placements for young Australians; and revitalising Asian language and cultural education. CPA Australia cites a 70+ year presence in Asia and nearly 50,000 members across mainland China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and the UAE. It also highlights a reciprocal work placement exchange with Malaysia under DFAT’s Young Professionals Exchange Program, alongside ongoing thought-leadership such as the Asia-Pacific Small Business Survey and Business Technology Report.
“Asia is central to Australia’s future prosperity. To remain competitive, we must build Asia capability from the classroom to the boardroom,” Ms Keppel Jones said.
“With Asia home to some of the world’s fastest-growing economies, Australia risks falling behind unless it invests in Asia capability now. We need more investment into existing programs, such as the New Colombo Plan, to improve Australians’ understanding of Asia.”
“As global dynamics shift, our ability to engage with Asia is more critical than ever. We need to ensure Australia’s workforce is globally competitive,” Keppel-Jones said.
“We are ready to work with government, educators and industry to turn these recommendations into action.”

Cultural Authority Push

Sydney, Nov 12: The New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC) has called for an Aboriginal community-controlled culture and heritage mechanism, arguing that “Aboriginal Culture and cultural heritage are not just artefacts from the past – they are living and exist within people and Country,” and “cannot, and should not, be determined by non-Aboriginal mechanisms, laws or structures.”
Chairperson Cr Ray Kelly said Local Aboriginal Land Councils (LALCs) are vital to navigating community complexity and “help identify the right people to speak for a place and Country at all times.”
While LALCs “do not have cultural authority themselves,” he said, “they should have a voice to take action on behalf of their members, communities and people to protect cultural heritage from harm.”
NSWALC affirmed support for LALCs and pledged to pursue Commonwealth First Nations cultural heritage reforms that “uphold protections… respect local Aboriginal communities’ authority over Country and ensure reforms do not weaken rights under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW).”

ONATi Adopts Captura

Germany, Nov 12: Oculeus has deployed its Captura NG interconnect and wholesale management platform for ONATi, the incumbent telecommunications provider in French Polynesia, to streamline its interconnect voice operations and improve revenue assurance.
ONATi, a subsidiary of the state-owned OPT and provider of fixed, mobile, wholesale transit and broadband services under the VINI brand across 75 islands, has migrated management of its national and international interconnect voice traffic and partner relationships to Captura NG.
The platform provides a unified system for interconnect billing, settlement and routing optimisation, using automation and real-time reporting to strengthen cost and revenue assurance. Its AI-powered features assist with tasks such as ingesting partner pricing offers, reducing manual errors and billing disputes, while integrated email and invoicing tools simplify workflows and support automated exchange of interconnect invoices.
Routing optimisation capabilities also enable ONATi to deliver outbound international voice traffic according to a balance of lowest supplier cost and quality guarantees.