ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on May 21, 2025.
Australian para sport has issues everywhere – here’s what must be fixed ahead of the Brisbane Paralympics
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katherine Raw, Lecturer, Sport Management, Swinburne University of Technology Bratislav Kostic/Shutterstock Australia’s underwhelming performance at the 2024 Paris Paralympics has raised serious questions about how well our adaptive sport system is working. The Paris games returned our lowest medal tally since 1988, from our smallest team since
What’s the difference between skim milk and light milk?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Margaret Murray, Senior Lecturer, Nutrition, Swinburne University of Technology bodnar.photo/Shutterstock If you’re browsing the supermarket fridge for reduced-fat milk, it’s easy to be confused by the many different types. You can find options labelled skim, skimmed, skinny, no fat, extra light, lite, light, low fat, reduced fat,
AI is now used for audio description. But it should be accurate and actually useful for people with low vision
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathryn Locke, Associate Researcher in Digital Disability, Centre for Culture and Technology, Curtin University Chansom Pantip/Shutterstock Since the recent explosion of widely available generative artificial intelligence (AI), it now seems that a new AI tool emerges every week. With varying success, AI offers solutions for productivity, creativity,
NZ Budget 2025: science investment must increase as a proportion of GDP for NZ to innovate and compete
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicola Gaston, Director of the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Shutterstock/Olivier Le Queinec A lack of strategy and research funding – by both the current and previous governments – has been well documented, most comprehensively in the first report
Starvation of Gaza – a distressing continuation of a decades-old plan
SPECIAL REPORT: By Jeremy Rose Reading an NBC News report a couple of days ago about a Trump administration plan to relocate 1 million Gazans to Libya reminded me of a conversation between the legendary Warsaw Ghetto leader Marek Edelman and fellow fighter and survivor Simcha Rotem that took place more than quarter of a
Spotify continues to change music. What’s next – will AI musicians replace music made by humans?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra Spotify was started, according to its official claims, because its founders “love music and piracy was killing it”. In Mood Machine, music journalist Liz Pelly argues this is rewriting history. In fact, she
Feats of the human body behind Tom Cruise’s stunts in Mission: Impossible movies
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dan Baumgardt, Senior Lecturer, School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol He’s leapt from cliffs, clung to planes mid-takeoff and held his breath underwater for as long as professional freedivers. Now, at 62, Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt for one final mission – and
After another call with Putin, it looks like Trump has abandoned efforts to mediate peace in Ukraine
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stefan Wolff, Professor of International Security, University of Birmingham After a two-hour phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on May 19, US president Donald Trump took to social media to declare that Russia and Ukraine will “immediately start negotiations” towards a ceasefire and an end to
The public service has a much smaller gender pay gap than the private sector. It’s a big achievement
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leonora Risse, Associate Professor in Economics, University of Canberra NDAB Creativity/Shutterstock After two years of publishing the gender pay gaps of Australia’s private-sector companies, the Workplace Gender Equality Agency has released public-sector employer data for the first time. The report shows a stark contrast between the private
For making stars, it’s not just how much gas a galaxy has that matters – it’s where it’s hiding
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Barbara Catinella, Professor and Senior Principal Research Fellow, International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), The University of Western Australia One of the galaxies mapped by WALLABY: the red shade shows the atomic hydrogen gas content of the galaxy, overlaid on an optical image showing the stars.
The Queensland melioidosis outbreak is still growing. What’s keeping this deadly mud bug active?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thomas Jeffries, Senior Lecturer in Microbiology, Western Sydney University ap-studio/Shutterstock The outbreak of the deadly “mud bug” melioidosis in north Queensland has not yet abated since it began at the start of this year. So far there have been 221 cases and 31 deaths from the disease
‘Outdated and irrelevant’: what do young Australians think of their schooling?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jun Eric Fu, Senior Research Fellow, Youth Research Collective, The University of Melbourne LBeddoe/Shutterstock Australia’s school system – and whether it is doing its job – is often under the microscope from politicians, experts and parents. The most recent NAPLAN results in 2024 triggered a wave of
Culture at the core: examining journalism values in the Pacific
ANALYSIS: By Birte Leonhardt, Folker Hanusch and Shailendra B. Singh The role of journalism in society is shaped not only by professional norms but also by deeply held cultural values. This is particularly evident in the Pacific Islands region, where journalists operate in media environments that are often small, tight-knit and embedded within traditional communities.
The band is breaking up: has the Coalition stopped making sense?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Black, Visitor, School of History, Australian National University I remember seeing footage, several years ago, of a jubilant Malcolm Turnbull, then prime minister and Liberal leader, speaking in Tamworth to loyal members of the National Party. These were the rank and file who had spent weeks
Health chief ‘conductor of an orchestra who’s never played an instrument’
ANALYSIS: By Ian Powell In February 2025, Dr Diana Sarfati resigned, not unexpectedly, as Director-General of Health after only two years into her five-year term. As a medical specialist, and in her role as developing the successful cancer control agency, she had extensive experience in New Zealand’s health system. However, she did not conform to
Victorian budget has cash to splash on health, transport but new levies, job cuts, rising debt signal pain ahead
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University There was not a lot of cheer in the media reporting ahead of the 2025/6 Victorian budget released on Wednesday. Debt and deficits dominated the coverage. All eyes turned to new treasurer, Jaclyn Symes, to see if in
RBA cuts interest rates, ready to respond again if the economy weakens further
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock speaks at a forum during the World Bank/IMF meetings in Washington in April. Jose Luis Magana/AP The Reserve Bank of Australia cut the official interest rate for the
The Coalition is on a break, but the Nationals risk finding their former partner doesn’t want them back
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Linda Botterill, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University In the weeks since the federal election, there’s been much speculation about the future of the Coalition agreement. In their soul-searching, it seemed possible the Liberals might pull the pin, given the degree of their
Israel slammed over ‘cynical’ sidestep of global rulings on Gazan humanitarian aid
Asia Pacific Report Israel has been accused of “manipulation” and “cynical” circumvention of global decisions calling for unrestricted humanitarian aid access to the besieged Gaza enclave. “In a clear act of defiance against international humanitarian obligations, the occupying state has permitted only nine aid trucks to enter the Gaza Strip — covering both the devastated
Keith Rankin Analysis – The Aratere and the New Zealand Main Trunk Line
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Government-owned Kiwirail is supposed to be presiding over the New Zealand Main Trunk (Railway) Line, from Auckland to Invercargill. As such it runs a ferry service (The Interislander) between New Zealand’s North and South Islands. We are being told by Kiwirail (and see today’s report on Radio NZ) that the only
