ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on June 19, 2025.
Australian citizens in Iran and Israel are desperate to leave. Is the government required to help?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane McAdam, Scientia Professor and ARC Laureate Fellow, Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW Sydney As thousands of Australian citizens and permanent residents stuck in Iran and Israel continue to register for repatriation flights, the government is scrambling to find safe ways to evacuate them. With
Popular period-tracking apps can hold years of personal data – new NZ research finds mixed awareness of risk
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Friedlander, PhD Candidate in Sociology, University of Waikato Shutterstock/Krotnakro Period-tracking apps are popular digital tools for a range of menstrual, reproductive and general health purposes. But the way these apps collect and use data involves risk. Many apps encourage users to log information well beyond their
Migrating bogong moths use the stars and Earth’s magnetic field to find ancestral summer caves each year
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eric Warrant, Professor of Zoology at the University of Lund, Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University, and Adjunct Professor, University of South Australia Vik Dunis/iNaturalist, CC BY-NC It’s a warm January summer afternoon, and as I traverse the flower-strewn western slopes of Australia’s highest mountain, Mount
Jaws at 50: how a single movie changed our perception of white sharks forever
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Long, Strategic Professor in Palaeontology, Flinders University Shane Myers Photography/Shutterstock It’s been 50 years since Steven Spielberg’s movie Jaws first cast a terrifying shadow across our screens. At a low point during production, Spielberg worried he’d only ever be known for “a big fish story”. The
Robot eyes are power hungry. What if we gave them tools inspired by the human brain?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam D Hines, Research Fellow, Centre for Robotics, Queensland University of Technology A hexapod robot navigating outdoors. Adam Hines Robots are increasingly becoming a part of our lives – from warehouse automation to robotic vacuum cleaners. And just like humans, robots need to know where they are
Winter viruses can trigger a heart attack or stroke, our study shows. It’s another good reason to get a flu or COVID shot
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tu Nguyen, PhD Candidate, Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Irina Shatilova/Shutterstock Winter is here, along with cold days and the inevitable seasonal surge in respiratory viruses. But it’s not only the sniffles we need to worry about. Heart attacks and strokes also
School playgrounds are one of the main locations for bullying. How can they be set up to stop it?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Dean (Academic), Faculty of Arts and Education, Charles Sturt University Dan Kenyon/ Getty Images Children spend thousands of hours in playgrounds at school. A lot of this time does not have the same levels of teacher preparation and supervision as classrooms do. Research shows
Would you cheat on your tax? It’s a risky move, the tax office knows a lot about you
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert B Whait, Senior Lecturer in Taxation Law, University of South Australia Soon, more than 15 million Australians should be lodging a tax return with the Australian Taxation Office in the hope of receiving at least a small refund. About 60% of taxpayers use an accountant to
Companies are betting on AI to help lift productivity. Workers need to be part of the process
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Llewellyn Spink, AI Corporate Governance Lead, Human Technology Institute, University of Technology Sydney The Conversation, CC BY-NC Australia’s productivity is flatlining, posting the worst vitals we’ve seen in 60 years. Politicians and chief executives are prescribing artificial intelligence (AI) like it’s the new penicillin – a wonder
Is Sabrina Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend album cover satire or self-degradation? A psychology expert explores our reactions
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Muller-Townsend, Lecturer in Psychology, Edith Cowan University Island Records Sabrina Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend album cover has fans divided. Carpenter poses on all fours, her glossy blond hair grasped by a male figure cropped from the frame. Her wide-eyed expression intensifies an ambiguous performance of subservience,
Kicked out for coming out: more than half of LGBTIQ+ flatmates face discrimination for their identity
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brodie Fraser, Senior Research Fellow, He Kāinga Oranga Housing and Health Research Programme, University of Otago Sangar Akreyi/Getty Images People who belong to the LGBTIQ+ community say flatting is fraught with difficulties that go well beyond learning new routines and sharing space with strangers. Our new research
Tracing the Drax family’s millions – a story of British landed gentry, slavery and sugar plantations
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Lashmar, Reader in Journalism, City St George’s, University of London ‘Planting the sugar-cane’: vast fortunes were made from the trades in both sugar and human slaves in the Americas. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library Rich
Nineteen Eighty-Four might have been inspired by George Orwell’s fear of drowning
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nathan Waddell, Associate Professor in Twentieth-Century Literature, University of Birmingham George Orwell had a traumatic relationship with the sea. In August 1947, while he was writing Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) on the island of Jura in the Scottish Hebrides, he went on a fishing trip with his young
What happens when aid is cut to a large refugee camp? Kenyan study paints a bleak picture
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olivier Sterck, Associate professor, University of Oxford Humanitarian needs are rising around the world. At the same time, major donors such as the US and the UK are pulling back support, placing increasing strain on already overstretched aid systems. Global humanitarian needs have quadrupled since 2015, driven
Grok’s ‘white genocide’ responses show how generative AI can be weaponized
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Foulds, Associate Professor of Information Systems, University of Maryland, Baltimore County Someone altered the AI chatbot Grok to make it insert text about a debunked conspiracy theory in unrelated responses. Cheng Xin/Getty Images The AI chatbot Grok spent one day in May 2025 spreading debunked conspiracy
Politics with Michelle Grattan: an ‘impatient’ Jim Chalmers on taking political risks in Labor’s second term
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images While the world’s media is largely focused on conflict in the Middle East, the focus for many Australians remains at home, with the government preparing the long task ahead of trying to lift Australia’s productivity. Last week,
View from The Hill: Jim Chalmers wants to get on with economic reform and tax is in his sights
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Jim Chalmers speaking to the National Press Club June 18, 2025. Screenshot from the ABC Broadcast, CC BY-NC Jim Chalmers cast his Wednesday National Press Club speech as a second instalment in a two-part presentation that was kicked off by
Iran’s long history of revolution, defiance and outside interference – and why its future is so uncertain
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus Professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University; and Vice Chancellor’s Strategic Fellow, Victoria University Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has gone beyond his initial aim of destroying Iran’s ability to produce nuclear weapons. He has called on the Iranian people
95 lawyers demand stronger NZ stand over Israel amid Middle East tensions
Asia Pacific Report Ninety-five New Zealand lawyers — including nine king’s counsel — have signed a letter demanding Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and two other ministers urge the government to take a stronger stand against Israel’s “catastrophic” actions in Gaza. The letter has been sent amid rising tensions in the region,
Gay and bisexual men will soon be able to donate blood and plasma
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yasmin Mowat, Clinical Project Manager, Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney AnnaStills/Getty Images Many gay and bisexual men have been excluded from donating blood and plasma (the liquid portion of blood) for decades because of rules developed during the HIV crisis in the 1980s. The Australian Red Cross’ blood
