ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on July 29, 2025.
How real-time data can lead to better decisions on everything from NZ’s interest rates to business investment
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dennis Wesselbaum, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, University of Otago It is late July, and New Zealand is slowly receiving economic data from the June quarter. Inflation has hit a 12-month high, for example, confirming what many already suspected. But the country is still nearly two months
A rare, direct warning from Japan signals a shift in the fight against child sex tourism in Asia
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ming Gao, Research Fellow of East Asia Studies, Lund University Jonas Gratzer/LightRocket via Getty Images Japan’s embassy in Laos and its Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a rare and unusually direct advisory, warning Japanese men against “buying sex from children” in Laos. The move was sparked
Employers warn Labor’s push to lock in penalty rates is bad for business – but it’s not that simple
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris F. Wright, Professor of Work and Labour Market Policy, University of Sydney Ron Lach/Pexels, CC BY The Albanese government is pushing ahead with new legislation to protect penalty rates and overtime for about 2.6 million workers under the award system. Those workers are more likely to
‘Are you joking, mate?’ AI doesn’t get sarcasm in non-American varieties of English
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Aditya Joshi, Senior Lecturer, School of Computer Science and Engineering, UNSW Sydney Emily Morter/Unsplash In 2018, my Australian co-worker asked me, “Hey, how are you going?”. My response – “I am taking a bus” – was met with a smirk. I had recently moved to Australia. Despite
Fiji and Pacific countries must ‘band together’ over Trump uncertainty, says trade expert
International trade expert Steven Okun has warned that the “era of uncertainty” in global trade set in motion by US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies is likely to be prolonged as there is no certainty now of a US return to pre-Trump trade policy era He has advised small economies like Fiji and Pacific countries
‘I was very fearful of my parents’: new research shows how parents can use coercive control on their children
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Professor (Practice), Faculty of Business and Economics, Monash University In Australia, there is growing recognition that children and young people are not just witnesses to domestic, family and sexual violence, but victim-survivors in their own right. While we are getting better at understanding how coercive
‘No filter can fix that face’: how online body shaming harms teenage girls
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Taliah Jade Prince, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Youth Mental Health and Neuroimaging, University of the Sunshine Coast Richard Drury/Getty Images You’re so ugly it hurts. Maybe if you lost some weight, someone would actually like you. No filter can fix that face. These are the sorts of
As US climate data-gathering is gutted, Australian forecasting is now at real risk
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew B. Watkins, Associate Research Scientist in Climate Science, Monash University Gallo Images/Getty This year, Australia has experienced record-breaking floods, tropical cyclones, heatwaves on land and in the ocean, drought, coral bleaching, coastal erosion and devastating algal blooms. Over the past five years, insured losses from extreme
My child is always losing and forgetting things. How can I help – without making it worse?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Celia Harris, Associate Professor in Cognitive Science, Western Sydney University CarrieCaptured/Getty As school returns, parents and teachers might each be faced with the familiar chorus of “I can’t find my school jumper” and “I left my hat at home”. For parents of older kids, the stakes may
As Trump has pulled back from the highest tariffs, this chart shows the economic shock has eased
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Giesecke, Professor, Centre of Policy Studies and the Impact Project, Victoria University It’s tariff season again, with the next deadline looming on Friday, August 1. Since the beginning of July, the United States has issued another flurry of tariff announcements, revising the sweeping plan announced on
I’m not First Nations, but I want to wear First Nations fashion. Is that okay?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Treena Clark, Chancellor’s Indigenous Research Fellow, Faculty of Design and Society, University of Technology Sydney If you’re not First Nations yourself, you may have found yourself asking if it is okay for you to wear First Nations fashion. What can you buy? How do First Nations people
Telling stories: the 4 ways micro-influencers build and keep their loyal audiences
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shahper Richter, Senior Lecturer in Digital Marketing, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau The rise of social media was quickly followed by the advent of the “influencer” – an online content creator who builds credibility within a specific niche, giving them the power to shape opinions and
All women — not just mothers — could benefit from more workplace flexibility
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anja Krstic, Assistant Professor of Human Resource Management, York University, Canada Despite progress toward gender equity, many women continue to take on the majority of unpaid labour within their households, including housework and child care. On average, women spend twice as much time as men per week
Africa’s smallholder farmers are using bright ideas to adapt to climate change: G20 countries should fund their efforts
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olaoluwa Omoniyi Olarewaju, Honorary Research Fellow, University of KwaZulu-Natal Across most of Africa, rural communities grow their own food, relying on smallholder agriculture. But climate change is threatening this way of life. Rising temperatures, erratic rainfall and degraded soils are already shrinking harvests. This is pushing millions
Kippie Moeketsi at 100: the soul-stirring story of a South African jazz legend
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gwen Ansell, Associate of the Gordon Institute for Business Science, University of Pretoria It’s 100 years since the birth of reedman Jeremiah Morolong “Kippie” Moeketsi on 27 July 1925. He was one of the most influential saxophonists shaping South Africa’s modern jazz style. His death in poverty
My new history of romanticism shows how enslavement shaped European culture
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mathelinda Nabugodi, Lecturer in Comparative Literature, UCL Portrait of Madeleine by Marie-Guillemine Benoist (1800). Louvre According to one strand of history, slavery was abolished when Europeans found their conscience. According to another, it was abolished when it stopped being profitable. Both approaches tend to underplay the significance
Smart cities start with people, not technology: lessons from Westbury, Johannesburg
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rennie Naidoo, Professor of Information Systems, University of the Witwatersrand Protesters blocking roads in Johannesburg, demanding a reliable water supply. Photo: Silver Sibiya GroundUp, CC BY-NC-ND African cities are growing at an incredible pace. With this growth comes a mix of opportunity and challenge. How do we
Author David Robie joins Greenpeace virtual tour of Rainbow Warrior
Greenpeace Join us for this guided “virtual tour” around the Rainbow Warrior III in Auckland Harbour on the afternoon of 10 July 2025 — the 40th anniversary of the bombing of the original flagship. The Rainbow Warrior is a special vessel — it’s one of three present-day Greenpeace ships. The Rainbow Warrior works on the
Urban trees vs. cool roofs: What’s the best way for cities to beat the heat?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Smith, Research Scientist in Earth & Environment, Boston University Trees like these in Boston can help keep neighborhoods cooler on hot days. Yassine Khalfalli/Unsplash, CC BY When summer turns up the heat, cities can start to feel like an oven, as buildings and pavement trap the
Iran’s plan to abandon GPS is more about a looming new ‘tech cold war’
COMMENTARY: By Jasim Al-Azzawi For the past few years, governments across the world have paid close attention to conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. There, it is said, we see the first glimpses of what warfare of the future will look like, not just in terms of weaponry, but also in terms of new
