ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on December 8, 2025.
Australia’s $2.3 billion green energy program is funding oversized batteries and blowing out in cost
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rohan Best, Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics, Macquarie University Kindel Media/Pexels A federal government green energy program is subsidising unnecessarily large home batteries and blowing out in cost. The Labor government launched its A$2.3 billion Cheaper Home Batteries Program in July, with the aim of bringing down
Barnaby Joyce joins One Nation to run as NSW Senate candidate in 2028
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Pauline Hanson/X Barnaby Joyce has finally made the jump to One Nation and will lead its New South Wales Senate ticket for the 2028 federal election. Pauline Hanson said on social media: “It’s official! We have made our announcement on
More women are using steroids – and many don’t know the risks
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samuel Cornell, PhD Candidate in Public Health & Community Medicine, School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Scott Webb/Unsplash When people think of gym goers using steroids, the picture that comes to mind is often of a man pumping iron, like Arnold Schwarzenegger, or modern day shirtless masculinity
What’s the difference between a tumour and cancer?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Sasson, Scientia Senior Lecturer in Medicine (Immunology), UNSW Sydney National Cancer Institute/Unsplash The terms tumour and cancer can refer to different types of lumps and bumps. But the terms are often confused and misused – by the general public and even health professionals. For instance, doctors
Empowerment and joy: NZ’s Special Olympics Summer Games remind us what sport is about
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Trudie Walters, Senior Lecturer in Leisure and Event Studies, Lincoln University, New Zealand Team New Zealand at the opening ceremony of the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin, 2023. Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images One of New Zealand’s biggest sporting events of this year, at least in terms of
The under-16s social media ban will damage young people’s political education. Teachers need better support
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zareh Ghazarian, Associate Professor in Politics and International Relations, School of Social Sciences, Monash University From this week, Australians aged under 16 will not be able to hold an account on many social media platforms. In anticipation of the ban, some social media companies have already begun
What our missing ocean float revealed about Antarctica’s melting glaciers
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steve Rintoul, CSIRO Fellow, CSIRO Pete Harmsen, CC BY-ND Sometimes, we get lucky in science. In this case, an oceanographic float we deployed to do one job ended up drifting away and doing something else entirely. Equipped with temperature and salinity sensors, our Argo ocean float was
Most people with disabling mental health conditions can’t access the NDIS. Here’s a better way to provide support
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Bennett, Disability Program Director, Grattan Institute The pathway to reforming the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is littered with obstacles. Among the biggest challenges is the federal and state governments agreeing on responsibility and funding for “foundational supports”. These are disability-specific services for people who don’t
Active zones and mini retreats – how to build preschools suitable for neurodivergent kids
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Fatemeh Aminpour, Research Fellow, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW Sydney Natalia Lebedinskaia/ Getty Images An estimated 15–20% of children are neurodivergent, with diagnoses rising each year. They may have a neurodevelopmental condition such as autism or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. We know many neurodivergent children experience sensory information differently
If you’re pregnant, do you have to tell your boss? And what are the rules for employers?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominique Allen, Professor, Business Law & Taxation, Monash University A Sydney warehouse worker fired by text message within two weeks of telling her employer she was pregnant has won her job back, along with A$15,000 in backpay. The recent Fair Work Commission ruling about an Adecco contractor
The Ladykillers at 70: how one film turned British whimsy into a darkly comic masterpiece
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben McCann, Associate Professor of French Studies, University of Adelaide Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images Mrs. Wilberforce (Katie Johnson) lives alone in a rickety Victorian house near London’s King’s Cross railway station. She rents a room to Professor Marcus (Alec Guinness), who claims to be a musician, and
Australians see AI as leading threat to people and businesses: survey
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Threats relating to technology, disinformation, economic security and foreign interference are overshadowing traditional security concerns in Australians’ minds, according to data released by the Australian National University National Security College. More than 12,000 people were asked across two surveys, in
