ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on March 30, 2026.
My baby loves children’s music, but I don’t – what can we listen to together?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emily Dollman, Head, Music Education and Pedagogy, Adelaide University Music is a wonderful addition to your baby’s life from the earliest days. Hearing is one of the first senses to develop in the womb, and by birth a baby’s hearing is fully functioning. This means hearing our
After 216 days on the run, how was Dezi Freeman caught and what happens now?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Terry Goldsworthy, Associate Professor in Criminal Justice and Criminology, Bond University For more than 200 days, police killer Dezi Freeman was on the run in the harsh bush terrain of north-east Victoria after shooting and killing two police officers in August 2025. Freeman was reportedly shot dead
After more than 200 days on the run, how was Dezi Freeman caught and what happens now?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Terry Goldsworthy, Associate Professor in Criminal Justice and Criminology, Bond University For more than 200 days, police killer Dezi Freeman was on the run in the harsh bush terrain of north-east Victoria after shooting and killing two police officers in August 2025. Freeman was reportedly shot dead
Yes, China has made inroads in the Pacific, but Australia still does far more
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanne Wallis, Professor of International Security, Adelaide University Last year, Australia was reminded of China’s willingness to exercise its growing naval power in the region. In February, a Chinese flotilla circumnavigated the country and conducted live-fire drills in the Tasman Sea. And in November, a powerful Chinese
Tropical geckos in Australia are more adaptable than we thought
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Keith Christian, Professor of Zoology, Charles Darwin University Earth is teeming with life: creatures big and small have spread and adapted to vastly different environments. Many animals can also change their physiology – how their bodies function – in response to local fluctuations. Just think of hibernating
A war without accountability: why the Middle East crisis is also a legal quagmire
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Marie Brennan, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Waikato What began with surprise US and Israeli strikes on Iran one month ago has hardened into a grinding stand-off, with no clear way out. The conflict’s opening blows on February 28 killed senior leaders in Tehran, including
USP academic calls for better press freedom protections in face of Fiji’s declining media trust
By Cheerieann Wilson in Suva Public trust in Fiji’s mainstream media has significantly declined, a journalism academic has told the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, citing decades of political upheaval, censorship and institutional pressure. At its third expert hearing in Suva, the commission heard from University of the South Pacific’s associate professor of journalism Shailendra Singh,
Trump’s unpopularity shields Labor in Newspoll and other polls despite fuel crisis
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Although Anthony Albanese’s ratings are down in three new federal polls, Labor has maintained a comfortable lead, with the combined vote for the Coalition and One Nation
Fiji’s former President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau dies at 84
RNZ Pacific Former Fijian President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau died on Thursday, aged 84. Ratu Epeli, a chief and former Fiji military commander, served as president from 2009 to 2015. He also served as Speaker of Parliament from 2019 to 2022. Local media reported Ratu Epeli died at the Suva Private Hospital after being admitted earlier
We surveyed more than 8,000 principals – they face violence, threats and stress in their schools
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Kidson, Associate Professor in Educational Leadership, Australian Catholic University Almost half of surveyed Australia’s school principals face physical violence in their jobs. Almost 90% say they encounter offensive behaviour from students, parents and even colleagues, according to new survey results. The latest instalment in an annual
Sex Pistols at 50: how punk’s most notorious band became part of the mainstream
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Behr, Reader in Music, Politics and Society, Newcastle University “Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?” John Lydon’s closing words before stalking off stage at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom in January 1978, concluding the Sex Pistols’ US tour, have echoed ever since. They’re a bitter bookend
Can NZ’s new T20 cricket franchise attract the dollars, players and fans it will need?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris McMillan, Professional Teaching Fellow in Sociology, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau New Zealand Cricket’s decision to support “in principle” the development of a T20 franchise competition represents a major shift in governance and funding for the summer game. But it’s not clear whether the tensions
Women in the Pacific are increasingly subject to digital abuse: new research
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Quilty, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Centre for Excellence for The Elimination of Violence Against Women, Monash University Gender-based violence is a global issue, but studies consistently show the Pacific has among the highest rates in the world. Up to 79% of women in the region experience some
Can I drive when taking medicinal cannabis? Is it safe?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tom Arkell, NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow, School of Health Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology Your doctor has just prescribed medicinal cannabis. You think it’s helping. But you rely on your car to get to work and pick up the kids. Are you allowed to drive? And more
Why do men sexually harass women at work? Science offers two explanations – but only one of them holds up
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cordelia Fine, Professor, History & Philosophy of Science program, School of Historical & Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne What causes workplace sexual harassment? How can we continue to better understand it? And what can be done to prevent it? Successful answers to questions like these need
War could add an extra 5% to prices in Australia – but there’s one sector that shields the economy
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By George Verikios, Adjunct Professor of Economics, Griffith University A drawn-out war in the Middle East could add an extra 5% to existing inflation in Australia, our new modelling shows. We looked at the likely impacts of two different scenarios: a moderate disruption with the war ending in
How the US, Israel and Iran are controlling their media narratives
In the ongoing United States and Israel war on Iran, it appears that all the countries agree on “controlling” the media. Despite differences in their political systems, all three governments follow an approach that prioritises “national morale” and “operational security” over press freedom and the flow of information. This approach redefines the concept of fake
View from The Hill: Andrew Hastie calls out Trump’s war strategy
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Andrew Hastie hung out his leadership shingle in a weekend interview that may have a few Liberals wondering if the right’s factional heavyweights made the best judgement in choosing Angus Taylor for the top job. Hastie wanted to run for
New Caledonia’s domestic airline AirCal files for bankruptcy
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific Desk New Caledonia’s domestic airline Air Calédonie filed for bankruptcy on Friday, following almost a month of blockades by customers in the French Pacific territory’s outer islands. The protest movement had been initiated by groups of angry outer islands customers who intended to oppose the company’s decision
War on Iran: The French senator who said what everybody was thinking
COMMENTARY: Pacific Media Watch A French senator walked into the Luxembourg Palace, opened his mouth, and basically set the whole room on fire. Politely. In a suit. Claude Malhuret didn’t yell nor wave his arms. He just listed things… calmly, methodically, like a doctor reading a very long and very depressing diagnosis. And by the
