ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on October 9, 2025.
3 bathroom items you shouldn’t really share, according to an expert
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thea van de Mortel, Professor Emerita, Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Griffith University Peng Liu/Unsplash Imagine you’re away from home but forgot to pack your towel, razor or toothbrush. Should you use other people’s? Here’s why it’s probably best not to make a habit of it.
An Australian chemist just won the Nobel prize. Here’s how his work is changing the world
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deanna D’Alessandro, Professor & Director, Net Zero Institute, University of Sydney Prof Robson in 2018, Auckland, New Zealand. Deanna D’Alessandro/6th Global MOFs Conference The 2025 Nobel prize in chemistry has been awarded for the development of metal–organic frameworks: molecular structures that have large spaces within them, capable
Trump’s ratings steady as the US government shutdown drags into a second week
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 It’s been eight days since a partial US government shutdown began on October 1, owing to a failure by Congress to agree to a new budget by
Competence and vision: how to be a successful opposition
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jill Sheppard, Senior Lecturer, School of Politics and International Relations, Australian National University Sussan Ley’s challenge as opposition leader is to keep her party united and ready to govern in the event that the government loses public favour. That is, they need to be a ready alternative
Organised crime may be infiltrating Timor-Leste’s government. One minister is sounding the alarm
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Rose, Adjuct Lecturer, University of Adelaide Two decades after Timor-Leste gained its independence, the country is a complicated and qualified success story. Poverty and deep economic problems persist, but the country boasts a thriving democracy. Its ascension to the ASEAN regional bloc will come later this
Women and kids often pay a heavy price when men drink. Our gender violence plan should reflect this
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anne-Marie Laslett, Professor, Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, La Trobe University SeventyFour/Getty Globally, up to one in three women who live with a male partner report he is a heavy drinker. Evidence shows men’s drinking increases the severity and frequency of violence towards women and harms to
Nobel Prize in physics awarded for ultracold electronics research that launched a quantum technology
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eli Levenson-Falk, Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy and Electrical and Computer Engineering, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences The quantum behavior of superconducting circuits like the small white square above was a major discovery. K. Cicak and R. Simmonds/NIST Quantum mechanics describes the weird
Why do some songs get stuck in our heads so easily? The science of earworms
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emery Schubert, Professor, Empirical Musicology Laboratory, School of the Arts and Media, UNSW Sydney If you’ve watched the movie KPop Demon Hunters and see the word “golden”, what happens? Pause and think about it for a moment. For those unfamiliar, nothing will come to mind. But if
NZ’s native lizards are at risk from land development – future policy must ensure better protection
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher K. Woolley, Post-doctoral Researcher in Ecology, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington James Reardon/Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA New Zealand’s land animals are not well protected when land is developed for new uses. Recent and proposed policy changes
Renewables have now passed coal globally – and growth is fastest in countries like Bhutan and Nepal
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Reihana Mohideen, Principal Advisor, Just Energy Transition and Health, Nossal Institute for Global Health, The University of Melbourne Commuters pass a new solar array in the Maldives. Ishara S. Kodikara/Getty For the first time, renewables have toppled coal as the world’s leading source of electricity, in keeping
‘I was 170th on their list’. What are the health impacts for families who can’t access daycare?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marg Rogers, Senior Lecturer, Early Childhood Education; Post Doctoral Fellow, Manna Institute, University of New England Thomas Barwick/ Getty Images Imagine living in a town where three or more families are competing for a single early learning place. This is the reality for many families in regional,
Buying with a sibling or rentvesting: some unorthodox approaches to buying a first home
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julia Cook, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, University of Newcastle Achieving the so-called “Australian dream” of home ownership is increasingly difficult for members of younger generations. Census data shows that rates of home ownership have fallen from 64% in 1971 to 50% in 2021 among 30–34-year-olds, and from
Bruce Beresford’s The Travellers blends opera and the outback in a heartfelt story about homecoming
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ruari Elkington, Senior Lecturer in Creative Industries & Chief Investigator at QUT Digital Media Research Centre (DMRC), Queensland University of Technology Sony Pictures Famed Australian director Bruce Beresford loves opera. If you weren’t aware of this before watching his new film, The Travellers, you most likely will
John Hobbs: Why New Zealand’s repugnant stance over Palestine damages our global standing
New Zealanders deserve to know how the country’s foreign policy is made, writes John Hobbs. ANALYSIS: By John Hobbs The New Zealand government remains unwilling to support Palestinian statehood recognition at the United Nations General Assembly. This is a disgraceful position which gives support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza and seriously undermines our standing. Of
Bougainville president sworn in after landslide re-election, names caretaker government
By Margot Staunton, RNZ Pacific Bougainville’s re-elected President Ishmael Toroama has announced a caretaker government following a formal swearing-in ceremony on Monday in the capital Buka. The former Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) commander won more than 90,000 votes in a landslide victory after the election on September 5-6. The interim Bougainville Executive Council (BEC) will
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Andrew Jakubowicz on repairing our ‘fragile’ multicultural nation
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Social cohesion in Australia has been under serious pressure in the last few years. The deadly October 7 attacks on Israel two years ago and the ensuing war in Gaza have pulled at the fabric of Australian society. Added to
Keith Rankin Analysis – Official Cash Rate: The Correct Decision. But?
Analysis by Keith Rankin. New Zealand’s monetary policy decision today was presented as a “line call” (RNZ news) between a cut of 0.25 or 0.50 percentage points. In that context, the correct decision was made; 0.50%. In the context of the understood policy narrative, it was a binary choice. In the mainstream expert and pundit
Australia’s anti-corruption commissioner has a trust problem. He needs to change course to fix it
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By William Partlett, Associate Professor of Public Law, The University of Melbourne The commissioner of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), Paul Brereton, is once again facing criticism for his handling of a potential conflict of interest. On Tuesday in a Senate estimates hearing, NACC Chief Executive Philip Reed
What’s the difference between moths and butterflies? Look at their antennae
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Caitlyn Forster, Associate Lecturer, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney Madagascan sunset moth (_Chrysiridia rhipheus_). kristofz/iNaturalist, CC BY-NC-SA As the weather starts to warm in Australia, you might notice the pleasant flutter of butterflies in your garden during the day. And perhaps if you’ve
Whiskers for warrens: why wombats have such whiskery snouts
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julie Old, Associate Professor in Biology, Zoology and Animal Science, Western Sydney University Julian Stratenschulte/Getty Wombat noses and whiskers don’t just make them adorable. Both are unique sensory organs essential for navigation, foraging and communication. They’re crucial to wombat survival in complex environments. The two different types
