ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on November 21, 2025.
Australia is about to ban under-16s from social media. Here’s what kids can do right now to prepare
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Angus, Professor of Digital Communication, Director of QUT Digital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology Dolgachov / Getty Images If you’re a young person in Australia, you probably know new social media rules are coming in December. If you and your friends are under 16,
Puberty blockers: why politicians overriding doctors sets a dangerous precedent
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jaimie Veale, Senior Lecturer in Psychology; Director, Transgender Health Research Lab, University of Waikato Darya Komarova/Getty Images The government’s ban on puberty blockers for gender-affirming care marks a troubling shift: politicians are now making decisions that should sit with clinicians working alongside young people and their families
Here’s what Black Friday sales shopping does to your brain
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tijl Grootswagers, ARC DECRA Senior Research Fellow in Cognitive Neuroscience, Western Sydney University Every November, Black Friday arrives with big claims of massive savings and “one-day-only” deals. We are bombarded with offers that seem too good to pass up. But beneath all this lies something far more
Pacific climate leaders ‘deeply disappointed’ as Australia loses bid to host COP31
By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist Pacific climate leaders are disappointed that Australia has lost the bid to host the United Nations Climate Conference, COP31, in 2026. Palau’s President Surangel Whipps Jr said he was “deeply disappointed” by the outcome. Australia had campaigned for years for the meeting to be held in its country, and
New Caledonia’s pro-independence split widens – another party quits FLNKS
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk A rift within New Caledonia’s pro-independence movement has further widened after the second component of the “moderates”, the UPM (Progressist Union in Melanesia), has officially announced it has now left the once united Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS). The UPM announcement, at a press
What do we know about climate change? How do we know it? And where are we headed?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew King, ARC Future Fellow and Associate Professor in Climate Science, ARC Centre of Excellence for 21st Century Weather, The University of Melbourne Hugo Abad / Getty Images The 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference (sometimes referred to as COP30) is taking place in Brazil. Amid all
Did Plunket founder Truby King really believe in eugenics? History isn’t that simple
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Barbara Brookes, Professor Emerita of History, University of Otago Portrait of Sir Truby King by Mary Tripe, circa 1935. Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images Four days after Plunket founder Sir Truby King’s funeral on February 12 1938, the Auckland Weekly News printed a montage of photographs
The ‘Bazball’ game style has revolutionised English cricket. Australia should be nervous
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ronnie Das, Associate Professor in Data Science, Sports Analytics and AI, The University of Western Australia; Audencia The Ashes is one of cricket’s fiercest rivalries and dates back to 1882, when England lost to Australia for the first time on home soil. So outraged were English cricket
What’s the difference between a home birth and a free birth?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hannah Dahlen, Professor of Midwifery, Associate Dean Research and HDR, Midwifery Discipline Leader, Western Sydney University Layland Masuda/Getty Images If you’re looking on social media for information and experiences of giving birth at home, you’ll find widely varied content. On the one hand, you’ll find women who
Engineered microbes could tackle climate change – if we ensure it’s done safely
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniele Fulvi, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Western Sydney University Yuji Sakai/Getty As the climate crisis accelerates, there’s a desperate need to rapidly reduce carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, both by slashing emissions and by pulling carbon out of the air. Synthetic biology has emerged as a particularly
A new study shows little kids who count on their fingers do better at maths
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer Way, Associate Professor in Primary and Early Childhood Mathematics Education, University of Sydney Sydney Bourne/ AAP If you ask a small child a simple maths question, such as 4+2, they may count on their fingers to work it out. Should we encourage young children to do
New data shows the ACT and Queensland economies are beating the rest of the nation
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Head, Canberra School of Government, University of Canberra The Australian Capital Territory and Queensland have won bragging rights for having the fastest growing economies in Australia in 2024-25. Their growth was highlighted in annual data on gross state product (GSP), released by the Australian Bureau
Cinema’s most notorious film: Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Salò turns 50
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Criterion Collection Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom is turning 50. One of cinema’s most notorious films, Salò continues to be approached with trepidation – if approached at all. Adapted from
Fiji Business Awards celebrate big achievements from humble beginnings
Asia Pacific Report Entrepreneurs, professionals, families and community leaders from across Aotearoa New Zealand came together last night for the inaugural Fiji Business Awards NZ, reports Webfit News. Hosted by the Fiji Business Network (NZ) at Auckland’s Remuera Club and backed by platinum sponsor Bunnings Trade, the evening was a reminder that many Fiji businesses
Grattan on Friday: Combatting the neo-Nazis is a ‘wicked problem’ for governments
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra When neo-Nazi leader Thomas Sewell appeared last week in a Melbourne court for a bail hearing, after jail time over the attack on an Indigenous camp, his supporters were there in force. A lawyer in the building at the time
Bending over backwards for the right isn’t saving the BBC. It won’t save the ABC either
COMMENTARY: By Christopher Warren There’s been skillful work in journalism’s dark arts on display in the UK this past week, as the nasty British right-wing media pack tore down two senior BBC executives. The right-wing culture warriors will be celebrating big time. They reckon they’ve put a big dent in Britain’s most trusted and most
RSF calls on Samoan PM to lift ‘unacceptable’ ban on Samoa Observer
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders has called on the Samoan Prime Minister to lift the ban preventing the daily newspaper Samoa Observer from attending government press conferences. “The measure is totally unacceptable — it comes after one of its journalists filed a complaint over violence committed by the
Turkey will host COP31, Australia will play a role. So where does that leave the Pacific?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eliza Northrop, Director UNSW Centre for Sustainable Development Reform, UNSW Sydney After a long and deadlocked bidding process for Australia and Pacific Island nations to co-host the UN climate summit (COP31), the event will now be hosted by Turkey. Australia’s Climate Minister, Chris Bowen, will reportedly take
New data shows the ACT and Queensland’s economies are beating the rest of the nation
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Head, Canberra School of Government, University of Canberra The Australian Capital Territory and Queensland have won bragging rights for having the fastest growing economies in Australia in 2024-25. Their growth was highlighted in annual data on gross state product (GSP), released by the Australian Bureau
Tonga election: Two new lords as 9 noble seats decided
By Teuila Fuatai, RNZ Pacific senior journalist in Tonga Two new noble representatives have been elected in Tonga, according to results announced today in Nuku’alofa. Lord Dalgety, chairman of the Tonga Electoral Commission, announced the results of the nobles election at the Palace Office in the Tongan capital shortly after midday. The two newly elected
