ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on March 18, 2026.
What’s ‘dirty fuel’ doing to our lungs? The same as it did for most of 2025
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brian Oliver, Professor, School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Australians may have seen headlines warning “dirty fuel” is back, temporarily, to ease fuel supplies. The phrase sounds alarming, but it has a specific and fairly narrow meaning. In this context, “dirty fuel” refers to petrol
Western media failing to tell truth about war on Iran, says academic
Pacific Media Watch Western legacy media is failing to tell the truth on the US-Israeli war on Iran, says a leading US academic and analyst. “Mass murder has been normalised,” said Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs in an interview with the Chinese channel CGTN Live. He argues that mainstream media in the US and Europe
Sophie Devine’s record cricket contract can’t disguise a stubborn pay gap in NZ women’s sport
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hoani Smith, Lecturer in Sport Management and Sport Science, Lincoln University, New Zealand When former White Ferns captain Sophie Devine secured the equal-highest deal in the United Kingdom’s pro-cricket league last week, it was greeted as another sign of how quickly investment in the women’s game is
Australia was once a world leader in innovation. A new report shows the system is now ‘broken’
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Roy Green, Emeritus Professor of Innovation, University of Technology Sydney Australia’s research and innovation system is “broken” and needs “bold reform”, according to a major new independent report released on Tuesday. Titled “Ambitious Australia”, it’s the culmination of a strategic examination of research and development in Australia,
Can’t stop endlessly scrolling? Tips to help you take back control
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Horwood, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Deakin University It’s called the infinite scroll – a design feature on social media, shopping, video and many other apps that continuously loads content as you reach the bottom of the page. Handy? Yes. Clever? Also yes. Devious? Very much so.
MCPNG and UN hold media freedom talks in wake of attacks on women journalists
Pacific Media Watch The United Nations in Papua New Guinea has met the leadership of the Media Council of PNG to advance collaboration in support of a strong, independent and responsible media sector, reports UNPNG. The meeting addressed recent incidents of threats and violence against journalists — especially attacks against women journalists and the growing
A world-first quantum battery charges faster when it gets bigger – but it’s tiny and only lasts nanoseconds
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Quach, Science Leader, Quantum Batteries Team, CSIRO You’re late for an important appointment. Just as you are leaving your house, you realise your phone is flat. Imagine you could charge it almost instantly by exploiting the strange rules of quantum physics. That’s the promise of quantum
Is Spotify’s AI ‘killing’ Australian music? What we found from analysing more than 2 million tracks
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mohsin Malik, Associate Professor, Project Management, Swinburne University of Technology Last year, former Spotify chief economist Will Page compiled a report for the Australia Institute that concluded music streaming algorithms were “killing” Australian music. The report found that, between 2021 and 2024, there was a 30% drop
With AI finishing your sentences, what will happen to your unique voice on the page?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gayle Rogers, Professor of English, University of Pittsburgh It’s a familiar feeling: You start a text message, and your phone’s auto-complete function suggests several choices for the next word, ranging from banal to hilarious. “I love…” you, or coffee? Or you’re finishing an email, and merely typing
Iran war shows how AI speeds up military ‘kill chains’
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Craig Jones, Senior Lecturer in Political Geography, Department of Geography, Newcastle University The US-Israel war on Iran has been described as “the first AI war”. But recent deployments of artificial intelligence are, in fact, the latest in a long history of technological developments that prize a need
Victoria’s school reports are set to change. What does this mean for teachers and families?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ilana Finefter-Rosenbluh, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Education, Monash University On Tuesday, the Victorian government announced it is revamping its student reporting for public schools. As part of a broader push to cut down on teachers’ paperwork, it will simplify the reports that go home to families. This
Iran oil crisis: why NZ’s car dependence is now a strategic liability
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Welch, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau The war in Iran and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz have sent oil prices past US$100 a barrel – and Kiwis flocking to fill up. Petrol just hit NZ$3 a litre
War on Iran: Propaganda in overdrive as Trump’s war spirals out of control
Pacific Media Watch As the US and Israel battle to control the narrative of their war against Iran, their messaging gets harder to defend, reports Al Jazeera’s Listening Post. With the war entering its third week, the upper hand that the United States and Israel hold militarily is being countered asymmetrically by Iran which has
Capital gains tax discount ‘skewed’ housing towards investors: Senate inquiry
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra A Senate inquiry has provided Treasurer Jim Chalmers with ammunition for his plan to pare back the capital gains tax discount in the May 12 budget. The majority report of the inquiry into the operation of the capital gains tax
Saige England: Journalists must stand up and report with the moral courage of abolitionists
COMMENTARY: By Saige England Every week, health prevailing, I march with our Palestinian friends and their supporters in Aotearoa New Zealand. And my country is one which — under Britain — was colonised. Colonisation perpetrates injustices against indigenous people. This legacy is still felt by Indigenous people today. All around the world we must dismantle
RBA narrowly votes to lift interest rates. The Middle East war may determine if there’s more to come
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Head, Canberra School of Government, University of Canberra The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has lifted official interest rates for the second time this year as it struggles to bring inflation under control, saying inflation is “likely to remain above target for some time”. But
Can brevetoxins from algal blooms make me sick? A toxicologist explains
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior Lecturer in Pharmacology, Adelaide University For about a year, an algal bloom in South Australian waters has had devastating effects on marine life. At my local beach, walks were a sad parade of dead sea life. But what of the health effects of these
Attacks on hospitals are surging in war zones. What do the laws of war say about protecting them?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shannon Bosch, Associate Professor (Law), Edith Cowan University Afghanistan says at least 400 people have been killed in a Pakistani airstrike on a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul on Monday night, with potentially hundreds more wounded. Pakistan has denied deliberately targeting the health-care facility. In a statement
Remote communities are more vulnerable to fuel price shocks – could microgrids help?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Saman Gorji, Associate Professor, Renewable Energy and Electrical Engineering, Deakin University When diesel prices jump, most Australians notice it at the bowser. But in parts of remote Australia, diesel is what keeps the lights on. That makes it indispensable. That’s why the federal government’s decisions to temporarily
As the war drags on, what does victory look like for the US, Israel and Iran?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus Professor of Middle Eastern Studies, Australian National University; The University of Western Australia; Victoria University As the Middle East war enters its third week, there is no sign from either Iran or the United States and Israel that they will stop the fighting any
