ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on May 13, 2026.
Urgent care clinics, medicines and vaccines: what the budget means for Australians’ health
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Breadon, Program Director, Health and Aged Care, Grattan Institute Health was at the heart of last year’s budget. Last night, tax and housing took centre stage, and there were few surprises in health. Most new health funding goes to previous commitments and continuing programs, including big … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
A real ‘intergenerational equity’ budget would address our unceasing environmental decline
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Neal, Senior lecturer in Economics at the Institute for Climate Risk and Response, UNSW Sydney Last night, Labor unveiled a budget designed to tackle intergenerational equity in Australia through bold tax reform. It comes at a time where politics is consumed with the international shocks created … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Will this budget really make housing fairer for more Australians? It’s a good start
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Aruna Sathanapally, Chief Executive, Grattan Institute The 2026 federal budget was delivered after a year of building expectations for bold reform. Part of that buildup was last year’s economic reform roundtable. That highlighted a laundry list of “regulatory hairballs” from the Productivity Commission, as well as opportunities … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
All sides of politics backed ambitious gambling reforms. The government’s response is half-hearted at best
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Charles Livingstone, Associate Professor, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University Former MP Peta Murphy, a Labor hero to many, died in December 2023 from cancer that recurred shortly after the 2019 federal election. Despite this major illness, she actively and enthusiastically chaired a multi-party … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
370 billion crickets are farmed for food every year. Scientists have discovered they may feel pain
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thomas White, Associate Professor, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney You’re cooking dinner, distracted, and your hand brushes a hot pan. Nerve signals race to your spinal cord and back to yank your arm away in a fraction of a second, with no thought … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Patient consent is a barrier to training junior doctors on the job – a rule change is needed
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Gray, Associate Professor of Primary Health Care and General Practice, University of Otago New Zealand is facing a critical shortage of doctors, both in hospitals and general practice. In my recent research, I argue a strict requirement for patient consent to train junior doctors is one … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Did NZ’s Prime Minister just commit treason? PM ignores terrorist attack on his own citizens
COMMENTARY: By Eugene Doyle “Whoever uses a citizen ill, indirectly offends the state, which is bound to protect this citizen; and the sovereign should avenge his wrongs, punish the aggressor, and, if possible, oblige him to make full reparation; since otherwise the citizen would not obtain the great end of the civil association, which is, … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Why are there so many lizards in Australia? The ancient climate holds a clue
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Janne Torkkola, PhD Student, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University If you travel around Australia, you will find an incredible diversity of lizards. The three-toed snake-tooth skink (Saiphos reticulatus), for example, is a peculiarly long and stumpy legged reptile that burrows in rainforest and is covered … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Should emissions from coal burned overseas be considered in Australian mine approvals? For the first time, the High Court will decide
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nawaz, Project Lead, Australian Climate Accountability Project at the UNSW Australian Human Rights Institute, UNSW Sydney Australia’s High Court will today hear its first ever climate case. It could have real implications for fossil fuel producers across the country. The nation’s highest court has been asked … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
‘This is where she comes alive’: for ageing migrants, community choirs are more than music
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simone Marino, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Education; Adjunct Research Fellow, Social Ageing (SAGE) Futures Lab, Edith Cowan University Every Friday morning in a community hall near Fremantle, something quietly extraordinary happens. Chairs are arranged in a rough semicircle. Someone has brought a tray of biscotti from … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Can plants hear? Latest research offers new insights
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stuart Thompson, Senior Lecturer in Plant Biochemistry, University of Westminster Researchers at MIT have suggested that rice seeds can hear the sound of rain, according to a new study. MIT calls it “the first direct evidence that plant seeds and seedlings can sense sounds in nature”. Perhaps … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Ousting Keir Starmer is harder than it looks – party rules mean he can choose to keep fighting
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicholas Dickinson, Lecturer in Politics, University of Exeter Between 2016 and 2024 the UK saw four changes of prime minister by way of a party leadership contest. In that time, even casual observers became familiar with the dramatic process that the Conservative Party uses to topple one … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Kiwi or not to be: can a citizenship test really measure what it means to be a New Zealander?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Shaw, Professor of Politics, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University New Zealanders like to think of themselves as an uncomplicated lot. So straightforward, in fact, that successful completion of a short test can determine one’s fitness to become a Kiwi. At least, that’s the plan … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Why the race to save these cherished penguins just became more urgent
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jemma Geoghegan, Professor and Webster Family Chair in Viral Pathogenesis, University of Otago The hoiho, also known as takaraka or yellow-eyed penguin, holds a special place in Aotearoa New Zealand’s natural identity. Shy and solitary, with its distinctive yellow headband and pale eyes, it is one of … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
A budget with a bundle of reforms in a time of ‘extreme uncertainty’
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Bartos, Professor of Economics, University of Canberra This year’s budget combines fiscal policy – taxes and spending – with a heavy focus on better regulation. The budget deficit has fallen slightly from the mid-year update in December, to A$31.5 billion, but the budget remains firmly in … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Get ready for a budget slowdown. But Chalmers insists we won’t see a recession
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Head, Canberra School of Government, University of Canberra Treasurer Jim Chalmers has called his budget “ambitious in the face of adversity”. Speaking to reporters in the lockup on Tuesday, he acknowledged his latest budget is “not exactly the same budget we would have handed down … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Budget 2026 brings a small tax handout to workers and a crackdown on tax breaks and trusts
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra All working Australians will receive a permanent $250 “tax offset” from next year in Treasurer Jim Chalmers fifth budget, which also cracks down on tax breaks for housing investors and trusts. The tax offset in the budget will cost nearly … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Albanese government uses its political dominance to implement a ‘Labor’ agenda
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The tilt of this budget was, when you think about it, predictable. The Albanese government has used the first budget of its second term to do what you’d expect a Labor government that had won a massive majority would do. … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
‘Affront to democracy’ – NZ law change halts landmark climate crisis lawsuit
By Kate Newton, RNZ News climate change correspondent The political activist suing major New Zealand emitters over climate change damage says a law change blocking his case and others like it is “an affront to democracy”. The government announced yesterday it would amend climate laws to prevent companies from being sued over damage caused by … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
‘Poverty porn’: the moral dilemma behind MrBeast’s billion-dollar empire
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Formosa, Professor and Head of the Department of Philosophy, and Co-Director of the Macquire University Ethics & Agency Research Centre, Macquarie University Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, runs the most subscribed-to YouTube channel in the world (with 484 million subscribers) and has an estimated net … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>