Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bricklyn Priebe, Associate Lecturer in Criminology and Justice, School of Law and Society, University of the Sunshine Coast

Child sexual abuse cases involving female perpetrators are confronting and distressing. When these cases make the news, they often provoke shock and outrage.

The involvement of women and girls in child sexual abuse cases has historically been underestimated and under-recognised.

Yet, in the United States, approximately 7.6% of confirmed cases are perpetrated by women or girls, though some US states report it to be as high as 36%.

In Australia, recorded sexual assault offences involving women and girls have increased from 222 offenders in 2008–09 to 678 in 2023–24: a 205% rise.

Public attention has long focused on male perpetrators and on what happens after abuse is uncovered (including prosecution and punishment or cases not proceeding to court).

Prevention, however, requires us to act earlier and to ask a different question: what might have prevented these women from sexually abusing a child in the first place?

Our recent Australian research may have uncovered some answers.

What women who have abused told us

We spoke directly with 18 women convicted of child sexual abuse offences in three states/territories in Australia.

These conversations were not about minimising or excuse-making, but about uncovering missed opportunities for support and intervention throughout their lives that they believe may have prevented them from sexual offending.

Many of these women described needing help long before they abused a child. Many had grown up experiencing their own abuse or neglect.

They talked about wanting counselling, mental health support, guidance around relationships and practical help with parenting.

For some, these unresolved needs and vulnerabilities were closely tied to their experiences in intimate relationships.

One participant who co-offended with her male partner reflected on how early support might have changed her situation:

It would have been good just to have the opportunity to get out of the relationship earlier […] so having resources or counselling or anything really. It got to a point where it was just too late. I was stuck.

Others spoke about repeated attempts to get help from support services, only to encounter barriers that left them feeling dismissed, unsupported and their concerns minimised. As one participant explained:

I really was trying to engage and get help […] they just turned [me] away, it’s like they didn’t want to help me.

Some women did not know what services existed to help them at different times in their lives. Others faced long waitlists and cost barriers.

Several women also described how shame and fear fuelled their silence, including fear of judgement or legal consequences. One woman said:

I should have opened up […] but I didn’t know how to. It’s not that I needed more people to talk to, it’s that I needed to know how to talk to them.

Together, these accounts highlight a key limitation in current prevention and early intervention efforts.

Availability of services alone is not enough; accessibility matters. If people cannot find, afford or safely connect to support then prevention efforts will likely fail.

It’s not just prevention that’s needed

We also acknowledge that while accessibility matters, not everyone will seek support.

In fact, a minority of women in our study admitted nothing would have prevented their offending.

Some felt they weren’t aware they needed help until it was too late, or they would not have accepted it at the time anyway.

This reinforces the necessity for both effective prevention and response.

The women’s accounts in our study reinforce growing calls for gender-responsive strategies.

While risk factors such as trauma, isolation and substance use are not exclusive to girls and women, they often intersect differently with gendered social roles and expectations compared with men.

For example, parenting stress, relationship toxicity and financial insecurity disproportionately affect women and can compound vulnerability.

By no means do these factors minimise or excuse offending, nor do they fully explain it.

Rather, it is about recognising that prevention and early intervention efforts need to address these gendered risks in order to better protect children from harm.

Importantly, these findings support much of the broader prevention work already underway in Australia, such as:

• school-based relationship education
• parenting support programs
• domestic and family violence services
• emerging anonymous help-seeking pathways.

These are all designed to intervene earlier, reduce isolation and support people as ways to prevent harm and safeguard children.

Our findings align with a growing body of evidence suggesting prevention works best when it is practical and embedded from childhood through adulthood.

The challenge that remains is ensuring services are not only available but visible, accessible, nonjudgmental and clearly inclusive of girls and women.

The National Sexual Assault, Family and Domestic Violence Counselling Line – 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.

If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Larissa Christensen is affiliated with the Daniel Morcombe Foundation.

Bricklyn Priebe, Nadine McKillop, and Susan Rayment-McHugh do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. We interviewed Australian women who sexually abused children. This is what we learnt – https://theconversation.com/we-interviewed-australian-women-who-sexually-abused-children-this-is-what-we-learnt-273359

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Nichols, Professor of Urban Planning, The University of Melbourne

The death of Rob Hirst from pancreatic cancer at the age of 70 is the close of a long and, in many ways, surprising career.

Hirst was the drummer and songwriter who, though far from the figurehead of Midnight Oil, was nonetheless an integral part – perhaps the backbone – of one of the most consistently adventurous and principled groups of the last half-century.

For most, Midnight Oil means Peter Garrett. But it was Garrett who answered an ad to join Farm, Hirst’s band with Jim Moginie and Andrew James, in 1972. Were it not for his arrival, the group might not have gone far beyond the northern beaches of Sydney: Garrett was striking as a performer and his singing was distinctive (though, like Jimmy Barnes, he did not sing all the great songs his band was famous for).

While Midnight Oil’s members recognised a common purpose and achieved an extraordinary amount on a range of fronts, Hirst’s memoir of their early 21st century United States tour shows there was always some measure of tension between them.

In 1980, Hirst told Toby Creswell of Rolling Stone he didn’t like Garrett’s taste, “and he doesn’t like mine […] You’re really putting together people who don’t get on socially or musically.”

Not there to compromise

Midnight Oil’s records were exceptionally high quality from the outset.

Their self-titled first album was what you’d expect from a group which took pleasure in Australian surfing “head” music bands like Tully and Kahvas Jute.

Their second, Head Injuries, was brash and stark: they had emerged, for better or worse, at the time of punk/new wave but fitted as uneasily with X or The Saints as with blunter, more traditional rock groups like AC/DC.

Their 12″ EP Bird Noises was as fine a summation of their approach as could be imagined. The Hirst/Garrett cowrite No Time for Games has a social message, a distinctive vocal from Garrett and of course, extraordinary drums, restrained when they had to be but ever servicing the song’s dynamics.

From the very beginning, they made it clear that they were not available to undertake the usual compromises the record industry expected for career furtherance.

Famously, they refused to play Countdown. In hindsight, they would have been severely out of place there.

Nevertheless, they gave the major groups of the 70s their due; Hirst praised Skyhooks’ Greg Macainsh, for instance, for his use of Australian places and scenes, making it “possible for you to write about, in his case, Carlton and Balwyn […] [now] we’ve got this whole palette of Australian places we can use without a cringe factor.”

On their own terms

Sales and impact of subsequent Midnight Oil albums trace the rise of a group attaining international prominence on its own terms through hard work and consistent attention to detail.

The commercial peak came with the 1987 single Beds are Burning (a cowrite between Garrett, Hirst and Moginie): top ten in France, the US, the Netherlands, Australia and Belgium – and number one in Canada, New Zealand and South Africa.

That it was a song on the world stage highlighting Australian Aboriginal dispossession was perhaps an even greater achievement.

Hirst’s memoir Willie’s Bar and Grill gives a good sense of a group finding the very common way down from the top: the trajectory of the one-hit wonder, in this case experienced while touring post-9/11 US.

They disbanded soon afterwards, not for this reason but because Garrett had been picked by Mark Latham to stand as Labor candidate for Kingsford-Smith in the 2004 federal election. They reunited 13 years later.

A varied career

Hirst had other irons in the fire as early as 1991 when he formed Ghostwriters with Rick Grossman. Perhaps the band’s name signalled a frisson of bitterness about the concentration of attention Garrett garnered in Midnight Oil, but paradoxically its first album was essentially an anonymous release.

Two others followed, and Hirst was also involved in the Backsliders and the Angry Tradesmen.

In 2020 he recorded an album with his daughter, Jay O’Shea, who he had put up for adoption in 1974. In 2025 he released the second of two albums recorded with noted songwriter Sean Sennett.

A 50-year career is almost impossible to sum up briefly, but one song speaks volumes about Hirst. Power and the Passion, the 1983 Midnight Oil hit, features a simple (if infectious) drum machine and what might almost pass for a rap from Garrett, listing a host of demons besetting the citizen at the end of the 20th century, not least from Americanisation and corporatisation.

Hirst plays along with the beat then engages it in an epic battle, executing a remarkable solo which enhances the song while making a statement about working with and against the pernicious machine.

In a career of great work, it’s one highlight that speaks louder than words.

David Nichols does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Rob Hirst was not the figurehead of Midnight Oil – but he was its backbone – https://theconversation.com/rob-hirst-was-not-the-figurehead-of-midnight-oil-but-he-was-its-backbone-273913

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

One Nation continues to surge after the Bondi terror attack, as a Morgan poll has them gaining six points at the Coalition’s expense.

A national Australian Morgan poll, conducted January 12–18 from a sample of 1,630, gave Labor a 53.5–46.5 lead by respondent preferences, a 1.5-point gain for Labor since the January 5–11 Morgan poll.

Primary votes were 28.5% Labor (down 1.5), 24% Coalition (down 6.5), 21% One Nation (up six), 13.5% Greens (steady) and 13% for all Others (up two). By 2025 election preference flows, Labor led by 53–47, a one-point gain for Labor.

It’s very unlikely One Nation actually surged six points in one week, and much more likely the previous poll was a pro-Coalition outlier. Resolve is now the only poll that gives the Coalition a clear lead over One Nation (ten points), with all other recent polls now between a one-point lead for One Nation (Newspoll) and four-point Coalition lead (Fox & Hedgehog).

Morgan also had a special SMS poll on Australia Day that was conducted January 14–16 from a sample of 1,311. By 72–28, respondents thought January 26 should be known as “Australia Day”, not “Invasion Day” (68.5–31.5 two years ago). By 60.5–39.5, they thought Australia Day should not be moved from January 26 (58.5–41.5 previously).

Further results from Resolve poll

I covered the Australian national Newspoll and Resolve poll on Monday. In further questions from the Resolve poll for Nine newspapers, supported a royal commission following Bondi by 61-10 (change from 48–17 in late December). By 37–35, respondents thought social cohesion was good rather than poor (37–30 in late December).

On gun laws, 66% wanted them toughened (down ten since late December), 21% kept as they are (up 11) and 7% wanted gun laws relaxed (up one). A big majority still wants tougher gun laws, but right-wing voters are now more opposed than in late December. The Coalition’s opposition to Labor’s gun control laws has probably contributed to increased public opposition.

NSW Resolve poll has strong support for post-Bondi measures

The New South Wales Resolve poll would normally have combined results from the early December and January federal Resolve polls. But the early December poll was pre-Bondi, and it appears The Sydney Morning Herald wants to wait for a complete post-Bondi poll before giving voting intentions.

What we have are questions from the January NSW sample of 550. By 49–19, respondents thought Labor Premier Chris Minns and the state government had had a strong rather than weak response to Bondi. By 67–16, they supported the state government’s gun reforms.

Trump’s ratings in negative double digits after one year

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump’s US net approval has been in negative double digits since late October. Trump became United States president for a second time on January 20, 2025. A year into his second four-year term, Trump’s net approval in Nate Silver’s aggregate of US national polls is -13.0, with 55.0% disapproving and 42.0% approving.

Trump recorded a positive net approval in Silver’s aggregate at the start of his term, but his net approval went negative last March. Since late October, Trump’s net approval has been in negative double digits, with a low of -15.0 in November.

Silver has ratings for past presidents since Harry Truman. At this point in their presidencies, Trump’s net approval is ahead of only his own first term, with Joe Biden the next worst at -12.0 net approval.

On four issues tracked by Silver, Trump’s net approval is -9.5 on immigration, -15.6 on trade, -15.9 on the economy and -25.2 on inflation. Recently, Trump’s net approval on immigration has dropped while his net approval on the other three issues has risen.

Trump’s ratings on immigration may have fallen because of the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent on January 7. On other issues, Trump’s ratings may have risen due to the continued strong stock market.

The benchmark S&P 500 stock market index has risen 7.8% in the last six months, hitting a new peak on January 12, although it slumped 2.1% in last night’s session owing to Trump’s threats of tariffs over Greenland. Trump’s ratings are unlikely to become very poor unless either the stock market or the broader US economy deteriorates markedly.

In a recent Ipsos poll for Reuters, by 47–17 Americans disapproved of US efforts to acquire Greenland, and by 71–4 they thought it was not a good idea to take Greenland using military force.

At midterm elections this November, all 435 members of the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 senators will be up for election. In Fiftyplusone’s aggregate of the national generic ballot, Democrats lead Republicans by 43.6–39.8.

I wrote on January 7 that if Democrats win the national popular vote by the 3.8 points they lead by in current polls, they would be very likely to gain control of the House, but not the Senate. The two senators per state rule skews Senate elections towards low-population, rural states.

Adrian Beaumont does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Morgan poll has One Nation surging at Coalition’s expense; Trump’s net approval in negative double digits – https://theconversation.com/morgan-poll-has-one-nation-surging-at-coalitions-expense-trumps-net-approval-in-negative-double-digits-273804

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By François Thoral, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Marine Ecology, University of Waikato

Life in the ocean runs on light. It fuels photosynthesis, shapes food webs and determines where many marine species can live.

Gradually, that light is fading. Since the early 2000s, more than one-fifth of the global ocean has darkened as sediment, nutrients and organic matter increasingly cloud coastal waters – raising concern about the future of reefs, kelp forests and seagrass meadows.

Alarming as this picture is, focusing only on gradual darkening may miss the most ecologically damaging part of the story.

Our newly published study introduces the phenomenon of “marine darkwaves”: sudden, intense episodes of underwater darkness that can last from days to months and push marine ecosystems into acute stress.

Darkness events are often triggered by storms, floods, sediment plumes or algal blooms. As with marine heatwaves, these short, intense episodes can be just as ecologically disruptive as slow, long-term trends.

Why light matters underwater

When light within the ocean drops suddenly, even for a few days, marine ecosystems can suffer. Prolonged darkness can slow growth, reduce energy reserves and in severe cases lead to dieback or mortality.

Fish, sharks and marine mammals can also change their behaviour when visibility drops, altering feeding and movement patterns.

Until now, scientists have examined ways to track long-term coastal darkening but have lacked a consistent way to identify, measure and compare extreme short-term light-loss events across regions and depths.

In other words, we have known this phenomenon exists – but we haven’t had a shared language to define and describe it. With marine darkwaves, we now have an event-based framework for extreme underwater darkness.

Darkwaves occur when underwater light falls below a depth-specific threshold for a minimum duration, relative to what is normally expected at that location. This allows scientists to identify when conditions shift from merely dim to unusually dark.

Importantly, this framework works across different depths, where light conditions naturally vary; across local to regional scales, from coastal reefs to entire coastlines; and across multiple data sources, including light sensors and satellite observations.

Its consistency enables meaningful comparison of events that were previously difficult to place into broader contexts.

What our research revealed

Our study used long-term datasets from both hemispheres in markedly different coastal regions.

In California, 16 years of underwater light measurements revealed repeated darkwave events, some lasting several weeks. In Aotearoa New Zealand, ten years of monitoring data from Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf showed rapid drops in underwater light during storms, at depths of seven and 20 metres.

Satellite data extending back 21 years revealed a broader pattern. Along New Zealand’s East Cape coast, up to 80 marine darkwaves have occurred since 2002, most linked to storms and river-driven sediment plumes.

Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 provided a stark example. The storm delivered vast amounts of sediment to coastal waters, smothering many reefs and creating prolonged underwater darkness over large areas.

In some places, the seabed received almost no light for several weeks.

Long-term averages are important, but they can smooth over the very events that cause the greatest ecological damage.

Just as a single marine heatwave can devastate kelp forests and coral reefs, a single marine darkwave can sharply reduce photosynthesis and disrupt ecosystems already stressed by warming, acidification and nutrient pollution.

Climate change is likely to increase the frequency and intensity of these events. Heavier rainfall, stronger storms and intensified land use all increase sediment and organic matter flowing into coastal waters, reducing water clarity and light availability.

Our framework allows identification of discrete periods when light thresholds critical for ecosystem function are crossed.

A new tool – and cause for hope

The marine darkwave framework complements existing tools used to track marine heatwaves, deoxygenation and ocean acidification.

By focusing on extremes, it provides clearer insights into acute stress on coastal ecosystems. In New Zealand particularly, this information is increasingly important for iwi (tribes) and hapū (sub-tribes), coastal communities, conservation groups and environmental managers making decisions about land use, restoration and marine protection.

Related monitoring work is already underway in parts of New Zealand, where expanded sensor networks aid in linking land-based processes to changes in underwater light, and linking these to ecological changes on coastal reefs.

Ultimately, marine darkwaves remind us that the ocean doesn’t always change slowly. Sometimes, it changes abruptly and quietly if we don’t pay attention.

There is also reason for cautious optimism. Many marine darkwaves are driven by land–sea connections, so their frequency and intensity are not inevitable.

Reducing sediment runoff through nature-based solutions, such as restoring wetlands, stabilising riverbanks, improving harvest techniques of exotic forests, and replanting native forests in vulnerable catchments can directly increase water clarity and underwater light.

Understanding marine darkwaves is not only about detecting change, but also about identifying practical pathways to protect coastal ecosystems before further darkness descends.

The authors acknowledge the contribution of Rahera Ohia, Ngāti Pūkenga, Jean Thoral, Leigh Tait and Cassandre Villautreix.

François Thoral receives funding from the NZ Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment MBIE (Endeavour Fund Tau Ki Ākau UOWX2206). He is affiliated with the University of Waikato, University of Canterbury and Earth Sciences New Zealand.

Christopher Battershill receives funding from the NZ Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment MBIE (Endeavour Fund Tau Ki Ākau UOWX2206 is relevant to this project). He is employed with the University of Waikato and also receives contestable grant funding from other agencies (eg Regional Councils and Department of Conservation).

David R Schiel receives funding from the New Zealand government public good research fund (via the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment; Endeavour Fund Tau Ki Ākau UOWX2206).

Shinae Montie receives funding from The Australian Research Council and the Winifred Violet Scott Charitable Trust. She is associated with the University of Western Australia.

– ref. New study sheds light on the threat of ‘marine darkwaves’ to ocean life – https://theconversation.com/new-study-sheds-light-on-the-threat-of-marine-darkwaves-to-ocean-life-273225

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Angela Jackson, Social Policy Commissioner, Productivity Commission, and Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Tasmania

At the start of the new year, many of us will commit to joining a gym, eating healthier or cutting back on drinking and smoking. We do this knowing that investing in our health today will pay off into to the future – that prevention is better (and cheaper) than the cure.

It’s advice the Productivity Commission thinks federal and state governments should also follow to improve Australia’s finances and productivity.

Late last year, my co-authors and I gave the federal government the final report of our inquiry on delivering quality care more efficiently.

We found preventative investments could save taxpayers billions of dollars in health and social care costs. But to achieve these gains, the way we think about investing in prevention needs to change.

Investing in early intervention

Australia’s spending on health and social care is growing as a share of the economy and now makes up five of the top seven fiscal pressures
facing the federal budget. The care sector is also absorbing more of our workforce – close to one-third of new jobs since the pandemic have been in the care sector.

In many respects this reflects changing preferences. As the nation has become wealthier, we care more about our health and wellbeing. But making the most of this spending is one of Australia’s key productivity challenges.

That means investing early to save costs later. Take for example the SunSmart skin cancer awareness campaign, which is estimated to have prevented more than 43,000 skin cancers from 1988 to 2010.

Investments like this save lives and money. We estimate that an investment of A$1.5 billion across all prevention programs over five years could be expected to save governments $2.7 billion over ten years. Factoring in the broader health, social and economic benefits, the total benefits would be about $5.4 billion.

Other countries are ahead of the game: Canada, the UK and Finland spend over twice as much of their health budgets on prevention as Australia.

Australia’s own health prevention strategy recommends that we increase spending on prevention from 2% to 5% of the health budget.

The big picture

Prevention goes beyond just health care. Investments in youth justice, out of home care and homelessness improve outcomes in a range of other areas, improving Australians’ quality of life and governments’ bottom lines.

For example, when people experiencing homelessness get stable housing, they tend to end up in hospital less often, make fewer trips to the emergency department, and in some cases, even avoid incarceration. It’s also easier to look for and hold down a job when you have a stable place to call home.

Such investments can also address systemic inequities in both access and quality of care.

One early childhood education program in outer Melbourne led to improved IQ and language development among socially disadvantaged Australian children, with participants reaching the same level of development as their peers within three years.

Evaluations of similar initiatives in the United States suggest that benefits can persist well into adulthood and even intergenerationally, through improved lifetime education attainment, employment and health, and reduced criminal behaviour.

A whole of government approach

Unfortunately, the way our government is structured can work against these investments. While it’s often one agency or level of government that needs to put up the money for these investments, they only enjoy part of the benefit.

The way governments think about and invest in prevention and early intervention needs to change. The Productivity Commission’s proposed solution is for a National Prevention and Early Intervention Framework to support strategic investments in programs that improve outcomes and reduce demand for future services.

The framework’s consistent approach to assessing interventions would bring all levels of government to the table, so that worthwhile investments no longer fall between the cracks.

It offers a practical way to put into operation the government’s Measuring What Matters framework. By directing funding towards outcomes and tracking progress against them, it would give federal and state governments confidence that they are investing in effective programs.

Like a person struggling with a new year’s resolution, policymakers often find it hard to delay gratification.

But given health and social care spending is only set to grow further, we need to start thinking long term to ensure we can afford to give future generations the standard of care we enjoy today. With a greater focus on prevention and early intervention, we can better care for future generations and put our care sector on a more sustainable path.

Angela Jackson is the Social Policy Commissioner at the Productivity Commission, as well as the chair of the Women in Economics Network. She has previously served on the board of Melbourne Health, which operates Royal Melbourne Hospital.

– ref. A stronger focus on prevention could help governments rein in health care and social spending – https://theconversation.com/a-stronger-focus-on-prevention-could-help-governments-rein-in-health-care-and-social-spending-273801

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Beckett, Senior Lecturer, Nutrition and Food Science, Australian Catholic University

Work is finished, and you’re tired and hungry. Maybe you’re rushing home or to daycare pickup.

You know you should be cooking dinner from scratch for the healthiest choice but that isn’t going to happen for a variety of reasons. You just need something quick and easy.

Then, you remember those headlines about trans fats in some packaged convenience foods and you start to worry.

If this feels familiar, here’s what you need to know.

What exactly are trans fats?

Typically, we talk about two major groups of dietary fats – unsaturated and saturated.

Unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature. Saturated fats are solid at room temperature. It’s the saturated fats that are associated with health concerns as they can raise LDL (aka “bad”) cholesterol and increase inflammation.

Trans fats are technically unsaturated fats. But a slight difference in their molecular arrangement means they act more like saturated fats – in foods and the body.

Which foods have trans fats?

Small amounts of trans fats occur naturally in some animal foods, such as red meat and dairy. They can also be created when oils are heated to very high temperatures, such as with commercial deep-frying.

But most trans fats in our diets are “industrial” trans fats. These are made when unsaturated fats are deliberately turned into trans fats by a process called hydrogenation. This makes them act more like saturated fats – improving shelf life, taste and texture.

Industrial trans fats can be ingredients in pre-packaged foods such as shelf-stable cakes, pastries, fried savoury snacks and some frozen foods.

Why should we be cutting down on trans fats?

Initially, industrial trans fats were regarded as an innovation as they allowed manufacturers to replace expensive, unhealthy saturated fats.

But we now know trans fats don’t just act like saturated fats in foods. They also act like saturated fats in the body, raising LDL cholesterol and causing inflammation. This ultimately increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases (such as heart attacks and strokes) even if you don’t eat much of them.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends we keep trans fats to less than 1% of our total energy intake (which is about 2.2 grams per day if you are eating a standard 8,000 kilojoule diet). That means eating less than about four 300g serves of frozen lasagne a day.

The use of trans fats in Australia has declined in recent decades and the average consumption of trans fats is below the WHO-recommended levels. But an estimated 10% or so of Australians are eating more than the WHO recommends.

Some countries have introduced regulations to limit the levels of trans fats allowed in foods. The WHO recommends foods contain no more than 2g of trans fats per 100g of total fats. This hasn’t happened in Australia despite some calls for it.

Because “industrial” trans fats are typically found in prepackaged discretionary foods (such as shelf-stable pastries, cakes and biscuits) and convenience foods (such as frozen meals), it’s tempting to revert to the simplified “just eat fresh whole foods and cook from scratch” style of recommendation.

But cooking from scratch may not be realistic

However, for many people, cooking every meal from scratch isn’t practical, affordable or enjoyable. But there are practical and meaningful ways to eat less trans fats even when eating convenience and discretionary foods, without changing your whole lifestyle or becoming a chef.

When shopping for snacks, frozen or other pre-packaged convenience products, check the labels for trans fats. But this can be a bit tricky as they’re not always mentioned, or may be called something else.

In Australia, it’s not mandatory to include trans fats on food labels, unless a manufacturer makes nutrition or health claim about fats or cholesterol. If this is the case, trans fat needs to be listed on the nutrition information panel.

The rest of the time, the trans fat content does not have to be listed, but manufacturers might declare it voluntarily.

You can also look for “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated” in the ingredients list.

However, manufacturers only have to declare hydrogenation if a specific vegetable oil is listed. If the ingredient is generic “vegetable oil”, the manufacturer doesn’t have to specify whether that oil has been hydrogenated.

So, for certainty, look for products that specifically list the unsaturated fats they use as ingredients (for instance, canola oil, sunflower oil or olive oil), as these would have to include the extra detail.

Don’t stress about cooking with oils at home, as they don’t get hot enough to produce a meaningful amount of trans fats. Most margarines and shortenings in Australia have now been reformulated to have little to no trans fats.

If you are ordering takeaways or fast foods, deep frying at high temperatures can lead to a modest increase in trans fats. Choosing outlets that use liquid vegetable oils reduces this risk. Most fast-food chains in Australia use high-oleic canola oils or blends that don’t contain trans fats.

We don’t need to turn into chefs overnight

At the end of the day, trans fats are not necessary, nor are they health-promoting.

But we don’t need to overhaul our lives, cook every meal from scratch or track every gram of fat we eat.

With a little bit of label-reading, a few simple swaps, and a general pattern of choosing foods made with plant-based oils instead of solid fats can give you the confidence you are minimising your exposure to trans fats.

Emma Beckett has in past years received funding for research or payment for consulting from Mars Foods, Nutrition Research Australia, FOODiQ Global, NHMRC, ARC, AMP Foundation, Kelloggs, Hort Innovation, and the a2 milk company. She is the author of ‘You Are More Than What You Eat’. She is a member of committees/working groups related to nutrition and food, including with the Australian Academy of Science and the National Health and Medical Research Council. She is a Registered Nutritionist, and a member of the Nutrition Society of Australia and the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology.

– ref. How to cut down on trans fats if cooking from scratch isn’t an option – https://theconversation.com/how-to-cut-down-on-trans-fats-if-cooking-from-scratch-isnt-an-option-269806

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Angela Jackson, Social Policy Commissioner, Productivity Commission, and Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Tasmania

At the start of the new year, many of us will commit to joining a gym, eating healthier or cutting back on drinking and smoking. We do this knowing that investing in our health today will pay off into to the future – that prevention is better (and cheaper) than the cure.

It’s advice the Productivity Commission thinks federal and state governments should also follow to improve Australia’s finances and productivity.

Late last year, my co-authors and I gave the federal government the final report of our inquiry on delivering quality care more efficiently.

We found preventative investments could save taxpayers billions of dollars in health and social care costs. But to achieve these gains, the way we think about investing in prevention needs to change.

Investing in early intervention

Australia’s spending on health and social care is growing as a share of the economy and now makes up five of the top seven fiscal pressures
facing the federal budget. The care sector is also absorbing more of our workforce – close to one-third of new jobs since the pandemic have been in the care sector.

In many respects this reflects changing preferences. As the nation has become wealthier, we care more about our health and wellbeing. But making the most of this spending is one of Australia’s key productivity challenges.

That means investing early to save costs later. Take for example the SunSmart skin cancer awareness campaign, which is estimated to have prevented more than 43,000 skin cancers from 1988 to 2010.

Investments like this save lives and money. We estimate that an investment of A$1.5 billion across all prevention programs over five years could be expected to save governments $2.7 billion over ten years. Factoring in the broader health, social and economic benefits, the total benefits would be about $5.4 billion.

Other countries are ahead of the game: Canada, the UK and Finland spend over twice as much of their health budgets on prevention as Australia.

Australia’s own health prevention strategy recommends that we increase spending on prevention from 2% to 5% of the health budget.

The big picture

Prevention goes beyond just health care. Investments in youth justice, out of home care and homelessness improve outcomes in a range of other areas, improving Australians’ quality of life and governments’ bottom lines.

For example, when people experiencing homelessness get stable housing, they tend to end up in hospital less often, make fewer trips to the emergency department, and in some cases, even avoid incarceration. It’s also easier to look for and hold down a job when you have a stable place to call home.

Such investments can also address systemic inequities in both access and quality of care.

One early childhood education program in outer Melbourne led to improved IQ and language development among socially disadvantaged Australian children, with participants reaching the same level of development as their peers within three years.

Evaluations of similar initiatives in the United States suggest that benefits can persist well into adulthood and even intergenerationally, through improved lifetime education attainment, employment and health, and reduced criminal behaviour.

A whole of government approach

Unfortunately, the way our government is structured can work against these investments. While it’s often one agency or level of government that needs to put up the money for these investments, they only enjoy part of the benefit.

The way governments think about and invest in prevention and early intervention needs to change. The Productivity Commission’s proposed solution is for a National Prevention and Early Intervention Framework to support strategic investments in programs that improve outcomes and reduce demand for future services.

The framework’s consistent approach to assessing interventions would bring all levels of government to the table, so that worthwhile investments no longer fall between the cracks.

It offers a practical way to put into operation the government’s Measuring What Matters framework. By directing funding towards outcomes and tracking progress against them, it would give federal and state governments confidence that they are investing in effective programs.

Like a person struggling with a new year’s resolution, policymakers often find it hard to delay gratification.

But given health and social care spending is only set to grow further, we need to start thinking long term to ensure we can afford to give future generations the standard of care we enjoy today. With a greater focus on prevention and early intervention, we can better care for future generations and put our care sector on a more sustainable path.

Angela Jackson is the Social Policy Commissioner at the Productivity Commission, as well as the chair of the Women in Economics Network. She has previously served on the board of Melbourne Health, which operates Royal Melbourne Hospital.

– ref. A stronger focus on prevention could help governments rein in healthcare and social spending – https://theconversation.com/a-stronger-focus-on-prevention-could-help-governments-rein-in-healthcare-and-social-spending-273801

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brenton Griffin, Academic Status in the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, Flinders University

The new Netflix documentary Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story, directed by Skye Borgman, seeks to understand the shocking crimes of both Hildebrandt and business partner Ruby Franke.

In 2023, Hildebrandt and Franke became internationally known when they were arrested and plead guilty for aggravated child abuse. They were accused of the forceful restraint, torture and malnourishment of two of Franke’s children, aged 12 and 9 at the time.

Hildebrandt and Franke collaborated on various Mormon-focused self-improvement businesses, including the podcast Moms of Truth and workshop ConneXions.

The abuse became known when Franke’s son escaped Hildebrandt’s home in south-west Utah and sought assistance from neighbours. However, as the documentary makes clear, signs of abuse are evident in earlier 8 Passengers videos. For example, the oldest Franke son, 15 at the time, was forced to sleep on a bean bag for seven months as a form of discipline.

The documentary, including those who are interviewed, articulate that these crimes are Mormon-centric. This is a story of religious fanaticism.

The positioning of Mormonism within this documentary is essential to the documentary’s framing. Those who are the strongest to condemn Hildebrandt in the film – including therapists, police and legal professionals, as well as victims of Hildebrandt – are adamant to profess their more mainstream “Mormonness” in comparison to Hildenbrandt and Franke’s extremism.

What Evil Influencer does well

The Franke–Hildebrandt case captured international attention for several reasons explored during the documentary.

First, the abuse happened at the hands of Franke, the children’s mother, and Hildebrandt, a trusted businesswoman in the Mormon mental health community.

Before founding her business ConneXions, Hildebrandt was a licensed therapist, though her license had been put on probation for violating patient confidentiality.

Ruby Franke, with her husband Kevin, was an immensely popular family vlogger. Their 8 Passengers YouTube channel had millions of subscribers and over a billion views.

Second, the documentary explores the ever-present pressure on families, in particular mothers, within Mormon culture. Mothers are responsible for teaching children correct gospel principles, which ensures their salvation.

Mormon doctrine emphasises the role of both parents. But this responsibility usually rests on the mothers, who are encouraged to not work.

This pressure to perform a certain way under the constraints of a high-control, patriarchal religion is similarly expressed by the participants of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.

Third, the documentary places Hildebrandt’s actions in the context of Mormon sexual purity culture. The film claims she was part of an “approved” list of therapists Church leaders would contact when members of their congregation struggled with “sexual deviancy”.

Hilderbrandt’s aggressive tactics towards clients are discussed in detail by former victims. These included the removal of parents from children and separations.

Hildebrandt’s actions towards victims is spliced with footage of Church leaders denouncing pornography as of the devil, more addictive than cocaine, and as able to corrupt souls to lose their salvation.

Hildebrandt’s “life-coaching” was the reason Ruby Franke and her children were living with Hildebrandt. According to the documentary, Kevin had been instructed by Jodi to not be in contact with his family for over a year.

What Evil Influencer misses

As with other documentaries that have examined Mormon women who have abused their children – including another documentary on Ruby Franke, and one on Lori Vallow, who in 2019 murdered her children in rural Idaho – the filmmaker’s grounding in Mormon cosmology could be improved.

Crucial to both the Franke and Vallow cases is the belief demons can possess individuals, including children. This is a part of the foundational Mormon narrative, the “First Vision”, in which a 14-year-old Joseph Smith was “seized upon by some power which entirely overcame” him. In his words, Smith is only saved by the literal appearance of God and Jesus Christ.

In Mormon cosmology, children are free from sin until the age of eight, after which they are baptised. Ecclesiastical leaders interview children about their faith and understanding of gospel principles, and whether they are willing to uphold baptismal and confirmation “covenants”.

When the documentary quotes from Franke’s diary, in which she refers to her son “or rather his demon”, this is likely not metaphorical. Similarly, Hildebrandt states to police the boy should not be allowed near other children.

In Mormon thought, the closer to God a person becomes – as Hildebrandt claimed to be due to her visions – the harder Satan will attempt to destroy a person through temptation and/or possession, as in the case of Joseph Smith.

Towards the end of the documentary, Hildebrandt, through recorded prison phone calls, quotes scripture, claiming Jesus Christ had warned his followers they would be persecuted and imprisoned. Hilderbrandt sees her imprisonment as a mirror of the Church’s founder, who was repeatedly arrested.

Smith similarly saw mirrors of his treatment in that of Jesus Christ’s experience. This idea of religious persecution sits at the heart of Hildebrandt’s denial.

Evil Influencer does very well to ground Hildebrandt and Franke’s crimes in Mormon culture, especially in regards to sexuality, motherhood and family. However, more cosmological context, especially surrounding the way in which Mormonism views demonic possession, is just as crucial for understanding these crimes.

Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story is on Netflix now.

Brenton Griffin was raised as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but is no longer a practising member of the church. His research is focused on the religion’s place in Australian and New Zealand popular culture, politics, and society from the 19th century to present.

– ref. What Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story tells us about Mormonism – https://theconversation.com/what-evil-influencer-the-jodi-hildebrandt-story-tells-us-about-mormonism-272810