Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nick Parkinson, Associate, Grattan Institute

School education in Australia needs a circuit-breaker. Student performance continues to stagnate and teachers report excessive workloads and alarming rates of stress.

Our new report from the Grattan Institute, Ending the Lesson Lottery: How to Improve Curriculum Planning, looks at how teachers could be much better supported.

Rather than tinkering at the edges of the education system, we should be looking more closely at curriculum planning – the process of deciding what to teach and the materials to use. This would reduce the load on teachers and help boost student achievement.

Why is lesson planning so important?

The Australian school curriculum and state versions provide broad direction on what to teach. But they leave teachers to do the heavy lifting when it comes to lesson planning and assessment.

To make the most of class time, lessons should be carefully planned and sequenced so teachers can build on student learning in previous years and set up future learning. This requires a coordinated approach to curriculum planning, across all school years and subjects.

Read more:
Why is Peter Dutton trying to start another political fight over the school curriculum?

This is where a comprehensive bank of curriculum materials, which teachers can use and adapt, comes in. It means, for example, that all year 3 teachers at a school agree on the key storybooks they’ll use. And it means a student in one year 7 health class learns from the same classroom materials as their peers down the hall. While they’re using the same materials, teachers will make adjustments based on their students and bring their personal flair to the classroom.

A crucial part of this is a whole-school commitment to the process, so teachers work together and agree “this is what we’ll teach, this is how we’ll teach it, and these are the materials we’ll use”.

Without an approach like this, students can miss crucial content, double up on topics or get contradictory explanations from one classroom to the next. It also increases the odds that lessons are hastily cobbled together because a teacher simply – and understandably – ran out of time.

Our survey

As part of a new report, we surveyed more than 2,200 teachers and principals about curriculum planning.

We asked them if they had a bank of high-quality curriculum materials for all classes at their school. Only 15% said yes. Teachers in disadvantaged schools were only half as likely to have a bank as those in advantaged schools.

Our survey also found 50% of teachers spend six or more hours a week creating and sourcing lesson materials, and a quarter of teachers spend ten hours or more. Pressed for time, 66% of those surveyed go to social media sites such as Facebook and YouTube to look for materials. The quality of what they find obviously varies widely.

Burdened with a heavy planning load, it’s no wonder teachers are crying out for help. Teachers told us they cannot possibly maintain high-quality planning within reasonable working hours. As one teacher in the survey said:

There’s not enough hours in the day to make materials as high-quality as I would like them to be. I forever feel guilty for not being good enough.

Curriculum banks save time

Our survey found teachers in schools with a bank of common materials for all their subjects spend three hours a week less sourcing and creating materials. And these teachers are almost four times more satisfied with curriculum planning at their school.

Teachers in schools with a bank are also nearly twice as likely to say students consistently learn the same thing, no matter who they’re taught by, compared to teachers in schools without one.

Nine out of ten teachers surveyed said access to shared, high-quality materials would give them more time to meet the needs of individual students. Many were frustrated that it isn’t the norm. As another teacher told us in the survey:

It frustrated me to no end that schools and governments do not provide resources/lesson plans/unit plans that are ready to go. I was a lawyer before I was a teacher, and I would never have drafted a legal document without using a precedent!

Many schools will need help

Our report also profiles schools who have managed to establish an effective whole-school approach to curriculum planning. Four in five are public schools and they come from a range of areas, from metropolitan to regional.

What they have in common is school leaders who understood the need for a materials bank, prioritised school time and resources to develop it, and built a culture of professional trust where teachers share materials.

Our case studies didn’t have much government help, but realistically, without it, most schools will find it challenging to follow their lead.

Governments and education sector leaders need to invest in more high-quality, comprehensive curriculum materials that schools can choose to adapt and use.

Schools will also need more curriculum-specific professional development and less generic training.

We estimate an investment of between $15 million and $20 million would be enough to develop comprehensive high-quality materials for a single subject, up to year 10 level. This is a small amount in the overall scheme of the $71 billion we spend a year on education.

These materials should also be quality assured by an independent, expert body.

It is important to note that governments don’t necessarily have to do all the development work themselves. The United Kingdom uses a mix of government-made, charity and commercial providers for materials.

But time and money is only part of the solution. At the individual school level, we need principals prepared to lead change.

This is about giving teachers more time for teaching (not less)

Previous debate around lesson banks have sparked some anger among teachers who say lesson planning is a core part of their profession and should not be “outsourced”.

But this is not about removing school autonomy or downgrading professional expertise. Our case studies found a whole-school approach meant teachers could spend more time planning key lessons (rather than being stretched thin across 20 lessons a week).

Read more:
Australia spends $5 billion a year on teaching assistants in schools but we don’t know what they do

Our survey also overwhelmingly found teachers thought having access to high-quality materials would give them more time to respond to the individual needs of their students.

This is also not a call to mandate the curriculum materials that teachers must use. It is about increasing the availability of quality materials so schools have more options. Schools may adapt what is provided or choose to develop their own shared curriculum materials (provided they have the time and resources).

The burden of having to plan mostly from scratch is taking a heavy toll on teachers. A new partnership is needed between governments, education leaders, and schools to reduce this. Failure to do so is unfair on teachers as well as students.

Nick is currently training to be a teacher at the Melbourne University’s Graduate School of Education.

– ref. ‘I feel guilty about not being good enough’: why all Australian schools need teaching material banks – https://theconversation.com/i-feel-guilty-about-not-being-good-enough-why-all-australian-schools-need-teaching-material-banks-192399

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mel Taylor, Associate Professor, Macquarie University

The floods ravaging Victoria have destroyed hundreds of homes and left at least one person dead. Some rivers are not expected to peak until Monday and more wet weather may leave towns battling floodwaters again in the coming weeks.

We’ve been researching the experiences of people who survived floods in Queensland and New South Wales this year. Our initial findings offer insights as Victoria now suffers its own flood disaster.

The current crisis is far from over. Those affected will be feeling confused and overwhelmed. Well-meaning helpers are likely to rush in, and recovery agencies will be mobilising.

In the difficult weeks and months ahead, here’s what Victorian flood survivors will be going though – and how best to help.

‘Just one step in front of the other’

Our study involves researchers from Macquarie University, University of Southern Queensland and Queensland University of Technology. Since late August this year, we’ve interviewed more than 200 flood survivors from about 40 communities.

Our research area stretches from the Queensland town of Maryborough down to Sydney’s Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley, taking in communities west of Brisbane as well as those in the Northern Rivers area around Lismore.

Some flood survivors we interviewed in September and October had experienced three or four floods this year – and lost everything multiple times.

Read more:
‘One of the most extreme disasters in colonial Australian history’: climate scientists on the floods and our future risk

Almost eight months after the worst of the floods, many are not back in their homes. Some have returned but don’t have electricity or water, and only have one or two habitable rooms in what is otherwise a shell of a house.

People were worn down by the multiple floods and getting back on their feet each time. They’d faced difficulties getting help from recovery organisations, and dreaded another summer the same as the last.

As one flood-affected resident said:

It’s just one step in front of the other, because what else can we do?

Another participant expressed frustration with the recovery efforts of their local council:

This isn’t their first rodeo. What the **** are they doing?

Some of the worst affected people lived in properties that had never flooded before. Some didn’t act to protect their belongings because their homes were built above all previous flood levels. But their homes were inundated to the ceilings, and they lost everything.

Read more:
‘I simply haven’t got it in me to do it again’: imagining a new heart for flood-stricken Lismore

An avalanche of decisions

Having disorganised thoughts is a normal response to stress and trauma. We spoke to many flood survivors who felt as if their brains were “scrambled” during and after the disaster.

Many said it had led to poor decision-making that left them facing a more complex and protracted recovery. For example, some who chose to delay evacuation faced trauma that could have been avoided, such as the loss of pets. Others regretted decisions made during the clean up.

Some people had the added stress of having to decide if they must permanently leave their homes – because, for example, it is built on a floodplain or is too damaged to repair. This additional emotional strain was also experienced by survivors of Victoria’s Black Saturday bushfires.

Cleaning up after the floods has been fraught. Many people didn’t take photos of their damaged houses before they were stripped out – and are now struggling to prove to their insurance company how badly their house was affected.

Wonderful people helped with the flood clean-up – but in some cases, it meant everything happened too fast. Precious damaged items that might have been cleaned or repaired – such as photos or a grandfather’s timber chair – were instead chucked out.

The many questions from those offering help were overwhelming: what do you need? What can we do? We found in the first few weeks, survivors generally had capacity to answer only very specific questions involving a “yes” or “no” answer: would you like lunch? Can I clean out the chook house? Can I get you a trailer or generator?

Tracking down help was a grind. Every call seemed not to reach the right person to talk to, and ended in a promise that the person would call them back. Frequently, they didn’t.

Some insurance companies were dragging the chain, preventing people from rebuilding or relocating. Others with properties that had never flooded never thought they needed insurance – and their homes may now be un-insurable.

Local communities stepped up to carry survivors through the initial clean-up and recovery – a common experience after disasters.

Read more:
Floods in Victoria are uncommon. Here’s why they’re happening now – and how they compare to the past

But once the urgent work is done, volunteers usually return to their families, lives and jobs. For survivors, the feeling of being forgotten can be overwhelming – especially for those who live alone, or those struggling to access mental health services.

Our in-depth interviews with flood survivors will inform the next phase of the research, an online survey opening later this month. Anyone interested in contributing can contact us here.

Many themes we identified in our research so far also emerged after the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009. The journey of recovery from that tragedy is still underway.

The age of disasters

As we write, floodwaters in parts of Victoria continue to rise. Elsewhere the water is receding, but flooding is expected to persist for days yet.

We were saddened by the hundreds of conversations with flood survivors this year. But we also have huge admiration for people’s determination to pick themselves up.

And despite the devastation they’d experienced, most interviewees found silver linings. Some found renewed faith in their neighbours, friends and towns. Others were committed to being less attached to things, to helping their community when they can, or to be more responsive to family and friends.

Our research is too recent to provide tangible help to Victoria’s flood survivors. But we hope it will help in future as Australians recover from floods and other disasters.

The authors would like to acknowledge their fellow researchers on this project: Professor Kim Johnston, Associate Professor Fiona Miller, Associate Professor Anne Lane, Dipika Dabas and Harriet Narwal.

Read more:
More than a decade after the Black Saturday fires, it’s time we got serious about long-term disaster recovery planning

Mel Taylor receives funding from Natural Hazards Research Australia.

Barbara Ryan receives funding from Natural Hazards Research Australia. She is affiliated with Emergency Media and Public Affairs, a community of practice of emergency communicators and engagement practitioners.

– ref. ‘Would you like lunch? Can I clean out the chook house?’: what flood survivors actually need after disaster strikes – https://theconversation.com/would-you-like-lunch-can-i-clean-out-the-chook-house-what-flood-survivors-actually-need-after-disaster-strikes-192577

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

Government-funded paid parental leave will be extended, and more pressure placed on fathers to share caring for babies, under an initiative to be unveiled by Anthony Albanese on Saturday.

Parental leave will be lengthened by six weeks, phased in, to total 26 weeks by 2026, with use-it-or-lose-it provisions directed to having fathers undertake a greater part of the early parenting.

Leave will be able to be taken in blocks between periods of work. Single parents will be entitled to the full 26 weeks.

The present scheme is for 18 weeks government-funded leave to care for a newborn. There is a separate “Dad and Partner” payment for two weeks.

The government says it will introduce reforms to modernise the system and improve flexibility from July next year. From July 1 2024 the time will start lengthening, with two extra weeks put on each year until the scheme reaches 26 weeks from July 2026.

The government’s women’s economic equality taskforce, chaired by Sam Mostyn, will advise on details of the model, including what mix of flexible weeks and the use-it-or-lose-it component for each parent are considered best. Details will be in the October 25 budget.

Albanese will formally announce the initiative when he addresses the NSW ALP conference on Saturday morning.

In his speech, an extract of which was released ahead of delivery, Albanese says that, like the government’s child care policy, extending PPL is an economic reform.

“By 2026, every family with a new baby will be able to access a total of six months paid leave, shared between the two parents,” he says.

“We will give families more leave and more flexibility, so people are able to use their weeks in a way that works best for them.

“Our plan will mean more families take up this leave, share in that precious time – and share the caring responsibilities more equally.

“This plan will support dads who want to take time off work to be more involved in those early months.

“It’s a modern policy, for modern families. It delivers more choice, it offers greater security – and it rewards aspiration.”

Albanese says that extended leave was one of the clearest calls that came out of the recent jobs summit.

“Businesses, unions, experts and economists all understand that providing more choice, more support and more flexibility for families and more opportunity for women boosts participation and productivity across the economy.”

He says the government sees this as “the baseline, a national minimum standard.

“We are encouraged that there are already employers across Australia competing to offer working parents the best possible deal. And we want to see more of it.

“Because a parental leave system that empowers the full and equal participation of women will be good for business, good for families and good for the economy.”

Minister for Women Katy Gallagher said that “having a child shouldn’t be an economic barrier for families or indeed act as a handbrake on the broader economy.

“Right now, this burden is borne disproportionately by women but we know that good women’s policy is also good economic policy and this decision is evidence of that.”

Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth said: “This will benefit mums, it will benefit dads, it’s good for children, and it will be a huge boost to the economy.

“We know that treating parenting as an equal partnership helps to improve gender equality.”

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

– ref. Paid parental leave extended to 26 weeks by 2026, with pressure on dads to share more early caring – https://theconversation.com/paid-parental-leave-extended-to-26-weeks-by-2026-with-pressure-on-dads-to-share-more-early-caring-192506

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lindsay A. Pearce, Research Associate, Curtin University

From October 16 to 27, United Nations will pay a special visit to look at some of the hidden corners of Australian society.

A UN torture prevention subcommittee will be making unannounced visits to various places of detention. These could include adult prisons, youth detention facilities, immigration detention centres, police cells, mental health institutions, and secure welfare facilities.

It will be looking for opportunities to prevent abuse and improve conditions of detention.

The visit will place international pressure on Australia to finally move forward with its commitments under the UN anti-torture protocol, on which the country has been dragging its feet.

It’s also a unique opportunity for Australians to see what’s happening behind closed doors and to demand better transparency, accountability, and treatment of vulnerable citizens.

Preventing harm

The subcommittee is a new treaty body that supports UN member states to prevent torture and mistreatment.

It has a right to unannounced visits to examine the treatment of people in prisons and other places of detention in countries that have signed the anti-torture protocol.

The subcommittee can publicly report their findings.

The anti-torture protocol signifies a commitment to establish independent monitoring bodies, called “national preventive mechanisms”. The bodies can freely access all places of detention, make recommendations, and engage in constructive dialogue to facilitate changes that prevent harm, mistreatment, and human rights abuses. Each state and territory, as well as the federal government, is expected to have its own monitoring body.

Like the subcommittee, the Australian monitoring bodies can show up completely unannounced so they can see what conditions are like when facilities haven’t been given advance notice.

These kinds of inspections are a powerful tool for transparency and accountability within sectors that typically operate behind closed doors.

Read more:
3 types of denial that allow Australians to feel OK about how we treat refugees

Australia dragging its feet

Unfortunately, Australia has not upheld its commitment.

Australia first signed the anti-torture protocol in 2009 and ratified it in 2017, joining 91 other countries.

After postponing the 2018 deadline to establish monitoring bodies and missing the latest deadline in January 2022, the UN reluctantly granted Australia another one-year extension.

So far, the federal government and the governments of Western Australia, Tasmania and the ACT have identified who will comprise their monitoring bodies. But New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria have resisted until federal funding is confirmed.

By January 23 2023, all states and territories are required to have a monitoring body that’s fully compliant with the requirements laid out by the anti-torture protocol.

The apparent reason for the delay is a funding stalemate between the federal government and state and territory governments. The latter are responsible for nominating and coordinating their own jurisdictional monitoring bodies.

It’s hoped the subcommittee visit will speed up the implementation of the anti-torture protocol.

People deprived of liberty are vulnerable

Australia’s delay in establishing a monitoring body has been described as an international shame.

Prisons and other places of detention house some of our most vulnerable citizens. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare in 2018:

• 40% of people in Australian prisons had a pre-existing mental illness
• 65% had used illicit drugs in the past year
• 21% had a history of self-harm
• 30% had a chronic illness
• and 29% had a disability.

What’s more, over one-third of deaths in Australian prisons in 2020-21 were self-inflicted.

The statistics are similar in youth detention and immigration detention.

These vulnerabilities make people extremely susceptible to the physical and psychological harms of mistreatment.

Read more:
Why Australia needs its own torture report

Human rights abuses

Australia has an abysmal reputation when it comes to protecting the health and human rights of those in detention. A few examples of the conditions people may be subjected to include:

• corrupt conduct including assault, unjustified use of force, bribery, solitary confinement, and inappropriate strip searching

• inadequate access to health care

• and exposure to extreme heat waves.

Despite recommendations from the 2017 Royal Commission into the Detention and Protection of Children in the Northern Territory, the following are still commonly reported in youth detention across Australia:

• dehumanising conditions, increases in violence, self-harm, and suicide

• concerns over the safety and retraumatisation of young people

• the use of spit hoods in police custody

• and extended periods of lockdown and solitary confinement.

Disproportionate harm

These conditions disproportionately affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. They are around ten times more likely than non-Indigenous people to be detained in prison and 17 times more likely to be detained in the youth justice system. This is largely due to the ongoing impacts of colonisation, systemic racism, and over-policing.

There have been 517 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths in custody since the 1991 royal commission into the issue.

The anti-torture protocol ensures governments are accountable to the unique needs of all people deprived of liberty, including Indigenous people, children, and those with a disability.

A different future

Australia has a dark past when it comes to human rights in places of detention. Our future can, and must, be better.

The subcommittee’s visit should be a catalyst for establishing routine, independent monitoring that Australia has committed to under the anti-torture protocol.

It signals change towards collaborative, open discussion about the prevention of harm, mistreatment, and human rights abuses in all places where people are deprived of their liberty.

The authors would like to acknowledge the contributions of the following people who provided input on this article: Daphne Arapakis of Koorie Youth Council, Tiffany Overall of YouthLaw, and Fergus Peace of Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service.

Stuart Kinner receives funding from the NHMRC for research on the health of people in contact with the justice system. He is a technical advisor on the WHO Health in Prisons Programme.

Lindsay A. Pearce 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. Why is a UN torture prevention committee visiting Australia? – https://theconversation.com/why-is-a-un-torture-prevention-committee-visiting-australia-192169

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Tuthill, Astrophysicist, University of Sydney

In July, a puzzling new image of a distant extreme star system surrounded by surreal concentric geometric rungs had even astronomers scratching their heads. The picture, which looks like a kind of “cosmic thumbprint”, came from the James Webb Space Telescope, NASA’s newest flagship observatory.

The internet immediately lit up with theories and speculation. Some on the wild fringe even claimed it as evidence for “alien megastructures” of unknown origin.

Luckily, our team at the University of Sydney had already been studying this very star, known as WR140, for more than 20 years – so we were in prime position to use physics to interpret what we were seeing.

Our model, published in Nature, explains the strange process by which the star produces the dazzling pattern of rings seen in the Webb image (itself now published in Nature Astronomy).

The secrets of WR140

WR140 is what’s called a Wolf-Rayet star. These are among the most extreme stars known. In a rare but beautiful display, they can sometimes emit a plume of dust into space stretching hundreds of times the size of our entire Solar System.

The radiation field around Wolf-Rayets is so intense, dust and wind are swept outwards at thousands of kilometres per second, or about 1% the speed of light. While all stars have stellar winds, these overachievers drive something more like a stellar hurricane.

Read more:
This mysterious ‘exotic stellar peacock’ may open the door to a realm of physics only ever glimpsed

Critically, this wind contains elements such as carbon that stream out to form dust.

WR140 is one of a few dusty Wolf-Rayet stars found in a binary system. It is in orbit with another star, which is itself a massive blue supergiant with a ferocious wind of its own.

Only a handful of systems like WR140 are known in our whole galaxy, yet these select few deliver the most unexpected and beautiful gift to astronomers. Dust doesn’t simply stream out from the star to form a hazy ball as might be expected; instead it forms only in a cone-shaped area where the winds from the two stars collide.

Because the binary star is in constant orbital motion, this shock front must also rotate. The sooty plume then naturally gets wrapped into a spiral, in the same way as the jet from a rotating garden sprinkler.

WR140, however, has a few more tricks up its sleeve layering more rich complexity into its showy display. The two stars are not on circular but elliptical orbits, and furthermore dust production turns on and off episodically as the binary nears and departs the point of closest approach.

An almost perfect model

By modelling all these effects into the three-dimensional geometry of the dust plume, our team tracked the location of dust features in three-dimensional space.

By carefully tagging images of the expanding flow taken at the Keck Observatory in Hawaii, one of the world’s largest optical telescopes, we found our model of the expanding flow fit the data almost perfectly.

Except for one niggle. Close in right near the star, the dust was not where it was supposed to be. Chasing that minor misfit turned out to lead us right to a phenomenon never before caught on camera.

The power of light

We know that light carries momentum, which means it can exert a push on matter known as radiation pressure. The outcome of this phenomenon, in the form of matter coasting at high speed around the cosmos, is evident everywhere.

But it has been a remarkably difficult process to catch in the act. The force fades quickly with distance, so to see material being accelerated you need to track very accurately the movement of matter in a strong radiation field.

This acceleration turned out to be the one missing element in the models for WR140. Our data did not fit because the expansion speed wasn’t constant: the dust was getting a boost from radiation pressure.

Catching that for the first time on camera was something new. In each orbit, it is as if the star unfurls a giant sail made of dust. When it catches the intense radiation streaming from the star, like a yacht catching a gust, the dusty sail makes a sudden leap forward.

Smoke rings in space

The final outcome of all this physics is arrestingly beautiful. Like a clockwork toy, WR140 puffs out precisely sculpted smoke rings with every eight-year orbit.

Each ring is engraved with all this wonderful physics written in the detail of its form. All we have to do is wait and the expanding wind inflates the dust shell like a balloon until it is big enough for our telescopes to image.

Then, eight years later, the binary returns in its orbit and another shell appears identical to the one before, growing inside the bubble of its predecessor. Shells keep accumulating like a ghostly set of giant nesting dolls.

However, the true extent to which we had hit on the right geometry to explain this intriguing star system was not brought home to us until the new Webb image arrived in June.

Here were not one or two, but more than 17 exquisitely sculpted shells, each one a nearly exact replica nested within the one preceding it. That means the oldest, outermost shell visible in the Webb image must have been launched about 150 years before the newest shell, which is still in its infancy and accelerating away from the luminous pair of stars driving the physics at the heart of the system.

With their spectacular plumes and wild fireworks, the Wolf-Rayets have delivered one of the most intriguing and intricately patterned images to have been released by the new Webb telescope.

This was one of the first images taken by Webb. Astronomers are all on the edge of our seats, waiting for what new wonders this observatory will beam down to us.

Peter Tuthill receives funding from The Australian Research Council.

– ref. Alien megastructures? Cosmic thumbprint? What’s behind a James Webb telescope photo that had even astronomers stumped – https://theconversation.com/alien-megastructures-cosmic-thumbprint-whats-behind-a-james-webb-telescope-photo-that-had-even-astronomers-stumped-192249

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nasim Salehi, Senior Lecturer and Course Coordinator, Southern Cross University

The “Women, Life, Freedom” movement that has taken hold in Iran in recent weeks is not new. Young Iranian women have been involved in small but consistent evolutionary actions during the entire 44 years of the Islamic Republic of Iran, particularly in the past two decades.

The initial movement goes back to the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the year radical Islamic groups took power. Street protests, the so-called “evolution toward revolution”, have accelerated since 2017.

In all these movements, women have been courageous and bold. Key demonstrations include:

• student protest on the closure of a reformist newspaper (1999)
• protest about the irregularities in the presidential election (2009)
• protest against the government’s economic policies (2017-2018)
• Bloody November (2019)/Bloody Aban (2020) protests, caused by the significant increase in fuel prices.

Young Iranian women position themselves as agents of social change. They are not, as they are often represented outside Iran, powerless victims. They have always been at the forefront of breaking down social boundaries and taboos.

They have been fighting to enhance their social status through education and career development.

They believe in evolution (small yet strong and consistent change), rather than sudden revolution (temporary and unsustainable change). The idea is that incremental change can lead to another unsuccessful revolution, such as in 1979.

In our research, we spoke to 391 women aged 18-35 from Shiraz, one of the biggest cities in Iran. We found that their evolutionary actions can be captured by key themes: they may seem ordinary, but they represent what young Iranian women are fighting for. They are not looking for something extraordinary. They only want to exercise some level of control over their basic rights.

1. Developing multiple identities. Young Iranian women must manage multiple identities due to the oppressive system. They feel their values, behaviour and actions are not aligned – and not truly free – because of the contradictory expectations their society places on them. They feel they are not always free to be their true selves.

They have used the creation of multiple identities as a coping strategy to be accepted by their society in different stages of their lives, from childhood to university, marriage and working life. As one young woman in our research observed:

Iranian women always should jump from a barrier [to achieve the most obvious rights they have], the barrier of traditional families, the barrier of (morality) police, the barrier of culture.

Another participant said:

My fake identity has been the dominant identity and I have not had a chance to be the real me.

2. Building digital freedom. Iranian women use social media to engage in national and international online social protest groups, exchange information and generate ideas on how to tackle social challenges in their society. Despite the government’s active crackdown on international social media platforms, young Iranians still find innovative ways of accessing them.

Social media have increased social, cultural and political awareness among the young generation, and this appears to be increasing the gap between younger and older generations of the country. One woman told us:

Although satellite TV and some of the social networks [such as Facebook] are banned in Iran, young generations try to have access, using different anti-filters.

3. Creating a unique style of dressing. Research has found that most young Iranians are against mandatory hijab. It is not a cultural issue in Iran, but rather a very restrictive and radical Islamic law, which is one of the key foundations of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The regime assumes that if the rules around mandatory hijab break down, other pillars of the Islamic Republic will be in danger. So protests against hijab – as we are seeing in Iran – challenge the legitimacy of the regime.

Read more:
Iran: ‘hijab’ protests challenge legitimacy of Islamic Republic

Young Iranian women have a high level of education and awareness, respecting different cultures, beliefs, religions and dress codes. They only want to have freedom of choice. As one woman told us: “Islamic leaders want us to hide our beauty.”

A recent study found the majority of Iranians (58%) did not believe in the practice of wearing hijab. Only 23% agreed with the compulsory hijab, which is respected by the rest of the population: people do not want hijab abolished, they just want freedom of choice.

Read more:
Iran protests: majority of people reject compulsory hijab and an Islamic regime, surveys find

4. Creating hidden leisure opportunities. Young Iranian women try to create more opportunities to express the enjoyable yet hidden parts of their life. As one woman said:

We prefer to stay at home and have our gatherings and parties in private places, as we find indoor activities more interesting because we don’t have the limitations of dressing, drinking, female-male interactions.

5. Changing social and sexual relationships. Our research found Iranian women believe the limitations on social and sexual relationships can result in psychological and social health issues. In addition, they believe limitations on relationships before marriage can result in unsuccessful marriages.

Young Iranian women use different strategies to keep their relationships. One specific example is the creation of “white marriage” – where a man and a woman live together without passing the Islamic process of marriage in Iran.

In many of these movements, Iranian women also find support from men (despite the general perception), particularly in the young generations, who equate a push for gender equality and women’s rights with a more democratic society.

They know that fighting for gender equality is everyone’s job, to enhance awareness and bring about change. There can be no democracy without first respecting women’s rights and restoring their dignity and freedom.

This study was funded by Griffith University and supported by both Griffith University and Shiraz University of Medical Sciences.

– ref. Not ‘powerless victims’: how young Iranian women have long led a quiet revolution – https://theconversation.com/not-powerless-victims-how-young-iranian-women-have-long-led-a-quiet-revolution-192188

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Mannell, Research Fellow in Digital Childhoods, Deakin University

This week, Todd Sampson’s documentary Mirror Mirror: Love & Hate screened on Channel Ten. The documentary focuses on harms that occur through social media and online platforms.

It raises important points about the need for awareness and regulation, but these are often crowded out by alarmist tropes that don’t reflect what we know from decades of research into digital technologies. Left unchallenged, they can prompt unnecessary worry and distract us from having important conversations about how to make technology better.

As digital media researchers, here are some of the claims we think people should approach with caution.

Digital technology and ADHD

While it’s sensible to avoid letting young children spend all day on digital devices, the documentary’s suggestion that using digital devices causes attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children is questionable.

The neuroscientist interviewed about this notes that studies have found “correlations” between digital device use and ADHD diagnoses, but the documentary never explains to viewers that correlation doesn’t equal causation. It may be that having ADHD makes children more likely to use digital devices, rather than digital devices causing ADHD.

Even more importantly, longitudinal studies have looked for evidence that device use causes ADHD in children and haven’t found any.

There are other reasons why the science here is much less conclusive than the documentary suggests. Studies that find these correlations often use parents’ estimates of their children’s “screen time” to measure technology use.

This method is now regarded by some experts as an almost meaningless measure of technology use. Parent estimates are usually inaccurate, and “screen time” combines many different technologies into one concept while failing to account for the content being watched or the context of use.

Read more:
Relax, it’s just a ringlight for kids. Toys like the ‘vlogger set’ prepare them for a digital world

The trope of pseudo-connections

Another key focus in the documentary is the idea that online interactions and relationships are not real and have no value. There are claims about “pseudo-connections” leading to poor mental health and increased loneliness.

Overall, the documentary suggests online communication is fake and harmful while in-person interaction is real and beneficial.

This well-worn trope ignores decades of evidence about the value of online interactions and relationships. Keeping in touch with friends and family overseas, finding people with shared interests, and political organising and activism are all meaningful online interactions.

It’s especially important to recognise that online friendships and interactions can be crucial for LGBTIQ+ young people. These young people suffer disproportionate rates of suicide and mental illness. However, studies have repeatedly shown digital communication tools such as social media provide them with valuable sources of emotional support, friendships and informal learning, and are ultimately linked to improved mental health.

Read more:
Scare-mongering about kids and social media helps no-one

Strangers on the internet?

Mirror Mirror pays a lot of attention to the dangers of children interacting with strangers online. Its most alarmist claim on this topic is that today, the majority of children’s friends are strangers on the internet.

However, research has consistently shown young people mostly use social media to connect with people they already know. However, other kinds of online spaces, like gaming platforms, are also accessed by children and do encourage interactions between strangers. Serious harms can come from these kinds of interactions, although it’s important to remember this is less common than you might think.

A world-leading European Union study of children’s internet use provides a more balanced picture. It found most children are not interacting with strangers online and when children meet friends from the internet in person, it’s usually a happy experience.

The study emphasises that while it’s important to talk to children about managing risks, meeting new people online can have benefits, such as finding friends with similar interests or practising a foreign language.

Read more:
Children can be exposed to sexual predators online, so how can parents teach them to be safe?

The anonymity trope

In the show’s second episode, Sampson states anonymity is “perhaps the biggest killer of empathy” in internet communication. The documentary never defines anonymity and frames it as almost exclusively negative.

While anonymity can be a part of the way people inflict harms online, forcing people to use their real names doesn’t automatically make them behave better.

Research has also shown online anonymity is used for many different purposes, including positive ones. It can reduce online harms such as doxxing and enable consensual sexual interactions. It can also ensure that people who experience marginalisation feel comfortable using the internet without fear of retribution.

Mirror Mirror is too quick to frame anonymity as the cause of online abuse rather than as one of many contributing factors. It’s important we don’t lose sight of these other factors, especially the social contexts of misogyny and racism in which online abuse occurs.

The real issues

The documentary includes some heartbreaking accounts from parents, young people and women who have experienced devastating harm online. These are real issues and, as Sampson notes, responsibility for fixing them lies with tech platforms, regulators and educators.

We wholeheartedly agree and welcome discussions about regulating big tech and developing awareness and education campaigns.

But we would like to see more practical discussion of how platforms need to change, and fewer sensationalist claims and implicit critiques of individual users.

Read more:
Coroner finds social media contributed to 14-year-old Molly Russell’s death. How should parents and platforms react?

Kate Mannell is a Research Fellow in the Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child, which is funded by the Australian Research Council.

Caitlin McGrane is the Manager, Policy and Online Safety, at Gender Equity Victoria. Gender Equity Victoria has received State and Federal Government to investigate experiences and solutions to gendered online harassment.

– ref. Todd Sampson’s ‘Mirror Mirror’ raises the alarm on our lives online – but not all its claims are supported by evidence – https://theconversation.com/todd-sampsons-mirror-mirror-raises-the-alarm-on-our-lives-online-but-not-all-its-claims-are-supported-by-evidence-192395

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney

The northern Murray-Darling Basin produces 93% of Australia’s cotton. Cotton is one of Australia’s biggest agricultural industries – worth about A$2 billion each year – and a steady supply of water is crucial for production.

Our recently published research reveals that since the 1990s, average April-May rainfall in the northern basin has decreased significantly. The decrease coincides with accelerated climate change.

Our research also found average or below-average rainfall in the remaining cool season months June to September. Without substantial spring or summer rain, this leads to less rainfall runoff in dams – and less water to irrigate cotton and other crops.

Climate change will bring more frequent droughts, as well as more frequent flooding. These two future extremes in rainfall both have the potential to damage Australia’s lucrative cotton industry.

A vital river system

The northern Murray-Darling Basin spans northeast New South Wales and southeast Queensland. It comprises floodplains of streams or small rivers that feed into the Darling River.

Cotton in the basin is mostly grown on clay soils on floodplains next to rivers. When rivers flood after heavy rain, the soil stores water for later plant growth.

Water stored in the cooler months ensures an adequate supply of water in summer, when cotton crops require the most water. Insufficient rain in the cooler months means dam water will be needed in summer. But highly variable summer rain means this water is not always available.

Maintaining water flow through the northern Murray-Darling Basin is crucial. Many farms and communities rely on river water for human consumption and to irrigate cotton and other crops. And a sustainable water supply is vital for the ecological health of wetlands, waterholes and floodplains.

What we found

Our research examined annual April-May rainfall in the northern Murray-Darling Basin from 1911 to 2019. Other research has concentrated on autumn rainfall for southeast Australia but not specifically on this part of the basin.

We already knew 94% of water gauges in the northern Murray-Darling Basin showed declining trends in water flow since records began in 1970. Our previous research had also found a declining rainfall trend in April-May in the southern Murray-Darling Basin. So we wanted to see if the trend was similar in the north.

For the drought from 2017 to 2019, almost all the northern parts of the basin experienced their driest ever period or close to it.

But the consecutive La Niñas of 2020-21 and 2021-22 brought heavy rain to the northern Murray-Darling Basin – filling dams and leading to flooding.

Rain is generated by short-term events such as thunderstorms, as well as large-scale systems. In eastern Australia, these include climate drivers such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, Southern Annular Mode and Indian Ocean Dipole.

These climate drivers influence weather over months and seasons. In the northern Murray-Darling Basin, they’re responsible for highly variable seasonal and annual rainfall. Specifically, we found:

• the El Niño-Southern Oscillation influences spring/summer rainfall
• the Southern Annular Mode affects summer rainfall
• the Indian Ocean Dipole is important for late winter/spring rainfall.

Significantly, global warming was a prominent contributor to extremes of rainfall in all seasons, both individually and in combination with other climate drivers.

Read more:
The Murrumbidgee River’s wet season height has dropped by 30% since the 1990s — and the outlook is bleak

North vs south

Typically, it rains more in the northern Murray-Darling Basin during the warmer season, and more in the south in the late cool season. Both receive significantly decreased rainfall in April and May.

So in the north, reduced April-May rainfall, coupled with the usual lower rainfall late in the cool season, can mean dams are not full heading into the warmer season where irrigation water is crucial for cotton crops.

A compounding factor is that the northern dams have about one-third the capacity of the south. What’s more, rising temperatures since the 1990s have increased evaporation lost from vegetation across the basin – and during 2018-2019, the evaporation was higher in the north.

So what does all this mean? The results suggest global warming will both increase temperatures and rainfall extremes in the northern Murray-Darling Basin, bringing more frequent droughts and floods. The associated impact on yields will likely threaten the future of cotton farming – by far the basin’s most important crop.

Read more:
Cotton breeders are using genetic insights to make this global crop more sustainable

Looking ahead

About 90% of Australia’s cotton crop is irrigated. This changes each year depending on how much natural rainfall is received across the cotton-growing catchments.

Our research confirms rainfall extremes in the northern Murray-Darling Basin are increasing. The subsequent longer and more frequent droughts and floods are likely to lead to lower cotton yields, which may affect the livelihood of the communities dependent on cotton farming.

River flows are affected by both rainfall and human management of rivers, such as the allocation of water for irrigation and other uses. More accurate rainfall models are needed to help state and local water authorities make crucial management decisions. These models should predict the climate drivers identified in our study.

Read more:
While towns run dry, cotton extracts 5 Sydney Harbours’ worth of Murray Darling water a year. It’s time to reset the balance

Joshua Hartigan receives funding from the Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship.

Lance M Leslie and Milton Speer 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. Cotton on: one of Australia’s most lucrative farming industries is in the firing line as climate change worsens – https://theconversation.com/cotton-on-one-of-australias-most-lucrative-farming-industries-is-in-the-firing-line-as-climate-change-worsens-191864

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Naomi Joy Godden, VIce-Chancellor’s Research Fellow, Centre for People, Place and Planet, Edith Cowan University

All around us, climate change is worsening existing disadvantage. In Australia, we need only look to low-income households hit harder by rising energy and fuel prices, and flood responses in northern New South Wales overlooking the needs of people with disability.

These are examples of “climate injustice”. In our research on climate change and social justice in Australia, we have found again and again that people already experiencing marginalisation are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

But importantly, these are often the groups leading social movements to demand that equity and fairness for current and future generations are at the heart of climate action.

Sadly, climate justice is still not central to current climate deliberations, as shown in Labor’s recent refusal to rule out new coal and gas projects – despite the huge impact on emissions. These complex injustices will require transformative policy responses to ensure no one is left behind.

Climate change makes existing inequalities worse

Over the past decade, we have conducted feminist and participatory research projects about climate justice, in partnership with grassroots communities.

We have found climate change acts to reinforce existing systems of oppression and inequality. People who already experience marginalisation and disadvantage in our community are worse placed to weather climate extremes. If you are living in low quality housing and struggling to pay the bills, you will not have spare cash to cool your home during a heatwave.

Many other researchers have come to similar conclusions. We know climate change is already forcing some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to leave their traditional homelands.

We also know violence can increase against women and children during and after extreme weather events – as it did after the enormous 2009 Black Saturday fires.

There has been discrimination against LGBTQIA+ peoples in disaster recovery. And low income earners face increased costs of living to cope with unbearable heat or cold.

When we think about climate action, we tend to think of solar panels, electrified transport and wind turbines. That’s because climate policies focus on technology-based answers.

For instance, in Western Australia’s 2020 climate policy, “hydrogen” is mentioned 58 times while the word “people” is only used once. This focus on “techno-fixes” promotes climate solutions while overlooking entrenched systems of disadvantage and injustice.

Living on Country is becoming harder

Australia’s remote Indigenous communities already face real challenges in living on Country as global heating intensifies.

As Wardaman woman and Central Land Council policy director Josie Douglas told The Guardian,

without action to stop climate change, people will be forced to leave their country and leave behind much of what makes them Aboriginal.

The way the Aboriginal Health Council of WA describes climate change is telling: it is “a disease that […] affects and impacts on every living thing”.

As climate change affects Country, impacts on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples include personal grief and loss, water and food insecurity, and destruction of sacred places and wild food networks.

Issues such as poor-quality housing make it increasingly difficult for First Nations peoples to live on Country. Cheaply built cement houses become sweltering hotboxes.

Importantly, this is a story of strength and resilience. Many First Nations peoples are highly active in responding to the threat, campaigning for climate justice through better protection of Country. First Nations peoples are also developing community-owned renewable energy so they can live and work on Country with greater energy independence.

And a group of Torres Strait Islanders took their human rights complaint against the federal government to the United Nations over the government’s inaction on climate change. They won.

Read more:
Disaster survivors feel more prepared for the next one but are often left out of planning

Climate change can kill

Over the Black Summer of 2019–20, forests up and down the east coast burned much more land than usual. The dense smoke from these fires led to the death of an estimated 445 people, the bushfire royal commission heard.

This is the starkest example of how climate change can worsen health. But it can also operate in insidious ways.

Two years ago, Western Australia released the findings of the world’s first public inquiry on how climate change affects health. It found children and youth, farming communities, people with disabilities, low income earners and older people at particular risk.

Climate change also worsens gender inequality and social justice issues such as poverty, homelessness, and unemployment. For instance, as climate change upends traditional farming and fishing livelihoods, some women are forced to shoulder more unpaid labour caring for family and community health and wellbeing.

Australia’s overstretched (and highly feminised) social services workforce is now increasingly having to respond to the fallout from climate change.

Young people told us of their growing grief and distress. As one teenage respondent said,

climate change can be sad and overwhelming for young people, particularly due to our powerlessness to fix the issue.

Read more:
‘Die of cold or die of stress?’: Social housing is frequently colder than global health guidelines

Action can help on many fronts

Communities are adapting, building resilience, and working to stem climate change. They demand just climate solutions upholding the rights of people and the planet and address the structural drivers of disadvantage, like colonialism.

The worldwide school strike movement has galvanised a generation, confronted world leaders and shifted the views of powerful institutions. Climate activism is also a proven way of countering a sense of powerlessness and eco-anxiety.

From farmers and bushfire survivors to sportspeople and parents, Australians with lived experience of climate change are turning to collective action to demand a safer world.

Their approach adds to the overwhelming evidence that social justice and equity need to be at the heart of climate action.

Read more:
How climate change is turning remote Indigenous houses into dangerous hot boxes

Naomi Joy Godden has received research funding from Australian Indigenous Leadership Centre, Plan International Australia, Climate Justice Union WA, and Oxfam Australia. She is the Chair of Just Home Margaret River Inc. and a member of the Australian Greens.

Kavita Naidu is a Council Member of Progressive International.

Dr Keely Boom has received funding from the Heinrich Boell Foundation, Edith Cowan University, and the Climate Justice Union for work on climate justice. She is the Executive Officer of the Climate Justice Programme. She teaches Climate Law at the Australian National University.

– ref. Climate change hits some of us much harder than others – but affected groups are fighting back – https://theconversation.com/climate-change-hits-some-of-us-much-harder-than-others-but-affected-groups-are-fighting-back-176805

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew M. Baker, Senior Lecturer in Ecology and Environmental Science, Queensland University of Technology

Life on Earth is undergoing a period of mass extinction – the sixth in history, and the first caused by humans. As species disappear at an alarming rate, we have learned that we understand only a fraction of Earth’s variety of life.

The task of describing this biodiversity before it is lost relies on the discipline of taxonomy, the scientific practice of classifying and naming organisms.

Read more:
It’s not the science of tax, and five other things you should know about taxonomy

But taxonomy is far more than just naming things. It underpins an enormous range of human activities, including biology (via health and conservation management), the economy (via agriculture and biosecurity) and many other areas of endeavour.

Unfortunately, taxonomy is suffering globally from reduced support and funding. This is an area of ongoing concern recognised in Australia’s State of the Environment report released in July this year. The workforce of taxonomists has declined when it is needed most.

Taxonomists unite

So, what is being done?

Communities of taxonomists in Australia and the world over are making a concerted effort to face the challenge of naming and understanding Earth’s unknown species.

Australian taxonomists are garnering support to achieve the goal of documenting all Australian species by 2050.

Read more:
About 500,000 Australian species are undiscovered – and scientists are on a 25-year mission to finish the job

This ambitious plan requires not just government and other external support but also co-ordination of our taxonomists. Success will mean bringing together those who study lesser-known groups, such as insects, spiders and fungi, with those who work on more familiar groups such as vertebrates, including mammals.

Mammals under threat

Mammals are perhaps the best known and cherished group of species on the planet. Even so, many mammals remain undiscovered.

Mammals are also among the most threatened animal groups globally. And because it has contributed the most species to the list, Australia has the worst modern mammal extinction record of any country, along with one of the most distinctive mammal faunas on Earth: about 90% of our terrestrial mammals live nowhere else.

Read more:
Extinction crisis: native mammals are disappearing in Northern Australia, but few people are watching

More than 100 species that lived only in Australia are recognised as having become extinct since 1788.

Thirty-nine of these extinct species are mammals. Most recently, this includes the Bramble Cay melomys (Melomys rubicola), a native rodent declared extinct in 2016, and the first known mammal extinction due at least in part to human-induced climate change.

In the face of an avalanche of human-mediated threats, including climate warming, land-use change and introduction of pest species, are the host of hidden mammal species destined for extinction before they are even discovered, described and known to humanity?

The Australasian Mammal Taxonomy Consortium

To help address this existential threat, and in response to the call to arms within Australian taxonomy, we have formed the Australasian Mammal Taxonomy Consortium (AMTC), a group affiliated with the Australian Mammal Society.

The consortium aims to promote stability and consensus, provide advice and guidance, and promote the cause and importance of Australasian mammal taxonomy to both scientists and the broader public.

We have recently introduced the aspirations and aims of our group in a review paper and published our first list of species, covering Australian mammals.

We recognise 404 Australian mammal species, including 2 monotremes (platypus and short-beaked echidna), 175 marsupials (such as the Tasmanian devil, the numbat, the koala, kangaroos and so on) and 227 placentals (such as rodents, bats, seals, whales and dolphins). The list includes 11 species, and numerous subspecies, that have only been discovered and formally named in the past decade.

A suite of other recognised variable forms, new species-in-waiting, need study and description.

The Australian mammal species list will be updated annually to incorporate new species names. In the future, working with research groups throughout the region, we will produce lists of mammal species found elsewhere in Australasia.

A new launching point

We hope this will standardise the use of mammal species names, highlight groups where further taxonomic work is required, and provide a launching point for this work.

In the past decade, rapid DNA sequencing has revolutionised our ability to understand biodiversity, even while species loss to extinction at the hands of humanity is at an all-time high. This juxtaposition makes it both an exciting and critically important time for taxonomy.

We hope the Australasian Mammal Taxonomy Consortium can do its part to help grow and focus an interest to better understand and conserve our precious Australasian mammals before it is too late.

The authors comprise a steering committee representing the broader Australasian Mammal Taxonomy Consortium working group, which includes more than 30 members.

Andrew Baker receives funding from the Australian Biological Resources Study program.

Diana Fisher has received funding including species discovery from the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund and the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund

Greta Frankham receives funding from the Australian Museum Foundation, NSW Department of Planning and Environment, NSW Department of Transport

Kenny Travouillon receives funding from the Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS).

Linette Umbrello receives funding from the Australian Biological Resources Study program.

Mark Eldridge receives funding from the Australian Research Council, NSW Department of Planning and Environment and the Australian Museum Foundation.

Sally Potter receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

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

– ref. Australia has hundreds of mammal species. We want to find them all – before they’re gone – https://theconversation.com/australia-has-hundreds-of-mammal-species-we-want-to-find-them-all-before-theyre-gone-185495

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hal Pawson, Professor of Housing Research and Policy, and Associate Director, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW Sydney

The federal Labor government has promised to craft a national housing and homelessness plan and to fund new social housing, returning Canberra to a field it all but abandoned for a decade. A new Productivity Commission report is scathing about current arrangements and calls for far-reaching change.

Yet some of the report’s key recommendations rest on faulty assumptions and outdated economic thinking. It relies on a misplaced belief that the market will respond to low-income households’ need for affordable housing. Its faith in deregulation as a cure-all is misguided.

The experience of recent decades and a wealth of research evidence instead point to the need to increase government investment in public and community housing.

Read more:
Australia has been crying out for a national housing plan, and new council is a big step towards having one

Failed policies must change

The National Housing and Homelessness Agreement provides $1.6 billion a year in federal funding to the states and territories. It’s meant to improve Australians’ access to affordable and secure housing.

However, in its review of the agreement, the commission judges it ineffective and in need of a major shake-up.

With rents rising and vacancies falling, low-income private renters “are spending more on housing than they used to”. Some “have little income left after paying their rent”. Almost one in four have less than $36 a day for other essentials.

The supply of social housing – with rents capped at 25% of tenant income – has virtually halved in 30 years. Waiting lists have surged to 176,000 households. Many more are estimated to be in need.

Read more:
Australia needs to triple its social housing by 2036. This is the best way to do it

More people are seeking emergency housing support from homelessness services. And, as the report acknowledges, more are being turned away.

The commission declares “homelessness is a result of not being able to afford housing” and governments must “address the structural factors that lead to housing unaffordability”. As experts in housing policy, economics and urban planning, we agree. Far-reaching reform is long overdue.

The report concludes, for example, that first home-buyer grants and stamp duty concessions are counterproductive and push up prices. It advocates spending these billions on preventing homelessness instead.

The report endorses a “housing first” approach to tackling homelessness – this means housing people unconditionally as the first priority before dealing with their other needs. The report also calls for early intervention programs for “at risk” cohorts, such as people leaving hospitals, prisons or out-of-home care.

So what’s wrong with the report?

The review’s terms of reference, set by the previous government in 2021, meant the commission did not consider how easy credit, negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount drive real estate speculation, inflate prices and lead to inefficient use of housing and land. Coupled with the commission’s embedded faith in market forces, these omissions skew its recommendations, especially on social housing.

Instead of more public investment to provide more social housing, the commission urges Canberra to convert its $1.4 billion-a-year support for social housing running costs through the national agreement into Commonwealth Rent Assistance. It wants to up-end the current system by replacing income-based rents with market rents across social housing.

But most of these renters would be much worse off unless there is a large rent assistance increase across the board. Recognising this, the commission advocates a top-up payment “to ensure housing is affordable and tenancies can be sustained”. Without estimating the cost, it optimistically suggests the states should pick up the tab.

The commission argues this approach would be more equitable for social and private renters. The implicit subsidy from capping social housing tenants’ rents at 25% of income typically exceeds the rent assistance paid to private tenants. Yet reducing social housing tenants to the same level of precarity as private renters seems an odd way to eliminate unfairness.

Enabling low-income Australians to secure decent private rental homes would require a dramatic rise in rent assistance payments, perhaps even to a level equating to the implicit subsidy social housing tenants receive.

Broader benefits of social housing overlooked

The commission has neglected the broader benefits of social housing investment that delivers good-quality, well-managed homes that low-income earners can afford.

Decades of mounting rent assistance expenditure have failed to fill the gap created by the lack of a sustained national program of social housing construction since the 1990s. Research shows the shortfall in private dwellings affordable to low-income renters ballooned from 48,000 in 1996 to 212,00 in 2016.

Read more:
Australia’s social housing system is critically stressed. Many eligible applicants simply give up

Simple comparisons between the costs of rent assistance and building affordable homes also ignore the wider community benefits of social housing. SGS Economics recently found the return on social housing investment is “comparable to, or better than” major infrastructure projects. And economics professor Andi Nygaard estimates the “large, but avoidable, annual social and economic costs” of the affordable housing shortage will top $1 billion a year by 2036.

Why planning reform is no panacea

Underlying much of the commission’s thinking is the idea that the main cause of unaffordable housing is outdated land-use planning rules that restrict new housing supply.

This contention ignores two decades of state planning reforms, including higher-density housing near transport and town centres, simplified rules and accelerated decision-making.

The commission estimates a 1% increase in overall housing supply (implicitly achievable through planning deregulation) could deflate rents by 2.5%. But what makes this scenario implausible is the development industry’s time-honoured – but entirely rational – practice of drip-feeding new housing supply to keep prices buoyant. Even if planning relaxation could enable ramped-up construction, it’s hard to imagine that being sustained in the face of any resulting market cooling.

However, the commission argues all private real estate development, regardless of cost, will eventually trickle through to those in need. As properties are traded over time, pricier homes will “filter down” through the market at progressively lower rents.

This view defies evidence that many factors other than planning have profound impacts on housing costs and supply. New Australian research strongly suggests “filtering” alone will not make homes affordable for lower-income earners.

Read more:
Affordable housing policy failure still being fuelled by flawed analysis

None of this is to deny that the planning system could be improved. But if solving housing unaffordability were simply a case of “unleashing planning reforms”, other countries would have managed it long ago.

Australians struggling to pay the rent, or even find a home, deserve a much better response from Australia’s premier economic policy agency, and one that actually reflects the dynamics of the housing system.

Hal Pawson receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, the Australian Research Council, Launch Housing, Queensland Council of Social Service and Crisis UK.

Bill Randolph currently receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

Chris Leishman receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI), the Economic and Social Research Council (UK-ESRC), Australian and UK state government departments, the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC). He is affiliated with Housing Choices Australia Ltd, as a non-executive director, and the Urban Studies Journal (for which he is an editor).

Nicole Gurran receives funding from the Australian Housing & Research Institute and the Australian Research Council.

Peter Phibbs receives funding from Shelter Tasmania

Vivienne Milligan receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Ltd. She is affiliated with Community Housing Industry Association of Australia.

Peter Mares 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. The market has failed to give Australians affordable housing, so don’t expect it to solve the crisis – https://theconversation.com/the-market-has-failed-to-give-australians-affordable-housing-so-dont-expect-it-to-solve-the-crisis-192177

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karin Hammarberg, Senior Research Fellow, Global and Women’s Health, School of Public Health & Preventive Medicine, Monash University

For the first time, IVF clinics in Australia and New Zealand have reported data about the scale and range of male fertility problems in couples who have IVF. New data released by the Australia and New Zealand Assisted Reproduction Database (ANZARD) today reveal about one-third of all IVF cycles performed in 2020 included a diagnosis of male infertility.

Although most male fertility problems can’t be prevented, there are things men can do to improve sperm quality and the chance of natural conception.

Read more:
Fertility miracle or fake news? Understanding which IVF ‘add-ons’ really work

What causes male infertility?

Most male infertility is due to the testes failing to make any or enough normal sperm to allow conception. A low sperm count, sperm not moving normally, or a high proportion of abnormally shaped sperm reduce capacity to fertilise eggs.

In most cases, the cause of male infertility is unexplained. A specific cause can only be pinpointed in about 40% of infertile men. They include genetic abnormalities, past infection, trauma to the testicles, and damage to sperm production – for example from cancer treatment. Some men have no sperm in their ejaculate (a condition called azoospermia). This can be due to blocked sperm tubes, which may be a birth defect, or follow vasectomy or other damage.

In a minority of cases, infrequent or poorly timed intercourse, or sexual problems such as erectile dysfunction or ejaculation failure cause the infertility.

The least common problem is deficiency of hormonal signals from the pituitary gland (a gland on the brain which makes, stores and releases hormones). This can be genetic or follow issues such as a pituitary tumour. Treatment with hormone injections aims to restore natural fertility.

Chronic diseases such as obesity or diabetes, environmental exposures (such as chemicals in the workplace) and lifestyle factors (such as smoking and recreational drug use) can contribute to or exacerbate poor sperm quality.

Male infertility and chance of IVF success

For couples with male factor infertility, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is needed to fertilise the eggs and give them a chance of having a baby. ICSI follows the same process as IVF, except ICSI involves the direct injection of a single sperm into each egg using technically advanced equipment, as opposed to IVF, where thousands of sperm are added to each egg in the hope one will fertilise it.

Read more:
Standard IVF is fine for most people. So why are so many offered an expensive sperm injection they don’t need?

The just released ANZARD report shows the chance of a baby for men with male infertility is comparable with other infertility diagnoses. However, studies show that for couples who don’t have male factor infertility, ICSI offers no advantage over IVF in terms of the chance of having a baby.

Five tips for sperm health

Although most male infertility is not preventable, there are some things men can do to keep their sperm healthy. It takes about three months for sperm to mature, so making healthy changes at least three months before trying for a baby gives the best chance of conception and having a healthy baby. Here are five things you can do to look after your sperm.

1. Quit smoking

Cigarette smoke contains thousands of harmful chemicals that cause damage to all parts of the body, including sperm. Heavy smokers make fewer sperm than non-smokers. Smoking can increase the number of abnormally shaped sperm and affect the sperm’s swimming ability, making it harder for sperm to reach and fertilise the egg.

Smoking also damages the DNA in sperm, which is transferred to the baby. This can increase the risk of miscarriage and birth defects in a child. One study found heavy smoking (more than 20 cigarettes a day) by fathers at the time of conception increases the child’s risk of childhood leukemia.

There is no safe limit for smoking – the only way to protect yourself and your unborn baby from harm is to quit. The good news is the effects of smoking on sperm and fertility are reversible, and quitting will increase the chance of conceiving and having a healthy baby.

2. Try to be a healthy weight

On average, men who are overweight or obese have lower sperm quality than men who are a healthy weight. Carrying too much weight can also reduce your interest in sex and lead to erection problems.

The good news is, even losing a few kilos can improve sperm quality. Getting support, setting realistic goals and giving yourself enough time to achieve them, learning about nutrition and healthy eating, and exercising regularly increase your chance of losing weight and keeping it off.

3. Back off drugs and alcohol

Taking androgenic steroids for bodybuilding or competitive sports causes testes to shrink and affects sperm production. And it can have a lasting impact. It takes about two years for sperm to return to normal after stopping steroids.

A man’s fertility can also be harmed by other drugs like cannabis, cocaine and heroin, as they reduce testosterone levels and sex drive (libido).

Alcohol is OK in small amounts, but heavy drinking and binge drinking can reduce sperm count and quality.

4. Don’t leave it too late

We’ve all heard about men in their 80s and 90s fathering children, but this is rare and risky.

Although men continue to produce sperm throughout life, which means they can potentially reproduce into old age, men under 40 have a better chance of conceiving than older men.

It takes longer for partners of older men to conceive, and sperm quality declines with age and this increases the risk of miscarriage and health problems for the baby.

So, if you have a choice about when to try for a baby, sooner is better than later.

Read more:
Do you really need IVF? A new online tool can help you weigh up your options

5. Be aware of sexually transmitted infections

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), especially untreated gonorrhoea and chlamydia, can reduce sperm quality and cause blockages in the sperm tubes. This means sperm can’t move on from the testicles (where they are produced) into the semen to then be ejaculated.

Practising safe sex by using condoms is the only thing that can stop STIs from being passed to or from a partner. Using condoms hugely reduces your risk of tube blockages and damage to your fertility. If you think you have an STI, see a doctor and get treatment straight away. The quicker you get treatment, the lower the risk of fertility problems in the future.

Karin Hammarberg works for the Victorian Assisted Reproductive Treatment Authority (VARTA).

Professor Georgina Chambers is an employee of the University of New South Wales, Sydney (UNSW). UNSW receives funding from the Fertility Society of Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) to produce the Australian and New Zealand Assisted Reproductive Technology (ANZARD) annual reports. UNSW has received a research grant from the MRFF on behalf of Prof Georgina Chambers to undertake research into male infertility.

Professional Robert McLachlan owns shares in the Monash IVF Group

Past NHMRC grants and one current MRFF grants in male reproductive health

– ref. Problems conceiving are not just about women. Male infertility is behind 1 in 3 IVF cycles – https://theconversation.com/problems-conceiving-are-not-just-about-women-male-infertility-is-behind-1-in-3-ivf-cycles-192183

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hannah Jarman, Research Fellow, Deakin University

We often hear about the negative impacts of social media on our wellbeing, but we don’t usually think of it the other way round – whereby how we feel may impact how we use social media.

In a recent study, my colleagues and I investigated the relationship between social media use and wellbeing in more than 7,000 adults across four years, using survey responses from the longitudinal New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study.

We found social media use and wellbeing impact each other. Poorer wellbeing – specifically higher psychological distress and lower life satisfaction – predicted higher social media use one year later, and higher social media use predicted poorer wellbeing one year later.

A vicious cycle

Interestingly, wellbeing impacted social media use more than the other way round.

Going from having “no distress” to being distressed “some of the time”, or “some of the time” to “most of the time”, was associated with an extra 27 minutes of daily social media use one year later. These findings were the same for men and women across all age groups.

This suggests people who have poor wellbeing might be turning to social media more, perhaps as a coping mechanism – but this doesn’t seem to be helping. Unfortunately, and paradoxically, turning to social media may worsen the very feelings and symptoms someone is hoping to escape.

Our study found higher social media use results in poorer wellbeing, which in turn increases social media use, exacerbating the existing negative feelings, and so on. This creates a vicious cycle in which people seem to get trapped.

If you think this might describe your relationship with social media, there are some strategies you can use to try to get out of this vicious cycle.

Reflect on how and why you use social media

Social media aren’t inherently bad, but how and why we use them is really important – even more than how much time we spend on social media. For example, using social media to interact with others or for entertainment has been linked to improved wellbeing, whereas engaging in comparisons on social media can be detrimental to wellbeing.

So chat to your friends and watch funny dog videos to your heart’s content, but just watch out for those comparisons.

What we look at online is important too. One experimental study found just ten minutes of exposure to “fitspiration” images (such as slim/toned people posing in exercise clothing or engaging in fitness) led to significantly poorer mood and body image in women than exposure to travel images.

And mindless scrolling can also be harmful. Research suggests this passive use of social media is more damaging to wellbeing than active use (such as talking or interacting with friends).

So be mindful about how and why you use social media, and how it makes you feel! If most of your use falls under the “harmful” category, that’s a sign to change or cut down your use, or even take a break. One 2015 experiment with more than 1,000 participants found taking a break from Facebook for just one week increased life satisfaction.

Read more:
Doomscrolling is literally bad for your health. Here are 4 tips to help you stop

Don’t let social media displace other activities

Life is all about balance, so make sure you’re still doing important activities away from your phone that support your wellbeing. Research suggests time spent outdoors, on hobbies or crafts, and engaging in physical activity can help improve your wellbeing.

So put your phone down and organise a picnic with friends, join a new class, or find an enjoyable way to move your body.

Address your poor wellbeing

According to our findings, it may be useful to think of your own habitual social media use as a symptom of how you’re feeling. If your use suggests you aren’t in a good place, perhaps you need to identify and address what’s getting you down.

The first, very crucial step is getting help. A great place to start is talking to a health professional such as your general practitioner or a therapist. You can also reach out to organisations like Beyond Blue and Headspace for evidence-based support.

Read more:
A month at sea with no technology taught me how to steal my life back from my phone

Hannah Jarman 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. Social media use and poor wellbeing feed into each other in a vicious cycle. Here are 3 ways to avoid getting stuck – https://theconversation.com/social-media-use-and-poor-wellbeing-feed-into-each-other-in-a-vicious-cycle-here-are-3-ways-to-avoid-getting-stuck-191590

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kyllie Cripps, Scientia Associate Professor, School of Law, Society & Criminology, Faculty of Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney, UNSW Sydney

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names of deceased people and mentions domestic violence and murder.

Public hearings have officially commenced into the Senate Committee Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Children. The inquiry has found “Murder rates for Indigenous women are eight times higher than for their non-Indigenous counterparts”. This came as no surprise to many of us who have worked in this field for a long time.

In fact, these numbers are likely to be higher when they include manslaughter rates. The rate at which women are murdered in Australia over time (2005-06 to 2019-20) have been declining. But according to the Homocide Report Australia 2019 -20, report, this sadly is not the case for Indigenous women.

When women are murdered in Australia, there is understandable outrage, displays of grief and moments of reflection in our parliament.

However, there is often silence in the media and in public discussion about the violence Indigenous women experience, as Indigenous studies Professor Bronwyn Carlson has discussed.

This inquiry has the potential to provide voice to the Indigenous women and children we have lost and continue to lose to violence, as well as ending the silence that follows.

Read more:
No public outrage, no vigils: Australia’s silence at violence against Indigenous women

What is this senate inquiry?

In November 2021, First Nations Greens senators Dorinda Cox and Lidia Thorpe called for a Senate inquiry into the high rates of missing and murdered Indigenous women and children in Australia. Through measures including hearing testimony from survivors of violence and examining police responses, this will be an opportunity to investigate what can be changed to better address violence against Indigenous women and children in Australia.

Available data tell us Indigenous women represent up to 10% of unsolved missing persons cases in Australia, many of whom are presumed dead. Indigenous women are also 30 times more likely to be hospitalised for assault-related injuries. As part of its public hearings, the inquiry is examining these damning statistics.

However, the inquiry is also delving deeper, asking more about the women’s stories, with the intention to go beyond statistics and hear how people are affected by their experiences with family violence.

Police and domestic violence services are not helping

My research has found violence against Indigenous women is significantly under-reported and perpetrators regularly go unpunished. This is not to say Indigenous women are not crying out for support: they are and have been. However, they are often confronted with a dilemma of who is safe to turn to, and what the consequences of reporting might be.

For First Nations women, there are significant risks to consider when reporting violence to police or seeking assistance from domestic violence services. These risks include their children being taken from them by child protection services, the women themselves being arrested for unrelated criminal matters, and the risk of being misidentified as the perpetrator.

Criminology and law researcher Emma Buxton-Namisnyk’s study of domestic violence policing of First Nations women in Australia found “there were very few examples of police interventions that did not produce some identifiable harm”. Buxton-Namisnyk found this harm was through police inaction and non-enforcement of domestic violence laws. Some instances involved police action resulting in “eroding victim’s agency” through criminalising victims and increasing police surveillance over their families.

In June 2022, Acting Coroner Elisabeth Armitage handed down damning findings against the Northern Territory Police in the death of Roberta, an Aboriginal woman from the Katherine region. Armitage said the police “did nothing to help her”. In fact, the fatal assault was the seventh time Roberta’s partner had abused her in less than two weeks. It was five days after Roberta had been told by police to “stop calling us”.

Armitage summed up this case as one in which police failed to follow any of their procedures concerning domestic violence complaints. She also found their manner towards Roberta was rude and dismissive.

These actions and failures were not confined to the actions of police. The triple-zero call operator incorrectly classified Roberta’s calls for help, and the parole officer tasked with supervising Roberta’s partner was oblivious to his breaches of parole conditions. The breakdown in communication across these services and the lack of support available to Roberta created the conditions that led to her death.

This case also speaks to a broader issue of bystanders who fail to act on our women’s cries for help. The Northern Territory is a unique jurisdiction in that it is mandatory for all adults to report domestic violence “when the life or safety of another person is under serious or imminent threat” or be liable for a fine up to $20,000.

Despite this, Armitage explained there were witnesses to the violence Roberta endured, who did not report. To my knowledge, no one has been held accountable for failing to report.

Read more:
Unintended, but not unanticipated: coercive control laws will disadvantage First Nations women

There are stories behind the numbers

During this Senate inquiry, politicians need to consider the stories behind the statistics, such as Roberta’s. It is these stories that demonstrate the need for domestic and family violence death reviews in all of our states and territories. They provide the opportunity to understand the victim’s story and how it is affected by services and systems currently in place.

But it’s also critical Indigenous people are included in the process of reviews and the analysis of what keeps going wrong with services that are meant to save lives.
In addition to this, there needs to be an extensive review of cases over time to understand trends in missing and murdered Indigenous women and children. We need to find out whether systemic problems or issues in practice are responsible for failing these women.

As the United Nations’ violence against Indigenous women and girls report states, Indigenous women already have to navigate violence in the form of racial discrimination and system inequities. Our calls for help need to be met with a culturally safe person who can hear our stories and respond with care and respect to help us navigate our way to safety.

Kyllie Cripps with colleagues from UNSW receives funding from the Australian Research Council – her UNSW profile provides further detail as to the projects this relates too.

– ref. Could the Senate inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and children prevent future deaths? – https://theconversation.com/could-the-senate-inquiry-into-missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women-and-children-prevent-future-deaths-192020

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anne Kavanagh, Professor of Disability and Health, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne

Mandatory isolation rules for people with COVID end today. Pandemic leave disaster payments will also cease for all workers except casual workers employed in aged care, disability, hospitals, Indigenous health services and hospitals.

These changes signal the end of most legislated COVID safeguards. Rules to enforce mask-wearing on public transport, vaccination for entry to public spaces, and isolation of close contacts have been dropped by state and territory governments in recent months.

Many places have also discontinued vaccine mandates for workers in sectors such as aged care, disability, and health.

Despite the clear benefits of good indoor ventilation to reduce COVID transmission risk, many schools, workplaces, and public spaces are poorly ventilated.

The withdrawal of active protections plus the failure to ensure safe indoor air puts people with disability at greater risk than the rest of the population. Action is needed to protect this group.

Read more:
If you think scrapping COVID isolation periods will get us back to work and past the pandemic, think again

People with disability face deadly risks

International studies show disabled people are at higher risk of dying from COVID than their age-matched peers. People with intellectual and psychosocial disability (such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and social anxiety disorders) are at the highest risk – three to nine times that of the general population.

In England between Jane 2020 and March 2022, 60% of people who died from COVID were disabled.

To date, comparable data has still not been reported for Australians with disability. But there is no reason to believe the risk for disabled Australians is any different than overseas.

Some people with disability are clinically vulnerable because they are immunocompromised due to medications for conditions such as for rheumatoid arthritis or multiple sclerosis. This group also has a higher prevalence of conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular and respiratory disease. These are associated with serious disease and death from COVID.

Many disabled Australians also have difficulties accessing health care because of physical inaccessibility and lack of knowledge and expertise of health care providers about disability. This means they may not receive anti-viral COVID treatments, even if they are eligible.

Read more:
Imagining COVID is ‘like the flu’ is cutting thousands of lives short. It’s time to wake up

Enforced isolation

Many people with disability continue to isolate at home to avoid infection and are effectively shut out of society as online options for participation dry up.

For people who rely on paid support, isolation is not an option. Their workers are still circulating in the community. Some disabled people live and work in congregate environments with other people with disability – settings associated with higher rates of COVID infection and death.

A significant minority of people with disability have not had the recommended COVID vaccinations and boosters.

Almost one quarter of participants in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) aged 16 and over have not had three COVID vaccine doses; less than one-third have had four doses. A third of NDIS participants aged 12 to 15 have not had two COVID vaccine doses. The vaccination rates of the 88% people with disability who are not on the NDIS are not reported.

A forgotten workforce

Disability support workers we spoke to in 2020 told us they felt forgotten by government without access to personal protective equipment and tailored information about how to protect themselves and people they supported.

Workers we surveyed in 2021 reported higher levels of vaccine hesitancy than the general population and expressed concerns about vaccine safety and efficacy.

Concern about what’s next

Without isolation periods in place, people with disability are deeply concerned about what will happen when new immune-evasive variants of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID) arrive.

Throughout the pandemic, disability advocates and supporters and academics have drawn attention to the risks of COVID for disabled people.

The Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability criticised the federal government for its slow initial efforts to protect people with disability during the pandemic and for delays in the vaccination rollout.

Governments around the world have reassured the public COVID is more dangerous for the chronically ill, elderly and disabled. This has the effect of suggesting their/our lives matter less.

Public health measures – or decisions to end them – signal what our society is prepared to do to care for people at risk. Some advocates have labelled the relaxation of COVID protections as ableist, even eugenicist. Others say it will guarantee the societal exclusion of the clinically vulnerable.

With evidence long COVID can affect one in 20 of those infected, including previously healthy people, the proportion of disabled people in our community will likely swell in coming years.

Read more:
Long COVID should make us rethink disability – and the way we offer support to those with ‘invisible conditions’

5 COVID protections needed for people with disability

Strategies to minimise the COVID risk for people with disability should include:

• concerted government campaigns to increase uptake of third and fourth doses among people with disability

• continued access to free rapid antigen tests (RATs) for people with disability and support workers

• advice about ventilation of indoor spaces, particularly in congregate settings with access to air quality monitors and purifiers if needed

• free access to respirator (P2/N95) masks for use indoors

• outreach to ensure people with disability who are eligible for antiviral treatment can access it promptly.

Governments need to work with services and workers to make sure they understand the risks to people with disability if they have symptoms of COVID or other respiratory infections.

Workers who test positive for COVID should be blocked from face-to-face support of people with disability for at least seven days and pending a negative RAT. Access to paid isolation leave for disability workers is critical, so they don’t have to choose between exposing the people with disability they support to illness and paying the rent.

Finally, when new COVID variants and waves inevitably emerge, governments will need to remain open to reintroducing measures including isolation of positive cases and mask-wearing indoors. This could avoid devastating outcomes for people with disability and other Australians at increased risk of serious disease and death.

Anne Kavanagh receives funding from National Health and Medical Research Council and Australian Research Council. She has received funding from Victorian and Commonwealth governments and the National Disability Agency. She is a member of the COVID-19 Disability Advisory Committee and Commonwealth Disability Health Sector Consultative Commitee.

Helen Dickinson receives funding from ARC, NMHRC, Commonwealth government and CYDA.

The School Nancy Baxter leads receives research grant funding from the National Health & Medical Research Council of Australia, Australian Research Council, and other Australian federal and Victorian State Government bodies. She serves on the Advisory Board of The Australian Global Health Alliance and on the Board of the Nossal Institute. She has been an unpaid participant in an Advisory Board meeting for MSD Australia.

– ref. Doing away with COVID isolation rules means increased isolation and risks for people with disability – https://theconversation.com/doing-away-with-covid-isolation-rules-means-increased-isolation-and-risks-for-people-with-disability-191943

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jarrod Kath, Senior Lecturer in Ecology and Conservation, University of Southern Queensland

Coffee may be a major casualty of a hotter planet. Even if currently declared commitments to reduce emissions are met, our new research suggests coffee production will still rapidly decline in countries accounting for 75% of the world’s Arabica coffee supply.

Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica) is one of two main plant species we harvest coffee beans from. The plant evolved in the high-altitude tropics of Ethiopia, and is hypersensitive to changes in the climate.

Our research shows there are global warming thresholds beyond which Arabica coffee production plummets. This isn’t just bad news for coffee lovers – coffee is a multi-billion dollar industry supporting millions of farmers, most in developing countries.

If we manage to keep global warming below 2℃ this century, then producers responsible for most global Arabica supply will have more time to adapt. If we don’t, we could see crashes in Arabica productivity, interruptions to supply, and price hikes on our daily cup.

Where our coffee comes from

Most of our Arabica is grown in the tropics, throughout Latin America, Central and East Africa and parts of Asia. Brazil, Colombia and Ethiopia are the world’s top three producers of Arabica, and the crop has crucial social and economic importance elsewhere, too.

Millions of farmers, mostly in the developing world, depend on productive Arabica for their livelihood. If coffee productivity declines, the economic consequences for farmers, some of which do not earn a living income as it is, are dire.

Read more:
A tale of two coffee farmers: how they are surviving the pandemic in Honduras

Arabica coffee is typically most productive in cool high elevation tropical areas with a local annual temperature of 18-23℃.
Higher temperatures and drier conditions invariably lead to declines in yield.

Last year, for example, one of the worst droughts in Brazil’s history saw coffee production there drop by around one-third, with global coffee prices spiking as a result.

What we found

Previous research has focused on how changes in temperature and rainfall affect coffee yields. While important, temperature and rainfall aren’t the best indicators of global Arabica coffee productivity. Instead, we found that it’s more effective to measure how dry and hot the air is, which we can do using “Vapour Pressure Deficit”.

Vapour pressure deficit tells us how much water gets sucked out of a plant. Think of when you walk outside on a hot, dry day and your lips dry and crack – the moisture is being sucked out of you because outside, the vapour pressure deficit is high. It’s the same for plants.

We built scientific models based on climate data that was linked to decades of coffee productivity data across the most important Arabica producing countries. We found once vapour pressure deficit gets to a critical point, then Arabica coffee yields fall sharply.

This critical point, we found, is 0.82 kilopascals (a unit of pressure, calculated from temperature and humidity). After this point, Arabica yields start falling fast – a loss of around 400 kilograms per hectare, which is 50% lower than the long-term global average.

Vapour pressure deficit thresholds have already been exceeded in Kenya, Mexico and Tanzania.

Unabated global warming will see the world’s coffee producing powerhouses at risk. If global warming temperatures increase from 2℃ to 3℃, then
Peru, Honduras, Venezuela, Ethiopia, Nicaragua, Colombia and Brazil –
together accounting for 81% of global supply – are much more likely to pass the vapour pressure deficit threshold.

What can we do about it?

While there are ways farmers and the coffee industry can adapt, the viability of applying these on a global scale is highly uncertain.

For example, irrigating coffee crops could be an option, but this costs money – money many coffee farmers in developing countries don’t have. What’s more, it may not always be effective as high vapour pressure deficits can still inflict damage, even in well-watered conditions.

Another option could be switching to other coffee species. But again, this is fraught. For example, robusta coffee (Coffea canephora) – the other main species of production coffee – is also sensitive to temperature rises. Others, such as Coffea stenophylla and Coffea liberica could be tested, but their production viability at large scales under climate change is unknown.

Read more:
Plunger, espresso, filter? Just because your coffee is bitter, doesn’t mean it’s ‘stronger’

There is only so much adapting we can do. Our research provides further impetus, if we needed any, to cut net global greenhouse gas emissions.

Limiting global warming in accordance with the Paris Agreement is our best option to ensure we can all keep enjoying coffee. More importantly, keeping global warming below 2℃ is the best way to ensure the millions of vulnerable farmers who grow coffee globally have a livelihood that supports them and their families well into the future.

Jarrod Kath receives funding from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety—International Climate Initiative (IKI).

Scott Power receives funding from DFAT as a climate science advisor to the Australia Pacific Climate Partnership, from DAFF as a technical adviser on DR.SAT and Climate Services for Agriculture, and from the Australian Water Partnership, and he manages Climate Services International.

– ref. Global warming puts Arabica coffee at risk, and we’re barrelling towards a crucial threshold – https://theconversation.com/global-warming-puts-arabica-coffee-at-risk-and-were-barrelling-towards-a-crucial-threshold-189559

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Linda J. Graham, Professor and Director of the Centre for Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology

Developmental language disorder or DLD is a lifelong disorder that affects language comprehension and expression. People with DLD find it more difficult to say what they mean and to understand others.

About two students in every classroom of 30 will have DLD, so it is about as common as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and much more common than autism.

In fact, DLD has been described as the most common disorder that most people “have never heard of”.

We are researchers in inclusive education, who specialise in how schools can best support students who experience language difficulties. We work with a lot of these students and know how easily these difficulties are either missed or misinterpreted.

How does this happen?

In a new study, our team at QUT’s Centre for Inclusive Education surveyed more than 260 Australian teachers in both primary and secondary schools.

We asked them to rate how good they were at identifying students with DLD, from 1 = “poor” to 5 =“excellent”. The average response was 2.77 (or just below “reasonable”).

Read more:
If your child has reading, school or social struggles, it may be DLD: Developmental language disorder

Participants were then provided with a list of ten characteristics and asked to identify those reflecting difficulties with speech (how we say sounds and words), those reflecting difficulties with language (how we share ideas), and those reflecting difficulties with both. It is important teachers can distinguish between the two to provide the right support.

Their overall accuracy was 48%, suggesting teachers need to know more about DLD than they think they do. Worryingly, discrepancies between teachers’ perceived and actual knowledge could work to prevent them from seeking the professional learning they need.

Under the radar

DLD flies under the radar because its characteristics are subtle and easily misinterpreted. But the implications are serious if teachers don’t know about DLD or how to support these students.

Students with DLD struggle academically and socially because language is how friendships are made and the school curriculum is taught. Students with DLD often perform well below their classmates.

Without support, students with DLD can begin to feel ashamed, frustrated, and misunderstood, which can lead to behavioural problems, suspension, leaving school early and unemployment.

What should parents and teachers look for?

DLD has been described as “hiding in plain sight” because it is mistaken for other things, such as poor behaviour or lack of interest in school.

But there are some indicators which should prompt further investigation by a qualified speech pathologist. These include:

• difficulties learning to read, followed by avoidance of reading

• difficulties with writing, often characterised by mistakes when it comes to sequencing in a story (explaining what happened and when)

• difficulty following instructions or directions. Problems in this area are particularly noticeable when the child is provided with multiple instructions but misses key steps or becomes muddled without seeking help from peers

• appearing chatty, but having a relatively limited vocabulary for their age. A child may use a lot of “filler” words like, “things” or “stuff” in place of words that they either don’t know or can’t recall

• using substitutes that sound similar but do not have the same meaning. For example, “sufficient” instead of “efficient”, or “pacific” rather than “specific”

• using made up words or incorrect word combinations, such as “tooken” or “racehorsing”, beyond the early years of school when errors like this are not uncommon.

These indicators are often not noticed by teachers and parents/carers who act as interpreters and guess what the child really means without even being aware that they are doing it.

Although well-intentioned, this can mean that the child’s difficulties with language remain undetected.

What helps students with DLD?

Because DLD is not as well-known as ADHD or autism, some misperceptions exist. One is it can be “cured” through speech-language therapy. As many as four in five (81.7%) Australian teachers in the QUT study believed this to be the case.

While speech pathology support is important, particularly in the early years, it will not address ongoing comprehension challenges faced by children with DLD, especially in the classroom.

Here, teachers can make a difference. In another study published this year, we asked 50 students in years 7 to 10 with language and behavioural difficulties, “what makes an excellent teacher?”. They said excellent teachers made themselves easy to understand by:

• reducing the number of instructions and the “wordiness” of explanations, as well as the speed and complexity of what they say

• building in pauses to allow students’ time to process instructions

• providing written instructions as well as simple visual supports

• emphasising and reiterating key points

• introducing and explaining new or tricky words

• making sure they have students’ full attention before teaching

• regularly maintaining that attention through cues, gestures and routines.

These simple practices are critical for students with DLD, but they also benefit all students. This is because we all learn and process language in the same way. If teachers are very clear with students, it reduces the likelihood a student will get overwhelmed or misunderstand a lesson.

Where to go next

Parents who are worried about language development should talk to their child’s teacher, who can follow up with the school’s learning support team.

Read more:
From shopping lists to jokes on the fridge – 6 ways parents can help their primary kids learn to write well

Parents and teachers can also access more information about DLD from the Raising Awareness of DLD website, listen to this federal government-supported podcast or this QUT presentation on supporting students with DLD in the classroom.

Most importantly, they need to know and remember that with the right support, students with DLD can succeed socially and academically.

Jaedene Glasby was the lead author of the first study described in this article.

Linda J. Graham receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) and the Queensland Government.

Haley Tancredi receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) and the Queensland Government.

– ref. What is DLD – the most common disorder you have ‘never heard of’? – https://theconversation.com/what-is-dld-the-most-common-disorder-you-have-never-heard-of-189979

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Coelli, Associate professor, The University of Melbourne

The Bureau of Statistics has just released a new set of data from the 2021 census. The first set – released in June 2022 – covered topics including age, sex, religion, unpaid work and country of birth.

The second set, released on Wednesday, provides insights into the kinds of jobs Australians have (and if they have a job), how Australians travel to work (and if they still do), and their educational qualifications.

There is plenty to digest. I’ll focus on a couple of interesting outcomes:

• differences in the types of jobs held by men and women,

• differences in the educational qualifications of men and women.

The most male and female jobs

Men accounted for around 99% of Australia’s bricklayers and stonemasons, plumbers, sheetmetal trades workers, carpenters and joiners, roof tilers and concreters in 2021.

Women accounted for 97% or more of Australia’s midwives, early childhood teachers, dental assistants, personal assistants and beauty therapists.

But the segregation is becoming weaker over time.

One common measure is the Duncan index of dissimilarity. It records the proportion of female workers who would have to change their occupations in order for female representation to be even across all occupations.

I have calculated this measure using census data from 1966 up to 2021, updating work I completed with Jeff Borland up to 2011.

Read more:
The 2021 Australian census in 8 charts

The encouraging news is that segregation is declining, and declined further in the past two censuses. Having said that, the occupational differences are still large.

Back in 1966, nearly two-thirds of women would have had to change occupations in order to be spread across occupations as men are. By 2021, the proportion had fallen to close to half.

As women joined the workforce in greater numbers from 1966 to 2021, the proportion of women in most broad occupational groups grew.

But the growth has differed by the type of job. The proportion of women in managerial occupations grew from around 18% in 1966 to nearly 40% in 2021.

The proportion in professional occupations grew from 35 to 56%. In technical and trades occupations, it only grew from 8 to 17%.

Read more:
Yet again, the census shows women are doing more housework. Now is the time to invest in interventions

Some recent increases (from 2006 to 2021) in the proportion of women in specific manager and professional occupations stand out. These include vets (from 46% to 66%), dentists (31% to 47%), barristers (22% to 38%), school principals (50% to 65%) and internal medical specialists (32% to 47%).

But some professional occupations have gone the other way. The proportion of women working as financial dealers fell from 41% to 31%. The proportion of women working as physiotherapists fell from 71% to 64%.

Highly educated young women

The increasing shares of women in professional occupations is matched by increasing education attainment.

The proportion of females aged in their 30s with a bachelor’s degree or higher qualification was one half in 2021. This is strikingly higher than both the proportion of males in that age group with a bachelor’s degree or higher (about 38%) and the proportion of older females with degrees, which was 11% for females over 75.

This difference indicates how rapidly female university education has grown.

Female university graduates now outnumber male university graduates in every age group below 70.

But the proportion of males with certificates and diplomas is higher than the proportion of females across all age groups from 20 up.

This is reflected in the still-low proportion of females in technical and trades occupations.

More to explore

Gender differences in jobs and education are just two of the many ways the census can help us understand Australia.

Every five years it presents researchers and the curious with a lot to explore, including changes over time.

A few years back the five-yearly census was facing the axe. It would be great if it continued to provide these insights for decades to come.

Read more:
The gender qualification gap: women ‘over-invest’ in workplace capabilities

Michael Coelli receives funding from the Australian Research Council. He has also completed some analysis work for AI Group.

– ref. Australian women are more educated than men, but gender divides remain at work – https://theconversation.com/australian-women-are-more-educated-than-men-but-gender-divides-remain-at-work-191944

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa Portolan, PhD student, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University

The Right Stuff is a new conservative dating app, recently launched in the US. Not yet available in Australia, the app was apparently created “for conservatives to connect in authentic and meaningful ways.”

It offers to bring people together with shared values and similar passions, ensuring users “view profiles without pronouns” and are able to “connect with people who aren’t offended by everything”.

As you might anticipate, the app has drawn immediate, and controversial attention, for a variety of reasons. Firstly, and importantly, there appears to be an absence of female-users. Problematic, given the app only caters for an heterosexual audience.

Secondly, the app was co-founded by former Trump aide John McEntee. Ryann McEnany, the sister of the former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, is the app’s spokesperson. Finally, the app is financially backed by right-wing billionaire and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel.

The ads for the app have also attracted a level of derision from audiences. Featuring an all-female cast, women are asked “What they’re looking for in a man?”

They respond they are looking for an “alpha male vibe”, an independent man, a man who is family-orientated.

When women in the video were asked what their “biggest red flag” in their potential partners was. They all replied they couldn’t be with a Democrat.

Read more:
The exclusive dating app for celebrities and influencers – why Raya has been called ‘the Illuminati of the Tinder world’

Politics and dating apps

This isn’t the first dating app to intersect tech, dating, intimacy and politics.

In 2016, Bumble launched its political digital “bumper stickers”, which featured Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Ted Cruz and, of course, Trump. These were later updated, replaced by iterations reflecting the political times.

In America, the app currently allows you to share whether or not you have voted in the mid-term elections. Whitey Wolfe Herd, creator and CEO of Bumble, has said:

Political views are more than just current topics, sometimes entire value sets can be tied to political views. It tells you a lot about a person.

In 2020, OkCupid launched its “Voters Make Better Lovers” campaign in advance of the presidential election.

In a press release, the company said “practising your right to vote is the biggest turn-on to OkCupid singles today”.

Read more:
‘High maintenance’ is a red flag on dating apps. Women are still expected to shrink themselves

Shared values

Speaking to the Slow Love podcast in 2020, OkCupid’s then chief marketing officer, Melissa Hobley, said users on the app were increasingly making match-decisions based on shared values, with political inclinations and climate philosophies ranking highly in the mix.

In my research into dating apps and intimacy, I have found women would quickly ghost matches who made racist, sexist or overly sexualised statements in chat or on their profile.

User reviews and media reports have overwhelmingly indicated a lack of women on The Right Stuff. (This has not yet been corroborated by the Right Stuff spokespeople.)

Take this user complaint for example:

These days, it’s hard to find a woman who values my patriotism. My faith. And so after being ghosted by every match on Tinder, I decided to give this app a try. […] But the weird thing was, I couldn’t find any women on it. I don’t know, maybe the app is bugged?

Dating apps are not merely a platform for personal relationships. As Lik Sam Chan, assistant professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, explores in his research, apps are an emerging arena for gender and politics. These spaces can provide opportunities for women’s empowerment and men’s performances of masculinity.

Similarly, Australian academic Martin Nakata argues online spaces – such as dating apps – can be understood as digitally mediated “sites of struggle over the meaning of [our] experience”.

Dating apps constitute relatively new sites of culturally and politically mediated encounter. They are emerging as the new digital interface for gender and political negotiation.

Certainly, the launch of the Right Stuff tends to suggest the importance of political orientation for women looking to date – and reveals that right wing values are indeed viewed as “the wrong stuff” for many American women.

Read more:
Looking for love on a dating app? You might be falling for a ghost

Lisa Portolan 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. The Right Stuff: the new conservative dating app which has unsurprisingly, failed to attract women – https://theconversation.com/the-right-stuff-the-new-conservative-dating-app-which-has-unsurprisingly-failed-to-attract-women-192012

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

Senior ministers this week have dramatically raised the stakes in the Albanese government’s face-off with gas producers, amid escalating energy prices and dire warnings of worse to come. The question now is how does the government follow through with effective action to match the rhetoric?

Bringing gas prices down in the eastern part of the country is vital in reducing the cost pressures many businesses and households are confronting. Coal and gas prices are the main drivers of soaring electricity bills.

Dealing with gas prices is also important for reinvigorating Australian manufacturing, one of Anthony Albanese’s promises at the election.

And, despite the opposition to gas from some environmental critics, it has a necessary role in the transition to a clean energy future and thus to the government being able to deliver on its ambitious climate policy.

Shaping up as an outspoken protagonist in the current “gas wars”, Industry Minister Ed Husic this week launched a barrage of criticism at the producers.

Husic accused the companies of acting in a way that “would make a locust swarm proud”, bent on an “absolutely rabid pursuit of profit above all else”.

They are “sucking up an Australian resource and selling it at phenomenal prices overseas and doing so in such a way that is putting pressure on manufacturers and households in this country,” he told Sky.

Husic is one of four federal ministers in the front line of trying to bring down local prices.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers highlighted the issue when he told a Tuesday news conference power prices were expected to play “a bigger and bigger part” in Australia’s inflation problem in coming months.

Chalmers said he, Husic, Resources Minister Madeleine King and Energy Minister Chris Bowen were working on what could be done to get gas prices down, declaring action would be taken.

But to what extent all four are on the same page is a moot point.

Traditionally, resources ministers are more sympathetic to producers and industry ministers speak up for the users.

Thus Martin Ferguson, when resources minister in the Rudd government, opposed a Queensland plan for a gas “reservation” scheme. (Ferguson, who went into the industry after retiring from parliament, later changed his mind.)

Such a scheme already operated in Western Australia. The WA policy requires LNG producers to reserve a certain proportion (15%) of their production for domestic use. The state is not part of the eastern states’ national energy market and has some of the lowest gas prices in the OECD.

One wrinkle in the present ministerial mix is that King is from WA. She is charged with trying to deal with a problem that her home state, thanks to its policy setting, doesn’t have.

King recently negotiated a new so-called “heads of agreement” with the gas producers. It was a light-touch deal.

The companies undertook to provide enough gas in the domestic market to avoid any supply problem.

But the rub is that the price at which they supply it won’t be lower than the international price. And that foreign price is very high and rising, driven by the energy crisis in Europe. The international parity price has risen from about $10 a gigajoule a year ago to about $60 for 2023.

The national secretary of the Australian Workers’ Union, Daniel Walton, this week was scathing about King’s “dud” agreement.

The government had a choice, Walton said. “Defend the insane super profits gas exporters are making from the Ukraine war or defend the future of Australian manufacturing and the hundreds of thousands of jobs it supports.”

The government has declined to pull the “trigger” that the Turnbull administration set up to give some potential control over gas supplies in the event of export demands leaving the local market short. The trigger has never been used.

This trigger allows a government to order the companies to set aside a certain amount of gas for domestic use. But it does not go to price, which is at the heart of the present problem.

The government’s challenge is how to separate the domestic market from the international price. But the options available to it are limited, and some involve hurdles too high to surmount.

It has a review of the trigger under way. The mechanism could be made more flexible and fit-for-purpose by removing the long lead time required to activate it and by extending it to include price.

Another course is to strengthen the “code of conduct” that regulates standards in the marketing of gas to industrial customers. Husic said the government would examine having price factored into that code.

The government has ultimate power in that it controls export licences, but to even contemplate using that threat against recalcitrants would send the worst of messages to investors.

A bold option that many experts and others advocate is introducing a super profits tax on the companies. An alternative would be to change the existing petroleum resource rent tax.

But they run into the same brick wall that suggestions of recalibrating the stage 3 tax cuts did – an election undertaking. The then opposition’s pre-election economic plan said “Labor is not proposing tax reforms beyond multinationals”. In recent days, Chalmers has firmly ruled out a super profits tax.

An amended code of conduct and an amended trigger would seem the easiest options. Whatever is done needs to be quick and effective, but there are difficulties and no guarantees. The issue also poses a test for maintaining discipline within the government, giving the contending ministerial views.

Husic said: “We cannot be more clear: if these gas companies think that this is the end of the story and the heads of agreement is all done and dusted, they’ve got another [think] coming”.

Strong words. It would be interesting to know what the companies will be saying to King and what King and Husic will be saying to each other as the government grapples with its next step.

Michelle Grattan has shares in the resources sector.

– ref. Grattan on Friday: Government must find a way to force gas prices down – but how? – https://theconversation.com/grattan-on-friday-government-must-find-a-way-to-force-gas-prices-down-but-how-192398

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Freeman, Dermatologist, Associate Professor, Bond University

The growing list of COVID complications is long and surprising – from brain changes and heart disease to skin rashes and COVID toes.

Those who get dermal fillers injected into their face have the possibility of an additional complication: swelling and discomfort if they get COVID or a dose of a COVID vaccine. So should they take extra precautions, or time their treatments?

What are dermal fillers?

Fillers are now one of the most common non-surgical cosmetic procedures. Adding fillers to the face can address facial drooping; injections into the high cheekbone area lift the face.

Today’s patients might receive soft fillers in the lips and mouth areas, combined with botulinum toxins (botox) in overactive facial muscles, and lasers and light sources on the skin.

Dermal fillers are used to address facial asymmetry, which can cause functional, psychological/social, and reduced quality-of-life issues. Cosmetically, dermal fillers may give an immediate confidence boost.

Soft tissue fillers are usually hyaluronic acid products. Some other formulations that stimulate tissues are also used.

Although soft tissue fillers are considered safe, several studies have shown complications occur with all filler types. Delayed inflammatory reactions – such as red and/or firm lumps possibly with swelling – are among the most common. The cause of these reactions is unknown, so treatments will vary.

Read more:
8 ways the coronavirus can affect your skin, from COVID toes, to rashes and hair loss

Puffy reactions

From 2020 to August 2021 there were around 19 reports in the medical literature of late inflammatory reactions post COVID or post vaccine occurring between weeks and years after filler treatment. This equates to an incidence range of 0.01% to 4.25% of soft tissue filler procedures. Not all cases are reported.

The reason for such reactions is not fully understood. There are many theories on how they can occur including immune reactions to filler triggered by infection, trauma or vaccination.

So, it is not surprising that in the current COVID pandemic, late inflammatory reactions have been reported after infection with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID) and vaccination to protect against it.

The first results of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the Moderna vaccine showed adverse events in three patients with soft tissue fillers. Such complications can occur between 15 days and six months after filler injections. And they can occur three to four weeks after COVID infection. Filler complications can begin quickly after receiving a mRNA COVID vaccination, between 13 hours and three weeks post-injection.

Clinical symptoms are redness, swelling, formation of lumps and discomfort in the filled areas. Some of the patients with reported complications have had a history of spontaneous facial swelling after a filler injection, previous vaccinations, or after other medical treatments.

It is not the first time adverse events after filler treatment have been reported after a viral infection, for example after an influenza-like illnesses.

The condition generally has a good response to oral corticosteroids, while some patients need hyaluronidase injections to dissolve the filler.

It has been suggested treatment with an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACE-1, usually prescribed to manage blood pressure), which plays a crucial role in SARS-CoV-2 binding properties, can reduce swelling in late inflammatory reactions.

Genetic factors are likely to play a role in who gets complications after dermal filler injections generally, with studies pinpointing the genes responsible in those who experience reactions. These individuals might have a lower threshold to infections, vaccines, or other factors that trigger an immune response.

What patients can do

Although small in number, the cases so far show adverse reactions with soft tissue filler occur after COVID infection and vaccination. The relationship between these factors seems likely, as they occur within a few hours or up to several weeks afterwards.

To prevent possible complications, the following recommendations have been suggested for those wishing to proceed with a filler:

• ideally, allow a two- to four-week window between filler injections and vaccination in general, and two months longer for immunocompromised patients (those taking immunosuppressive medications, having chemotherapy, or with immune disorders) or after COVID infection

• proceed with caution if there is a history of allergies, filler-related adverse events or problems after other types of implants

• because vaccination protects against severe COVID, long COVID and death, delay the filler rather than the vaccination

• if a reaction does occur, then your doctor can consider starting treatment with oral steroids, provided there is no infection.

Read more:
Friday essay: toxic beauty, then and now

Michael Freeman is the founder of The Skin Centre, a private dermatology practice which also offers dermal fillers.

– ref. COVID or COVID vaccination can cause dermal fillers to swell up – https://theconversation.com/covid-or-covid-vaccination-can-cause-dermal-fillers-to-swell-up-192159

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Margaret Cook, Lecturer in History, University of the Sunshine Coast

Think Victoria and disasters and you’ll think bushfires. But floods can hit – just not as often.

Today is one of those days, with much of the state under a flood watch. Premier Dan Andrews says the floods are likely to be the most significant in years. Evacuations are likely.

Floodwaters are pushing down the Goulburn to the Murray. Major flooding in the Maribyrnong, which runs through towns and Melbourne’s west. Emergency services say evacuations may be necessary. Towns are sandbagging flood-prone areas. Some have been cut off by rising waters.

The state’s largest dam, Dartmouth, is spilling over. So is Lake Eildon’s dam. And the Thomson dam may well spill this weekend, for the first time in decades. This isn’t the last of it – Victoria’s emergency management commissioner Andrew Crisp has warned intense rains and floods could last up six to eight weeks.

Even as the rest of the eastern seaboard has faced the brunt of three consecutive La Niña years, Victoria has had little flooding until now. Tasmania, too, is facing rare flooding, while flood-weary New South Wales is bracing for more.

These heavy rains are unusual. Dense cloud bands have crossed the desert, carrying moisture evaporating from seas off north-west Australia. Rain has fallen across almost the entire continent in the last two weeks. Our rain events are usually regional – not national.

Why doesn’t Victoria have as many floods?

Victoria’s claim to fame in disasters is that it’s the most bushfire-prone region in the world (followed by California and Greece).

Fire risk also comes from climate. Victoria’s temperate climate means dry summers and less rain than its northern counterparts – around 520 millimetres of rain a year falls on average in Melbourne, compared to 1175mm a year in Sydney and 1149mm in Brisbane. Up north, rain tends to fall intensely, whereas Victoria’s rain tends to fall more as drizzle.

What’s different this time? September was wetter and colder than usual in Victoria, which meant the ground was already saturated in many areas. Colder weather means less water evaporates. Together, that made the state primed for floods.

For a flood to happen, you need a high rate of run-off, where rain hits saturated soils and flows overland rather than sinking in, as well as intense rains in a short period.

Victoria is more familiar with flash floods. That’s because the stormwater drains in cities and towns can be overwhelmed by sudden dumps of rain, flooding streets. The good news is this flooding is usually over quickly, in contrast to the flooded rivers we see up north.

This situation may be different. With the state’s major dams beyond capacity or very close to it, water is already spilling over. Dams in Australia are often dual-purpose, storing drinking water and allowing us some control over floods. While Brisbane’s dams are designed with gates to permit floodwater release, Victoria’s dams tend to just have dam walls.

When dams overflow, they can add to floods in low-lying areas downstream. There’s also usually a lag time in riverine floods, as it takes hours or sometimes days for rain falling in the headwaters to end up as floodwater downstream.

What floods has Victoria seen before?

The largest was in 1934. More than 140mm of rain fell over two days in Melbourne, and more than double that in Gippsland. The enormous flood that followed was most devastating in Melbourne, where the Yarra broke its banks and formed a lake from the city out to the outer suburbs. Thirty-six people died, and thousands of people were left homeless.

Floods in the capital and in the regions are rare but not unknown. In 1891, floods forced more than 3,000 people from their homes in Richmond, Collingwood and Prahran. In 1909, western Victorian rivers broke their banks, flooding many towns and causing four deaths.

The most recent big floods took place during the previous La Niña cycle from 2010-2012, with western Victoria taking the brunt of the damage.

Flooding in Victoria has also reduced because people have shifted the course of rivers – particularly the Yarra.

In 1879, 2,000 workers began a monster task: removing an entire loop of the Yarra west of the Docklands. One reason? Straight rivers flow faster, meaning floodwaters can discharge more quickly.

Engineer John Coode was responsible for designing the new course for the Yarra, which also had the benefit of a wide new channel to improve access for ships. In the process, his workers created what’s now known as Coode Island.

In 1896, Victoria’s Parliament passed the Yarra Improvement Act in a bid to reduce the damage caused by floods. Workers widened and deepened the river, and removed billabongs near the Botanic Gardens in the process.

In the 1930s, engineers built another channel through an old quarry leading to the creation of Herring Island. These changes were mainly about improving navigation for ships – but they had the double benefit of reducing flooding in the lower reaches. In part, it was about British ideals of what rivers should look like, using highly modified rivers like London’s Thames as a guide.

What’s next?

Changing the course of rivers, raising dams and building levees can make us feel like we’re in control. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple, as Lismore’s residents found.

Flood control measures can actually make the impact of large floods worse by giving us a false sense of security about living on floodplains.

This is unlikely to be the last flood before La Niña finally relents. It’s worth knowing your state’s history of disasters – so you can be better prepared. After all, we can’t control nature.

Read more:
On our wettest days, stormclouds can dump 30 trillion litres of water across Australia

Margaret Cook 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. Floods in Victoria are uncommon. Here’s why they’re happening now – and how they compare to the past – https://theconversation.com/floods-in-victoria-are-uncommon-heres-why-theyre-happening-now-and-how-they-compare-to-the-past-192391

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Britta Denise Hardesty, Senior Principal Research Scientist, Oceans and Atmosphere, CSIRO

Two per cent of all fishing gear used worldwide ends up polluting the oceans, our new research finds. To put that into perspective, the amount of longline fishing gear littering the ocean each year can circle the Earth more than 18 times.

We interviewed 450 fishers from seven of the world’s biggest fishing countries including Peru, Indonesia, Morocco and the United States, to find out just how much gear enters the global ocean. We found at current loss rates, in 65 years there would be enough fishing nets littering the sea to cover the entire planet.

This lost fishing equipment, known as ghost gear, can cause heavy social, economic and environmental damage. Hundreds of thousands of animals are estimated to die each year from unintentional capture in fishing nets. Derelict nets can continue to fish indiscriminately for decades.

Our research findings help highlight where to focus efforts to stem the tide of fishing pollution. It can also help inform fisheries management and policy interventions from local to global scales.

14 billion longline hooks litter the sea each year

The data we collected came directly from fishers themselves. They experience this issue firsthand and are best poised to inform our understanding of fishing gear losses.

We surveyed fishers using five major gear types: gillnets, longlines, purse seine nets, trawl nets, and pots and traps.

We asked how much fishing gear they used and lost annually, and what gear and vessel characteristics could be making the problem worse. This included vessel and gear size, whether the gear contacts the seafloor, and the total amount of gear used by the vessel.

We coupled these surveys with information on global fishing effort data from commercial fisheries.

Fishers use different types of nets to catch different types of fish. Our research found the amount of nets littering the ocean each year include:

• 740,000 kilometres of longline mainlines
• nearly 3,000 square kilometres of gill nets
• 218 square kilometres of trawl nets
• 75,000 square kilometres of purse seine nets

In addition, fishers lose over 25 million pots and traps and nearly 14 billion longline hooks each year.

These estimates cover only commercial fisheries, and don’t include the amount of fishing line and other gear lost by recreational fishers.

We also estimate that between 1.7% and 4.6% of all land-based plastic waste travels into the sea. This amount likely exceeds lost fishing gear.

However, fishing gear is designed to catch animals and so is generally understood as the most environmentally damaging type of plastic pollution in research to date.

Harming fishers and marine life

Nearly 700 species of marine life are known to interact with marine debris, many of which are near threatened. Australian and US research in 2016 found fishing gear poses the biggest entanglement threats to marine fauna such as sea turtles, marine mammals, seabirds and whales.

Other marine wildlife including sawfish, dugong, hammerhead sharks and crocodiles are also known to get entangled in fishing gear. Other key problematic items include balloons and plastic bags.

Read more:
We composted ‘biodegradable’ balloons. Here’s what we found after 16 weeks

Lost fishing gear is not only an environmental risk, but it also has an economic impact for the fishers themselves. Every metre of lost net or line is a cost to the fisher – not only to replace the gear but also in its potential catch.

Additionally, many fisheries have already gone through significant reforms to reduce their environmental impact and improve the sustainability of their operations.

Some losses are attributable to how gear is operated. For instance, bottom trawl nets – which can get caught on reefs – are lost more often that nets that don’t make contact with the sea floor.

The conditions of the ocean can also make a significant difference. For example, fishers commonly reported that bad weather and overcrowding contributes to gear losses. Conflicts between gears coming into contact can also result in gear losses, such as when towed nets cross drifting longlines or gillnets.

Where fish are depleted, fishers must expend more effort, operate in worse conditions or locations, and are more likely to come in contact with others’ gear. All these features increase losses.

What do we do about it?

We actually found lower levels of fishing gear losses in our current study than in a previous review of the historical literature on the topic. Technological improvements, such as better weather forecasts and improved marking and tracking of fishing gear may be reducing loss rates.

Incentives can further reduce losses resulting in ghost gear. This could include buyback programs for end-of-life fishing gear, reduced cost loans for net replacement, and waste receptacles in ports to encourage fishers to return used fishing gear.

Technological improvements and management interventions could also make a difference, such as requirements to mark and track gear, as well as regular gear maintenance and repairs.

Developing effective fishing management systems can improve food security, leave us with a healthier environment, and create more profitable businesses for the fishers who operate in it.

Read more:
These are the plastic items that most kill whales, dolphins, turtles and seabirds

Britta Denise Hardesty receives funding from numerous federal and philanthropic organisations for plastic pollution related work, including on abandoned, lost and derelict fishing gear (ALDFG).

Chris Wilcox receives funding from the CSIRO, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the National Philanthropic Trust. He is affiliated with the Minderoo Foundation.

Joanna Vince receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Australian National Science Environment Program.

Kelsey Richardson received funding from CSIRO and the University of Tasmania to support this research.

– ref. 740,000km of fishing line and 14 billion hooks: we reveal just how much fishing gear is lost at sea each year – https://theconversation.com/740-000km-of-fishing-line-and-14-billion-hooks-we-reveal-just-how-much-fishing-gear-is-lost-at-sea-each-year-192024

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

The government has flirted with, and now ruled out, changing the Stage 3 tax cut in the October 25 budget, which appears set to be dominated by some deep spending cuts. In the longer term, however, debate will continue over the need to reform Australia’s tax system, as the calls on revenue to finance big programs increase.

Meanwhile, the government is locked in a battle to get high domestic gas prices down, with its light touch policy towards the gas producers not having much impact.

In this podcast, Michelle Grattan talks with Rod Sims, former chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), and now a professor at the Australian National University’s Crawford School for Public Policy, on tax, gas and privatisation.

Sims says tax reform should look beyond income tax. “We have plenty of other ways to raise taxation […] we should be altering the existing petroleum resource rent tax because I think it’s flawed and we can get more money out of that pretty well straight away”. This change could raise “billions per year”.

Advocating a more robust taxing of resources, Sims says: “You’ve got high mineral prices, high gas prices all around the world. That’s causing harm in Australia as well as elsewhere. Yet we’re not we’re not getting enough tax from them. I think that’s a really unhealthy situation to be in.”

Sims also criticises the way privatising state assets has been done, and urges changes for the future to ensure competition.

“We should stop privatising assets in ways that see monopolies in private hands without any regulation and often with arrangements to stop them facing competition. I think we’ve got to have tests for making sure we do these things in a competitive way with proper regulation […] if you have three bread shops that you can buy bread from, you get a much better deal than if the only choice you have is one bread shop.”

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

– ref. Politics with Michelle Grattan: Rod Sims on tax reform and the gas price crisis – https://theconversation.com/politics-with-michelle-grattan-rod-sims-on-tax-reform-and-the-gas-price-crisis-192340