Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus Professor of Middle Eastern Studies, Australian National University; The University of Western Australia; Victoria University

For all their claims of military success in their war with Iran, the United States and Israel have yet to clearly define their rationale for starting the conflict, their goals and their exit strategy.

With the Iranian regime having mounted a robust response, the Middle East has been plunged into an unnecessary confrontation with no end in sight.

When US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu started this war a month ago, they didn’t have a clear understanding of the nature of the Iranian regime and its defensive capability.

They didn’t expect Tehran to counter their offensives with an unprecedented level of preparedness, striking US bases across the Persian Gulf and hitting Israel hard.

Nor did they anticipate Tehran would close the Strait of Hormuz, partially or fully, to cause a shortage of oil and gas with severe consequences for the global economy.

Driven by an embrace of military power, they acted on a belief that American and Israeli might from the air and sea would force the Islamic government to quickly capitulate, enabling the Iranian people to instigate a favourable regime change – something that has not transpired.

With a military victory now looking increasingly elusive, Trump will need to pivot to a diplomatic solution – and force Netanyahu to comply.

Why Iran has proven so resilient

Prior to the war, the Islamic government was under enormous domestic pressure and international criticism for its suppression of widespread public protests that left thousands of Iranians dead.

The regime was also struggling to come to terms with Israel’s degradation of its regional affiliates, Hamas and Hezbollah in particular, not to mention the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorship in Syria.

While distrustful of Trump, it felt compelled to enter into negotiations with the US once more for a viable settlement of its controversial nuclear program. In late February, the chief mediator, the Omani foreign minister, said a deal was within reach.

When the US and Israel attacked instead, it gave the Islamic government a different sort of opportunity: it could demonstrate the resilience it had spent decades building.

Iran’s system of authority, governance and security was structured to withstand the loss of its leaders and commanders. The regime had shown this in the 1980s in the face of stiff internal opposition, the eight-year war with Iraq, US efforts to contain it and regional hostility.

The Islamic government has also managed to survive despite its theocratic impositions, frequent public uprisings and domestic and foreign policy shortfalls. The reasons for this include:

• the belief of many Shia Muslims in revolutionary Islamism

• its combination of ideological rigidity and pragmatic flexibility, and

• a dedicated and entrenched security, intelligence and administrative apparatus whose survival is dependent on the regime’s survival.

While many Iranians have wanted to see the back of the Islamic government, most are still very proud of their cultural and civilisational heritage. They don’t like to see Iran being subjected to outside aggression, destruction and humiliation.

A war of endurance

This explains why many Iranians have rallied around the flag, as they have historically done against outside aggression.

Knowing it cannot match the firepower of the US and Israel, the Islamic government has shown ingenuity in creating a “mosaic defence” strategy of asymmetrical warfare. This entails adapting and responding to US military weaknesses (for instance, by targeting US bases in Persian Gulf countries with drones and missiles) and decentralising its command structure so leaders can quickly be replaced when they are killed.

The regime has been assisted by Russia and China with supplies of dual-use technologies and revenue from oil imports. Russia has also reportedly been giving Iran intelligence on the location of US assets in the region.

And although Iran’s regional affiliates have been degraded, they are still capable of backing the Islamic Republic in the conflict. Both Hezbollah and the Yemeni Houthis have entered the war by targeting Israel. The Houthis may also attempt to disrupt shipping through the Red Sea.

In short, the Iranian government is resolved to deny the US and Israel a victory at all costs. Given this, the conflict has become a war of endurance.

A deal is the only way out

How long the US, Israel and Iran stay in the fight is a matter of conjecture. However, as the situation stands, the space for a diplomatic resolution has very much tightened. Iran has not shown a desire to back down, and the US and Israel are not united in their goals.

Trump may eventually settle for a deal on Iran’s nuclear program and a potential reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, given the costs of the war and his falling poll numbers in a year of mid-term elections.

But Netanyahu seems adamant in his pursuit. He wants to destroy the Islamic government and weaken the Iranian state as a regional actor.

What is increasingly clear is the war is unlikely to end by military means. The only way forward is a negotiated settlement. The onus will therefore fall on Trump to pull Netanyahu into line and take the lead on trying to strike a deal.

Some analysts have already concluded that no matter how the war ends, Iran is prevailing.

– ref. Trump underestimated Iran’s resilience. Now there is only one way out of the war – https://theconversation.com/trump-underestimated-irans-resilience-now-there-is-only-one-way-out-of-the-war-279667

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicole Townsend, Lecturer in War Studies, UNSW Sydney

As the war in Iran heads into its second month, the conflict has escalated rapidly. The effects are being felt around the world, and there is no clear sign of it ending.

So far, the Australian government has said it will not commit troops to the conflict.

But if it were to take such a step in the future, what would that involve?

Australian involvement in the conflict

Iran responded to US-Israeli airstrikes by lashing out against its regional neighbours in the Gulf. Gulf states requested military assistance to defend against Iranian attacks, and the Albanese government agreed to provide air-to-air missiles, a surveillance aircraft, and 85 supporting personnel.

The government has carefully emphasised the defensive character of its commitment, in line with the right to collective self-defence outlined in Article 51 of the UN Charter.

Still, legal experts have pointed out that the distinction between defensive and offensive operations means little. Australia is involved in the conflict, even if it does not partake in offensive operations against Iran.

Read more: Australia is sending an aircraft and personnel to the Middle East. Does this mean we are entering the war?

But if we do go to war, how does it happen?

If the Australian government decides to commit troops to the war, it will not need to consult parliament before doing so.

Australia’s war powers provisions are quite detailed. But, simply put, there are two key documents that determine who exercises war powers in Australia.

The first is the Constitution, which gives war powers to the governor-general as commander-in-chief of the Australian Defence Force (ADF).

The second is the Defence Act 1903, which gives the defence minister the power to direct the ADF.

In both, war powers are the prerogative of the executive, the branch of government that puts the law into action. The executive comprises the king (who is represented by the governor-general), the prime minister, and their ministers.

In practice, the National Security Committee of Cabinet (NSC) specifically exercises this power. The NSC deals with the “highest-priority, highest-risk and most strategic national security matters of the day”.

NSC decisions do not need to be endorsed by the broader Cabinet, and the executive is not required to consult parliament first. It must, however, inform parliament and facilitate debate as early as possible.

The process is similar in other Commonwealth nations, including New Zealand and Canada.

The situation in the United States is different. The US constitution gives Congress the power to declare war, but the president is commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Essentially, Congress initiates war, and the president directs the armed forces once authorised by Congress.

In practice, many presidents have deployed troops without Congress’ approval, including in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. This led Congress to pass the War Powers Resolution in 1973 to curb presidential war powers. Presidents continued to commit troops without congressional approval, and Congress has proven less willing or able to assert authority in these situations.

Responding to the current conflict, Congress debated President Donald Trump’s authority to attack Iran, but efforts by Democrats and some Republicans failed, as they had in the aftermath of recent US operations in Venezuela.

Proposals for reform in Australia

Since 1985, numerous bills have been introduced in the Senate. All sought to limit executive war powers by requiring parliamentary approval to deploy the ADF in war or warlike operations. None succeeded.

While Defence Minister Richard Marles ordered a parliamentary inquiry into war powers in 2022, he told the committee the decision to commit troops to war was “within the prerogative powers of the executive” and should remain so. Ultimately, the inquiry affirmed the executive authority of prime minister and Cabinet to decide on matters of war. It also rejected the introduction of a parliamentary veto.

This has not stopped the Greens from again calling for war powers reform amid the Iran conflict.

The Greens want the execution of war powers to be contingent on a vote in both houses of parliament – and they say public opinion is on their side. So, what do Australians think about the issue?

What do Australians think?

A national poll by Essential Research in April 2023 found 90% of those surveyed thought parliamentary approval should be required to go to war. This is the figure the Greens have cited in their current bid for reform.

Last year, the War Studies Research Group asked Australians what they thought about war powers as part of a larger national survey on public attitudes towards the ADF. The survey involved 1,500 people and was conducted from late February to early March 2025 as part of our work to measure public attitudes towards the ADF.

Overall, 76% of respondents agreed the government should always be required to consult parliament before committing the ADF to war. Of those, 37% strongly agreed, while less than 5% disagreed.

Notably, the survey indicated a remarkable consensus across Australia. 70% or more of almost all demographic cohorts supported parliamentary involvement. This included gender, age, location, income, education, military background, and nationality.

Majority agreement also held across political preference lines, with highest approval levels among respondents who voted Labor (81%) and Independent (82%).

Where to from here?

Despite the Greens’ efforts and broad public support for war powers reform, the major parties have favoured the status quo and will continue to do so.

As Labor Senator Raffaele Ciccone informed the Senate last week:

The Albanese government supports the continuation of current arrangements that govern the deployment of the Australian Defence Force to overseas engagements.

While the government remains committed to keeping the parliament updated on matters of war, it is unlikely war powers reform will occur.

– ref. Should the parliament decide if Australia goes to war? – https://theconversation.com/should-the-parliament-decide-if-australia-goes-to-war-279446

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

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will address the nation at 7pm Wednesday night on the Middle East war, the fuel crisis and the government’s response to it, and what Australians can do in response.

In his pre-Easter address, which will be carried by all television channels, Albanese’s message to the public will be that it should be business-as-usual over the holiday period.

Prime ministerial addresses-to-the-nation are rare but have been used during COVID and the Global Financial Crisis.

United States President Donald Trump will address the American people on Thursday Australian time.

In a fresh government announcement in response to the fuel crisis, small businesses hit by fuel issues will get more flexibility with their tax obligations.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said businesses unable to meet their tax obligations because of fuel supply problems will be able to receive temporary relief from the Australian Taxation Office.

This will include more generous payment plans, remission of interest and penalties, and support in varying PAYG instalments where taxable income has turned down.

The tax office will also limit some compliance action for the worst affected industries. Some debt collection may also be paused.

To help small business access credit more easily and faster, the Small Business Responsible Lending Obligation exemption will be extended for another ten years.

This obligation requires lenders to make rigorous checks of borrowers’ financial situation to ensure that the loan is not unsuitable. During COVID small businesses were accorded an exemption. This was due to run out in October.

The government said the extension would “ensure small businesses aren’t slugged with additional regulatory burdens and delays when accessing loans”.

Chalmers announced the changes at a news conference with representatives of big business, small business and the banks.

Meanwhile the federal government is still waiting for the states to sort out arrangements relating to the extra GST revenue they will receive from higher fuel prices.

They agreed at national cabinet on Monday to provide some GST relief but are still working on the detail.

Chalmers told his news conference: “I’m not going to take shots at them. I’m not going to be part of a kind of unseemly brawl about this.”

“But we don’t want to see this drag out for ever. We don’t want to see the states and territories at war over this. We want to see the relief flow to motorists.”

– ref. Albanese to address the nation on the Middle East war and fuel crisis – https://theconversation.com/albanese-to-address-the-nation-on-the-middle-east-war-and-fuel-crisis-279208

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tama Leaver, Professor of Internet Studies, Curtin University

Australia’s privacy laws have been woefully out of date for a long time – not fit to address the realities of the digital world.

As part of the long overdue update, the Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act in 2024 directed the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) to develop a code to better protect the privacy of young Australians in the digital world.

This is urgently needed. By the time a child turns 13, around 72 million pieces of data will have been collected about them.

This week, the OAIC published a draft of the Children’s Online Privacy Code, which is now open for public comment.

What’s in the code?

The code’s scope is much wider than just social media. It encompasses most online services, spaces and platforms that children use. Importantly, it also includes services that may contain children’s personal data but are used by adults.

Everything from educational platforms to infant tracking apps will be subject to the code. The best interests of the child are embedded in it, and services will be expected to interpret and implement it.

Data minimisation

This specifies children’s personal data can only be collected by online services where there’s a clear and direct purpose for that collection, and that data should only be kept while it’s necessary to perform that purpose.

Any further data collection requires explicit consent requested in a way that’s age-appropriate for the child.

This ensures platforms only request what’s actually mission critical. The onus is on services to delete that personal data as soon as it’s not needed, to help prevent children’s data being caught up in data breaches.

The right to delete

Where platforms and services hold children’s personal data, children will now have a clear and explicit right to request that data is deleted.

The “right to be forgotten” has been on privacy advocates’ wishlist for decades. It recognises individuals own their own data and should maintain control over it where possible.

Geolocation transparency

When children consent to having their geographic location tracked by digital devices and services, or their parents consent to this on their behalf for those under 15, children regardless of age will be notified when tracking services are sharing that information.

Geolocation data can be particularly tricky, even within families. While some might find location tracking helpful, others view it as intrusive surveillance.

Ensuring it’s at least transparent to children will help ensure they’re active and aware participants in these services.

Age-appropriate explanations

Saying you’ve read an app’s terms of service or privacy policies is one of the most common white lies told.

That’s mostly because these are long, impenetrable, almost unreadable documents. When children are asked to consent to share their data, the code specifies the explanation for this request must be understandable and age-appropriate. If the request is aimed at a child who might be ten, the explanation needs to be clear to the average ten-year-old.

This is vital. Not only does it allow children to make better choices, it also increases their digital literacy as they make meaningful choices about their own data.

As part of this, deceptive design elements that might trick children into sharing personal data are explicitly not allowed.

We can expect pushback from big tech

There will undoubtedly be considerable pushback from big technology platforms about the scope of the code. It seeks to disrupt business as usual, and requires that children’s data is only collected for specific purposes, with explicit consent, and retained for as little time as possible.

That’s the opposite of the “grab and keep as much data for as long as possible” logic that drives most tech companies and platforms today. Big data is still imagined to be the big oil of the digital world. Private, personal data is among its most valued forms. Artificial intelligence companies are even more thirsty for that personal data to train their systems.

We’ll need more digital literacy

For children under 15, the code relies on parental consent. That consent is visible to children, which is important in keeping them informed. However, there’s work to do to equip every parent with the tech literacy they need to make informed choices with their children.

In some cases, children don’t easily have a parent or carer to turn to. For children in the most at-risk and challenging situations, there may be difficulties in ensuring that the consent process really can work in children’s best interest.

In our Manifesto for a Better Children’s Internet, colleagues and I from the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child offer a roadmap for an internet better aligned with children’s needs and experiences.

Crucially, we argue there should be more focus on protecting children within the digital environment, rather than from it.

Maximising children’s opportunities in the digital world means trying to make as many digital spaces available to them, while ensuring those spaces are designed to be as safe and age appropriate as possible.

The Children’s Online Privacy Code is set to make an important contribution in achieving that aim. It recognises children’s right to participation as much as their right to protection.

What happens next?

The OAIC has launched a Privacy for Kids website, which offers age-appropriate explanations of the code for children and adults.

It provides a variety of tools and age-appropriate resources to allow children and adults to offer their thoughts on the draft code. That consultation is open until June 5 this year.

After responding to the public consultation, the final version of the code must go live by December 10 2026.

– ref. Australia is tightening the rules on children’s privacy – here’s how it will work – https://theconversation.com/australia-is-tightening-the-rules-on-childrens-privacy-heres-how-it-will-work-279661

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Damien O’Meara, Lecturer, School of Media and Communication, RMIT University

This month’s streaming slate is packed with bold, conversation-starting TV, from an expose of the toxic manosphere, to a Netflix comedy featuring a very horny Rachel Weisz. If you’re feeling nostalgic, there’s even an old classic from French New Wave filmmaker Agnès Varda. So settle in and get watching!

Homebodies

SBS On Demand

When Nora (Claudia Karvan) breaks her leg, her son Darcy (Luke Wiltshire) – a trans man – returns home to see her for the first time since he came out. It doesn’t take long before Darcy realises there’s another presence in his childhood home: a ghost of his younger pre-transition self, Dee (Jazi Hall).

Homebodies gives space for an exploration of the challenging, interpersonal relationship between Darcy and his mother through the haunting of an unresolved rift. Refreshingly, this is done without Darcy ever doubting his understanding and acceptance of himself.

Dee is a haunting of something left behind. This includes some obvious aspects: she uses Darcy’s deadname and she/her pronouns. But Dee also represents a version of Darcy where his existence was not yet a consideration. In the moments where he clashes with Nora, it seems like Dee is a manifestation of what his mother wants him to be.

In some ways that feels true, but Dee is also part of a past Darcy is not acknowledging. Dee is not just a dramatic foil to allow for the exposition of how Darcy came to this place in his life. Rather, he is sharing that journey with who he was before it started.

The value of such conversations stems from the authenticity behind the story. From writer and director AP Pobjoy, Homebodies strikes an effective balance in its specificity, while feeling like a story audiences will be able to connect with in big or small ways.

– Damien O’Meara

Read more: Homebodies: bold TV about a trans man, his mother and the conversations they never had

Vladimir

Netflix

The new Netflix limited series Vladimir centres on erotic desire. It’s a story about “limerence”, a psychological state first identified by American psychologist Dorothy Tennov, in which a person’s thoughts and fantasies become dominated by another, and are accompanied by an overwhelming, obsessive desire for that feeling to be returned.

Rachel Weisz plays M, an English professor who develops an intense fixation on a newly arrived colleague, the self-consciously handsome Vladimir (Leo Woodall). M comes across as disturbingly shallow until it becomes clear her fixation has incapacitated her. As the show unfolds, it seems her imagined intimacy with Vladimir might be more enthralling than reality could deliver.

M’s husband John (John Slattery), also a professor, is suspended for sexual misconduct involving students. When pressured to say what she thinks, M dismisses the opportunity to support the young exploited women, instead saying “it was another time”. This refrain of providing generational justifications and avoiding accountability is emphasised throughout the series.

M divulges directly to the camera (in one of many instances of breaking the fourth wall) that middle age has rendered her invisible. However, despite menopausal asides about chin hair, she is too beautiful for us to believe this. It’s more likely her students no longer connect with her outdated ideas.

This adaptation of Julia May Jonas’s provocative 2022 debut novel Vladimir is likely to divide audiences, but its discomfort is compelling and original. I highly recommend it.

– Lisa French

Harry Styles. One Night in Manchester

Netflix

The “one night only” music performance is relatively new for streamers like Netflix, but quite an established format for its broadcast predecessors; think Elvis’ 68 Comeback Special, for example. And like Elvis, Styles is a master of mainstream pop music, perfectly pitched at an intersectional audience and dripping with charisma.

From his One Direction roots in the early 2010s, to becoming a fully fledged solo icon, One Night In Manchester showcases Styles’ latest album Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally. It’s a huge event for parent record company Columbia Records (owned by Sony Music Entertainment).

One Night is staged to bring Styles’ multi-stadium persona back to a relatively small audience, providing intimacy and immediacy for those watching at home. The performance is supported by incredible musicians such as the House Gospel Choir. And unlike the ’68 leather-clad Presley, Styles himself appears relatively understated – save for some delightful (if not daggy) dancing and swift movements from lead singer to piano, guitar and synth.

The audience in the room play a vital part too. Their singalongs to Aperture and Dance No More make these new songs sound like canon, while close-ups of fans embracing older hits such as Sign Of The Times remind us how good music can continue to connect us.

– Liz Giuffre

Scarpetta

Prime Video

Chief medical examiner Dr Kay Scarpetta first emerged in Patricia Cornwell’s 1990 debut novel Postmortem, and has appeared in nearly 30 books since then. So it’s no surprise Prime Video’s decision to adapt the mystery-thriller series for TV has been eagerly awaited by fans. Unfortunately, Scarpetta is muddled at best – and a hot mess at worst.

The series unfolds over two timelines. In the present day, Scarpetta (Nicole Kidman) is called to a crime scene where the naked body of a female victim is bound and displayed. Flashbacks to 30 years earlier reveal a young Scarpetta (Rosy McEwen) on the hunt for a serial killer with a similar modus operandi. The suggestion that she may have got the wrong man back in 1998 threatens to blow up her career.

The ethical implications of this are never properly explored, however, as the series focuses instead on the fraught dynamics of Scarpetta’s present-day family. These include her vodka-swilling, histrionic sister Dorothy (Jamie Lee Curtis), tech-genius niece Lucy and, quite bafflingly, a chatbot imitating Lucy’s dead wife.

Careening between soapy family drama and police procedural, Scarpetta suffers from serious bloat. And despite its bizarre AI subplot, it is curiously dated especially in its treatment of gender politics: the misogyny the young Scarpetta navigates is significantly diluted, while the series’ treatment of female victims recalls the sensationalism of pre-#metoo shows such as Law & Order: SVU.

The 90s might be having a revival, but Scarpetta’s failings suggest some things are best left in the past.

– Rachel Williamson

Vagabond

Mubi

I was delighted to see Vagabond (Sans toit ni loi, or “without roof or law”) return to MUBI as part of its ongoing Agnès Varda collection. Having only seen the film once, years ago, I was eager to rewatch one of Varda’s (countless) masterpieces. Like earlier titles such as Cleo from 5 to 7 (Cléo de 5 à 7) and Le Bonheur, Vagabond is a daring display of narrative filmmaking.

True to Varda’s distinctive style, the film probes the limits of cinematic storytelling. Infusing documentary elements – such as testimonial-like sequences and cleverly placed fourth wall breaks – Vagabond stitches together the story of Mona, a rebellious young drifter who, in the film’s opening sequence, is discovered frozen to death in a ditch.

Backtracking from this initial encounter, Varda explores the enigma of Mona through the characters she encountered during her final weeks, crafting a fragmentary portrait of the young woman via flashbacks, memories and impressions. As other characters discuss their brief encounters with Mona, their testimonies often reveal more about social prejudices and taboos than they do about her.

Mona’s psychological interiority remains a mystery, as the viewer is only led to speculate upon the circumstances that led to her futile reality. Subverting the prominent trope of the male drifter, Varda does not sensationalise the protagonist’s circumstances. Rather, she presents both an opaque and brutal portrait of loneliness and liberty, humanism and cruelty.

– Oscar Bloomfield

Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere

Netflix

By now most of us have encountered the “manosphere” – the online ecosystem that repackages misogyny, anti-feminism and male grievance into a form of “self-improvement”.

Journalist Louis Theroux has further lifted the lid on this dangerous ideology in his new documentary, Inside the Manosphere, which exposes some of the key individuals driving this culture. In his measured and sometimes risky style, Theroux traces not only the rhetoric of so-called “high-value men”, but also the business model that sustains them. The result is both illuminating and unsettling.

Through interviews and the influencers’ own content, we see the defence of a regressive gender hierarchy and attempts to restore it. All the while, subscription “academies” set up by leading figures convert young mens’ insecurities into income.

Running alongside the hustle narrative is a thread of conspiratorial thinking. Interviewees invoke the “matrix” as a metaphor for institutional systems trying to keep men compliant, and blind to alternative paths to power.

While the documentary doesn’t dive too deep into the real-world harms of the manosphere (on both women and young men), it does provide some important context for the rise of misogynistic attitudes in our schools and workplaces. Theroux is right to suggest we all are, in some sense, now living inside the manosphere.

– Steven Roberts

Read more: Louis Theroux’s Inside the Manosphere exposes the business model of misogyny

– ref. Alpha males, Harry Styles, and going mad with desire: what to watch in April – https://theconversation.com/alpha-males-harry-styles-and-going-mad-with-desire-what-to-watch-in-april-278987

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Tiller, Ethical, Legal & Social Adviser in Public Health Genomics, Monash University

The Australian parliament is set to pass legislation today to ban life insurers from using genetic test results to discriminate against people applying for life insurance.

Once the law comes into effect in about six months, it will apply to all new life insurance contracts. These include for death cover, income protection, disability and trauma/critical illness cover.

So what does the new legislation mean for people taking out life insurance later this year? How about travel insurance or health insurance?

Here’s what we know, don’t know and need to clarify.

What’s changing with life insurance?

The new law will prohibit life insurers from using “protected genetic information” in underwriting.

Protected genetic information includes all health information that predicts or infers someone’s risk of future disease based on the results of genetic testing. In other words, life insurers cannot deny you cover or charge you higher premiums if you took a genetic test that predicted a higher risk of cancer, for example.

The definition does not include someone’s actual diagnosis (even if that was via a genetic test). The same goes for someone’s family history of disease, which can still be used by life insurers when underwriting. So if you or your sibling have been diagnosed with cancer, that could still be legally taken into account.

Underwriting is the process some insurers undertake when assessing the risk you bring as an insured person. They ask many questions when you apply for cover to gather information for underwriting.

Life insurance is usually risk-rated (except with some group insurance through superannuation). This means people with different risk profiles can receive different terms – including different premium costs, having things excluded from their cover, or having insurance rejected altogether.

Life insurers can ask about the medical history of an applicant or their first-degree relatives (parents, siblings or children). This isn’t restricted to conditions that still have symptoms. Any medical history at any stage is relevant.

You must answer in “good faith” when you apply for cover. This includes a requirement to “not make a misrepresentation” about matters relevant to your life insurance application.

If you conceal health information from a life insurer, or deliberately mislead them about your health history, this is “fraudulent nondisclosure”. This can lead to policies being voided, meaning they have no effect at all, and all premiums paid over time are forfeited.

How about travel insurance?

Travel insurance is also risk-rated, and travel insurers can ask for health information in deciding whether to offer cover, its cost and/or exclusions.

Travel insurance will not be subject to the new laws, which are restricted to life insurance. This means travel insurers are legally allowed to consider genetic test results to assess your future risk of disease as part of their underwriting.

When you apply for cover, travel insurers will mainly ask about your personal medical history (including pre-existing conditions and procedures you’ve had). Your family history may become relevant in certain circumstances (such as where you have a hereditary medical condition).

Is health insurance the same?

Health insurance in Australia is community-rated, meaning it pools risk across groups of people, rather than underwriting individuals.

So health insurers cannot deny cover or charge a higher premium based on personal or family history of disease, or other health risk factors.

But they can vary premiums based on where you live, and depending on the level of your cover (gold, silver or bronze).

Health insurers can take risk into account by applying waiting periods. This doesn’t affect the cost of premiums, but if you have an existing medical condition, a health insurer can offer you a policy but not cover any treatment for that condition until you have been insured for no more than 12 months. For psychiatric, rehabilitative or palliative care, the period is no more than two months, even for pre-existing conditions.

For health insurance, a pre-existing condition is defined as:

an ailment, illness or condition; and in the opinion of a medical practitioner appointed by the insurer […], the signs or symptoms of that ailment, illness or condition existed at any time in the period of 6 months ending on the day on which the person became insured under the policy.

This means you must disclose any condition for which signs or symptoms existed in the six months before your application. This doesn’t include childhood conditions that no longer have signs or symptoms.

However, it is the medical adviser appointed by the health insurer who ultimately decides this, not you or your doctor. The best advice is to answer questions honestly, and provide letters of evidence from your doctor if any potential uncertainty arises.

One aspect that does need clarification, though, is genetic testing. If you’ve had a genetic test to diagnose a condition with signs or symptoms, you must disclose this to a health insurer and they can apply a waiting period.

However, if the genetic test indicates a risk of future disease – such as the BRCA1 gene variant which increases the risk of breast, ovarian and prostate cancer – the situation is murkier.

While medically, a person with a BRCA1 variant does not have any signs or symptoms of cancer, health insurers could categorise this as a pre-existing condition and apply a 12-month waiting period for preventive care. This might include a preventive mastectomy, for example. Regulatory clarification on this issue would be helpful.

If you have a dispute about premiums or cover, and your insurer has not adequately addressed them, you can complain to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority about life or travel insurance, and to the Commonwealth Ombudsman about health insurance.

– ref. How your health (and genetic results) affects your life, travel and health insurance – https://theconversation.com/how-your-health-and-genetic-results-affects-your-life-travel-and-health-insurance-270572

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mohiuddin Ahmed, Associate Professor in Cyber Security, Adelaide University

Australians lost more than A$2 billion to scams in 2025, new figures from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) show.

This was a 7.8% increase compared to 2024. And it’s in spite of the fact the federal government passed legislation in February 2025 enforcing strict anti-scam obligations on banks, telcos and social media platforms.

Those obligations, however, aren’t yet in force. So what explains the delay? And what can Australians do to protect themselves from scams in the meantime?

Top tactics used by scammers

The National Anti-Scam Centre reported five major types of scam:

1. Investment: victims are tricked into investing in fake opportunities. This was the top tactic used by scammers, responsible for more than A$837 million in losses last year.
2. Payment redirection: scammers pose as a supplier or business owner and advise changes of bank account to redirect an invoice payment.
3. Romance: victims fall for fake profiles and get emotionally manipulated to send money.
4. Phishing: scammers try to collect sensitive information by impersonating legitimate organisations via calls, texts or email. 5.Remote Access: victims are tricked by scammers to allow access to their smart devices online.

The common aspect among all these different types of scams is the human factor – the scammers were successful because a human interaction was involved. It’s not only the sophistication of the scam tactics but also the human psychology that gets exploited. Scammers rely on victims’ emotion, trust, greed, urgency and fear to manipulate them into doing something they should not.

New anti-scam measures

The Scams Prevention Framework passed Australian parliament in February 2025 and reiterated its emphasis on banks, telcos and digital platforms including social media companies such as Meta (owner of Instagram and Facebook).

The framework aims to address scams by requiring regulated businesses to take reasonable steps to:

1. prevent scams from reaching the victims
2. detect scams as they are happening or already happened, and
3. disrupt suspected activities to avoid potential losses.

Reasonable steps need to be treated with context and the type of organisations and scams.

For example, banks can incorporate advanced technologies to detect high-risk payments. Social media companies such as Meta can use algorithms to detect and disrupt fake investment opportunities. And telcos can prevent scam calls or texts reaching their customers.

Businesses must also have a transparent internal dispute resolution process to address their customer complaints. When this is unable to resolve a complaint, victims can go to an external dispute resolution body, such as the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.

Although this framework has already passed federal parliament, it is not yet active.

That’s because the federal government is still in the process of finalising the mandatory industry codes of conduct that will outline the obligations for each sector.

These sector codes are being developed in consultation with the industry and consumers.

The finer details of the internal and external dispute resolution processes are also expected to be included in further legislation.

The subtle difference between hacking and scamming also makes it really difficult to define the scope of the framework – and could lead to further delays in enforcement down the track.

According to the scam prevention framework, cybercrime such as gaining personal information via a data breach or hacking is not considered a scam.

But in reality, scamming and hacking both fall under the umbrella of cybercrime or technology-based crime. Hackers can collect mobile numbers from a data breach. They can then launch sophisticated scam campaigns via text messages or calls.

Take the following hypothetical example of an investment scam.

A group of hackers access the server of bank X and obtain the personal information of one of the bank’s former customers. They then use this information for a successful investment scam, leading to the victim losing thousands of dollars from their new account with bank Y.

Who has the obligation to protect the victim? Is it bank X or bank Y?

Such complexities can lead to significant delays in making the scam prevention framework an active law.

Know your scams

It is impossible to fully stop scammers as they are continuously evolving their tactics. Advances in artificial intelligence are making it even easier for scammers to deceive people.

While the scam prevention framework will likely help when it’s eventually operational, it’s also important we all improve our skills to better identify scams.

One way to do this is by taking “scam quizzes” which test your ability to detect scams.

Governments – both state and federal – could also establish initiatives to develop scam resilience tests to help people learn more and improve their scam-spotting skills, similar to driving theory tests.

– ref. Australians lost $2 billion to scams – and are still waiting for new anti-scam measures to take effect – https://theconversation.com/australians-lost-2-billion-to-scams-and-are-still-waiting-for-new-anti-scam-measures-to-take-effect-279549

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Signe Dean, Science + Technology Editor, The Conversation

Scientists can’t be everywhere all at once, as much as they’d like to. Many of the problems citizen science helps solve are concerned with spreading the net wider – or getting more helping hands on the task.

Biosecurity managers can’t make it to every regional town in their state. But if members of the public report suspicious species, such as through the popular iNaturalist app, they can take action.

Astronomers need more eyes to sift through vast databases of stellar explosions. Climate scientists can learn from our history, but deciphering the records takes time.

Below we introduce five citizen science projects where large numbers of people have contributed impactful results, or yielded new knowledge. Some of them even have new project stages you may be able to participate in.

Science lives far beyond the lab, and it’s not just done by scientists.

In this series, we spotlight the world of citizen science – its benefits, discoveries and how you can participate.

Atlas of Living Australia’s Biosecurity Alerts Service

Andrew Turley, Team Leader – Applications and Biosecurity – Atlas of Living Australia, CSIRO

Australia is one of the world’s most biodiverse continents, but we’re constantly at risk from introduced and invasive species. Even with current border controls, some pests, weeds, and diseases inevitably slip through.

The Atlas of Living Australia (ALA) is the nation’s largest open source biodiversity data source. In partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, a Biosecurity Alerts Service was set up to connect this trove of data – much of it collected through citizen science – with biosecurity managers across Australia.

The service delivers weekly email notifications to biosecurity managers about new reports of introduced and invasive species of concern in their area. In 2020, this led to the first report of globally invasive Asian shore crab (Hemigrapsus sanguineus). In 2024, an iNaturalist user recorded the first report of the invasive freshwater gold clam (Corbicula fluminea). Early detection allowed biosecurity managers to monitor and mitigate these species’ spread to other areas.

In 2025, an iNaturalist citizen scientist recorded Siam weed north of Brisbane. This record was more than 1,000km from the nearest known infestation, near Townsville. The resulting alert allowed Biosecurity Queensland to eradicate the new infestation. Likewise, reports of the tree cholla cactus, red imported fire ants, honey fungus and many other species have triggered local responses.

This work ultimately helps protect our environment and agricultural systems from the impacts of these introduced and invasive species.

The Biosecurity Alerts Service is ongoing, and every week we send alerts to biosecurity managers across the country. If you use one of the ALA-linked apps – such as iNaturalist, eBird or FrogID, among many others – and choose to share your data publicly, the data you collect will be automatically checked as part of the service.

If you’re lucky, you may even be contacted by a biosecurity officer for more information or to collect a sample to help confirm the species. To get involved, just be curious, visit the outdoors with a biodiversity app, and make sure to record anything that looks odd or out of place.

Climate History Australia

Linden Ashcroft, Senior Lecturer, Climate Science and Science Communication, University of Melbourne

There are millions of valuable weather observations scattered across the world that only exist on paper. It would take thousands of lifetimes for scientists to transcribe these precious records on their own.

But with the help of citizen scientists, we’ve been able to rescue these vital observations from being lost to time. The data they provide have improved the coverage and accuracy of global data models used to understand how our climate is changing.

Climate History Australia was modelled on similar projects from the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Scanned images of historical weather data from the National Archives were split into chunks, allowing people to help us rescue these observations in a manageable way at home.

Across two projects in 2020 and 2021, more than 1,700 citizen scientists transcribed at least 67,400 weather observations recorded in the 19th century. The journals contained meticulous weather data including descriptions of the clouds, type of rainfall, and other activities of the day. The project attracted amazing volunteers, including students, historians, and people who wanted to contribute to climate science.

Thanks to the recovered data, we have now filled gaps in weather observations in Adelaide and Perth, allowing us to build near-continuous records of the weather of these two cities back to 1830 and 1843 respectively. We now know more about extreme weather events in Australia, which is so important because changes in the extremes are what will affect us the most as the world warms.

The rescued data have also fed into global weather and climate datasets, improving our understanding of weather and climate change in the entire Southern Hemisphere. While there are no active Climate History Australia data rescue projects, similar activities are happening in Ireland, Africa and Italy.

Kilonova Seekers

Duncan Galloway, Associate Professor in Astrophysics, Monash University

Since 2023, the Kilonova Seekers citizen astronomy project has been sharing the excitement of transient astronomy, engaging citizen scientists in the discovery of some of the most exciting and energetic events in the universe.

Transient astronomy refers broadly to the study of cosmic objects that vary with time. Many types of normal stars, particularly those that have an orbiting companion, vary in brightness.

But of particular interest are short-lived explosive events that produce gamma-ray bursts, such as the supernova explosions of massive stars, or rare collisions between pairs of neutron stars.

Kilonova Seekers provides observations from the Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO) telescope network to members of the public. GOTO collaboration members Lisa Kelsey from the University of Cambridge and Tom Killestein from the University of Warwick built an image comparison platform on the popular Zooniverse website.

To contribute, participants were invited to play “spot the difference” by comparing new images to old and looking for changes. This work helps astronomers to distinguish genuine new objects in the sky from imaging artefacts and other spurious signals.

The project has attracted thousands of volunteer observers and yielded more than 200 discoveries to date. A major discovery was published last year – an extremely bright star explosion, GOTO0650, captured as it took place. Once flagged, astronomers were able to look at it more closely with Earth-based and space observatories. The object was so bright, amateur astronomers could capture high-quality images, too.

Kilonova Seekers has just gone through a hardware and software upgrade and relaunched in February this year – so you too can have a hand in trying to discover new objects in space.

Mozzie Monitors

Craig Williams, Professor and Dean of Programs (STEM), Adelaide University

Mosquitoes are the world’s deadliest animal. It’s crucial for health departments and local governments to keep up mosquito surveillance to protect public health. But it takes a lot of resources to do so, leading to gaps in the system.

Launched by the University of South Australia in 2018, the Mozzie Monitors program comprised two main activities citizen scientists could help with. The first was setting low-tech mosquito traps at home and taking photos of the collections so experts could identify them remotely. The second was submitting mosquito images to the project page on the iNaturalist platform. It has been an amazing collaborative effort nationwide, with thousands of records submitted.

Originally, the program aimed to expand mosquito surveillance in Australia, detect exotic mosquitoes entering the country, and educate the public about mosquitoes and the diseases they carry.

It has since evolved to assisting remote communities in exotic mosquito surveillance, tracking mosquito-borne viruses, and running an education program in South Australian and Northern Territory schools. Hundreds of students aged 5–17 have participated in learning activities and even trapped some mosquitoes.

We designed and built Mozzie Monitors as we went along. It’s led to new mosquito trapping methods citizen scientists can use, has taught the participants a lot about mosquitoes, helped to establish a mosquito database with new species records, and even led to the discovery of mosquitoes not previously known to be in Australia.

The project continues to grow and evolve. In the Northern Territory, the small town of Tennant Creek has experienced repeated invasions of exotic dengue mosquitoes. Currently, readers in the Northern Territory anywhere between Katherine and Alice Springs, can become involved in Mozzie Monitors Tennant Creek. While Tennant Creek is the focus, we would dearly love to have participants across the region.

WomSAT: Wombat Survey and Analysis Tool

Julie Old, Associate Professor in Biology, Zoology and Animal Science, Western Sydney University

Hayley Stannard, Associate Professor in Animal Anatomy and Physiology, Charles Sturt University

Wombats are ecological engineers – they dig burrows to sleep in during the day and protect them from predators, but these burrows also provide shelter for other animals. Turning over the soil when they dig their burrows also helps plants grow, moving nutrients and water through the soil.

Due to their importance to ecosystems, there is a need to understand more about wombats and where they live, so that we can manage threats and aid their conservation. Sadly, wombats are at risk from several threats – these include collisions with vehicles, a devastating disease called sarcoptic mange, and habitat loss.

Started in 2015, WomSAT is a citizen science program that allows the public, researchers and wildlife carers to record evidence of wombats across Australia. It collects real-time data on wombat sightings – dead or alive, the location of their burrows, and whether they appear to be affected by mange. Wildlife carers also use WomSAT to track the treatment of sarcoptic mange.

To date, the impacts have been significant: WomSAT has been pivotal to determining roadkill hotspots and tracking sarcoptic mange, and even the factors that affect mange occurrence. In collaboration with the Wombat Protection Society of Australia, the project also created online training courses for the public who have an interest in wombats and wish to learn more, and for wildlife carers on how to safely treat sarcoptic mange in the field.

WomSAT is an ongoing project. Anyone can become a “wombat warrior” by logging sightings of wombats on WomSAT to help identify roadkill hotspots and track the occurrence of sarcoptic mange. You can also follow #WombatWednesday on social media.

– ref. What we’ve learned from citizen science: 5 projects that made a difference – https://theconversation.com/what-weve-learned-from-citizen-science-5-projects-that-made-a-difference-279096

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jemma Geoghegan, Professor and Webster Family Chair in Viral Pathogenesis, University of Otago

Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 – particularly the 2.3.4.4b lineage – has transformed the global disease landscape over recent years.

What was once largely a poultry disease causing occasional severe illness in humans is now a multi-species threat, affecting wild birds, mammals and increasingly, entire ecosystems.

Despite more than five years without incursion, H5N1 2.3.4.4b is edging closer to New Zealand, raising questions about how long our isolation will hold.

Importantly, spillover events – when a virus jumps between species – have become more common, with large outbreaks reported among poultry and dairy cattle in North America.

Human infections remain rare and are mostly linked to close contact with infected animals. But every spillover event gives the virus another chance to evolve, even without sustained human-to-human transmission.

Why hasn’t it reached Oceania yet?

The current H5N1 strain is unprecedented in both scale and scope.

Its host range now spans hundreds of bird species and an increasing number of mammals, including foxes, mink, cattle and marine mammals. This expansion reflects increased exposure and the virus’s ability to adapt to new hosts.

Geographically, the virus has spread across Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas and, more recently, the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic regions, with sustained transmission among wild bird and mammalian populations.

Yet Oceania has so far remained free of H5N1 2.3.4.4b. This is largely due to geography and bird migration patterns. Many migratory birds that carry H5N1 move along northern hemisphere flyways and do not typically reach New Zealand.

However, New Zealand hosts large numbers of migratory birds via the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, including shorebirds that can carry avian influenza viruses, although they are considered a lower-risk reservoir.

There is also the possibility of a “growing our own” problem. Low pathogenic influenza viruses circulate naturally in wild birds in New Zealand. Under the right conditions, particularly in poultry, these can evolve into highly pathogenic forms.

This risk is not hypothetical. A recent poultry outbreak in New Zealand caused by an H7N6 subtype likely arose from local low pathogenic viruses in wild birds.

While distinct from H5N1 incursion, the consequences could be similarly devastating. Although this outbreak was contained to a single farm, it underscores how quickly events could escalate if early transmission is not controlled, stretching resources and prolonging response efforts.

Given the close proximity of New Zealand’s poultry and cattle populations, transmission to dairy cattle could challenge our key primary industries. This has happened independently on several occasions in North America.

Risks to New Zealand’s wildlife

New Zealand’s wildlife is particularly vulnerable to H5N1. Many native species are already under pressure from habitat loss, climate change and introduced predators.

The arrival of a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus would add a new and potentially severe threat, particularly for small or isolated populations.

Taonga species, including seabirds, shorebirds and endemic waterfowl, may be especially at risk. New Zealand wildlife has had little to no exposure to these viruses, and therefore limited opportunity to develop any resilience.

Species that breed in dense colonies, such as tītī, albatross and penguins, could be particularly vulnerable to rapid spread and mass mortality events.

The risks are not confined to birds. The impact of H5N1 2.3.4.4b on marine mammals has been severe. This is well illustrated by the plight of elephant seals.

Recent deaths of northern elephant seals in critical breeding colonies in California are concerning, but the impact of the virus on southern elephant seals threatens the viability of populations in South America and the sub-Antarctic.

Transmission between marine mammals may be important, highlighting risks to other vulnerable populations.

Southern elephant seals and pakake, the New Zealand sea lion, share similar habitats, including beaches in New Zealand’s South Island. An outbreak of H5N1 in breeding colonies in the sub-Antarctic and populations in Otago and Rakiura could set back recent conservation efforts.

Why vigilance is NZ’s best protection

Vaccination has been explored internationally, particularly in poultry, as a way to reduce disease burden and transmission.

In New Zealand, precautionary vaccination programmes have been implemented for a small number of taonga species held in captivity.

However, vaccination is not currently a practical or effective option for free-ranging wildlife populations. As such, prevention and early detection remain the primary tools available.

Wildlife surveillance has increased in recent years, including targeted sampling of wild birds and environmental monitoring at high-risk sites. To date, there is no evidence of H5N1 2.3.4.4b in New Zealand.

However, surveillance systems are limited in their ability to detect rare or early incursions. Ongoing vigilance, including public reporting of sick or dead wildlife, will be critical for early detection and response.

Ultimately, New Zealand’s strongest defence remains time and preparedness

The country’s geographic isolation has bought it a window to strengthen surveillance, improve coordination across wildlife and agricultural sectors and build public awareness. But that window will not remain open indefinitely.

The global trajectory of H5N1 suggests that incursion is a matter of when, not if.

Ensuring rapid detection, strong biosecurity measures and the capacity to scale interventions will be critical to limiting impacts on Aotearoa’s wildlife, primary industries and ecosystems.

– ref. A high-risk bird flu strain is circling the globe. How prepared is NZ? – https://theconversation.com/a-high-risk-bird-flu-strain-is-circling-the-globe-how-prepared-is-nz-278541

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adriana Marin, Lecturer in International Relations, Coventry University

Tommy Shelby returns in Netflix’s new Peaky Blinders film, The Immortal Man, a figure defined by control, composure and calculated violence. He navigates risk, trauma and conflict with an almost unnatural endurance. No matter the pressure, he adapts, survives and remains in charge.

The Immortal Man follows Shelby as he navigates a tightening web of political intrigue and criminal threats beyond Birmingham, forced to operate at a higher, more dangerous level while struggling to maintain control. As power shifts and new alliances form, he is pushed into more dangerous territory, balancing strategy, loyalty and survival, while his past continues to shape his decisions.

Irish actor Cillian Murphy delivers a masterful performance, capturing Shelby’s authority while hinting at the strain beneath the surface.

As the film’s title suggests, Shelby reflects a broader cultural archetype: the “immortal man”. He is not literally invincible, but rather resilient – a character who absorbs damage without collapsing, who endures where others fall apart.

This figure appears consistently in crime drama – Vito and Michael Corleone in The Godfather, Jimmy Conway in Goodfellas, Tony Soprano in The Sopranos – and its popularity reveals something important about how we understand crime, masculinity and power.

Criminology has long challenged the idea that criminal figures are inherently irrational or chaotic. The “enterprise model” of organised crime reframes criminal activity as structured, profit-driven and responsive to market conditions.

From this perspective, participants resemble entrepreneurs operating within illicit economies rather than criminals. Tommy Shelby fits this model closely. His actions are calculated, with violence deployed as a means to an end rather than an impulse.

The emphasis falls on strategy, recognising opportunity, managing risk and consolidating power in ways that echo legitimate business practices. This framing shifts crime away from images of chaos and unpredictability, presenting it instead as controlled and methodical. Yet rationality alone is not enough to account for his appeal.

Masculinity, control and contradiction

Cultural criminology, particularly the work of Jeff Ferrell, draws attention to the symbolic and emotional dimensions of crime. It is not only about material gain, it is also about identity, meaning and representation. Shelby is not just an economic figure but a cultural performer. His authority is constructed through style, symbolism and reputation.

Control, in this sense, is not only exercised but communicated: his presence, speech and appearance are tightly managed, projecting authority through restraint as much as action. This stylisation makes organised crime seem structured and, for some audiences, appealing. The “immortal man” is therefore not just a survivor, but a figure who appears to master both his environment and himself.

This performance of control is inseparable from masculinity. Sociologist R.W. Connell’s concept of “hegemonic masculinity” (the dominant form of masculinity in society that shapes expectations of how men should behave) helps explain Shelby’s appeal.

He embodies authority, emotional restraint and the capacity to command. He leads decisively, conceals vulnerability and maintains dominance across different spheres of life. Yet what makes the character compelling is the tension within this model. Shelby’s authority is shaped by trauma – war, loss and psychological strain.

He aligns with the ideals of dominance while simultaneously revealing their cost. The “immortal man” is defined not by being invincible, but by his ability to endure and keep going under pressure.

In this sense, masculinity is not just power, but the ability to maintain control while carrying internal damage. Shelby intensifies this model, presenting a form of dominant masculinity rooted in survival, where dominance is sustained through emotional containment rather than the absence of vulnerability.

This tension reinforces a familiar expectation: that masculinity is proven through resilience without visible collapse. At the same time, it adds complexity, presenting strength and fragility as intertwined rather than oppositional.

Sociologist Robert Merton’s strain theory suggests that when access to legitimate success is limited, individuals adapt by pursuing alternative routes.

Shelby’s trajectory reflects this logic. He does not reject the pursuit of wealth, status or influence, but he reworks the means of achieving them. Organised crime becomes a rational response to constraint, blurring the boundary between legitimate and illegitimate enterprise.

This is what gives the figure such resonance. Shelby appears to overcome structural limits while maintaining control, offering a version of success that feels both transgressive and recognisable. His appeal lies not only in what he achieves, but in how he achieves it: with certainty, authority and self-possession in contexts where those qualities feel increasingly scarce.

The endurance of this figure reflects wider cultural anxieties. In periods of instability, characters who impose order and act decisively become especially attractive. At the same time, as traditional models of masculinity are questioned, the “immortal man” offers a reassertion of clarity: an identity grounded in independence and dominance.

Shelby represents more than a criminal figure. He becomes a cultural response to uncertainty, embodying a form of masculinity and authority that promises control, even as it quietly reveals the strain required to sustain it.

Rethinking the ‘immortal man’

The issue is not that audiences engage with these narratives, but that their underlying assumptions often go unexamined. The “immortal man” ties together masculinity, power and violence in ways that appear natural but are, in fact, constructed. Authority is best demonstrated through domination, that emotional restraint is a marker of strength, and that success justifies the means by which it is achieved.

These associations are reinforced through repetition. Criminological research offers a more complex picture. Organised crime is rarely as stable or controlled as it appears on screen. It is often characterised by volatility, exploitation and harm, frequently directed at the most vulnerable.

What figures like Shelby offer, then, is not a reflection of reality, but a compelling simplification of it, one that continues to resonate because it speaks to enduring questions about power, identity and control in uncertain times.

There is, ultimately, nothing immortal about men like Tommy Shelby. What endures instead is the narrative itself: a story that continues to resonate because it speaks to persistent anxieties about inequality, control and the limits of legitimate success.

– ref. Peaky Blinders The Immortal Man: why mythic figures like Tommy Shelby continue to captivate us – https://theconversation.com/peaky-blinders-the-immortal-man-why-mythic-figures-like-tommy-shelby-continue-to-captivate-us-279417

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Domenico Vicinanza, Associate Professor of Intelligent Systems and Data Science, Anglia Ruskin University

At 13:24:59 Central Standard Time on December 19 1972, the Apollo 17 command module splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, about 350 nautical miles south-east of Samoa, concluding the last mission to the Moon.

During his career, Apollo 17’s commander, Eugene A. Cernan, logged 566 hours and 15 minutes in space, of which more than 73 hours were spent on the surface of the Moon. Cernan was the second American to have walked in space, and the last person to leave his footprints on the surface of the Moon.

The conclusion of the Apollo 17 journey marked not only the end of a mission, but the close of an era. Between 1969 and 1972, 12 astronauts walked on the Moon over the course of six separate landings.

Half a century later, Nasa is preparing to return under its Artemis programme. For the Artemis II mission, set to launch on April 1 2026, four astronauts will travel in a loop around the Moon in Nasa’s next-generation Orion crew capsule.

More than 50 years is a long gap, and it is only natural to ask if Americans could reach the Moon routinely in the early 1970s, why did it take so long for them to try to go back?

The answer is not simple. It has little to do with technology and much more with how politics, money and global support work. The place to start is with Apollo itself: its model of exploration was not built to last, and was clearly not sustainable.

On May 25 1961, before a joint session of Congress, President John F. Kennedy committed the US to the goal, before the decade was out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.

After Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson ensured that this Moon landing goal was met. But rising costs from the Vietnam war and domestic reforms reduced his appetite for further space investment.

In fact, Nasa’s budget peaked in 1966 and began falling even before Apollo’s success, undermining prospects for sustained exploration. Further funding was declined, planned missions were cancelled, and Apollo ended in 1972 – not because it failed, but because it had accomplished its task.

Sustainable exploration (in space as on Earth) requires stable political commitment, predictable funding, and a clear long-term purpose. After Apollo, the US struggled to maintain all three at once.

Policymakers began to ask what direction Nasa should take next. In 1972, President Richard Nixon directed the space agency to begin building the space shuttle. It would lead Nasa to shift its focus away from deep space exploration towards operations in low-Earth orbit.

Marketed as a reusable “space truck”, the space shuttle was intended to make orbital access routine and affordable. However, it would turn out to be a vehicle of incredible complexity, marred by technical failures and human tragedies – the Challenger and Columbia accidents in which 14 astronauts’ lives were lost.

Eight years into the shuttle programme, some in the space community believed it was time for the US to once again set its sights on the Moon – and the tantalising prospect of a landing on Mars. On July 20 1989, the 20th anniversary of Apollo 11’s first Moon landing, President George H.W. Bush announced the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI).

The plan aimed for a long-term commitment to construct Space Station Freedom, return astronauts to the Moon “to stay”, and finally send humans to the red planet.

However, the high estimated costs of SEI, reaching hundreds of billions of dollars, led to its downfall. Weak support in Congress along with other factors led to its cancellation under Bill Clinton’s presidential administration.

During the 1990s, the International Space Station (ISS) project cemented low-Earth orbit as the priority for human exploration. The space shuttle was the US’s means of building the station and transporting crews to and from the orbiting outpost.

The ISS became a symbol of scientific cooperation and technical prowess. Experiments carried out on the station generated valuable insights into everything from medical research to materials science. However, it also soaked up resources that might otherwise have supported deep-space exploration.

The Columbia disaster in 2003 – in which a space shuttle broke up over Texas with the loss of its crew – led to another rethink of America’s direction in space. As a result, President George W. Bush announced the Vision for Space Exploration.

The aim of this proposal, which would give rise to what was known as the Constellation programme, was to rebuild Nasa’s capability for reaching the Moon, with Mars as its longer-term goal. But independent reviews warned that costs and schedules were unrealistic. Congress never really gave full financial support to Constellation, leading to its cancellation in 2010 during Barack Obama’s presidency.

This repeated cycle of cancelled space projects exposes some inherent limitations to the system for funding lunar exploration. A sustainable Moon programme needs strong multi-sector commitment, and mechanisms in place for guaranteed multi-decade funding.

But such large programmes must compete each year with defence, healthcare and social spending. Electoral turnover and shifting committee leadership in the US further weaken the prospect of continuity.

Lunar exploration has also suffered from an unresolved strategic question: why go back at all? Apollo’s purpose was largely geopolitical, and after the cold war no equally compelling justification really emerged.

Scientific returns from human space missions are limited compared with robotic exploration. Commercial prospects remain uncertain, and prestige alone rarely sustains or secures large budgets.

Maybe a more fitting question is: why does Artemis appear to have escaped the pattern? Well, Nasa argues that sending astronauts back to the lunar surface – and in particular, establishing a sustained presence there – will help researchers learn “how to live and work on another world as we prepare for human missions to Mars”. That is true, up to a point.

Nasa also emphasises that Artemis will be built through commercial partnerships and international cooperation, creating the first long-term human foothold on the Moon.

The programme seems to sit at a carefully crafted intersection of US government leadership, commercial launch capabilities, and a broad coalition of international partners brought together under the Artemis Accords. The accords are a set of common principles regarding the use of the Moon and other targets in outer space, agreed between the US and other countries.

The main difference from previous promises to return to the Moon is that this, at least in theory, spreads risk and widens the base of political support. In practice, though, Artemis remains costly and exposed to shifting budgets and priorities.

There is also a cultural dimension to this question. Apollo created a powerful – albeit fragile – myth of swift, heroic technological advance. Artemis is building its large technological base in societies and democratic contexts where investments and commitments tend to evolve slowly, shaped by negotiation, compromise and competing interests.

If Artemis succeeds, it will be because all the political, economic, societal and scientific incentives have finally aligned in a durable way. But until that alignment is proven, the 50-year gap between Apollo and Artemis is less an engineering puzzle than a reminder of how difficult sustained exploration is for modern democracies.

– ref. Why has it taken so long to return to the Moon? – https://theconversation.com/why-has-it-taken-so-long-to-return-to-the-moon-274640

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicola Welsh-Burke, Sessional Academic in Literary and Cultural Studies, Western Sydney University

In mid-March, an activist group in Rutland County, Vermont, held its usual weekly rally protesting the actions of US president Donald Trump. One protester, Marsha Cassel, led the crowd, dressed as a naked Trump wearing a crown and holding a staff. Cassel was followed by another protester holding a sign proclaiming “THE EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES!”.

This is not the first time Trump has been compared to Hans Christian Andersen’s bumbling emperor, who marched naked through the streets while claiming to be dressed in finery – a fiction many of his subjects willingly indulged.

Who was Andersen, what aspects of his life informed this particular story and why might this be useful to know in the age of Trump?

Andersen was born in Odense, Denmark, in 1805. While his grandfather supposedly claimed noble origins for the family, Andersen’s father was a cobbler and his mother an illiterate washerwoman.

After his father died, Andersen moved to Copenhagen for work, where he found a patron, theatre director Jonas Collin, who paid for his education. Andersen started writing after graduating from university, becoming well known for his fairy tales, which he began publishing in the 1830s.

The Emperor’s New Clothes is in his 1837 work, Fairy Tales Told for Children, which featured other memorable tales such as The Steadfast Tin Soldier and The Little Mermaid.

The story follows a vain and clothes-obsessed emperor who commissions clothing from two travelling conmen. These men, posing as weavers, visit his court to show off a new kind of material, which is supposedly rendered invisible to a man “unfit for the office he held”, or “extraordinarily simple in character”.

Afraid to reveal that he cannot see the material, the emperor sends in several aides to review the process, who all lie about being able to see the clothes being made.

Once the “outfit” is finished, the emperor dons it and parades naked through the town. The townsfolk compliment the garments, until a small child bursts the bubble, yelling out that the emperor has no clothes.

Unable to admit this, the emperor continues on his way. But the townsfolk now laugh.

This simple tale powerfully criticises rulers who tell untruths, performing intelligence and leadership, as well as those who uncritically allow this.

An outsider looking in

Like many fairy tales, the origins of this one stretch back centuries. Older versions date to medieval times. All feature people in power being duped by conmen who play on their vanities about their own intelligence. Literary scholar Hollis Robbins suggests Andersen’s version reflects a newly-emerging working class culture where “professional competence” was “quickly overtaking legitimacy and heritage as a source of aristocratic anxiety”.

In his book The Enchanted Screen: The Unknown History of Fairy-Tale Films, fairy tale scholar Jack Zipes claims Andersen was “embarrassed by his proletarian background” and “rarely mingled with the lower classes” once he found success as a writer.

Andersen never married and more recently, has been understood as a bisexual man. He had infatuations with both men and women, including Edvard Collin (the son of his patron Jonas) and Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind. After a fall in 1872, from which he never recovered, he died in 1875.

Andersen’s lower class background, argues Zipes, meant he was particularly well suited to biting cultural commentary about the difficult path for those escaping poverty.

In one translation of The Emperor’s New Clothes, the child who proclaims the nudity of the emperor is called “the voice of innocence” by his father. This voice spreads through the crowd, leading to the comical image of the naked emperor’s aides striving to lift the invisible train of his outfit even higher.

Regardless of one’s position in life, this story suggests you cannot escape “suffering, humiliation, and torture,” writes Zipes.

Indeed, many of Andersen’s tales feature characters (often frail, young women) who suffer immensely before dying nobly. The Emperor’s New Clothes, with its child character as the voice of reason, has an ending that, while not “happily ever after”, is as lighthearted as Andersen gets.

The power of fairy tales

The fairy tale is one of the most recognisable literary genres. We hear them from such a young age it is almost like we were born knowing them. Beginning as oral folktales, many of the tales we know today were first written down in 16th and 17th century France, Italy and Germany as social commentary and educational stories.

It is difficult to identify the “originals” of many tales, given their folkloric origins. Still, while it is almost stereotypical now to note that the “original fairy tales” (before contemporary Disney adaptations) were surprisingly dark Andersen’s are noticeably, and notably, bleak.

The Emperor’s New Clothes has been retold many times, with print, screen and musical adaptations. As Donald Trump, in the words of one pundit, continues to “construct a narrative, declare it to be true and relentlessly force the world to submit to it”, the story resonates today.

Indeed, literary academic Naomi Wood has argued that in a post 9/11 world, a “terrifying possibility” emerges in readings of the tale.

The truth of the fairy tale is not its glorification of the voice of innocence, free from corruption and untruth. Rather, it is that adults will continue to believe their own lies, even when they are clearly revealed. As a result, we allow the parade to continue, even while knowing it is farcical.

– ref. The Emperor’s New Clothes – a fairy tale for our times? – https://theconversation.com/the-emperors-new-clothes-a-fairy-tale-for-our-times-279558

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Melville, Senior Curator, Terrestrial Vertebrates, Museums Victoria Research Institute

In the 19th century, natural history was a field dominated by men: collectors, curators and naturalists. Names such as John Gould and John James Audubon are well known for their contributions to ornithology.

Far less familiar is Jane Catherine Tost (nee Ward, 1816–1889), a skilled taxidermist and naturalist who worked alongside leading figures of her era, and became the first woman employed in a professional role at an Australian museum.

Recent archival research has brought new attention to Tost’s life and career, revealing the extent of her contribution to 19th century natural history. While, to our knowledge, no images of her have survived, many of her works are still in museum collections.

Tost’s story is the subject of my new book, For Her Love of Birds, published by Museums Victoria.

Early life in London

Jane Catherine Ward was born in 1816 into a family closely connected to the London bird trade. Her father was a bird breeder, and her older brothers, like Jane, were taxidermists.

In 1825, her eldest brother, James Frederick Ward, entered a partnership with the young naturalist John Gould. Operating from Golden Square, London, the pair advertised themselves as “bird stuffers to the King”, preparing specimens for elite clients.

Evidence uncovered for this book confirms James Frederick Ward was Gould’s first business partner, a detail not recognised in previous histories. The partnership ended in 1828 after Gould was appointed to a curatorial role at the Zoological Society of London.

But the Ward family remained active in scientific circles. They developed an association with the naturalist John James Audubon, and Jane’s brothers travelled to the United States to assist him in collecting bird specimens. Her brother Edwin Henry Ward accompanied Audubon on his first trip into the Florida Territories in 1831.

Jane remained in London, where she developed her own expertise as a taxidermist. By 1838, at the age of 21, she was working for Gould, preparing bird specimens for his projects – including those from his travels across Australia.

Her position was unusual, considering how few women worked in paid scientific fields back then. Indeed, in 1838, of the 18 taxidermists listed in the trade directories, none were women.

But in the 1841 census, Jane listed herself as a taxidermist (or bird stuffer, as they were known then).

Hardship and emigration

Jane married Charles Tost, a Prussian-born pianoforte maker, in 1839. Yet she continued working while raising a family.

During the 1840s they experienced financial hardship. And, like many others living in London during this period, they faced the threat of disease, instability, and personal tragedy.

Moving from London to Nottingham 1850, Jane opened her own business, advertising herself as a leading naturalist and using her maiden name “Ward” alongside her married name. Her work as an independent, professional naturalist gathered considerable attention in the local papers.

In 1855, the family emigrated to Australia. Although it has been previously reported they travelled to Australia on the Indian Queen, research for this new book uncovered documentation they sailed on the fast-clipper Schomberg, bound for Melbourne.

The voyage was fraught with problems, which came to a head on a stormy night two days after Christmas when the ship wrecked on the Victorian coast. Although all passengers were rescued, the ship was lost.

The Tost family eventually continued on to Tasmania, all their belongings at the bottom of the sea.

A new career in Australia

In Hobart Town, Jane began working for the Royal Society of Tasmania, preparing specimens for their new museum, which would later become the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. Her work was well regarded, and she contributed to displays that would be shown internationally, including in an 1862 exhibition held at the Crystal Palace.

Seeking broader professional opportunities, Jane moved her family to Sydney. There she established a taxidermy business and undertook work for private clients and public exhibitions. Her work, including a well-publicised display of alpacas that won medals at the International Exhibition in London in 1862, helped establish her reputation.

Her most significant appointment came when Australian Museum director and curator Gerard Krefft employed her as a taxidermist in 1863. She was paid £10 per week, the same wage as the men. In this role, she repaired and prepared specimens for display when the museum’s collections required extensive restoration.

Her employment marked a milestone: she was the first woman appointed to a professional position at the Australian Museum, and likely one of the first at a museum globally.

Her legacy

Despite her achievements, Jane’s career was not free from difficulty. Heated disputes within the museum led to the dismissal of her husband, who had also been employed there, and she subsequently lost her position. The family again faced financial strain.

Following further tragedies, Jane and her daughter Ada established a taxidermy business opposite the museum. Over time, it became one of the leading taxidermy establishments in Australia, supplying specimens to museums and private collectors globally.

Jane continued working until her death in 1889, exhibiting at international exhibitions in London, Paris, Calcutta and Chicago.

Although her name faded from mainstream accounts of scientific history, Jane Ward Tost played a significant role in the development of natural history collections in both Britain and Australia.

The full extent of her life – spanning professional achievement, migration, personal loss and resilience – is finally being fully documented.

Her story offers a new perspective on the people who underpinned 19th century museums and natural history, and on the women whose expertise helped build museum collections that still exist today.

– ref. Jane Ward Tost was a trailblazer in natural sciences – until history forgot her – https://theconversation.com/jane-ward-tost-was-a-trailblazer-in-natural-sciences-until-history-forgot-her-276764