Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Ong ViforJ, John Curtin Distinguished Professor & ARC Future Fellow, Curtin University

For young Australians, breaking into the housing market feels tougher than ever. Many now fear they’ll never be able to own a home.

Despite public debates on whether it’s truly harder to buy a house than it was decades ago, falling homeownership rates across generations suggest the market has indeed shifted significantly against those just starting out.

But if it’s so difficult, how are some young people still managing to buy homes? Our newly published study set out to investigate the major barriers – and the factors – that might tip the scales in favour of ownership.

Despite the challenges imposed by high home prices relative to incomes, some young Australians are still finding a way onto the property ladder.

While being a good saver helps, a boost from the “bank of mum and dad” can be a game changer.

A fading dream

Using 14 years of data from the 2006-2020 government-funded Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, we tracked independent adults aged 25-44 who were not homeowners.

Our calculations from the HILDA survey show for those aged 25-44 , average house prices across major cities in 2006 were 4.5 times the average household income.

In Sydney, for example, the average price of properties faced by these young people was about A$600,000 in 2006 while the average household income was $102,000.

Across major cities, this ratio rose steadily to 6 times income in 2018, before dropping slightly to 5.4 times income at the start of the pandemic.

For young people in cities, house prices are spiralling upward at faster rates than their incomes.

A generous ‘bank’ available to some

As property markets have become more unaffordable, the share of non-homeowning young people receiving help from the “bank of mum and dad” has climbed.

We estimated from the HILDA survey that in 2006, 3.1% of this group received more than $5,000 in transfers or inheritance from their parents, rising to 5.3% by 2020.

Young people are good savers

Contrary to popular some commentary that young people are unable to purchase a house because they are spending their money on “smashed avocados”, young people are actually saving more.

In 2006, around two-thirds of non-homeowning adults aged 25-44 saved regularly by putting money aside each month, saved non-regular income, or saved money left over after they met their spending needs. This proportion increased to four in five of young non-homeowning adults in 2020.

In general, young non-homeowners are also financially planning further ahead. In 2006, 47% were planning more than a year ahead. By 2020, this share had risen to 55%.

How are some young people buying houses?

We looked at how the personal saving habits of young people influence their homeownership chances, taking each person’s finances and living situation into account.

Not surprisingly, saving regularly does improve the likelihood of eventually buying a house. However, being a regular saver is much less likely to offset the impact of rising prices than parental help.

Our research found that once prices exceed three times an individual’s income, their odds of becoming a homeowner are halved.

In much of Australia, prices are already well above that mark. In all state capitals, they’ve gone beyond six times annual household income – a line where the odds of homeownership fall to about a third.

However, we found having access to the “bank of mum and dad” can shift these odds dramatically.

We found receiving financial assistance of more than $5,000 quadruples the odds of becoming a homeowner.

Parents also help in indirect ways. Young people living in rent-free dwellings provided by family or friends had more than double the odds of private renters.

This puts those from well-off families at a distinct advantage. Those without parental assistance face steeper deposit hurdles and risk missing out on access to areas with better job prospects.

How governments can help

For those without parental assistance, governments have an important role to play. Property prices will continue to soar faster than incomes grow, unless policies are implemented to address both supply and demand challenges.

Loosening restrictions on mortgage borrowing could help some first homebuyers overcome the hurdle to homeownership. But there’s a worrying trade-off between making it easier to borrow and exposing young people to more financial risk.

Government grants that place more cash into the hands of first-time homebuyers will likely push house prices up further, unless supply of entry-level properties can keep up.

Such grants should also be carefully targeted to those without access to personal or family resources to help buy a home.

Finally, tax reforms could be used to increase the supply of dwellings in first homeowner entry markets, and hold back demand from multi-property owners who can crowd out first-time home buyers.

Read more:
Our housing system is broken and the poorest Australians are being hardest hit

Rachel Ong ViforJ is the recipient of an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (project FT200100422). She also receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute.

Christopher Phelps and Jack Hewton do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. We know how hard it is for young people to buy a home – so how are some still doing it anyway? – https://theconversation.com/we-know-how-hard-it-is-for-young-people-to-buy-a-home-so-how-are-some-still-doing-it-anyway-248666

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amanda Meyer, Senior Lecturer, Anatomy and Pathology, James Cook University

A common anatomical variation is being born with more than ten fingers or more than ten toes.

Former Doctor Who actor David Tennant this week confirmed he has 11 toes. He says he was born with an extra toe on his right foot, meaning he has polydactyly.

Here’s how this anatomical variation occurs, and how common it really is.

Let’s start in the womb

The term polydactyly is derived from the Greek poly (meaning many) and dactyly (referring to fingers or toes or digits). To understand it, we need to start with how an embryo develops in the womb.

Developing hands and feet start as limb buds, which look like little flat paddles. But with polydactyly, an extra finger or toe grows from the limb bud.

Based on the research literature, about one in 700–1,000 people born have polydactyly. Having an extra finger on the side of your little finger or having an extra toe on the side of your little toe is the most common form.

If the extra digit doesn’t have bone, or has poor muscle connections to the hand or foot, it won’t work. So it is usually cut off or tied off with a suture (specialised medical string) straight after you are born.

Less commonly, people are born with double thumb tips or an extra thumb. Seeing as we use our thumbs so often, an orthopaedic surgeon may need to remove the extra bones to improve use of the thumb.

The rarest type of polydactyly affects the fourth finger (ring finger) or the second toe (next to your big toe).

Does it run in families?

Ten known syndromes (groups of associated symptoms) are linked to polydactyly: Bardet-Biedl, McKusick-Kaufman, Carpenter, Saethre-Chotzen, Poland, Greig cephalosyndactyly, short-rib, Pallister-Hall, Triphalangeal thumb and Smith-Lemli-Opitz. Many of these are rare syndromes people are born with, usually affect the head and upper limbs, and will have been diagnosed by a paediatrician early in life.

If you have polydactyly and you don’t have one of those syndromes, it means you inherited a dominant mutated gene from your ancestors. In other words, one of your parents would have passed this on to you when you were conceived.

Tennant does not appear to have any of these syndromes. So we can probably presume he inherited a mutated copy of a gene related to his polydactyly from one of his parents.

How about webbed fingers and toes?

Another common anatomical variation is when people have fused or “webbed” fingers or toes, known as syndactyly. This term comes from syn (meaning together with) and dactyly (referring to fingers or toes).

Syndactyly also arises in the womb. When individual fingers and toes develop from the paddle-like limb buds, cells in between the growing fingers and toes have to die and disappear. But if the cells don’t die and disappear, they can cause webbing or fusing.

Based on the medical literature, about one in 2,000–3,000 people born have syndactyly. So it’s about three times less common than polydactyly.

There are nine different types of syndactyly, and 11 syndromes associated with it. Eight of the syndromes are also associated with polydactyly. The other three are Apert and Pfeiffer syndromes, and acrocephalosyndactyly.

For most types of syndactyly you only have to inherit one mutated copy of the gene from one parent to get the variation.

American actor Ashton Kutcher looks to have syndactyly, with his skin fused to the first joint between his second and third toes.

In a nutshell

You might be surprised how common anatomical variations are in your fingers and toes, whether that’s having an extra digit, like Tennant, or fused ones, like Kutcher.

But these are just a few examples of the rich diversity of variation in our anatomy, some of which are visible, some not.

Read more:
A man lived to old age without knowing he may have had 3 penises

Amanda Meyer is affiliated with the Australian and New Zealand Association of Clinical Anatomists, the American Association for Anatomy, and the Global Neuroanatomy Network.

Alexandra Trollope 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. Actor David Tennant has an extra toe. Two anatomists explain what’s so fascinating about polydactyly – https://theconversation.com/actor-david-tennant-has-an-extra-toe-two-anatomists-explain-whats-so-fascinating-about-polydactyly-249139

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nathan Cooper, Associate Professor of Law, University of Waikato

The announcement of New Zealand’s new climate pledge under the Paris Agreement was met with sharp criticism last week.

The agreement commits nations to provide a new pledge, known as a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) every five years. But it also requires each pledge to be a “progression beyond” the previous one.

Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced New Zealand would commit to reducing emissions by 51-55% below 2005 levels by 2035, which is only 1-5% above the current NDC of a 50% cut by 2030.

Technically, the new NDC represents a progression, albeit the smallest possible one. It was criticised as underwhelming and unambitious to combat climate change, raising the question whether the coalition government has done enough to comply with its international obligations.

The commitments of each member nation should align with the Paris Agreement’s purpose to hold global average temperature rise well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to keep it at 1.5°C.

But the agreement also requires that each country’s NDC reflects its “highest possible ambition, reflecting its common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in light of different national circumstances”.

Does the government’s announcement to step up emissions cuts by as little as 1% really represent New Zealand’s highest possible ambition in present circumstances?

In October last year, looking specifically at New Zealand’s potential domestic contribution to the new NDC, the Climate Change Commission advised that emissions cuts of 66% could be achieved without shrinking the economy.

This excludes potential additional cuts achieved through offshore mitigation – paying for overseas carbon credits or funding other countries to reduce their greenhouse emissions.

Clearly, deeper cuts are possible and there is room for significantly greater ambition.

Bare minimum commitment

Even if the new NDC meets a minimal requirement for compliance, it is difficult to see how it adheres to the purpose of the Paris Agreement and the level of ambition required.

New Zealand’s NDC falls short of the commitments offered by other comparable countries and even some developing nations, including the oil and gas producer Brazil, which pledged to cut its emissions by 59-67% by 2035.

International law has long been guided by the principle of pacta sunt servanda, which translates to “agreements must be kept”. The principle reminds parties to any agreement or convention that all international obligations should be fulfilled in good faith.

Viewing New Zealand’s new NDC in the context of other recent decisions, it seems the coalition government may be pursuing policies that could undermine climate action while pledging the bare minimum internationally. This would be difficult to characterise as a party acting in good faith.

Immediately following the new NDC announcement, Resources Minister Shane Jones unveiled New Zealand’s national minerals strategy, along with a list of critical minerals.
These documents support the government’s goal to double exports from the mineral sector by 2035.

Despite reassurance in the strategy that minerals production will not come at the expense of our environment, it includes plans to scale up exports of metallurgical coal. But mining more of this coal, then burning it (usually in the process of steelmaking), will add to greenhouse gas emissions.

Wider concerns about the likely environmental damage and biodiversity loss linked with fast-tracked mining operations continue to be raised.

Meeting trade obligations

Last year’s decision to postpone the entry of agriculture into New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme without a robust alternative means that agricultural emissions continue to avoid effective regulation.

Even recent measures to allow increased road speed limits have been criticised for increasing greenhouse gas emissions as well as worsening air quality and reducing road safety.

Despite Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s claim to be “all about yes” even on climate change, such decisions are difficult to square with a responsible party to the Paris Agreement acting in good faith.

The Paris Agreement is clear that emissions pledges are not imposed but are to be determined nationally. The agreement itself lacks an enforcement mechanism, but recently agreed trade deals with the European Union and with the United Kingdom both contain binding and enforceable commitments to the agreement.

This is a reminder that trading partners are already monitoring New Zealand’s climate actions. Consumer attitudes and trade obligations might become a more powerful lever for climate action in the future. No government should ignore this.

As the US administration begins to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, now more than ever is the time for other countries to stay focused on its purpose and to match national commitments accordingly.

Without an NDC in line with the Paris goal, New Zealand’s government is not sending the right message to New Zealanders or to our trading partners and neighbours. It is failing to show international and regional leadership at a time when many Pacific nations are on the frontline of climate-related risk and damage.

Nathan Cooper 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. Unambitious and undermined: why NZ’s latest climate pledge lacks the crucial ‘good faith’ factor – https://theconversation.com/unambitious-and-undermined-why-nzs-latest-climate-pledge-lacks-the-crucial-good-faith-factor-248877

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giselle Woodley, Researcher and PhD Candidate, School of Arts and Humanities, Edith Cowan University

Consent education has been mandatory in Australian schools since 2023.

Amid growing public understanding we need to reduce sexual violence and teach young people about healthy relationships, consent is now part of the national curriculum until Year 10.

But is this education working?

Our research with teens suggest some young people are not coming away with an adequate understanding of consent or how to use it in their relationships.

What is consent education supposed to involve?

Before 2023, consent was taught at the discretion of each school as part of relationships and sexuality education classes. The Morrison government announced age-appropriate consent lessons in 2022, to start in the first year of school.

The aim is to teach students about the importance of consent, ensuring they understand it is an ongoing agreement between individuals. This means consent needs to be actively sought and freely given.

It is still largely up to individual schools to work out how they teach the material.

Read more:
Wondering how to teach your kids about consent? Here’s an age-based guide to get you started

Our research

This research is part of a broader study of young people’s perceptions of online sexual content and experiences of relationships and sexuality education.

For our research, we have spoken to 46 Australian teens (aged 11-17) through a mix of interviews and focus groups. The interviews were done between 2021-2023 and the focus groups were held in December 2023.

As part of this, we asked interviewees what they learned about consent at school. The comments in this article were made after consent education became compulsory.

‘Nothing’ about how to speak to peers

While some young people told us their schools had over-emphasised consent – “like they’ve gone through everything” – other interviewees found the lessons difficult to apply in their lives. As one focus group participant (in a group of mixed genders, aged 14-16) explained:

[Young people are] taught in a basic stereotypical movie way like ‘no’, ‘stop that’, but they don’t actually teach, like, real-life situations.

Lauren* (14) added young people were only taught “if you didn’t want to have sex, then just say no”. As she explained, teens need more practical advice on how to respond to potential partners. This includes:

more focus on examples of other people asking for sex and what [to] do if you were asked to have sex with someone [or] on how to say ‘no’.

Another participant (from a focus group of mixed-genders, aged 14-16) noted how saying “no” was more complex than what school lessons suggested and teens could be taught how to advocate for themselves:

Especially for non-confrontational people ‘cause my friend, [a] creepy guy was being really weird to her, and she wouldn’t say anything about it ‘cause she’s so nice and other people had to step up for her because she wouldn’t tell him that she didn’t want it.

‘We don’t want to get in trouble’

Interviewees told us how consent is often discussed within the context of unwanted sex and sexual assault, or as Tiffany (15) explained “all the negative things”. This may contribute to fears about sexual activity.

Young people also saw consent as a means to avoid “getting into trouble”, rather than checking the comfort and willingness of their sexual partners.
As Warren (17) told us:

My friend group that I hang out with, we’re very big on consent. That’s because we’ve heard of cases where people might not have got consent, then they’ve got in trouble because of it […] we don’t want to get in trouble for doing the wrong thing […]

In response to discussions about affirmative consent laws, and the need to demonstrate consent has been sought and given, Warren continued:

I don’t know how I’d go about getting it every time, like, if I just invited a girl over [do] I have to get it in writing or something?

He added he and his friends were thinking about having partners sign a form during their end-of-school celebrations:

if we bring girls back, we want them to sign a consent form or something like that. That’s an idea we had.

There are several issues with teens thinking they need a written form for sex. Not only is it transactional and impractical, it could create an idea someone is not “allowed” to withdraw consent at any time. It also presents consent as a simple box-ticking exercise for “yes” or “no”, when it should be based on mutual respect and care, as part of an evolving discussion.

Going beyond consent

We only interviewed a modest sample of students from Perth. But our study feeds into other research suggesting “consent” in itself may not stop or prevent sexual violence. That is, even if one partner says “yes” it does not mean the sex is free from coercion or is pleasurable.

Other Australian studies have found young people can demonstrate high levels of knowledge about consent but may not know how to apply it.

This suggests young people need more skills and knowledge than simply being told to “seek consent” – a low bar for ethical sex. Consent education also needs to explore communication skills, self-confidence, pleasure, love and relationship dynamics: all topics teens tell us they want to learn about.

This should not be taken as a criticism of passionate, hardworking teachers and schools. But it suggests they need more support and training to provide consent education in ways young people can actually use.

*names have been changed.

Imogen Senior from Body Safety Australia, Gracie Cayley from the Kids Research Institute, Associate Professor Debra Dudek and Dr Harrison W. See from Edith Cowan University contributed to the research on which this article is based.

This study was funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project Adolescents’ perceptions of harm from accessing online sexual content (DP 190102435). Primary funding was received from the ARC. The focus groups, were part-funded by Edith Cowan University’s School of Arts and Humanities: School research investment fund as part of the Love Studies’ Teenagers, Consent, and Sex Education project. Giselle Woodley is a member of Bloom-Ed, a relationships and sexuality education advocacy group, whose views are not expressed here. Giselle is also an expert advisor for ‘On your terms’ a consent study run by the Australian Human Rights Commission and funded by the Commonwealth Department of Education.

Lelia Green is part of the Australian Research Council’s Discovery Project funding scheme (project DP190102435). The views expressed here are those of the authors and not necessarily of the Australian government or the ARC.

– ref. ‘Do I have to get it in writing?’ Even with compulsory lessons, some teens are confused about how consent works – https://theconversation.com/do-i-have-to-get-it-in-writing-even-with-compulsory-lessons-some-teens-are-confused-about-how-consent-works-248771

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mandy Hagstrom, Senior Lecturer, Exercise Physiology. School of Health Sciences, UNSW Sydney

Callisthenics is a type of training where you do bodyweight exercises to build strength. It’s versatile, low cost, and easy to start.

Classic callisthenics moves include:

• push ups
• bodyweight squats
• chin ups
• burpees
• lunges using only your bodyweight.

Advanced callisthenics includes movements like muscle-ups (where you pull yourself above a bar) and flagpole holds (where you hold yourself perpendicular to a pole).

In callisthenics, you often do a lot of repetitions (or “reps”) of these sorts of moves, which is what can make it a hybrid strength and cardio workout. In the gym, by contrast, many people take the approach of “lifting heavy” but doing fewer reps to build serious strength.

Traditionally, callisthenics was more of a muscle sculpting, strength-based work out. It is reportedly based on techniques used by ancient Greek soldiers.

The Oxford Dictionary says the term callisthenics – which is said to be based on the Greek word κάλλος or kállos (meaning beauty) and σθένος or sthenos (meaning strength) – first started showing up in popular discourse the early 1800s.

Callisthenics is often associated with high intensity interval training (HIIT) routines, where jumping, skipping or burpees are combined with bodyweight strength-building exercises such as push ups and body weight squats (often for many reps).

Callisthenics exercises draw on your natural movement; when children climb on monkey bars and jump between pieces of play equipment, they’re basically doing callisthenics.

What are the benefits of callisthenics?

It all depends on how you do callisthenics; what you put in will dictate what you get out.

When exercise programs combine resistance training (such as lifting weights or doing bodyweight exercises) and aerobic exercise, the result is better health and a reduced likelihood of death from a variety of different causes.

Callisthenics provide a low cost, time efficient way of exercising this way.

With improvements in body composition, muscular strength, and posture, it’s easy to see why it’s become a popular way to train.

Research has also shown callisthenics is better at reducing body fat and controlling blood sugar for people with diabetes when compared to pilates.

Research has also shown doing callisthenics can reduce body fat and increase lean muscle mass in soccer players, although this research does not compare the benefits between different exercise program types.

That means we don’t know if callisthenics is better than other traditional forms of exercise – just that it does more than nothing.

What are the potential drawbacks?

With callisthenics, it can be hard to progress past a certain point. If your goal is to get really big muscles, it may be hard to get there with callisthenics alone. It would likely be simpler for most people to gain muscle in a gym using traditional methods such as machine and free weights with a combination of various sets and reps.

If you want to progress in the gym, you can increase your dumbbells by small increments, such as 1kg. In callisthenics, however, you may find the jump from one exercise to the next too big to achieve. You risk a plateau in your training without some challenging work-arounds.

Another advantage of traditional strength training with bands, machines, or free weights is that it also increases flexibility and range of motion.

However, 2023 research found “no significant range of motion improvement with resistance training using only body mass.” So, given its focus on bodyweight exercises, it seems unlikely callisthenics alone would significantly improve your flexibility and range of motion.

Unfortunately, there is no long-term research examining the benefits of callisthenics in direct comparison to traditional aerobic training or resistance training.

Is callisthenics for me?

Well, that depends on your goal.

If you want to get really strong, lift heavy.

If you want to increase your muscle mass, try lifting near to the point of “failure”. That means lifting a weight to the point where you feel that you are close to fatigue, or close to the point that you may need to stop. The key here is that you don’t have to get to the point of failure to achieve muscle growth – but you do have to put in sufficient effort.

If you want to get lean, focus first on nutrition, and then understand that either cardio, lifting or both can help.

What if you’re time poor, or don’t have a gym membership? Well, callisthenics exercises offer some of the cardio benefits of a run, and some of the muscular benefits of a lifting session, all tied up in one neat package.

It can be a great holiday workout at a local park or playground, on public outdoor exercise equipment, or even on the deck of a holiday rental.

But, as with all exercise, there are potential benefits and limitations of callisthenics.

Callisthenics has its place, but, for most, it’s likely best used as just one part of a well-rounded training routine.

Mandy Hagstrom is affiliated with Sports Oracle, a company that delivers the IOC diploma in Strength and Conditioning.

Justin Keogh 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. What is callisthenics? And how does it compare to running or lifting weights? – https://theconversation.com/what-is-callisthenics-and-how-does-it-compare-to-running-or-lifting-weights-246326

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milad Haghani, Associate Professor & Principal Fellow in Urban Risk & Resilience, The University of Melbourne

In 1972, the US meteorologist Edward Lorenz asked a now-famous question:

Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?

Over the next 50 years, the so-called “butterfly effect” captivated the public imagination. It has appeared in movies, books, motivational and inspirational speeches, and even casual conversation.

The image of the tiny flapping butterfly has come to stand for the outsized impact of small actions, or even the inherent unpredictability of life itself. But what was Lorenz – who is now remembered as the founder of the branch of mathematics called chaos theory – really getting at?

A simulation goes wrong

Our story begins in the 1960s, when Lorenz was trying to use early computers to predict the weather. He had built a basic weather simulation that used a simplified model, designed to calculate future weather patterns.

One day, while re-running a simulation, Lorenz decided to save time by restarting the calculations from partway through. He manually inputted the numbers from halfway through a previous printout.

But instead of inputting, let’s say, 0.506127, he entered 0.506 as the starting point of the calculations. He thought the small difference would be insignificant.

He was wrong. As he later told the story:

I started the computer again and went out for a cup of coffee. When I returned about an hour later, after the computer had generated about two months of data, I found that the new solution did not agree with the original one. […] I realized that if the real atmosphere behaved in the same manner as the model, long-range weather prediction would be impossible, since most real weather elements were certainly not measured accurately to three decimal places.

There was no randomness in Lorenz’s equations. The different outcome was caused by the tiny change in the input numbers.

Lorenz realised his weather model – and by extension, the real atmosphere – was extremely sensitive to initial conditions. Even the smallest difference at the start – even something as small as the flap of a butterfly’s wings – could amplify over time and make accurate long-term predictions impossible.

Lorenz initially used “the flap of a seagull’s wings” to describe his findings, but switched to “butterfly” after noticing a remarkable feature of the solutions to his equations.

In his weather model, when he plotted the solutions, they formed a swirling, three-dimensional shape that never repeated itself. This shape — called the Lorenz attractor — looked strikingly like a butterfly with two looping wings.

Welcome to chaos

Lorenz’s efforts to understand weather led him to develop chaos theory, which deals with systems that follow fixed rules but behave in ways that seem unpredictable.

These systems are deterministic, which means the outcome is entirely governed by initial conditions. If you know the starting point and the rules of the system, you should be able to predict the future outcome.

There is no randomness involved. For example, a pendulum swinging back and forth is deterministic — it operates based on the laws of physics.

Systems governed by the laws of nature, where human actions don’t play a central role, are often deterministic. In contrast, systems involving humans, such as financial markets, are not typically considered deterministic due to the unpredictable nature of human behaviour.

A chaotic system is a system that is deterministic but nevertheless behaves unpredictably. The unpredictability happens because chaotic systems are extremely sensitive to initial conditions. Even the tiniest differences at the start can grow over time and lead to wildly different outcomes.

Chaos is not the same as randomness. In a random system, outcomes have no definitive underlying order. In a chaotic system, however, there is order, but it’s so complex it appears disordered.

A misunderstood meme

Like many scientific ideas in popular culture, the butterfly effect has often been misunderstood and oversimplified.

One common misconception is that the butterfly effect implies every small action leads to massive consequences. In reality, not all systems are chaotic, and for systems that aren’t, small changes usually result in small effects.

Another is that the butterfly effect carries a sense of inevitability, as though every butterfly in the Amazon is triggering tornadoes in Texas with each flap of its wings.

This is not at all correct. It’s simply a metaphor pointing out that small changes in chaotic systems can amplify over time, making long-term outcomes impossible to predict with precision.

Taming butterflies

Systems that are very sensitive to initial conditions are very hard to predict. Weather systems are still tricky, for example.

Forecasts have improved a lot since Lorenz’s early efforts, but they are still only reliable for a week or so. After that, small errors or imprecisions in the starting data grow larger and larger, eventually making the forecast inaccurate.

To deal with the butterfly effect, meteorologists use a method called ensemble forecasting. They run many simulations, each starting with slightly different initial conditions.

By comparing the results, they can estimate the range of possible outcomes and their likelihoods. For example, if most simulations predict rain but a few predict sunshine, forecasters can report a high probability of rain.

However, even this approach works only up to a point. As time goes on, the predictions from the models diverge rapidly. Eventually, the differences between the simulations become so large that even their average no longer provides useful information about what will happen on a given day at a given location.

A butterfly effect for the butterfly effect?

The journey of the butterfly effect from a rigorous scientific concept to a widely popular metaphor highlights how ideas can evolve as they move beyond their academic roots.

While this has helped bring attention to a complex scientific concept, it has also led to oversimplifications and misconceptions about what it really means.

Attaching a metaphor to a scientific phenomenon and releasing it into popular culture can lead to its gradual distortion.

Any tiny inaccuracies or imprecision in the initial description can be amplified over time, until the final outcome is a long way from reality. Sound familiar?

Milad Haghani 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 butterfly effect: this obscure mathematical concept has become an everyday idea, but do we have it all wrong? – https://theconversation.com/the-butterfly-effect-this-obscure-mathematical-concept-has-become-an-everyday-idea-but-do-we-have-it-all-wrong-246577

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Fan Yang, Research fellow at Melbourne Law School, the University of Melbourne and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society., The University of Melbourne

Migrants in Australia often encounter disinformation targeting their communities. However, disinformation circulated in non-English languages and within private chat groups often falls beyond the reach of Australian public agencies, national media and platform algorithms.

This regulatory gap means migrant communities are disproportionately targeted during crises, elections and referendums when misinformation and disinformation are amplified.

With a federal election just around the corner, we wanted to understand how migrants come across disinformation, how they respond to it, and importantly, what can be done to help.

Read more:
Misinformation, disinformation and hoaxes: What’s the difference?

Our research

Our research finds political disinformation circulates both online and in person among friends and family.

Between 2023 and 2024, we carried out a survey with 192 respondents. We then conducted seven focus groups with 14 participants who identify as having Chinese or South Asian cultural heritage.

We wanted to understand their experiences of political engagement and media consumption in Australia.

An important challenge faced by research participants is online disinformation. This issue was already long-standing and inadequately addressed by Australian public agencies and technology companies, even before Meta ended its fact-checking program.

Lack of diversity in news

Our study finds participants read news and information from a diverse array of traditional and digital media services with heightened sense of caution.

They encounter disinformation in two ways.

The first is information misrepresenting their identity, culture, and countries of origin, particularly found in English-language Australian national media.

The second is targeted disinformation distributed across non-English social media services, including in private social media channels.

From zero (no trust) to five (most trusted), we asked our survey participants to rank their trust towards Australian national media sources. This included the ABC, SBS, The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, 9 News and the 7 Network.

Participants reported a medium level of trust (three).

Our focus groups explained the mistrust participants have towards both traditional and social media news sources. Their thoughts echoed other research with migrants. For instance, a second-generation South Asian migrant said:

it feels like a lot of marketing with traditional media […] they use marketing language to persuade people in a certain way.

Several participants of Chinese and South Asian cultural backgrounds reported that Australian national media misrepresent their culture and identity due to a lack of genuine diversity within news organisations. One said:

the moment you’re a person of colour, everyone thinks that you’re Chinese. And we do get painted with the same paintbrush. It is very frustrating […]

Another added:

Sri Lanka usually gets in the media for cricket mainly, travel and tourism. So apart from that, there’s not a lot of deep insight.

For migrants, the lack of genuine engagement with their communities and countries of origin distorts public understanding, reducing migrants to a one-dimensional, often stereotypical, portrayal. This oversimplification undermines migrants’ trust in Australian national media.

Participants also expressed minimal trust in news and information on social media. They often avoid clicking on headline links, including those shared by Australian national media outlets. According to a politically active male participant of Chinese-Malaysian origin:

I don’t really like reading Chinese social media even though I’m very active on WeChat and subscribe to some news just to see what’s going on. I don’t rely on them because I usually don’t trust them and can often spot mistakes and opinionated editorials rather than actual news.

Consuming news from multiple sources to understand a range of political leanings is a strategy many participants employed to counteract biased or partial news coverage. This was particularly the case on issues of personal interest, such as human rights and climate change.

Read more:
About half the Asian migrants we surveyed said they didn’t fully understand how our voting systems work. It’s bad for our democracy

What can be done?

Currently, Australia lacks effective mechanisms to combat online disinformation targeting migrant communities, especially those whose first language is not English.

Generalised counter-disinformation approaches (such as awareness camapaigns) fail to be effective even when translated into multiple languages.

This is because the disinformation circulating in these communities is often highly targeted and tailored. Scaremongering around geopolitical, economic and immigration policies is a common theme. These narratives are too specific for a population-level approach to work.

Our focus groups revealed that the burden of addressing disinformation often falls on family members or close friends. This responsibility is particularly carried by community-minded individuals with higher levels of media and digital knowledge. Women and younger family members play a key role.

Focus group members told us how they explained Australian political events to their families in terms they were more familiar with.

During the Voice to Parliament referendum, one participant referenced China’s history of resistance against Japanese Imperialism to help a Chinese-Australian friend better understand the consequences of colonialism and its impacts on Australia’s First Nations communities.

Younger women participants shared that combating online disinformation is an emotionally taxing process. This is especially so when it occurs within the family, often leading to conflicts. One said:

I’m so tired of intervening to be honest, and mostly it’s family […] my parents and close friends and alike. There is so much misinformation passed around on WhatsApp or socials. When I do see someone take a very strong stand, usually my father or my mother, I step in.

Intervening in an informal way doesn’t always work. Family dynamics, gender hierarchies and generational differences can impede these efforts.

Countering disinformation requires us to confront deeper societal issues related to race, ethnicity, gender, power and the environment.

International research suggests community-based approaches work better for combating misinformation in specific cohorts, like migrants. This sort of work could take place in settings people trust, be that community centres or public libraries.

This means not relying exclusively on changes in the law or the practices of online platforms.

Instead, the evidence suggests developing community-based interventions that are culturally resonant and attuned to historical disadvantage would help.

Our recently-released toolkit makes a suite of recommendations for Australian public services and institutions, including the national media, to avoid alienating and inadvertently misinforming Asian-Australians as we approach a crucial election campaign.

Sukhmani Khorana receives funding from the Australia Research Council and has previously conducted commissioned research for migrant and refugee-focused organisations.

Fan Yang 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. Elections mean more misinformation. Here’s what we know about how it spreads in migrant communities – https://theconversation.com/elections-mean-more-misinformation-heres-what-we-know-about-how-it-spreads-in-migrant-communities-247685

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Lintern, Senior Lecturer in Civil Engineering, specialising in water quality, Monash University

Polluted runoff is still smothering the Great Barrier Reef, our first national assessment of water quality trends in Australian rivers has revealed. The problem on the reef is getting worse, not better, despite efforts to improve farming practices and billions of dollars committed by governments to water-quality improvements.

But in good news, there are signs of improvement in the Murray-Darling Basin, where less salt, sediment and phosphorous were detected in the water.

Our latest research quantifies, for the first time, how water quality in Australian rivers has changed over the past two decades. Around half our 287 monitoring sites experienced significant changes in water quality between 2000 and 2019 on every measure we analysed. But the results for the reef and the basin stood out.

In particular, freshwater flows into the Great Barrier Reef lagoon contained increasing levels of sediment and phosphorous. If the trend continues, we have serious concerns for the health of the Great Barrier Reef and the tourist industry it supports.

Understanding river water quality

We studied water quality monitoring data from 287 river sites across Australia. The relevant agency in each state and territory collects this information and makes it available online. The data covers the following:

• salinity: too much makes water unsuitable for drinking or irrigation
• dissolved oxygen: when the level is too low it can kill aquatic life
• nitrogen and phosphorous: high levels of either can cause excessive algae growth and consumes oxygen
• sediment: too much reduces light penetration and disrupts ecosystems

We focused on sites with records of all five water quality indicators from 2000 to 2019.

River flows can vary enormously from year to year and this affects water quality. So we used statistics to account for this and identify underlying long-term trends.

In the catchments that exhibited significant changes between 2000 and 2019, about half showed improvements in dissolved oxygen, salinity and phosphorus, while the other half deteriorated. Sediment levels mostly improved (86% of catchments) over time. The story was not so good when it came to nitrogen levels, which went up in 60% of catchments.

Two regions experienced the greatest large-scale changes in water quality over that time: the North East Coast basin and the Murray-Darling Basin.

More polluted water flowing to the reef

In the North East Coast basin, many rivers capture water from inland areas, including farming regions, and carry it to the ocean near the Great Barrier Reef. So, any pollution in these rivers are carried to the reef.

Suspended sediments make the water cloudy or “turbid”. This can reduce the growth of seagrass and disrupt the growth and reproductive cycles of coral and some fish.

Phosphorous and nitrogen are essential minerals or nutrients, which is why they are used on farms as fertiliser. But too much of either can lower coral diversity, and reduce resilience of coral to bleaching and disease.

We found water quality in rivers flowing to the reef – one of the world’s seven natural wonders – had declined over the past two decades. In particular, levels of phosphorus and sediments had increased at around 5% per year on average across catchments.

This may be a hangover from intensifying land use and clearing in the 1960s and ‘70s. Land clearing can lead to more erosion of sediment and phosphorus attached to soils. Similarly, intensive agriculture can lead to increased phosphorus in rivers, due to fertiliser use.

Substantial investment has been made to improve water quality over many years. This includes almost A$1.8 billion committed by the federal and Queensland governments between 2014 and 2030. But it appears greater effort is needed to turn things around.

It can take a long time for management strategies to start having an effect on water quality. So efforts to date may not yet be showing up. Or perhaps the scale of these changes has not been enough to shift the long-term trend in water quality.

Regardless, declining water quality over the past two decades has direct implications for the future of the world heritage listed site.

Cleaning up the basin

In contrast, we found water quality in the Murray-Darling Basin was improving. Salinity levels declined, along with phosphorus and suspended sediment.

Managing salinity in the basin is a long-term issue. Much of the basin’s groundwater is naturally saline to begin with. Land clearing and agricultural activities since European colonisation have further exacerbated the problem.

But our results suggest salinity levels in the Murray-Darling Basin rivers are improving. This may be due to large-scale management actions such as improving irrigation efficiency, reducing drainage, installing salt interception, and drainage diversion schemes to divert saline groundwater away from entering the Murray River.

These changes in water quality could also be due to declines in rainfall during the Millennium drought period over the late 1990s and early 2000s. The dry conditions might have altered processes controlling flushing of salt, sediments and phosphorus into waterways. As such, the drought has likely had more complicated and long-lasting impacts on water quality than the year-to-year variation in river flow.

While our research shows water quality in the Murray-Darling Basin has improved, this does not mean funding in this area should reduce or cease. Scientists and policymakers must continue monitoring and working towards a healthy basin for future generations.

Keeping watch over water quality

Unfortunately, insufficient long-term water quality monitoring limits our understanding of water quality trends across large parts of the country.

This includes a large proportion of the western, northern and central parts of Australia. Filling these data gaps will require new and ongoing investment into water quality monitoring.

Australian water authorities need to keep checking the health of our rivers.

A national program to harness this data from states and territories, to monitor and track river water quality, is needed to continue similar Australia-wide assessments of water quality.

Such assessments are vital for providing an evidence base for federal policy and identifying future needs in river water quality protection.

Anna Lintern has previously received funding from the Australian Research Council and the Victorian State Government. She is an unpaid volunteer for her federal Independent MP’s office.

Danlu Guo 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. ‘Serious concerns’: national assessment reveals rivers flowing into the Great Barrier Reef are getting more polluted – https://theconversation.com/serious-concerns-national-assessment-reveals-rivers-flowing-into-the-great-barrier-reef-are-getting-more-polluted-248903

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rod McNaughton, Professor of Entrepreneurship, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

By claiming workplaces need to “man up”, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is ignoring one of the biggest untapped opportunities for economic growth – women entrepreneurs.

A 2024 study found promoting female entrepreneurship can greatly enhance women’s workforce participation and drive significant economic growth. And in 2015, the McKinsey Global Institute found advancing women’s workforce equality could add US$12 trillion to global growth.

Yet, women remain significantly underrepresented as startup founders, particularly in high-growth industries.

According to Startup Genome, which analyses global startup ecosystems, just 26% of founders in New Zealand are women (still one of the higher rates globally). But only about 4% of Australia’s venture capital investment goes to startups founded solely by women, and about 7% in New Zealand.

Encouraging women to develop entrepreneurial mindsets could help address both countries’ stagnating productivity. So what stops women from pursuing this path?

Our latest research explores why fewer women undergraduate students at the University of Auckland pursue entrepreneurship and how universities can help close the gap.

Lagging behind

We used data from the 2021 Global University Entrepreneurial Spirit Students’ Survey (GUESSS) of more than 267,000 students in 57 countries to assess the gender gap. Among them, 1,050 were undergraduate students from the University of Auckland.

During the early stages of their undergraduate degrees, male and female students at the university showed similar interest in founding a business at the beginning of their careers – 8% versus 6%. However, both genders significantly lagged behind the 21% and 15% global averages.

Asked about what they hope to be doing five years later, 28% of men and 18% of women at the University of Auckland said they wished to run their own business. While interest in entrepreneurship increases, the gender gap widens. And both genders still lagged the global averages of 37% for men and 30% for women.

While university experience influences career ambitions, external factors after graduation can also discourage women from entrepreneurship.

Societal expectations, industry norms, and lack of access to funding all play a role. Confidence is also a factor. In the survey, women reported lower confidence in their ability to start a business.

The link between STEM and entrepreneurship

The subjects students choose to study also shape their exposure to entrepreneurship.

Women at the University of Auckland are underrepresented in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and business disciplines.

This matters because these fields of study are associated with higher interest in business formation. Students in business and STEM programmes are more likely to encounter entrepreneurial concepts, role models and develop relevant industry networks.

Without efforts to introduce entrepreneurship into a broader range of disciplines, many women may miss out on these vital opportunities and networks.

Closing the gender gap

Female participation in the University of Auckland’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) programmes has increased from 23% in 2015 to 44% in 2024. Last year, two of the centre’s alumni were named Cartier Women’s Initiative Fellows.

Yet our research shows women still enrol in entrepreneurship courses and extracurricular activities less often than men. These experiences matter. Women who engage in them are more likely to see themselves as future entrepreneurs.

To close the gap, universities must embed entrepreneurship across disciplines. In addition to STEM and business students, those in health, law and social sciences can also benefit from early exposure to entrepreneurial thinking. Tailored programs that show how entrepreneurship applies in these fields can make a difference.

Role models and mentorship are also essential. Women students need to see successful female entrepreneurs to believe they can follow the same path. Universities should actively recruit women founders as speakers, mentors, and industry partners.

Hands-on experience is a game-changer. Universities must ensure their startup incubators, pitch competitions and funding programs are accessible to female students. Special funding streams for women-led ventures can help level the playing field.

Finally, the way entrepreneurship is framed matters.

Many women are drawn to careers that create social impact. Universities should highlight how startups can drive change in sustainability, healthcare and community development. A broader definition of entrepreneurship will make it more appealing.

By integrating entrepreneurship into all disciplines, increasing the visibility of female founders, and fostering inclusive networks, universities can help break down the barriers that hold women back.

If universities take action now, they can unlock untapped potential and drive future economic and social impact.

The authors 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. Mark Zuckerberg wants business to ‘man up’, but what it really needs is more women entrepreneurs – https://theconversation.com/mark-zuckerberg-wants-business-to-man-up-but-what-it-really-needs-is-more-women-entrepreneurs-248440

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tamer Morris, Senior lecturer, international law, University of Sydney

In an astonishing news conference in Washington, US President Donald Trump proposed the United States “take over” the Gaza Strip and permanently relocate the nearly two million Palestinians living there to neighbouring countries.

Trump has previously called on Egypt and Jordan to resettle Palestinians from Gaza, which both countries firmly rejected.

His new comments – and the possibility of a US takeover of a sovereign territory – were immediately met with criticism and questions about the legality of such a move.

When asked what authority would allow the US to do this, Trump did not have an answer. He only noted it would be a “long-term ownership position”. He also did not rule out using US troops.

So, what does international law say about this idea?

Can the US take over a sovereign territory?

The quick answer is no – Trump can’t just take over someone else’s territory.

Since the end of the second world war in 1945, the use of force has been prohibited in international law. This is one of the foundations of international law since the creation of the United Nations.

The US could only take control of Gaza with the consent of the sovereign authority of the territory. Israel can’t cede Gaza to the US. The International Court of Justice has ruled that Gaza is an occupied territory – and that this occupation is illegal under international law.

So, for this to happen legally, Trump would require the consent of Palestine and the Palestinian people to take control of Gaza.

And what about removing a population?

One of the biggest obligations of an occupying power comes under Article 49 of the Geneva Conventions. This prohibits an occupying power from forcibly transferring or removing people from a territory.

All other states also have an obligation not to assist an occupying power in violating international humanitarian law. So that means if the US wanted to move the population of Gaza by force, Israel could not assist in this action. And likewise, the US cannot assist Israel in violating the rules.

Occupying powers are allowed to remove a population for the reason of safety.

Trump and his Middle East envoy who visited Gaza last week have repeatedly referenced how dangerous it is. Trump questioned how people could “want to stay” there, saying they have “no alternative” but to leave.

However, removing people for this reason has to only be temporary. Once it’s fine for someone to return, they must be returned.

What if people voluntarily leave?

Transferring a population has to be consensual. But in this specific case, it would mean the consent of all Palestinians in Gaza. The US could not force anyone to move who does not want to.

Further to this, a government, such as the Palestinian Authority, cannot give this consent on behalf of a people. People have a right to self-determination – the right to determine their own future.

A perfect example is migration – if a person migrates from one state to another, that is their right. It’s not displacement. But forcefully displacing them is not permitted.

And using what sounds like a threat would arguably not be consensual, either. This could be saying, for instance, “If you stay, you’ll die because there’s only going to be more war. But if you leave, there’s peace.” This is the threat of force.

Would forcing people to leave be ethnic cleansing?

Ethnic cleansing has not been defined in any treaty or convention.

However, most international law experts rely on the definition in the Commission of Experts report on the former state of Yugoslavia to the UN Security Council in 1994. It defined ethnic cleansing as:

rendering an area ethnically homogeneous by using force or intimidation to remove persons of given groups from the area.

So, under that definition, what is being suggested by Trump could be classified as ethnic cleansing – removing the Palestinian people from a certain geographical area through force or intimidation.

What can be done if Trump follows through?

If Trump follows through with this plan, it would be a violation of what is known as jus cogens, or the paramount, foundational rules that underpin international law.

And international law dictates that no country is allowed to cooperate with another in violating these rules and all countries must try to stop or prevent any potential violations. This could include placing sanctions on a country or not providing support to that country, for example, by selling it weapons.

A perfect example of this is when Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014, very few countries recognised the move. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 was then followed by sanctions and the freezing of Russian assets, among other actions.

If Trump pursued this course of action, he too could be personally liable under international criminal law if he’s the one instigating the forcible transfer of a population.

The International Criminal Court has already issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the former Israeli defence minister and a Hamas commander in relation to the conflict.

The risk of this kind of language

One of the dangers of this kind of rhetoric is the potential to dehumanise the enemy, or the other side.

Trump does this through statements such as, “You look over the decades, it’s all death in Gaza”, and resettling people in “nice homes where they can be happy” instead of being “knifed to death”. This language implies the situation in Gaza is due to the “uncivilised” nature of the population.

The risk at the moment, even if Trump doesn’t do what he says, is that the mere vocalisation of his proposal is dehumanising to the Palestinian people. And this, in turn, could lead to more violations of the rules of war and international humanitarian law.

The nonchalant way Trump is discussing things such as taking over a territory and moving a population gives the impression these rules can easily be broken, even if he doesn’t break them himself.

Tamer Morris 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. Trump wants the US to ‘take over’ Gaza and relocate the people. Is this legal? – https://theconversation.com/trump-wants-the-us-to-take-over-gaza-and-relocate-the-people-is-this-legal-249143

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences, The University of Melbourne

Heatwaves are among the world’s deadliest weather hazards. Every year, vast numbers of people are killed by heat stress and it can worsen health problems such as diabetes, asthma and heart disease.

Unfortunately, the bitumen roads, brick and concrete structures and roofing tiles in cities can absorb and retain vast amounts of heat, much of which is released after the sun has set. This creates what’s known as the urban heat island effect. In fact, temperatures can be significantly higher in cities than in surrounding or rural areas.

Trees and greenspace can drive down urban temperatures – but they must be able to draw water from the soil to achieve these massive cooling effects.

In other words, it can sometimes be helpful to water your trees during a heatwave.

How trees keep us cool (and no, it’s not just about shade)

Trees reduce urban temperatures in two significant ways. One is by the shade they provides and the other is through their cooling effect – and no, they’re not the same thing.

Water is taken up via a plant’s roots, moves through the stems or trunks and is then misted into the air from the leaves through little holes called stomata. This is called transpiration, and it helps cool the air around leaves.

Water can also evaporate from soil and other surfaces. The combined loss of water from plants and soil is called evapotranspiration.

The cooling effects of evapotranspiration vary but are up to 4°C, depending on other environmental factors.

Watering your trees

If heatwaves occur in generally hot, dry weather, then trees will provide shade – but some may struggle with transpiration if the soil is too dry.

This can reduce the cooling effect of trees. Keeping soil moist and plants irrigated, however, can change that.

The best time to irrigate is early in the morning, as the water is less likely to evaporate quickly before transpiration can occur.

You don’t need to do a deep water; most absorbing roots are close to the surface, so a bit of brief irrigation will often do the trick. You could also recycle water from your shower. Using mulch helps trap the water in the soil, giving the roots time to absorb it before it evaporates.

All transpiring plants have a cooling effect on the air surrounding them, so you might wonder if trees have anything special to offer in terms of the urban heat island effect and heatwaves.

Their great size means that they provide much larger areas of shade than other plants and if they are transpiring then there are greater cooling effects.

The surface area of tree leaves, which is crucial to the evaporative cooling that takes place on their surfaces, is also much greater than many other plants.

Another advantage is that trees can be very long lived. They provide shade, cooling and other benefits over a very long time and at relatively low cost.

Not all trees

All that said, I don’t want to overstate the role of urban trees in heatwaves when soils are dry.

Some trees cease transpiring early as soils dry, but others will persist until they wilt.

Careful tree selection can help maximise the cooling effects of the urban forest. Trees that suit the local soil and can cope with some drying while maintaining transpiration can provide greater cooling

And, of course, it is important to follow any water restriction rules or guidelines that may be operating in your area at the time.

Trees keep us cool

Despite the clear benefits trees can provide in curbing heat, tree numbers and canopy cover are declining annually in many Australian cities and towns.

Housing development still occurs without proper consideration of how trees and greenspace improve residents’ quality of life.

It is not an either/or argument. With proper planning, you can have both new housing and good tree canopy cover.

We should also be cautious of over-pruning urban trees.

Trees cannot eliminate the effects of a heatwave but can mitigate some of them.

Anything that we can do to mitigate the urban heat island effect and keep our cities and towns cooler will reduce heat-related illness and associated medical costs.

Gregory Moore is affiliated with Make Victoria Greener, which campaigns to preserve trees in Victoria.

– ref. To keep your cool in a heatwave, it may help to water your trees – https://theconversation.com/to-keep-your-cool-in-a-heatwave-it-may-help-to-water-your-trees-246486

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Melissa Conley Tyler, Honorary Fellow, Asia Institute, The University of Melbourne

One of the executive orders US President Donald Trump signed the day he was inaugurated was a 90-day pause in US foreign development assistance.

The US Agency for International Development, USAID, was ordered to halt funding. Programs worldwide were issued with stop-work orders.

All of a sudden, more than US$60 billion (around A$95 billion) of programs for the world’s most vulnerable people just stopped.

So what happened? The world became less fair, and US soft power fizzled.

What’s happened so far?

We know this decision will cause deaths.

Stop-work orders were delivered to programs that provide AIDS medication to patients. If you stop this, people die.

Charities, many of which work on a shoestring, had no choice but immediately to lay off staff.

Food and vaccines already in warehouses couldn’t be distributed.

Programs providing landmine clearing and counterterrorism training ceased.

Belatedly, the US walked this back to some extent by saying life-saving humanitarian programs would be exempted.

But it doesn’t appear to have slowed the pace of layoffs, partly because of confusion.

With USAID staff now either sacked, placed on forced leave or told to stay home – and the agency’s website taken down – USAID is essentially no longer operational.

Agents from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency have raided the offices of USAID and assumed control, with Musk posting on his X social network that “USAID is a criminal organization” and “it’s time for it to die”.

Some of the people affected have gone public, including Australian organisations on behalf of their partners.

But most in the sector can’t speak up if they hope for funding in the future. So the true extent of the impacts, including their knock-on effects, is likely much larger than has been publicly reported so far.

A more unequal and unstable world

With the halt in aid for the poorest, the world just became more unequal.

Before this week, the US was the world’s largest aid donor.

USAID was established by then-US president John F. Kennedy in 1961. Its programs focused on improving global health, alleviating poverty and providing emergency relief in response to natural disasters or conflict, as well as enhancing education and strengthening democratic institutions abroad.

The countries that were receiving the most USAID assistance in 2023 were Ukraine, Ethiopia, Jordan, Afghanistan and Somalia.

In the Indo-Pacific, the Lowy Institute’s aid maps show that the Pacific received US$249 million (about A$470 million) and SouthEast Asia received US$1 billion (almost A$1.6 billion) in US overseas development assistance annually in the most recent data.

This funded 2,352 projects, including peacebuilding in Papua New Guinea, malaria control in Myanmar, early childhood development in Laos, and programs to improve the education, food security and health of school-age children across the region.

All of these programs are now being reviewed to ensure they are “fully aligned with the foreign policy of the President of the United States”.

Based on the first Trump administration, there seems no chance that programs on climate, gender equality, abortion and equity inclusion will be reinstated after the 90-day assessment period. Losing funds for climate adaptation and mitigation is a huge issue for the Pacific Islands.

Assistance for survivors of gender-based violence, employment for people with disabilities and support for LGBTQIA+ youth will likely lose funding.

In communities that received significant USAID funding, the sudden cut in programs and loss of community organisations will damage the fabric of society.

An unequal world is a less stable one. Australia’s peak body for the non-government aid sector, the Australian Council for International Development, says the suspension of USAID programs “will work against efforts to build peace, safety, and economic stability for the world”.

A power that’s no longer super

Thinking of the impact on the US interests, there has been an enormous hit to US soft power from an entire pillar of US foreign policy suddenly disappearing.

This is underlined by the fact the cuts apply equally to ally, partner and adversary nations alike.

In the Pacific, the Biden Administration made a real effort to increase US presence, opening embassies and announcing USAID programs.

All of this has now been squandered by withdrawing from this space. I am aware of a project for which China has come in to provide funding where US funding has gone. It is a spectacular setback for the US.

What is most extraordinary is that this is self-inflicted damage. There were alternatives, such as continuing business as usual during a 90-day period of review, then giving notice to some programs that they would be discontinued.

The performative and haphazard way in which the policy has been implemented suggests an administration that doesn’t care much about the world outside its borders and is more concerned about ideological battles within.

Researcher Cameron Hill describes Trump as linking foreign aid “to the symbols and slogans of his domestic political coalition”. This is likely to continue beyond the demise of USAID to other agencies involved in foreign assistance, such as development finance.

Australia needs to help fill the gap

What does this mean for Australia? As a middle power, it has an opportunity to step up – and work with other development partners such as Japan, Korea, India, Indonesia, Canada and European donors in the face of a genuine emergency.

For the Australian government this might mean an emergency increase in development funding or freeing up existing funding to keep the lights on.

Australia will undoubtedly now need to step up on climate programs in the Pacific if US funding doesn’t return. Australia could seek to convene an urgent meeting through the Pacific Islands Forum to discuss.

The first fortnight of the Trump administration has had global impact well beyond US politics. On the most important issue for the majority of the world – development – the US decided to withdraw, destroying in a few days what have taken decades to build.

Melissa Conley Tyler is Executive Director at the Asia-Pacific Development, Diplomacy & Defence Dialogue (AP4D), an initiative funded by the foreign affairs and defence portfolios and hosted by the Australian Council for International Development.

– ref. In freezing foreign aid, the US leaves people to die – and allows China to come to the rescue – https://theconversation.com/in-freezing-foreign-aid-the-us-leaves-people-to-die-and-allows-china-to-come-to-the-rescue-249024

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kazi Mizanur Rahman, Associate Professor of Healthcare Innovations, Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University

Parts of North Queensland have received almost two metres of rain since the weekend, causing flash and riverine flooding that claimed the lives of two women around Ingham.

While some North Queensland residents are on alert for more flooding, others are returning home to assess the damage.

This can be very confronting. You may have left in a rush when the evacuation order was issued, taking only a few valuables and necessary items, and maybe your pet. You may have been scared and unsure of what would happen.

Coming back and seeing the damage to the place you lived in and loved can be painful. You might also be worried about the financial consequences.

First, focus on safety

Make sure it’s safe to return home. Check with your energy provider whether power has been restored in your area and, if so, whether it’s safe to turn the main switch back on. Do not use appliances that got wet, as electrical hazards can be deadly.

Look for any structural damages to your property and any hazards such as asbestos exposure. Watch out for sharp objects, broken glass, or slippery areas.

The hardest part is cleaning up. You will need to be patient, and prioritise your health and safety.

What risks are involved with flood clean ups?

Floodwater carries mud and bugs. It can also be contaminated with sewage.

Contaminated flood water can cause gastroenteritis, skin infections, conjunctivitis, or ear, nose and throat infections.

Mud can make you sick by transmitting germs through broken skin, causing nasty diseases such as the bacterial infection melioidosis.

Your house may also have rodents, snakes, or insects that can bite. Rats can also carry diseases that contaminate water and enter your body through broken skin.

Be careful about mould, as it can affect the air quality in your home and make asthma and allergies worse.

Stagnant water in and around your home can become a place where mosquitoes breed and spread disease.

How can you reduce these risks?

When you first enter your flood-damaged home, open windows to let fresh air in. If you have breathing problems, wear a face mask to protect yourself from any possible air pollution resulting from the damage, and any mould due to your home being closed up.

Cleaning your home is a long, frustrating and exhausting process. In this hot and humid weather, drink plenty of water and take frequent breaks. Identify any covered part of your home with sufficient ventilation which is high and dry, and where flood water did not enter. Use that as your resting space.

While assessing and cleaning, wear protective clothing, boots and gloves. Covering your skin will reduce the chance of bites and infection.

Wash your hands with soap and water as often as possible. And don’t forget to apply sunscreen and mosquito repellent.

Throw away items that were soaked in floodwater. These could have germs that can make you ill.

Empty your fridge and freezer because the food inside is no longer safe.

If there is standing water, avoid touching it.

When you can, empty outdoor containers with stagnant water to prevent mosquitoes breeding.

Don’t overlook your mental health

When cleaning up after a flood, you may feel sad, anxious, or stressed. It’s hard to see your home in this condition.

But know you are not alone. Stay connected with others, talk to your friends and families, and accept support. If you feel too overwhelmed, seek help from mental health support services in your area or contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

On top of everything, be mindful about those who are vulnerable, such as older people and those with disabilities, as they may be more affected and find the clean up process harder.

Recovering from a flood takes time. Focus on what needs to be fixed first and take it step by step.

Kazi Mizanur Rahman 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. Returning home after a flood? Prioritise your health and take it one step at a time – https://theconversation.com/returning-home-after-a-flood-prioritise-your-health-and-take-it-one-step-at-a-time-248902

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lauren Ball, Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing, The University of Queensland

Many people looking to improve their health try to boost fibre intake by eating more vegetables.

But while all veggies offer health benefits, not all are particularly high in fibre. You can eat loads of salads and vegetables and still fall short of your recommended daily fibre intake.

So, which vegetables pack the biggest fibre punch? Here’s what you need to know.

What is fibre and how much am I supposed to be getting?

Fibre, or dietary fibre, refers to the parts of plant foods that our bodies cannot digest or absorb.

It passes mostly unchanged through our stomach and intestines, then gets removed from the body through our stool.

There are two types of fibre which have different functions and health benefits: soluble and insoluble.

Soluble fibre dissolves in water and can help lower blood cholesterol levels. Food sources include fruit, vegetables and legumes.

Insoluble fibre adds bulk to the stool which helps move food through the bowels. Food sources include nuts, seeds and wholegrains.

Both types are beneficial.

Australia’s healthy eating guidelines recommend women consume 25 grams of fibre a day and men consume 30 grams a day.

However, research shows most people do not eat enough fibre. Most adults get about 21 grams a day.

4 big reasons to increase fibre

Boosting fibre intake is a manageable and effective way to improve your overall health.

Making small changes to eat more fibrous vegetables can lead to:

1. Better digestion

Fibre helps maintain regular bowel movements and can alleviate constipation.

2. Better heart health

Increasing soluble fibre (by eating foods such as fruit and vegetables) can help lower cholesterol levels, which can reduce your risk of heart disease.

3. Weight management

High-fibre foods are filling, which can help people feel fuller for longer and prevent overeating.

4. Reducing diabetes risk and boosting wellbeing

Fibre-rich diets are linked to a reduced risk of chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes and colorectal cancer.

Recent research published in prestigious medical journal The Lancet provided some eye-opening stats on why fibre matters.

The researchers, who combined evidence from clinical trials, found people who ate 25–29 grams of fibre per day had a 15–30% lower risk of life-threatening conditions like heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes compared to those who consumed fewer than 15 grams of fibre per day.

So which vegetables are highest in fibre?

Vegetables are excellent sources of both soluble and insoluble fibre, along with essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

The following veggies are some of the highest in fibre:

• green peas
• avocado
• artichokes
• parsnips
• brussels sprouts
• kale
• sweet potatoes
• beetroot
• carrots
• broccoli
• pumpkin

Which vegetables are low in fibre?

Comparatively lower fibre veggies include:

• asparagus
• spinach (raw)
• cauliflower
• mushrooms
• capsicum
• tomato
• lettuce
• cucumber

These vegetables have lots of health benefits. But if meeting a fibre goal is your aim then don’t forget to complement these veggies with other higher-fibre ones, too.

Does it matter how I prepare or cook the vegetables?

Yes.

The way we prepare vegetables can impact their fibre content, as cooking can cause structural changes in the dietary fibre components.

Some research has shown pressure cooking reduces fibre levels more greatly than roasting or microwave cooking.

For optimal health, it’s important to include a mix of both cooked and raw vegetables in your diet.

It’s worth noting that juicing removes most of the fibre from vegetables, leaving mostly sugars and water.

For improved fibre intake, it’s better to eat whole vegetables rather than relying on juices.

What about other, non-vegetable sources of fibre?

To meet your fibre recommendations each day, you can chose from a variety of fibre-rich foods (not only vegetables) including:

• legumes and pulses (such as kidney beans and chickpeas)
• wholegrain flour and bread
• fruits
• wholegrains (such oats, brown rice, quinoa, barley)
• nuts and seeds (such as flaxseeds and chia seeds)

A fibre-rich day that meets a recommended 30 grams would include:

• breakfast: 1⁄2 cup of rolled oats with milk and 1⁄2 cup of berries = about 6 grams of fibre
• snack: one banana = about 2 grams
• lunch: two cups of salad vegetables, 1⁄2 cup of four-bean mix, and canned tuna = about 9 grams
• snack: 30 grams of almonds = about 3 grams
• dinner: 1.5 cups of stir-fried vegetables with tofu or chicken, one cup of cooked brown rice = about 10 grams
• supper: 1⁄2 a punnet of strawberries with some yoghurt = about 3 grams.

Bringing it all together

Vegetables are a key part of a healthy, balanced diet, packed with fibre that supports digestion, blood glucose control, weight management, and reduces risk of chronic disease.

However, the nutritional value of them can vary depending on the type and the cooking method used.

By understanding the fibre content in different veggies and how preparation methods affect it, we can make informed dietary choices to improve our overall health.

Lauren Ball receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, Queensland Health and Mater Misericordia. She is a Director of Dietitians Australia, a Director of Food Standards Australia and New Zealand, a Director of the Darling Downs and West Moreton Primary Health Network and an Associate Member of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.

Emily Burch 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. Some vegetables are pretty low in fibre. So which veggies are high-fibre heroes? – https://theconversation.com/some-vegetables-are-pretty-low-in-fibre-so-which-veggies-are-high-fibre-heroes-246238

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Blake Lawrence, PhD Candidate (Design) and Performance Artist, University of Technology Sydney

The first weeks of 2025 have seen catastrophic wildfires locally and internationally, record global ocean temperatures, and unprecedented coral bleaching events.

Trump has signed executive orders to exit from the Paris Agreement, and locally, the Coalition continues its decades-long campaign of climate denial

Species fall swiftly and silently to extinction. The language of bird-song collapses. For many peoples, and for many species, apocalypse is past tense.

For climate risk researchers Laurie Laybourn and James Dyke, politics illustrates a doom loop, a political diving-towards apocalypse.

Artists in this year’s Sydney Festival imagine exit strategies from this doom loop – and dream of taking root in its post-apocalyptic rubble.

Anito

Phasmahammer is the alter-ego and ongoing creative project of artist Justin Talplacido Shoulder. Anito is the latest in a series of their theatre-scale works that blend live performance with mythology, story-telling, costume and ceremony.

We begin in the cavernous Carriageworks foyer with a living miniature fig tree.

Damun (as it is known in the Gadigal language), Ficus rubingosa (Latin), the Port Jackson fig, is known for establishing itself insurgently in the pavements and gutters of the city’s colonial (apocalyptic) architecture.

Here, the bonsai sits like a welcome party, stifled and vibrant in its little pot.

In an introductory speech, Shoulder’s collaborator Matthew Stegh acknowledges the city of Sydney as “a theatre and a prison” – tripling in reference to both the experience of producing theatre for institutions, and the stunted experience of our little fig.

He pays homage to the ecological and cosmological traditions of Gadigal Country, and to the ancestral Philippines of Shoulder. In the next breath Stegh shifts his homage to Sydney’s histories of queer and counter-cultural performance, to sex workers, strippers, clowns, club kids and drag queens.

He offers reflections on apocalypse and ruin, referring to the “cultish suicide pact” of white supremacy, capitalism, imperialism and colonialism – to doom loops.

We are led into the auditorium, where Shoulder and fellow performer Eugene Choi animate a series of hallucinatory images.

Using their bodies, costume pieces, puppetry and inflatable set design, they work with immaculate sound (Corin Ileto) and lighting (Fausto Brusamolino).

A ghostly hologram of the buttress of a great tree fills the stage. Metallic roots writhe at its foundation. Shoulder and Choi emerge, and from there, eruptions: the first man and woman, a pair of thunder-lizards, bickering, a quadruped. A scale-bending colonial ghost smothered in lace searches tragically for something among planetary ruins. A stony reef of polyps and anemones blooms and dances. A single clap by three pairs of hands. The Big Bang.

By design, it is often hard to discern exactly how these images are performed. They are both magic and bewildering.

For philosopher Ben Ware, thinking about the horizon of the extinction of all biological life on Earth poses a paradoxical opportunity. The only thing that can thwart the end of this world – “a world of converging and multiplying catastrophes” – is the recognition that the politics of this time have one outcome: “the slow unravelling of intimately entangled forms of life”.

The fantasy theatre of Anito makes those intimate entanglements visual. We must begin from understanding that the way the world is organised produces its own end.

Like Shoulder, artist communities of the Pacific know this intimately.

Re-Stor(y)ing Oceania

Re-Stor(y)ing Oceania is an exhibition led by artists of the South Pacific Ocean.

Originally conceived for the Venice Biennale, and curated by Taloi Havini, the exhibition comprises two commissions by Elisapeta Hinemoa Heta and Latai Taumoepeau.

The rooms of a freshly-renovated Artspace in Woolloomooloo are transformed by Heta’s architectural interventions. In one, a mass of bricks creates an altar-like structure, on which bowls of coconut milk sit in concentric circles. In another, pavers form a platform for a circle of seats. They function as stages or gathering places for conversation, performance, song and activism.

Within these happenings, Havini and her artists speak to the narrative and politics that have produced and compounded catastrophe in the South Pacific.

Taumoepeau’s interactive installation Deep Communion sung in minor (ArchipelaGO, THIS IS NOT A DRILL) requires visitors to row on standing-paddle-board-like treadmills, which activate immersive songs sung by Taumoepeau and her collaborators.

In conversation with Heta’s installation, these songs rise and fall, the edges of the artworks and activations become blurry. Visitors paddle towards projections visualising the rubble of marine-ecological wastelands produced by regional deep-sea extraction.

The physical exacerbation and the ecological trauma on the screens coalesce in our bodies. To drop the oar enacts the fading of the song from the speakers. We are left with reflections of the connections between bodies and calamity, and the labour of working towards futures beyond ruin.

Plant a Promise

Henrietta Baird’s Plant a Promise, like Anito and Re-Stor(y)ing Oceania, is a performance with blurry edges. Its roots spread out of Bangarra’s Studio Theatre to incorporate installation, in-situ yarns (storytelling and conversation) and tree-planting projects across the city.

Inside the theatre, three contemporary dancers animate recorded stories of Indigenous experiences of bushfires beside frustrations with the surrounding political footballing. The sentiment is clear: less talk, more action.

At its finale, audience members are invited to the stage to collaborate in the transformation of the set. We are led to take handfuls of verdant eucalyptus and acacia leaves and implant them into large woven columns that have functioned theatrically as abstracted tree-forms. The stage is transformed into a forest of our making together.

Through its many stories, Plant a Promise beckons audiences into attentiveness to the lives of trees, fire and people.

In the shadows of catastrophe, the roots of Indigenous knowledge systems and environmental science cross-pollinate to share and enact care for Country.

Generously, we receive a gift as we exit the theatre. The exchange of a native sapling invites us into casual conversation – into reflections on Country, and how we might, all of us, commit to it.

Again, we begin, from the recognition of an end. More rubble. More roots.

Putricia

At the time of writing, Sydneysiders are enamoured with the life of another plant, gathered around livestreams and making excited trips to the city’s Botanic Gardens.

Putricia, the resident titan arum, or corpse flower (Amorphophallus titanium), has thrown her immense flower spike into the air. She has commenced her slow strip-tease after a week of tantalising her admirers.

In a few weeks we have become attentive to her story of life and renewal. She will likely have bloomed, wilted and returned to the soil before this text goes live.

Performances like Putricia’s blooming, Anito, Re-Stor(y)ing Oceania and Plant a Promise offer new vantage points from which to understand ourselves in relation to the natural world, and to glimpse myriad alternatives to what feels like a diving towards our own demise.

Performances of aliveness beside and within the ecologies we inhabit move us beyond what Ben Ware sees as a naïve sense of “hope”. Instead, these stories make material, make cultural, make real, the impossible task of imagining what comes next.

Amid the smell of rotting corpses, the pillowy puppetry of a theatrical coral spawning event, the planting of a forest or the singing of invocations for the protection of the planet’s oceans, we might yet find ourselves. This is not a drill.

Blake Lawrence 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. Watching the doom loop: Sydney Festival artists witness climate change, and imagine our post-apocalyptic future – https://theconversation.com/watching-the-doom-loop-sydney-festival-artists-witness-climate-change-and-imagine-our-post-apocalyptic-future-249017

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emmeline Norris, PhD Candidate, Conservation Biology, James Cook University

Bennett’s tree kangaroos, one of Australia’s most mysterious marsupials, have long eluded researchers. Our new study, published in Australian Mammalogy today, has achieved a breakthrough: using thermal drones to detect these rare animals with unprecedented efficiency.

Tree kangaroos are found only in the tropical rainforests of Australia and New Guinea. Unlike their ground-dwelling relatives, they spend their lives in treetops, feeding on leaves and vines. Their dependence on rainforest trees makes them vulnerable to deforestation and climate change.

Alarmingly, 12 of the 14 species of tree kangaroos are listed as threatened. Yet we know little about their numbers or habits due to difficulties studying them in dense rainforest.

Our new findings mark a significant step forward, offering hope for improved conservation of these elusive, near-mythical creatures. Thermal drones, which detect animals by their body heat, may help to unravel the mysteries of tree kangaroos and guide efforts to protect them.

Rugged, dense rainforests

Bennett’s tree kangaroos inhabit Australia’s most rugged and densely vegetated rainforests north of the Daintree River in Far North Queensland. They rarely descend from their vine-covered treetop roosts, which can be up to 40 metres high.

Traditional survey methods like spotlighting (that is, methodically using flashlights) or handheld thermal cameras (using infrared sensors to detect warm bodies) often fail to detect tree kangaroos, as these tools are limited to what can be seen from the ground.

As a result, there have been no systematic surveys of Bennett’s tree kangaroos. Population estimates rely on outdated observations and anecdotal evidence, leaving their conservation status unclear.

We need robust population estimates to detect shifting population trends and prevent population declines. This requires new monitoring methods to help us find these elusive animals.

Hotspots in the treetops

Thermal drones are just what they sound like – drones equipped with infrared cameras that detect heat signatures from the air.

Warm-blooded animals like tree kangaroos stand out against the cooler rainforest background, even when partially hidden by foliage. This technology offers a powerful advantage over traditional methods, allowing researchers to scan large areas from above and see past vegetation.

In our study, we conducted three drone flights at the Daintree Rainforest Observatory, Cape Tribulation, during the morning and evening.

To our surprise, we detected six Bennett’s tree kangaroos in under an hour of flight time – an unprecedented result. These included a solitary animal, a pair, and a group of three, all consistent with known home range sizes for the species.

By comparison, traditional ground surveys often require several nights of survey effort to spot a single animal. The drones not only made detection easier but also allowed us to closely observe the animals’ behaviour, such as feeding on specific plant species, without disturbing them.

Shedding light on a hidden species

Our findings suggest Bennett’s tree kangaroos are thriving in Cape Tribulation’s lowland rainforest.

While this is encouraging, further systematic surveys are needed to assess how population density varies with forest type, elevation and other factors.

Another intriguing discovery was the tree kangaroos’ diet. Using the drone’s colour zoom camera, we identified the vines and leaves they were eating. Mile-a-minute vine (Decalobanthus peltatus) and fire vine (Tetracera daemeliana) were popular choices on the menu.

These observations deepen our understanding of the species’ habitat needs and could inform future conservation efforts.

Conservation research methods must prioritise minimising stress on wildlife. The tree kangaroos showed no signs of disturbance, continuing to forage after briefly pausing to look at the drone.

This non-invasive approach is a promising alternative to traditional methods, like radio tracking (where a tag is attached to the animal), which can disrupt natural behaviours.

Craning for a better view

Despite showing promise, drone-based wildlife monitoring has its challenges. Regulations require drone operators to maintain visual line of sight with their drone. This can be difficult in a rainforest due to the height and density of the canopy.

To overcome this, we remotely operated our drone from a 47-metre-high canopy crane designed for research. This extra height allowed us to maintain a clear view while surveying a larger area.

However, canopy cranes are rare – there’s only one in tropical Australia. Expanding this approach will require alternative strategies, such as using mountaintops or canopy walkways as vantage points.

Our study is just the beginning. The next step is designing methods to estimate population densities more accurately – not only for Bennett’s tree kangaroos but also other tree kangaroo species in the remote mountains of New Guinea. By identifying individual tree kangaroos based on their unique fur markings, we aim to also study their social structure and sex ratios.

Thermal drones have the potential to revolutionise conservation efforts for hard-to-study wildlife. They offer a powerful tool to monitor populations and guide management decisions.

For the rare and remarkable Bennett’s tree kangaroo, this technology could make the difference between obscurity and security.

Emmeline Norris 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. Rare, almost mythical Australian tree kangaroos can finally be studied, thanks to new tech – https://theconversation.com/rare-almost-mythical-australian-tree-kangaroos-can-finally-be-studied-thanks-to-new-tech-246334

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lea Frermann, Senior Lecturer in Natural Language Processing, The University of Melbourne, The University of Melbourne

Until a few weeks ago, few people in the Western world had heard of a small Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company known as DeepSeek. But on January 20, it captured global attention when it released a new AI model called R1.

R1 is a “reasoning” model, meaning it works through tasks step by step and details its working process to a user. It is a more advanced version of DeepSeek’s V3 model, which was released in December. DeepSeek’s new offering is almost as powerful as rival company OpenAI’s most advanced AI model o1, but at a fraction of the cost.

Within days, DeepSeek’s app surpassed ChatGPT in new downloads and set stock prices of tech companies in the United States tumbling. It also led OpenAI to claim that its Chinese rival had effectively pilfered some of the crown jewels from OpenAI’s models to build its own.

In a statement to the New York Times, the company said:

We are aware of and reviewing indications that DeepSeek may have inappropriately distilled our models, and will share information as we know more. We take aggressive, proactive countermeasures to protect our technology and will continue working closely with the US government to protect the most capable models being built here.

The Conversation approached DeepSeek for comment, but it did not respond.

But even if DeepSeek copied – or, in scientific parlance, “distilled” – at least some of ChatGPT to build R1, it’s worth remembering that OpenAI also stands accused of disrespecting intellectual property while developing its models.

What is distillation?

Model distillation is a common machine learning technique in which a smaller “student model” is trained on predictions of a larger and more complex “teacher model”.

When completed, the student may be nearly as good as the teacher but will represent the teacher’s knowledge more effectively and compactly.

To do so, it is not necessary to access the inner workings of the teacher. All one needs to pull off this trick is to ask the teacher model enough questions to train the student.

This is what OpenAI claims DeepSeek has done: queried OpenAI’s o1 at a massive scale and used the observed outputs to train DeepSeek’s own, more efficient models.

A fraction of the resources

DeepSeek claims that both the training and usage of R1 required only a fraction of the resources needed to develop their competitors’ best models.

There are reasons to be sceptical of some of the company’s marketing hype – for example, a new independent report suggests the hardware spend on R1 was as high as US$500 million. But even so, DeepSeek was still built very quickly and efficiently compared with rival models.

This might be because DeepSeek distilled OpenAI’s output. However, there is currently no method to prove this conclusively. One method that is in the early stages of development is watermarking AI outputs. This adds invisible patterns to the outputs, similar to those applied to copyrighted images. There are various ways to do this in theory, but none is effective or efficient enough to have made it into practice.

There are other reasons that help explain DeepSeek’s success, such as the company’s deep and challenging technical work.

The technical advances made by DeepSeek included taking advantage of less powerful but cheaper AI chips (also called graphical processing units, or GPUs).

DeepSeek had no choice but to adapt after the US has banned firms from exporting the most powerful AI chips to China.

While Western AI companies can buy these powerful units, the export ban forced Chinese companies to innovate to make the best use of cheaper alternatives.

A series of lawsuits

OpenAI’s terms of use explicitly state nobody may use its AI models to develop competing products. However, its own models are trained on massive datasets scraped from the web. These datasets contained a substantial amount of copyrighted material, which OpenAI says it is entitled to use on the basis of “fair use”:

Training AI models using publicly available internet materials is fair use, as supported by long-standing and widely accepted precedents. We view this principle as fair to creators, necessary for innovators, and critical for US competitiveness.

This argument will be tested in court. Newspapers, musicians, authors and other creatives have filed a series of lawsuits against OpenAI on the grounds of copyright infringement.

Of course, this is quite distinct to what OpenAI accuses DeepSeek of doing. Nevertheless OpenAI isn’t attracting much sympathy for its claim that DeepSeek illegitimately harvested its model output.

The war of words and lawsuits is an artefact of how the rapid advance of AI has outpaced the development of clear legal rules for the industry. And while these recent events might reduce the power of AI incumbents, much hinges on the outcome of the various ongoing legal disputes.

Shaking up the global conversation

DeepSeek has shown it is possible to develop state-of-the-art models cheaply and efficiently. Whether they can compete with OpenAI on a level playing field remains to be seen.

Over the weekend, OpenAI attempted to demonstrate its supremacy by publicly releasing its most advanced consumer model, o3-mini.

OpenAI claims this model substantially outperforms even its own previous market-leading version, o1, and is the “most cost-efficient model in our reasoning series”.

These developments herald an era of increased choice for consumers, with a diversity of AI models on the market. This is good news for users: competitive pressures will make models cheaper to use.

And the benefits extend further.

Training and using these models places a massive strain on global energy consumption. As these models become more ubiquitous, we all benefit from improvements to their efficiency.

DeepSeek’s rise certainly marks new territory for building models more cheaply and efficiently. Perhaps it will also shake up the global conversation on how AI companies should collect and use their training data.

The authors 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. OpenAI says DeepSeek ‘inappropriately’ copied ChatGPT – but it’s facing copyright claims too – https://theconversation.com/openai-says-deepseek-inappropriately-copied-chatgpt-but-its-facing-copyright-claims-too-248863

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Podger, Honorary Professor of Public Policy, Australian National University

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has doubled down on his commitment to sack thousands of public servants if he’s elected prime minister.

Dutton has again highlighted the “wasteful” 36,000 increase in public service jobs under Labor, which he says has made the Australian Public service “bloated and inefficient”.

While there is considerable political hyperbole and Trumpian allusions in Dutton’s statements, there are areas where legitimate savings could be made by whoever wins the coming election. That includes a second-term Albanese government, which would need to find efficiencies to offset promised wage increases.

Dutton’s commitment

Dutton unrealistically mentioned A$24 billion in potential savings over four years by reversing the growth in the number of new public service jobs since the last election.

Dutton’s claim of 36,000 extra bureaucrats under the Albanese government is broadly correct. The latest State of the Service Report shows the ongoing workforce increased from 133,976 in June 2021 to 170,186 in June last year. This was offset by a reduction of around 4,000 non-ongoing employees.

Labor has reduced the use of consultants and contractors, though at best those savings only partially offset the costs of the public service expansion.

Reversing the net increase in costs in the next term of Parliament, however, will not be easy and could not be done immediately.

In turn, Labor is hiring fewer consultants and contractors. Those numbers could rise again if permanent positions are axed under a Coalition government.

Dutton is careful not to make any specific commitments regarding the number of jobs that would go nor the dollar savings involved. However, he and his shadow ministers have repeatedly referred to the 36,000 new positions under Labor.

While the Coalition won’t be detailing any spending cuts until after the election, Dutton has alluded to US President Donald Trump’s playbook by targeting “culture, diversity and inclusion advisers”.

Dutton contends these roles add to costs while providing little public service:

Such positions, as I say, do nothing to improve the lives of everyday Australians.

Putting the public service growth into context

Despite Dutton’s combative language, the growth of the Australian Public Service is not nearly as dramatic as he claims, nor is it concentrated in Canberra.

The State of the Service Report shows the Australian Public Service headcount is lower now (0.68%) as a percentage of the Australian population than it was in 2008 (0.75%). It is also a smaller share of the overall Australian workforce (1.36% compared to 1.52%).

Despite Dutton’s often repeated claim that all of the additional public servants are based in Canberra, the proportion of the public service working in the capital has decreased to just 36.9%.

The numbers back up the government’s claim that the expanded bureaucracy has delivered improvements to critical public services such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme, Veterans’ Affairs and Centrelink outside of Canberra.

Labor has also committed to savings

Despite its defence of the public service, a re-elected Labor government would also need to find efficiencies.

The Australian Financial Review has drawn attention to the mid-year budget update, which forecast no growth in the public service wages bill from 2025–26 to 2027–28. This is despite an enterprise bargaining agreement to increase wages by 11.2% over the three years to March 2026.

Finance and Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher has dismissed the Coalition’s claims of a $7.4 billion black hole. She says Labor’s forecasting method is the same as the one the Liberals used in government

And the minister has restated Labor’s commitment to finding its own savings through the 1% efficiency dividend, which she says is “largely a good thing”.

In other words, the Albanese government is assuming pay increases will be offset by efficiency measures over the next three years. That will require some effort.

Where savings could actually be made

Regardless of who forms the next government, there are savings to be made across the public service, which has become too top heavy.

Remuneration is a mess, with extraordinary variations in pay, particularly among the senior executive level.

A wholesale change in the membership of the Remuneration Tribunal, which sets public service pay levels, and a review of its methodology are much needed.

There should also be more emphasis on skills and capability, and less on diversity. A strong business case exists to maximise the talent pool the public service draws on, but care is needed to not compromise the merit principle in the pursuit of equity.

Dutton’s plan raises legitimate concerns

Dutton’s populist rhetoric about the public service raises legitimate concerns beyond the potential job cuts.

There’s a real risk the Coalition will resurrect its ideological preference for the private sector, with its associated extra costs and conflicts of interest.

Nor is there any clear commitment to avoiding a return to the politicisation of the bureaucracy evident under former prime minister Scott Morrison, which contributed to the Robodebt scandal.

The Albanese government has sadly dropped the ball by failing to legislate to promote merit-based appointments, leaving open opportunities for politically based hirings and firings.

With election day fast approaching, voters may reasonably be wary of both sides of politics when it comes to the independence and performance of the public service.

Andrew Podger 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. Peter Dutton is promising to slash the public service. Voters won’t know how many jobs are lost until after the election – https://theconversation.com/peter-dutton-is-promising-to-slash-the-public-service-voters-wont-know-how-many-jobs-are-lost-until-after-the-election-248897

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Brander, Professor, UNSW Beach Safety Research Group, School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney

Do you know what an emergency response beacon or “ERB” is? Do you know what it does? Do you know which beaches have one? If you answered “nope!” to any of those questions, you’re not alone – and that’s a problem.

In short, an emergency response beacon basically consists of a telephone and camera that sits on a pole on a beach. These can be triggered with a button press by anybody who sees someone in trouble in the water or on the sand.

In New South Wales, where emergency response beacons are located on some beaches, pressing the button puts you in immediate contact with a 24/7 duty officer at the Surf Life Saving New South Wales state operations centre.

This duty officer can then talk with the person, give instructions and dispatch the nearest suitable emergency resources to that location. The beacons are solar powered and 4G/5G enabled.

But our new research, recently published in the journal Ocean & Coastal Management, found only 28% of surveyed beachgoers have heard of emergency response beacons – and only half of those actually knew what they were for.

Our findings show a clear need to better communicate with and educate the public about the purpose and location of emergency response beacons. Otherwise, these potential lifesaving devices might not be as effective as authorities assume.

Why NSW installed ERBs

In 2023-24 there were 61 coastal drowning deaths in NSW, representing a 27% increase from the previous year and a 33% increase above the ten-year average.

Most of these coastal drowning deaths occurred at beaches (56%) and along rocky coastal locations (25%).

All of them occurred away from patrolled areas or outside of patrol hours.

The traditional response to keeping people safe in unpatrolled coastal locations has been to install various signs warning visitors about potential hazards such as rip currents.

However, previous studies have highlighted these signs don’t always work – many people look past them or don’t understand them.

In 2018, the NSW state government committed A$16 million over four years to install emergency response beacons at identified drowning hotspots.

At least 53 have now been installed along the NSW coast, including at both unpatrolled and patrolled beaches, with additional funding available to install more units from 2024 to 2028.

All will eventually have rescue tubes attached (a rescue tube is a flotation device often used in lifesaving efforts).

This all sounds great, but how effective have emergency response beacons actually been in reducing drowning?

Our new research, conducted by the UNSW Beach Safety Research Group on public awareness and understanding of emergency response beacons, has shown there is significant work to do.

What we did and what we found

Our study involved surveying 301 people at beaches along the NSW coast, both beaches with and without emergency response beacons, and both unpatrolled and patrolled.

Only 28% of the surveyed beachgoers had actually heard of emergency response beacons.

Of those, only half (54%) actually knew what they were for and 50% were not aware if the beach they were visiting had one installed.

Most people who were aware of the beacons (82%) lived within ten kilometres from the coast and had learned about them from direct experience visiting a beach with a beacon. In other words, they were locals.

Given that between 2014 and 2024, 73% of coastal drowning deaths were associated with visitors who lived more than ten kilometres from the location where they drowned, this finding suggests that knowledge of emergency response beacons may not be getting through to the people who need it most.

Our results also showed that, after being briefed about their purpose, most people (72%) surveyed thought that emergency response beacons were a great idea.

Concerningly, though, people with lower swimming abilities said they’d feel safer and more likely to go in the water if they knew an emergency response beacon was there. This is definitely not the intended outcome at an unpatrolled beach, and suggests the presence of beacons may give some people an unjustified sense of safety and confidence.

Collectively, our results suggest there is an urgent need for vastly improved communication to enhance public awareness and understanding of emergency response beacons to all types of visitors to beaches in NSW.

People are using ERBs but more detail required

Nevertheless, emergency response beacons are clearly being used. Earlier this summer, Surf Life Saving NSW CEO Steven Pearce said there had been more than “100 documented rescues and activations as a direct result of the ERBs being installed”. You can also find examples on social media of people using the beacons.

Much like beach safety messaging in general, we need more evidence-based research to assist in the strategic placement of future emergency response beacons, including in other Australian states apart from NSW.

The response times to emergency response beacon activations should also be examined in further detail; in areas with full mobile phone reception, it might be faster, easier and cheaper to alert emergency services by phoning 000.

Ultimately, the best way to stay safe at a beach is to swim between the red and yellow flags on patrolled beaches.

On unpatrolled beaches it really comes down to always thinking about beach safety, understanding and being aware of hazards like rip currents, knowing your own abilities and sticking to the mantra: “if in doubt, don’t go out”.

If you want to learn more about emergency response beacons and their locations before venturing out to a beach in New South Wales, please visit the Surf Life Saving NSW website.

Rob Brander receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC), the NSW State government, the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) and Surfing NSW.

– ref. Emergency response beacons can cut drownings at the beach – but 72% of people haven’t heard of them – https://theconversation.com/emergency-response-beacons-can-cut-drownings-at-the-beach-but-72-of-people-havent-heard-of-them-248676

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Liudmila Tarabashkina, Senior Lecturer, The University of Western Australia

The economic cost of food waste in Australia is staggering. It’s estimated $36.6 billion is lost to the economy every year. Much of our fresh produce never even makes it to stores, rejected at the farm gate due to cosmetic reasons, such as its appearance, size or ripeness.

We’ve known about this problem for a long time, which has given rise to the “ugly” food movement. Once-rejected produce has been rebranded as “wonky” in the UK, “inglorious” in France, “naturally imperfect” in Canada or an “odd bunch” in Australia.

While the existence of these campaigns is commendable, there’s another major marketing challenge if we want to reduce food waste – acceptance of climate-affected produce.

Broadly speaking, this refers to produce affected by extreme or moderate weather events. Droughts are an example of such climate events, predicted to become more intense and frequent as a result of global climate change.

Climate-affected produce resembles “ugly” food as it is often smaller, misshapen or has surface imperfections.

But in contrast to “ugly food”, the taste and texture of climate-affected produce can be quite different.

Under the effects of drought, apples may become sweeter and more granular, chillies hotter and onions more pungent. In the case of mild or moderate droughts, such produce is still edible.

Our recent research points to some uncomfortable truths. Many consumers prefer to avoid climate-affected produce altogether. And when price is a factor, they won’t choose it without a discount.

But our research also offers suggestions on how purchases of such produce could be encouraged – including marketing messages that highlight the “resilience” of climate-affected produce.

Our research

We carried out two discrete choice experiments with consumers who buy fresh fruit and vegetables. One sample was drawn from among Australian students, the other from members of the wider Australian population.

Participants were shown eight different apple options simulating a shopping environment, which were described with a range of different attributes including firmness, sweetness, appearance and size.

The apples were also labelled with a price tag and information on whether they were sold at a supermarket or farmers’ market. All climate-affected apples were presented with a “resilience” message: “resilient apple – survived the drought”.

We sought to examine how produce’s “organoleptic” properties – the way it impacts our different senses – as well as levels of empathy toward the farmers impact consumers’ willingness to choose climate-affected produce, and how much they’d pay for it.

A preference for perfect

We found when an apple’s firmness, size and aesthetics were important and empathy towards farmers was low, consumers tended to avoid climate-affected produce. They instead chose unaffected alternatives at higher prices (no such effect was observed for sweetness).

This finding might not be surprising, but it’s still cause for concern. If farmers cannot repurpose climate-affected produce into spreads, jams, smoothies or animal feed, it can’t enter supply chains and may end up as waste.

Previous campaigns for “ugly” fruit and vegetables may not offer much help with this problem, either. These campaigns emphasise the unaffected taste and texture of the produce. Marketing climate-affected produce needs a different approach.

Otherwise, we expect a discount

When price was important to consumers, they chose climate-affected produce, regardless of their levels of empathy toward farmers. But they were only willing to pay discounted prices for it.

That might seem like a more positive outcome. But consumer expectations that climate-affected produce will always be discounted may disadvantage farmers with lower profit margins and diminish its value as a still-usable resource.

The power of “resilience” messaging

Importantly, we found when the “resilience” message resonated with consumers, they were more inclined to consider climate-affected apples. This was true even when their empathy towards farmers was low.

This suggests that when empathy fails, leveraging marketing messages that highlight “resilience” could be another avenue worth exploring.

Our research team is now exploring what types of “resilience” messages can encourage purchases of climate-affected produce.

Australians have been conditioned for many years to expect only aesthetically pleasing fruit and vegetables.

Given extreme weather events are unlikely to become less frequent in the future, climate-affected produce is likely here to stay. If we want consumers to embrace it, we need to have uncomfortable conversations around its different taste and texture, and rethink what we’re willing to accept.

This research was supported by the University of Western Australia Business School Future Fund Research Grant.

– ref. Climate-affected produce is here to stay. Here’s what it takes for consumers to embrace it – https://theconversation.com/climate-affected-produce-is-here-to-stay-heres-what-it-takes-for-consumers-to-embrace-it-248776

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sabina Andron, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Cities and Urbanism, The University of Melbourne

Thanks Radical Graffiti for informing me where my next job is!

This is the message I woke up to on January 26, as one of my research participants saw some anti-colonial graffiti in Melbourne posted on the popular Instagram page. The “job” he refers to is that of removing graffiti – a costly, relentless and largely overlooked maintenance operation in modern cities.

You may have heard of various statues being defaced across the country to protest Australia Day. And if you live in Melbourne, you’ve probably come across the city’s iconic “Pam the Bird” graffiti. Pam’s creator was arrested on January 30, about a week after a massive image of the bird appeared on the Novotel hotel in South Wharf.

What you don’t see, however, are the groups of workers standing by to evaluate and repair the damage done by graffiti artists. These graffiti removal technicians, or “buffers”, often posses a more detailed knowledge of the urban fabric than many architects and planners.

With millions invested in graffiti removal in Australia, as part of a visual policing of surfaces, I argue “buff” deserves recognition as a cultural and aesthetic practice of its own.

What is “buff” and how does it work?

Graffiti removal is the practice of removing, erasing or obliterating unauthorised displays from publicly visible urban surfaces.

In graffiti culture, this removal is colloquially known as “buff”. The name comes from a chemical train washing facility deployed by the Municipal Transit Authority in New York City in the 1970s, when graffiti clean-up efforts first started.

Buff is typically conducted by authorised municipal officers or private contractors and businesses. It involves the chemical and mechanical treatment of urban surfaces, often underpinned by zero tolerance policies that have turned it into a global billion dollar industry.

Whether they work for local councils through apps such as Snap Send Solve, run private businesses, or operate independently as anti-graffiti vigilantes, buffers either remove unwanted marks, or paint over them to obstruct them from view.

And with the removal of one image, comes the creation of another.

A symbiotic relationship

It’s a common misconception that buff is strictly an image removal process – a zero sum game aimed at returning public surfaces to a pristine material state. This assumption is the main reason it has been afforded little attention as a creative practice.

In fact, buff produces some of the most interesting visual forms within contemporary cities. It contributes to the visual cultures of cities worldwide, not just through maintaining visual order, but through delivering easily overlooked painterly compositions.

Much like graffiti, buff is a widespread visual and symbolic feature of contemporary cities. These two practices need each other, and engage with cities in symmetrical and symbiotic ways.

Also, although they operate on different mandates, graffiti writers and buffers largely respect each others’ resourcefulness and creativity. As one buffer has repeatedly told me, “tagging and buffing are more related than people are prepared to see.”

Graffiti removal as aesthetic practice

Keen urban enthusiasts have been documenting buff in many forms, from the early photographs of Avalon Kalin in the United States, to artist Lorenzo Servi’s The City Is Ours bookzine on graffiti removal, to Hans Leo Maes’ photographic collection of buff from the 2019 Hong Kong protests.

Most famously, buff made the object of a 2001 experimental documentary by Matt McCormick. This cult favourite popularised the idea of graffiti removal as a subconsciously creative act with aesthetics that resemble the works of abstract expressionists such as Mark Rothko or Agnes Martin.

A suite of other contemporary artists and photographers, many of who come from a graffiti background, also engage with buff in their practice. Mobstr, Germain Prévost (Ipin), Thierry Furger, Nelio Riga and Svetlana Feoktistova provide just some examples of buff-generated creativity.

Others such as activist Kyle Magee have served prison sentences for buffing public ads, raising questions about not only the legitimacy of public images, but the legitimacy of their obstruction.

Beyond visual order mandates

Involuntarily perhaps, creativity is everywhere. Urban surfaces are prized visual and material assets in cities, with the potential to generate huge symbolic and economic capital.

No matter how many millions of dollars are invested in removing graffiti, or pursuing criminal cases against its creators, public surfaces will always be contentious forums of visual production, obstruction and collaboration.

Alongside graffiti, posters, stickers and myriad other inscriptions, buff adds new textures to the surfaces of our cities. Its aesthetic and cultural value should be celebrated.

Sabina Andron 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. Graffiti removal isn’t the enemy of art. It’s part of a vibrant dialogue on life in the big city – https://theconversation.com/graffiti-removal-isnt-the-enemy-of-art-its-part-of-a-vibrant-dialogue-on-life-in-the-big-city-248668

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hussein Dia, Professor of Future Urban Mobility, Swinburne University of Technology

When we see “tested under laboratory conditions”, we often assume real-world conditions will lead to faster degradation of a product.

But experts from Stanford University have found the opposite is true for electric vehicle (EV) batteries. Their new research shows traditional laboratory testing leads to faster degradation, while real-world use gives substantially more battery life, extending the lifespan of the entire EV. Researchers found the stop-start way we drive and the variable rate the battery discharges power actually prolongs battery life by up to 38% compared to traditional tests.

This is good news for EV drivers – and for efforts to electrify transport. This extra battery life would translate to more than 300,000 more kilometres an EV could drive before needing battery replacement, the researchers say.

Longer-lasting batteries would reduce the total cost of EV ownership – and benefit the environment by getting more use out of each battery.

How do we usually test battery degradation?

Common battery chemistries such as lithium-ion will degrade over time. As lithium ions shuttle back and forth across the electrode, some will be diverted or trapped. As batteries age, they don’t hold as much charge.

So how do you measure this?

When you make an EV battery, you don’t want to spend 20 years testing its longevity before release. To test batteries more quickly, researchers have tended to estimate battery degradation rates by using a constant rate of battery discharge. Studies of EV battery degradation are normally done in a laboratory environment under controlled conditions.

In the lab, researchers subject the battery to rapidly repeated charge-discharge cycles. Power is discharged at a constant rate. Observing the gradual drop in capacity gives us the degradation levels over time. This is how we get estimates such as “retains 80% capacity in ten years time”.

But while this method is widely used, it has limitations. Discharging power at a constant rate is not how we really drive. We might accelerate fast to get onto the freeway, spend lots of time accelerating and braking in stop-start traffic, or do a quick run to several shops. Plus, much of the time the battery is not being used. Instead of a constant drain on the battery, it’s a mix.

What the Stanford researchers have done is test EV batteries in realistic ways, imitating the way we actually drive. This is known as “dynamic cycle testing”.

Mimicking real world use

To replicate real-world usage and driving patterns, the Stanford team designed different discharge patterns for EV batteries, some based on real driving data. The researchers then tested 92 commercial lithium-ion batteries for more than two years across the different profiles.

The results showed batteries tested using real life scenarios degraded substantially slower than expected and had higher battery expectancy than those tested under lab conditions. Even better, the more realistic the battery use, the slower the battery degraded.

Battery researchers have long assumed rapid acceleration is bad for battery life. But this isn’t the case. Short acceleration and regenerative braking – where EVs charge their batteries during braking – were actually associated with slower battery degradation rates.

Is this backed up in practice?

A number of other recent studies have looked at how batteries perform in practice using data from EVs in operation, including commercial vehicles. These studies also found correlations between real-world use and lower battery degradation rates.

A 2024 report by GEOTAB researchers used telematic remote monitoring to get data from 10,000 EVs. The study found improved battery technology is leading to slower degradation. Newer EVs lose about 1.8% of their health per year – a sharp drop compared to the 2.3% degradation rate in 2019.

Several factors influenced battery longevity other than use patterns. One of these is worth noting – frequent use of DC fast chargers by high-use vehicles is linked to faster battery degradation. The effect is more notable in hot climates. By contrast, slower “level 2” charging is better for battery longevity. Overall, the researchers found the best way to prolong battery life was to keep charge between 20% and 80%, reduce exposure to extreme temperatures and limit fast charging.

Another 2024 report analysed the batteries of 7,000 EVs used intensively over 3-5 years. The report found lower degradation rates than expected.

This report found most batteries still had had good capacity (more than 80%) even after propelling vehicles more than 200,000 km. Factors such as use patterns, advances in cell chemistry and optimised battery management were also found to influence battery ageing.

What does this mean for the EV transition?

These results suggest EV owners may not need to replace expensive battery packs for several additional years. Over the lifetime of an EV, this means lower operating costs.

The findings are also encouraging for fleet operators. Batteries in high-mileage commercial EVs should remain reliable even after heavy use.

Car manufacturers and technology providers can benefit by updating their EV battery management software to take these findings into account. This would help to increase battery longevity under real-world conditions.

Fewer battery replacements will mean fewer batteries to recycle. Once removed from the vehicle, EV batteries can be used to store energy for homes or businesses for years. These findings suggest a longer and more reliable second life for the batteries.

In recent years, the electric vehicle transition has hit a couple of speedbumps. Cost-of-living pressures and uncertainty about charging have seen more Australians take up hybrids than pure electric vehicles.

These findings may help reassure drivers interested in electric vehicles but unsure about battery lifespan.

Hussein Dia receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the iMOVE Australia Cooperative Research Centre, Transport for New South Wales, Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, Victorian Department of Transport and Planning, and Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts.

– ref. Electric vehicle batteries can last almost 40% longer in the real world than in lab tests – https://theconversation.com/electric-vehicle-batteries-can-last-almost-40-longer-in-the-real-world-than-in-lab-tests-248557

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jack Barrett, Lecturer in Business, Auckland University of Technology

New Zealand’s housing crisis disproportionately affects Māori in rural areas where healthy homes are in short supply and collective land ownership presents a challenge to banks.

Governments have been grappling with this issue. The previous Labour-led government committed more than NZ$730 million to Māori-led housing solutions, and an announcement this week by the current coalition government saw a $200 million investment into affordable rentals.

But Whare Ora, a community-run housing initiative in Te Tairāwhiti (East Coast), shows that innovative approaches to home ownership can be found within communities.

Since 2020, Whare Ora has developed a social enterprise model, focused on producing healthy, affordable and transportable whare (houses) for local communities. Run by the charitable company Hikurangi Enterprises, Whare Ora has now supplied more than 80 homes for local whānau.

This project is directly addressing regional housing deprivation and the finance barriers for building on Māori land under multiple ownership.

This holds particular potential for Indigenous housing.

Financial barriers

Despite Whare Ora producing high-quality houses at affordable prices, access to finance remains a significant barrier for whānau placing homes on ancestral lands.

This is mainly due to the perceived risk of lending against Māori freehold land, which is inalienable and often collectively owned. This creates issues for mainstream retail lenders that require land to be alienable to a single owner to secure a mortgage.

In exceptional circumstances, such as Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei’s recent agreement with BNZ, this can be mitigated if a trust can provide a guarantee over lending. This usually requires a large asset base or financial holdings.

However, the majority of Māori who want to build homes on ancestral lands are individual or collective whānau who don’t have access to such resources. The perceived risk excludes many who could service a loan but are unable to because the financial services don’t exist or aren’t designed for collectively-owned land.

For a region such as Te Tairāwhiti where about 25% of land is under Māori governance, this creates a lost opportunity for whānau to utilise ancestral lands for housing.

This is a systemic issue, documented by the National Housing Commission in 1983 and the Auditor General’s reports in 2011 and 2014.

Community partnerships

Seeking a solution to this finance barrier, Hikurangi Enterprises collaborated with Community Finance, a community-to-community lender, to investigate possible ways to administer lending for housing on collectively-owned land.

Supported by philanthropic organisations, this collaboration has given way to Kaenga Hou, a new trust set up to provide a range of progressive home-ownership options in Te Tairāwhiti.

Significantly, one option facilitates lending on ancestral land through a license-to-occupy agreement, based on an ethical finance model funded by impact investors.

Impact investors provide finance capital at below-market interest rates, while producing a social or environmental benefit (in this case addressing regional housing issues and strengthening Māori wellbeing through connections to ancestral lands).

This allows for more compassionate and innovative forms of investment, where complex issues can be worked through rather than written off as too risky or not profitable enough.

An ethical finance model

In designing a model to attract impact investment, Kaenga Hou and Community Finance sought innovative ways to mitigate investor risk while placing whānau at the centre of decisions, protecting them from exploitative lending and ensuring fair outcomes.

This was achieved through a creative rent-to-buy programme using whānau rental payments to reduce risk and build resilience into the model.

In short, whānau make rental payments to the trust. A portion of these payments repays the trust’s interest payments to investors funding the model. Another part builds a savings account, allowing the whānau to buy the home outright over time.

A final portion will be directed toward a support mechanism for all whānau in the programme. Known as the aroha fund, this aspires to support others if they face unexpected financial difficulty.

Innovation lies in the subtle details that reduce risk for both whānau and the investors. For example, the aroha fund increases the chance of programme completion, setting whānau up to succeed, while ensuring financial and social returns for the ethical investor.

Similarly, in the unlikely event whānau have to exit the programme, a proportion of the money accrued through the savings account can be returned and they would have paid an affordable rent while in the programme.

In this worst-case scenario, the programme aims to leave whānau in a better-off position than when they entered, uplifting whānau and safeguarding the reputation of investors. Collectively, these aspects ensure that positive whānau outcomes are just as important as creating a financial return.

Lessons for Te Tiriti-led futures

At its heart, housing on ancestral lands is a Te Tiriti issue. The Waitangi Tribunal recently concluded the Crown has a duty to provide housing because of the guarantee of tino rangatiratanga over kāinga (homes and settlements).

The government currently provides a loan scheme for housing on whenua Māori, but since its inception in 2010 it has been constantly scrutinised for low uptake and accessibility, with similar pitfalls to retail lending.

This highlights the importance of taking lessons from community-led innovations and their approaches. In this case, more compassionate investment and a whānau-centred finance model created new possibilities for managing risk associated with lending to ancestral Māori lands.

Genuine partnerships, seeking to protect whānau while participating in finance systems, were key. This provides a road map for how Aotearoa might face such pressing issues, now and into the future.

Jack Barrett 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. Māori communities lead innovative ways of financing housing on ancestral lands – https://theconversation.com/maori-communities-lead-innovative-ways-of-financing-housing-on-ancestral-lands-247179

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

The Albanese government is banning DeepSeek – the Chinese artificial intelligence model – from all government systems and devices on national security grounds.

It says this is in line with the actions of a number of other countries and is based on “risk and threat information” from security and intelligence agencies.

The Chinese platform TikTok is already banned from government systems and devices.

Under the decision, announced by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, government bodies must immediately remove all DeepSeek products, applications and services from systems and mobile devices. No new installations are allowed.

But politicians can still have DeepSeek on their personal non-government devices. This presently happens with TikTok – for example opposition leader Peter Dutton has a TikTok account.

While the direction only applies to official systems and devices, the government is also urging all Australians to inform themselves about how their data can be used online and to carefully review a company’s privacy policy on how customer data is managed.

Burke said: “The Albanese government is taking swift and decisive action to protect Australia’s national security and national interest.

“AI is is a technology full of potential and opportunity, but the government will not hesitate to act when our agencies identify a national security risk.

“Our approach is country-agnostic and focused on the risk to the Australian government and our assets.‘

The NSW Department of Customer Service acted late last month to ban DeepSeek from official devices and systems.

The department told Cyber Daily it had “taken a precautionary approach to restrict corporate access to DeepSeek AI, consistent with the approach taken for many new and emerging applications, systems and services”.

Commenting on the NSW department’s decision Dana Mckay, Senior Lecturer in Innovative Interactive Technologies at RMIT, said: “The reason Chinese-made and-owned tools are being banned is that the data they collect is available to the Chinese government not just when a crime has been committed, but also for economic or social reasons.

“DeepSeek even collects keystroke patterns, which can be used to identify individuals, potentially allowing them to match in-work searches with leisure time searches, potentially leading to national security risks,” she said.

“It is fair to ask whether DeepSeek is more dangerous to Australian national security than, say, OpenAI which collects similar data: the difference is that OpenAI will only give data to government to comply with relevant laws, and this typically means where a crime may have been committed.

“Whether governments should be concerned about the level of data collected by commercial companies, such as OpenAI and Google, is still a significant question, but one that is separate to the national security concerns raised by China’s data sovereignty laws.”

Among those banning Deepseek are the Pentagon, the United States Navy, NASA, Italy and Taiwan.

Michelle Grattan 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. Albanese government bans DeepSeek from official devices on security grounds – https://theconversation.com/albanese-government-bans-deepseek-from-official-devices-on-security-grounds-249022

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Charlotte Markowitsch, PhD Candidate in Popular Music Studies, RMIT University

History has repeated in the rock category at this week’s 67th Grammy Awards. Best rock performance was awarded to the Beatles for their song Now and Then, while the Rolling Stones took home best rock album for Hackney Diamonds.

The Beatles’ track, finished and released by the fab four’s remaining members with the assistance of artificial intelligence, has been recognised by the Recording Academy 55 years after the band broke up. This comes as their eighth Grammy win and 27th nomination since their 1962 debut.

The Beatles’ long time rivals, the Rolling Stones, have received many accolades over their six decade career, including five Grammys. Their 24th studio album includes cameos from other legacy artists like Elton John and Stevie Wonder.

These victories are historic – but they also reveal a broader truth about rock music’s biggest institutions. The same artists who defined the genre decades ago continue to dominate its highest honours, leaving little space for contemporary acts to break through.

The new wave

The past year has seen a resurgence in rock. Streaming services and radio have reflected a rise in the popularity of the genre and reunions of rock’s most popular bands are making headlines.

This renewed enthusiasm toward rock has brought newcomers to the genre, including an emergence of new popular talent.

Newer rock talent was present at the Grammys, with St Vincent (who broke out in 2006) winning Best rock song and Fontaines D.C. receiving their first best rock album nomination since their debut in 2014.

Both of these artists have been recognised for breathing new life into the rock genre. With a willingness to confront discomfort and vulnerability coupled with distinctive guitar work and production choices, St. Vincent has been positioned as a trailblazer in modern rock.

Fontaines D.C’s nominated album Romance has been praised by critics for its energetic embrace of a diverse musical palette with compelling lyrics, a sound which has grabbed the attention of those outside and within the rock audience.

But they were up against a nominee pool largely composed of long career legacy acts such as Green Day, Pearl Jam, Jack White and the Black Crowes, who all broke out in the last millennium.

Along with the Beatles’ and the Rolling Stones’ wins, this reflects a trend in rock’s institutional recognition, where industry awards, hall of fame inductions, and media retrospectives continue to reaffirm the same monumental figures – often to the exclusion of artists shaping rock today. This phenomenon is a symptom of the rock canon, otherwise known as “the best of all time”.

The old canon

The rock canon is a set of artists, albums and songs that have been collectively deemed as the genre’s greatest.

This canon was solidified by the late 1960s and 1970s and is sustained predominantly by media outlets and awards organisations like the Grammys. Publications that rank “the best” also help shape the rock canon by repeatedly spotlighting the same classic albums and artists.

To be considered “the best” in rock, artists typically need to meet an (often unwritten) criteria of long-term critical acclaim, commercial success and influence on future generations. Artists like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones meet this criteria, frequently appearing in the top ranks of “best of” lists and maintaining their position at the top of the rock hierarchy.

But the Grammy wins for the Beatles and the Rolling Stones raise concerns about how rigid this canon remains. Artists who enter the rock canon rarely leave it, making it difficult for newcomers to garner the same levels of critical and commercial success. It has also been criticised for its preferential treatment towards whiteness and masculinity.

If the canon represents the highest levels of artistic quality in rock, its inability to change poses concerns for the future of the genre.

Australia has not remained untouched by these issues. While the Grammys are an American institution, the rock canon’s influence extends globally.

Australian institutions such as Triple J’s Hottest 100 of All Time have demonstrated this influence, showing us that the canon plays a role in shaping Australian music culture. Artists like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin often appear on these lists, voted on by Australian listeners. Local audiences overwhelmingly favour a more standard, mainstream canon of older international rock acts over our own Australian talent.

The preference towards artists who have long been in the canon in today’s “best of” lists makes it harder for local artists – particularly those from marginalised backgrounds – to gain widespread recognition.

Crafting a vital genre

The Grammy success of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones reflects both the strength and the stagnation of rock’s institutional gate-keeping.

On one hand, these wins celebrate artists whose influence has endured for generations. On the other, they reveal how difficult it is for new acts to gain recognition when institutions continue looking backward rather than forward.

As rock continues its resurgence, the vitality of the genre may rely on expanding a more inclusive definition of greatness: one that makes room for innovation and diversity, not just nostalgia.

Will future Grammy ceremonies still be awarding the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, or will we finally see rock’s institutions evolve?

Charlotte Markowitsch 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. Is this 2025, or 1965? Grammy wins for the Beatles and the Rolling Stones keep the rock canon in the past – https://theconversation.com/is-this-2025-or-1965-grammy-wins-for-the-beatles-and-the-rolling-stones-keep-the-rock-canon-in-the-past-249009

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dale Boccabella, Associate Professor of Taxation Law, UNSW Sydney

The 1980s are remembered for many things including power suits, the Ford Falcon and the long lunch.

The last was thanks to a generous interpretation of tax law as it applied to food and entertainment at “business meetings”. Bosses could deduct the cost of lunch with colleagues and contacts for tax purposes.

The Hawke government ended that when it made sweeping changes to tax law the mid 80s including the introduction of a fringe benefits tax.

But the long lunch might return under a Coalition government.

Its estimated cost to the budget, however, swings wildly. The Parliamentary Budget Office puts the figure at A$250 million, while a government-commissioned study by Treasury says it could be between $1.6 billion and $10 billion .

The different estimates result from varied modelling of how many businesses would seek the deduction and the average amount each would claim. Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor on Tuesday said it would cost less than $250 million. He said the Treasury estimates were “straight nonsense”.

The actual cost may also depend on whether the deduction would be limited to employees or could include spending on their family members and on clients. These things are not yet clear.

One thing that is clear, however, is higher spending at hospitality venues should bring in more tax from businesses to offset the lost deduction revenue.

Whatever rules emerge, enforcing them could be expensive. Some small businesses might be tempted to inflate their expenditure, or simply “reclassify” usual food and drink costs to make them eligible for a deduction.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton announced the plan late last month. He said small businesses could claim deductions for meals and entertainment. This would be available to businesses with a turnover under $10 million and excluded alcohol.

The deduction would be capped at $20,000 a year. The policy would run initially for two years and would presumably be reviewed with a view to extending it or making it permanent.

Dutton gave two reasons for reintroducing the exemption to the FBT. First, it was an incentive that would help retain and reward employees. Employees can get a “little bit of a return”, Dutton said at the time. Second, it would boost hospitality spending.

Overwhelmingly, this policy is an incentive for small businesses. However, tax policy experts argue the tax system should not use targeted tax breaks to promote a particular economic activity.

One major concern is this plan runs counter to the reasonably clear boundary our income tax system has established between private consumption expenditure (not deductible) and income producing expenditure (deductible).

The 1985 deduction denial for entertainment expenditure is a central part of this framework; it squarely recognised the private consumption character of the expenditure and it has stood for 40 years in tax law. Serious analysis should be done before changes are made.

Also, it might lead to claims of “what about me?” Think, for example, of a small business taxpayer with a turnover of $12 million who misses out. What about an independent contractor who falls short of being a business?

It looks like the technical way the tax deduction is to be achieved will depend on who benefits from the food and entertainment. If the beneficiary is a customer of the small business, the small business will be given a deduction. If the employee benefits, the small business will get an exemption for the benefit and obtain a deduction for the expenditure.

Peter Dutton said in his announcement last month the Coalition was doing this in a way to ensure small businesses “are not dragged into a complicated tax jungle”.

The complexity of fringe benefits tax is well known. Compliance costs are high and mistakes are made by taxpayers and tax agents. The complexity is greatest for entertainment spending where income tax interacts with fringe benefits tax and the GST.

Without knowing the proposed rules, there is a chance a small business incurring entertainment expenditure can avoid being brought into a “tax jungle” if they keep employees and customers at separate entertainment events.

If they do combine the two, some complications arise, but they are not insurmountable. In any event, tax agents and their clients tend to get used to their specific situation over time. Excluding alcohol does add a slight complication, though, because of the different treatment it will attract.

Overall, the concerns about this policy are real and substantial. It is worth recalling that there are many examples of poor tax policy getting into legislation, and despite the significant evidence about them, they are not removed.

The capital gains tax discount is a good example. This discount has overwhelmingly delivered a tax break to high income earners. And the amount of the lost revenue is continually increasing. Let us think before running this risk with the proposed “long lunch” tax break.

Dale Boccabella 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. Coalition’s tax-free lunch plan could cost $250 million or $10 billion – depending on who’s doing the sums – https://theconversation.com/coalitions-tax-free-lunch-plan-could-cost-250-million-or-10-billion-depending-on-whos-doing-the-sums-247999

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vivienne Reiner, PhD Candidate, Integrated Sustainability Analysis group, University of Sydney

Months out from a federal election, the industry lobby is gearing up in opposition to the Albanese government’s renewable energy targets. In a salvo on Monday, food distributors urged the government to increase fossil fuel production, as a way to purportedly tackle high energy prices.

It was followed by comments on Tuesday by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which also called for fast-tracking of gas expansion to avoid price spikes and blackouts.

Unfortunately, however, these approaches miss the point. They are a short-sighted response to what is, in large part, a climate-induced problem.

In fact, evidence suggests burning more coal and gas will only make things worse for many industries, including the food sector.

More fossil fuels = more industry disruption

The industry group Independent Food Distributors Australia claims Labor’s energy policies are driving up costs for businesses and, in turn, consumers.

In comments published in The Australian, the group’s chief executive Richard Forbes said the phase-out of coal-fired energy was too fast and the government’s renewable energy target was too ambitious. The newspaper claimed business owners instead want Labor to support new gas plants and support upgrades to existing coal plants.

The group represents food manufacturers, suppliers and distributors supporting the food service industry. Its members largely comprise food distribution warehouses operating large refrigerators and freezers.

First, it’s important to ask whether a focus on renewable energy can be blamed for Australia’s high energy prices. The answer is largely no.

That aside, would expanding fossil fuel production ultimately be a boon to food distributors? Evidence suggests it would not.

A study published in 2022, led by my colleagues at the University of Sydney, found that almost one-fifth of total emissions from global food systems were produced by transport and supporting services, such as distribution warehouses. This was equivalent to about 6% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Of course, greenhouse gas emissions are warming the climate and leading to worse and more frequent natural disasters. And, as another University of Sydney study showed, these disasters have extensive repercussions for the food industry.

It found the disruptions would be hardest felt by the fruit, vegetable and livestock sectors, however effects flowed to other sectors such as transport services. Overall, people in rural areas and those from a low-socioeconomic background were most vulnerable, both to food and nutrition impacts, as well as losses in employment and income.

What’s more, research I led into the economic impact of Australia’s 2019–20 bushfires also reveals the vulnerability of the food ecosystem. The 2024 study, which focused on tourism, found employment and income losses were greatest in the hospitality and transport sectors respectively. Restaurants, cafes and accommodation providers were disproportionately hit by job losses resulting from reduced consumption, including less food being consumed out of home.

So what does all this mean? Clearly, expanding polluting energy generation to reduce food distribution costs in the short term will not, ultimately, secure the sector’s future.

Making food distribution more sustainable

Having said all this, Australia’s high energy prices are undoubtedly a stress point for many Australian businesses. So how can the food sector tackle the problem?

Energy requirements (and therefore costs and emissions) differ according to the type of food. Fruits and vegetables, for example, are likely to require a temperature-controlled environment. This generates about double the emissions produced by growing the crops themselves.

Growing and distributing crops that can be transported at ambient temperatures would reduce energy use. This is particularly important given refrigeration needs are likely to increase as the planet warms.

In terms of broader food movements, 94% of domestic transport happens by road. So, there is a strong case for investing in electric trucks to help guard against energy price hikes.

The weight of food freight has also been correlated with energy use. Cereals – along with fruit and vegetables, flour and sugar beet/cane – are among the food types transported at high tonnages.

As my colleagues have noted, there are huge energy savings to be gained if the global population ate more locally produced food, and if food businesses used cleaner production and distribution methods, such as natural refrigerants.

Looking ahead

Global food systems are crucial to human wellbeing. It’s in everyone’s interests to keep them functioning well and protected from climate-fuelled hazards.

The choices now facing the food-distribution sector represent one of many tradeoffs Australia must make during its transition to a low-carbon future.

Will we continue the polluting, business-as-usual approach or will we embrace Australia’s natural advantages in renewable energy, and protect the planet that supports us?

When it comes to food distribution, will Australia expand gas and coal production as a purported answer to lower energy costs in the short term – or will we move swiftly to decarbonise the sector and buy more local, sustainable food?

Vivienne Reiner 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. Yes, energy prices are hurting the food sector. But burning more fossil fuels is not the answer – https://theconversation.com/yes-energy-prices-are-hurting-the-food-sector-but-burning-more-fossil-fuels-is-not-the-answer-248996

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

Independent Allegra Spender spearheaded a condemnation of antisemitism by federal parliament – but the debate was mired in partisanship.

The opposition tried to prevent the government bringing on the Spender motion in the House of Representatives, because it said it wanted something stronger and would not be able to amend the motion.  

Coalition speakers repeatedly used the debate to attack the government for not, in its view, doing enough to combat antisemitism, particularly after the pro-Palestine demonstration at the Opera House in the wake of the Hamas atrocities of October 7 2023.

Eventually the Spender motion was passed without dissent. It said the House:

• deplores the appalling and unacceptable rise in antisemitism across Australia – including violent attacks on synagogues, schools, homes, and childcare centres

• unequivocally condemns antisemitism in all its forms and

• resolves that all parliamentarians will work constructively together to combat the scourge of antisemitism in Australia.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said Spender had agreed to delete words in an earlier version that would have condemned “all similar hatred directed to any groups in our community”.

“The member agreed to that form of words being struck out because we don’t think that was necessary. And we also think it is inexplicable to try and mount the argument that this sort of hatred and this sort of racism and this sort of antisemitism is being conveyed against any other pocket of the Australian community.”

Dutton said the opposition had voted against the government bringing on the motion “because it stopped us from moving amendments […] which would have strengthened the motion and provided stronger support to the community.”

Spender said combating antisemitism was not just a matter of laws but also of culture.

“We must lead by example. The message from our parliament today must be unambiguous. We will not stand for hate. We will not stand for abuse.

“We will not abide intimidation. We will not tolerate the terrorising of any part of our community. We are united against antisemitism. Words must be backed by action, but words matter, particularly those of the parliament.”

Spender will seek to strengthen the anti-hate bill currently being considered by the parliament.

The motion was seconded by Jewish Labor MP Josh Burns, who said: “the last six months have been like no other I’ve experienced in this country. And my grandparents came to this country looking for a safe haven for the Jewish people. And over the last six months, we’ve seen cars set alight. We’ve seen synagogues burnt down. We’ve seen Jewish homes and businesses marked. And we have seen childcare centres being burnt down.”

Anthony Albanese said: “We know that antisemitism has given dark shadows across generations. I say to Jewish Australians, live proudly, stand tall, you belong here and Australia stands with you.”

Former Minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, accused a previous Coalition speaker, Andrew Wallace, who criticised the government, of being “corrosive” on “an issue where we should be coming together”.

In the Senate, crossbencher Jacqui Lambie moved the same motion as Spender. The opposition unsuccessfully tried to amend it to embrace mandatory sentencing. A member from independent Lidia Thorpe was also defeated and the motion was passed on the voices.

Michelle Grattan 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. Parliament condemns antisemitism, but can’t avoid the blame game – https://theconversation.com/parliament-condemns-antisemitism-but-cant-avoid-the-blame-game-249015

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Theresa Larkin, Associate Professor of Medical Sciences, University of Wollongong

Australian radio host Kyle Sandilands announced on air yesterday that he has a brain aneurysm and needs urgent brain surgery.

Typically an aneurysm occurs when a part of the wall of an artery (a type of blood vessel) becomes stretched and bulges out.

You can get an aneurysm in any blood vessel, but they are most common in the brain’s arteries and the aorta, the large artery that leaves the heart.

Many people can have a brain aneurysm and never know. But a brain (or aortic) aneurysm that ruptures and bursts can be fatal.

So, what causes a brain aneurysm? And what’s the risk of rupture?

Weakness in the artery wall

Our arteries need strong walls because blood is constantly pumped through them and pushed against the walls.

An aneurysm can develop if there is a weak part of an artery wall.

The walls of arteries are made of three layers: an inner lining of cells, a middle layer of muscle and elastic fibres, and a tough outer layer of mostly collagen (a type of protein). Damage to any of these layers causes the wall to become thin and stretched. It can then balloon outward, leading to an aneurysm.

Genetics and certain inherited disorders can cause weak artery walls and brain aneurysms in some people.

For all of us, our artery walls become weaker as we age, and brain aneurysms are more common as we get older. The average age for a brain aneurysm to be detected is 50 (Sandilands is 53).

Females have a higher risk of brain aneurysm than males after about age 50. Declining oestrogen around menopause reduces the collagen in the artery wall, causing it to become weaker.

High blood pressure can increase the risk of a brain aneurysm. In someone with high blood pressure, blood inside the arteries is pushed against the walls with greater force. This can stretch and weaken the artery walls.

Another common condition called atherosclerosis can also cause brain aneurysms. In atherosclerosis, plaques made mostly of fat build up in arteries and stick to the artery walls. This directly damages the cell lining, and weakens the muscle and elastic fibres in the middle layer of the artery wall.

Several lifestyle factors increase risk

Anything that increases inflammation or causes atherosclerosis or high blood pressure in turn increases your risk of a brain aneurysm.

Smoking and heavy drinking affect all of these, and nicotine directly damages the artery wall.

Sandilands mentioned his cocaine use in discussing his diagnosis. He said:

The facts are, a life of cocaine abuse and partying are not the way to go.

Indeed, cocaine abuse increases the risk of a brain aneurysm. It causes very high blood pressure because it causes arteries to spasm and constrict. Cocaine use is also linked to worse outcomes if a brain aneurysm ruptures.

Stress and a high-fat diet also increase inflammation. High cholesterol can also cause atherosclerosis. And being overweight increases your blood pressure.

A study of more than 60,000 people found smoking and high blood pressure were the strongest risk factors for a brain aneurysm.

Is it always a medical emergency?

About three in 100 people will have a brain aneurysm, varying in size from less than 5mm to more than 25mm in diameter. The majority are only discovered while undergoing imaging for something else (for example, head trauma), because small aneurysms may not cause any symptoms.

Larger aneurysms can cause symptoms because they can press against brain tissues and nerves.

Sandilands described “a lot of headache problems” leading up to his diagnosis. Headaches can be due to minor leaks of blood from the aneurysm. They indicate a risk of the aneurysm rupturing in subsequent days or weeks.

Less than one in 100 brain aneurysms will rupture, often called a “brain bleed”. This causes a subarachnoid haemorrhage, which is a type of stroke.

If it does occur, rupture of a brain aneurysm is life-threatening: nearly one in four people will die within 24 hours, and one in two within three months.

If someone’s brain aneurysm ruptures, they usually experience a sudden, severe headache, often described as a “thunderclap headache”. They may also have other symptoms of a stroke such as changes in vision, loss of movement, nausea, vomiting and loss of consciousness.

Surgery can prevent a rupture

Whether surgery will be used to treat a brain aneurysm depends on its size and location, as well as the age and health of the patient. The medical team will balance the potential benefits with the risks of the surgery.

A small aneurysm with low risk of rupture will usually just be monitored.

However, once a brain aneurysm reaches 7mm or more, surgery is generally needed.

In surgery to repair a brain aneurysm, the surgeon will temporarily remove a small part of the skull, then cut through the coverings of the brain to place a tiny metal clip to close off the bulging part of the aneurysm.

Another option is endovascular (meaning within the vessel) coiling. A surgeon can pass a catheter into the femoral artery in the thigh, through the aorta to the brain. They can then place a coil inside the aneurysm which forms a clot to close off the aneurysm sac.

After either surgery, usually the person will stay in hospital for up to a week. It can take 6–8 weeks for full recovery, though doctors may continue monitoring with annual imaging tests for a few years afterwards.

You can lower your risk of a brain aneurysm by not smoking, moderating alcohol intake, eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy weight.

The authors 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. Around 3% of us will develop a brain aneurysm in our lives. So what is it and how do you treat it? – https://theconversation.com/around-3-of-us-will-develop-a-brain-aneurysm-in-our-lives-so-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-treat-it-248882