Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Cornwall, Lecturer in Marine Biology, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

A recent report on global tipping points warned that coral reefs face widespread dieback and have reached a point from which they cannot recover.

But in our new research, we show this might not be the case for some reefs if corals can gain tolerance to rising temperatures, or if we can cut greenhouse gas emissions and restore reefs with heat-tolerant corals at scale.

Nevertheless, the outlook likely remains bleak.

Coral reefs provide habitat for thousands of other species in tropical oceans. They deliver economic value through fisheries and tourism and provide shoreline protection from storm surges and extreme weather by dampening the impact of waves.

However, coral reefs are vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Our study combines previously published assessments of climate impacts on different coral reefs and reviews the scientific consensus to examine how long reef structures could persist as climate change intensifies.

Ocean warming, acidification, darkening and deoxygenation all threaten the persistence of coral reefs. Ocean warming brings marine heatwaves, which are the leading cause of mass coral bleaching that has led to a global decline in coral cover.

Corals are animals that house microalgae within their tissues that provide sugar in exchange for nitrogen. When temperatures become too hot, corals expel these symbiotic microalgae, leaving behind white skeletons.

Ocean acidification reduces the ability of corals to build their skeletons through a process called calcification. Warming, darkening and deoxygenation can also reduce calcification.

Coral reefs are built by adding calcium carbonate, coming mostly from corals but also coralline algae and other calcareous seaweeds. But as the ocean’s pH (a measure of acidity) is reduced, processes called bio-erosion and dissolution act to remove calcium carbonate.

Our meta-analysis examined how climate change affects the calcification and bio-erosion of coral reefs and we then applied these results to a global data set of reef growth.

There is no scientific consensus on which organisms will build future coral reefs. We explore four most likely scenarios:

1. Present-day extreme reefs represent the future of coral reefs. These are locations where temperatures are already warmer, waters are becoming more acidic and oxygen has dropped to conditions similar to those expected at the end of the century. These reefs are dominated by coralline algae and slow-growing heat-resistant corals.

2. Presently degraded reefs take over future reefs. These reefs are dominated by bio-eroders such as sponges and sea urchins and have low coral cover.

3. Corals can gain heat tolerance to an extent that keeps pace with low to moderate greenhouse gas emissions scenarios. Under these scenarios, only about 36% of global corals would be lost and there would be a moderate reduction in growth. These heat-tolerant reefs are dominated by faster growing corals with symbiotic microalgae that can evolve heat tolerance.

4. Reefs where restoration practices include using heat-tolerant corals that can then disperse to other regions. These restored reefs would have lower coral cover in remote regions lacking restoration or with unsuccessful restoration practices. This kind of reef restoration would need to cover half of global coral reefs to maintain net growth – an unlikely scenario.

We found coral reefs transition to net erosion under all scenarios, even under low to moderate greenhouse gas emissions, meaning they are dissolving or being eaten faster than they can grow. Only reefs with heat-tolerant corals could prevent this from occurring.

The next step for the scientific community is to determine which reefs can persist in the future using global efforts to combine information. The major issues is that we are missing measurements from large parts of the Pacific, and we do not know how deoxygenation or coastal darkening will impact coral reefs. The processes of reef bioerosion and dissolution are also poorly described.

Although the climate has been altered to the point of threatening the future survival of coral reefs, their fate is not doomed yet if we act now.

Another question is how long reef structures will persist after living corals are removed. We do not have an answer yet. It will take global efforts to rapidly obtain these measurements to better manage and protect coral reefs before climate change intensifies.

It is up to governments everywhere, including New Zealand, to better support these initiatives before it is too late.

– ref. The future remains bleak for corals – but not all reefs are doomed – https://theconversation.com/the-future-remains-bleak-for-corals-but-not-all-reefs-are-doomed-277077

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Georgia Moloney, Researcher, School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Adelaide University

Wildlife trafficking is a global crisis impacting at least 4,000 species of plants and animals, including mammals, reptiles, birds, corals and rare plants.

A shocking case from 2025 involved the seizure of 3.7 tonnes of pangolin scales in Nigeria. These scales were believed to be sourced from more than 1,900 individual pangolins.

While this case was uncovered, many more remain undetected. These crimes aren’t just pushing species toward extinction, they’re also putting people at risk. Hunting, trafficking and handling wild animals creates opportunities for diseases to jump from animals to humans. Wildlife trafficking is therefore not just a conservation crisis, but a serious threat to public health.

In our recent paper published in Conservation Biology, we present a new method for tackling this global crime. It uses a tiny sample of air extracted from a shipping container – and the incredible power of a dogs’ nose.

Traffickers exploit shipping routes

People buy and sell a wide range of wild animals and their parts for many reasons, such as pangolin scales for traditional medicines, monkeys for exotic pets, or even porcupines for bushmeat.

Traffickers exploit global transport routes to move their products, with shipping containers in particular being ideal targets.

Containers carry up to 90% of the world’s cargo, meaning products can be easily concealed and blend into the high volume of container traffic moving through ports.

Despite this, on average only about 2% of containers are physically inspected due to resource limitations.

There are few wildlife specific detection tools, and wildlife crime is often considered a low priority. Combined, this means most trafficking slips through undetected.

Bringing the scent to the dog

To bridge this gap, we investigated air sampling as a way to screen containers for wildlife without opening them, damaging cargo, or disrupting port operations.

This work was part of a four-year project, undertaken in collaboration with the world’s third largest shipping company CMA CGM.

We designed a portable air extraction device that fits onto a standard container vent and draws air through a filter to collect a sample. The sample is then presented to a trained detection dog which can indicate whether the scent of specific wildlife products is present.

In our study, we concealed pelts from five big cat species – lion, tiger, leopard, snow leopard and cheetah – inside standard-sized shipping containers. The pelts were arranged to simulate smuggling scenarios, including being hidden inside cardboard boxes to increase concealment.

Our detection dog successfully detected the pelts with almost 98% accuracy when air was extracted from the shipping container. They did so even when the pelts were concealed, demonstrating that the scent can escape into the container airspace and be reliably captured.

Detection dogs are already widely used by customs and border agencies around the world, but their ability to screen sealed containers at scale is limited. Containers are often inaccessible, stacked high, or in environments that are unsafe for dogs.

Our approach brings the scent to the dog, allowing many more containers to be screened efficiently and safely.

While the study was conducted under controlled conditions, these early results are encouraging. Pairing detection dogs with air-sampling could dramatically improve the detection of illegally trafficked wildlife hidden inside shipping containers.

The air extraction device is low cost, portable and scalable, making it well suited for use in high-risk ports and border crossings worldwide. The method could also be readily adapted for detecting other forms of trafficking, such as drugs, increasing its appeal to border agencies.

Disrupting criminal networks

Further trials are planned to validate the effectiveness of this approach in operational port environments across a broader range of wildlife products.

We are also exploring machine-based detectors to analyse samples and support the future development of this project.

However, initial findings show the dogs still outperform these technologies, which currently remain our most effective approach.

Our goal is to give frontline agencies practical tools to fight wildlife trafficking.

Through applying science-based research in the field, we can bridge enforcement gaps and detect trafficked wildlife faster, allowing us to better protect threatened species and disrupt the criminal networks behind this devastating trade.

– ref. Dogs can detect trafficked wildlife hidden in shipping containers from tiny air samples – https://theconversation.com/dogs-can-detect-trafficked-wildlife-hidden-in-shipping-containers-from-tiny-air-samples-276986

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jeremie M Bracka, Law Lecturer and Transitional Justice Academic, RMIT University

As both the federal government and states across the country pass laws cracking down on hate speech, there’s been much debate about where to draw the line on what can and can’t be said.

A Victorian court has drawn that line in a landmark decision. The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) has found chanting “all Zionists are terrorists” at a Melbourne rally amounted to unlawful racial and religious vilification.

In the case, called Vorchheimer vs Tayeh, Vice President Judge Tran held that initiating the chant at a pro-Palestinian protest breached parts of Victoria’s Racial and Religious Tolerance Act.

The detailed ruling sheds light on how some judges are approaching these complicated questions. Here’s what it said.

What the tribunal found

The tribunal was not asked to rule on Zionism or Israel’s military actions. Its task was narrower: whether leading the chant “all Zionists are terrorists” at a large Melbourne rally was likely to incite “hatred, serious contempt, revulsion or severe ridicule” against Jewish people on racial or religious grounds.

Judge Tran focused on three words.

The first was “terrorists”. She described this as “one of the most extremely negative labels it is possible to attach to a person”, someone “against whom violent action is justified” and whom it is “societally acceptable to hate”.

The next word was “Zionists”. The tribunal accepted “Zionist does not mean Jew”. But it found the term carries “a deep connection with Jewish people” in historical and statistical terms.

Evidence to the court showed most Australian Jews identify as Zionist in some form. Judge Tran concluded there was likely a “very strong association” between Zionists and Jewish people in the minds of rally participants.

And finally, the word “all”. The word carried “the spectre of de-individuation, a hallmark of racism”. There was “no permission for shades of grey or human complexity”.

In assessing legality, the tribunal considered the full rally context, including Holocaust imagery and antisemitic tropes on placards. Although the signs did not explicitly name Jews, the court found repeated Nazi and Holocaust references strengthened the association between “Zionists” and Jewish identity in the minds of participants.

The tribunal also noted an “observable antisemitic and pro-violent presence” at the rally. In that setting, chanting “all Zionists are terrorists” did not operate as abstract political critique. Its “natural and ordinary effect” was to “tip many rally participants over the threshold into hatred directed towards Jewish people”.

Political vs personal

The tribunal stressed that the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act is not concerned with outlawing criticism.

Hasheam Tayeh, who said the phrase in question, argued he was engaging in political protest.

But the tribunal held there is “no right to a catchy rally slogan” if it is inherently likely to incite hatred.

The chant was not confined to criticising the Israeli government after October 7 2023. It was directed, at a minimum, against “all supporters of the continued existence of Israel as a Jewish state”, the court found.

Given the tribunal’s finding that the vast majority of Australian Jews identify as Zionist in some form, the chant was therefore likely to stir hostility toward a group closely associated with Jewish identity.

The political protest defence therefore failed because the conduct was not shown to be reasonable and in good faith. The boundary is clear: speech may attack ideas, but not stir hostility against people because of who they are.

Why this matters nationally

The Victorian tribunal has drawn a clear doctrinal line. Labelling an undifferentiated group closely associated with Jewish identity as “terrorists” can amount to unlawful vilification.

Although decided under Victorian law and applying only in that state, the reasoning will resonate nationally.

Most Australian jurisdictions prohibit racial vilification. At the federal level, section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act sets a lower threshold: conduct reasonably likely to “offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate” on racial grounds.

The decision comes amid a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents across Australia since late 2023, with community bodies reporting record levels of threats, vandalism and intimidation.

The Bondi terror attack, which targeted a Hanukkah gathering, intensified national concern about extremist rhetoric and community safety.

Against that backdrop, courts are increasingly being asked to distinguish protest from incitement.

Words in real life

But the decision contrasts with the Federal Court ruling last year in a case called Wertheim v Haddad.

In this case, the court found certain lectures by preacher William Haddad conveyed antisemitic imputations, including claims that Jews control the media and politicians and that “the Jewish people are filthy”.

Yet other remarks criticising Israel and “Zionists” were treated as political commentary.

In the Victorian case, Judge Tran did not treat “Zionist” as an abstract ideological label. She examined how it functioned in social and historical context, including the antisemitic atmosphere in which the chant was delivered.

One approach parses language semantically. The other asks how it lands in real life.

In a climate where extremist rhetoric has intersected with real-world violence including reports that alleged Bondi attacker Naveed Akram was allegedly a follower of preacher Haddad, context is not theoretical. It can matter.

Context with consequences

The ruling will feed into the ongoing debate about how Australia regulates hate speech. It shows existing laws can address coded vilification, not only explicit slurs.

At the same time, the tribunal was careful: criticism of Israel is not unlawful, nor is opposition to Zionism automatically hate speech.

The legal line is crossed when rhetoric assigns a heinous criminal identity to an entire class of people closely associated with a racial or religious group, in circumstances where hatred is the likely result.

In a polarised environment, that boundary will remain contested. But this decision signals that courts will look beyond labels and ask how language operates in context. And in the real world, context can have consequences.

– ref. A court has drawn a clear line on antisemitic hate speech. Here’s what it said – https://theconversation.com/a-court-has-drawn-a-clear-line-on-antisemitic-hate-speech-heres-what-it-said-277095

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Johan Lidberg, Associate Professor, School of Media, Film and Journalism, Monash University

Covering the courts can be a tough gig. The pace is fast, there are many legal considerations to be across, and media outlets are hungry for quality stories, quickly.

Our study aimed to capture the experience of senior reporters covering the courts in Melbourne and Victoria. We conducted in-depth inverviews with 12 journalists from five of the major media outlets in Victoria.

The journalists interviewed in our study described a justice system where secrecy is expanding, access to information is shrinking, and public-interest journalism is becoming increasingly difficult. These experiences point to an undermining of the open justice doctrine, which is a crucial component of liberal democracy.

Traditionally, journalists have played a crucial role in upholding open justice. Our interview data indicate that that the role of journalism in open justice is now being challenged by the Victorian judiciary.

This is how one senior reporter described how often Victorian courts breach the 2013 Open Courts Act.

Every day there are suppression orders that do not meet the basic requirements, especially in terms of providing reasons […]the requirement to give three days notice to the media is also routinely breached. (Ben Butler, investigative journalist, ABC)

Commissioned by the Melbourne Press Club, our report paints a troubling picture of how court suppression orders, limited access to court documents and constrained access to police and government sources are undermining journalists’ ability to scrutinise public institutions in Victoria.

Suppression orders in Victoria

Suppression orders are court orders restricting what can be published about an ongoing case. They are meant to be rare exceptions to the principle of open justice. But our study shows they have become and stayed routine in Victoria.

In our interviews, reporters allege that the act is routinely breached. Courts often fail to provide the required three days notice to media before issuing an order, and interim suppression orders, which require less justification, are increasingly granted and sometimes allowed to stand for months.

Journalists described a pattern where high‑profile defendants and their legal teams raise mental health concerns to justify anonymity. A recent example of this was the rape case against the youngest son of Carlton Football Club great Stephen Silvagni, Tom Silvagni. He was finally publicly named at the end of 2025 after a suppression order kept his identity secret for 545 days. The interviewees also highlighted inconsistent practices across courts and judicial officers, with little ability to challenge decisions in real time.

Restricting access to court documents

Another serious finding in our report is how difficult it has become for journalists – and by extension, the public – to access basic court information.

A decade ago, reporters could routinely obtain the brief of evidence at committal hearings. Today, many say they receive almost nothing. Without charge sheets, witness statements or indictments, journalists say they cannot accurately follow proceedings. This threatens the accuracy and completeness of their reporting.

Changes within the Magistrates’ Court have also obscured basic details. A key column indicating which police unit (such as homicide or counter‑terrorism) is involved in a matter has been removed from public listings, making it very hard to identify serious cases in advance.

The digitisation of court systems has further complicated the information access situation. Access varies between courts, fees for copies of documents are inconsistent, and many frontline court staff appear unsure what journalists are entitled to access and view.

One reporter summarised the situation:

We’re expected to fairly and accurately report on something with 1% of the information that’s actually available and before the court. So of course, prosecutors, or defence lawyers, or magistrates read the story and go, “oh, well, that’s [inaccurate]”. But we only knew one per cent of the story and we can only write what we have (Erin Pearson, court and justice reporter, The Age).

Relationship between courts and media has deteriorated

Several reporters said Victorian judicial officers are increasingly hostile toward the media, describing a “vibe shift” on the bench. Some recounted being removed from hearings, told they could not sit in court without submitting paperwork, or without a lawyer present.

Court media teams, which once held regular meetings with journalists and editors, no longer do so. Requests for meetings with chief judges have been declined or ignored. The researchers invited the chief magistrate, chief county court judge and chief justice of the Supreme Court to participate in the study, they all declined. This disengagement, we argue, is a finding in itself indicating little or no will from the Victorian courts in building trust with the public and media.

Access to government and police sources has weakened

Journalists also report declining access to human sources within police and the state government. Victoria Police no longer routinely provides the names of accused persons, making it harder for reporters to track the administration of justice on behalf of the public. Officers were described as increasingly reluctant to speak even off the record, fearing disciplinary action.

Within the state government, decision‑making authority over media access has become increasingly centralised in the premier’s private office. Some departments now provide statements with significant portions “on background”, information reporters may use but cannot attribute to its source.

A crisis for public accountability

Our benchmarking shows Australia already performs poorly by global standards of court transparency. Even within this context, Victoria stands out as one of the least open jurisdiction in the country.

Countries such as Sweden offer far greater public access to court files, including full police briefs and allow journalists to audio record court proceedings by default. The US and UK also provide broader access to court documents, supported by constitutional or statutory protections compared to Victoria and Australia.

Our report concludes that public interest journalism in Victoria is under significant strain, particularly in court reporting. The current situation threatens natural justice, democratic accountability and public trust in the legal system.

We make ten recommendations to the Melbourne Press Club in our report. Apart from a review of the implementation of the Open Courts Act Victoria, the core recommendation is the MPC acts as a facilitator to rebuild the broken relationship between the Victorian courts and the media outlets in the state. This would be in the public interest, which both the media and the courts should serve.

– ref. Open justice no more: how Victoria’s courts are stopping journalists from doing their jobs – https://theconversation.com/open-justice-no-more-how-victorias-courts-are-stopping-journalists-from-doing-their-jobs-276040

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maryam Lotfi, Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Supply Chain Management, Cardiff University

The escalating conflict between Iran, the US and Israel has taken a critical turn. The strait of Hormuz – one of the most important shipping routes for oil and gas – is facing significant disruption. The strait is the main route connecting Persian Gulf ports in Iran and some of the region’s other oil producers to the open ocean.

The strikes on Iran are already having tangible effects: energy flows are slowing, markets are reacting and supply chains are under pressure. This is not just a regional conflict – it is a global supply chain crisis unfolding in real time.

As an expert on supply chains, I am acutely aware of how central the strait is – not only for the stability of the region but also to the functioning of the global economy.

This narrow corridor is one of the world’s most critical chokepoints – around a fifth of the world’s oil passes through the strait daily. Its sudden disruption represents a “chokepoint failure” – a breakdown at a critical node that triggers cascading effects across global systems.

Tanker traffic has dropped sharply, with vessels waiting in surrounding waters as ship owners reassess the risks. Oil prices surged in response to the strikes and the threat to shipping routes. Analysts have warned that prices could climb significantly higher if the disruption persists.

But crucially, this reaction was not driven solely by actual shortages. Markets respond to uncertainty itself. The mere possibility that several million barrels per day could be disrupted is enough to push prices up, even before supply is properly hit. This reflects a broader feature of geopolitical risk: expectations and perceptions can be as economically powerful as material disruptions.

Because energy underpins almost every sector, these price increases transmit rapidly through supply chains. Higher fuel costs raise transportation expenses, increase production costs and ultimately feed into inflation across goods and services that eventually land with consumers.

The strategic importance of the Gulf states

The disruption is not confined to the strait. Instability across the wider Gulf region also affects the United Arab Emirates, as well as other strategically important energy producers and logistics hubs, such as Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

This dimension matters because the Gulf functions not only as an energy supplier but also as a crossroads in global trade and logistics.

Ports such as Dubai handle vast volumes of international shipping, linking Asia, Europe and Africa. As tensions spread, the reliability of these logistics systems is increasingly called into question.

The result is a shift to more widespread insecurity, where both energy flows and trade infrastructure – things like major container ports, shipping lanes, export terminals and storage facilities – are simultaneously at risk.

Energy is the heart of global supply chains. Manufacturing depends on electricity and fuel, transport relies on oil-based logistics and agriculture depends heavily on natural gas-derived fertilisers. When energy flows are disrupted or become more expensive, the effects propagate across entire networks.

Research on geopolitical crises shows that disruptions to key inputs such as oil and gas quickly translate into broader supply chain instability. This affects production, trade and the availability of goods far beyond the conflict zone. The Iran crisis reflects this dynamic. What begins as disruption in a maritime corridor can become a global economic issue within days.

For decades, global supply chains have been optimised for efficiency. This means that they concentrate sourcing and production in regions that minimise costs. This model has delivered large economic benefits, but it has also created weaknesses in the structure.

The concentration of energy flowing through a single chokepoint such as the strait of Hormuz exemplifies this trade-off. When it is disrupted, the system lacks resilience.

In response, supply chains are likely to accelerate efforts to diversify and invest in alternative energy routes and sources. Countries that are heavily dependent on oil transiting through the Gulf will seek to expand strategic reserves, diversify their import routes and invest in pipelines that bypass maritime chokepoints.

But at the same time, geopolitical instability strengthens the case for renewable energy, electrification and regional energy integration. Expanding solar, wind and green hydrogen capacity reduces exposure to concentrated fossil fuel corridors. And cross-border electricity connections can improve flexibility during shocks. In this sense, resilience is also an energy transition issue.

At the same time, instability in conflict-hit regions can fuel the rise of informal and illegal supply chains, particularly where governance is weakened. These can include things like unregulated oil trading, goods being smuggled through informal maritime routes and labour exploitation hidden within subcontracting chains.

What’s more, supply chains themselves are increasingly shaped by geopolitical forces, as states use trade, energy and logistics networks as instruments of power.

For consumers, this could mean greater price volatility, shortages and reduced choice as firms adjust sourcing strategies in response to sanctions, trade restrictions or security risks. In some cases, it may also mean higher costs over the long term, as businesses prioritise resilience over efficiency.

A turning point for globalisation?

The situation in the strait of Hormuz may mark a turning point in how global supply chains are understood. It has shone a light on a fundamental tension at the heart of globalisation. Efficiency depends on sourcing and production being concentrated in a few locations, but resilience depends on diversification. When critical links in the chain fail, the consequences extend far beyond their immediate location.

This war demonstrates that supply chains are not merely economic systems. They are deeply embedded in geopolitical realities. The challenge ahead is not simply to manage disruption, but to redesign supply chains and energy sources for a world in which geopolitical risk is no longer exceptional, but structural.

– ref. The oil price surge is just one symptom of a supply chain network that is not fit for this age of global tensions – https://theconversation.com/the-oil-price-surge-is-just-one-symptom-of-a-supply-chain-network-that-is-not-fit-for-this-age-of-global-tensions-277277

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kenya Fernandes, Research Fellow, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney

Before antibiotics and antiseptics, healers across ancient Egypt, Greece, and China reached for honey to treat wounds. Archaeological evidence shows humans have been harvesting and collecting honey for thousands of years – and for much of that time, we understood it to be more than just food.

Today, honey sits in most kitchen cupboards as a perfectly ordinary pantry staple. But honey has never entirely shed its medicinal reputation. And modern research shows us why: it possesses genuine antimicrobial properties, capable of killing or inhibiting a wide range of bacteria, including drug-resistant strains.

This matters now more than ever. Antimicrobial resistance – where bacteria evolve to survive drugs designed to kill them – is one of the defining public health crises of our time. Infections caused by these resistant microbes are becoming harder and more expensive to treat, creating an urgent need for alternative therapies.

Our new study, published in the journal MicrobiologyOpen, shows honeys from Australia’s native flora might be a big part of the solution.

What did we do?

We analysed 56 honey samples collected from more than 35 apiaries across New South Wales. Many samples came from landscapes recovering from the 2019–2020 bushfires. Most were derived from native Australian plants such as eucalyptus, leptospermum and melaleuca.

We tested the honeys against two common bacterial pathogens: Staphylococcus aureus (golden staph) and E. coli – both among the six leading causes of deaths associated with antibiotic resistance. For each sample we measured the minimum concentration needed to stop bacterial growth. The lower the concentration, the more potent the honey.

We also carried out comprehensive chemical profiling, measuring sugars, organic acids, amino acids, enzymes and a wide range of plant-derived compounds. Statistical and machine-learning analyses helped us identify which chemical features best explained antibacterial strength.

What did we find?

More than three-quarters of the honey samples stopped bacterial growth even when the honeys were diluted to 10% or less. This places Australian native flora honeys alongside some of the world’s most potent varieties.

The most striking factor was floral diversity.

Honeys from mixed floral sources – where bees foraged across multiple native plant species rather than a single species – were consistently the most antimicrobial.

This potency wasn’t due to any single compound but to a chemically rich combination.

Multiple bioactive factors – substances that have a measurable effect on living cells or tissues – worked together to inhibit bacteria. These included naturally produced hydrogen peroxide, plant-derived phenolic compounds (naturally occurring chemicals that plants produce as part of their own defence systems), and antioxidants.

When bacteria encounter honey, this combination acts on several fronts at once. The low moisture content draws water out of bacterial cells, while the acidity disrupts their metabolism. Hydrogen peroxide damages their cellular structures, and phenolic and antioxidant compounds interfere with their ability to function and reproduce.

The strength of mixed floral honeys may also reflect the health of the bees themselves.

Access to diverse forage keeps colonies well nourished. And healthier bees produce more biologically active honey as their enzymes help integrate and activate the plant compounds into a complex antimicrobial mixture.

What does this mean for antimicrobial resistance?

Honey won’t replace antibiotics for serious or systemic infections.

But for topical applications – chronic wounds, burns, or surgical site infections – it is a genuinely promising option. Because honey attacks bacteria through multiple simultaneous mechanisms, resistance is far less likely to emerge than with single-target drugs. Our team is now exploring these applications in more detail.

Australia is particularly well-placed to lead in bioactive honey production. Around 70% of Australian honey comes from native plants. These plants are found not only in forests but also across farmland, regional landscapes, and urban green spaces.

Our findings show that prioritising floral diversity over monoculture isn’t just good for ecosystems – it produces more potent honey. With the beekeeping industry under serious pressure from bushfires, floods, and now the varroa mite, protecting and restoring florally-rich landscapes is critical: for bee health, for industry resilience, and for expanding our natural antimicrobial toolkit.

In the meantime, the next jar of Australian honey you buy may just be doing more good than you realise.

– ref. Honey from Australian wildflowers has potent power to kill bacteria – https://theconversation.com/honey-from-australian-wildflowers-has-potent-power-to-kill-bacteria-276630

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dylan A Mordaunt, Research Fellow, Faculty of Education, Health, and Psychological Sciences, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington; Flinders University; The University of Melbourne

To most of us, a visit to the local pharmacy feels like a simple transaction: we hand over a prescription slip and collect a box of pills.

What we don’t see is all the clinical judgement that precedes it: a pharmacist spotting a potentially dangerous drug interaction, or a GP untangling multiple conditions before deciding what or whether to prescribe.

This invisible work is precisely what prevents disasters and keeps patients out of hospital. Yet New Zealand’s primary care funding model barely recognises it.

Instead, the system relies on a “hidden subsidy” buried within dispensing fees and retail margins that actively penalises the deepest, most necessary clinical work.

It’s here where New Zealand’s primary care model begins to fail: not in the quality of its clinicians, but in how it pays for their time. Fixing that structural flaw couldn’t be more urgent.

When prevention goes unpaid

Just as pharmacists prevent harm through meticulous medication review, GPs prevent deterioration through time-intensive consultations with complex patients.

Spending 30 minutes with a family doctor can sometimes be the difference between stability and a hospital admission. When it works, there is no adverse drug reaction and no trip to the emergency department.

Research consistently links primary care continuity to fewer hospitalisations. But our funding structures simply don’t reward the absence of harm.

New Zealand’s primary care sector runs on a model where complex, time-intensive care for the sickest patients is financially propped up by high-volume, transactional care for healthy ones.

Nobody explicitly pays for the time a pharmacist spends phoning a prescriber to challenge a risky dosage. That life-saving intervention is covered by the margin on dispensing 50 routine scripts, or by the markup on vitamins and sunscreen sold at the front of the shop.

The profits from simple transactions quietly bankroll the complex care. Far from being an accident, it is a structural feature of the Community Pharmacy Services Agreement.

For GPs, capitation funding models often fail to account for the extreme variation in patient complexity.

A practice in a deprived community serving patients with diabetes, chronic lung disease or depression often receives much the same base funding as one providing mostly routine check-ups in a wealthy neighbourhood.

The clinics doing the hardest work are financially penalised for it. Underpaying for clinical time burns out doctors, nurses and pharmacists. It also leaves the highest-need communities with less care than they require.

Read more: We studied primary care in 6 rich countries – it’s under unprecedented strain everywhere

Why price caps don’t work

When budgets are tight, governments trim fees and margins. Illness remains. The pressure moves from primary care to somewhere more expensive.

If a pharmacy is forced to increase dispensing volume just to stay solvent, pharmacists have less time for important safety checks. If a GP clinic is financially squeezed, consultation times shrink and doctors are forced to close their books. Complex needs go entirely unaddressed.

Often, this unmet need simply accumulates: economists call it latent demand.

The patient who missed out on a comprehensive medication review eventually turns up at an emergency department with a severe adverse reaction or an acute flare of a chronic condition.

By then, they’re far sicker, and the cost to the taxpayer is many times higher than the primary care intervention would have been. Underpaying for time in primary care is a catastrophic false economy.

Fixing the flaws

Addressing the hidden subsidy requires a definitive shift from volume-based transactions to complexity-based funding.

A pharmacist conducting a comprehensive medication reconciliation for an elderly patient on ten drugs should be compensated for that thinking, regardless of whether a physical product is dispensed. That clinical judgement has value in its own right.

The same applies in general practice. A consultation that prevents a hospital admission requires far more time and skill than a routine script renewal.

Funding models must recognise that variation and properly support practices serving high-need populations, so clinicians are enabled to spend more time with complex patients, not less.

When a primary care professional catches a prescribing error or intervenes to stop a chain of avoidable harm, that action saves the hospital system thousands of dollars. It should be explicitly recognised and paid for.

New Zealand cannot keep relying on retail margins and the goodwill of overworked clinicians to prop up its primary care sector. If it does, the safety net will continue to fray – and preventable harm will eventually follow.

– ref. Primary care prevents health problems from becoming more expensive – why doesn’t NZ fund it properly? – https://theconversation.com/primary-care-prevents-health-problems-from-becoming-more-expensive-why-doesnt-nz-fund-it-properly-275793

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Breadon, Program Director, Health and Aged Care, Grattan Institute

Australians are living longer, but we’re also living longer with disease and disability. Half of us now have at least one chronic condition.

As rates of disease rise, so does demand for health care. In the 40 years since Medicare began, the average number of visits to the GP per person has increased by more than 60%.

Now general practice – where most people go first for check-ups, diagnoses, and ongoing management of chronic conditions – is under pressure. In 2024, nearly 30% of Australians said they waited too long to get the primary care they needed.

But Australia has more nurses per person than many similar countries. Removing barriers that prevent nurses from using all their skills could help meet the growing demand for care.

Nurses’ skills are being wasted

Primary care works best when delivered by a team: with doctors working alongside nurses, pharmacists, allied health professionals and other health workers.

When the team can safely use all their skills and training, patients benefit from improved access, equal or better health outcomes, improved efficiency and potential cost savings.

However GPs in Australia are less likely than those in similar countries to delegate tasks tasks such as immunisations, routine health checks and health promotion to nurses.

Two recent independent reviews found that while many practices employ a nurse, most are not using all their skills.

Nurses working in primary care agree. A 2024 workforce survey found only one-third of surveyed nurses in general practice regularly work to their full scope of practice.

Nurses are spending too much time doing basic tasks that others could do, taking them away from giving the care they are trained to provide. About 60% of surveyed nurses said they regularly emptied bins or did photocopying.

Meanwhile, less than one-third regularly provided health education and promotion services to patients, despite good evidence that doing so is safe and effective.

Nurses want to do more. Four in ten said they want to provide health education and promotion services more often.

Nearly half (48%) said they had asked to do more complex clinical activities or extend their role in the past year.

While there is a long way to go, there has been some progress. The proportion of primary care nurses who said they regularly work to their full scope of practice rose from 29% in 2019 to 35% in 2024.

Nurses are being allowed to do more

In the past year and a half, reviews commissioned by the federal government have identified three key areas for reform.

First, the 2024 Scope of Practice Review found confusion across the sector about what nurses can do, and inconsistent rules between states that make it harder for practices to employ their nursing workforce effectively.

It called on federal and state governments to create a national framework that clearly sets out what different health workers can do.

Second, governments and accreditation bodies need to change the way health workers are regulated. Regulation should reflect the activities health workers are trained and qualified to perform safely, not rigid professional boundaries.

State governments should harmonise their legislation – including drugs and poisons acts – so the rules align with workers’ capabilities and are consistent across jurisdictions.

In October, there was a big step forward in expanded and nationally consistent nurse roles. Specially qualified registered nurses will now be able to prescribe medicines.

A funding fix is needed too

Both the Scope of Practice Review and the 2024 Review of General Practice Incentives found changes like these won’t fully succeed without another change: fixing the way Australia funds primary care.

The new rules allowing registered nurse prescribing are one example. Just last week a senate committee unanimously recommended nurse prescriptions should get the same subsidy at the pharmacy as scripts from doctors, instead of costing more as a private script.

Medicare funding needs to keep up too. The current fee-for-service model pays health workers for the number and type of services they provide. This restricts nurse-led care in three ways:

• many services performed by nurses have no Medicare item number
• those that do often have payments that are too low to be viable
• the rules require excessive oversight from a doctor that creates inefficiency.

Outdated funding rules are the biggest obstacle to unlocking team-based care. Among surveyed nurses who sought to extend their role and were refused, the single most common reason was a lack of financial incentive for the clinic.

The Scope of Practice Review also found health professionals in fee-for-service settings face the greatest barriers to working to their full scope, while those under more flexible funding models face the fewest.

The solution is a blended funding model

Under blended funding, general practices would receive a lump sum payment to manage a patient’s ongoing care, with higher payments for patients with more complex needs.

This would sit alongside fee-for-service payments for individual consultations and procedures.

More flexible funding would enable clinics to decide how best to deliver care, including when it should be delivered by nurses.

Most countries with similar health systems to ours already use blended funding, and it was backed by both the recent reviews.

Australians’ health needs are getting more complex, and GPs can’t meet them alone. Australia has a large, trusted, and highly skilled nursing workforce. Governments should act now to remove the funding and regulatory barriers holding them back.

– ref. Emptying bins and photocopying: nurses’ skills are too often wasted in general practice – https://theconversation.com/emptying-bins-and-photocopying-nurses-skills-are-too-often-wasted-in-general-practice-269493

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Humphries, Associate Professor in Ecology, Charles Sturt University

In many parts of Europe, the common carp is a prized table fish. But the common carp (Cyprinus carpio) is arguably Australia’s most vilified fish. Nicknamed the “river rabbit” for its prolific breeding, carp is blamed for degrading rivers, lakes and billabongs.

Despite its popularity overseas, and among catch-and-release anglers and koi enthusiasts, carp in Australian rivers cause significant damage to aquatic plants, denuding the riverbanks and riverbeds when they feed.

In the 1960s, a European strain of carp entered Victoria’s Latrobe Valley and the Murray River near Mildura, believed to originate from a fish farm in Boolarra, in the south east of the state. This strain spread through the Murray–Darling Basin, prompting extensive research and attempted control programs, including the proposed cyprinid herpesvirus.

While debate continues over management, a question rarely asked is why carp was a strong candidate for introduction in the first place? For this, we need to take a two-thousand-year trip back in time.

Roman troops needed food

Common carp comprises two subspecies: the European form (Cyprinus carpio carpio) and East Asian form (Cyprinus carpio haematopterus). Historically, the former’s range extended as far west as present-day Vienna, along the River Danube and as far east as Central Asia and Kazakhstan.

Archaeological remains suggest carp were especially abundant where a breakpoint in the Danube’s gradient and its tributaries, the Morava, Váh, Hron, Drava and Tisza rivers, converged. For millennia, large permanent and seasonal floodplains provided ideal conditions for carp.

Two thousand years ago, after crossing the Alps and pushing north to the Danube, the Roman army established military bases between modern-day Vienna and Budapest. Across the river, Celts and Germans watched with gritted teeth and weapons at the ready. Although only 240 km long, the frontier needed four Roman garrisons to hold out. Around 20,000 legionnaires, accompanied by families, slaves and tradespeople, meant a population of more than 100,000. And they all needed food.

Fortresses upstream and downstream of the Morava River lined one of the Danube’s largest floodplains. Czech-Canadian fish biologist Eugene Balon argues this frontier marked the beginning of Western Europe’s enduring love affair with carp. Archaeological excavations of these forts have uncovered abundant fish remains, predominantly carp, supporting his hypothesis.

Carp becomes European fish du jour

Whether legionnaires carried carp back toward Rome remains uncertain, but by the early Medieval period, carp was steadily spreading westward. Evidence from monastic latrine deposits (poo, to you and me) has shown carp moving through what are now France, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg by the late 13th century. By 1400, carp was the fish du jour in Parisian cuisine. The “Carpocene” had arrived.

Canadian historian Richard Hoffmann has documented carp’s westward spread, as it followed sweeping changes to European riverine landscapes, especially the rise of water mills. From about 1000 CE, an energy revolution of sorts shifted grain milling and paper production from oxen to water power. Thousands of mill dams transformed free-flowing streams into ponds and races, disrupting habitats and effectively expunging the previously abundant trouts, salmons and sturgeons. These heavily modified riverscapes proved ideal for carp.

This growing dominance of carp in Western Europe coincided with the rise of Christianity and founding of monasteries. Carp domestication in China may date back thousands of years, but Western European aquaculture probably had its origins in 11th and 12th century France, through monasteries and the nobility.

Christian precepts restricted meat on holy days and Fridays, but fish and laurices (unborn rabbit) were exempt. Monastic ponds, perhaps initially adapted from drainage works, were soon stocked with local fish. Monasteries with their own ponds meant monks could harvest carp and other fish for fasting days.

The techniques of pond construction and fish keeping by the Normans in continental Europe made their way over the Channel with the Norman Invasion in 1066, and were adopted in England. Carp arrived around the mid-1300s, and English monasteries quickly embraced this hardy, tasty and fast-growing new fish on the block.

Carp’s transformation from a monastic delicacy to national favourite in England came in 1536 through Henry VIII. During the “Dissolution”, Henry closed more than 600 monasteries as part of the Protestant Reformation. These changes formed part of the wider political and religious manoeuvres of Henry in England, including his effort to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne Boleyn. Monastic wealth was redirected to the Crown, with lands and buildings commonly purchased by nobles and elites.

In England, fishponds became status symbols, with aristocratic owners keeping ponds for private use and sport. But as pond upkeep lost its appeal, many were leased to commoners who operated them as commercial enterprises. Fish, including carp, entered expanding markets, especially in fashionable London. By then, carp had spread across the Kingdom, outperforming other cultured species by growing faster and reaching market size years earlier.

Carp was now the most popular fish in England, widely recognised for its hardiness, and even appearing in Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well (c. 1603–06), in which Parolles is compared to a carp that can survive in a pool of excrement. Fifty years before Izaak Walton’s The Compleat Angler (1653), carp was as familiar to the average English person as it had become on continental Europe centuries earlier.

Carp comes to Australia

Fast forward to mid-1800s Australia. Environmental destruction wrought by gold mining, especially in Victoria, was widespread. Acclimatisation societies were founded to introduce familiar “useful” species and “renovate” degraded ecosystems.

For those wanting a fish tolerant of heavily altered rivers, that provided sport, grew rapidly and was good eating, they had to look no further than carp. A fish that had once been on the outskirts of Western Europe, virtually unknown, was now an obvious candidate for introduction to the other side of the world.

The first carp arrived in Hobart on February 22 1858 aboard the Heather Bell and was released into Cascades Reservoir. And so began the story of carp in Australia.

This is an edited extract from Carp in Australia, by Paul Humphries and Katherine Doyle, published by CSIRO Publishing.

– ref. Australians scorn this fish once adored by monks and kings – https://theconversation.com/australians-scorn-this-fish-once-adored-by-monks-and-kings-276278

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leonora Risse, Associate Professor in Economics, Queensland University of Technology

Since 2024, the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) has been publishing the gender pay gaps of Australia’s largest companies. Now, we have enough data to make some meaningful comparisons – and this public spotlight seems to be paying off.

Today, the agency released its latest employer gender pay gaps report. Drawing on this data, my calculations show the average gender gap in total pay fell from 13.1% to 12.7% between 2023-24 and 2024-25.

That’s based on more than 7,000 organisations that provided their numbers for both years.

While the gender pay gap narrowed in more than half of these employers, driving the overall improvement, it still widened in about 45%.

There are signs that companies are, on the whole, heading in the right direction. But gender pay gaps still overwhelmingly favour men. There’s still work to do – especially at Australia’s major banks and airlines.

Still far from ideal

Overall, today’s release gives us data on 10,500 employers and 5.9 million workers in the public and private sectors.

The WGEA has a target gender pay gap range of -5% to +5%, suggesting an employer doesn’t significantly favour men or women.

Only one in five private companies covered in today’s release fall into this range, compared to roughly two in five Commonwealth public sector employers.

Around seven in ten private employers have a gender pay gap that favours men. And many are still far from the ideal range: a quarter of private companies have a gender pay gap of 20% or more.

Several employers have a gender pay gap in favour of women, but they make up a very small share of the overall picture: only about 7%.

Companies’ scorecard

Of the ten biggest companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), banking giant Macquarie Group reports the largest gender pay gap, at 29.6%.

The Commonwealth Bank follows with a gap of 21.3%, while ANZ and NAB have gaps of 18.4% and 18.1%, respectively.

Among the largest private employers with the biggest gender pay gaps are airlines Qantas and Virgin, with gaps of 40.1% and 45.1%, respectively. This is partly due to the gender mix of jobs within this sector, with women comprising only a small fraction of the highest-paying occupations.

This occupational segregation is a common picture across Australia’s workforce. And it continues to fuel the overall gender gap in earnings.

Men are 1.8 times more likely to be in the top 25% of earners (where the average total annual pay is A$221,000). In contrast, women are 1.4 times more likely to be in the bottom 25% (where the average is $60,000 a year).

The public sector leads the way

For the first time in WGEA’s reporting, public employers’ gender pay gaps are available alongside those of private companies.

The average gender pay gap for Commonwealth public sector employers was 7.5% for 2024-25. This is a little over half that of private employers, at 12.3%.

Among the Commonwealth public sector employers with the largest workforces, the Australian Federal Police report a gender pay gap of 11.5%, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation has a gap of 7.3% and Australia Post is at 6.5%.

Among public organisations within WGEA’s target range, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has a gender pay gap of 4.3%, Services Australia records a gap of 3.9%, the Australian Taxation Office is at 3.7% and Treasury sits at 3.4%.

Actions to speed up progress

Pay gap transparency was legislated as part of reforms to the Workplace Gender Equality Act in 2023. This was done in response to progress on gender equality stalling in Australia’s private sector.

These reforms put the onus on leaders and employers – rather than individual women – to take responsibility for addressing gender inequities within their workforces.

The public spotlight is prompting more intentional action by employers. Around two in three employers are now conducting a gender pay gap analysis.

Shining a spotlight

Among employers who crunched the numbers at their own organisation, half detected the causes of the gap and a quarter were prompted to review their performance system to check for, and undo, gender biases.

Roughly a quarter of all employers covered in the report have a target to reduce the gender pay gap.

Evidence from other countries shows that pay gap transparency leads to a narrowing of the gender pay gap, but it’s through men’s pay rising less quickly rather than women’s pay growth speeding up.

This can bring potential risks such as an erosion in morale and productivity among workers: women come to learn how much more their male colleagues earn, while men face the prospect of their future wage growth being curbed.

The pitfalls of ‘greedy jobs’

Discretionary payments – such as bonuses, overtime, penalty rates, shift and leave loadings – are a big driver of the total pay gap, especially in fields such as finance.

When we strip out these extra payments, along with superannuation, and look only at base salaries, the average size of the employer gender pay gap falls to 10% in the private sector and 6.5% in the public sector.

This should prompt employers to review their discretionary payments, to ensure all workers have access to these opportunities and are rewarded fairly.

It also prompts us to guard against the harms of “greedy jobs”, where long hours are rewarded with bonuses and higher overtime pay.

It’s this type of analysis, matched with evidence-based action, that pay gap transparency is aiming to achieve.

– ref. Australia’s gender pay gap is narrowing – and the public spotlight seems to be helping – https://theconversation.com/australias-gender-pay-gap-is-narrowing-and-the-public-spotlight-seems-to-be-helping-276957

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Corey Martin, Lecturer/Podcast Producer, Swinburne University of Technology

From new releases to rediscovered classics, this month’s streaming list is brimming with both spectacle and nostalgia.

We see a pared-back return to the world of Game of Thrones, a glossy portrayal of one of America’s most high-profile romances, some bingeable courtroom drama, and the welcome reappearance of the much-loved Muppet Show.

Add in a distinctly Australian shark survival thriller and you’ve got plenty to pad out the long, warm evenings.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

HBO Max

At first glance, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms appears to be a modest spin-off of Game of Thrones – a franchise previously defined by dragons, dynasties and spectacular bloodshed.

Instead, this show trades dynastic spectacle for something more intimate and unexpectedly incisive. Rather than centring rulers and succession wars, it follows Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey), a hedge knight with no inheritance, title or powerful allies. Honour is his only currency.

Travelling with Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell), a prince moving incognito among commoners, Dunk learns that virtue carries little weight in a world organised around bloodline and inherited power. Land and lineage determine outcomes more than moral conviction.

By narrowing its focus to outsiders, the series exposes how hierarchy sustains itself. Power circulates through status, inheritance and masculine codes of “honour” that reward proximity to authority and exclude those outside it.

The world is structured around male succession and elite consolidation, leaving women largely peripheral in the series. What emerges is not triumphant masculinity, but a glimpse of patriarchal systems that reproduce themselves and limit even well-intentioned men.

Where Game of Thrones asked who deserves the throne, this prequel asks why the throne endures. It shows how the powerful remain powerful, and decency without structural backing rarely prevails.

– Corey Martin

Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr & Carolyn Bessette

Disney+

There are many reasons to be sceptical about this new series from TV super-producer Ryan Murphy – whose track record with real people and events is patchy. But writer-creator Connor Hines’ 1990s fever dream is lucidly rendered, nuanced, and sparkling with chemistry.

Relative newcomers Sarah Pidgeon as Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and John Anthony Kelley as John F. Kennedy Jr crackle together, helped along by Kelley’s uncanny resemblance to Kennedy Jr. And although not a direct facsimile of Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, Pidgeon perfectly captures the aloof, formidable, slightly mean, but enigmatic charm of a fashion girl in her element.

There are no real surprises here plot wise, but Love Story is more than a Wikipedia page come to life. It captures the limerence of infatuation, the seemingly magnetic connection between two forceful personalities, and the very real trauma of living under intense scrutiny, both at home and in public.

The costuming, sets and music capture the feeling of being at the centre of 1990s New York culture – whether smoking out the window of the Calvin Klein offices or fighting in Washington Square Park. Naomi Watts as Jackie O, Grace Gummer as Caroline Kennedy and Alessandro Nivola as Calvin Klein fill out the expertly drawn world. The delicious nostalgia will bring you in, and the love story will hold your attention.

– Jessica Ford

The Lincoln Lawyer, season four

Netflix

The new season of The Lincoln Lawyer, the Netflix courtroom drama inspired by Michael Connelly’s bestselling novel The Law of Innocence, returns with its core cast intact. Defence lawyer Mickey Haller (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) appears alongside Maggie (Neve Campbell), Lorna (Becki Newton), Izzy (Jazz Raycole) and Cisco (Australian actor Angus Sampson). Prosecutor Dana Berg (Constance Zimmer) makes a guest appearance.

Framed by iconic Los Angeles vistas, from the Hollywood hills to the imposing modernist Stanley Mosk Courthouse, season four shifts its emotional centre, taking on a more intensive focus on Mickey’s ex-wives. They pull together to save him from life in prison. Developed as strong characters, Maggie and Lorna risk their careers without hesitation.

Mickey’s wonderful classic 1963 Lincoln Continental convertible, highlighted in previous seasons, symbolises individualism. But in this series, he spends more time in his two town cars, emphasising interdependence on those around him.

Previously characterised as a suave operator working from the back seat of his Lincoln Continental, Mickey is now more exposed and uncertain, following the broader trend in legal dramas towards emotionally vulnerable male protagonists, and communal – rather than individual – heroism.

His team and ex-wives never doubt his innocence and pull out all stops in a compelling story of the “wrongfully accused”. They are loyal, and provide the emotional safety one would expect from family. This season is light, fun and easy to binge.

– Lisa French

The Muppet Show

Disney+

The Muppet Show is back – at least for one episode.

A lovingly made continuation of Jim Henson’s original, which debuted on television in the United Kingdom 50 years ago, the new episode features recreations of the original set, format and characters.

Fozzy Bear hurling terrible one liners? Check (or Wukka Wukka). Miss Piggy battling for the Best Diva on Set? Check. The Great Gonzo with delightfully absurd stunts that provide satisfying call backs for trainspotters? Check. Statler and Waldorf (aka the old grumpy critics) providing dry critic? Check. Beaker and Professor Honeydew presenting a particularly experimental experiment? Check.

Come for the nostalgia; stay for the energy provided by Sabrina Carpenter, the show’s musical guest who delights as a musician and hams it up with Piggy perfectly (all puns intended).

Cameos by Seth Rogan and Maya Rudolph are also delightful, and, like the original series, the vibrant Muppets’ covers of contemporary songs really are the biggest draw.

The only real gap is Henson’s voice as Kermit. While new voice actor Matt Vogel has been in place since 2017, in this familiar context the difference is a bit more noticeable.

– Liz Giuffre

L’Eclisse

Mubi

I’m always pleased to see a Michelangelo Antonioni film become available to stream in Australia. Although I’ve seen his 1962 masterpiece, L’Eclisse (The Eclipse), several times now – and dedicated a thesis chapter to it – it still leaves me at a loss for words.

Succeeding L’Avventura (The Adventure, 1960) and La Notte (The Night, 1961), L’Eclisse constitutes the final piece in Antonioni’s so-called “trilogy of alienation”. This defining three-film run – often cited among the most influential in modern cinema – explores themes of emotional disconnect, and the unknowable conditions of modern life.

Set largely among the modernist architecture of the Mussolini-era EUR (Esposizione Universale Roma) district, and chaotic events at the Borsa stock exchange, L’Eclisse’s narrative centres on the doomed love affair between Piero and Vittoria, played by the inimitable Alain Delon and Monica Vitti.

Beyond the love affair, however, Antonioni’s film also explores far deeper existential and emotional concerns.

As epitomised through the haunting final seven-and-a-half-minute montage, L’Eclisse is a film enveloped in uncertainty and opacity. Like other titles by Antonioni, the film lays bare the texture of our human condition, capturing the enigmatic, ever-unfolding mysteries that characterise the modern world.

It continues to feel more groundbreaking and devastating with each rewatch.

– Oscar Bloomfield

The Royal Tenenbaums

Netflix

I recall Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums as charming but confusing to my 20-something brain when it came out in Australian theatres in 2002. What would I make of it more than 20 years later?

Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman) is the mercurial patriarch. His artful antics have estranged him from his family, which consists of his self-possessed wife Etheline (Angelica Huston) and his brilliant brood, Margot, Chas and Richie (Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller and Luke Wilson, respectively). Each child is a prodigy in their chosen domain of art, business and sport.

When forced to leave his decades-long residence at the Lindberg Palace Hotel, Royal formulates a last-ditch plan to win back his family’s affection in league with his longtime companion, Pagoda (Kumar Pallana).

The time is modern but unclear, suggesting the late 1970s but with props that date it closer to Y2K. Stacks of vintage boardgames and Chas’ Dalmatian mice linger in the Flemish revival family residence, located in an imagined New York City. These elements coalesce with a killer soundtrack featuring Nick Drake, The Clash and The Velvet Underground.

Watching The Royal Tenenbaums with maturity on my side, what hit me was how deeply troubled this family is. Trauma, mental health, neurodivergence and arrested development aren’t so much lurking in the background as front and centre.

The film succeeds in offering viewers a way through familial messiness. It left me feeling reflective, hopeful and grateful.

– Phoebe Hart

Beast of War

Netflix

Australian writer-director Kiah Roache-Turner’s Beast of War is a unique blend of war and shark flicks of the “survival horror” kind. It’s a short, sharp, gory joyride at 87 mins.

Set in 1942, a warship full of Australian soldiers is suddenly sunk on the Timor Sea. Seven men cling to a makeshift raft to survive.

Our hero is an Aboriginal private, Leo (Mark Coles Smith). Among the soldiers are Will (Joel Nankervis), Des (Sam Delich) and Teddy (Lee Tiger Halley). As Japanese fighter planes strafe from above, the soldiers must defend themselves against a giant great white shark circling below.

Beast of War is visceral. It gushes with affect. Its stylistic trait is close-up after close-up of soldiers’ faces, each one brutal in conveying pure horror.

As you watch, you become absorbed in the shock and horror of it all, but without getting too drawn under. As soon as there’s a moment’s calm, literally rendered onscreen in the lulls between the shark’s attack, you’re jolted with something scary, surprising and gruesome.

It’s also a very Australian film. Alongside themes of mateship and racism experienced by Indigenous soldiers is over-the-top Aussie slang. In one comical line, Des points a puny rifle at the enormous shark surging towards them and yells: “Come on you toothy bastard!”

– Roger Dawkins

Read more: Beast of War is a beautifully shot survival thriller with bite

– ref. Westeros, Wes Anderson and Sabrina Carpenter meeting the Muppets: what to watch in March – https://theconversation.com/westeros-wes-anderson-and-sabrina-carpenter-meeting-the-muppets-what-to-watch-in-march-276510